COURAGE'S GROUP- CLOSED... (Page 3)

Thanks Eric,

     I did look at those sites, TI looks interesting from a theory standpoint so we will see. I might look into one of the books from my library...(hey it's worth a shot!). I have a maintenance plan on my log right now but it was more just putting it up to learn how it all works and mess around with it. I think once I get it all down and find the plan I want to use it will end up being a good tool, especially being able to track my nutrition right there. I am hoping to get my bike into the shop tomorrow and then I can really get down to training. Not to mention it is FINALLY a little light out when I get home.

Justin

ok well I got a gym membership at LA Fitness near me (the place is huge too, never seen a gym with this much floor space) and it has a pool so I will be making good use of it at least 3 days a week. It also has a ton of weight equipment that should come in handy.

so...I was wondering what everyones opinion is on Coffee? I have usually 1 cup of coffee in the morning when I get to work with a little sugar and some half and half in it. not to worried about the calories or anything but do people have any issues with caffine effecting your workouts?

Well, I notice that when I was running, I was going faster (down to about 9:15/mil) easily but was landing mid-foot/ball of toes and it felt like it was a high impact, jarring strike, which I think was probably aggravating my tender knee.  So I forced myself to slow down (best way -- jog with my delightful 10 year old daughter) and concentrate on landing more toward the back and rolling forward off the ball of my toes.  More muscle effort through the thigh, but felt much easier on the knees.  I've also been more diligent about icing and took a few days off and swapped swimming for a run or two.

Now, there is absolutely no swelling and no pain at all, which is great.  I had a terrific run Saturday evening -- through snow, sleet, hail (and with a very unhappily cold and wet dog).  No pain, no swelling, and a solid run this a.m. -- again, no paid/no swelling.

I am continuing to lose weight gradually -- lost 2.5 over the last week -- and really feel the different especially with the run. 

Swam yesterday -- did 250/yard warm-up, then 5x100 intervals at a sub-2 minute pace (averaged around 1:50/100) with 30 second rest in between.  Very nice.  Then, 30 minutes in a brutal spinning class -- lots of heavy resistance. 

 In summer '07, I did a very hilly sprint with 1 very big climb on the bike and it just killed me, so I've been trying to build leg strength every since -- the roads are amazingly flat where I live, so it's really hard to find real hills to work on.  I'd appreciate suggestions for building hill-climbing ability, both on bike and run.

I have a single cup of coffee each morning when I wake up. On RARE occasions I have a cup in the afternoon at work or with friends but that's very rare. A cup a day IMHO is fine and helps get the system going, for me at least.

But as caffeine goes I don't drink soda at all. Seltzer or carbonated water yes, but no soda which can drastically lower your caffeine intake if you've been drinking caffeinated soda.

Eric J

Elliot- As to running, sounds like what you're doing is working so don't change a thing! I had major running issues to the point that I was almost hobbled and came close to giving up Tri before I really started. POSE saved me...

As to hills the first thing is to just lighten the load which you seem to be doing nicely. Just keep losing weight slowly. If you lose too much too fast you lose power and your Power to Weight Ratio gets skewed and its hard to make that up.

Later today I'll try to post a couple Hill training spin workouts that I use for my spin classes...

Eric J

So I was in the gym yesterday and all the bikes were full so I thought about using the spinning bikes (they have a room full of them but they only use them for a spinning class about 1x a day). I noticed though that those bikes were your traditional spinning bikes and just had a resistance lever but no read out to determine distance or time. Is that common? should I just use them and go for a certain amount of time without being able to judge distance, maybe aim for a target zone of perceived exertion/Heart rate?

Thanks!

Hi everyone -

Well, my training just ended for some time to come.  I got my MRI results in for the knee that I twisted - Complete ACL tear, Sprained MCL and a bruised Meniscus.  Anyone with a prior ACL injury who has any advice or thoughts for me.  I am pretty bummed at the moment.

Tracy 

That really stinks on the Knee injury. I don't have experience with those myself but I do have knee issues and shoulder issues due to unusually loose Ligaments. (allows my joints to have to much lateral play away from the normal plane of use.) For me it takes a lot of extra work on my leg muscles to make sure I don't accidentaly hurt something and I am sure once healed this will be true with you as well. Heal fast

On another note...Did we scare Eric away?

Well, I saw that this Mentor group was the last one of the list, so I thought I would post to bump us up to the top!  How is everyone doing with their workouts?  Since I am injured, I'm taking it easy by riding on my trainer and just went to a circuit class this morning to see how it feels.  No pain, but numbness in my foot.  ACL Surgery will probably take place in early March, so I am doing what I can until then.

Keep up with your workouts everyone!

lol... I'm right here... I was away for a few days at a tournament...

Eric J

We all ebb and flow. I gave up beating myself up (too much) when I "indulge". I had a rough weekend, good weekend but exhausting so I took Mon/Tues off. Back on with it tomorrow...

Eric J

So has everyone started to set their schedule of races up for '09?

My first bike race is March 1, my first Tri is June 6....

Eric J

No time to wait and see - just do it!  I think an Olympic early sounds good so you can get that training in - then the rest will be easy! 

(Easy for me to say!  I'll be jockstrapping at the first tri I did last year in June - no racing for a while)

Hello All

Eric, if you have another spot, I'd like to join.

 I'm a 38 year old married father of 3 from San Diego. Over the past 15 years or so I had let my weight balloon to over 300lbs. I had always wanted to do a triathlon so I signed up for a sprint last October. I probably started training last April and by the time the tri came along I had lost about 40 lbs. The triathlon was unbelieveable motivation and kept me going to the gym almost every day.

 I needed another challenge so I signed up for Wildflower in May, the Olymic distance. I'm down another 20lbs (60 total   ) and am very excited about how my life style has changed. I really haven't "dieted" per se, rather have managed my food better and obviously spent day after day working out.

I recently bought a new bike, Quintana Roo Kilo, and did a 20 mile ride this past weekend (that's a lot for me). I'm running 4 miles on m-w-f, swimming about 1/2  mile mon and thurs, and biking about 15 miles tues-thurs-sat.

 I'm getting to the point where I could use some sort of advice, and since I can't find any of my friends willing to do this with me, it would be nice to have some friends to bounce ideas off of. My 12 year old son is doing the Sprint Tri at Wildflower, and I have a large group of friends going, so I'm very excited.

Thanks...now I'm off to the gym!

Todd - San Diego

Todd- Welcome aboard! Fire away with any questions or comments. In the meantime I'll check out your logs...

Eric J

Six months to train for an Oly is certainly enough time and I'm sure you'll be fine  regardless of which distance you do first.

Personally I want a couple Sprints in before my Oly. Gets me back in the groove and focused. But every time I go out I go hunting. My personal philosophy, and remember this is my personal style is to always go out to hammer. I don't race just to survive or finish. Though I admire and inspire others to race towards whatever goal you set whether that's to win your AG or just cross that white line...

That philosophy is also my biggest limiter believe it or not. My team mates are always yelling at me to hold back when bike racing. My nature wants me to go from the gate and that gets me into trouble....

I'm built less for endurance than for explosive power. So I need to work on a negative; Start out slow and build speed as the Tri goes on...

Eric J

Thanks Eric. That does make sense as far as setting my own goals. Personally I think just completing an olympic (or any distance for that matter) will be a big achievement for me personally so that is what I am trying to use for motivation right now.

That last part about being built for power and not endurance had me laughing a bit at work. I can push when I need to but I am definately more of an endurance athlete (even if I am slowish). I was the guy on my crew team in college who could go out and row all day at a moderate to fast pace and be fine while everyone else was dying but I would completely die during our short sprint repeat workouts. That is one reason Triathlons appeal to me. I can go for a long time and with practice get faster over that time frame.

Justin

 ps. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one (other than gofishtip) who asks questions on this thread!

Thanks...I haven't started my logs yet, but will later today

thanks!

Todd

Something I posted in my club's diary that I though might be helpful:

As a Certified Coach and Trainer I'm obligated to continue my education in order to keep up and move forward. Luckily I'm a glutton for knowledge and new trends and ideas. I also enjoy the experimental. Recently I've been reading up and researching what is being called HIT, or High Intensity Training. These are "shorter" cycling workouts that pack the same punch and benefits as longer sessions which really help you work through all those indoor sessions we Nor'easters are forced to do.

I never teach or hold a class or workout that I haven't tried myself and that doesn't have empirical evidence to support it. Its the same with HIT. I've tried several out and had my Spin class run through a session as well. My biggest surprise was with the absolute intensity of the workout despite the HR zone avg which mimics a long Aerobic time-in-the-saddle session or ride. This morning's session had me doing just a handful of sprint intervals with avg recovery times. I was close to a driveling idiot by the last interval and can feel the fatigue in my quads even now. Despite that my HR avg kept me solidly in my fitness aerobic zones while pushing Anaerobic muscle work.

These are not the end all be all nor should they replace traditional type sessions but I am finding HIT workouts to be a great addition to a training regimen. I think it important as athletes and fitness enthusiasts to keep our mind's open to new possibilities and ways of thinking/training.

Here's one to try out: 4x 30 second all out sprints followed by 4 minute recovery periods. Make sure you w/u 10 and c/d as well...

Eric J

Hi Eric!

I am very happy to find a person that can help me with my training.

I'm SHM, I have 2 children one is 6 years old and the little one just 2 years old.  I stopped working 5 years ago in order to stay with my children.

Before I got married 11 years ago I used to exercise a lot.  I was always into something.  My whole childhood was very intense, I got my first pair of skates when I was 8 year old and I skated until I was 15. After that I just went to run 3 times a week and I used to play basketball in high school. 

Then when I went to college I rided my bike to school everyday for 4 years and after that I got a job where they didn't require a nice way to dress so, I was able to always go to work with very confortable clothing and able to ride my bike as well.

then I got married and I came to live with my husband  to Texas, it was a little bit difficult the first year because I didn't speak english but after a year I was ready to work.  We went to live to Dallas for almost 4 years and I used to go to a 24 hrs fitness.

Now we move outside of Dallas into a little town and there are not to many things to do around  but, I have a bike and a treadmill and my husband just got an above ground pool for the children, is not that big but in summer keeps everyone happy.

I like to keep myself thin and in shape, as soon I feel with some extra pounds I am always trying something to go back to my size. Also I always like the way it feels when you put all your effort to finish the time and the miles planned.

I am a city girl and living in the country is bringing me so much loneliness in my life and not to much excitment, so I am looking for something that can bring that kind of life that I used to have back in Mexico city.

I also have some problems with my cholesterol and I always try to keep it low with diet and exercise and I am sure that if I stick to a program I can keep it the normal level without taking any kind of medicine.  Exercise brings a lot good  benefits to my live. I am a very hyperactive person  and I can't  stay still so, in order to have a good sleep I really need to go to bed psysically tired otherwise I will stay awake until 2 or 3 in the morning.

I hope you don't get tired of my writting but I really need someone to help me with my training.

My husband doesn't like to exercise and I don't know anyone who likes the kind things I like. so, I don't have a partner that  runs or rides a bike.

There are two gyms around here and sometimes when I go to the YMCA I see 1 or 2 people running of riding bike, but sometimes there is nobody.  So, I just exercise in my house or outside in my street.

Anyway, right now I am running 5 miles 5 times a week and I skate twice a week with my daughter and sometimes I use my bike to get my kids out of home.

Our pool is empty and the water in the lake is too cold to get in but it should be better by april.

I hope everything I wrote can give you an idea where to direct my train.

Thansk a lot and God bless you

Rocio

Hey Eric

 I have added some workouts to my log and will keep them updated. I had a pretty good crash today near the end of the bike. Minor damage that was fixed by my local bike shop, I'm bloodied but fine. It was 18 miles that went very easy. I bought the bike last tuesday and I've been thrilled.

As far as the running goes I'm using an inexpensive pair of running shoes that I have used all 8 months I've been running. Even starting close to 300lbs I haven't had any (knock on wood) lower leg injuries. I find this surprising. Should I keep what's working or do I really need to buy a nice pair?

Thanks...Todd - San Diego