HILDEBEAST'S Mentor Group, CLOSED! (Page 4)

Off season?  What is this off season of which you speak???

(Dances around the room, happy.)

I did my first brick today, Beasties!  It was a "Seattle spring" in the DMV: unseasonably warm weather and everyone, his signficant other, and their dog (and their dog's significant other) came out to enjoy it.  So I took the bike of the trainer and took my imaginary family with me.

Now...back to work and that other part of college job life: Grant writing.

Thanks for the youtube links, Shad.  I'll check them out before going to sleep tonight.

Wait, wait...did I hear (read?) someone trash talking Honey Boo Boo?  None of that now, babes.  I'm a HoneyBooBoo-type-family survivor.  And only I can talk smack my family.

(sigh)

Somedays I think I should move back to the south immediately and start teaching those kids to swim, bike, run.  (And not drink so much soda for chrissake!)

But, we all know how horror movies like that end: the athletic twig b_tch is the first one to die.

Anybody else black sheep much?

Got the ride in I wanted, with a slight interruption to watch the kids while the husband worked.

Now to figure out how to run tomorrow.  And hope it doesn't rain again. 

Hopefully will watch the videos tonight.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

So...some soul crushing events...

I was on a bike listserve - a bunch of hard core cyclists who ride regularly and email the whens & wheres of routes.  I hadn't gotten an email in a long while, and I was sure I saw several of them out on the trail yesterday.  So I emailed to ask why no one had sent out an invite lately.  And was, not so politely, told that I was dropped from the list because I can't ride fast enough.

And this is the general attitude I've been getting in my area - no one wants to train with me because I can't keep up. 

Okay, so, yes, I can't do 20+ mph or even 16. But I don't want to go back to the C/D riders on the "Potomac Pedalers" because I'm not out for a Sunday drive and I wasn't learning any thing or getting any better.  And, how is a 5'2" female supposed to keep up with 6'+ ex-marines any how?

How is it that everyone is riding so fast, but I can't manage it?

The easy way out would be to blame my bike, which, every time I carry it down the 6 flghts of stairs from my apartment, I think must weigh as much as I do.  But...how long should I expect that I will have to ride/train before I'm strong enough to keep up?

Oh OUCH, Scully, that hurts!  What a bunch of elitist A-holes!  All I can say is you gotta ride lots to get faster.  I couldn't keep up with a group that averages over 20 mph, and that's when I'm in great bike shape!  That said, I don't do group rides unless it's something organized.  I might go out with a few friends that I know are around the same pace I am and there's no shame if one of us rides ahead and then waits.  I do my training rides solo, and I think I push myself harder that way.  I do prefer company when the rides get longer than 30, but most of my solo rides are in the 13-25 range.  Then there is the trainer... I do not like the trainer Sam I am, I do not like it, not even in a jam!  Probably because I find it harder than outside!  No scenery to look at, the sweat is unbelievable, all the bother of setting it up and breaking it down... BUT, I do Spinervals DVD's which I believe would make me much better if I stuck with them and did them once or twice a week in addition to riding outside. 

I would keep looking for a group that is no drop.  We have a women's bike group here and there are women of all speeds.  They do a nice out and back on Sunday mornings so you can ride all of it (about 30 round trip) or just turn around when you want.  They also organize rides during the week.  I bet there's something available if you keep looking, check the LBS's, they usually organize rides.  A llghter bike might help, but no reason to rush out and buy one if you have a perfectly good bike, it's more the engine anyways!

Hmmm....yes lots of fast cyclists out there.  I pretty much train on my own but if you are interested in some company sometime drop me a note.  I can keep a nice pace but certainly not 20+.  I'm wondering where you start your rides?  If I ride W & OD, I usually start in Vienna and head west.  Less people --- maybe not by much but in towards the city is crazy on a weekend.

At least you ventured on the trail yesterday!  I just stayed on the trainer.  Didn't feel like using time to drive to a good area to bike.

Any of the bike shops near you have weekly rides?*  A bunch around here have them.  I never get to go (pout), but they have multiple speed groups.  Or convince someone at work to start riding?  

*I know you've probably checked this, but sometimes we need a reminder.  I always looked at the shops north of me, but the one south of me has weekly rides that would theoretically work better with my schedule.

Run done.  And a beautiful day - no the monsoon the poor folks had running the Houston Marathon this morning.

It was ridiculously slow (<6mph), but it was the longest continuous running I've done in a long time.  I did 15 min and 10 min stretches.  I think that's the longest I've run straight in about 6 years, which makes me very sad.  But between the various injuries/illnesses/babies, I'll take it.

Dana that just sucks. But it's their loss. I also do most of my cycling alone. Long steady distance will build the aerobic engine but intervals will boost your speed. One of my favorite quick interval workouts in to warm up for 10 minutes, then do up to 10 repeats of 1 min all out effort in a fairly hard gear followed by 1 minute recovery spinning an easy gear fast. Cool down for 10 minutes and you're done! Have you considered a professional bike fit? I had one done after I got a tri bike last June and it did wonders for my comfort, speed and ability to stay aero. I have never had one on my road bike, but I dialed it any pretty close on my own. Having everything fit to YOUR body is a great way to increase your comfort which usually equates to an increase in speed and endurance. As far as your bike goes, it's always nice to upgrade if that's doable. If not, you may consider making your bike lighter by replacing the parts that move, i.e., wheels and crankset. I hope this helps!

Warm, muggy, misty morning here.  Got in a leisurely recovery ride to work (yesterday did a beastly hill run and am feeling the effects).  

Will try to get in a swim today.  Put together my new optic goggles and am looking forward to trying them out.

Page,

If your run was the longest that youve done in 6 years--that is a huge accomplishment! you should be very proud of yourself. Keep up the great work.

Good morning all.

I took a couple of days of over the weekend and am ready to start the new week. The weather is colder today than we have had all season. I just cant get myself to run in 14deg temps. Ill have to settle for the treadmill at work and I plan to hit the pool on my home tonight.

I hope to get a swim in at 3 days this week.  I figure a little is better than nothing. Baby steps...

Definitely proud of the run.  Now I just have to keep my heart rate from blowing up when I do it.  Not too sore today, which I'm a little surprised at.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Good Morning Beasties!

    Yesterday morning didn't start off as planned. I set my alarm but forgot to turn the volume up on my phone, so NO swim practice! ARGH! I did,however, start my kettle bell workout last night in my Pain Cave (i.e., my garage) I did a 20 minute work out and managed to not whack myself in the head with a kettlebell! Followed that with 5 minutes of jumping rope. This morning was 30 minutes of the Vomitron, my term of endearment for indoor trainer work. Chaining up a tri bike to an indoor trainer is a necessary evil right now. Did 30 minutes of the Spinervals Aero base builder DVD. Tonight is our new puppy, Emmylou's, first obedience class. That should be a work out in itself! Happy Training Beasties!

Morning all!  Another cold day for us here in the Midwest. 

Scully - sorry about the issue with the group rides.  I'm about the same speed as you on the bike and I'd love to do some group rides but I know I'd get dropped really quick.  Happened to me once when I was on a ride that was supposed to be "no drop".  Less than 2 miles into the ride I couldn't see anyone anymore.  There is a tri shop here that does C & D rides but I'm just afraid it would be more of a leisurely ride, which is fine sometimes but not when I'm trying to get faster.  There seems to be a big gap between A/B & C/D. 

Page - great job on the run!

Shadow - I love trail runs!  Just went out this past weekend and got some new trail shoes.  Hoping to be able to get out and give them a try this weekend.  It's supposed to warm up a little on Saturday and hopefully things will be a little drier.  I don't mind mud, but it sure makes it hard to run when you've got 5 pounds of it caked on your shoes.

Trainer ride scheduled for tonight but I may switch it and do tomorrow's scheduled run instead.  We'll see how things go when I get home.  Swim tomorrow morning if I can get my butt out of bed!

Got in 30 minutes of stretching this morning prior to some dr. appointments.  So no bike commute and no run.  But did get in a nice long walk to pick up some repaired shoes.

Kind of a misty cold day here.  I'm actually glad I didn't bike in today.  The ride home would have been miserable in the dark with mist droplets all over my glasses.  Hard to see, especially when there are all kinds of lights passing through the droplets.

I have discovered a nice app for iPad/iPhone.  It is called Nike Training Club.  Famous athletes (all female) go through some of their favorite workouts - they are 15, 30, or 45 minutes.  The workouts are group into different categories like "Get Lean", "Grow Muscle", "Cardio", "Get Focused", "Get Abs".  There are quite a few that just use bodyweight as the primary means for strength.  You unlock bonus things the more minutes you workout.  Plus you can play music in the background.

Have a great day everyone! 

OK I DID IT!
I registered for my first Triathlon. The Tri-Shark Sprint in Bloomington, Il on 01 June 2013. That gives me 20 weeks to train. By registering for the race I figure it will set a goal and keep me honest in my training. I have done all the distances of each leg in the past but never consecutively. I have no clue what to expect since I have never even seen a Tri in progress let alone participate in one. I suppose you just follow the crowd? LOL
Please check in with me and inquire on my training progress. I will need the encouragement.
I'm so excited! --- and nervous.

Stan

Shad -  I always worry about that with kettle bells too!

Dee - there is a really good intro swim program on here somewhere; I started it last year and found it easy enough for me - I couldn't swim a length when I first started.  It brought me along quickly.  

It's this one: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=755 (it and more are under the beginners link).  Pretty much everything at that link was really helpful when I started training for the tri I wanted to do last year before life happened.

Way to go Stan!  I've got to pull the trigger on mine.  

For those of you who have already done tris, did you start with a sprint?  That's what I'm looking at for September, but I'm wondering if that's not ambitious enough to keep me motivated.  Thoughts?