Fred D's triathlon training group CLOSED (Page 35)

Hey gang -

Just popping in...I know it has been a bit.  I have been really busy at work and getting everything done at home. 

The training is going ok, but I am having some issues with the left hamstring and ITB.  I have had it worked on twice with massage.  I am hoping this does not linger for a long time.  Trying to keep the workouts at a lower intensity.  Also making sure to ice after the workouts.

Hey Neil - normally I eat quite a bit - I try for about 250 calories per hour on the bike. I seem to be able to do that all day without problem. Recently however I have been experimenting with dialing that back and on that ride I went relatively light (for me): 5 gels (gu, 500 calories total) and 5 bottles, 3 of which were 100 calories of sport drink and two waters. I also ate one banana at a rest stop. So probably about 900 calories total for the 5 hours. At 1.5 hours I took a salt tab brand electrolyte, and then another every 45 minutes or so.

I also like to eat a "regular" breakfast before a long ride that will always include two or three eggs, toast, and some fruit. It works for me to have a pretty solid meal in me. I can eat this meal pretty close to the ride without ill effect if I have to.

Over this past year I have come to believe that most of the performance issues that I would have traditionally blamed on nutrition are actually simply due to lack of appropriate fitness, and think my higher calorie intake on the bike is purely psychological: I just like drinking sports drink on the bike and eating a gel every 30 minutes, even though I know that I do not that many calories.

250, of course. stupid, stupid, stupid, I know.

I have spent the last two winters climbing in the North Georgia Mountains, so I suppose I can do one more winter and put it to good use.

OK, Elaine - you get a legit pass on Leadman. That is awesome!

Sitting in a hotel room in Cleveland.  I am not sure how people can work quite a bit from the road and leave for a week here and there for work.  I am gone one day and I already miss my family.  Luckily my trips are just over night deals about once a month.

I was able to get a early morning 1 hour on the trainer with some increasing intervals and then hit the treadmill for 45 minutes at the hotel since it was raining.  It rains every time I come to this city. 

Planning to get up early and hit the pathway for a medium long run before driving back home.

Leadman does look like an awesome race and hilly.   What are your thoughts on training for a race like that for a flatlander?  Hills are essentially just intervals.  Do you think you need to train on hills to perform at a race like that?  There was a girl on BT from flat Florida that did IMSG and KQ'd and did not do much real training on hills just big gear intervals from what I remember.  I am planning on a much hillier HIM in August so would love to hear input.

Good morning - sitting here eating toast and getting ready for some trainer time. Doing my long ride today since I have some commitments tomorrow that will make it pretty much impossible to do. I do have the day off work but it won't be the most relaxing weekend, that's for sure.  I have to go check that i have enough nutrition to make it through.  

Ryan, agree - not sure how people who travel all the time do it. Have a good rest of your trip! 

Elaine, your trip sounds awesome! I actually have a co-worked doing Everest base camp later this summer.  I am totally fascinated by it after reading 'Into Thin Air' by John Krakauer - not sure i would do it but love to hear about others!!! 

busy day today.  Starting work extra early so I can take off early to go to packet pickup and bike check in.  The race is way on the other side of down and there is no quick way to get from here to there.  Tucson is not big on those highway things. 

So my house is on the market to be rented and I am going through an agency.  It is listed for over $1000/month but some jack a** put an ad on Craigslist for this house for $650 and is sending folks over to walk around and check the place out.  They are pretended to be in CO.  So I am sitting here and people are just tromping through my yard.  I don't scare easily but honestly this scared me so I called the police.  Not much they can do but they took a report.  My guess is the person is hoping to get a sucker to send him the money without the keys in hand or even walking through the place, not realizing I was actually still in the house.  Anyways, stress I did not need right now.

I feel your pain literally, especially as of late.  This sport is tough on a lot of things, marriages, bodies, finances, stress levels.

i think i can speak for this group, as we are all pretty seasoned and accomplished athletes, injuries are a part of what we go through as hard as we all push ourselves.

it is great to have a group like this to bounce things off of as challenges present themselves.

been a tough week for me also, my daughter, who looks like my wife and acts like me, has been very challenging lately, she is really putting the emphasis on the terrible twos.  It does not help that i have a black/white personality and tend to boil over at times when she behaves badly. She is at the age she is starting to pick up on it and act like that. I really have to start tempering my moods around her,  it is certainly adding unneeded stress to my wifes and I relationship.

Wow.  I just read a 250 race report from 2010 and it hit me how long that bike course is.....  I did Pumpkinman HIM there and it goes out abut 25 miles to the turnarouns, this would go another 40 or so.  Just wow.....

Forced myself out of bed to run this morning.  Glad I did.

Still trying to figure out how I'm going to balance my training and racing in the next 2 months.  I've got 4 races in the span of 5 weeks.  Some of them less important than others.

Fred D - 2012-04-26 7:38 PM

ratherbeswimming - 2012-04-26 7:06 PM

Fred D - 2012-04-26 6:23 PM

ratherbeswimming -Do the trek to Everest Base Camp and summit Gokyo Ri and Kala Patar

I've read a number of books on Everest and it is interesting for sure. What are the elevations of the 2 summits you are going to attempt? What other mountains have you climbed?

They are about 17,600ft and 18,200ft. I've been up Kilimanjaro, which is just over 19,300ft. I hear these ascents are easier because you don't gain altitude nearly as quickly on the few days' trek to them, and the route up, as you do going straight up Kilimanjaro. 

Kilimanjaro sounds interesting to me. What was it like?

The long story of the trek: http://ratherbeswimming.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/kilimanjaro-recap/

the short: awesome, exhausting... there is no actual "climbing" because almost every route up is hikeable.  the guides and route you choose make all of the difference in the world! I highly recommend KE Adventure Travel (based in the UK). They did a great job with this, and most people were returning KE clients from other trips... a few had done the exact same Everest trek we're doing through them, and that led us to pick KE again. 

bryancd - 2012-04-27 7:13 PM Always good to remember...it's just a hobby. Triathlon should rank pretty low on the what really is important scale.

Nice new avatar.

Fred, I feel for you.  Injuries suck, and they draw you down.  It's kind of inevitable, but you seem to have a really positive attitude at the moment and I hope that things start to look up in a hurry.

Admittedly, I'm not as positive as you.  I missed my HIM in 2010 because of injury, and it messed with me for a while, the whole season (even though I raced some Sprints) was tough mentally since my running was limited.  I let it get to me, and I'm glad you've got a solid perspective on life (not just racing) as a whole.

Thanks Rusty.

Does anyone have any mountain bike knowledge?

Looking for a bike for general commuting, mindless training, goofing off, and possibly doing an xterra one day.

Just trying to do some initial research.  I feel like I'm looking to buy my first road bike again...everything seems so foreign...LOL.  I'm leaning towards a hardtail 29er, with a 80-100mm travel suspension with a lockout.  Budget is around $750.  I can get about 25% off Scott and Cannondale bikes from my LBS, so effectively bumping up to $1000 retail if I go with one of those brands.  Also trying to filter the used market.

Just trying to wrap my head around the new component lines, suspension types, brakes, etc.

TSimone - 2012-04-27 8:30 PM

bryancd - 2012-04-27 7:13 PM Always good to remember...it's just a hobby. Triathlon should rank pretty low on the what really is important scale.

I need to re-read this from time to time.  I dwell too much on missed workouts and how that will affect me later in races.  Truth is, it is a hobby and life will interfere at times.  I don't make a living doing this, but I still take it seriously. 

I don't know why but this also reminds me (kind of) of something that happened in Myrtle Beach a couple of years ago.  My buddy JR hit a terrible golf shot and yelled at the top of his lungs, %&$dammit JR!  The marshall, 20 feet away said, "Son, you're not good enough to be that mad on the golf course."  Perspective. 

I need to remember that comment for the next time I play golf with my brother, he gets a little excited from time to time!  That is good!

Great conversation on keeping this all in perspective!