Mimir98's group-CLOSED AGAIN...FOR REAL THIS TIME (Page 29)

Hey Kelly,

Good luck executing that race plan.  I found it tough to do, but you are probably more disciplined than I am.

That was my plan in my HIM last year.  I let so many people go on the bike, especially early, and was actually zone 3 for many of the early rollers (might not be an issue at Play Tri) but once I got to the run, I was upper zone 3 for the first 10 miles - comfortable, but couldn't slow myself down. 

I was able to do it for IM though, so if it is all about practice pacing, maybe you can get away with a little stronger effort in HIM

What do you say MIMI ?

I think you can definitely push yourself more in a HIM...as long as you respect the distance!  A little restrait is smart on the bike, and the run.   I think it's a good idea to break the bike and run into parts.  Start slow, show restraint, then re-evaluate.  How's the heart rate?  What's your RPE?  Can you push it more and still stay aerobic?   This being true if you are RACING. 

If you are truly just training, and really want to reap the benefits of training,  I would just go out and enjoy the heck out of the day!  Watch everyone stress.  Practice transition and nutrition/hydration.  Smile.  Have fun.  Don't totally lolly it, but work to keep it in zone 2.  No lower, no higher.   A little pacing practice will go a long way.  Plus, that's about 6 hours of GREAT ZONE 2 TRAINING!

And, if you can't control yourself, remember it will take longer to recover and get back to it. 

Okay, I think its Kelly and I so far (although I it doesn't seem right to put my 5 mile run in the same context as her HIM - that sounds fun - I will get down there for that race some year)

anyone else racing this weekend? 

No ones out here playing today

And since I didn't get the Mimi flogging before she went on vacation, I will "toot my own horn" instead.

Probably one reason she never got around to me was when I joined up with y'all, I didn't have any goals - especially Tri related, so she had no material to work with.  Also, she doesn't lower herself to discuss duathletes .

So I have just been ramping up my running and cycling slowly, developing a modest race schedule (that involves minimal swimming til late summer).  And a plan to grow on.  I do "need" to get in the water, but not necessarily until next winter.  I only have 1 Tri planned and I could switch that to a long course Du.

But the best thing that could happen to my multi-sport future is that I got excited by an idea (started by the location of a family reunion of all things)  That idea germinated into a 10 year plan.  So yes, once I have a great running and cycling base, I will work on that swim thing again, but I would only have one discipline to build instead of three.

The plan:  IM-CDA 2010, IM-USA 2012, IM-WI 2014, IM-KY 2016, and IMAZ the weekend before my 50th B-day in 2017 and if all goes according to the plan my 7th IM will be IM-HI Oct 2018.  I also want to cut my time by more than 3% each race regardless of conditions.

Oh and then there was this other little dream that was placed on my heart. Win my age group at Kona some year (I put a target of 2020 on it, but am not sure if that was divinely inspired or just my flesh talking) 

So, now I have a BHAG out there. 

 Happy evening, all!

I am so sorry I missed your flogging!  I will get to that this weekend, now that I have some ammunition .  I am irritated at my busy-ness...it's really cutting into my BT time. 

Hi All.

I'm in Dallas looking out the window at the flags blowing in the wind.  Trying to think about how majestic they look instead of WTF!!! LOL 

Actually the wind isn't a surprise and will be another layer of things to work on when trying to stay in Z2.

The boys come up late tonight and will participate in the Kids Duathlon tomorrow.  We are all pretty excited about it. 

Hope all is well with everyone.  

Great thoughts.  Have a great weekend, relax and enjoy! 

SEVEN IM's listed and Lake Placid is not among them??????????

I'm insulted.

Yes- that is true- .  However, one of my IM friends said you need to be a super strong swimmer to follow that plan, as you will get the $hit kicked out of you along with everyone else who wants to follow the "lane line". I will never be THAT kind of swimmer.

 Are you so excited for your race??????? Other than the wind, how is the forecast?

Hey Amy

No need to be insulted. The official name is Ironman USA (or at least it use to be) as it was the first in mainland USA after IM Canada. It is held in Lake Placid NY   The website is still www.ironmanusa.com

IMFL was started and held later that same year.

Alright, Scott. You're forgiven

 I guess I sorta knew that- I certainly have been to enough of them here.

I head up a great support team (not to out rank your wife and kids ) but it is super fun being a local and knowing how to get out on the course and see an athlete. We saw my cousin 14 times on the course last time he did it (and that was with 12 family members) Other athletes were yelling to us- "Are you guys EVERYWHERE?"

Hope to

-unpack 8 suitcases (yes, unfortunately that is not a typo) Thankfully, we came home with no dirty laundry, as we did tons in our house the whole. There is a PILE of clean laundry that never got put away before we left......but I'm not sure that's today's focus. We shall see.

-ride

-swim

-grocery shop

A bit lofty? Perhaps. But ya gotta shoot for the stars, baby.

p_p, I am super impressed with your 10-year plan!  I have trouble just going a few weeks out, so the idea of planning YEARS out is very cool. 

Everyone -  I have an eating problem.  There, I said it (though I think I've already said it somewhere around here...).  Whether I'm training or not training, my body stays the same.  Despite all the laps, miles, etc, I weigh the same as when I ramped up in December.  And my BF% is also still almost identical to when I began all this (23%).  When I got the results, I was sorely disappointed.  This struggle, and the ensuing self-loathing, has been a constant in my life for 15 years now, if not more.  I need Dr Phil or something, because my problem is all psychological and these habits and excuses and the years of failure to achieve where I want to be with my weight.......like a freakin' prison.  Because my weight is evenly distributed, I don't really 'look' fat.  That's another part of the problem, because my inner voice will say, "No worries, people can't tell you're fat."  But 23% BF and 228 pounds (at 5'11"???  Who am I fooling?  My cholesterol is a few notches above the high end of 'normal', and my wife is really concerned about that, while I'm not.  Why not?  Because I keep telling myself that "Once...." I stop eating this and that, it'll automatically shoot down.  We've had these conversations about my weight and so on for so many years, it's like a broken record.  The conversation we had yesterday about my weight and what I need to really do to fix it was probably a word-for-word recounting of some conversation we had 15 years ago.  I'm also pretty sure I typed most of this tale earlier on this same thread (some months ago)!!

I'm stuck. At the end of my rope.  I've heard all the what-to-do's and what-to-eats.  I'm one of these people who know exactly what to do but, for whatever reason, have a messed up psychology about it and just haven't been able to get past it.

Until age 30, I was fit, fast, strong, and moved like a cat.......then something just happened and I desperately want to get out of this hole.

Thanks for listening yet again to my issues.......I wish I could go on "Biggest Loser".  I think that's what I need --  a locked-down environment with a no-mercy trainer in my face every minute for three months......

Okay, you have messed up psychology about food intake.  What caused it?  What's the root problem?  What positive or negative associations did/do you have with food.

Identity the root, deal with it, and grow on.

You can do it, it may just take some deep soul searching.   

Ok.

 I'm no nutritionist/trainer/psychologist/dietician BUT I can be an overeater/self-sabotager/own-worst-enemy. Here is what I would do if I were in charge of trimming you down for a "Biggest Loser" type contest.

 I think maybe you are taking your goals out way too far.

I think it is time to start going meal by meal.  But before that, sit down and make a list or even take a really slow walk through a grocery store. Look around at all of the good for you things that you really like. Most of them are probably on the side walls and the back wall of the grocery store (if  Korean grocery stores are anything like the ones in the US, but I'm sure you remember if not.)  I find that when I do this, I remember how much I really, really like a lot of foods that I don't often make/buy. I also find that my eating is best when I do really intense meal planning. For me, this can be hard. My husband owns a restaurant, and is home after school with the kids, generally making dinner, as I do not get home till about 5:30. The husband and the sons, they are like senior citizens- they want to eat dinner ASAP the second I walk in the door. If I haven't set up a plan for dinner, I am stuck with what they concocted. I really only prevail at this plan if I take time on the weekends to both decide what I want and shop for what it takes to make it. sometimes I sit down with magazines/cookbooks to get inspired for something good and healthy.

Don't get me wrong- this is not how I always am, but I do know that when I do it, it works. I am about to embark on 6 week "Marvelous for Memorial Day" throwdown with myself, and spent time today in the grocery store really looking around for what I like and is also good for me. I actually did lose some weight on vacation (it was all the working out and the fresh fruits/veggies, I think) but I want to crack down with some serious core work over the next 6 weeks. And I write that here so that I can be publically shamed into keeping this promise.

So, I would suggest (though, again, who am I?) that you really start planning out your next meal well before it comes around. I find that I gravitate towards carbs all the time, and though I would never cut them out for obvious reasons, if I even ATTEMPT to cut them out, I can't and end up hitting a more appropriate healthy amount of them. I really have to plan work meals (I make soup A LOT) or else I get hoodwinked into eating junk with my co-workers. I never had a sweet tooth till I met them and now have a boss who makes us homemade cakes, etc, for no reason other than "because you like it!" 

 I also found this thought interesting as a mental guideline--

http://www.nosdiet.com/  The basic concept is no sweets, no seconds, no snacks except on days that start with S. I think we as athletes need to eat fewer at  meals and add snacks in, but I think the concept is a good mental plan, and sounds workable.

 Just some thoughts.

Hey Bob,

 I second Amy's advice about planning.  My husband is dealing with weight issues as well (can we say 230+ at 5 ft 6"?).  Years ago, he lost the weight through Weight Watchers.  Took him about a year and he was not fun to be around.  Of course, it crept back on, and then some.  Now he's trying South Beach (or as best as we can figure it out). 

Anyway, on the days that planning happens, it's a good healthy meal with complex carbs and such.  When we don't plan, well let's just say the  results aren't pretty.  My advice would be to worry about one meal or one day at a time and not stress too much about what the scale says.  I've noticed on our scale that my weight can fluctuate by about 5 pounds.  However, when I remember to log my weight daily on my blog, I can go back later and have the site give me a report averaged by week or month -- lot easier to see the progress that way.   And hang in there and keep up with the training -- you are SO much better off at current weight with training than you would be at that weight and no training  (but you knew that as well, too,  didn't you)

I have to agree with the ladies Bob...just like you plan your workouts, and plan your week, and your classes, etc., you have to plan your meals.  When you will have them and what you will have.  Also, look at food for what it does.  Simply, Carbs are for energy.  Protein is for muscle repair.  Fats are also essential, but don't really have a place in a pre-workout meal. 

Perhaps you can plan 3 days.  Then, on the fourth day, take a break from eating according to plan, but work on planning the next 3 days. 

It's essential you track calories in/ calories out for weight loss, at least in the beginning.  It will take a large amount of time, but it seems like you really want to do this.  Believe me, I have several clients that I put through workouts that would kill me, but can't lose the weight.  Why?  They are not committed to planning out their meals and following through.  

It's not easy...if it was, our country wouldn't look the way it does!  However, you have an advantage being an athlete who works out.  That piece of the puzzle is there.  Focus on the food.    It's easier to complain and analyze what's wrong than it is to fix it.   If you want to figure out what your psychological barrier is, do it while you are eating on a plan.

Okay, Mimi. Trainer question.

Abs- every day or every other? I believe there are two schools of thought on this? Which camp are you in?

I can plan.  I can plan in advance what to eat for breakfast, what to have at mid-morning, at lunch, at mid-afternoon........I can't really plan what to do for dinner because my wife does that (although I make dinner on Fridays and Sundays).  She makes good dinners, though, so the only real issue there is pushing away from the table after ONE reasonable portion.

A couple years ago I did go from 232 pounds to 200 actually. It took 4-5 months.  Then it all came back over summer vacation when we had no choice but to live for six weeks in a hotel and eat out a lot.  I'll have to sit down and try and recall exactly how I did it, because I am working out much more now than at that time (which may be leading me to believe "I can eat more since I'm working out more" --  not at age 46 you can't!!

Please pester me for daily nutrition......hound me....flog me........I commit to being absolutely honest in putting down what I eat......and a weekly weigh-in with BF%.

Thanks you guys.

If you serve your dinners with all of the foods on the table, try returning the entree (and anything ELSE you shouldn't have seconds of) back to the kitchen after every one has been served.  When we had all of the stuff on the table, my husband would take seconds and sneak tastes of everything EXCEPT the salad while the rest of finished our meals.  I've noticed that if I take the meat and carbs to the kitchen, he will take seconds of the salad and is less likely to bother to get up to get a second serving of meat or rice or whatever.  Just a thought. 

computer freaked out...anyway, I think all muscles need a rest, abs included....HOWEVER, that being said...I have no problem with doing a month of pushups daily or abs daily.  But just a month.  And if a body part starts to rebel, I listen and let it rest.  As we probably all know by know, rest and recovery and repair is when you make you gains. 

So, on that note...perhaps we should start a core challenge?? 

That's a good idea!!!...just throw what you don't plate into your tupperware or whatever, close it up...but leave the salad bowl out.  Then after you finish your plate, if you are still hungry, eat what is out.  I always put fresh fruit on the table with dinner...it seems to help satisfy the after dinner sweet tooth craving while adding more fiber.  We all pick at it as we finish up our meal.