Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 32)

ALEX -

You're fine! Don't worry!

And not only is it NOT horrendous to take a day off this early in the season, it's not horrendous to take a day off at ANY point when your body - or mind - is not up to it. And especially if your hip or any other part of you is sore, it is best to let discretion be the better part of valor and just back off for a day or so.

A few days ago (it's here on my BT log, even!), I left the pool early just because I was feeling very lethargic (and my right shoulder was just a bit sore). That wasn't the plan heading into the swim....but it's the way it turned out and I accepted it.*

This morning I did a 64-minute upper body strength session, but very early on I knew it wasn't going to be a great day in the gym -- on several exercises, the weight I worked well at two days ago just seemed that much heavier today.

If you saw my post on page 1, the one right after my bio, one of the things I said is that "Training is not linear". By that I mean that, unfortuantely, there are down days that seem to come out of nowhere -- the weights are heavy, the run seems ponderous, th ehad just isn't into the workout. This is seldom easy to accept 100%, but allowing yourself the time off WHEN YOU FEEL THE NEED is one of the best things you can do for yourself!

And, of course, acknowledging that a hip or something else is feeling "wonky", and subsequently backing off, is about the very best way to stay away from serious injuries. It might turn out that th soreness is really nothing more than a garden-variety ache.....but it is better to be safe than sorry. (And take this from one who has vast experience is being sorry that he was not more safe! )

There will come a time, perhaps, when a key workout is about to happen, and you question whether or not you should do it; that becomes a different matter altogether. I will always do the key workout is the only thing wrong with me is my state-of-mind; I will simply "suck it up" and do it. But if it's a body part that is feeling wonky........then I have a decsion to make! Hopefully, though, neither of those will happen to you!


*IMHO, it is just about imperative to leave the pool when things don't seem right. Why, you ask? Because bad habits can get instilled quicky, and there is no better way for this to happen than when your form gets sloppy. This can be when you have worked too hard, or one part of you isbn't "pulling it's weight", thus overloading other parts, or your head isn't into and you're not focused on the finities of your stroke and you allow it to just kind of fall apart -- and today's "fall apart" is tomorrow's bad habit!

ROGER -

Banana and peanut butter?? Righteous! I mean, that's right out of the food-at-the-end-of-a-race playbook!

As for playbooks --- nice one the Packers executed today! I think the Falcons should be very worried!

DAVID -


Happy winter frolicking tomorrow! (If you sled hard enough, you can count it as cross-training!)

Steve,
We're pretty excited about our trip. We'll be flying in and out of Sydney the first day and then will be back to finish our trip there. Since we're taking 2 weeks, we're only going to 3 destinations which will still be busy! Where will Jane be visiting? Will Lynn be able to take time off to tour around? It's hard to get away so I understand your concerns. Both the long flight and leaving old dog home! Our son will be here so our old guy will miss me but at least he can stay home. Kenneling him is not an option at his age

I wore a fuel belt today. It has 4 bottles and I drank them all. They were a mix of CarboPro and Heed electrolytes. I think next time I'll also carry a bottle of plain water I can just throw out when I'm done. Sometimes I just wanted fresh water with no flavor. I also 'ate' 2 gels spaced apart.  I took a couple of RecoveryE21 after I was finished. My niece is on their 2011 Tri team so she gave me some samples to try. They have really seemed to help in recovery. 

I know I have to try different nutrition but it's hard at the same time because I can have a sensitive stomach so it can be interesting
Johanne

JOHANNE -

Jane's company has put her up in an apartment near Rushcutter's Bay in Sydney, and I don't think there is any work-related travel other than getting to and from work each day. She spent this past weekend (her first there) just trying to learn Sydney, and as her stay progresses she will venture forth as much as time allows. She will head up to Great Barrier Reef when her boyfriend is there for a week in a few weeks, and Melbourne is high on her list -- as it is on everybody's list, it seems. Lynn really wants to do a hike in (on?) Tasmania, so Jane'll probably take a couple days off to go with her. I know Jane would love to get to Perth, but would need even more time off to justify the flight and stay. It's all still evolving!

Great minds think alike! I have been a HEED fan for years, but only late this season did I decide to try adding Carbo-Pro to it and see where that got me. Unfortunately, that was after my one-and-only half-iron of the season, so with just two olys with which to finish off the season, I haven't race-tested it yet. I seldom get depleted in olys, so it just didn't seem worth the risk of trying something in a race when I wasn't 100% certain I would need it. But I sure like the concept, having the Carbo-Pro as a boost for what's in HEED.

As for fuel belts, though, I don't use one. I tried a basic one-bottler years ago and got chafing over one of my hips after about 17 steps, so I abandoned it wthout further ado. I generally like (actually, am quite extreme about) being minimalistic when I race, but I also see the benefits of having falsks that are got at much more quickly and much less messily than gel packets. But if you use your belt for NVM, you should be in great shape -- aid stations every two miles, and whatever you have on your person in between stations. Perfect!

Thanks!  it is tricky.  I ended up taking the day off as my hip is quite sore still.  I think I may have pulled something on Saturday.  It is feeling a bit better today so hope to make my workout tonight, just take it a little bit easier than I normally would.

Alex 

Hi George.. I think what you did is right... you read your inspire then click on reply which for me opens the other person's blog in a new window and opens the little inspire box of the other person's blog where your message will be quoted and you can now add your reply there.    I have sent you an inspire so you can try it out.
Cathy

Here you go George.  Let me know if I have to clarify any of the instructions.

Adding friends to you blog

To add easy links to your friends blogs:

1-Click on "Settings" on the top tool bar. 
2-Click on "Training Blog Customization".

3-Click on the "Friends" tab. 
4-Either type in their user name or click on the ... and enter part of their user name and select them from the dropdown menu.

5-Enter as many as you want up to 60.
6-Click on the "Update Friends" box at the bottom of the friends section once you have finished entering all of your friends.
7-Your "Friends" will be listed on the lower left side of your training blog.

Inspire Me!

Inspires can only be seen when you are logged in.

1-Click on   in your blog to read the inspires left for you on each day.
2-To "inspire" someone back, click on "Reply" contained in their inspire to you.
3-The inspire window will pop up behind the person's training blog.
4-Minimize their blog and you will be able to see the inspire window.
5-Their inspire to you will be quoted in the inspire window.
6-Type in your message to them after their quoted message.
7-Click on the "Post Comment" box.
8-Close the inspire window by clicking on the "X".
9-Maximize the person's training blog again and close their blog by clicking on the "X".

10- You can also go directly to a friend's blog by clicking on them off of your friends list.  Leave an inspire by clicking on the "Inspire me" for the day, type your message in the inspire window, and click on the "Post Comment" box.

 

Blogged!

Have you left a comment in anothers log and that SAME entry has been commented on?  Just navigate to the 'Blogged' area of your blog and click on the link.  In doing so, you will be taken to that users training log and comments for that day.  Also, comments made by others in your blog appear here too.  Just an easy way to keep track of things.  See example below:

 

 

Edited by retiretotri 2011-01-10 1:23 PM

Anyone have experience with varying cleat position on their bike shoes?

I read in Joe Friel's Training Bible that he recommends a mid-foot cleat position for increased economy and less reliance on the calf muscle. This position requires custom shoes, but you can get close by moving your cleats back as far as they will go in a standard shoe.

See his blog for more info: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

I'm shifting my cleats back and testing it out tomorrow at Spin class. I've only done one class in the shoes, but since I'm building up my calfs in the couch-to-5k run program I'm curious to see if this helps alleviate some of the work my calves are doing on the bike. He suggests that this is beneficial for race day too.

I say proceed with caution and let us know. I nominate you the official cleat position Guenna pig of the group....

Any opinions on if I should do "run then strength" or "strength then run" for my early morning workouts (specifically Mondays & Fridays)?

Prior to tri training, I had been doing "strength than cardio" (usually elliptical) because I read that this was clinically demonstrated to be better in some fashion (some increased fitness measure I can't recall).

Saw in Joe Friel's Training bible that he did not recommend strength training before run because it could lead to injury, so I tried it the other way around this morning and did the run first.

Overall, I liked the run first as I was much more warmed up for the strength exercises. Plus, since I am training for a race, it seems that being fresh for the run portion of the training seems more important than maxing out on the strength exercises.

Splitting these workouts on different days might even be better, but given I only have time to workout in the am, combining them seems to be the only option for me. Thanks, Adam. 

Hmmmm, I always did strength first and then run.  Might be interesting to try it the other way around.

I am very interested in hearing about the cleat position change.  Thanks for experimenting!

Off for a little run before the game. GO DUCKS!!!

akaye - 2011-01-10 11:59 AM Any opinions on if I should do "run then strength" or "strength then run" for my early morning workouts (specifically Mondays & Fridays)?

Prior to tri training, I had been doing "strength than cardio" (usually elliptical) because I read that this was clinically demonstrated to be better in some fashion (some increased fitness measure I can't recall).

Saw in Joe Friel's Training bible that he did not recommend strength training before run because it could lead to injury, so I tried it the other way around this morning and did the run first.

Overall, I liked the run first as I was much more warmed up for the strength exercises. Plus, since I am training for a race, it seems that being fresh for the run portion of the training seems more important than maxing out on the strength exercises.

Splitting these workouts on different days might even be better, but given I only have time to workout in the am, combining them seems to be the only option for me. Thanks, Adam. 

I have noticed that getting the cardio in the morning has me not as hungry throughout the day.  I also have more energy too.

akaye - 2011-01-10 11:45 AM Anyone have experience with varying cleat position on their bike shoes?

I read in Joe Friel's Training Bible that he recommends a mid-foot cleat position for increased economy and less reliance on the calf muscle. This position requires custom shoes, but you can get close by moving your cleats back as far as they will go in a standard shoe.

See his blog for more info: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

I'm shifting my cleats back and testing it out tomorrow at Spin class. I've only done one class in the shoes, but since I'm building up my calfs in the couch-to-5k run program I'm curious to see if this helps alleviate some of the work my calves are doing on the bike. He suggests that this is beneficial for race day too.

The cleat thing all depends on the shoe you own.  I personally think the best cleat position is the most comfortable for you.  Be careful about moving the cleat too far back, the farther back the cleat moves the back the more toe over hang you have to deal with.  This means you may have to slow down and stay more vertical in tighter turns.  I have had a few spills from this on my mountain bike.

CRAIG -

GO DUCKS X2!!

Steve,

I was under the impression the learning to swim plan was conditioning the user for the Olympic distances.  since the swim is 1500 meters and the training plan tops out at 1800 meters.  I figured if you could get 1800 meters with a few rests you should be able to do 1500 meters easily?

ALEX -

Hip still sore, eh? Well then, take the advice I gave you last night, and add another day -- or two, even; whatever it takes.

Far better to miss three days now, as opposed to three WEEKS later on! (I do have a history of that, so I knoweth of what I speak!)

LORI and CATHY -

Many thanks for the pieces of advice on how to navigate some of the trickier passges on BT. I really am both inept and raw, so any pearls you cast before this here swine are greatly appreciated.

I attempted a reply to an Inspire that David sent me yesterday, but i don't know if I did it correctly. I guess I should ask him!

STEVE - my hip is still sore.  I am thinking of taking another day and not training.  I was also considering just hitting the pool.  I could use the pull-buoy and not use my legs... just work on strokes... It is definitely something I want to baby now so I am not hurting closer to my events.

Thanks!
Alex 

DAVID -

Yo! Did you get the reply I made to your Inspire? I hope so.......but no guarantees! If it didn't get to you, though, many thanks for the Inspire -- I need all the emotional support available to figure this stuff out!

X2........8 weeks later still have a little tightness deep in my groin. I stay very conscious of that and respect my body's signals-now. This is after 6 weeks of resting it until I could run without a limp. New Years I did a 3 hour half marathon doing only a very slow 5 min run then 5 min walk.
Yesterday I ventured into a 7 min run, 3 min walk...hopeful back to steady runs by Mid Feb.
I ignored allot of good advise early on, advise about volume increases and advise about rest.

Winter Running Gear

Where do you guys get your cold weather running gear from?

DANIEL -

I'll go back to the plan again, and also my post to you about it (do you happen to know which page it was on?).

As I remember it, though, my thought was that the longer-distanced workouts were made up of lots of drills, so what I was looking for were sessions that had multiple 400s of straight, or 400s straight and pull-buoy. These are the ones that would best replicate the effort needed for a continuos race-day swim, and I wasn't sure the yardage was there to fully prepare for an oly.

For me, drillwork really doesn't count for yardage purposes. Part of that is because I try to be thoughtful about the drills, and so rather than rush them, I'll get to the end of the lane and
(1) reflect of what I just did
(2) think about how it felt
(3) think about how it SHOULD have felt
(4) quickly figure out what I have to do differently on the next length

Just today I was thinking about David's 1700 yesterday, and trying to figure out what I was doing today. I went into drills quite early-on today, and I wasn't even sure how many lengths I did, period.

So, getting back to the original concern, my thinking about the goals of the program (which is a very good one, by the way!) for you was that once you get past the warm-up and cool-down, and once you get past the drills, is there a lot of straight swimming there? I wasn't convinced that there was, at least not enough to guarantee a smooth 1500.

HOWEVER ---

You may be one of those who, once they manage, say 800m. the longer stuff is relatively easy. There are lots of people like that (actually, one of my (sadly few) resounding swim "victories" was just that --- finding my way to longer distances quite quickly), and I hope you are one of them!

I will try to find the print-out I made of your program, and have another look at it. I KNOW I wouldn't've thrown it away......but where exactly it got to is an entirely different problem!

DANIEL again -

For the best shot at one-stop shopping, try www.roadrunnersports.com.

For me, it has been years of mix 'n' match. I use:
--Saucony running tights over a apir of tri shorts (I used to have insulated running briefs, but even up here I can do okay with just the two layers between the F.J. and the elements
--Under Armour short-sleeeve topas my base layer
--DeSoto skin-cooler long sleeve over that
--a mid-weight 1/4-1/3 zipper top (OR a tech running jacket) over that
--and if it's real cold, the tech running jacket on top of the zipper top
--a tech-fabric touque
--if it's real cold, a balaclava that covers chin and nose, but has a breathing panel
--two items for my hands -- lightweight tech gloves under a pair of fairly light mitts
--Ironman (or Wigwam) Ultimax quarter or low-cut running socks, which are very thin (hence, not for everyone --- and if I ever came up lame on a long runa nd had to walk it back on a very cold day, I'd be in big trouble! )

ANYHOW, I think RRS has a cold-weather section on their website, so have a look and see what you can find.

As a final note, I am one of the most scantily-clad winter runners I see around Ottawa, so you might not want to follow my itemized wardrobe above. When I first started running I wore much more, but each winter I seem to get braver/stupider, so I'm down about as low as I can sensibly (???) go in this neck of the woods.

ALEX -

An easy swim with the pull buoy sounds perfect! Just be careful not to torque too much; go for less of a body roll, perhaps. If the hip starts to hurt during the swim, then aim for swimming as "flat" as you can, with minimal roll. Have fun working on the front end of your stroke (I had fun doing the same thing this morning!).