Gray Guy/Girls Tri--Masters Sprint/Olympic Mentor Group CLOSED (Page 33)

James--I know from experience that it's easy to go stir crazy while dealing with injuries. I've been there, too. All I can tell you is RELAX. You don't get out of shape in a day, a week, a month. Sure, you lose some fitness while not working out, but the rebound once you start again is very quick. But if you are constantly in the mode of being "partially healed" only to aggravate and re-injure, you can compound what was a nominal problem.

If you think the issues are potentially serious, then I highly recommend that you see a physician and get set up for physical therapy. The older I get, the more I think PT is fabulous. It used to be I could bound back quickly. Not as much anymore...but with PT it's amazing how they can use electrical stim and infrared to give those muscles and tendons a little boost.

The best news: it's November. If you're going to get nicked by the injury bug, it's a lot better now than in the middle of July when you're trying to turn in your best race performances.

Hang in there. This too shall pass.

Steve

Thanks Steve!

James

Hi James,

Weight the same, and 300 min of training for 5 + 10 = 15 points for the week. Glad to have that one behind me.

On the injury front, what seems to help is to change perspective from what one can't do to what one can do. Let's face it, at 50+ we're going to have to have this conversation with ourselves more often as the years pile up on probably multiple fronts. That being said, I'm not particularly good at that change in perspective, but I've seen people who do it consistently fare far better in the long haul than those who don't, so I'm working on getting better at it :-) Sounds like you've already figured that out rationally, just struggling a bit with having it get all the way through your being! And congrats on losing a pound this week - major accomplishment for this time of year!

Stu

Yep Scott. I consider myself I very good long distance driver. When I visit my Mom in Florida, I'll usually drive down in a day (16+ hours), stay for a few days and drive back in a day. But I have to admit, I think those days are numbered and recovery is tougher with each passing year. But your Indiana odyssey is far beyond anything I've done since my 20s. But your "results" are good to keep in mind. That combination of stress, no workout, and bad food probably is worth a pound a day or so. Have you ever seen "SuperSize Me" - documentary about eating at McD's? Extreme but backs up your 3 week experience. Ah well, back to Whole Foods salad bar for me for the foreseeable future. Amazing how much better I feel when eating nutritiously.

Stu

Supersize me ! ya thats worth watching. Also King Korn is a good food info indie film as well.
Sorry about injuries James..at least its the off season...right?

I tally 9 points this week.

Just finished lap swim practice. My shoulder never hurt OWS at the lake all summer.
I was trying to pay attention to what I might be doing to flare it up at the pool....I cant figure it out. The water is colder..only obvious thing at this point.

Here's the grim news, James--

+2 lb.s on weight. 120 minutes of exercise.

This rest and recovery period following my last race has me firmly in reverse gear.

On a positive side note, the beer is cold.

Steve

Hi - Did you include your 5 points for not gaining any poundage?

Scott--it's not really clear if her death had anything to do with the marathon, with her fall at mile 20, or if she just died because she was 86. In any case, it sounds like she went out on top! So, while sad, it sounds like she stayed fit and strong to the end. Can any of us really expect more?

Steve

I can only hope to be that lucky / dedicated / at peace.

Was out on Saturday running a 5K with my 80 year old FIL (who, wasn't the oldest in the race - had an 88 year old as well). Role models!

Between work and college search stuff with my son not much time. First time doing this, any advice would be appreciated. He really enjoys writing and history.

Here are the numbers from last week.



Edited by JREDFLY 2013-11-07 9:55 AM






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That 86 year old lady may have fallen due to a non running related issue. Sounds like she may have had some brain swelling as result of the fall. Many people dont realize it can take quit a while for symptoms to show up from a brain injury, its not always immediate.
It was deceptive because her sister probably thought the runner was just tired from the run....very sad.
Sometimes brain damage takes even as long as six months to show up after an injury. I did Neuropsychological testing for a bout ten years.

As far as the point chart, .........I did not include weight points...I just gave myself points for time worked out...I couldnt remember the point award for weight stuff. I need to printout a cheat sheet.

It rained yesterday at five AM...at noon I decided to go running because kinna busy today and tomorrow.
Slippy slidy run...had to stop a lot...but i got my five miles in !

Scored a little pair of Shimano road shoes at re sale shop. Wanted to try non mountain bike shoes first time.
I am switching my bike cleats to Time from SPD. I think I'm going to like it a lot better. I felt like it was stressful on my lower leg and ankle to keep things in the right position for spinning with the SPD's.

Does anyone ride the road with SPD's successfully?

As far as choosing a college and a major. I did a vocational testing battery when I was eighteen. Looking back ..the results were really accurate and valuable..but the psychologist who went over the results with me was terrible at helping me apply the results to the current real world choices I had at the time.
Internships are very helpful in providing a glimpse of "real world" tasks in a particular field...and sometimes lead to a job. How exciting ! Is your son about eighteen then?

Hi Linda, my son James is 17 but will be 18 in April. He did really well on his SATs and has good grades but it is just crazy how competitive it is nowadays.

The good thing is he has a great temperament about the whole thing.

The best advice I think I have received so far is don't offer an opinion because it will be him spending the next four years of his life there.

I like the idea of the vocational testing though, I will look into it. Thanks!!!

A few thoughts:

1) If you have any constraints that he needs to understand (costs especially, etc.) get them out on the table early in the process.
2) I always took the approach that one can get a good education anywhere (including not in college) and that the most important thing is that they start owning their decisions (if they haven't already... some are better prepared for that than others). It is their life. It is also a great opportunity to start to redefine the parent - child relationship if you haven't already done so. Anyway, letting go can be tough on parents and kids. Embrace it!
3) Tour guides and weather seem to drive the process, so the more you can get beyond those, the better. Attend a couple of classes. Eat in the dining hall. Better yet, stay over night. Visit different types of schools (large/medium/small, urban/rural, etc.) and help them process their gut "like/don't like" reactions.
4) I was amazed at how much stress is on kids these days on the whole college thing. Try not to add to it while helping to keep them on track. Hard to do as deadlines approach. Early is good!

Good luck, James!

Hey James:

I've been through this drill two already (two sons who graduated college) and my third is at the community college now. Observations:

1) Declared "majors' change several times. No big deal.
2) There are a number of degree programs that are preferable for actually getting a post-college job. Many more that, IMHO, qualify you to become a Barista at Starbucks. Nothing wrong with that, but you might as well skip the college and save the money. Choose a major wisely. It is a VERY tough job market for recent college grads.
3) Fees are killer. At Wa. State. additional fees can be an incremental 30% of the tuition cost. Be prepared.
4) Internships are available and valuable...get one.
5) Getting an undergrad degree in four years is tough (at least out here). Class availability alone makes it hard to align the classes to stay on schedule. Even more so if there is one change in the planned major. Better build your financial plan on a five year undergrad program.
6) Community colleges are great for saving money and give away little if anything in course quality. However, the incoming freshmen college experience is a once in a lifetime event. So, be aware of the trade-offs.

Good luck.

Steve

Thanks Steve, the state colleges in Massachusetts aren't fall-back schools anymore. With the costs going crazy people are looking at them as a bargain.

Is this near you? He keeps getting info from Whtiman College in Walla Walla , Washington. They are going to be in this area and want to set up an interview with him. My wife just likes saying walla walla, SCARY!!!

Edited by JREDFLY 2013-11-08 6:31 PM

Hey James--

Walla Walla is a really cool town. It's about 4 hours from where I live, tucked down in the SE corner of the state. The area is an absolute hot bed for red wines...producing some of the highest rated Cabs, Merlots and Syrahs in the United States. I think there are now over 100+ wineries in this little town of 35,000 people. We love visiting there.

I've had several friends who have had kids attend Whitman...they all loved it and rave about it. Small, private school. Great small campus with a fabulous environment. Obviously it doesn't work very well from the east coast, but it's a cool place.

Steve

Didn't mean to hijack the thread with college but thanks for the great insight.

On the diet front, does anyone actually measure their food?

I haven't been and it may be leading to my lack of weight loss.

I have been eating steel grain oatmeal for breakfast thinking that I have been pretty good. Well it turns out my 150 calories portions have been more like 450. My salads have been more like 600 calories instead of the 300 I thought. Going to try and get more disciplined with this.

Scott, it appears you have been doing fairly well on your diet, any advice on this?

Thanks,
James

Edited by JREDFLY 2013-11-10 8:50 AM

Hey James--

Never been a big calorie counter, but I try to eat pretty healthy. I switched off the oatmeal breakfast a couple of years ago and went to egg white omelettes. I felt like would benefit more from the protein than loading up on carbs in the morning. Plus, using mostly egg whites (3 whites, one full egg, so four total) is pretty low in calories provided any olive oil in the fry pan is used sparingly.

Salads are great...but most of the calories are in the dressing. My wife is a Nazi on salad dressing, so I've just had to adapt over the years to using a very small amount (she won't let me have more) which keeps the calories way down. The fat free ranch I use has only 50 calories per serving (2 tbls.) which is usually all I need.

c'mon people i did not hit send ....

Points last week....12 points workout ....new screwed up scale at the gym. yeah like i gained a pound monday and a pound tuesday.....weird...but i'm reporting what it says.

-20 points for gaining two pounds.

I went heavy on the electrolyte water and its 40 cal. a serving. Its called Pure Sport. It makes me feel GReattttttt !


wow i didnt realize college had changed so much in past 20 years...other than the fact that a lot of grads do end up as "Baristas". LOL

I remember when it was a given "u graduate u get a real job." But that was 1991.

On a more inspirational note...I helped out with the high school mountain bike team first practice of the season.
A wonderful young lady showed up who had never actually uh..ridden a bike.

She persevered through two striaght hours...with lots of "coaching." It was truly amazing. Reminds me of how easy I have it with this Tri stuff. LOL

Down another pound this week so 15 points for me.

Back is feeling a little better, going to try and hit the pool Wednesday.

Happy Veterans day everyone!