TriAya's Group: SHUT like dog on steak, sorry! (Page 3)

Great! Looks like I opened a can of peaceful worms with the recovery post. Just my intention. I'll answer stuff one at a time so I can look carefully at the post and folks (by the way, we do have lurkers, as you might have noticed ... we're the Cool Kids, apparently!) can easily scan for relevant info. This is already a lively thread!

Also, remember my post about all of us being manatees ... uh, mentorees AND mentors ... please, by all means, wiggle those whiskers and share your experience and knowledge. Phenomenal group in many ways; one is that we're well-balanced: lots of us have experience in places others don't, so JUMP IN. And being the Cool Kids, I'm sure we also all know how to respectfully disagree if need be, e.g., Hey, it's great that worked for you, my concern about others doing it that way is XXX.

I'm just here for the party and to put out food and drinks and make sure the discussion flows!

I looked at your logs as well as the Oly plan you're on and you are one active lady--you indeed have trained (and do train) a lot! Lots of options for you; here are my thoughts. For Leslie and everyone else--grain of salt! Sniff around the forums, google ... ultimately you need to do what works for YOU. I'll always give reasons for my opinions, and you can decide for yourself their validity.

Err on the side of recovery: it's much easier to build up than it is to come back from burnout or injury (at which point your body is FORCING you to recover and will take everything it can get). It's the holidays. You might want to piddle around for a couple of weeks, let your mind and body rest--do easy cycling if you want, sweet slow runs, whatever--just super low key. Do the races if you want ... for fun. Or race them and then make sure to take a week or two lightly. THEN start on the Olympic plan when it will be in the ballpark of 20 weeks from a potential race.

I would not "drop down" to a sprint plan, and this is why. Doing the shorter distances/times will tempt you to go faster/harder. In essence, you would be likely to move into a speed/strength phase when you haven't spent the time recovering and building a strong base. Then if you went back to the Oly plan, your body's more taxed than it should be, and not primed to do the long slow distance/building.

All of this info, I think, is especially true if you're working on a run-based Oly program, since running is harder on your joints, and will likely jack your heart rate higher than the other sports.

Here's something I wrote for Terri on base building--remember, this was written specifically for her (and I'll do a little deal on base building next week like I did rest/recovery this week). But numbers aside, the GENERAL principles still apply.

-----

I know you have a heart rate monitor, so use it. You can also go by a rate of perceived exertion: you should be going between 50-75% effort, and at no time be getting winded or breathing so hard you couldn't make full sentences.

Have you tried approaching your runs from a time vs a distance approach and also maybe incorproating some walk/run intervals?  This was how I approached my running when I was getting started and will again when my foot is finally healed.

It really worked for me because it eased my body into doing something that it wasn't used to doing rather than trying to master it all at once.

In the very beginning I was trying to increase the distance I could run in one shot and it just wasn't working for me. 

I ended up taking an approach that slowly built up the time (and amazingly the distance) over a reasonable period of time.

I believe the training plans available on BT follow this approach.

I'd like to hear other folks thoughts on this

ps

Yanti's post sums it up nicely

I hear ya on the middle of the night stuff--my 2-yr old would like to nurse all night, but instead cries and screams when I say 'not until morning!".  It's slooooowly getting better but I can sure relate.

You WILL complete your tri--plenty of time to train, and it's very ok to walk if you need to. 

Good suggestion.  I've been reading up on this today, and I think I will give it a try.

Okay guys and girls.  I need a bike.  I am currently just riding a stationary in the gym.  I DO NOT want to spend a lot of $$ on one.  Hopefully I'll love tri'ing and will buy a $2K bike in a couple of years, but that's just not part of my reality right now.  I went to my local bike shop and he immediately showed me a entry-level Fuji bike.

Here is what I posted on the main board.  The only response I got was from two people telling me it sucks.  I KNOW it sucks....that's why it is cheap.  I'm not dumb.  My goal right now is to complete 4 sprint tris.  I just want to know if it will get through that and that it's not a waste of money.  Any suggestions????  What are you newbies doing for your bike??

I'm new to triathloning and want to buy a very basic road bike.  I went to my local bike shop today and he recommended that Fuji Newest 4.0.  He will sell it to me for $429.  Is this a good deal?  I really don't want to spend too much on a bike at first especially since I have two young kids that eat up all of my extra $$.    But...I do want a decent bike that will get me to the finish line and that I won't be embarrassed of.  Here are the specs:

Specifications Frameset Sizes XS(42cm), S(46cm), M(50cm), L(54cm), XL(58cm) Color Silver/White & Yellow/Black Main frame Fuji Altair 1 Compact aluminum with traditional round down tube, Double water bottle mounts Rear triangle Fuji Altair 1 aluminum curved seat stay w/ rack mount, Fuji forged road dropout with replaceable derailleur hanger Fork Fuji 1 1/8" custom tapered Cro-Moly, Aero Road Drivetrain Crankset Fuji Forged Aluminum Road 30/42/52T Chainring Bottom bracket Sealed Cartridge Bearing ST Pedals Wellgo Road Front derailleur Shimano FD-2203, 31.8mm Rear derailleur Shimano 2200 series Shifters Shimano SL-R400 down tube shifter, 24-speed Freewheel SunRace CSR-638PB, 12-24T 8-speed freewheel Chain KMC Z-72 Wheelset Front hub Fuji Alloy Road, 36h Rear hub Fuji Alloy Road, 8-speed, 36H Spokes 14G Stainless Steel Rims Alex RPD-15 Double Wall Aluminum, 32H 700c clincher Tires Kenda K-152, 700 X 25c Tubes Kenda Presta Features Brake set Tektro R-310A Forged AL dual pivot Brake levers ProMax BL-250 Forged Alloy Brake levers Tektro RL-570 Top Mount Headset Ritchey LB 1 1/8" Handlebar Alloy Road Stem Fuji Adjustable Road Aluminum, Removable Clamp Tape/grip Fuji custom cork wrap Saddle Fuji Road Sport Anatomical Saddle Seat post Fuji Comp Alloy Micro Adjust, 350mm Seat clamp Fuji Superlite Alloy, 31.8mm Laser Etched Other 7075 alloy water bottle bolts Weight, lb./kg. 24.10/10.95

Duplicate post - sorry

I'm out of my league when it comes to recommending a specific bike, however I would pass on this from experience.

If at all possible, spend the $$ to get a professional bike fit.  I didn't do this until after I bought my bike and realized too late (a year too late) that I had really purchased a bike that was too big for me.

It still works, and I can ride it for up to 40 mile rides, but then it's just not good for me.

Fortunately the gal that I worked with at the LBS (a different one than where I bought the bike) was able to do an amazing job of fitting the bike and I was equally amazed at the difference it made in my ride.

Not only was I able to go faster, because a better fit, led to better form, which led to better technique, which led to improvements in speed.

I also had fewer issues with pain in my shoulders, my hands and feet falling asleep/going numb on long rides.

Now that I've had the professional fit completed, I can use it when I buy my next bike (targeting for a new bike in 2009 - darn kids )

It was money well spent.

You could do some research on higher-end bikes that you like and find the size that you would need--then look on ebay or craigslist or BT for someone selling an older used model for a steal.  One person's used bike is another's treasure, or something like that!  Other than that, I agree that a pro bike fitting is very useful.  I had the cheaper fitting done last year when I bought my bike (first road bike, mmmmm), and this year I am going to spend the money for the fine-tuning.

This sport can be expensive, but the health effects and the joy it brings make it all worth it!!  That being said, I am thinking I need to sell my blood or organs (!) in order to pay all of the registration fees this season!!!! 

Hey, Erin! I think you should join me on my couch with Froot Loops and tater chips. If it's a rest month, you'll want to do active-recovery type workouts, which means that if you're having to dig at all or "push through it," SLOW DOWN. Now, you may have to push yourself to get out of the house or get moving (that's normal), but that's different than having to push yourself during a workout. All these workouts should leave you feeling energized and refreshed. If you're tired after one, skip a day and go easier on the next one. I'm seeing the words "tough," "tired," and workouts an hour long in your training log, and it's possible you're being too hard on yourself.

You might need to decide if you really want this to be a rest month (and it sounds like you need one, although all of you know my opinion by now on rest!), or if you are actually starting on base-building training. If you're adding another run on top of five days of training, it's looking a lot like you're beginning formal training, in which case you should probably select a training plan and follow it (even if with modifications). And the training plans that have that kind of frequency of working out will/should include "rest" weeks (lower frequency and/or volume). If you really want to add a "run," consider adding a long, brisk walk.

I'm all for getting 30-60 min of aerobic exercise most days of the week, even during recovery periods (although it's not strictly necessary). But there's a big difference between, say, taking a brisk hour-long walk in the woods a few times a week, and doing long workouts six days a week.

I speak from a long history of doing stupid things and paying for it (and from a somewhat shorter history of coaching people to do the right things).

As my coach says, "I've done everything wrong so you can do everything right!"

There's a whole crew of weight-loss giants here (wait ... that sounds wrong! ) to help, and most of us are still on the journey, too.

I don't like "diet" much either--as Garfield said, it's DIE with a T. Ditto what Terri said about simply writing down what you eat (or, gasp, using the nutrition logs here on BT) ... it really pinpoints where it's easy to make some initial changes. There's my $.02 on this for now ... 1. find where easy changes can be made; 2. make them one at a time. (Say, this week, go grocery shopping and only buy 1 chocolate based item. Next week, buy only 1 chocolate based item, AND buy 1 more type of fruit/veggie than you were planning to). These are just examples ...

Terri also brought up not eating processed foods (whole foods taste better, anyway. Please ignore the giant pictures of Froot Loops and tater chips in my logs this week ... I'm on strict orders, not kidding).

Wow I have missed a bunch of great information that has been going around here on our thread. See, I knew I joined the right team as the questions and the answers so far are great.

I had another great day of training even though I had to hold myself back on the swim due to plan requirements. I'm going to update my team spreadsheet and then return to give some input as well.

Before I go, I bought my bike through Craig's List for $250.00. It's a $1200.00 bike. Take your time on buying the bike after doing some research so you get what you want. I didn't know about break shifters and I got lucky that it came with my bike as well as the clip-ons. It would have been more expensive to convert after the fact. Good luck.

IN RESPONSE TO LAURA'S POST ABOUT RUNNING

Phew, I'm very slowly catching up to all the super questions and posts! You guys ROCK THE HOUSE! And thanks so much to everyone for pitching in with their wisdom and experience.

If you feel like you're terrible at running, you're losing out on the joy and invigoration that running can bring. If you're winded at the outset, and can barely manage 1.3-1.4 miles, you're going out too fast. Here's some ideas on how you can (without any suffering; in fact, with energy and enjoyment) run well, and run longer, faster--even as the last part of a triathlon!

Super x2 on what Beth said. Let me elaborate on two key (related) concepts in training for running:

1. GO SLOW.  2. WALK BREAKS.

In every marathon I've done, my last three miles have been the fastest (and often continuously run). Actually, in every race I've done, the last part is where I pick up speed and fly when other runners, really good ones, have slowed to a crawl.

Hear me out on this (it took a personal talking-to by the great Jeff Galloway to convince me of this, so I understand any resistance). I've also been a pace group leader for AIDS Marathon for four years, and watched hundreds of beginner runners go through their various cogitations.

Continuous running, especially for beginning endurance athletes, is highly overrated, and (as Beth pointed out) the BT plans, and almost all beginning running plans, tell you to go out slow and take walk breaks early on.

This stuff is taken from Jeff Galloway (who has experience with a few hundred thousand runners as opposed to mine with a few hundred).

WALK BREAKS WILL:

• allow those who can only run 1-2 miles to go 3, 4 and more and feel fine

• help improve times because you're not slowing down at the end

• reduces injury and over-training to nearly zero

• recover quickly from training runs and races

Your shin pain is a serious sign that you're overdoing it. Stop and slow down before it progresses and FORCES you to stop and slow down. The #1 newbie mistake in nearly every sport, and 100x so for the endurance sports, is too much and/or too fast, too soon--often with devastating consequences. That 10% increase rule that you see on every horizontal bar of your training plan? Take it seriously, especially with regards to running.

Laura, you are an AMAZING ATHLETE, juggling some pretty crazy responsibilities ... you deserve to have JOY in running and to give yourself a 100% healthy experience.

Read the fine print on your BT plan and follow it. More and harder is NOT better, and (though it's counterintuitive) it will NOT make you faster or better able to complete the distance.

As for going slow to go fast--all that stuff I said for Leslie about base building is true, and you'll hear a lot more on it next week!

The proof is in the pudding. This is my specific recommendation; be brave! Be willing to try! None of this can hurt you, so feel free to try it and then tell me I'm wrong!

For every run, do a 5-minute warm-up walk first, even if you warmed up already on a bike or swim.

Go out slowly, and I mean slooooowly ... at a minimum 11-12 min/mi pace (judging from your logs).

Run 3 minutes; walk 1 minute.

Try it. Try it for one run and see how much better you feel and how much farther you can go while still feeling good. (And, if you kept this up for a few weeks, you'd fall over seeing how much faster you would wind up being able to go).

As always ... grain of salt, and just my $.02.