Beer Drinkers Appreciation Society (BDAS) 2023 Mentor Group - ALWAYS OPEN (Page 39)

I used the first half of last week to rest/recover from the weekend, and by the time I was ready to get back out there, our air quality was total s*** (thanks Canada!). I didn't see the point in running outside in "hazardous" conditions, so just continued to take it easy. Finally cleared up and I got back into it Sunday morning with a 7.5 mile trail run. Felt really good and would've kept going, but they were going to basically double it and I didn't feel mentally prepared for that. They ended up only doing a couple more miles, but alas I was already home.

Did another 5 or so miles yesterday morning. Need to get back into my powerzone routine on the bike, and get outside more. Getting organized and cleaned a lot this week so my house is feeling less gross and it always focuses my mind to have a clean house.

Going to see a comedy show in Frederick tonight (Wait Wait Don't Tell Me comedy show! I'm excited), but I'm aiming to wake up early still and get in a nice run and stretch. Playing in a grass vball tournament Saturday but gonna try to make it to masters practice in the morning.

@Gretchen, 4 workouts in a day is nuts. Your dedication to getting it all done really is inspiring. And your right, a 140.6 is always a good idea at the time, but there are many, many points on this journey that make us ask WTF were we thinking. Good job gettng it all done.

@Mike, an inch out? I'm amazed you can even ride the thing. Hope you get it back to where it should be without more back issues. You're doing 4 a day too? Clearly you 2 don't have a 2 and 6 year old running around the house.

@Nathalie, 2023 Nat beating 2022 Nat is much more relevant than what 2018 Nat did. I'm sure you'll catch her soon but that shows your making good improvements in the now. Also, I'm not sure if you follow it, but apparently we (NZ) are playing Sweden in football (soccer for the north americans) tomorrow morning. Football is not NZ's game, so I graciously, and prematurely concede defeat to our Nordic friends and we appreciate the footballing lesson we are about to receive.

@Nicole, A rest well earned I think. Hope you get straight back into the productive training when your body is ready.

@Me. I've been super tired the last few days, and started showing signs of the return of the coughs. So although I woke up at 5am to go, I canceled the swim and went back to bed. Miss 2 ensured I didn't get much of a sleep in, but hopefully that'll help me catch up on my rest.

Might do a Z2 ride tonight, depending on how I feel. Ride Saturday morning and Run Sunday morning on the plan.

Edited by bulfrog 2023-06-15 6:59 PM

What motivates you to exercise / be active?
1. To improve my health and fight the aging process. I want to be fit, active and healthy for as many decades as I can.
2. Be a good example for my kids. Show them exercise and health is important, and that if you work hard at a difficult goal you can achieve great things.
3. Feed the competitive streak. Racing other people, racing past bullfrog and chasing numbers in training is incredibly satisfying for me.

Coming out of the pandemic, are you facing any new challenges that impact your ability to achieve your fitness or well-being goals?
Well we had a 2nd child during the pandemic, that has definitely impacted my ability to achieve fitness goals. But I doubt it's what you mean. During the pandemic race cancellations and the general uncertainty about everything sucked away a lot of motivation. But since coming out the other end there are no lingering effects.

Of those challenges (if you have any), what are the toughest for you to overcome?
Finding time around increased family commitments and priorities.

Have you encountered changes in the past that have similarly impacted your ability, and if so how did you overcome those challenges and maintain your fitness and/or well-being program?
The main change that I've encountered over the years is increasing family commitments. There's no doubt I was fittest and healthiest when I was living on my own. At that stage I could be as selfish as I liked, so other than work commitments scheduling workouts was the number 1 priority. I was also able to eat what/when I like which allowed the diet to be better managed. Increasing family commitments (first Mrs Bullfrog moving in, then kids) pushed the workout schedule down the priority list. you have to be less selfish.

I've overcome this in a few ways.
1. Remembering that time for yourself is still important. I chose to spend that running or on a bike, Mrs Bullfrog likes water painting classes or similar. Both equally valid and important.
2. Early mornings. You don't miss family time if you're done before breakfast
3. Involving the kids. A jogging stroller was a godsend. I didn't use it as much as I thought I would, but still had many 'long runs' with one of the little ones in the front.
4. Indoor rather than outdoor training. It helps with answer 2. it usually makes for a better workout (no coasting/stop signs etc) and also means that if I'm needed for parent duties for some reason, I'm in the lounge not on a bike 30km from home.

Not sure if these are the answers you need, but there you go. I look forward to your revolutionary innovation

Yes, I read about that probably wise to avoid running outside in these conditions!

welcome back!

Absolutely, I was happy about coming second to her, I'll get her in September anyway

I didn't know about the Sweden vs NZ game. I used to love football, played it myself many years and watched a lot of it but since moving to Sweden and discovering ice hockey I find football sooo boring in comparison, I hardly watch it anymore. But good luck to NZ, Sweden is not that good. Our only achievement is coming 3rd in the World cup in 1994.




Oh No, hope you are not getting sick again!

Mike—I’ll respond to your survey when my brain returns

Y’all…4.5 hours on the trainer. 270 minutes of trainer. My headphones died at the 3:35 mark and I soaked through four towels.

2:15 run, followed by some strength training after refueling with coffee and breakfast on the balcony. Not a bad way to start the day.

Happy Father's Day to all the dad out there!!

Today was a simple swim for me...scheduled for 3800yds, but of course I did 4000yds. Everything felt good, right until the last kick set, when there was a tiny amount of cramping in my left calf, but it worked out easily and didn't recur. That brings this training block to a close. I have about 44 hours off (rest of today, plus all day tomorrow). I need it. Garmin has been barking at me for two days that I need extra rest--well, duh, Garmin...thanks for stating the obvious!

1.) What motivates you to exercise / be active?
It tamps down the crazy...seriously, I'd be bat- insane if I wasn't active/training. Activity is good for my mental health (and physical, but that is such a secondary goal to me).

2.) Coming out of the pandemic, are you facing any new challenges that impact your ability to achieve your fitness or well-being goals?
The biggest challenge for me coming out of the pandemic is the new work environment I live in. The transition to online teaching and at home work (and then back) really changed the dynamic of what is expected from faculty. There has always been an attitude that faculty should be available for student questions 24/7, but now it seems like that has intensified. Students (and admins) expect us to drop everything and deal with emails and online inquiries. This affects my ability to concentrate and get things done in a timely manner, which then in turn affects my ability to sneak away for a mid/late afternoon training session. There seems to be less free time in our newly more flexible schedules.
Also...because enrollments have declined and the student rec center has had staffing issues, the pool isn't open as much as it used to be, nor are there as many long-course days. Swim training has been affected by both of these.

3.) Of those challenges (if you have any), what are the toughest for you to overcome?
Maintaining work/life balance now that my wife and I both work from home, most of the time. She has a much more restricted/regular schedule than I do, so I feel like I have to kinda sneak in my training sessions during the workday (not really, but I do feel bad when I'm off on a training session and she is working--or worse, when I'm doing a cycling training session in the same room she's working in).

4.) Have you encountered changes in the past that have similarly impacted your ability, and if so how did you overcome those challenges and maintain your fitness  and/or well-being program?
The closest challenges I have to what I'm facing right now is when I travel for work, which is often and for pretty long periods. My motto has always been do what you can, when you can to maintain fitness, if possible, and enjoy the different opportunities that arise in the different environments. For example, when I'm in Egypt we often climb the gebel (mountain) to the highest part of our site. It is a pretty tough climb, and one that I really wouldn't have the opportunity to do at home. Sometimes I focus on yoga and strength training while traveling, it all depends on where I am, what I'm doing there (i.e., how much free time so I have), and what space/resources are available.

Enjoy the rest! Glad the cramp was nothing serious.

Feeling a bit down at the moment, just got hit by a bad case of empty nest syndrome (didn’t see it coming) and finding it difficult to train. Yesterday’s long slow ride brwim became a shorter, even slower ride, a slow walk to the lake and 100m slow swim. Also I have been drinking more the last couple of days (2 glasses one wine and a beer instead of maybe one regular beer and a couple non alcoholic ones) so waking up tired.

So I have just signed up for the 4 races I was contemplating doing this Summer.

July 1st: sprint (with a reduced swim, 400 m)
July 29th 300/16/3
August 16th: 500/18/4 (was already signed up)
August 28th: Oly (home race)
September 4th: sprint

Hopefully that should motivate me to train properly, not half arsed.

Have a great Sunday! (or what’s left of it Andrew)



Edited by Rollergirl 2023-06-18 3:35 PM

Nat—sorry to hear you’re feeling down, only natural, though, I’d guess (kid free, so what do I know about it?). Signing up for races sounds like a solid plan to claw out of it though!

Rest day for me, to begin recovery week. Tomorrow is a ramp test and tempo run brick (no idea how that is “recovery”, but here we are!). Took today largely off work and went shopping with a friend, lunch, a museum, etc. had a great time. She talked me into helping her paint her apartment on Wednesday, including moving furniture and all that fun stuff. Rest week…right.

I haven't replied yet. My response won't be that detailed but I'll give it a go

Thanks, allowed myself to be sad for a couple of days, I'm feeling better already

I was about to say that...

1.) What motivates you to exercise / be active?
For my health, both physical and mental. Also I like competing

2.) Coming out of the pandemic, are you facing any new challenges that impact your ability to achieve your fitness or well-being goals?
No, when races were cancelled, it was more difficult to find the motivation to train but now that things are back to normal in that respect, I am back on track

3.) N/A

4.) Have you encountered changes in the past that have similarly impacted your ability, and if so how did you overcome those challenges and maintain your fitness  and/or well-being program?
I suppose when I kept hurting my knees playing soccer and other ball sports, and later karate, that impacted my ability to exercice. I didn’t overcome the challenges at first, I just got fatter. Then I tried tri and it took a couple of years to get into it and back in shape.

@Nathalie. Sorry that empty nesting is getting you a bit down. I agree that signing up for multiple races has got to help. If you're still feeling down, some new running shoes or bike stuff will do the trick.

ANd if anyone was keeping score at home, NZL1:SWE4. Nat says Sweden is no good at football, their best place is 3rd at a world cup. NZ has only managed to qualify for a world cup 2 times.... now that's no good. Bring on the rugby.

@Gretchen. Well I suppose you need to be well rested before your ramp test... and a ramp shouldn't take that long so although it hurts at the time it doesn't have a big training load hangover. So I can see how it's part of your rest and test week. Thank you for adding the extra
200m to get the even 4k. Although 3,800 is an Ironman swim distance, that would probably be acceptable.

@Mike. Nice solid week.

My week turned to poop. Unfortunately I was getting a bit sick so I've had a few days off battling the flu. And it means the streak is over. 56 consecutive days of SBR workouts.

By Sunday evening I was pretty much over it but Monday was also a no workout day. I had a short work trip so instead of being on the bike at 5:30am I was walking out the door to head to the airport. Finished my job down south quickly so decided to change flights and come home the same day, long story short plane issues, sitting on tarmac didn't get home till midnight. Yay.

All going to plan I will be back into a normal routine from here though.
At least it wasn't last winters 3 month 'perma-cough'

Sorry to hear you have been sick Andrew, but at least it didn’t last too long. Great advice about buying some stuff, that will surely cure me!

Oh yes, I guess you’re right, Sweden are regulars at the world cup, even if we rarely make it pass the group stage. We do have a rugby team but never been to that World cup.
Bring on the hockey! (Although lately it hasn’t been great but now that my team’s former coach is in charge, we’re going to win the olympics!)

Almost did the same thing as last week yesterday (run out of steam in the middle of my workout) as I obviously don’t learn from my mistakes but I managed the ride at sprint tempo, could not to the lake for a quick swim but I ran around the block so brick instead of brwim. Good enough.

Isn’t better to train while she’s working, so you can spend time together afterwards? (unless she has her own activities then of course). I would not feel “guilty” about that. However, I am with you about cycling in the same room, that would be very annoying when trying to work!

Ahhh...3800m is an Ironman swim. I did 3800yds...:D

Yeah, I like to get my training in before the end of her work day, even if it means I end up working a bit later so we can hang out for the two hours after work ends and I have to be in bed to get up at stupid-o-clock for training again. I figured it out once, she stays up an average of 4 hours after I go to bed. I get up an average of 2 hours before her (weekdays, more like 6 on weekends--she's a sleep camel).

And she is the one who moved her desk into my workout area! That she did it because she thinks I'm annoying to share an office with is totally beside the point. :D

Andrew--sorry to hear you were sick again...but glad it seems to be over! Here's hoping you stay healthy for a good long while now!

Today was my ramp test, followed by a VO2max interval brick run and then leg day for strength training...all before 7am. Probably wasn't the best plan, but I told a friend I would help her paint her apartment tomorrow, and yesterday she asked if we could do the furniture moving, paint buying, etc. this afternoon so we could get an early start tomorrow (paint store probably doesn't open until at least 10 or 11). All fine by me, but it did require sacrificing my afternoon session, which would have been the strength stuff.

Ramp test was absolute crap--according to this test, my FTP went DOWN 8w. It didn't feel good from the beginning and my Garmin had me at a -4 performance/recovery value (which, generally I don't put a ton of stock in, but really did seem to feel sluggish). I don't know really what to do now. I'm not going to adjust my training values down. My sessions are feeling easy to moderate, even with intervals I can easily push full value and not feel too fatigued afterwards. I think I need to do another test, but now I feel like I burned the legs a bit and don't want to have another failure. Run went well afterwards, but I continue to be stumped by TP's 80/20 intermediate Ironman plans and the zones it posts for workouts. I've decided I just go with what the watch says when it uploads the workouts, but it sucks not quite knowing if I'm doing the prescribed workout, or something a bit too hard.

Strength training went well!

So she thinks that having you sweat and grunt on the bike while she's working is less annoying to have you work in the same room?!

LOL what do you do when you're working??!!