Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 45)

Oh yes!!!!  I love it!  Unfortunately, it was this Saturday and the half mary was on Sunday.  I really wanted to do the half mary.  The TUC is usually on Mother's Day weekend so I'm able to do both race venues.  (Not sure why they were on the same weekend this year.)  It's super fun!

Major bummer. 

I can't really pinpoint what you dealt with last weekend  but I have dealt with some really tough breathing during my runs immediately after T2.  For about a mile I have a very difficult time catching my breath and it hurts really bad.  I cannot get a deep breath at all during this time.  I have come to expect this is going to happen every race and have resolved to accept the hurt it brings.  After the first mile things seem to settle a bit and I can begin to take deep breaths.

I think you should be satisfied with your run.  Your runs last year were slower weren't they? Any speed gain is going to be good considering you had struggles all winter with building your running.

Warren and Jeff have already posted some great advice but I thought I would add my $.02.  If you are doing a sprint you don't need to take anything other than (maybe) water on the bike.  I say maybe in the water if you are going to fell more comfortable with water on the bike.  Use some water/gatorade on the run course as your hydration source. 

If this race is an Oly then you will have some nutrition to give some consideration too.  Make sure you have a bottle on the bike, preferably some sports drink with calories and maybe a gel.  That should be all you need other than maybe a gel (at the most) for the beginning of the run and water/gatorade on the run course. 

If you chose to take any nutrition on the course at all, make sure you practice using it during training.  NOTHING gets used on race day that you haven't used in training because it could cause undesired dietary conflicts that may turn ugly.

Jeff is spot on about the taper.  Over tapering is something I think most of us do on a regular basis.  But, much of the determination for the taper you need can be based on your volume.  If you have a lower volume training cycle then you may want to allow a slightly longer taper but not more than 3-4 days for a sprint and maybe 4-5 days for an Oly.  If you have a decent volume already in your cycle then a couple of days is more than adequate.  (I have an Oly coming up in 2 weeks and I don't intend to change much of anything until about 2 days out but I carry a decent volume and I have been used to this same volume for some time.)

The idea of the taper is to carry no fatigue into the race and still be fresh.  If you taper for a long period your legs will become stale and you'll feel sluggish for the race.

Actually a good person to ask about how a taper went recently would be Joanne.  I suggested she taper for 2 weeks when the conventional wisdom says a 3 week taper for a marathon.  I'll let her answer for herself but based on her run time I would say she was pretty good.

The pain is centered just below the knee cap but slightly to the outside. The tendon on the front does not hurt It's actually hard to pinpoint now since there is no pain, but during the run on Saturday and all afternoon following I could have said right where it was.

I had been icing and elevating after any activity, and I had an ART session with my chiropractor last Wednesday. No activity more than walking for 3 days after the ART and then tried the Saturday run.

I may see about another ART session tomorrow.

OMG!!!!!  I'm so excited!!!!!  If I do the same pace next year at the Avenue half mary, I'll be in the top 5 fastest EVER in the F 40-45 age group!!!!!

Can you say "A" race for 2013???!!!!  Yeah, baby!!!!! 

I would listen to others before taking my advice, but have you tried doing some light quad strengthening exercises? I had a very similar sounding (though much much less intense) pain in my keen, often accompanied by popping or cracking when I stand to go up a hill on the bike. I've lessened it by doing quad-strengthening exercises and concentrating on landing my feet straight as I run and bike (I have a tendency to get a little pigeon-toed when tired).

Both those have eased, though not yet completely stopped the pain.

I hope you get it solved soon!

John

You haven't followed my presciption for quad strengthening yet.  Give it a shot.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/leg-extensions

I am excited for you 

Okay, at the moment (this could change any time), I am leaning towards doing the Island Lake sprint tri over Memorial Day weekend.  Since my June is uncertain (in terms of life) right now, I'm not sure if I'll get in the sbr that I want to if I do a later race.  And since I've been generally happy with what I've been doing now with the sbr, I figure I should just do a tri now. 

Also, the 8.2 mile running race I was talking about earlier for which the date wasn't announced- it's been announced and it's June 10.  If I were able to pick the date, that would have been it, so I was happy to hear that!  So I am nearly certain that race is on my schedule now.  It's a bit of a hilly course (to me!), and I think my goal is to go under 1:05.

Oh no!  You are terminal and may not live past June?  You should have told us?  We need to make arrangements for your funeral.  We can have all sorts of triathletes show up and give you a 21 bike salute... 

Jeff!!!!!  Wake Up!!!!!!

I think you fell asleep on your keyboard and keep pressing the submit button.

It's hard to say because I've never done this race before.  I did have a race last in which I ran faster, but it's hard to compare.  I'm definitely satisfied, but I just felt like I was running faster...that's the weird thing.  I'll just leave it as that and see what happens next month.

Yeah, I would definitely pursue another ART appointment for sure.

I agree about quad strength exercises.  You've inflamed an area on your knee that needs additional support because it was doing more work than it was used to.  I suggest getting some tape and taping that side of the knee as well.  The tape won't provide too much support, but it will provide some.  I used Rocktape on my left knee.  It doesn't solve the problem, but definitely adds a tiny bit of external support.  For example, I would go for runs and after about 30 mins, my left knee would start to ache.  After I started taping, I could run for 45 mins without that ache starting in the knee. 

Wait-a-second...you look about 25 in that picture. 

The website was throwing errors this morning when submitting responses.  If you hit the 'refresh' button it would keep posting...happened to a few other people in the forum too. 

But I am sleepy.

Jonathan, I asked a few questions in your race report thread but you haven't answered yet.  Did you try to eat during your race?

And can you clear up for me the exact nature of your 'cramps' that hindered your breathing? 

And to you as well as Dirk...I'm a 3rd person that has trouble breathing in a triathlon during that first 1/2 mile or so after transition.  I used to think it was exercise induced asthma but don't think so anymore.  The problem doesn't feel like it's my lungs and there is no weezing.  It feels like my asophagus is closing.  I have heard other triathletes describe the same thing.

The only other time I've experienced this was while running on the t-mill while watching an emotional scene in the movie I was watching.  I 'got choked up' literally and had the familiar trouble breathing.  I just tolerate it and know it's going to go away shortly, but it did frighten me the first time since it happened after my problem with pulmonary embolism.

Dirk, does this sound like what you experience too?

An alternative to the leg extensions if you don't have access to a weight training area would be deep knee bends.  If you chose to do these you may want to make sure you use a prety strict form...........Knees directly over your feet and don't let you knees extend past your toes when completing the exercise.  Drop to where your hips are paralell with your knee joint and not lower otherwise it creattes stress on the ligaments within the joint.  you may need to hold your arms out in front of you to maintain balance.  Other alternatives are power bands hooked to a chair leg or something similar and do the leg extensions suggested.

My tri is an OLY.  My training has been a bit sporadic over the past 2 weeks, but I'm back on track this week.  I had been following the 20 week OLY training plan from this site, but I've switched to the 0-1650 for my swim, and I've just sort of been winging it as far as my run and bike go for the past several weeks.

This video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKKZ9AGYTi4, I found on youtube is great for squats.  I had no idea how wrong I was doing them, and when I did them the way this trainer shows, I could feel the results.  

Dirk, you are describing them exactly the way he teaches them.

Dirk described them well, and be very careful when doing squats.  It might even be worth a video taping to be sure you're doing what you think, or doing some squats with a trainer or someone who knows what to check, for a little while to be sure you're doing them correctly.  Squats are a great exercise, but a small error in form can produce a big problem in the joints.