Mndymond and Disturbed275's Awesome SBR Group--- Phase 2--CLOSED! (Page 5)

Good evening!

I got my tempo run in this evening- managed the 5 miles in around 44 minutes, or just under 9 min/mile.  My goal for this spring is to break 2hrs for my half marathon in June, so it looks like that might actually be attainable!  And the best part is I have no hip, calf, or plantar fasciitis pain, which was what kept my running sidelined most of last year!  Yay!

For my post-run beverage, I had a Uinta Crooked Line Cockeyed Cooper- a nice dark, hoppy malty beer.  I'm glad to see we have so many beer fans in the group! 

Like QUA17 I enjoy a Mirror Pond Pale Ale - out of Bend, OR I believe.  Like to support local brews which there are plenty in Oregon.

I have been going to a massage therapist for some work on my calves.  I had three recent right calf strains and another runner suggested I try her massage therapist.  It has worked wonders for me.  So today at my last session she tells me that it looks like my left hip is tilted forward.  She checked it later by seeing if my leg lengths were even.  Well to say the least they are not; about an inch shorter on the right side.  As much as I didn't want to go to a massage therapist (mainly money) I have learned so much and my legs and other body parts are benefiting from it.  I now have some new information that may assist me with what is going on with my right side of my body; mainly knee pain and calf strains.  I notified the Chiropracter she recommended to see if I can get a consultation about ways to bring it back into alignment.  Hope to be running with both legs the same length by my half marathon on April 29th.

No training tonight but hopefully tomorrow evening.  I may be AWOL for a day or two while I get re-registered for me Silver Membership.  Renewal date snuck up on me.  Due tomorrow.  Not sure if they'll give me a day or two.

Happy training. 

Neil: I'm finding this out the hard way.  This weekend, I switched my workout order and did a long run after a 30 mile bikeride the previous day.  The run was awful - I had no energy and I felt like my legs were gonna fall off.  I can check your logs - but what schedule do you follow in order to split your long runs and swims?

A beer float?  Really?  I get the red ale which is a little on the malty side but did they pair it with vanilla ice cream? 

Congrats on the great run!  If you keep improving - you should be able to meet your 2 hr. goal and then some!  What's even better is that there was no pain.  Kudos to you.  I too have struggled with the same kind of aches and pains.  Question - what exercises/stretches have worked for you?

I've never heard of Uinta Beer - where is the brewery located?  I agree with you - I too am glad to see all the beer talk.  There are a couple of people from my January group who have joined this group.  When we began in January - our Winter Mentor group had about 15 people.  By February. about 5 of us were talking beer and challenging each other to meet certain goals with beer as the reward.  It doesn't surprise me at all that those are the ones who have been exercising the most consistently.  For me - I will run harder and farther if I know there is a cold one in my future.  Sad but true...

Brian - please let me know how this goes.  I have been having leg problems for years now and I too have been seeing a message therapist with decent results.  I wish I had more money to spend on these sessions and my legs feel almost energized following them.  I'm thinking about seeing a chiropractor too but would like to hear whether or not it is worth the money/time.

I hit the pool today and was pleased by the result.  My goal for the month was to drop my 100 time from 2:35 to 2:30 and this morning my 100 time for 750 yards was 2:24 .  It was not pretty and there was nothing graceful about it... Now I''ve just got to increase my kick and my stroke strength so I can keep these times down as I increase my distance.

Have a great day!

disturbed275 - 2012-04-09 8:01 PM With all this beer talk I feel I should mention that we celebrated post race at a brew bub.  I enjoyed a couple of pale ales, a black rye and even a beer float.  Ice cream and a red ale, who would have thought that would be such a good combination

A beer float...that can`t be right!

I am not sure I could have taken that leap of faith!

Starting the week off right with a short bike and a 10k run Monday and a swim this morning, the third of the year. Starting to feel better already with the swim. Followed my run after work with a bbq and a few light beers with friends. For all of you albertans, it was a co-op brand light beer, no taste but cold and refreshing after a run!

Good luck! You must be the master of time management to be going to school and do triathlons and 1/2 marathons!

David-  Nice improvement in the pool.  Keep at it.

Bryan- I LOVE Deschutes Brew's.  They have my favorite pale and IPA.

All-

WTH.  I woke up at 6:40 to the sound of my wife's alarm.  AAAGGGHHH!  I must have rolled over on my 4:40 alarm.  Darn.  I'll chalk it up to needing the rest.  Sometimes our bodies have ways of shutting us down.

Quick question. I bought a used Trek road bike with tri bars last year.

Is it worth it to pay for a bike fitting?

Checked out one place and they charge $100. I just need to bring my bike, gear, cycle trainer and of course myself...

I think a balance of yoga, strength training, and massage therapy/foam rolling have kept me injury-free.  I stopped doing those things when I was training for my half ironman two years ago, and that's when I started having hip problems.  The diagnosis just ended up being tight hips & calves, so not really an injury but definitely kept me from running all that much last year!  When I started getting that loosened up and strengthened, I was suddenly able to ramp up my run mileage again.  

But yeah, I think the key is being consistent with it!  If I do end up training for another half-I this year, I'm definitely going to make sure to do yoga & strength at least once a week each... and increase the yoga if my hips & calves need extra stretching!

Jumping in here, I just wanted to make a comment about run/ride schedules...

I've generally been doing my long runs on Saturdays and my long rides on Sundays (with maybe a shorter run post-ride if I want to do a brick).  I don't know why I do it this way; I think that's just the social norm around here, as most triathletes I know in my area follow this schedule.  I guess doing it in that order prevents having to run on tired legs?  

Thanks!  

In terms of exercises, doing a lot of lunges & squats (especially the one-legged variety, and using a box step) have helped even out any imbalances between my two legs.  For stretches, yoga lunges help get into my hip flexors; downward dog for my calves; and pigeon poses for my piriformis.  I always try to build in variety in both strength training and yoga, though, so I'm strengthening/stretching in slightly different ways each time.

As for the beer.... I guess it's from Salt Lake City!  Which is strange, since most of the beers served at the bar I was at are local (to Chicago).  
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1416/58868

This winter, beer was definitely a motivator.  A bunch of my friends and I did this xc ski race (one friend did the 54km race; the rest of us were slightly less insane and did the 23km race), and after our training sessions, we would celebrate with some craft beers or microbrews.  My favorite this winter was the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout!  That definitely got me through that race, knowing there was a bottle waiting for me back at the cabin afterward!

Good luck!!

Yes, definitely.  Best to spend the $100 now to make sure you're comfortable and biomechanically safe, than spend waaaay more later in doctor's fees from overuse injuries.  

You should also look around to see what the different bike shops do when they fit you.  Some will just look at you by eye while others will actually measure your limbs and use a plumb line and other tools while you bike.  

When I got fitted, they actually hooked me up to a machine and took a look at my pedal strokes (in addition to measuring my feet, legs, arms, etc) to make sure I was biking more efficiently after they changed my set-up.  I was able to ride longer after getting fit, mostly because I was so much more comfortable and efficient on my bike!

I am also curious about bike fit. I keep getting different opinions on how I should set up my bike. When I originally got my bike they measured and fit me on my bike and gave me the option of a slightly longer stem which I decided to go along with. Now at a different store I am told I should go with an even longer stem and raise my seat.

Does fit make a huge difference? I did get a stiff upper back on my last ride, but I just chalked that up to being new on the bike.

Another question: How do you fuel on longer bike rides? At what point to you refuel with more then just water and what do you eat/drink?

Well if you check my logs from this year you'll see very little swimming and biking being done so that probably won't help.  In years past with IM training I would do my long run on Thursday afternoon, my long continuous swim on Friday, and then a long ride on Saturday or Sunday depending on the weather and what I had going on that weekend. I find I recover pretty well so going back to back to back was not too much of an issue as long as I sandwiched the swim in there to rest the legs.

And yeah, the beer float was surprisingly good.  I was skeptical at first, but I am usually willing to try anything, even more so when it comes to beer

I would highly recommend it.  A professional fit will more than likely get you into a comfortable and more efficient position than you could on your own. For that reason alone it is worth it.  You'll be able to ride farther and it will seem easier.  Win, win in my opinion.

You are going to get a lot of different feedback on fueling on the bike.  Preference is highly individual so I would recommend experimenting with a variety of different choices on training rides.

Just to give you an example, here is what works for me. Rides around an hour I just stick with water.  2 hours I'll bring along a bottle of sports drink (my preference in gatorade endurance). 3 hours I will contemplate bringing along a clif bar or some clif shot blocks for some solid food.  If I'm going longer (ie IM training) I've become a huge fan of using Infinit (used in both IMs I've done).  It's a sports drink too, and I like to put enough in to make a concentrated bottle of about 600-800 calories. Then I just sip on that and take in water at the same time and one bottle will last me three hours.

Hopefully others will chime in with their preferences. There are a lot of options out there and it takes a bit of experimentation to figure out what works for you