IronSteves Group Now FULL (Page 5)

Come on inTiger1,
We have lots of room. If you check out the previosu posts, you will see that many folks have apprehension regarding the swim. How far is the swim for your first tri? Swimming is challenging for those coming from a runningbackground. Don't worry you will be fine as long as you get into the water. Check out some of the total immersion material as it will make your swim more enjoyable. Also, in 1996 in my first tri, I made the mistake of getting into the middle of the pack and got pummeled in the swim. Now, I am towards the back and off to the side which helps me ease into my pace and not be dictated by the pack. Just some thoughts.

Steve

Does anyone know of a good sports nutrition resource? I spent the last 3 years doing South Beach and lost 71 lbs and now have to readjust my thinking to carbs being my friends so I'm looking to re-educate myself. Currently I eat only 2 servings of whole grain bread type food a day, the rest of my carbs are from veggies and fruit. I met with a trainer at the gym yesterday and he made some suggestions but I was dying in swim practice this morning...

Judi

Another question, my 11 yo daughter wants to run the 10 K with me, she doesn't do anything to train. I don't want to discourage her from trying but I also don't want to lose my focus on the run worrying about her. This is a huge Richmond event which has a cap of 24,000 participants. What do you guys think? There is an option of the kids first mile run so my husband and other daughter could send her off and pick her up at the finish then they'd just have to wait for me

judi

Hey Steve:

Not sure if you received my previous post, the one I did yesterday.

I'm definitely interested in joining your team.

Let me know if you get a chance, OK?

Joshua

Depending on which race I enter, either 400 or 750 meters. I will have to see how well I progress with the swimming. I plan to get instruction at the local Y. They offer four 45 minute group sessions. Hopefully I will get some insight into good technique. In the meantime, what should I focus on initially while doing my swim training?

Good Morning Triathletes!

Well I did it, I joined Team in Training (TNT). For those of you who dont know, they will be the people at your races wearing the purple and white singlets. TNT is a program developed by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help raise money for blood cancer reasearch and development. They do this by providing training and resources to runners/walkers, cyclists and finally,yes, TRIATHLETES in exchange for the fundraising efforts of the athletes who participate in one of their sponsored races.

The reasons I decided to join TNT are:

1) It is a great cause that allows me to accomplish a personal goal and have that goal benefit others as well.

2) Each race participant races for an honorary blood cancer patient

3) And last but certainly not least, because about 10 years ago my cousin David was diagnosed with Leukemia. He underwent all the treatment and Chemotherapy and successfully went into remission.

The treatment required for these conditions is tremendously expensive, and at the time, I was young and didn't know how I could help. Thankfully the donations of organizations like TNT allowed him to recieve his treatment and go into remission. Now I finally found a way to help, through my first 5430 Sprint Triathlon in June.

My goal is to raise $3500 to support this fantastic cause. I am extremely committed to this, it is my motivation to train and race hard until I surpass my goal and help in a way I never could before.

There is no pressure or obligation, if you would like to donate to this cause, please visit the web page below. All donations are 100% Tax deductable, and more importantly will contribute to saving the lives of people with these terrible diseases.

http://www.active.com/donate/tntrm/tntrmPRayman

You all have my heartfelt thanks and the thanks of people like my cousin who benefit from the donations TNT recieves.

Thanks

Paul (aka SARGE)

Hello Steve, I would like to join your group too. My name is Kevin, I am 41 yrs old, married for 7 years and have 3 kids a dog and two cats. I started swimming two years ago to get in shape and have progressed to 1650 yds in 40 minutes. I just started running and biking. I eventually want to do an olympic triathlon this year.

I would like to improve my swimming and get faster while at the same time improve my endurance in running and the bike.

Holey Moley Judi,
Thats not enough carbs. Dont know how much you know about energy sources but your body stores energy in your muscles in the form of glycogen. And carbs are the best fuel source. Your body happily stores glycogen continuously and then it sits there until you require it (ie training). That horrid feeling called 'hitting the wall' in when your body is completely depleted of glycogen and its trying to use other sources (ie your fat) for energy. This is really inefficient, hence the lethargic feeling. So its vital to keep the glycogen stores up. Tiredness is a key indicator of low glycogen levels.

As a guide (course it depends on your intensity level, weight etc etc) training females require 4-9 serves of carbs per day, 3 dairy, 1 meat, 2-3 fruit and 5 veg. By 'training female' they mean 1-3 hrs of training per day.

Protein is important for rebuilding muscle, but they only recommend as much as you can fit in the palm of your hand, ie not much. Its apparently not a very good energy source.

I know that seems like a truck load of food to shove in your gob. But to be truely honest Im currently training for the Rottnest Swim (wont mean anything to you Americans but its a 20km ocean swim race in Australia) and Ive been eating that much and i feel a million bucks. And have definitely not gained weight. I dont think its possible to gain weight doing tri's!!! yay to that!

Hope that helps, its all based on Australian guidelines so others in the group might have more info about american guidelines, but it works for me.

Kathy

I want to appopogize to ULugo70119 as I compleletly over looked your original post and subsequent post.

There is no excuse for me not to be more mindful of who is posting in this group as I took this program seriously and understood the committment.
I got a personal email from thi poster and I felt terrible about my oversight. Since the group is becoming large, I may have to close it. MY initial thought is to keep it open and if issues such as my unresponsiveness continue, I'll close it. If thera are problems and questions that I haven't gotten to you, I am open for you to email them to me and state wheter you want a return reply with the answer or want it posted. If unstated, I will be replying to your email message. My training has restrated and I am in my first phases of Ironman build up so my response times will be a bit more drawn out as I won't have the free time I have had. Folks are welcomed to stay or join another mentor group.

Steve

Steve:

Thanks a lot. Really, it's OK.

I e-mailed you earlier to your personal e-mail ... so you may have already gotten it.

I'm still interested in becoming part of your group, if it is still OK with you.

Good luck with your training!

Josh

Hi Steve / Everybody,
This is going to sound like a stupid question, but I always though that the only stupid question was the one that was never asked, so here goes. What are shin splints? Is that when your running and your shins tense up and hurt or is that just normal when you start running? or are shin splints something worse? I have just come off the couch and I have never run before so when I run (jog) my biggest pains come from lungs and then my shins. I know the lung thing will get better the more I run, but how can I make my shins not hurt or at least make it better?

Midnight

Kathy,
That helps some. It's hard to wrap my brain around so many carbs after being so careful to figure out what worked to lose the fat.

Is the one serving of protein correct? That doesn't seem like much because the palm size is about 3 ounces and that's not even a chicken breast! Might be a challenge to eat so much dairy since the only good use for milk is my coffee and occasional cereal Good thing I do like cheese and yogurt.

Is there a trick to figuring out the timing of food or is that something I'll just have to keep expirimenting with to see what works for me?

Do I have to eat that much all the time or just the days I train harder? Even the guys at work were shocked at the calories the trainer suggested to me, they didn't think they could eat 2500 cal either and they aren't little guys!

Judi

Hi Steve,

I am a 49yr old married man with two children aged 5 and 2yrs. We live in Wellington, New Zealand. My background is in biological sciences and have a good understanding of anatomy and physiology.I was a decent runner about 30 years ago, (4min 12 sec miler) and weighed about 160 lbs. Played rugby in the UK and France for more years than was sensible and suffer from a bit of wear and tear. Cycling started when training for triathlons about 10 years ago. On a very flat course in the middle of an OLY did a 1 hr 07 min. Swimming is ok with a 2.8 km sea swim last Saturday in Wellington timed at 44min 07 sec. (The race measurement is highly suspect).

The list above looks fine but the reality is that I now weigh 205lbs and am not bike or run fit. I have not trained consistently for about six years. The biggest hinderence for training is two very unstable ankles that can cause me pain without me twisting them. My physio thinks it is ok to train on them.

I have taken part in three short triathlons (500m/20k/5k) this summer and will do another short on Feb 11. There is also an OLY on the 1 Apr. My long term aim would be a HIM sometime in the three years. Should also mention that I volunteered to do the kayak leg, 11km, of a multisport event in May.

If you would another person to join the group who will probably keep a low profile I am your man.

michael

Judi
I understand your problem, but if you eat six meals a day you could get 2500 cal. a day. I’m sure that when you started south beach diet it was a struggle to change your habits. Well eating six times a day will be hard in the beginning but it works, you don’t gain weight and you can get all the calories that your body needs to do the workouts. Here is a link to a site that gives a good general overview of when to eat and when you need carbs and when you want protein, even some sample meals. Hope it helps.

Sorry if the link does not work but this is the site.

http://www.runnersweb.com/running/rw_news_frameset.html?http://www....


Midnight

midnight,
I already eat 5-6x daily, it's just in 200-400 cal ranges between meals and snacks so the total is around 1500/day. I'll check out the link though, any information is better than none
Thanks,
Judi

Hi Judi,
I replied to you before but my computer crashed as i sent submit!! gotta love that.

Yes 1 protein is what they are recommended. Apparently that is all that is required for the average endurance athlete to ensure iron levels are up and for muscle repair. I chat about it to my gym trainer who is into body buidling and he eats 60% protein and thinks 1 serve is too little.

I dont know a huge amount about all the new high protein diets, but from my understanding they work by preventing the hunger feeling. But protein is a relatively poor nutrient source and so we really only need as much as our body needs for its function (which they are suggesting is 1 serve).

Im not fussed if i eat meat or not, so the high carb eating works for me. Maybe you should see a sports nutritionist as im a firmer believer in different strokes for different folks.

On the calories comment, im currently eating 2,900 a day. And yes theres alywas something hanging out my gob (so my husband tells everyone), but with training 2-3 hrs per day ive still lost body fat - 4% in the last 6 weeks.

Timing is important. The first half hr after exercise they recommend eating carbs, as that is the time you are most efficient at converting and storing glycogen.

I usually eat a bit less on off-days, but they say your metabolism wont slow down for several days so if you have a week off or something start backing off then or you'll grow love handles!!

Its up to you - but id give it a go for a week or so and see how you go. If it doesnt work for you, see a sports nutritionist.

Kathy

Thanks, Kathy.
I tried upping the carbs yesterday. Felt fine all day but even after Pilates they just sat in my belly all night so I only had 3 decent hours of sleep. I didn't crash in swim though, only felt a little hunger towards the end of the second hour. Looked for the trainer this morning but he wasn't around when they paged him. I am working on getting info from a sports nutritionist because I think that resource will probably hold more practical application of tips.
The website Midnight sent me has a lot of good info on it but I'm not getting up at 3 AM to eat before the swim class! I don't even remember getting up too much to feed the girls when they were infants and they depended on me as opposed to a bottle...
South Beach helped me recognize beter real hunger from "head hunger" and there was a lot of good info in the plan-such as the small meals and snacks throughout the day. I always thought I had good habits but I did re-learn alot with SBD. Cravings for the salt and chocolate disappeared--they were replaced with wanting spinach of all things! So I guess what I really learned was to listen to my body's signals and better determine what it was asking for (ie pretzels or veggies w/ hummus) SBD isn't necessarily high protein like Atkins-though they both start off that way. SBD reintroduces carbs after the second week ( I waited for a third week initially and then did a week on phase 1 about every 6 months during the first 18 months on it.) Now I can take most any recipe--even from the high profile food network chefs and modify it to a more healthy version.

Judi

Josh,
I am finally getting to responding to folks who have been posting. Looking at your profile you are getting it! Check out a book titled Triathlon 101 as your will be enlightened further with regard to the direction your are headed.

Your question about biking are good ones. Do you own an indoor bike trainer? If you must train at the gym this is ok. When training on a gym bike, try to get one that has the ability to measure power (watts) and cadence (rpm). It is fine to do most of your training inside. I live in Maryland and did Ironman Arizona where I did all of my training indoors from December to March on an indoor trainer. If you own your an indoor trainer you should invest ina heart rate monitor. Spinervals are the way to go to develop bike strength and endurance www.spinervals.com

Gotta go but will look to post more for you later.

Steve

Hello Kevin,
As I mentioned in an earlier post I am really behind in replies and stacked and packed for time as I am building up again. By the looks of it swimming 1650 in 40 minutes is a great start. A good stroke clinic will help that time come down a bit and as you gain endurance in the water and improved technique you will be around 35 for 1.5k in the swim. Focus time and energy on you bike and it will translate into your run fitness as well.

Til Later,
Steve

Hi Michael (jacobsgrant)
Oh to have that early life fitness again. Being in NZ you are trully int the middle of tri season. You nknow what nees to be done to do the race and half IM is a year or so away depending on how committed youa re to training. I would see this is a resonalbe goal for next season. Once you work those cob webs out your body will begin to remember what you need to do in order to get it back into shape. It appeasrs by your race schedule you are moving and moving well. OLY is a great next step and will tell you what you need to know to begin to train for Half Iron.

Steve

Midnight,
Shin splits are painful! I get them from time to time usually suggest I need to look at buying a new pair of running shoes. and it is quite common in folks beginning a run program. Good treatment is (1) stretch after your runs. I posted a link to the PTS website that goes over stretches. (2) put a dixie cup of water in the freezer and after runs rub the frozen ice over your shin and peel back the cup as it melts do this to both shins. (3) Advil

Steve

Midnight,
Going through two-a-days for football for many years and being a 270 pound lineman, shin splints were not all that foreign to me. Basically like Steve said, stretch and the cup of ice will take care of them.

Edited by ljk2171` 2007-02-01 12:41 PM

Steve:

Thanks again for the info.

No, I don't own an indoor trainer, yet anyway. I assume that's a device that allows you to ride your bike indoors as opposed to having to take it on the road. I don't even own a tri bike yet, but hope to be able to get one around the summer, before I do my first Sprint Tri in TN.

Right now, I'm biking, swimming, & running at the gym.

I do own a Polar Heart Monitor, one that's middle of the road I think, and I've been using it to monitor heart rates, though not really logging anything yet.

I believe that I need help in ALL the disciplines really, but I think like most of us starting out here, the swimming will be the hardest. I am embarrased to say that I actually used to be in a swim team when I was a young teenager, and let it all go.

This site is great, and I'm just NOW, I think, getting up to speed with some of what the site has to offer. It took me a little bit to understand the logging, the actual and planned and the different views, but I'll get it down.

I don't know what program I should be using to import data into a plan. Seems like the Michael Bates Total Sprint will be way too much for me to handle the swimming, but not sure what other I can choose from.

I can freestyle about 100 yards, almost dying towards the end. I have issues with my breathing, stroke, kicks, all of it really. I have ordered a DVD from BT.com along with some training aids to help me along.

I will get the book tonight before I get home and dive into it.

I know you're super busy, so I appreciate all your efforts to get me "up to speed."
I really do!

Thank You,

Oh yeah....

instead of ulugo70119, i changed it to a cooler/better one ... I think.

So now it's TriItNow2007

Hi,

I hope my information is correct but I do remember reading that kicking in the pool is good for shin splints, poss using fins.

Also years ago I found a solid rubber tyre that I put on an old wheel and used for turbo/indoor training. I don't suppose anyone knows if they still exist or where to get them? I have tried various searches on the web and not got anything. All help is gratefully received.

Should have added in the first post that I realize that the best aid to the ankles is to lose weight. I also know the best way to lose weight is to train.

TTFN
(being english - ta ta for now)

michael j-g

Steve and all,

Do you subscribe to Triathlete Magazine? I'm thinking of suscribing, but I know that there's a couple of mags and I want to choose the best one for me. Input appreciated.

Edited by Braedon23 2007-02-09 10:48 AM