Allison and Ryan's Beginner Mentor Group - FULL (Page 5)

Whoah Nelly! My workout today was a little more intense than I planned.  It was technically a rest day for me today but since I didn't get my bike in yesterday (supposed to swim and bike on Mondays) I figured I get a easy ride in today.  Also since I took last week pretty easy and didn't do anything over the weekend, I felt that my body had enough rest. 

So today I decided to do a brick workout.  Just 8miles on the bike and then a 2mile easy run.  Not too bad right?

Well, due to my daugther sleeping in and having to get her to daycare late I didn't get an early morning workout in.  Then work was crazy so no time mid-day either.  Finally had to go pick my daughter up so I loaded the old (heavy!) mountain bike and the Chariot (bike trailer/jogging stroller).  So I start riding and oh man I thought my lungs were going to burst.  There was a wicked headwind the first 4 miles, my bike is probably over 25lbs, and the Chariot and my daughter combined are 50+lbs.  Hills were not my friend. 

So what was supposed to be nice and leisurely turned into some serious interval training.  I guess you gotta make it work right?

Yikes! Makes me glad I just have dogs and they won't ride in a trailer!

I think someone expressed some concerns about mixing up the schedule in a week and I'm wondering what people think about that. I often change up the event du jour, depending on my schedule. Is that bad?

I'm sort of figuring if I do the time during the week and don't back to back runs, I will be OK. but just thought I'd check.

M

slow speed bike drills was the order of the day yesterday, figure 8, instant turn, 90 degree turn, bumb and go, track stands and M box, great training but plays havoc on the legs if you're not careful and of course 30 bike cops are going to show off a bit for each other...

We did do a 12 mile training ride which was uspposed to be at a 15 mph pace but I guess we had some mechanical issues or something because the back of the pack was constantly falling behind so it was more like a 12 mph pace...  Night ride tonight hopefully faster

Definitely missing not getting in runs/swims this week but will hit it harder next week to make up for it since I don't want to screw up getting certified but one of the instructors is also a class 2 tri coach so I've been picking his brain all week

First run today since my Half Marathon last Sunday. Was feeling the leftover effects of Sunday's race but seemed to loosen up on the second half of my 3 miles today. On tap: Yoga tonight, 5 mile run and swim tomorrow. Everyone have fun today and be safe out there!

Finished Run: Apr 13, 2011 7:30:11 AM

Route: Rolling Hills 3M

Google Maps URL: http://maps.google.com/?q=http://share.abvio.com/f561/7ee2/4c97/ecae/Runmeter-Run-20110413-0703.kml

Shortened Google Maps URL: http://j.mp/dILyvq Import URL: http://share.abvio.com/f561/7ee2/4c97/ecae/Runmeter-Run-20110413-0703.kml

Run Time: 26:38

Stopped Time: 0:00

Distance: 3.02 miles

Average: 8:49 /mile

Fastest Pace: 7:52 /mile

Ahead of Median Run: 1:11

Ascent: 14 feet

Calories: 386

http://www.runmeter.com

I only see your race report as a draft which means I cannot see any details of it at all. Try editing it again and re-saving it this time. I forget but there may be an option to make it "public."

Also, I believe the only way to see workouts is to click on each individual person.

That sounds like some pretty cool drills.  Probably good for everyone (including me!) to learn just from an emergency manuvering standpoint!

Hey Gang:

Spent a mostly sleepless night with some allergy issues, so didn't get up early enough to do my swim.  I really hate this time of year!  Plan on doing the noon spinning class, and trying to get in a 1-mile run this evening (first run).

I found my Sportline SX HRM, verified everything is still working and will use it until I can afford one of the GPS HRM systems (Timex Ironman, Polar, etc.).  If I'm on the bike, I can use it in conjunction with my bike computer for distance etc.  I might download an app for my Blackberry to do run tracking when I start to pick up that training.  As far as swimming, the SX is supposedly water resistant to 50m as long as you don't press in buttons in the water.  probably won't try it until I can afford to replace it with something much better.

Dave

I'm no expert but from my experience and using the free online website Daily Burn, it helped see when I needed to increase my calories based on workouts/calories burned. From what I have read, yes we still need to replace some of those calories based on our daily workouts otherwise our bodies will go into somewhat of a starvation mode hence the urges to eat more or eat wrong. So I try to stick with increasing my calories through high fiber items to help hold me over till my next big meals. So you might check out Daily Burn.

Agreed. I use the calculator in the P90X nutrition guide to determine my calorie requirements.

Thanks,  I fixed it.

Dan:

Both of my kids are getting into the health field, and both are very astute at nutrition, exercise, and overall healthy living.  I started this journey last year with P90X, and they have a good nutrition plan, but it's not well explained.  My son turned me onto a book called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by the Harvard Medical School.  Very valuable information.

Key concepts:

1. There are online tools out there to help you calculate this.  Determine what your sedimentary caloric intake should be to lose weight safely.  You should strive for a 40-40-20 (Protein, Carb, Fat) ratio of calories.  When you are working out, you are going to lose calories, so if you are burning 600-1000 calories a day, then you should add about 85% or more of that amount in the 40-40-20 ratio.  There are a bunch of dietary/caloric counting trackers on line that will help you track your meals, caloric intake, and burn. 
2. Eat many small meals a day, and be as consistent as possible (this is my biggest issue).
3. Make sure to give your body adequate rest.
4. Building muscle actually accelerates fat-burning.  Make sure to get your weight training in, at least circuit once or twice a week.

Another thing that I've found when I've hit a plateau is to actually take a few days off, eat what I want (gain a pound or so), and then go back at it hard.  Plateau's are the body's way of telling you it needs a break, is afraid to burn more, etc.

Until you reach your %body fat goal, you'll lose weight in fat, and gain weight in muscle.

I started out at 278 last year, 33% body fat, starting doing Biggest Loser and then P90X.  Had to have hernia surgery, so that took me out of contention for about two months.  Right now, I'm at 241, and 19% body fat.  My goal is to reach 7-10% body fat, regardless of where my weight ends up.

Good Luck

There's nothing wrong with building some flexibility into your schedule.  When you're just starting out the goal is to get the workouts in.  You need to log time to improve your endurance and form.

As you get further into the sport and are doing more intense or extended workouts the schedule becomes more important.  You don't want to do hard bike intervals on Friday then have to go out and do a long ride on Saturday.  Some workouts will require an easy or off day for that discipline before hitting it again.  But, like I said, that comes later.

Well I would listen to your body. If it is not up to a run just yet, might sit it out and keep on the low impact workouts (swim, bike). I am feeling decent after 2 days of run rest. The true test will be tomorrow when I do 5 miles. I have another 1/2 Marathon in 2 1/2 weeks so I am trying to stay where I am but without injury Good luck

Just finished my workouts for the day.  3mi run this morning.  Felt okay but I thought I was going faster than I was. Oh well, I'm still in the base building stage right? Right?

Swam at lunch today.  Still building my endurance. 4x25 warm-up. 5x100 invervals with 20sec rest (it was 40sec on Monday and supposed to be 10sec on Friday). 2x100 kickboard and 4x25 cool down.  Still feeling comfortable in the water.  I'm liking this trend.

Both of my kids are getting into the health field, and both are very astute at nutrition, exercise, and overall healthy living.  I started this journey last year with P90X, and they have a good nutrition plan, but it's not well explained.  My son turned me onto a book called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy by the Harvard Medical School.  Very valuable information.

Key concepts:

1. There are online tools out there to help you calculate this.  Determine what your sedimentary caloric intake should be to lose weight safely.  You should strive for a 40-40-20 (Protein, Carb, Fat) ratio of calories.  When you are working out, you are going to lose calories, so if you are burning 600-1000 calories a day, then you should add about 85% or more of that amount in the 40-40-20 ratio.  There are a bunch of dietary/caloric counting trackers on line that will help you track your meals, caloric intake, and burn. 
2. Eat many small meals a day, and be as consistent as possible (this is my biggest issue).
3. Make sure to give your body adequate rest.
4. Building muscle actually accelerates fat-burning.  Make sure to get your weight training in, at least circuit once or twice a week.

Another thing that I've found when I've hit a plateau is to actually take a few days off, eat what I want (gain a pound or so), and then go back at it hard.  Plateau's are the body's way of telling you it needs a break, is afraid to burn more, etc.

Until you reach your %body fat goal, you'll lose weight in fat, and gain weight in muscle.

I started out at 278 last year, 33% body fat, starting doing Biggest Loser and then P90X.  Had to have hernia surgery, so that took me out of contention for about two months.  Right now, I'm at 241, and 19% body fat.  My goal is to reach 7-10% body fat, regardless of where my weight ends up.

Thanks Dave, I'll take your advice and figure out how to add some more of the right calories back into my diet.  I also need to remind myself that I didn't get like this overnight, and I won't fix it overnight either.

jeanawright - 2011-04-13 2:17 PM No, what I have is laziness on a rainy day.   My legs actually feel ready to go.

lol I get that. We misbehaved last night and I skipped my swim and hubby skipped his workout. We also misbehaved on the nutrition side too - had pizza and 2 adult beverages. Naughty Naughty.

I have a meeting tonight, not sure if I'll be able to get my bike in when I get home, we'll see.

Weight loss is so individual.  I would echo everything Dan said with a couple additions.

1. Make sure you have "accurate" numbers for your calories burned.  Obviously there's always going to be an error for margin in any calculation, but most cardio machines and calorie counters on heart rate monitors are high.  There are some great threads here on BT about the formulas used to calculate calories burned if you're interested.

2. Forget about your weight.  The scale is only a small part of the overall picture when it comes to your health and fitness.  That number may not budge for months while you drop 2 pant sizes during the same amount of time.  My weight hasn't changed more than 5lbs in either direction for almost a year yet my winter (no heavy training) clothes are all at least a size larger than my summer (heaving training time) clothes. 

In addition to your changing waistline, neck measurement, thigh circumference and whatnot, don't forget to pay attention to how you're feeling.  Being able to run up the stairs without being out of breath, keeping up with your kids at the playground and even just being alert at 3pm when you used to be ready for a nap are all signs that you've made progress toward your goal: A healthier, fitter you regardless of your weight.

3. Make sure you refuel appropriately after a hard workout.  Plan your daily calories so that some of them come right after you finish and make it protein heavy to help rebuild those muscles you just tore down.

Headed off for Spring Break.  I will be gone from my house for 11 days.  Hope to get some training in. Taking my bike if it will fit in the car with the bird, dog and cat and all our other junk.  Will start obsessively training after Easter. (I hope) I will definitely run cause that is easy.  Not sure how the bike and pool part will work.

Jean