Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 41)

fixed...

Hope the ride goes well and all your back issues are behind you.

Swam 3250 at master's this morning, climbed a 200' tower for an inspection at work today (in silly hot/humid weather), and have physical therapy tonight.

My knee is going through phases at the moment.  In the days immediately after physical therapy (she's doing Graston on it and it seems to be helping a lot), I have good days where my knee feels normal and I get tempted to run.  But then it wears off and it goes back to "normal".  I'm hoping that with a few more Graston sessions that maybe I'll finally be better.

I've told myself "no running until you have a solid week of feeling good".  Sometimes it's tempting to say "screw that!" but I've been dealing with this injury for almost a year now, so a few more weeks won't kill me.

Originally posted by Jason N Decided to change my username to something more practical...

So are you going to change the mentor group's name too?

Really enjoying this first week as I transition to IM training.  Probably because the volume is still on the very low side, but more so because I'm training stress free.  Not worrying as much about running paces or power intervals.  Just training more by feel. 

Got in a nice short run this morning and will swim after work.

Phew!  THAT I can do...  

Easier for me to raise an eyebrow than crank out those kinds of yardage, and I look goooood in pink and purple.

I'm still running according to my plan, but real life has gotten in the way of my bike and swim training.  I think I'm going to go easy on myself this week and just do what I can do, and then try to be more focused starting Monday.  Give myself a mental break.  Work and family life have been pretty demanding lately, maybe it's just the stress of it all.  Frustrating.

The only thing I need to do today is a short easy run, 3 miles.  Shouldn't have a problem getting that in after work.  Maybe if I can get the kids down early I'll go for a short bike ride tonight.  I need to save up some money for a bike trainer.

LOL!  It was only one time and I only liked it a little bit....

Originally posted by mcmanusclan5

Originally posted by Mike_D So, i'm 5 days away from my first race (Patriot HIM) and have had an emotional bomb dropped. Friday night someone I've known my whole life died suddenly from a heart attack. He is only a year younger than me, and I've known him & his family nearly my whole life. He was married, 4 kids under age 13, and this was totally out of nowhere. No known health issues beforehand, and its all just stunning. He & his family have lived next door to my sister & her family for over 15 years as well, so there has always been a connection between our families. Last saw him last time I was at my sisters a few weeks ago. Funeral is tomorrow, and its just mind blowing to think what has happened. Its really something to ponder. The more I think about it, the more depressing it gets, and I'm not in a good place emotionally. Totally demotivating for this weekend as well. Maybe once I get beyond Tuesday I can think about the race on Saturday a bit more, but right now, its not really that important.

Mike, very sorry to hear about this and know how that kind of loss shakes you - sometimes for a while.

I will often sort of dedicate (it's not a formal thing - just a thought that goes out to them) a great day outside to some of those who are no longer here and able to do the same.  There are just some runs, swims, rides - even races - for which I'm so grateful that I use them to remember...

Kind of tough to describe (sounds hokey, even as I write it!), as I never really think about it ahead of time - just kind of happens.

I hope Patriot is like that for you.

Matt

So sorry for your loss Mike. I've done that too Matt. I had a close friend die of throat cancer a few years ago, and I often dedicate some of my life experiences to her. It really brings home the understanding that it's a gift to be alive and healthy. 

Congrats on your lottery win Jason. It will be so fun to root for you this fall. Exciting. 

Great job on your race Tim. Way to persevere through the swim/bike issues. Pretty awesome. 

I hurt my ankle moving furniture last night.. so dumb.. twisted something. It didn't swell up but I could hardly walk this morning. It hurt to stand on it for most of the day, so I definitely have to take a few days off from running. Biking feels ok though.

Wishing everyone a great Thursday!

Question about bike fits: if I've already had two bike fits, but still have issues, is it worth trying to get another fit four weeks out from my HIM?

And some history:

Before I bought my tri bike back in September, I spent good money to have a professional (highly recommended) fitter set me up on his infinitely adjustable bike, and tell me which bikes (and what sizes) would work for me.  Went out and bought a P2....came back and had him set it up.  Having never ridden a tri bike, I figured it'd take a while to get used to it.  The saddle pressure was killing me.  I contacted the fitter a number of times within the first two months, but he basically told me to try chamois cream, change my shorts, make small adjustments in height and angles.....and finally to try a different saddle.  He seemed unwilling to let me come back in and have him make the changes, so I did a bunch of stuff on my own, basically changing the bike position from how he set me up....

After six more months of painful saddle issues (mostly chafing on the inner leg), I found a new fitter (also highly recommended).  We made some significant changes (lowered the saddle, moved it forward, changed the stem, dropped the bars, probably some other stuff).  The chafing went away, but my knee started hurting.  I went back to him (as he was willing to let me come back and make changes) and we made some more changes....my knee stopped hurting and the inner leg chafing was gone....but I started having saddle sore issues.  I've made some more changes in the time since that fit, but I can't seem to get through this.

Just last weekend, I had to cut my ride (very) short due to some significant saddle issues.  I stayed off till this morning, but got on and had another ride of pure torture.  Seems that every time I go to a fitter, I trade one issue for a new one (saddle pressure to chafing to knee pain to saddle sores to....?).

I think my saddle issues are two-fold.  First, I think there's a fit issue in there....but second, I think I just haven't found a good saddle for me.  And I don't know how to go about finding a good saddle without spending a significant amount of money (none of the shops around here have a wide selection in their demo fleet).

First fitter guy has a neat technology to analyze saddle pressure as you're riding.  I'm tempted to go back to him, but concerned that he'll be unwilling to let me come in for minor tweaks down the road, if needed.  Also really unsure what to do if I bring in the two saddles I own and neither one work for me....

I'm pretty sure I can continue to fight through the pain (at least through the HIM), but I just wish I could find some relief on the saddle.  Thoughts? 

[Sorry, I know that was long and drawn out, but just trying to give some insight as to where I'm coming from]

Hey Nicole

Not sure if this is the norm but my understanding is when you pay for a fit it's good for a year and should include repeat visits for minor tweeks.  My guy has always encouraged me to have an open dialogue with him.  I'm just lazy and don't take advantage of it.  

As for seats - the guy I went to made me sit on a pad that leaves an imprint of your bones and they measure the distance.  I don't think it's all that high technology AND he will let me demo various kinds until I find one I like.  You need to find someone like this.  I just went to my local bike store - not a chain or fancy place - maybe find out where your local bike couriers hang out!  But I think the service he provides is pretty common amongst good places.

It's hard to tell sometimes too if it's fit related or fitness.  I know my lower back gets cranky on longer hillier rides but I think it's just lack of fitness on my part.  I often wonder if there is such a good thing as a really comfortable bike ride.  I really need to find a new saddle too.

Good luck with it.  Chamois does do wonders!

I just wrote to my fitter.  I read through all our old correspondence, and there was a lot of "try this" or "try that" or "changing saddle won't affect your fit"....never a "come back in and we'll see what we can do".  Admittedly, I'm passive enough that it's hard for me to say, "this fit isn't working for me and it needs to change....for free".  This is probably something we should have discussed during the fit....my fault for dropping the ball.

I don't think this is fitness related.  I can maintain a 20mph pace over three hours....but the saddle soreness comes on immediately (within the first hour for sure, times like this morning and last weekend, it showed up the first moment on the saddle).  When my lower back gets sore, that's fitness related!  But saddle issues, I just don't think are related to fitness. 

I just wish saddles weren't such a personal item and someone could be like, "Oh, the Adamo Road and Cobb V-flow Plus both didn't work for you?  Then you should try this!!"

Today was my s/b/r brick.  I checked my plan and I had originally planned for a 2100 swim, but found I was ahead of plan so dialed it back to 1500.  Brick went well as I was fiddling with nutrition.  I worked with the guys at Infinit to create a mix that minimized the flavor allowing me to mix it 3x strength with the thought that I'd be able to use one bottle of Infinit for nutrition on the bike.  I thought the flavor was still going to be too strong at first taste, but then realized I needed only one gulp every 15 minutes and at that concentration.  Over the two hour ride it was OK and easy to handle.  I'll be trying the full 3 hour test next week.  For whatever reason I thought I needed a little extra nutrition at the beginning of the run and slammed a gel, something my tummy told me was a bad idea starting about 15 minutes later.  I'm going to take that as additional support that the Infinit mix was enough.

So the focus of the brick today for me was the run - could I slow down the initial pace to 8:45-9:00 and hold that.  I pushed the bike harder than the plan called for since it was only a 2 hour ride and I wanted to have a closer level of exertion.  The ride went really well, I felt good all the way.  The run started out as in the past, too fast at a sub-8:00 and the first mile was a challenge to throttle back, but I eventually got it where I wanted it and was able to maintain the entire time with HR climbing into the 150's but not crossing into the 160's.  This is encouraging in terms of my race plan to run a sub-2 hour, but still a lot of variables.  My MRHR has climbed lately so I know I'm on the border of overtraining, and hoping that the taper period will actually make the HR performance during the run even better.  Right now, feel kinda' like I've been rode hard and put away wet!

Originally posted by Mike_D Can't believe the race is tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be a fun day of swimming, biking, and then some sort of forward movement thing akin to running . Getting all packed up and heading to the race for packet pickup later this afternoon. Staying someplace close to the race site, and should be home sometime later tomorrow PM. Not feeling nervous, but ready (as I can be).

Hope you have a great day tomorrow!  Enjoy it - looks like the weather will cooperate, which is great.

Looking forward to the RR!

Matt

Originally posted by Mike_D Can't believe the race is tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. It will be a fun day of swimming, biking, and then some sort of forward movement thing akin to running . Getting all packed up and heading to the race for packet pickup later this afternoon. Staying someplace close to the race site, and should be home sometime later tomorrow PM. Not feeling nervous, but ready (as I can be).

Have fun tomorrow Mike!