Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED (Page 3)

Welcome to the Junkies, Jayne!

I am still not over this cold that has sidelined me for most of the last 4 weeks. I have gotten one 4 mile race in there, but that just kicked my tail. I've recovered from the run physically, but the cold is still holding me back. Any attempt at running just brings on a coughing fit and makes my throat sore the rest of the day so I have been laying off.

I was able to get 2 good Kung Fu workouts in this week, but even during one of those I could feel the exhaustion creeping in.

I hate being sick!

Have you ever actually met Jayne?  Angel?  My eye!   jk

I think Jayne has to be added by one of us.  Ill go ahead and add her name.

Matt, how did the race go?  Other than the muddy shoes that is.

Today's run was brutal to say the least.  I woke up around 4:30 am and my legs were already arguing with me, stiff and crampy.  Made the drive to Columbus and after a short warm-up my legs were moving, but that was about it.  The race itself was a 2 lap course that totaled around 12.4 miles, 1st lap was easy and according to plan I held back a lot, or at least that is what I thought I was doing, when in reality its all I had.  For the 1st lap there was some mud, but it wasn't terrible.  Some sections were sloppy but a lot of the flats were solid and good to run on.  By the time the 2nd lap came around though, it was a completely different story.  The entire course had turned into a sloppy sticky mess.  The mud was some sort of clay sand mixture that just stuck to everything.  I think I made it to around mile 9 before my legs gave up, or at least tried to.  At this point I had seen enough mud and my legs were beat up.  It seemed like there was no break, either you were slipping, getting stuck, attempting to turn an ankle or just plain falling over.  The constant strain was just exhausting, I finally finished my 12 miles in a little over 3hrs.  I had a lot of fun though and looking forward to the next race in the series in February.  Hopefully my legs will be fresh and I will be able to do much better.

Hey all, I'm not going to be around much for a while. My Dad is sick and in ICU so I'm back and forth between home and the hospital (2 hour drive). Say a prayer if you get a chance. I'm not going to get into what all is wrong here but it's all in my blog. Thanks

Am I too late to claim a spot?? After nearly dying from the flu the past three weeks I am finally getting back into the routine of life and I see the Junkies are already three pages deep.... Just checking to see if I have lost my spot!

Definitely!  I believe you claimed your spot in the last session.  But it's a good idea to make sure you provide an official notification.

Dina,  if you get the chance, let us know how your dad's doing.  Don't feel pressured to keep us up to date on all the details, just give us a better, worse or stable.  We're still praying for you and your family. 

Thanks a lot everyone. Just talked to my mom and Dad is making lots of progress. Thanks again for all the kind thoughts and prayers!

WHEN CAN YOU START: Like yesterday

USERNAME: jenbmosley Name: Jen Facebook - Jennifer Bendewish

STORY: I turn 35 at the end of January and move into a new age group this year- that's one good thing to look forward to in light of getting another year older. During my teens and early 20's I was a competitive, sponsored snowboarder (also surfed, ran, hiked, and skateboarded). Running became part of my stamina training so I could keep up on back country hikes. After moving to south Georgia in 2011, I struggled to find a new physical outlet without mountains, snow, or the beach; running got boring. After reading an article in Fitness (women's magazine), I decided I would give a sprint triathlon a try. Needless to say, I fell in love with the sport. Because I balance family (single parent since the hubby is gone 50% of the time), work, a new business, I train to enjoy the experience and don' worry much about placing. In 2012, I took first in a sprint in my age group, in 2013 I was dead last on a the bike leg in a race, and in 2013 I gave up my race to help a friend swim and not quit her first race. I love triathlon and my passion for it is growing all the time. I sponsor our local triathlon club and was awarded "Motivator" of the year for 2013 for helping new folks train and get through their first races!

FAMILY STATUS: My amazing husband and I have been married for 7 years! We have two little girls (ages 3 & 5). My husband is an athlete, he loves weight lifting and leaves the crazy endurance stuff to me. I am grateful to only have to pay for one set of tri equipment and races fees for only one person! 

JOB: I currently manage a gym and growing my Herbalife team! Before this, I was a data analyst, an urban planner, and a counter intelligence agent for the US Army. I hold a Bachelors Degree in Environmental Design from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters of Science in Accounting from University of Phoenix.

CURRENT TRAINING: Preparing for my first marathon! Marathon training was sidelined due to flu and instead of hoping to pace well, I am focusing the remainder of training on hoping my legs hold up.  

THIS YEAR’S (2014) RACES: Tri Columbus HIM distance in April. Signed up for Ironman Tahoe in September and hoping that the universe will align this year so I can train and race it. I a also hoping for do some century rides and a few sprint tri's this year.

LAST YEAR’S (2013) RACES: 3 Sprints and 1 Olympic. I stayed with the sprint distance until I was comfortable to move up to the Olympic distance and now feel ready to take it up another notch. My biggest issue is panicking on the swim. I've gone from almost first place in my age group to last in my group - talk about a year of learning!

MY BIGGEST SUCCESSES: In 2013, completing an Olympic distance race and not bonking on any race.

WEIGHT LOSS: I ended 2013 with the flu, which has sidelined my marathon training and resulted in a 5 lb weight gain. Overall, I am not as concerned about my weight and know that as I pick up training in the coming months I will lose a few pounds. I am more focused on how I am going t feel when I lose some weight. When I get under a certain weight I do not feel nearly as strong.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: The more I do this, the less I know. Help me finish an IM... pleeeeaaaazzzzzzeeeee.

Will,  What's with the name thing? I mean I know you rednecks from the south are slow and all but you've been in this mentor group for a year..........and you can't remember our names? Seriously? Ok really, I know you're referring to Jayne but she's only one person and it doesn’t appear anyone's beating the door down to jump in the group, or any group as far as that goes.

I am not quite as good as a you when it comes to daily work outs. I have missed a couple of days. One was because of travel for work and the other was due to an injury/condition that I thought wouldn't allow me to run. I'll leave out those details.

Warren,  As you well know, I don't really know how to stop triathlon training. I am still slugging along trying to pick up a little more fitness everyday/workout and attempt to hold as high a volume as I can throughout the year. It's my running that is still suffering from my knee issues since the bike crash and/or half marathon injury. My volume is paltry compared to past years and mentally that is challenging coming off years of 25-30 MPW through the winter.

On my own training front I seem to have gotten a breakthrough that's becoming more and more visible. I swam a 1500 yard easy/mod effort last night and I came in at a personal record pace of 22:05. The pace was as fast as I have ever gone per 100 yards (1:28) yet it was somewhat comfortable. I was really happy with the speed at which I completed the swim. I imagine I could have been a little bit faster but gauging these long efforts is a really difficult feat to nail down.

On the bike I seem to be crushing myself nearly every time I ride. I have been getting key workouts in each week that have equated to 6+ hours for almost 2 months (with exception to the last week of the year) and I think I am gaining some ground in my fitness. During last night’s ride, which was a VO2/anaerobic ride, I was able to nail 400 watts for my final interval of 3x5x1' at 130% (355 watts). I was about to fall off the bike and I was panting like dog in the middle of tropical heat wave, but I survived. Tonight I am planning to have an easy hour ride just to add a few miles to our club's monthly mileage and competition for the USAT Winter Challenge (which we are in first place in our division and 4 overall for the bike month).