Stickyrunner01's Group - The bus is FULL! (Page 4)

haha.  Basically, after I graduated from college, I didn't know what I wanted to do (well still don't!) so I decided to do some cycle touring!  I thought a trip to Europe would be nice, and I thought biking through would be a unique way to visit.  Plus, biking eliminates the enormous costs of transportation!  Through this awesome hospitality network of couchsurfing.com, I was also able to find hosts abroad, which meant I also didn't pay a dime on accommodation.  That means my main cost was food... which I mostly ate items I could buy in bulk and would keep for awhile.  I would say about a third of the weight of my luggage initially was food.  Anyway, before heading to Europe, I wanted to test the waters a bit, so I did a couple of one day trips of cycling 50-80 miles, then did a 3-day or so trip from Chicago to Milwaukee, and I also cycled from DC down south through Virginia to the northern tip of NC which ended up being about a week.  Then following that I was in Europe for about a month.  I arrived in Dublin, took the ferry across to England, cycling two weeks though England, then another two weeks in the Netherlands and Belgium.

You know one thing a lot of people told me who I met along the way was that I must be really fit.  Sure, you probably need some amount of fitness to a certain degree, but really, the most important part is mental determination!!!  I think the same thing can be applied to triathlon (as well as other things.)  First and foremost, you have to WANT to go the distance.  Because as soon as you say you don't want to go any further- you won't!  ...which is kinda what happened to me and why I did go past Belgium!

I had a hybrid bike for my touring, and actually, that's the bike I used for my first season of triathlons.  A lot of sentimental value goes along with that bike.

I would recommend a Garmin 305 myself.  It has the GPS and  HR monitor.  I have used mine for about 2 years and it seems to be going strong.  There are other options that I don't have any experience with such as the Garmin 405 and 310XT.  Both of these are supposed to be pretty good but the PS antenna is not so god in the 405 that I heard.  HR monitors are huge tools but not a requirement to be a decent athlete if your budget is tight.

That is an amazing story Samantha!! That sounds like a dream vacation to me

I just finished a 2650 swim.  I did mostly drilling and light work.  I didn't do any speed work or anything particularly hard.  I was trying to focus on technique and get some extra yards in.  I did the catch up drill for the first time ever and I really disliked it for the first 100 yards.  I was having a hard time grasping how to do it right.  Once I got the hang of it I was alright but before that it was pretty killer.  My legs were either sinking or I was kicking to hard to maintain good balance.  I think this drill will help me maintain a better streamline position during my stroke once I have some time under my belt.

I have a 5 mile run scheduled for later today.

Just a quick post to say that I won't really be around very much until about the 4th of Jan, but after that I'll be on almost all the time during UK daytime hours.

Blinddave (Adam) works 4 days on/4 days off, so he probably won't get a chance to post until Thursday.

What do you do that affords you so much training time? I've been such a slacker this month. It's time to turn this ship around in January.

Good work everyone! Sounds like you all are in the swing of things already!

A few notes to mention:

Dirk, Thanks for the goswimtv link, it seems I'm not the only one that needed that!

Carrie, It's pretty normal for the trainer to wear a tire faster than the road because of the heat associated with the trainer. You're local LBS (or an online store) would have a "trainer tire" that is specifically made to withstand the heat.

Jayne, Personally, I always include w/u and c/d in my logs, but normally mention them specifically in the notes. Your log isn't about impressing anyone, so don't worry about how fast or slow you might be. And, like mentioned above, it is about the time on your feet more than anything else. Another note I have, even though the 10% rule is nice, make sure you are either increasing your intensity OR volume. It's one or the other. If you are decreasing your walk interval from the 2/5 mentioned, then I wouldn't increase the total workout time that week.

Samantha, Jealous doesn't cover it!

Dave, I've been a slacker this month as well... I guess it's time to get going!

December has really been a slacker month for me, in regards to tri training, I have however stayed pretty caught up with the insanity.

Dave,
I am off the last 2 weeks of nearly every year.  My family is from Ohio and we go back there for one of the weeks that I take off.  This year it so happens that I am back home and can get some extra time in.  When next week hits I'll be back to the grind of everyday life.  I do work 4-10 hour days, so I can get the benefit of doubling up on workouts then.  My work schedule is at work 6AM and off 4:30-ish everyday.  I usually get 5 workouts in on the weekends.  The pool I use doesn't open until 5 AM and it doesn't make sense to try to get any swimming in and I won't bike in the dark and.........well, I'm not getting up earlier than 5 AM to try to WU, run, CD, shower and get to work by 6 AM.

I am using the last couple of weeks to try to really nail some extra workouts.   I hope to get 3 swims, 4 bikes and 4 runs this week.  My runs will only be about 3 miles more than the usual 19 mpw.  I will try to make the 4th cycle at a lower intensity than usual too.  My usual week is 2 swims, 3 ride and 3 runs.

JESSICA, you can't admit insanity! that mean's you're on the road to recovery... and as a triathlete, there is no recovery!

Got my workout in for today, nice uptempo run. Now off to watch some sports!

5 Mile run is done.  I finished it a while ago but coked supper for my wife and all the extra kids that were here at the time.  I had a house full of teenage girls for most of the day.  Ahh!  How I love the escape of training.  LOL

The run went well but a bit chilly.  I had a hard time keeping the pace back to where I needed it to be to fit into my schedule.  I needed to do a slower run but I was fighting to go faster for the first mile.  I had to keep looking at my watch to tell me the pace.  At one point I was running a 7:27 pace during the first mile and I had to constantly check to bring it down.  I was targeting an 8:00 pace but I could never get down that far.  With the additional miles this week I want to make sure I stay low key.

How did the workout go for you?  I hope it kicked your butt the way it kicked mine.  If not I guess I'll have to relegate myself to (ladies please take no offense) "Girlieman" status and turn in my man card.

It was great - I didn't push it as hard as I could have and I still need to download my HR data. I was just nervous about going too hard too soon and crapping out at the end of the workout. I'll get to that tonight if I ever get out of work. Still it was great to get a good sweat out, something I haven't done much of in a while.

Just wanted to stop by and say hey.  Went on a little mini vacation with my boyfriend and his family today and will be back either tomorrow or Thursday.  I'll get back to training once I get back home.  The roomie (also my bf's bro's gf) and I have decided to start running together once we get back to school.  She and I and our other 2 roommates are doing a mud run in early May so we're going to start training for that.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

Hi everyone,  

I did my normal RPM bike workout this morning (Mon, Wed, Fri).  If you're not familiar with it, it's a Les Mills program they offer at my gym.  It's 45 min on the indoor bike (group class), choreographed to music (which helps the time go by really fast).  Each song has a focus on either racing or climbing and there are a lot of intervals.  It's an awesome intense workout.   

Then I went to the treadmill and did my interval walk/run.  I shortened my walking time to 2 min, so I did 3 miles at 2min walking/2 min jogging.  It was pretty good.  the walking time was enough to get my HR back down and catch my breath.  I think I'll continue this for a couple of weeks and then make another adjustment.

I go back to my surgeon on Jan 3rd and I'm hoping I'll get the all-clear to start swimming again.  My incisions are healing, but slowly.  I'm not good at being patient.  It was supposed to be 4-6 weeks after surgery before I could start exercising again, but my doc. let me start biking after 10 days, and I was walking/jogging at 3 weeks post-surgery.  

Well, I hope you all have a great day!

Dirk,  "girlieman"?  Really?   You didn't expect to get away with that comment, did you? Drop and give me 20!

Jayne

Edited by jfought 2010-12-29 7:37 AM

I was hoping my comment might slip through the cracks.....maybe. 

I am glad to see things are getting up to speed for you and your recovery.   It seems to me that your Doc allowing youto get back on the bike after 10 days is a pretty good sign.  Keep doing the rehab as they are telling you and things will work out great.

Hi everyone!  I don't get on the computer too much these days....too busy training...LOL  It looks like I will be taking my first ski skating lesson next Monday.    I can't wait.   

For all those swimming references - has anyone been to swimsmooth.com?  The have Mr. Smooth whcich you can download and study the perfect stroke.   I am holding off on the swimming for awhile.  Winter tri's just don't call for it...and if I go OWS  please call the men in the white coats for me!

After re-injuring myself this past race season I am now back up to 5 miles!     My goal this year is to increase that milage without injuries!   I also started doing the couch to 5K with the hubby and wearing the Vibram Five Fingers.  THey are awesome.   Gotta start slow though.  I have worked my way up to one mile in them.

So now that the northeast finally has gotten some decent snow.....I will be breaking the mountain bike out this weekend and attempting to ride in the snow in prep for the GUnstock tri! 

Happy Training Everyone

lol   so did you do your 20? dirk?

Oh and to stickyrunner ) I guess I should clarify, by insanity I mean INSANITY by Beachbody haha.  But it really is insane.  I am on week 2 month 2.  should be finished up in 2 1/2 weeks!

I did get to swim last night, it had been a week and a half since my last swim and I was missing it like crazy.  Did 1 1/2 hr mostly focused on my distance (keeping strong on 1/2mi and 1 mi freestyle.  Did some kickboard drills (flutter kick and dolphin kick) and then pull buoy drills while working on breathing drills as well.  I did make a breakthrough last night, funny how taking a little bit of a break always does that for me.  I am finally getting how to breath without over rotating on the breathing stroke!

INSANITY max interval circuit this morning! 50 minutes of pure awesomness!!

ski skating sounds like so much fun! I am not sure about winter tris I did a local YMCA tri in early november here and it was so miserable to get out and do the bike ride in the 20 degree morning temps after getting out of the pool! I actually thought about quitting a couple times because I was so miserable....Good think I didn't though, i won first for women's overall but I can't handle to cold on the bike....don't mind it while running. So what do you do for a winter tri?

Darn it!!! I forgot the 20 push ups.  I'll get to those in just a minute...........trust me.

I have heard about some winter tri's that have a pol swim and a 10 minute ride on a stationary/spin bike and a 10 minute run on a treadmill.  I have never done one but it doesn't sound too bad.  They have one here in Fort Wayne in February I think.

Just finished a 3550 swim.  My main set was 10x100 on 1:40.  I was able to land at the wall about 1:20 for the first 5 reps and then they started to fall off.  I was getting about 12-15 seconds rest for the last 5 reps and I was pretty shot.  This is my last swim for the week since the pool is closed until Monday now.  I swam 3 days in a row and I wouldn't normally do that but thats the time I had.  My shoulders will appreciate the break.  My delts are blown up right now!

I can only dream of swimming that fast.. nice work, enjoy the break from swimming... and run more! or bike.

Hey everyone!

It is official.  I do not know how to build safely!  I think I'm taking a break from swimming for a couple of weeks just to be safe.  In the mean time, I think I'll go through the goswim and mr. smooth websites to learn more about proper technique.  That is one thing I kind of just ignored last year- drills and technique because I thought it was boring.

I've also been wanting to get back to taking some pilates classes. (more or less because I hear it's good for you!)  I did take a few last year.  Hopefully I'll get around to it this week.


Does anyone have any thoughts on compression tights?  (or compression gear in general?)  I bought into the idea, and after finding some "discounted" tights I made the purchase.  Since I want to go more run heavy this year, I thought this might be beneficial for recovery.  Thoughts?

I haven't sprung for the compression tights yet...but I generally do believe in them and might end up buying some for the Ironman next year. I think there was an article in LAVA magazine recently that did a really good job of breaking down the science behind compression. People seem to swear by them, and want to wear them all the time- both during training/racing, and for recovery too. Let us know how they work for you!

Don't give up on the swimming!

I don't have any personal experience with the comp gear but a guy in my last mentor group swore by it during hi smarathon recovery.  I wanted to purchase some but could never let go of the cash to buy it.  After my mary I had a 9 hour drive the next day and I couldn't hardly walk when we stopped to eat or stretch.....I coulda used some then in a bad way.

I also understand that you may need to get out of the water to help with the shoulder issues you might be having.  I would give it a week off and maybe do something light, only drills or something.  See how it feels and increase the intensity in another week or so based on how you feel.  If you think you should keep it scaled back then by all means do so.  Only you know your body.

Have you had any other related injuries that might be affecting your shoulder?

Note:  I rode my bike on the trainer again today.  I got 21 miles in 1:10:00 but it was way to easy.  It actually frustrated me quit a bit because I could have ridden harder.  My HR was in high Z2 for most of the ride and I was looking for something in low to mid Z3 for today.  I was watching the Iowa-Mizzou game on the DVR and was distracted from the real focus of the ride.  Oh well, I am planning another ride tomorrow anyway and I will just make it a little harder than I was planning.  I do have to watch because ai am going on a 8-9 mile run on Friday.

Samantha,
I was just checking out your logs.  It looks like you tripled your swim effort in one month.  This could the problem with your shoulder.  That seems a lot of swimming in a short period of time despite being a low impact sport.  I don't think the 10% rule applies to swim particularly but that may be a bit to much.  I noticed you logged close to 20k yds. in Sept. and Oct. was your shoulder bothering you enough to cut back in Nov.  If not it might not have been to good to jump 20k yards in one month.

Another question, do you do much shoulder or back training for your strength training.  Delt work, lat pull downs or dips?