Madcow's mentor group -CLOSED! (Page 3)

Today has not been a good nutrition day for me. We woke up late, then were late for church, so none of us ate. We left church and went to my favorite Mexican food place. I ordered my all time favorite breakfast from 30 pounds ago, Chilaquiles with rice and beans. The plan was for my wife and I to split a plate, but as we ordered, she decided she was too hungry to only eat half a plate, so we each ordered a plate. True to form, she finished LESS than half a plate and I, of course finished the whole plate.

I was going to take the day off, but I might have to ride so I can eat dinner since I am sure I ate a whole day's worth of calories at breakfast

I'm glad I am not the only one to eat like crap this weekend. I feel better.

I agree, the best piece of swim equipment (besides the waterproof mp3 player) is the swim buoy. Using the bouy does a few things:

1. Keeps you from kicking, which means you aren't working that hard. It makes it easier to breathe and swim longer than you would if you were kicking 100 beats per stroke. Great for long endurance sets.
2. Helps you focus on upper body position and form. Swimming is all about form, so this is a really good way to work on good form.
3. For me, I always race in a wetsuit, so using a buoy simulates my body position in the water with a wetsuit on.

I have fins, but I don't use them because I don't kick much in a race. Although I am the world's slowest kicker and could use them on my kick sets. It just seems like more trouble than they are worth. Plus my calves always cramp when I use them.

I have never tried paddles, but I hear they are a good arm workout.

Good job guys! It's not easy doing something that you are not comfortable doing. But trust me, you will get there and soon you will be a fish in the water. I used to panic all of the time in the water, now it is second nature to me. I almost fell asleep swimming once, but that has more to do with my slow pace than my comfort level

Good morning.

I went to the gym this morning and will run at lunch. I might ride tonight if I am in the mood for it.

Well, I got up and ran 4 miles this AM.  I was only planning on 3, but felt really good today and thought I had enough time to go another mile.

I went swimming at lunch... a whole 50M.  I swim at a local college and the school has been closed for the holiday break.  Well, they finally cut the heat back on on Monday but didn't do something right in the pool area.  The water was a balmy 70 degrees.  Only 4 of us even showed up to practice because of the cold.  I decided I was already there, I might as well make the most of it.  I jumped in and started swimming.  It was so cold I couldn't even focus on what I was doing.  It truly felt like little pins and needles sticking me all over.  That was brutal.  One fellow swimmer brought a wetsuit so he was digging it.  I hoped out and grabbed a hot shower and back to work I went.  Oh well.

That's too bad about your little one. I have missed my share of workouts due to kids. For my last Ironman, I skipped a ton of runs just because my son wanted to have cereal with me on Sunday mornings. I paid for it during the Ironman, but it was worth it because they are only young once and there is a whole lifetime of races out there for me.

Congrats on the new race stuff. That's always fun to get new toys. I didn't get any tri or workout gear. My wife is pretty cool and gives me the green light to get what I need all year long because she knows I will use it... but in a way that takes all of the fun out of it. Begging, pleading and pouting is half the fun of getting the new toys.

There is a tri shop going out of business near me. The owner said he has a pair of 650 carbon aero wheels that he has been trying to sell me for years. My bike uses 650 wheels and I swear I am the only person in the U.S. still using 650's. I told him I only race about once a year and new wheels aren't worth it. So, my wife said to wait until the last day and see what deal he will offer then. So, I may end up with new wheels if the price is right. We'll see

I'm not sure what I am doing today. My kids have soccer, so I was going to swim after work but i can't find my trunks, so I may ride tonight.