Clyde/Athena Tri-N-4- Weight Loss Mentor Group -OPEN AGAIN!! (Page 5)

Read this article today and imeddiately thought of this group. Here is a link for the full article... http://www.fitandwellcoaching.com/4/post/2014/01/maintaining-that-n...

For those (like me) that don't always have the time to click and read the full thing, here are the highlights...

Maintaining That "New Year, New You" Motivation

Don't be another "Resolutioner"-
Commit to making healthy changes that will last!

Think wellness, not weight loss.
Set reasonable goals.
Make only 1-2 healthy changes at a time.
Drop the “all or nothing” mentality- If you miss the gym one day or eat a "bad food," that is no excuse to quit.
LIMIT but do not ELIMINATE your favorite foods- Remember, everything in moderation.
Find a support system. (THAT'S US!)
Focus on positive changes!
Schedule workouts ahead of time.
Try something new.
Visualize your goals.
Keep evolving your goals.

I did it! Wow!!! What a rush.

I started with a 10 mile bike. did it in 43:43 minutes. Then the 3.2 mile walk/run...which was more of a walk, but as expected, in 51:14 minutes. Then the 1/3 mile swim. I now know why the swim usually goes first.....so you don't drown in your exhaustion.... did it in 18:53 minutes. Total time was 1:53:07.

And I just learned about pacing yourself.... The bike was going very well so I went all out. Might not have left much in the tank for the second two segments. But when I hit the track, I was so psyched from the bike that I wanted to fly around the track. Was hard to keep it took a walk, but I know for my knees long term it was the right thing to do. The swim was okay, but I was tired.

So I have a base line and I now know I can do this. What a confidence builder. I think I will keep doing a practise run through every couple of weeks. Is that crazy from a training point of view?

Okay people!!!! You can do this too!!!

Linda

Great job, Linda! Well done.

In response to your question, I don't think it's crazy to do something like this every few weeks (maybe once a month), as long as you have the base built up and remember to give yourself recovery time. Once race season starts up here in the northeast, I will race about once a month. This gives me a chance to recover after race day and then build back up to the next race. What you may find is that you enjoy it so much that you pick different races to run. The confidence just builds and it becomes contagious.

Again, great job!

What's an IT band? Are there ways to loosen it up?

What's the general guidance on recovery time? Is it a day off? Or a couple of easy days?

It will depend on your fitness level and the level of exertion for the race. For me, after a sprint, I take a full day off and then a few easy days. On the easy days I will do a short run or bike, or a shorter easier swim workout. When you have a heavy race day, or even a real heavy workout you need to rest to allow the muscles time to recover. As a general rule you have to listen to your body. Sore is to be expected, pain is normally a sign of injury or over use.

Check this out. It explains the IT band and also provides some exercises. It will explain it better than I can.

http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/tight-it-band-3-simple-exerc...

Way to go Linda! My couch now feels so unaccomplished

Well if you guys haven't guessed it yet, I'm a techie!!!! And well it's a techies holiday currently with CES(consumer electronics show) going on. So he is one of the most buzzed about products at the show and it is fitness related.

CES 2014: Razer’s Nabu Blends Together A Smart Watch And Fitness Tracker

http://appadvice.com/appnn/2014/01/ces-2014-razers-nabu-blends-toge...

As a gadget junkie I will more than likely be trying this one as it combines more functions than just a fitness tracker. For those of you with a FitBit Force a new update is coming to bring caller is to the display.

It finally warmed up here in NJ. Albeit for only a short time. So I did my short run today. I got the first half in before the rain started. I Ran 3.64 miles in under 39 minutes. Increased my average to 10:40/mile. I'm getting faster.

Tomorrow is my long run day. Planned 70 minute run.

What are your weekend plans?

Just plugging away at the 22wk sprint training plan...slow going right now with just walks and easy swims but I like it. Definitely not to the point of trying a brick workout like the previous post but my husband is impressed that I have worked out everyday (minus my rest day) according to my schedule. He is such a great support person for me...so glad I married him

Weekend schedule is just a walk today and a bike ride tomorrow...nothing I can't handle.

~June

First, I have to thank my amazing husband for holding down the fort here on our forum and secondly apologize to all of you for being MIA this past week. I have been reading your posts, just not replying. I just started a new job and am out of the house 3 days a week so I am trying to figure out my "new normal" routine including how to get my workouts in and all the other stuff that I had all day at home to take care of.

My bruised back is finally healing and plan to do a long run on the treadmill on Sunday morning. Unlike Mike who doesn't mind mid 40's and rain outside to run in, I prefer just a tad warmer and dryer before I venture outside.

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone's weekend is going well.

Today I ran 6.5 miles on the treadmill. I did the first 6 miles straight in 66 minutes. I'm very happy with that since it wasn't long ago that I was averaging a 12 min/mile.

What are you doing today?

I too am a gadget and app freak. My favorite running/biking app is Runtastic. I got an email from them today that Runtastic Pro is FREE today only. I think it's normally 2.99 or 4.99. For free it's worth downloading today and trying it. If you don't like it, delete it. If you like it, you saved a few bucks.

Downloaded! Looks nice

Headed to the pool today for a 400, or at least that's what's on day 1 of my 8 week scheduled plan.

App and gadget geek here too! I use runtastic pro also! Love the cheering feature that I can do when mike is out on long runs. Can add friends and follow their activity too.

Feeling good today after my 90 minute treadmill run. Did 5.3 miles and have to laugh at how slow I am compared to Mike. We might never get to run together. I won't be able to keep up with him. ;-).

Heard some helpful advice during my run from Jeff Galloway who offers advice during the workout. Everyone has some pain when working out but to figure out if it is just aches and pains or injury, here's what he advised. If you have pain while running, slow down to a walk for 2-3 minutes then run/walk for 15-20 seconds each for a couple of cycles. If you have no pain, then you are good to resume your workout. If you still have pain, repeat the slow walk for 2-3 minutes and then try 15-20 sec run/walk for another couple of cycles. If it still hurts, call it a day. If you are not feeling any more pain then you are good to finish your workout, Key is to listen to your body. Take it from someone who pushed through shin splints and ended up,on bed rest for 2-3 months and many more trying to recover and get back to painless training.

Hmmm. Wasn't able to download runtastic pro for free (android user here). I have been using Strava because my friends that I ride with use it, and have been running with it too since I already had it. Looking at getting a garmin watch, the 310xt since my HR monitor crapped out and I need a bike computer (which it doubles as). Anyone have one of these, and if so, are they worth the $ ? Are there better non-garmin products out there?

Looking forward to getting back to running tomorrow. It's going to be a light week for me since my wife will be out of town and I will only be able to work out at lunch due to parental duties before and after work.

Foam roller is your friend. You can get them at wal marts and targets now even for $20. I would just make sure it would be pretty firm. They are one of the best tools to ward off injury. Just roll on it to loosen not only the IT band but all your muscles.

Keep in mind your knee could have other issues. I just find for me that tends to be my issue and I used to be in pretty good shape and was on the way to do the iron man but 3 months out I figured I was out. I rested my knee for 2 months because I figure it was tendentious. If I would just rolled I would done the iron man for sure.

DBGlobal - sorry, should have noticed it said iPhone. I know lots of folks that use Strava and love it.

As far as a watch... I'm not familiar with the garmin 310. Several good friends that I train with swear by the 910. The nice thing about the 910 is that it transitions well from swim to bike to run. It even gives you T1 and T2 splits. Polar has a new watch (V800) coming out that will compete with the 910. They just announced at CES last week. There is a great review by DCRainmaker.

I wish I could run at lunch. I just don't have time to run, shower and eat.

Also, on the subject of fitness gadgets. Randi and I bought into a startup company on indigogo for a watch. It's the Kreyos Meteor. It's similar to the Pebble or the Samsung but looked better. Well as with any startup, it was supposed to ship in December. Now it's delayed into Feb. so I'm in a holding pattern before I bite the bullet and drop $400 on the garmin 910 or the Polar V800.

Got my 400 swim in, did 15:23 so no stops, so that was good the program gave you 19mins to do it in.

I have the Garmin Forunner 610 and love it, you can attach HR strap, foot pod and cadence/speed sensor for bike. Works great, gives great data, syncs flawlessly with CPU and garminconnect.com. It's missing the swim piece the 310 or 910 gives you but is considerably less money! In hind sight if I had really known I would be working towards triathlons I prob would have gone 310.

Run today for lunch. First in 2 weeks. 5K at 10 min/mi pace (I know, I mixed units). It was sunny and mid-40s which means t-shirt and shorts weather, WOOHOO! Legs felt pretty strong considering the lack of activity. Lungs forgot what it was like to breath harder.

Happy Monday all!

Ughhh had a 40min bike ride on the docket today but had to stop after 20 because my "backseat" was killing me!!! Totally had the legs and lungs to go the distance but just couldn't sit on bike anymore. Anyone have a recommendation for a more comfy seat for a bigger guy that isn't hundreds of dollars? Also need to goto a fitter, haven't riden this bike in some time and I just feel all sorts out of whack on it. Not happy I couldn't go the distance but at least got something in and will supplement some sit-ups and push-ups or soe thing tonight as well.

Just ordered a Nashbar FS1saddle, it was on sale for $19.99 with free shipping (today only, SCORE!) and very well reviewed. Hope this will be a good compromise between comfort and some level of performance. Will keep you all posted!

Good luck. I feel your pain. One reason I have not really been on the bike because the extra weight right now hurts.

Let me know how you make out with the new saddle. I have the same problem. Normally hits me at about 30-35 minutes. I did an hour tonight on the trainer and sure enough it got painful at the 30 min mark. I've been looking at the Adamo but haven't wanted to lay out that dough. A friend just ordered one and was bidding on another on ebay. I may have to try it out. I hear there are some bike shops that let you try before you buy. As I build to an Olympic distance in August and then the bike leg of the 70.3 in Sept., I need to be comfortable for more than 30 min!