Southwestmba's group-Full (Page 5)

I've never laid my eyes on a more gorgeous set of KB's.  Now stop taking pictures and get some sweat and scratches on those bad boys!!!  HA-HA-HA

quick play today but they're going with me to my class tomorrow night...

All this talk of training objectives and HR monitors has made me feel guilty.    So....
I'm breaking out the HR monitor and trying to re-focus my efforts.  My plans for Dec-Jan were simply to get back into the habit.  Feb. goals are to add a bit more distance/strength.  Mar-May is when the real fun starts. 

I'm digging the conversations and everyone's insights. 

Hi Everyone. I'm one the road again this week so I've gotten to work the treadmill a bit this week. I did one of my favorite a dualthlon brink run-bike-run and working the second run faster than the first. You get to practice transitions and get to train your legs to adapt and train to hold a hard pace with tired legs. I also did a progressive speed run where I ran for and hour and added speed every 20 min. This again is good for getting you used to increasing the tempo/effort as you start to tire and it teaches you to keep your form together. Tonight I did an 80 min long run at a steady speed. A treadmill is good for teaching youself how to maintain a steady pace and hoe to adjust the efort to maintain it. You maintain the pace or you fall off. I'd rather run outside but when I do have to do the treadmill, I try to make those workouts count.

As far as nutrition and diet, I don't believe in dieting. If you want long term results you must change your eating habits long term. Slowly working those habits into your routine worked best for me. I switch from drinking soda to diet soda to Diet Green Tea (I cut out Carbonated drinks after doing the penny in a cup of coke experiement with my kids and realized that probably wasn't too good inside my stomach). Cut back the McDonald's and went with a 6"sub or Shrimp Tacos instead when we ate out, cut out the mayo for mustard, then reduced the red meat for grilled chicken and turkey. But the key is I allow myself to splurge once a week. I get my Ben & Jerry's or M&Ms or whatever I am craving every Friday. Doing it in this manner helped me lose over 60 pounds and my wife and kids also have adopted allot of my good habits as well which is also very rewarding.

I'll go into race/training nutrition in our next installment.

Andy

thanks for the ideas Andy - had never really thought of indoor brick sessions like that, so more new ideas.

I'd like to get some ideas from the group about a new goal around muscle/strength development? I've lost a good bit of fat, but need to muscle-up a little. I'm just a little too lean now, according to my wife at least... I could focus on BF% but that doesnt show muscle development, and weight is no good either really. I dont really want to just do a 'bench 150' type of goal either as thats not what its all about for me. Can anyone suggest a goal and tracking method related to my strength/muscle gaining goals please? I want to develop a lean, defined muscle look that looks good in a tri suit and will compliment my race day performance and overall health and fitness. Thanks...

Interesting that you brought that up Damon. I have been thinking about that same idea so I am starting the P90X home training on Sunday with my wife. Not sure how it will go with the loss of strength that I incured during my 8 week couch session. My strenght is diffinatly coming back but still not where it was before. That is one area I really need to focus on to help me get faster so I will let you know how it goes.....I heard that its hard but it works if you stick to it its good and I know hard work does pay off.

I'm exploring the PX90 option, too.  Got a couple videos that I'm gonna check out. 

I keep reading the P90X threads and getting all excited, but I think its probably too much for me, when combined with tri training. I'm bidding on a set on the bay right now so hopefully will snag a bargain and be able to do some of the workouts to get additional variety alongside the KB stuff.

<sheepishly waves hi>

Well hello group,

I have to confess that my training has not gone according to plan. I'm finding myself overwhelmed by the lack of training time and struggling to fit it all in. I feel so good when I get a nice run in!

My appologies for not checking in more often.

Joanne

dont beat yourself up about it - its worse trying to do something unrealistic and then feeling guilty, rather than changing to a more achievable plan given your time constraints?

Is there anything you can do differently that will fit with your life a little better?

I think I am revamping my plan a bit. I overestimated how much my immediate family would support me through this and I underestimated how many times my "plan" would have a wrench thrown at it, lol.

In order to run or cycle, I have to get up at 4:30 - it is the only time I can fit it in. Now that I realize this I just need to do it I start my swimming lessons on Sunday - yay! My mom has agreed to cover any Sunday hockey practices that overlap. As luck has it, my lessons are at the same recreation centre as most of my youngest daughter's hockey games and that is a rarity in a city of this size! And lastly, just for something that I enjoy, I am doing an hour and a quarter of yoga on my lunch hours. It means I can't eat in peace but it is SO worth it!

Hey there Joanne.

Just getting back into this forum is going to help you a ton.  Everyone here is very encouraging and Andy has some really inspiring words to share from his experiences too.

I get up at 4:50am everyday M-F, and I get to "sleep in" to 6:30am on S/S.  Initially it was tough, but then I got into the swing of things and started going to bed earlier and the alarm at 4:50 isn't nearly as painful.  Your body will do the best when you are consistent with your sleep schedule.   Eventually you will get to the point when the alarm goes off and you lay there and your body is telling you, "maybe I should sleep just a little bit longer" but your mind is telling you to get your butt up and won't let you fall back to sleep because you know how crappy you will feel for the rest of the day.

With all that said, you've got to do what's best for you and your family.  Which BTW is why I've got to get of the computer and take the kids to the school fun fair.

Good luck with your training and have FUN!!
~Marsha

Back in October, I bought my first tri-bike, a QR Caliente,  I bought pedals about a week later, but I finally bought some tri shoes that work on my pedals last week.(Had a serious time finding tri shoes in my size in carbon at end of season) So my bike has sat unused for the last four months, just staring at me begging to be used.  Today, I got the bike fitted and put the pedals on and it is looking awesome.  Now I still can't get outside to ride it for probably another month(so it's still staring at me begging to get outside), but at least when we get those few nice days in March, I'll be ready to go. 

Needed to tell some people who understood, my wife doesn't understand the excitement towards bikes

Joanne

The biggest challenge each of face when we are starting out is working exercise into your daily routine. It can be hard at first but eventually it becomes part of your routine and you'll find you just don't feel right if you skip it. My advice is to take a look at you daily schedule and look at yourself and try and find the best spot in your day to block an hour. I am not a morning person, so I take advantage of the fact that my office has a couple of showers and run at lunch and then I work my swimming and biking around my kid's schedules. I also have a trainer down in my basement so I can ride at night after the kids go to bed. It took some experienting and flexibility but found what worked for me.

My workouts are my "me time" and they serve alot of purposes more than just to keep me in shape. They relieve stress, they help me think clearer, and recharge my batteries. I feel so much more positive and energized after a good workout and I know it helps me remain calm and even keeled at work, at home, and everywhere else.

Do what you can and remember to enjoy what you are doing. Remember that run a few weeks ago. You were out there on a extremely cold day running when almost noone else dared to venture outside. But when you were done, I know you felt on top of the world and alive. Capture that feeling.

Andy

Bryan

Congrats on the new bike. One of the traditions on this site is to take a picture or two of it and show it off to everyone on the main triathlon talk forum. That way everyone can drool over your sexy new tri bike and you can make everyone jealous.

All3Sports.com is a really good site for tri equipment. They should have some shoes in your size in a few different brands. Attached is a link and a coupon they sent me.

http://www.all3sports.com/coupon

If anyone else in the group is interested, I think they coupon can be used several times.

Andy

Thank you all so much for the support, it really helps. Scheduling will definately continue to be my primary struggle.

I had an assignment due at noon today so I got up early and worked on it. Once I was satisfied with my paper, I sent it in and set off running! Because I haven't run in over a week (!!!), my body wanted to quit about 2 kms in. I pushed through it and it felt really good by the end. I only got in 8.4 kms (I think that is around 5 miles), but I am glad that I did it.

I think back to my first outdoor run and it was great I have only ran once on my TM since that day and I didn't really enjoy it at all. I'll save my TM for early morning runs when I have to stay home for the kids.

How is everyone's weekend going?

Joanne

Funny how things never go to plan...

Managed a run yesterday while my son was at his swim class, then felt brave and blitzed myself with a 20 min continuous kettlebell session as soon as I got home. I didnt manage much more as my parents were staying for the weekend, but got up this morning and decided to hit the KB's again, and did a fast 13 min session. I thought that might be my lot with a busy day but my wife suggested a long walk so after an hour out I managed a 30 min pool session, although it was family time so a bit of a nightmare even in the lane....

The KB sessions are killing me..........and its GREAT!!! I'm going to do a short session every day for the next 3-4 weeks and see what the impact is. I have in mind 2-3 different routines with a variety of different swings and moves, so hopefully will get some variety and keep developing. I have a few days away so wont be able to do them then, but otherwise I hope to be pretty continuous with it.

JoAnne, Welcome back!  Like everyone else has said.  Don't beat yourself up over this
'triathlon'-thing.  It's a hugh commitment, and if you're not getting paid to train, then you gotta take care of the really important stuff in life first.  Triathlon is a luxury for me.   But when it stops being fun, then I'm gone.

Bryan,
I, too, have a QR Caliente.  Mine has been sitting in my LBS all winter waiting for me to make the last payment.  It was recovered from an insurance claim, so I really bought it for a song.  My co-workers at the LBS take it down and do some minor tune-up work to it when they're bored.  Just a couple more weeks and it's all mine.

Damon, I managed to score a PX90 Core Synergy workout-I watched it this afternoon.  HOLY !  I'm gonna give it a try in a few days.  If I live through it, I'll let you know.

Hope eveyone has a GREAT WEEK ahead.   Shout out to ANDY for keeping all the cats herded and on track.  Thank you! 

Jeff - good news on the workout. I am a total magpie when it comes to gear. I get interested in something then must have it - its terrible... With that in mind I have investigated the P90X stuff and am going to leave it. It might become a tool for me next autumn once I get this year's base building out of the way, and have developed some strength with my KB's. They are plenty tough enough and are kicking my behind daily right now anyway. I am NOT able to do P90x AND my tri and cycle training at the same time, especially given I'm not as young as I used to be (this summer sees the big 40 for me ).

I hope everyone is having a good start to the week. For some reason I dread my long runs and always doubt myself, and today was no different as I headed out for an 11 miler. It takes me until about mile 3-4 and then it clicks, and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I wasnt quite as strong this week, maybe because last week was my highest training volume on record, but managed the last 1.5 miles flat out to get it done in 1:57. Its not quite good enough for my HM target but every week is new ground for me at these distances.

I do have some knee aches though. It doesnt affect my running but sets in afterwards. I suspect its just from the pounding for that distance, but its been slowly appearing the last couple of weeks. It usually is gone inside 12 hours but today feels worse. I might skip next week's long run and work on some shorter fast stuff for the week and take it a little easier. I have plenty of time to crack the last 2 miles before race day in mid-March and will do anything to stay injury free. Will try and get off-road again for my short runs this week as well and hit the softer stuff.

Hope everyone else is having a good start to the week...

http://www.xtri.com/kona2009.aspx

check out the 3 parts for running. I found it very interesting.

thanks Nate - interesting reading. I need to push myself on technique as drills etc really turn me off.

I planned a cycle today but was put off my the rain, so swam instead. Amazingly me knee ache stopped immediately after 50m and hasnt returned. Seems like swimming is a good recovery from my long runs so I have to plan that in future.

Is it me or is training on the indoor trainer harder than training on the spinner and riding outside?

Today I set up my trainer, happy that I will finally be able to train on the bike without getting kicked off, only to find out that it was the hardest bike ride I have ever had.  At first I realized that I still needed understand how to coordinate the bike gears and the resistance gears of the cycle trainer.  Once I found that out and made the necessary adjustments, I still spent as much time resting as riding.  Towards the end, the ride was easier but my performance today gave me pause.  I knew my cycling was weak, but today's performance was terrible, I think I could have  ran the distance in the same amount of time.

Is there something I am missing?  Yes cycling indoors is boring (I caught myself pushing back my cuticles during one of my breaks), but I had a video to make it a little interesting. I still will fight myself to get better, but three hours was a little bit much.  Suggestions, clues, anyone?

Edited by BiafraGirl 2010-02-03 5:13 AM

Ony

I would bet you have the resistance dialed up a bit too high. Almost every trainer you tighten the flywheel about 2 turns from the point your wheel hits the wheel, but depending on the kind of wheel and how much air pressure is in the tire you can dial up more resistance. A good way to check is how long does it take for the wheel to stop after you stop pedaling. If it stops almost immediately you have it dialed up a bit high and that is why you feel like you are struggling. It should go about 3-4 revoulutions before it stops. The difference between riding outside and inside is that on the trainer you never get a chance to coast on a flat or glide downhill so you tend to do a more constant level of work which at first feels harder. Use your gears to adjust the resistance to where you can maintain a steady 80-90 rpm without too much effort and then set that gear as your base. Warm up a gear below this and shift up a few gears when you want to work harder. As your bike legs get stronger your base gear will go up and you will be going faster.

One thing you definitely need to do when cycling indoor, is get a towel or bike cover to keep the sweat off your bike. Since you aren't moving you aren't creating airflow past your body so you will sweat more (less evaporates) and that sweat can cause parts on the bike to rust (Cables, screws, headset). A $10 plastic bike cover or a towel can save you alot of $ for maintenance down the road.

As a side note, I actually had my second flat on my trainer this winter tonight. As the tire starts to go flat the resistance gets less and less and you can notice the difference. Since I didn't have a spare I had to finish out with the flat and hopefully I can get to my local bike shop tommorrow with the winter storm on it's way to the East Coast tonight. I've had more flats on the trainer than I have on the road, figure that one out.

Andy

Ideas to keep trainer rides interesting.

I ride with my IPOD and have several different playlists I designed to get me to change up the tempo with the songs and I am somewhat programmed to sprint with some of my songs. The playlists help move my workout along and ensure I put in a good effort. If I have a solid goal before riding I find I am better at stay focused on my workout than if I just go downstairs to ride, have no goal, and quickly get bored.

I also will bring my laptop computer downstairs and can use the computrainer to see a workout, or do a Spinervals DVD which will help to focus.

If I am doing a longer or tempo ride at a lower intensity, I like to watch a video or play poker online. I play free tournaments on AOL and a good tourney can last 70-90 min to cover a good ride. If also is funny if I have my HRM on while playing poker and riding. When I get in a big hand I'll watch my HR jump up 10-15 BPM while riding along at 20 mph.

Other folks watch videos such as Tour de France videos or NBC's Kona special which are great motivators.

Hope that helps.

Andy