Greg Shotts' Mentor Group - Full (Page 3)

Thanks Mark. I'm still planning on doing the Houston Marathon this Sunday. I'm shooting for sub 4-hours, which I think should be very doable. I've had a sign up in my office at work for the last two weeks with the race logo and my goal time in BIG numbers, so I see it every time come in or out. I put a copy of my sign in my album if you want to see it. The sign's nothing special, but I think the concept of a written out goal that you see a lot really helps you focus. My running mileage has been cut way back to taper for the race, and it seems like the taper's working cause most of my normal aches and pains have disappeared and I feel like I'm bouncing off the walls.

Anyone else have Jan or Feb races coming up?

Have a great race, Greg! Sounds like the taper is working if you're bouncing off the walls.

I hope everything goes well for you and you achieve your sub- four hour goal. Above all, enjoy yourself out there!

Joann 

Two weeks left in January. How's your month going? Are you on track with where you wanted to be at the beginning of the month?

I started thinking about this last night, and I've definately slipped up in a few areas. I hadn't been to the pool or climbed on my bike since my last tri at the end of October. My plan was to get back to the pool at least once a week and get the tires pumped back up and start riding again.

I've really been dreading going back to the pool, but I went last night and swam for 30-minutes while my wife was on the treadmill, and it really wasn't too bad. I took things really slow, and concentrated on one length at a time. Sometimes I put stuff off and build some kind of mental barrier that keeps me from actually doing things. Once I finally bite the bullet and get started....it turns out to be no big deal. 

Unless the weather turns really lousy, I'm going to climb back on the bike on Friday!

Great job on the marathon Greg!

Glad that guy didn't die. Scary!

As for my goals this month, a cold has kept me from swimming much, but I'm happy with my walking distances and my strength training. I want to keep building on this base, then I'll add more swimming and biking later.

Again, congratulations on the marathon, Greg! Great Job!

I'm currently using the BT winter maintenance program as a guideline to regain fitness. I'm planning to start on the 12 week Oly plan in mid-Feb. So far, so good.

I too have been having issues with my swim. I've never liked pool swimming as I have a strong tendency to get lazy and take breaks after each down and back. I also feel that my swim fitness is returning slower than anything else. This is probably due to not enough time in the water on a weekly basis.

To help remedy this to a small degree I am going to force myself to drive to the other side of the island and visit my old OWS haunt. Ala Moana Beach Park offers a great swim area sheltered by reef with a 1000M long swim area which parallels the beach. My goal is to go down and back regardless of stroke or time requirements. I need to start making this trip on a weekly basis.

 Hello all.  Regarding Greg's question about my training progress I'd say I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished so far.  I started a 20 week OLY dist tri  program the last 2 weeks in December.     I'm at 90% of my planned training.  I've been pretty strict with making my run w.o.  It is probably the easiest to get in since we've got a treadmill at home, a gym membership, and a plethora of running paths, trails, and golf courses near the house.   Running is my weakness to I'm training hard to fix that.  Obviously I'm pushing too hard on the run since I've developed shin splints.  So…I'll not be running for the next few days and will substitute more swims and rides.   That is ok because I need to put in the bike miles as my mountain bike spring race series is about to begin.   The w.o. that have been missed are my long bike and some swims.  Since those are my strong areas I have not been too worried about those in this early part of training. 

I think the thing that has helped me most is writing the ENTIRE program down so I can get a two week look ahead.  This allows me to coordinate my training with my family obligations and planned races.  I can move things around as needed and prioritize my critical training days.  It is probably better to stick with a regimented routine but this works for me.  It is a balancing game and family comes 1st.

Log should be good to go now.  I thought it had been set to be viewable by friends only. 

Wetsuit:  I ended up pulling the trigger and getting an Xterra Vortex 3 full suit. 

 Overall fit is great, even around the neck area.  It feels much less restrictive than my 0’neil surfing wetsuit.  I did not notice any motion impediment with the full sleeves.  It is snug, but once it the water if felt fine.  

My wife calls it my X-Men suit.  Superhero suit indeed!  I’m MUCH faster in it.  I did a benchmark 1000 yd swim  a week or two ago; my average time in just my board shorts (not jammers or tri shorts- but plain ol’ surfing trunks) is between 21 and 22 minutes.  My time with the wetsuit with the same relative perceived effort is 17:32.  I got anxious, wanted to make sure the suit fit, and got tired of waiting for the weather to get better so I tried it in the pool at the Y.  I felt a bit self-conscious wearing it in that setting and got a couple of double takes.  The only issue I had in the pool was it was SO FREEGIN’ hot.  The pool temps are in the mid eighties, couple that with a full suit and it was like I was boiling.   Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll get to try it outside.   

To you more experienced runners in the group.  I need some advice:  I think I have shin splints judging by what I was feeling a few days ago and what I have read.  The one thing that concerned me is that I was feeling the pain late in the run and for a day after the run, so much so that I was hobbling around for an entire day.  . Most of the articles I read alluded to the pain subsiding as the run progressed.  My pain occurred late in the run and stuck around for a while.   The pain is isolated to my right shin on the “inside” just above my ankle extending a to a few inches above.   I don’t think it is a stress fracture since there is no residual pain today and my shins were not tender after the initial day of discomfort.  Thoughts? 

How much rest do I need?  I noticed a slight pain early last week that dissappated a few minutes after my run session.  Later that week after a 5 mile run on a hard surface the pain came on with a fury (Friday)  and stayed with me for a day (Saturday).   The following day (Sunday) the pain was not present while standing or walking. 
How do I work my running back in?  How much mileage do I cut back?  I’m not a runner so my milage is/was relatively low.   Obviously it was too much too soon for my body otherwise I would not be dealing with an injury.   

I will probably x-post this in the tri talk section too.