kaburns1214 and UHCoog's Mentor Group-Closed (Page 34)

1. What did you eat for breakfast?

2. What have you been training with and did you change it?

3. You have 48 running miles for the month and 35 for April. 16 of which this month were in races. Honestly you just don't have the base to go out and push a PR pace for 10 miles and not run the risk that the stress to the system of that pace will cause GI distress.

Congrats on the PR, Carrie.

Tested my achilles with an easy thirty minute run this afternoon and it seems to be ok. I felt a little soreness about halfway thru, but no pain. We'll see how the rest of the afternoon goes.

I'm burnt out My body has given up on me this week. Last Sunday I did a duathlon (PR the first 5k at 18:53) and I've been riding the Quassy Rev3 course a lot, (doing the half and Olympic course) and with the cold temps, (250 miles worth) of riding in the rain, I'm crying mercy. My legs just couldn't do today's 5.5 hour ride (only 2). Any suggestions on how to reset both mental and physical when you crash?

How far out are you? When is your next scheduled week with less time/intensity?

Just gotta keep getting out there. The only way to get better in OWS is to keep at it. These difficult swims will make the less than difficult swims feel like a breeze!

Its about 62 days from Lake Placid. I have the Rev HIM next Sunday, then Pat Griskus 2 weeks later, then one more Olympic on July 18

I had a bonk breaker for breakfast. I have been switching nutrition just trying to figure out what works. I have gone between gels and cliff blocks the last few weeks, but mostly blocks. GI system was not perfect yesterday morning even though my diet has been much better. I am sure that contributed.

I'd go full out taper this week and see how you feel for your HIM. Then re-evaluate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEXAS SCOTT!

I agree with Scott. Unless you rest consistently your body can't absorb all the training you've been putting into it. I would take a serious rest week into Rev 3 (with 2 days completely off including the one before race day) and the other days just doing short efforts with a little race pace intensity thrown in.

This is the big one. If you push yourself very hard for a fairly long period of time you are completely diverting blood away from your GI system so that its available for your legs and your cardio pulmonary system. If you are putting food into your stomach and theres no blood going to your stomach. you're going to have GI distress. In a race as short as a 10 miler its not a bad thing, it just means you really pushed your body at the end of the race. With additional training, you're body wont be under so much stress for the same time and the GI distress will be less.


ETA -- if you are prone to GI distress a Bonk Breaker bar pre-race probably isn't the best choice. Bonk Breaker bars are high in fat and fiber, which are two pretty common stomach irritants.

Edited by kaburns1214 2013-05-27 6:41 AM

When you say meltdown do you mean it was a hard swim or was there anxiety / panic attack?

Was off the grid for the past week or so. Had to testify 2x, work got backed up as a result, training, then exhaustion and sleep; kid concussion E.D visit, CT scan yesterday (post 11 mile run).

I can empathize with the OWS stuff. I am off again today to a nearby lake for more practice. It did not go that well last week and it has stuck in my mind since. It has rained all week and is in the 50s, so I anticipate another cold/shocking splash. I am not sure if you are anxious about the swim or are struggling with the current. If there is anxiety involved, I can't offer advice from my own personal experience but the advice I have been given: practice, do it in small increments, perhaps swim with the wetsuit on at the pool, go slowly and work on sighting. Enjoy.



Edited by ccmpsyd 2013-05-27 7:06 AM

Skratch Labs has two cool cookbooks - one is for portable snacks. I made one recipe - rice cakes (not the cinder block kind) with chocolate chips and blueberries, mint and sugar. They are surprisingly good. I have typically not eaten anything before a 430 or 5a workout (I drink perform), but I have been eating one and it seems to be good. I also ate one during a 3 hour bike ride on Sat,...

Panic attack. It was a hard swim...I swam and went NOWHERE. And then looked up at the dock and realized that I was behind the starting point and panicked.

I'm not afraid of the water or the coldness or my wetsuit - I've gotten used to that - I'm afraid of not making progress.

It has been a good weekend workout-wise. I got in a hilly 48 miles on the bike yesterday on one of my favorite routes around here - goes right past the entrance to Camp David so they won't let you do it if the President is there - with a 20 minute run afterwards. This was the first long-ish ride I've done this year, and it felt good. I was also pleased that I seem to be getting better able to handle going from bike to run. Best of all was the weather. Yesterday was the first really beautiful weekend day we've had this year - low 70s and sunny. What a difference that makes!

Then this morning, I did 3000 meters in the pool. Lots of pull buoy, so my shoulders are tired. I'm going to take a quick nap and then get up and barbecue. Hope y'all all enjoy your Memorial Day!

Happy B-day Texas Scott!

Edited by Kuma 2013-05-27 12:45 PM

I am prone to GI stress as you know, so I guess I need to try toss the Bonk Breakers. I used the apple sauce and banana for my long bike yesterday and worked fine ... but far less stressful. Definitely need to do that a few hours before a race. I don't usually eat that much because a race or long training. I wouldn't say I pushed myself that hard for the first 7 miles, but certainly the last 3. Thanks for the info.

I've been trying to work my newly-learned flip turns into my swim workouts (better than trying them on the bike or run, I suppose) and am slowly getting used to them.  What I'm noticing most is that I have to pay special attention to catching a breath on the last stroke before the turn, or I feel like I run out of air before I come to the surface going the other way.  I think this is because they're new to me and I'm probably using too much energy doing the turn.  Once I get better at them, I think (hope) I'll get to where I can breathe more or less normally before and after the turn.  Is this normal when integrating flip turns into swim workouts, or am I a mutant of some kind?  

Currents are tough. If you normally swim 2 min / 100 meters and the current is faster than 2 min / 100 meters (which isn't that much of a current in a river, especially in spring) its going to be almost impossible. Most races in rivers have the swims go with the current for this reason (take a look at the super fast swim times at IMNYC or Augusta 70.3). If you are working on getting comfortable in the open water, the best place to start in a flat lake or pond or calm ocean. Once you are comfortable there, work your way up to rougher and faster waters.

Flipturns make you feel like you are running out of air because you are running out of air in a sense. Say you swim 25 yards in 25 seconds and take a breath every 3rd stroke. Your essentially breathing every thing seconds. If you time a flip turn from last breath to first breath its likely going to be more than 3 seconds, especially if you have a good streamline off of the wall (when I flip, I don't come up until I'm past the back stroke flags).

You're right as you do them more they'll get easier and you'll also learn the timing so you know to take a bigger breath right before the turn and you'll know how long you'll be underwater. Like anything, the more you practice, the easier it gets.

I think the biggest issue is pacing. Its fine to go all out over the last three miles of a ten mile race and have some GI distress because the race is over. It gets trickier with longer distance races. In a 70.3 if you push too hard for your fitness level on the bike you're likely going to shut down your GI system, which will them cause big problems on the run.

Happy Birthday, Scott! How does an Ironman celebrate!?

My weekend of training was almost a total wash. It POURED heavily all weekend with temps in the 30's. I ended up not riding and only doing the 8 mile run that was scheduled. After the run my hands were so cold I had problems untying my sweater. There were a few bad a$$ people on bikes, but I do not have the confidence in my bike handling skills that they clearly have. ( I also didn't have the cold weather gear.) I spoke to my coach, who said to let it go since this was a recovery week and I have a 5;30 ride on next weekend.

I will be in VT next weekend and have a great ride mapped out.

Downside of being stuck all weekend was horrible food choices. I wish I could get better at this.

Kelly, when you say the final 7 weeks are the most important, what should I be looking for in that final 7 weeks?

Celebrated by hanging out with my girls and cutting the yard. It was an awesome birthday. Being shut down is driving me nuts. 1 more week. It is taking all my strength not to wake up tomorrow and go swim and lift.

Was the kid concussion a kid of yours? I certainly hope she/he is ok. That kind of stuff is really scary...

Busy holiday weekend working on my honey do list.  Didn't get much training in, but considering all the lifting and running around I did, I'll count the entire weekend as a strength workout.  Going to buckle down this week, but not overdo it since my next sprint is this coming Sunday.