Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 5)

I agree with Joanne.  Start pounding some C and E and other anti-oxidants and you should have little or no affect.  I have never taken "Airborne" but I have heard it's amazing to help get over colds fast, so logically speaking it may help prevent you from developing it.  Usually you should begin to see symptoms several days after you are exposed and NOT within a day or two.  I just had this conversation with my daughter who was exposed to a cold one day and said she was getting sick the next morning.

I say register and race.  But, I usually train through most of my illnesses because the typical things don't affect me much.  I also believe you can use the training as a tool to fend off more harsh illnesses.  Consider, a fever is a physical mechanism that helps "burn" a virus or bacterial illness out.  Elevated temps from exercise can assist your body in the healing process.  However, you may need to tone down your training during an illness so you don't toss yourself into a worse scenario.

Go ahead and begin to ask.  Anyone that may join in the next day or so should be able to catch up fairly quickly.

Once the group closes I will have a couple of questions for everyone to answer about expectations in the upcoming racing season.

Jax, welcome to the group.  You are in a VERY similar situation that I was a couple years ago.  The running will come along.  What are your current training plans with respect to running?  As a first year triathlete, you might want to consider throwing in an August race as well.  Once you do your first one, you will almost definitely want to follow it up with another.  And the benefit is that it will keep you fresh and give you a good heads up of where your fitness is at for your fall race.

Congrats on jumping into this sport.  You're gonna love it.
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I did session number 2 of master's swim class yesterday.  The coach moved me up a lane and now I'm swimming with people about my same speed.  We ended up doing 3400 yards, which is quite the increase from my normal 2000. 

Small milestone for me is that I was able to pull off my fastest 100 yet at 1:10.  The coach has pointed out at least three things that I need to work on.  Yesterday's session was focussed almost entirely on the press, or the catch portion of the stroke.  Initiating that press correctly to ensure you keep your elbows high and don't strain your shoulders is key.  It's also very hard to do when fatigued.  Great workout.

One unfortunate thing is that I received our sponsor shipment.  I did an easy 3 miles in the shoes that I chose and they are very hard compared to my normal pair of running shoes.  I'm going to give them a shot a couple more times, but my feet and legs were feeling it after the run yesterday.

As soon as you joined the group! Fire away!

I have to throw in my agreement to sign up and race as well.  I load up on blueberries, vitamin C, E and zinc, and I'll often use Airborne and Zicam as I almost always seems to catch something right before races.  I actually raced a 70.3 a few weeks after getting Bronchitis, and though it wasn't optimal I got through it fine.  I would say maybe tone down the workouts to be as rested as possible going in, and evaluate during the race.  Sometimes it really doesn't have an impact to have a slight fever/cold, sometimes it does.

Tracy,  I would concur with everyone else.  And sleep as much as possible every night.  You need your rest and nutrients.  This little cold will blow over.  Chances are you'll be fine by race day and be pissed off that you didn't sign up in the first place.

Joanne, so glad your husband's test were ok.  Hopefully he'll keep up now and make some changes, but as others have said it really requires that he wants to make a change.  You're presenting a good example and that's all we can do.  It can be daunting to really admit to yourself that there are major concessions to be made.  My wife says life is about loss, but she frames it in a positive way - as we grow and get older we start to lose things and it tends to focus our priorities (hopefully) more correctly.  Having a health issue can be a loss of sorts - for me my health crisis meant a loss of being able to eat/drink/do whatever I wanted and get away with it, but that has only spawned positive things in my and my family's life.

Welcome Jax, you'll have a blast this year with that attitude.  But be wary - this crazy sport can be very addictive!

Ask away Bobby, don't wait for anything.

WHEN CAN YOU START: Immediately 

Name: David

STORY:  My younger daughter joined a running group at school last year, and asked if I'd do the 5K with her.  I had never run before, but I figured I'd give it a shot.  When that was done, I moved up to a 10K.  I did that, so I thought that this year I'd really push myself and do a triathlon.

FAMILY STATUS:  Engaged to a wonderful woman, father to 2 amazing girls, 11 and 13 years old.

Job: Owner of a window cleaning company.

CURRENT TRAINING: 8 workouts each week: 2 bike, 2 swim, 2 run, 2 strength training.  Although, I have been doing some extra running and don't always get both strength sessions in.

THIS YEAR'S RACES:  I'm signed up for an OLY in Brighton, Michigan on May 26.  I'm pretty excited and moderately scared.

Last Seasons Races:  Never done this before.

WEIGHTLOSS: I hold pretty steady at 162lbs, and I'm good at that weight.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I am a hard worker, and I take my training seriously.

Dina, I wanted to share some insight into my back issues (I guess everyone else can read it too)  As you know, I lost a month of training earlier this year with a herniated disc.  A friend of mine shared with me that having tight hamstrings can contribute to lower back issues.

Earlier this week, my back started giving me the warning signs, so I have been stretching my hamstrings about every other hour all day, every day.  They are normally extremely tight, and it takes me a few minutes to be able to touch my toes.  The tightness and beginnings of pain in my back totally go away when my hamstrings are loose.

Hopefully, if I stay diligent about stretching, my hamstrings will get looser.  In the meantime, I'll be stretching them a lot!  I don't know if it will help you or not, but I figure its worth a shot.

Dirk!  I would like to get in on this if possible!

Dirk and I were in a mentor group together two years ago, and he was the one who gave me that final push that I needed to FINALLY go see a doctor when I had an injury... I really waited way too long...

Anyway, I will post a bio later!

2012 Races

April 7th 5k irockirun

April 28th DU Cannon Falls

May 5th 5k Waska Warm up

May 12th 5k 1/2 marathon

May 19th 5k Holy Ole Series

June 2nd 5k Athletic Rep

June 9th 5k Holy Ole Series

June 16th 5k Victory run

July 7th 5k Starbuck Days

July 14th 5k Henning

July 21st 5k Holy Ole Series

Aug 8th TRI ! Minnewaska

Aug 11th 5k Holy Ole Series

Aug 27th DU Harvestfest

Sept 22nd 5k Holy Ole Series

Nov... Thanksgiving Day 5k

Welcome Samantha.  Good to have you.  

Bobby, you sure are loaded with 5k's!!  Any plan for/wish to do a 10k sometime this year?  

Oh I could certainly do a 10k or a half but out in this rural area 5k is the most popular and 1/2 marathons. We live about 2-3 hours away from the Twin Cities (minnesota)Most of the TRI and DU's are in that area but they are slowing increasing in this area. I enjoy doing 5k's mostly because they are for a good cause and and all the $$$ go the the cause. (Kids,Abuse,Pets, Food Shelf etc) 

I have learned alot along the way with running and shoes thats for sure. Biking getting better and stronger and swimming Dirk link a video of him which I am sure will help alot nope that I seen correct form.

Welcome Samantha.  We'll continue to push you in whatever is the right direction this year.

David, be sure to get a plenty of stretching in after your workouts.  That's then the muscles are nice and warm and can really handle a good stretch.  Tight hamstrings, calves, and hips contribute to a lot of pains all over the body.

Bobby, you're giving Jeff a run for his money on races!  That's a busy schedule.  5k is a great distance in that you can race it without a lot of recovery time, and doing events for a cause always makes it more enjoyable.

I'm planning a 14 miler tomorrow, and then we're having 2 Easters this year - with my family Sat and with my wife's on Sunday.  Hopefully I won't gain *too* much over the weekend, but with all the Italian food it will be a challenge.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Hey Guys I would really appreciate the opportunity to join the group. There is so much to learn and I am only scratching the surface at this point. It would be awesome to be able to learn from you guys with the experience and knowledge you have. Regards.......Tony

NAME: Tony

WHEN CAN YOU START: Been training since my last Marathon ended in OCT 11.

STORY: I'm a 44 year old guy who was out of shape and overweight 3 years ago. I started working out strength training and doing cardio in March 2009 and dropped 80 pounds in 8 months. I went from 260 to 180 pounds. I then started running in Dec 2009 and in 5 months was able to complete the 2010 LI Marathon. Not the smartest thing I have ever done but I was able to do it. I have been running since the end of 2009. I have completed everything from 5K to Marathon distances races. I wanted to take on a bigger challenge so I am making the transition to Triathalons. I figured at the very least learning to swim and riding the bike would expand my horizons a bit and would allow me to diversify my training and get me out of the house more. My goal is to do the NYC IM in 2013 assuming I can get in so I am giving myself 20 months to get it together to do it. I don't think I am going to get a better opportunity being I work at home and have a lot of flexibility to work in my training time so I have done my research and invested heavily in my gear and am willing to put in serious hours to do this. I am approaching this year as an opportunity to learn as much as I possibly can and to and to use the off season to prepare and improve as much as possible. It will be a stepping stone toward trying to take on the IM for 2013. It may seem to be overly ambitious but I am fully committed to doing this and like I said I the stars have aligned for me so I may not get a better chance to do this. 
 
FAMILY STATUS: Married 24 years, three kids two daughters and a son ages 24,18 and 15.

JOB:  Network Architect work for a large Telecomm company. Work from home so major bonus for training, good flexibility for my training schedule.

CURRENT TRAINING: I am training about 14 hours a week at this point, Swimming 3 days a week, Running 3 days a week, Biking 2 to 3 days a week and strength training 4 to 5 days a week. Trying to build a base and get myself acclimated to doing all three sports.

LAST YEAR'S RACES: No Tri's last year, ran one 10K, one half-marathon and one marathon (ING Hartford,CT)

Weight Loss: Am currently at 186 would like to get down bring that back down to 180 this year hopefully before the first Tri and possibly somewhere between 175 and 180 in the off season.

2012 RACES: As of now I am registered for the following events (Tri's only) but may add a few more:

7/29 Riverhead Rocks (Olympic)
8/5 Smith Point Triathlon (Sprint)
8/18 Deep Pond Triathlon (Sprint)
9/30 Migthy Man Half Iron Distance (HIM)

With David, Samantha and Tony we are officially CLOSED.

Welcome back David.  Glad to have you in the group again.

Tony,  That's an amazing story of weight loss and determination.  It is very evident through your bio that you are highly motivated and self driven.  Congratulations on getting fit and determining to stay that way.

I see your first triathlon is an Oly.  Rather ambitious but you certainly will have no trouble getting yourself ready for that distance in the time you have available.  My first race was an Oly as well and my wife thought I was insane to go for that distance for the first one.

Samantha,  Welcome to the fold.  I am looking forward to seeing your bio and hear how you have become an injury free runner.  I hadn't checked in on you for a while and I wondered how you have been doing.  After taking on the mentoring thing last session it's sometimes hard to check in on all my old friends on here.

Now that we are full we can get down to business. 

It seems that many of you have swimming as a top focus judging by your bio's.  I am going to re-post my side swim video and end swim video for everyone to view if you would like to see it.  I am also going to ask Jonathon to post a video too.  After all, he has the current groups speed record in the water but I may have to see if I can chase him down.  But with 1:10 for his last 100 yards I am not feeling real good about it.

I also think that if you all can find someone, and have a camera available, you should post a video for evaluation.  Remember, many of you are newer athletes and may not be the best swimmers and that is perfectly fine.  Everyone starts someplace and you will be able to see yourself improve by using video as a tool.

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In an effort to get to know each other better, post what your expectations are for this year on your personal racing circuit. 

1. Are you looking to simply finish a race of a certain distance? 
2. Better your time at that distance? 
3. Place in your age group?
4. Just get more fit?
5. Become better at a specific discipline?

I'll start.  My goals for this racing season are:

1. Place in my AG in at least 2 of the 5 planned races
2. Complete 2 - 70.3 races toward the end of the season
3. Place high enough in my AG at the Warsaw Optimist to qualify for the AG Nationals again.

Busy weekend, quick check in and welcome to all the newest members!

So if your just joining us, in the last mentor group Jeff liked to discuss his passion for ice cream while I, on the other hand, had just started my Lenten Fast which included No sweets. So, 40 days of no chocolate and no ice cream.

Well tomorrow I'm calling this Lent over, close enough, the parties have started and I'm making plans....

Warren, this is excellent advice.  Since I've never been an athlete, I really know nothing about stretching.  Basically, if it feels tight, I try to stretch it.  I don't feel like I have enough hours in the week to add in yoga to my schedule, but maybe someone here has a good overall stretching routine that I could work into my regimen?

Dirk, my only goal right now is to finish my OLY in May.  I'm feeling really good about the run and the bike.  As far as the swim, it's coming along.  The swim clinic helped, I just need to put in more time in the pool.  It's really satisfying to feel how much stronger I am now than when I started in January.  I'm actually starting to get excited for my tri.

I just wanted to say hello the group and I finally got caught up reading all the posts! Looks like a really diverse and fun group which I am very happy to be a part of. I am really looking forward to getting to know and hearing more about everybody. It will be great to be able to share experiences, knowledge and training war stories with everyone.