jsiegs and slornow's Train Hard and Have Fun group - CLOSED for Training (Page 49)

I have a question for the group (or what's left of us).  I'm trying to figure out what to do in the "off season".  I saw a thread on Tri Talk about taking time off.   I'm going to train for a half marathon in October and maybe do a metric marathon in November.  I'll start training for my first Tri in the middle of Feb.  So that gives me December, January and half of Feb to do.......who knows.  I thought about working on strength training (which I love and really need) and cycling. 

What do you plan on doing? 

Christy

I've been looking at Beach to Battleship!  I don't think I could do the full next year.  As much as I'd like to, I don't think I'd be able to get the training in.  But I might do the half.

I'm feeling pretty good.  Legs are a little sore and I have horrible sores on my feet from running in wet shoes without socks.  I'd like to get to the gym today to work out some of the soreness.  We will see.  I promised my kids  a trip to the zoo

Christy

Hey all,

I am utterly deficient at posting the last few weeks and I want to apologize for that.  With work cramming me to finish a project before my wedding and the wedding planning/shopping/craziness, not to mention a long weekend in WV, and I just can't get on to post like I wanted to (or workout...my logs are dreadful...and so is my waistline!).

Things are only getting busier, and after Friday, I'm out for 3 weeks with my wedding and honeymoon.  I feel really bad that I've missed so much discussion and I know there are many congrats to go around for great races.  You guys put in some real good hours over the spring/summer with training and we've seen how that has really paid off with some good results!  I want to thank everyone for contributing and really making this a good group with some really positive encouragement and sharing of ideas.

I will try to keep checking in and post if I can, but I have to say this is probably the end of my daily (though you can't really call it that recently) involvement with the group.  I've seen some others that are naturally winding down as well, but please continue with the group as long as you guys would like.  I messaged Randy to let him know I'd be bowing out and I think he's willing to stick around for awhile longer.  Heck, you guys are such experts now, you probably don't even need us!

Ok - lastly, I have to thank Randy for doing a GREAT job leading the group.  I am so happy and fortunate that he wanted to lead the group.  With my hole in the head issues, I was really not on my game for the past few months, and it showed.  Randy really stepped up and led the group by himself when I was being all depressed and avoiding BT/training.  Huge thank you Randy!

So good luck in your upcoming training and races and have fun!

Thanks for everything Joe!  Have a great wedding and honeymoon.  I hope you get your health issues figured out and are able to get back into tris next season. Maybe I'll see you at the Columbia next year.

Christy

Karla I just read your race report. So funny that you experienced yet another weird transition issue! Our group is totally cursed! But again, congrats on a great (though tough) race. I really hope you guys get some rain soon! The lake pics were really sad!

... 

Joe, per your note, THANK YOU for your awesome perspective this summer - you really know what you're talking about and your ideas and feedback helped tremendously. Of course we missed you when you weren't around, but totally understand how a hole in your head and a wedding can eat up some of your time. 

...

As for me, well technically I'm not training for a triathlon right now so I probably don't need to be posting every day here any more (but I will keep checking for other updates). That said, my logs are updated daily and open for discussion. Plus it's always nice having 'inspires' when I log in to update my training. 

I want to thank the group for getting me through my Olympic distance in July. It was very mentally daunting but I ended up loving the experience and I can't wait to work on my race schedule for next year. If you guys are ever in Chicago, let me know and I would be happy to show you around!

And I second the props for Randy for leading the group with wonderful insight, helpful tips, and personal feedback. Having a daily mentor is HUGE in the world of triathlon. The benefits to this program are enormous and I will probably be back again next year once I start up. There is so much more to learn! Randy I feel like we all owe you a big, ginormous THANK YOU. You are awesome and I know you made me feel much more confident going into my race. This has just been a fabulous experience. ***insert standing ovation here*** I'm not sure what you do in your daily work life, but I hope it involves coaching, training, or some other mentoring. You're just great at it!

Ok, I'll stop now. I'll keep popping in from time to time but just not as often. HUGS! 

I don't know about you all, but I am not wanting our 'family' to end anytime soon. It's actually really funny, I have a friend of mine who is interested in doing an Iron distance race next year (he's a great runner, and good overall athlete), and I was talking about a few of our 'family' members and he was asking how I knew you all. Then I had to explain that it was all online...haha, he didn't really understand it. Oh well...

Joe: Best of luck with everything, enjoy it all! And remember, 'Happy Wife, Happy Life.' Thanks for all the help that you have laid out, I really appreciate your insight, and technical knowledge (specifically your cycling knowledge).

Randy: Again, thanks for everything. Everyone has covered what I feel about the group, including yourself and Joe, so in effort to not be redundant I will simply say, "Thank You." P.S. I really want to do B2b, I spent alot of time in Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach, NC growing up, and love the area. Actually almost went to UNC-W for graduate school.

One question for any and all who have insight. I am looking at possibly renting race wheels for Ironman Augusta 70.3, however I want to make sure I A) get the right wheel set up, and B) am not surprised when I rent wheels that don't fit my bike or what-not (any advice would be greatly appreciated. If any of you strong cyclists could look at the Augusta bike course and suggest a set-up it would be greatly appreciated. The course is mainly rolling hills (1-2% for a mile or so), with the final climb being 2+% for over a mile (closer to 2 I think).

As far as wheel set-up I am thinking about a Zipp 606 set-up (808 rear, 404 front) or a S60 front/S80 rear. Any insight?

Hey group

For those of you who have fallen off the wagon (hee, hee) I am still training for my ironman in October!  and I have to say is that you all stink for bragging about time off    Training for the full has totally whipped me, I am tired and hungry all the time.  Its a lot of fun but its also demanding.  I am loving it.  I would love it if you all kept encouraging me through this, as silly as it sounds, I really have enjoyed interacting with you.  You feel like family in my ironman journey.  I promise now that I am back to work (teacher) I will be more diligent with my posts.  Have a great day.

Riding an hour today and 40 min run following it.

Looking forward to 5 hour bike ride this weekend and 50 min run after

Joe - wish you all the best, congrads!  May your life together be happy and blessed. 

I plan to start running! .

Last year I did a real run focus and it helped tremendously, 6-7 times a week and built from about 150 miles in sept to 180-ish in Dec (almost nothing hard or fast), then maintained about 150-160 with some hard/fast work (before this build I had one month at 120 and the rest 100 or less). 

I used JorgeM's winter cycling plan on the bike, and even though I had to keep it at about 3x per week, I still improved a bunch (If you really follow his plan, and suffer as much as you should be, 3x a week goes a long way).  Swim was basically zilch from Sept to Dec, though that was not a bad thing.  I came back and was faster than the year before quickly.  I used the same mentality as the bike - no wasted time.  ALL intervals were HARD (something I wasn't doing before).  Interval work in the pool and the bike really make big payoffs in short time.  PLus, I dislike swimming and read this: http://www.endurancenation.us/blog/2011/02/28/another-reason-against-year-round-swimming-plus-a-challenge/  I believe them, because I think I "re-learned" a better stroke than I had (or would have had with tweaking).  It also gave me time to spend on the run build and keep cycling improving.

I think my plan this year will be very similar.  I really liked it and think it worked well for me, but obviously, YMMV.  All the running may have contributed to my head hole so maybe I should actually rethink this...

slornow - 2011-08-16 2:36 PM Wow, thanks to everyone for the kind words.  I'm not ready to pack it in yet and hope we can continue to be an active group through the Fall.  Sounds like folks are shifting gears and looking at more running races in the coming months.  Plus, us folks in the South still have triathlons to do.  We have lost some people along the way but have aq great group remaining.  Keep up the good work everyone.

Joe-I don't know how you have done as much as you have with the hole in your head and the wedding....I assume those 2 events are unrelated???

Randy    

Unfortunately, I have tried that arguement but Lindsay's not buying it...I still have to help

*chimes in* GO ROB GO! I have two friends training for Ironman (full) in Madison Wisc. in September and they are right about where you are --- tired, hungry, whipped. And yet, managing to stay positive. You all inspire us to keep going along with this crazy journey. You're so close! Can't wait to hear all about these last few months!

Confession? Even though I'm only running now and not technically tri training, I'm mostly doing the half-marathon to convince myself that I can attempt a half-Ironman in the next two years. Yep. I'm officially putting that out there  

Back to work. 

You have all said everything I could imagine saying about this group - thank you Randy and Joe for creating this awesome group!!

I agree, I don't want our 'family' to end either

Nicole, that's kind of my thinking for training for a HM. If I can't make it through the run itself, no way can I dream of doing a HIM.

My race photos were posted and my running looks like something out of a Zombie horror movie. Seriously. I have horrible form and I just look like death! (Nevermind that the specific picture is my last 1/4 mile, but still!!) I'm thinking of having my trainer video tape me so I know what I can work on. I don't really know how to improve my form... any ideas? Outside of running I have great posture, but in the this pic I look like I'm swinging m left arm across my body, my knees go inward and my shoulders are slumped. It's rather embarrasing

Karla - Knees inward = not good (generally). This is really problematic for women and can cause injuries. We need to work extra hard on our hips, glutes, core and quads/hamstrings to get them strong enough to support the impact of running. My knees start to go inward when I'm tired = losing my form = IT band, hip and back issues. Definitely have your trainer tape you and look at your photos. I'm doing a LOT every single week to prevent this from happening. Bridges, bridges and more bridges (single leg, versions with resistance, side bridges, ones on exercise balls, etc.), single-leg squats, hip dips, leg presses, clamshells, monster walk etc. You most likely need to develop more strength to help you keep your form throughout the run.  

I'm sure Randy and others can offer more advice but I wanted to let you know that ladies' hips can provide these extra special problems for us. Good thing to notice early in your running journey to work on prevention measures and stay healthy. 

tired whipped and hungry that describes it   good luck to your friends, wish them the best I feel thier pain.  Thanks for the encouragement.  If I can do a half IM you can :0)

don't worry how you look in the photos all of ours are zoombie-ish (is that a word) not too much attractive about mine     anyways just have fun with it don't over analyze it just enjoy the moment. : )

Thank you for the running tips (or form tips rather!)

This weekend has been CRAZY. In an effort to make our house look more like a home instead of like we just moved from an apartment, we've been all over town buying stuff and looking at furniture. I must say, we've been in this house for 4 years... it's time to upgrade some furniture from Walmart partical board to the real stuff, lol!!

Aside from that, I have somehow managed to delete my email account, so I am not getting notifcations about posts. That's a whole bag of worms I'm not  going to get in to, but let's just say, I'm pretty darn pissed!!

Today is family day, the grandparents come over to play with my daughter - heaven forbid they come to see us... just sayin'

I have an early morning run tomorrow, and really looking forward to it. No time to waste, I have to get back on track for my Oct Tri

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I'm so behind!!  I tried to read through everything.  Everyone's training sounds great!  I'm seriously slacking.  I bought some new shoes today.  Does that count as training?  I'm also planning out next years race schedule.  I signed up for a half in October.  I need to put on my new shoes and get out there!!

On the topic of race photos....mine always suck.  Most of them look like i'm walking, or about to collapse.  I actually had some good ones from my race last week.  No idea how it happened.  I bought a copy .

I'm so impressed with everyone sticking to their training!  You guys are awesome.

Christy

OUCH! had that happen on the motorcycle but never the bike.  Not fun at all.

Hey all! 

Rode 4.5 hours saturday and ran 30 mins after and than Sunday Rode 1 hour and Ran 2 hours, my gosh I think they are trying to kill me with this training, I sure hope the Ironamn is funner than the training. 

This week is recovery week, thank god, I need it.

an hour swim today!  Jsut keep pushing 

You are amazing!!!