Dirk's Junkie group - CLOSED (Page 46)

I haven't done a lot of training at altitude, but I was an avid xtreme skiier in a previous life and dealt with the effects of high altitude.  Hydration is one key.  You need even more water than you do at sea level.  And there's no doubt your HR is elevated - both at rest and while working out.  Don't work by HR, use RPE.  And give yourself more rest than typical.  Now if you could train there year round and race down at sea level, you'd really be cooking!

Yes- that is exactly what I was thinking.

 I have lots of cold weather gear. My mom bought me winter cycling gloves and shoe covers for Christmas last year. I can ride in cold temps down into the 30's - I just haven't been that motivated this year. Last year I had my new tri bike so I was all gung ho and rode outside more often.

This will vary a lot from person to person. I don't enter races very early at all - I'm talking a few days before. I'm lucky in that the local races around here don't fill up and I'm friends with the RD's so I can always get in. I don't travel to any races - too much for my family at this point in our lives to have mom gone overnight just to race a tri.

As Dina said, it really depends on the race.  Some races offer a discount if you register early, and some races sell out.  The half I'm doing at the end of the summer always sells out early, so I've already entered.  I know the other races I plan to do won't sell out until near the race day, so for those I'll wait.  You can sometimes email the RD and ask them and hopefully you'll get an honest answer!

I was going to say the same thing.  I am panning on using our tax return to make most of my race entries, especially the A races.  Besides the sell outs, if I KNOW I want to do a certain race I will register sooner rather than later.or if there is a discount for early entry I'll try to use that too.  I do have a little bit of an advantage over the norm when it comes to interferences with work.  If I have to miss a race because of storm work, I can submit my race entry for reimbursement.  My manager has done similar things for others in the past.

Funny.  I actually was thinking about this the other day because was had wind gusts forecasted for this past Friday that had gusts up to 50 mph.  I don't think we ever actually saw that but when I was running I thought about what would happen if I got one of those while running. HMM?  You could have basically been running on an outdoor treadmill with no belt to spin.  OH!  A video would have been priceless!

I just had one of the most brutal bikes I have had in a very long time.  I think it is a result of this weekends activities catching up to me.  It was the 4x10' at 100-105% and I couldn't even get to the 100% for an average of any of the intervals.  It was so bad that I had to back the effort down to 95% for the last rep.  It was for that last one that I even thought I might have to go into recovery before I was supposed to.

I made it through but I feel brutalized.  I had planned on doing 2 bikes today but since that got messed up this morning I am thinking it is a good thing.  I am not sure I could have even come close to what I was able to do this afternoon if I had attempted to complete this workout this morning.

I am so happy I am done with this WO!!!

I think the 4x10' was the hardest workout of the entire plan.  That's a lot of FTP time.  I had to back off the last interval as well on that set.

On my training front, I just completed a 40/80/120 week on the 3:2:1 running plan!  That was my goal back in October, and I've gotten here with relatively no pain.  At the time it seemed unlikely I'd get here given my Achilles history, but slow and steady won the day.  Thanks to all for your advice and support.  I have had a slight calf tweak the past week or two, but I think it was due to my running shoes being worn out.  I was too stupid or lazy to check the log tracker to see that I'd gone over my typical mileage limit, even after I got some soreness.

Oh well, the last few runs have been great, and I'm taking this week to do the last Jorge bike FTP tests and back off the running just a tad, then hit it hard again for the last 8 weeks with some tempo added in.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=427674

I raced a 5k this weekend.  I guess it went well.  Very hard course, and I'm beat up...but I feel ready to start adding speed work.

Jonathan, one of your Wattie Ink teammates was here (Chris Hanson).  He did the 10k race.  I'm tempted to do the equivalency conversion and think that I'm faster than he is right now. 

But I will find out one April 1 when we meet in our first race together.

Wow.

Okay, I'm back in the game this afternoon.  Being away from home two long weekends in a row really killed my yesterday.  I was almost on the edge of depression with the state of our house and my workout schedule lately.  Good to see all the workouts still ongoing with everyone else.  You are all an inspiration for sure.  I've personally finished up the Jorge winter cycling plan and need a new plan to go with as far as cycling goes.  I thought about just picking it up again, but don't know if that's a good idea at this point.  I'm going to continue the running plan I'm currently on (was on before a couple weeks of inconsistency of course) and I'm going to try to get 3 days swimming in starting today.  I'm also going to look into a once a week lesson with someone who knows something about speed.  I'm able to hang on to about 1:17-1:18 in the pool right now for my 100's, but need to build that a bit for distance.

Jeff, that's very cool you got to meet Chris.  That guy cracks me up with the beard and all.  He's a very active social guy and seems like a great athlete.  From his posts, I would say he's a pretty fast swimmer and pretty good runner, but I'm gonna throw this out there that you'll probably smoke him on the bike. 

Hello all,

I'm finally recovered from my cold last week that basically sidelined me for the whole week. I had no energy and had to work some longer hours at the office so last week was a forced rest week.

It's good to see so many having some great workouts. I have to admit I was a little depressed not being able to work out this past week.

Jeff - That race course sounds brutal. Uphills I can handle, but those downhills would break me. Good job on that.

I did make it out for the last of the Frosty Fun Run series races on Saturday morning, but I wasn't quite fully recovered from the illness so I went out pretty easy. First mile was about 8:45. From there things were feeling pretty good so I picked up the pace a bit. I finished the 4.3 mile course at a 8:17 per mile pace, but I lost points to most of those I've been competing with.

It feels like I've over stretched something on the outside of my right ankle so I took Sunday off from running and just did 30 minutes on the bike trainer.

I'll get back out there for an easy run today and see how it feels, then back to the pool tomorrow.

I do have a 3 mile race next Saturday. This one is a little bigger event than the Frosty run series I've been part of. They do tie this one into the points series and offer double points to encourage more participation though. This might be my last race until the sprint tri in mid April.

Great to see some back at it and feeling better and some goood races, too.

Got up this morning to go out for a run. Damn snow! It was nearly white out conditions, but I decided to go for it anyway. Just a 5 min. walk, 20 min. run & 5 min. walk. Needed snow shoes! It was actually pretty good. The snow really lessened the impact. Got back home and the wife gave me that look, like I was some kind of lunatic. LOL. Just to round it out, I walked to work today for another 20 min.

The forecast is for more snow the next couple days. Kind of bums me out. I really wanted to get that 70+ mile ride in on Thursday. Guess it will have to wait.

I may check in tomorrow morning but I am making a quick post now before heading to Wyoming.  I'll be trying to keep up with the activity but I am not sure I will be able to post much if anything at all.  I am not going to spend a lot of time posting from my phone or ipod.

I am hoping to get plenty of running in while out there but we'll see how that goes. I do have a route planned that will leave from my brothers apartment.

Vero,  I'm glad you could get another race in despite being under the weather.  Sometimes those kind of races can be a pretty big confidence builder because of the stress you can make your body run under.  Good luck with your race this weekend

Stan, my wife pretty much quit giving me "the look" after the past 3-4 years running outside and coming home with ice on my face, eyelashes and hood.  Now she just simply says "you're dumb" and moves on.  Maybe the weather will break enough to get that ride in yet this week.  I wish I were able to take my bike to Wyoming with me to get a couple of rides out there.  If you do get that ride around Tahoe in make sure you get some pics on here.  I hope to be posting some pics of my trip out west.

Just checking in. Sounds like everyone was pushing the limits this weekend! Wind, brutal bike rides, tough runs - this is a die hard group.

Not much going on for me - still sick. Can't believe this virus is hanging around this long. GRRRR

Jo63 - 2012-02-28 7:41 AM What a crazy couple weeks, I have been training but haven't had the time to even log them. I was able to quickly skim everyone ones posts sounds like everyone is on the mend except for you Dina don,t want to be Debbie downer but it took me about two weeks to get over the virus thing. Sounds like some of you had some good races too! I had the strangest thing happen to me on my run Sunday the wind was brutal so we opted to run at the Petit center indoors for 13.1, which was awesome knowing Olympians trained there anyway at about 8miles in I started having this pain thinking it was heart burn I kept running for 13 laps then I felt like I might be having a heart attack, the pain was horrible, I opted to walk for a couple laps the pain decreased, but every time I started running again the pain would come back...I went to the chiropractor yesterday and discover my ribs were out of alignment, went for a quick 3 last night and had a little pain to start then it went away.

Wow, that sound awful!  Definitely keep an eye on that and rest/train accordingly.  Notice I put "rest" before "train"? 

Jo63 - 2012-02-28 7:41 AM What a crazy couple weeks, I have been training but haven't had the time to even log them. I was able to quickly skim everyone ones posts sounds like everyone is on the mend except for you Dina don,t want to be Debbie downer but it took me about two weeks to get over the virus thing. Sounds like some of you had some good races too! I had the strangest thing happen to me on my run Sunday the wind was brutal so we opted to run at the Petit center indoors for 13.1, which was awesome knowing Olympians trained there anyway at about 8miles in I started having this pain thinking it was heart burn I kept running for 13 laps then I felt like I might be having a heart attack, the pain was horrible, I opted to walk for a couple laps the pain decreased, but every time I started running again the pain would come back...I went to the chiropractor yesterday and discover my ribs were out of alignment, went for a quick 3 last night and had a little pain to start then it went away.

Wow - that's awful. I dropped a metal coral panel on my chest when I was young and it pushed my sternum out of alignment. It was incredibly painful, but mine passed pretty quickly, I hope yours does the same!

On another note, and going back to Jeff's post about positivity, this article was posted on the USAT Facebook page today:

http://www.usatriathlon.org/about-multisport/multisport-zone/multisport-lab/articles/turn-negative-talk-positive-021412.aspx

Very appropriate!

I hope everyone is doing okay today, it seems like every time someone has a positive workout, someone else takes a knock. Here's to hoping everyone gets well and back into training soon!!

From my perspective, I had an awesome tempo run today - 6 miles at 9:26/mi with WU and CD. I felt awesome and surprised at how good my legs felt for the last part of the run. Tired, but far from exhausted.

What's everyone else up to today?!

J

Well, training-wise I had my usual Tuesday workout.  But I felt really good.  Last week I felt bad, drained, off.  I raced on Saturday, so stopped at just a swim workout on Friday.  Also took Sunday off, due to my legs being destroyed impact-wise from Saturday.  I also took a nap, got lots of sleep, and ATE AS MUCH AS I COULD FORCE DOWN!  I came in Monday morning 5lbs heavier.

I swam decent despite not having a great 'breathing' day in the pool.  My run felt good.  My run this morning felt good too.

I've been focusing on easy miles to this point.  I have mostly kept my pace the same and watched as my HR while running has been coming down.  Down to the point that I can't be sure I'm getting the training benefit I want.  So beginning yesterday I started to hunt for that 140bpm target.  I was surprised to find that as I inched up my speed from my normal 6.8mph, that I could keep going.  I brought my speed up to 7.3mph today and my HR initially touched 140, but would keep dropping down closer to 135 when I stopped looking.

This may be something really good here.  I may be finding that I can run faster with little or no increased metabolic cost.  It has to do with technique, mechanics, stride length...

Anyway, that's what's up with me.

Oh, another angle.  My race performance Saturday marks a notable improvement over my 5k race in January.  There has been no intervening change in training.  I honestly think that my single 5k race in January registered a performance boost.  I have a theory that when someone's base training is complete...or let's say RIPE, that there is fast and immediate performance improvements waiting to be 'harvested' with the introduction of speed work.  In my case the January 5k was one.  Saturday's 5k was another.  I actually feel more fit on my runs so far this week just from some sort of lift after the race.

I also typically see a sustained improvement in performance all summer long as I introduce a busy racing schedule.  Many call this the 'race fit' approach to training...ie. races are used as the hard workouts that bring about improvements.

Anyway, I don't think that interval training yields benefits until the 'base' has been set.  For most of us, building the base....ie. building aerobic fitness by itself will yield the most improved performance.

I've heard it said that speed work is 'icing on the cake'.  I would agree with that statement.  Not all athletes should even try to do speed work until they have a sufficient base behind them.

Anyway, not entirely sure of everything I just wrote about, but those are the thoughts I've been formulating over the last few days.  Let me know what you think.

Jo63 - 2012-02-28 6:41 AM What a crazy couple weeks, I have been training but haven't had the time to even log them. I was able to quickly skim everyone ones posts sounds like everyone is on the mend except for you Dina don,t want to be Debbie downer but it took me about two weeks to get over the virus thing. Sounds like some of you had some good races too! I had the strangest thing happen to me on my run Sunday the wind was brutal so we opted to run at the Petit center indoors for 13.1, which was awesome knowing Olympians trained there anyway at about 8miles in I started having this pain thinking it was heart burn I kept running for 13 laps then I felt like I might be having a heart attack, the pain was horrible, I opted to walk for a couple laps the pain decreased, but every time I started running again the pain would come back...I went to the chiropractor yesterday and discover my ribs were out of alignment, went for a quick 3 last night and had a little pain to start then it went away.

Yikes, that would freak me out. Be careful!

and yes, I have heard locally that this virus does not move out of the system very quickly. I went to the Y today to teach my Toddler Gym class. Set up/take down left me totally exhausted and achy again. Now I'm back in the recliner. Oh well. I'll be fine, just takes time. I was thinking about a short ride on the trainer but honestly I don't see the point when my body is putting this much energy into just getting through the day.

Jo63 - 2012-02-28 7:41 AM What a crazy couple weeks, I have been training but haven't had the time to even log them. I was able to quickly skim everyone ones posts sounds like everyone is on the mend except for you Dina don,t want to be Debbie downer but it took me about two weeks to get over the virus thing. Sounds like some of you had some good races too! I had the strangest thing happen to me on my run Sunday the wind was brutal so we opted to run at the Petit center indoors for 13.1, which was awesome knowing Olympians trained there anyway at about 8miles in I started having this pain thinking it was heart burn I kept running for 13 laps then I felt like I might be having a heart attack, the pain was horrible, I opted to walk for a couple laps the pain decreased, but every time I started running again the pain would come back...I went to the chiropractor yesterday and discover my ribs were out of alignment, went for a quick 3 last night and had a little pain to start then it went away.

That's horrifyingly scary.  I really hope it was just the ribs.  Take it easy and be careful even if it was.  Keep us updated.

Like Jeff, I also did a HR based run today.  I've been doing them monthly since I started my run focus.  I run with my HR at 140 (top of my Z1 HR range) for 3 to 4 miles and see what the pace is.  When I first did this test, I averaged 9:52.  The next month it was 9:44, then 9:31, and today 9:17.  So something is working.

I also got my 910 today! As a data geek, I'm pretty excited, and as a skin flint I can't believe I saved 25%!  I think I'm going to actually start going to the pool at my old high school to test the swim mode.

Seriously?  Thats just ridiculous to run at 7.3 with a HR below 140!  When I turn up to that kind of speed I'm panting like a sick dog in August

But improvements are coming, my last 3 days have gone from the bottom side of the performance to setting a PR with minimal effort.  Sunday was my normal long run and was supposed to go to 12 miles, around mile 5.5 started having some discomfort in my left hip that moved around to the front and back again.  This lasted for roughly 3 miles until I had enough and stopped at 8.72, upset that I had to leave the group and walk back, but its better than the alternative.  Monday I went to the park after work to get a short run in before Monday night billiard league, felt good early and pushed the pace.   I didn't go over the top on effort and even pulled back everytime I started to feel the discomfort of hard running in my chest.  Finished even at 24m on a 5K, previous PR was 24:34.  Running this time easily by myself, makes me anxious for my next 5K on 4-7-2012, oh the possibilities.  Today I went for my medium run and made the mistake of inviting a running partner who is definitely much faster than me.  I was able to hold the brakes on him for the most parts but still ran the 7 miles at a 9m avg pace.  No difficulties until the last mile.  Sitting here 4 hours later I feel no discomfort or other issues but I am still going to back off the rest of the week.  I'm just happy to recover from Sunday's drop out!!

Oh and the best part, the budget committee just gave me the approval to start purchasing bike parts (Yay!)  Only trade off is that I have to purchase the committee a new IPAD,

Hope everyone has a good week!

That's crazy talk -140 at 7.3 mph!  I'm with Matt - 7.3 would have me pretty well stretched.  I agree with your take on the speed work and races being a great version of speed work.  And for sure the base has to be met to get the most out of speed work, and it's probably not even necessary to do any speed work until the base is met.  That's the part I'm trying to figure out - what exactly does it take to get the base met?  I know years of running certainly qualify, but at what point do you really start getting real bang for the buck on the speed running?  That's what I'm trying to settle in my mind.