Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Closed (Page 4)

Elizabeth - we would be honored to have you.  From your post it sounds like triathlon has become a part of your life and you should be proud of all the progress you have made (I'm still working on bilateral breathing).  

With all the work you are putting in - you should be in great shape by the time you do your first tri in April.  When is your december 5K? 

I like your goals for the week and agree that a trip to that sports bar would make a good reward for your hard work.  

OK Dan - You were doing so good and I was going to give your props on your username but then you had to knock the fruit beers.  I take it you're not a huge fan of Magic Hat's #9 (for those Cannuks out there - it's a tasty beer made with apricot).

Seriously, welcome to the group.  Making exercise a priority (ie getting up at 4:30 for those runs) is key and it sounds like you are seeing the light even if you have to run in the dark.  The Timberland HIM, from what I hear, is a great race and you definitely get it done this year (if not - Coors light for you!)

Good luck to you this year!

Evening:

With 15 people signed up, I've closed the group.  Below is an updated list of who's who.  I would cut and paste it into the top section of your training log by clicking in the edit button in the top left corner so you can have it for easy reference.

Glad to hear that everyone is getting out there and getting it done.  I went out for a run today before watching football but when I got back, my wife's two friends were there.  Bad timing on their part because there is nothing sexy about spandex.  Nothing...

Thanks everyone for posting your goals.  Be sure to support each other as we head into a busy and tough week.  You can do that by posting a note in the forum or you can go to someone's training log by clicking on the links below and then writing them a note in the inspire section.  There is nothing better then seeing a couple of inspires on your account when you log in (see the User Info box in the top left of the web page).

Have a great week and happy holidays to you all!

DQ

Kim- I really like MyFitnessPal, especially since I can use the android app for it on my phone.  It makes it easy because if you don't want to look up the food, you just use the app on your phone to scan the barcode and it enters it for you.  I have not found a food yet that is not listed.  I have also entered my own recipes and it saves them and lets you go back to them later.  I tried fitday a long time ago and did not like it because I could not find the foods I ate and it took too long to enter them.  Try it out!  

I have to say though I did not like entering my foods for today!  It was a bit of a fail LOL!  Went over a bit, but oh well that is what the holidays are for, will just have to work it off later!    

Thanks!  I'll give it a whirl.  Tracking what I eat seems to be all I need to do to lose weight (I call it the guilt diet).

My run/bike today was a bust.  So much Christmas, so little time but almost everything is done now.  Tomorrow is supposed to be my day off but I'm going to get a run in anyway and then move things around a bit for the rest of the week.

I'll take spandex over neoprene anyday!  

Morning Jared and Kim:

My wife and I tried myfitnesspal and we both liked it but I have gone back to loseit, which is my favorite.  Heidi loved the fact that fitness pall allowed her to take notes about her day, log water consumption, and she found logging exercises easier.  I found that there was a lot of variability in the calories assigned to different foods and I never really knew what the corect amount of calories was.  

I like Lostit better because I feel like it is easier to use. The one thing I don't like about it is that the new version now charges for features that used to be free.   Give it a try and see what you think.  

Kim - love the fact that you are going for a run on Christmas.  Getting away from the kids and getting a little peace will be a nice present.  The bonus is that you'll be able to eat and drink more.  Enjoy!

That's the plan.

Got a great strength workout in; matched my PR on squats (3x8 at 135), so adding weight next time, then I turned around and ran my best 5k every, averaging an 11:47 pace, maintaining a zone 2 heart rate.  I was very skeptical of the "go slower to go faster" thing, but after two weeks, I've shaved 30 seconds off my pace.  I'm still slow as molasses, but it feels more like running and I'm more in control.  

In beer-related news, I'll show you my agenda for today:

Merry Christmas to everyone!

-Charles

Good morning, all --

I got up early this morning and did six miles in light snow, figuring that would pay me forward for the 15 dozen cookies I plan on eating today and tomorrow.

In looking ahead four months -- which is probably realistically the next time I can get on a road bike with any regularity -- how important is it to have a triathlon bike?  I have a nice, older lightweight touring bike that is definitely past its prime, but is it reasonable to expect to get by on it for a sprint or two before shelling out some money for a better machine?  I'm seeing prices starting around $700 used.  Is that reasonable?

And yeah, DQ, I don't have much use for Magic Hat #9 -- really sorry, but on the bright side if we ever go drinking together you can have mine.  However, I do like a number of IPAs (particularly the Dogfish Heads) and thy always have a fruity air to them.

Dan

P.S.  You may NOT have my Dogfish Head.

Charles - From your post it sounds like you have earned everyone of those beers.  I haven't tried any of them yet so please let us all know how they were.

Great job on getting a PR in the weight room and on your 5K.  The cool thing is that the more you run, the faster you will get.  

Kudos!

Dan - Your question about the bike is one I struggled with for a while last year.  My bike that I started working out on in November was a P.O.S. but I used it for 5 months.  During that time, I found out exactly what I wanted and then pulled the trigger on a $1700 Trek carbon-fiber bike.  So waiting will allow you to answer you own question and you will also be able to shop around and find a price that works for you.

As for price - $700 could work for you.  It really depends on what you are looking for and how much you have to spend.  I paid more for my bike because the carbon fiber felt so much better than the alloy and I also knew that spending that much money would motivate me to get my in gear.

As for the #9 - it's not something that I would order... I'd probably go for an IPA myself.  And DFH makes some really good beers.  I went to their brewery last year and thorough enjoyed myself. 

DQ

Justin - Nice work on the jog!  Cut yourself some slack on the pace.  Right now with it being so early in the season, you should really be focusing on building up the milage without getting injured.  Good call on drinking quality beer!  Consider it a Christmas present to yourself.

Bobby - Seriously?  That totally blows.  Having a run in with a dog is a fear of mine because I worry that I'll lose my balance and end up on my butt with my face in perfect biting position.  My aunt had a run in with a dog last week and after calling the cops ended up buying pepper spray that clips onto her handle bars.

DQ

Proud to report that I got a swim in this morning and also managed to stretch for a good 30 minutes.  Over the off season, I have really lost some of my speed so I wanted to see how long I could swim at a sub 2:00x100 pace.  I started with a 25, then did 50, then 75,etc and made it all the way up to 150 before running out of steam.  Hopefully by the end of january, I'll be able to work my way back down the ladder.  

To celebrate/reward myself, I bought Helios Ale by Victory (a belgian style saison), and a Flying Mouflan by Troegs (the label says it "tastes like hops dipped in candied sugar and rolled in dark chocolate nibs").  Should be interesting.

Merry Christmas!

Dave

Cheers to that!  That's a great way to increase endurance - I'm going to try that next time I'm out.

I'm starting the gravy for tomorrow and then leaving it to my husband to babysit it and I'm going to get my run in before I lose my motivation.  We're currently out of beer...  I feel I have planned this poorly.  

LCBO on Christmas Eve?  You are a brave man!!  The LCBO is one thing I don't miss about Ontario.  Enjoy your beers though, 4.5 km is still a great run!!

Wow you all are making me feel like a slacker today!  Good job on getting out there and getting your workouts in!  I am supposed to do my short jog, but I doubt I will get that in.  We are having the inlaws over for Christmas dinner tonight, and I am trying to get all of the cooking done while the wife is stuck working.  Also, I need to get two bikes put together so the boys are not disappointed by Santa!  Really looking forward to that, can't wait to get my oldest son out riding with me, hopefully can get him interested in some of the kids tris.  Also looking forward to teaching the younger one to ride.  Busy day, but tomorrow will be nice and slow and I intend on making up for the slacking then!  

As for beers, I think having the inlaws over is going to require something stronger than that, so I will be enjoying some Glenlivett or Maker's Mark, not sure yet which it will be.  Everyone have a very merry Christmas!  

All done for the day.  I'm still slow but ran my longest without stopping today.  3.57mi 50:15 (14.05min mile) It's a good thing I golf because it helps remind me with good form and practice comes speed.  Relates to my swing, was real slow so all I got was short distances.  I practiced and my swing speed went up and my distance came with it.  It may be a slow pace but every run it is feeling better.  I'll get my log updated a bit later I really just came in the door, post stretch, and posted. 

Time for a shower followed by either a Sea Dog Raspberry or Shock Top Raspberry Wheat.  I really enjoy sweet beers.

Got a 17 mile ride in followed by 15 min easy run. Ate very well so far today and am heading out with the family for dinner. Will limit myself to 1 beer as I'm 299lbs and need to be 225 by July 25th.  This is doable as long as I am dedicated and disciplined.

Merry Christmas all.

Now your speaking my language.  That's from Deschutes, and I see that one alot.  I prefer there Inversion at 6.8% over the chainbreaker, but a fine choice after a good workout.

I can't wait until we're having a brew together one of these days and your trying to sell me on some of this "dark chocolate nibs" stuff.  IM 2014.