Team KiterChick - CLOSED (Page 3)

Thanks- I have never really ran with music, but I think I'll give it a shot for some of the longer runs (one of the things I love about running is having that inner monolgue with myself, but on the longer runs, I just run out of things to think about)! 

I'll check out the running club as well.  It's always nice to run with others occasionally.  It definitely makes the run go quicker.

Sebastian- I have been working on the same thing this fall.  My cadence has always been in the 82 -85 range, but I have been trying to improve it.  Like KiterChick says, it helps to do a lot of trainer rides where there is a prescribed cadence- most of mine are something like: 20 mn w up @90+ rpm; 10 mn tempo @ 80-90 rpm; 15 mn steady state @ 90 -100 rpm, etc.  They have really helped me be more aware of my cadence and when I transiation to outside rides as well.

If you still have room, I would love to join this group.  

NAME: kmatt318/Ken

STORY: Hello! I am a 44 year old inside sales rep for a large healthcare software compant in North Carolina.  I am basically a runner turned triathlete.  Hoping to qualify for Boston in March and compete in my first open water tri in May.  My goal is to run an ironman next year.  So this year I have to get into open water.

FAMILY STATUS: Married 12 years.  My children are all out of the house and my wife is retired and staying at home with our grandchild (Devon). We actually have another one on the way, due in April.  

CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently training for the March marathon but also working on my swimming.  Swimming is still a major issue but I working hard on getting it done.  

2012 RACES:  I haven't currently signed up for any races yet but I have a schedule in mind and just waiting on swim confidence to actually commit. 

Would love to join the group.

Hi Ken, welcome to the group!

As you may have seen, I'm also a runner turned triathlete, so I know where you're coming from. Good luck with the BQ! Do you have an IM in mind for next year? I'm presuming by "next year" you mean 2013? B2B is only a couple of hours away from you, and is supposed to be a well run race. I was actually going to sign up for it myself, but my friend set her wedding for the same day, hence the switch to Rev3.

For now, I'll add you to my friends for my training log, and it would be helpful if you could do the same. We've been pretty casual here so far. If you have any questions, feel free to throw them out there, and you'll likely get responses from both me and some of the other members.

Happy to have you!

Thanks for accepting me into the group.  I was actually thinking about IM Louisville 2013.

Everything really depends upon how my swimming goes.  I am confident I can do the bike and the run, its just the swim that gives me heart ache.  But I am all in.  

If you're bothered by the swim, IM Louisville may be a good choice (as would B2B if the first sells out). They're both supposed to have fast swims. The swim is by far my weakest element as well, which was why I originally wanted to do B2B. I didn't consider Louisville because I was worried the run would be oppressively hot, and I don't deal well with that.

I wouldn't consider ChesapeakeMan - they have stinging jellyfish in a body of water known as the Choptank! O_o

Some good points raised about the cadence.  I'll have to be more aware of my own cadence.  I usually average around 85 and that seems to make me feel pretty good usually when I get off the bike unless there's a lot of climbing.  I'm very solid on flats but a slow and steady climber.  Maybe the higher cadence in a higher gear will help improve my climbing as well as keeping my legs fresh.  I think my cadence by nature is a little bit higher when I ride my tri bike over my road bike for some reason.  I'll have to go back and look at some of the rides I've done.  It only has a handful of outdoor rides since I just picked it up not that long ago.  

Shane

I would like to join as well!

About Me:

 My name is Tyler, 27 years old from Illinois.  I was an athlete in high school.  Then life happened after high school.  I started drinking a lot, smoking, just being unhealthy.  I have ballooned to over 300lbs and decided that it's time for a change.

 My dad is my biggest inspiration, he is a triathlete who I has over come cancer to become an Ironman.  I'm doing this for me, but also for him as well.

 I have recently started working out on a regular basis, and I must say that it has become addictive, and a lot of fun.  I can't wait to see my progress. 

 2012 is going to be a great year for me.  I am doing 2 sprint tris in the summer, then ending the year with my "A" race, The Hy-Vee Olympic Triathlon in Des Moines, IA.   I have already signed up for this race, so unless I want to be out my money, I am going to do it.  I am sure that I will also throw in some random 5ks and 10ks as well.

I look forward to this journey, and I hope you all will allow me share it with you.....

Shane- Climbing is where I have probably noticed the benefit of a higher cadence the best.  My in-laws have a cottage up in NH (lots of hills) so I get tons of practice.  In previous years I would just try to muscle through all the climbs and would usually end up exhausted at the end of a ride.  This year, I have tried to focus more on staying in the saddle and spinning up the hills, and to my surprise it has actually made things a lot easier.   I never thought I would be a convert to a 90+ cadence, but I am slowly coming around to the idea.

My inner monologue would drive me bonkers! Haha. I find music helps keep your pace too if you pick music with a consistent bpm. At the moment i have a Ministry for Sound running trax album on my phone, not the type of music i would generally listen to but great for running

One thing to keep in mind about training with music is to not get dependent upon it.  Most race organizations won't allow you to have it during the events.  Great for training.  Not so great for race day!

And I'll have to work on the higher cadence in a taller gear for climbing.  I typically did what you said.  Just rely on the fact that I could muscle through it.  Then recover at the top for a bit and hammer a flat to make up the lost time.  With the short days and work my time on the road is limited right now so I've just been on the trainer.  I'd like to get out on the road a bit more frequently but the weather isn't really helpful.  I'm looking forward to the spring when I can put together some real brick workouts.  I've been doing the trainer at home then going right to the gym for the treadmill but there's some time to recover in there a bit.  I also haven't done it yet getting off my tri bike.  It's been the road bike lately.  I'm curious to see how different it will feel with the tri bike.  

Shane

I did Paleo the bulk of the time I was seriously training last season.  I found that I really didn't miss the foods that are cut out once I got past the first few days, and was always satisfied by both the meals I prepared as well as food I ordered in restaurants - given I got plenty of weird stares and people trying to explain to me that cheese was acceptable on a 'low carb' diet.  The two huge benefits I saw to Paleo were 1) I quickly lost body fat. Those dreaded last 10lbs seemed to come off in no time.  and 2) my recovery time from workouts seemed quicker.  I believe this is a combination of increased protein intake which helps rebuild muscles as well as a dramatic reduction in foods that promote inflammation (not to mention cutting out all alcohol).

PS - if there's room in the group I'd like to join!  I'll get a full bio up in a bit...

Just ordered the two books you mentioned Scott (and threw in the triathlete's training bible just because). That will give me something to focus on post-surgery, it will be great to finally take ownership of my own nutrition!

I'll be dissapearing for a few days to head up to the farm for chrissy. Merry Christmas everyone =)

I like to listen to music whenever I am working out alone.  It helps me to stay out of my head.  If I am not listening that inner dialogue gets too loud and too distracting.  

For races (without music) I concentrate on the person in front of me, but I am really competitive.  So in my mind, I have to catch him/her.  

How did today's workouts go?  For me it was a swim and short run.  The swim was great although I lost track of my laps and swam an extra 100.   Uneventful run.  

So many topics to address here. First, welcome Tyler and Dan! Tyler, it's great to hear that you've decided to turn yourself around. At 27, you're still quite young, so if you can stay focused, you should see great gains. Just be sure that you work at it steadily, as I'm sure being a former athlete can lead to a mentality that you're capable of more than your body can handle at the moment. Your dad sounds like a great resource too. Dan, looking forward to a bio, and great to see you jumping into the discussion from the start.

The cadence discussion in regard to hills is important. Ultimately, you're going to have a much lower heart rate if you can stay seated and easily spin up hills, than if you're standing and/or powering yourself up. Standing climbing certainly has its place (powering up a shorter, steeper section or sometimes just to stretch out your legs), but as others have pointed out, over time, it's going to wear on you. Hill climbing cadence workouts are a bit more complicated because you really have to work on both, since power is important too, and you actually build that using a higher gear/lower cadence. Here's a great article on this (http://www.cptips.com/climb.htm). During the season, I would do hill repeats where I would go between spinning at a high cadence, or smoothly working up at 50 rpm. This is of course only for training, for races, the goal is to be as fast as possible while being comfortable. A touchy balance, but that's what makes it challenging.

Frances, I'm intrigued by your running music choice. I'll have to check them out more, since I'd love to mix things up a bit. Shane also has a point regarding races not generally allowing headphones, so they should just be looked at as training aids.

Ken, just saw your post before I hit submit, so I'll say that I haven't worked out yet, but plan to after I send this. Going to hop on the trainer for an hour and try to mix up some threshold intervals. Generally, I have a few Spinervals DVDs that I like to follow since they push me and focus my workouts, but my DVD player broke a couple of weeks ago and isn't fixed yet. Have to stop using that as an excuse though!

I'm off to VT for the holidays for the next several days. I'll still be checking up on here, but will likely "forget" to log my nutrition until I get back home and can get back into a routine. I'm hoping to use the free time to log more workouts though, so I can have some semblance of a base come 2012. Frances, and anyone else who will be off to spend some unplugged time with family, have a great holiday!

Room for one more??

NAME: formongo/Paula

STORY: I am a scientist / software developer from the Boston, MA area.  Last year bought a small farm in rural North Andover and so I'm very fortunate to have excellent biking and running roads/paths right from my front door.  I've kept semi-active through my 30s and into my 40s (I'm 43) but struggled with being sufficiently motivated to consistently work out.  Early this year I decided to sign up for a tri in an attempt to fix the motivation problem and it worked pretty well!  I did two local sprint tris this year and while I'm solidly a BOPer, I enjoyed myself and am proud of the effort I put in.

I don't have much athletic background to draw from (although I did some road bike racing in the late 80s) so I am mostly new to all three tri events.  I am seeking motivation and camaraderie in a mentor group but will definitely also need gear and technique advice throughout the season.

CURRENT TRAINING: Since my last tri back in September I've been focusing on developing a solid running base for the winter.  I'm about 1/3rd the way through a 10K training program (Chi running) but I'm finding it tough to stay motivated to go running on cold, dark nights after work.  My goal is to consistently run 15 - 20 miles per week by spring without getting injured.  Starting in spring I'll bring biking and swimming back into my training schedule.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Appleman Tri and a Title 9 Tri.  I also did a 5K trail race and a few orienteering races.

2012 RACES:  I haven't yet signed up for any but I plan to do the two I did this year plus maybe a 10K road race or two.

WEIGHTLOSS: Oh, I have lots of work to do here.  I seem to maintain about 30 pounds above my ideal weight.  At the height of my training this year I was certainly in better shape (probably the best shape of my life, although that's not saying a whole lot) but didn't manage to drop much weight.  I need to focus more on what I eat if I want to see improvement here.  After the holidays, though...

If there's room for another...

NAME: Brett / gonwalkabout03

STORY: I'm 32 year old former military guy, now going to school to become an EMT / Firefighter in the Pac NW.  I was a pack-a-day smoker for ~15 years and my weight peaked at 235ish on my 6'4" frame.  My wife is a former D1 swimmer now a triathlete and tri coach (also my coach, though more of an advisor this year.)  Our family is pretty active with my father-in-law being a 61 year old 3x IM.  Three years ago I watched my first IM in person and was motivated to start the journey myself, prior to that I was "that guy" who would be smoking off in the distance while my wife raced. . . *shudder*.  I quit smoking and started training three years ago and just wrapped up my second season of actually racing.

FAMILY STATUS:  Married to a fellow triathlete (makes it easy!)

CURRENT TRAINING: I'm kind of in the "post IM what do I do now?" phase.  I just work out for fun, without a whole lot of structured training.  I haven't been in the water since October, but have do a few sessions on a Vasa-Trainer each week. . .really working on building a solid catch and pull.  I do 3-4 structured Computrainer workouts a week:  1 threshold, 1 tempo, 1 70-75% 2-3 hour ride and a hour easy recovery spin each week.  I'm working my way up to 45-55 miles a week running 6 days with a couple doubles being thrown in. . .a lot of tempo stuff with some long-steady distance, but little to no speed work at the moment.  Mostly just trying to put miles on and running for the fun of it.  I do TRX a couple times a week to remind myself that I have core and stability muscles.  All this has taken a hit recently with a move, a change of jobs, being sick and the holidays all thrown in the last couple weeks.  After New Years it's time to refocus on running and reintroduce a bit of swimming.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: I PR'd this year at the sprint distance with a 1:09:xx out of the 4 sprints that I did and wrapped up the year with my IM debut at IM Canada with a 12:07:xx.  I had an average swim, a poorly paced bike (but it was fun to pass 950 people!) and payed for it on the run (waved hi to a couple hundred of the 950 as they passed me again.)  As for running races I PR'd with a 19:40 5k and a 41:xx 10k. . .but wasn't training for either, just did them within the IM plan.

2012 RACES:  I want to hit a few marks on road running races this winter/spring (18:XX 5k, 39:xx 10k and a 1:29:xx 1/2 mary.)  I'll be enjoying racing a lot of sprints this year and perhaps doing my first olympic.  Goals for sprints are 1:05:xx and 2:10:xxish for on olympic.  I may race Rev 3 Portland this year, depending how I feel.  It's a great feeling to not have the stress of a big race looming and being able to do what you want.

WEIGHTLOSS:  Last season I hovered around 184-185 most of my training time and dropped to 179 for IMC.  This offseason I've been between 185 and 190 depending on beer intake.  To hit the goals for running I'm going to have to shed a bit more and get between 176 to 180 at the highest.  At these weights I feel I'm at the lowest I can go without sacrificing any power.

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER:  I know enough to contribute what I know, but also realize I have a lot to learn.  I'm kind of looking for a group to be with outside of my local training circle.  I'm looking for some motivation and fun!

Same here- an hour in the pool and a 4 mile run.  I'm confident the swim was longer than it was supposed to be, I lost count of laps a couple of times too.  Run was enjoyable though.

Workouts for me were on the hard side today. I did speed work on the run this morning (14 1/4 mile intervals) and in the afternoon it was breast stroke work in the pool. I am shattered