Ontherun and gearing up-CLOSED (Page 5)

Bricking....

LOL- yes- JELLO, melty JELLO.  I try to brick off of the bike at house (warmer days) and def at the gym.  Our place a couple of spin cycles one row over from the treadmills. 

Looking forward to warmer days in Illinois so I can try putting it all together

I am just naturally a spaz about things the first time through. lol 

Dieting----

It is really hard to change habits but I say eat the donut holes and the candy bars rather than be hungry. Each day is a chance to make new choices- we are not perfect.  I will say planning is critical. I have taken this to a complete nerd level And it works for me. 

I plan out two weeks worth of menus, including snacks (3m and 2s).  I take into account what workouts I will be doing and where I will be for meals (work, gym etc).  From that I make a rough list of the food I need for a week, modify what I want by what is on sale.  Shop like a mad woman. Assess the leftover situation and what fresh veggies are needed before shopping for the 2nd week.

Having a super assortment of healthy alternative choices on hand helps when I forget to pull the meat to thaw.  On workdays, I pack my lunch and snacks the night before.  If I forget my food, I call it a "cheat day" and revel in it

Lauri, there are a few thoughts about doing two different sports in one day. As a triathlete, there is a definite benefit to working the sports back to back, particularly in race order. Any time you can go from the swim to bike, or bike to run, your body will start to get used to being able to do that kind of transition. These bricks can be very useful.

On the other hand, if time is an issue, get one good workout in, then the second later in the day. This helps take some of the stress off of the body. I have read articles talking about marathoners being better off doing two 10 mile runs in one day than 20 all at once. The mussels are still tired, but the stress on the body is different.

Not quite sure if this is the answer you were looking for, but it might steer you in the right direction.

Got my butt kicked at the gym this morning.  Really tough kickboxing workout and my legs are feeling it now.

Other news... finally chopped my hair off.  Ok so it's still below my shoulders butt I took about 5 inches off and got it thinned out.  I'm in love with it and think it's going to be great for workouts... no more long ponytail whipping me in the face and sticking to my neck/shoulders when I sweat

I'm going to a nutrition seminar in a few hours so I'll try to pass along what I learn to you guys. Hope everyones having a good week!

I do the swim first because I don't want to get into the pool all sweaty.  I then change into my workout gear, throw the hair into a ponytail and off I go.  However, I do train indoors.  It's not too bad right now, but as the workouts get longer, I will have to figure out what to do.

Since we've been doing low-carb, I shop on Friday or Saturday and then cook for many hours on Sunday.  Apart from freshly made salads or veggies, that gives us enough food for the week.  I just need to get better about planning enough snacks so that I don't cave to carb-laden temptation.

I am planning on watching the Pats play today. Anyone else with a horse still in this race?

I just put some money on the line for this tri season. I am sending in my registration for the Cranberry Trifest 2 day race in August!! I missed it last year for the first time in about 6 years due to my heart issues. I am looking to PR this year.

So what do you guys have your sites on?

I will be registering for more races as soon as they are opened to sign up.

Things I learned at the Nutrition seminar:

1. Eat frequently-- every 2.5-2.5 hours (so breakfast then snack then lunch then snack then dinner and possibly another snack depending on how late you go to sleep)

2. Drink water immediately after waking (about 20 oz) and with every meal/snack.

3. Eat right when you wake up

4.  Each meal/snack should have carbs, protein and dietary fat (45-60% carbs, 15-30% protein, and 15-30% fats).  He referred to this as eating right as getting all three macronutrients in will stabilize your metabolism and all hormones in your body.  Obviously pick good proteins and fats (egg whites over bacon etc)

Seems so very simple the way he put it so I'm gonna try it out.  

Emma, thanks for sharing the nutrition info. It is not my strong point either.

Hope you are feeling better soon. Glad to hear you got a chance to take shadow out today.

The goal is to be able to get the set in without a break. As your fitness in swimming grows, this will become easier. Do what you have to do to get through the workout, and I would think 30 seconds is about all the break you would like to take.

Something to keep in mind when swimming, if you struggle through a set just to get through it, it may not be the best thing for you. When you are swimming, you develop a certain amount of form. When you are tired, your form suffers, and this creates bad habits. The longer you swim with bad habits, the harder they are to correct.

I know this is a little confusing, but swimming well is the most technically demanding of the 3 sports. Doing it well is very hard to get used to. Keep in mind, your first tri is about having fun and finishing, so do not let your swim ruin your day.

I was just looking at Annie's blog and saw a comment about weight vs reps when lifting. Something to think about, a tri is an endurance sport. Doing higher reps at lower weight is more beneficial for endurance sports. The way I understand it is heavy weights give you explosive speed and strength for short periods of time. Higher reps allow you to hold a stronger pace over a longer period of time.

Lauri, nice job finding someone willing and able to help you in the pool.

Missed the gym over the weekend but split wood on Saturday for about 3 hours. Some of the rounds were over 100 lbs. Very productive day but I will be happy when it is summer again!

Hitting it today short run and cycle and a weight lifting class for fun. 

I have learned that I need to balance out the tri training with some really fun stuff   Signed up for a Warrior Dash with high school friends for July! 

Hope everyone rocks the week! 

Good plan about doing fun races

I did the color run last year - it was a good time. The "color" is basically powder that they throw on you at different stations, and at the end everyone looked pretty funny. But I recommend wearing sunglasses or something so that it doesn't get in your eyes!

Good luck with week 2 everyone!!