Jim Kelley's (Birkierunner) General and Long Course Group (Open) (Page 5)

Hey all - it's race week for me, so this past weekend was my last few days of serious training. I rode for 3+hrs on Saturday, ran 8ish miles yesterday (focused on hills) and swam for 40 minutes today...but will start to enjoy the tapering over the next few days. BTW, today's swim was my first in a wetsuit since last summer's racing season...and man, it was tight at first. Once it got wet and loosened up a bit, it was all good, but yikes, it was a bit uncomfortable at first.

Not sure if it's relevant, but last year I had a 15-20 second gap between my wetsuit and non-wetsuit swims...which obviously means my stroke mechanics, body positioning, and overall form need work. Well, based on recent swim times and today's wetsuit session, I think my gap is down to 10ish seconds. So, it would seem that my pool sessions over the winter and countless hours of watching youtube videos on swimming may be paying off. Granted, it's a small data set, but I'm feeling pretty good right now about my swim.

That said, I'm not putting too my stock into my training sessions as a predictor of my race day performance. I know race day conditions can vary widely, so it'll be interesting to see how everything goes on Sunday. My stretch goal for Sunday is to set a PR, but I haven't done this race before and am only vaguely familiar with the course, so I don't know what to expect. As long as I have a good day out (which I define as a safe day, no need to visit medical afterwards and I feel good about my efforts), that's all that really matters. Stay tuned.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Thanks!

Name- Justin Hilderbrand

Story- I’m 38 years old and live/train in the Southern California desert. I played some youth rec sports but was never seriously into fitness until I got way overweight and decided I needed a change of lifestyle. At my highest I was around 250 pounds (I’m 5’10”). I dropped down to 215 by walking/running with a couple of coworkers. Then my work started a weight loss challenge and I got really fired up. I went from 215 down to my lowest of 174, felt great, won the challenge and got a couple bucks. I used the money to buy a new mountain bike (I was mountain biking a lot at that point), ended up crashing and breaking my collar bone on the new bike. After I healed up from that I was very leery of getting back out on the trails so I sold the MTB and got a road bike. I did a couple 5ks and knew that I needed motivation to keep the weight off. One day on the Men’s Health web site I saw a short video about a few friends that were doing some triathlon in Florida. The triathlon looked fun so I did my first mini sprint in 2009 and was immediately hooked. I did sprints and olys for awhile then moved up to the 70.3 in Oceanside and finished IMAZ in 2012. At the end of the run for IMAZ I had sworn off the full distance for good, but now I think I’d like to do another and improve my time. Family life has gotten pretty busy though so the training time required for the full distance makes it tough. This year my focus will be having a good race at Silverman 70.3, I’m pretty nervous about the bike for this one so we’ll see how it goes. I wish I had started triathlon earlier, I had a couple decent results in 30-34, now in 35-39 with my available time/motivation I’m nowhere near the top. It’s cool though, I enjoy spending the time training and you just can’t beat race day.

Family status- married for 18 years with three kids (13, 12, and 9). We’ve got three dogs, two guinea pigs, and some fish. My wife is a teacher so her hours seem endless; her work always comes home with her. The kids are involved in sports, dance, cheer, etc. so we are very busy.

Current training- I am finishing up a 16 week plan for my international distance race on the 29th and plan to take a few days off then start to get ready for the 70.3 in October. I have always been deficient on the run so I am trying to be more consistent with my running. Right now I am hitting more runs than I usually do on my training plans so I feel good about that.

This year’s races- I did an olympic (HITS Palm Springs) in December and had a really good race. I’ve got San Diego International Triathlon less than two weeks from now and I am stoked for that one. The bike course is really cool going up to the lighthouse on Point Loma and the run is flat. My A race is Silverman 70.3 in October and I am hoping to have an all-around better race than my previous races at this distance. I’ll probably do the HITS olympic distance again in December but have not registered for that yet.

Weightloss- see the story above. I bounce around between 180-195 now. I’m working to keep that more towards the 180 mark.

Why I’m a good mentee- I know that I have a lot to work on so I am willing to take advice. I am very appreciative of the time that everyone puts in to mentor groups, these have always been a really positive environment.

Awesome. Are you on weather watch? I lock in the weather web sites and refresh all the time as race day draws near. Looks like a possible thunderstorm but a high of 78 shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks! I have moved most of my runs inside to the treadmill, but it is so boring. Lunch time is the primary opportunity for my runs. We are starting to hit the 110+ degree weather so I have to suck it up and learn to love the treadmill this time of year.

Justin, welcome to the group. Good luck on your SD race. I remember seeing your posts for the HITS Palm Springs last year when we were on weather watch. If you promise it will be above 50 this year, I will come back. I am doing Silverman as my A race as well. Have you ever ridden the bike course? I know it's pretty hilly. Official site says 4300 but saw somebody's MapMyRide was only 2400, quite a difference. I may try to get out there in late Aug or early Sept to check it out myself.

Edited by StevenC 2014-06-17 10:10 PM

So I have a question for the group - Even though I have been racing Tri's since 2006, I cannot remember ever being as hungry as I am now, especially at night. For example, last night I had 1.5 park chops, 1/2 baked potatoe, corn, 2 glasses of milk, and I was stuffed....then an hour later, I was STARVING again....I realize this is not necessarily a bad thing, but I am more wondering what (if anything) people eat after their evening workouts?

I am still trying to get rid of the last 5-7 lbs to get to my desired racing weight, so I am trying to be cognisant of exactly what I eat, but I also don't want to be starving either

Thanks! I saw that too about the elevation, how can WTC be so far off on the profile??? I have not ridden the course and would really like to ride it before race day. If you are interested maybe we could get out there and ride it together? I have never pre-ridden a course but I'd definitely like to do it for this one.

I had a really good ride this morning, I feel like the training is coming together and I will be ready for race day. What are you guys up to today?

Just finished a 30/ 4.25 brick this morning. Man I was feeling good, really wanted to stay out longer but Im sticking to my plan I got going. Besides I only had enough water for that time and sure didnt wanna be stuck without. Hitting masters swim later tonight, its speed drill night, so as always it will be fun. Have a great day everyone

Which one do you use?

Ok, a subject I have researched in the past since I was a workout guy before I got the Tri bug. I vary brands but always choose Whey Isolate vs. Whey Concentrate. Currently using the Gold Standard brand available at GNC, cheaper than GNC's brand. Based on what I have read, Isolate will be absorbed more rapidly, thus better for pre or post workout. It is also supposed to be better for those who are lactose intolerant. It will also have higher protein content per serving, so you can consume a few less calories if that is a priority. On the minus side, it is definitely more expense and some of the proteins are lost in the refinement, although supposed to be minimal. Just some things to consider.

I tend to use as mid-morning or afternoon with just water, particularly on heavier workout days. And then post workout, making sure to get enough carbs too. Add fruit and/or yogurt to get to a 3:1 carbs to protein ratio.

I am thinking about heading out to Vegas on Aug 29th to catch a band I want to see. Will bring my bike and do an early morning ride on Sat Aug 30 before it gets too hot. Based on schedules and commitments, that is probably the only weekend I can swing. Let me know if that works for you. We can meet up and check it out.

On a day with two separate workouts, (for instance my day today with morning 1:20 bike with intervals and lunch 44' run with intervals) would you have the protein after each session or just one and which one?

Cool, that might work for me, let's see how our schedules go as the date approaches.

I would probably use after both workouts. Morning is definitely the best, particularly if your workout is prior to breakfast. It will be absorbed much quicker since your body has not had a full meal since prior to bed. Based on your split workout, I would probably have a smoothie with whey, fruit, greek yogurt or peanut/almond butter after the bike and then after my run I would probably only have with water. The whey should be used in combo with your current level of protein intake. Athletes who train heavily, should probably take in between .75-1.0 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Body builders need >1. There are no indications that taking substantially more would cause any harm. The one fact that seems to be agreed upon is that there is no reason to consume more than 20g at once. That seems to be about the most the body can absorb in an hour. So no need to overdo it.

I am not an expert or certified trainer but have had trainers and done research over the years.

A lot of the discussion has been on protein but you cannot ignore the need to take in carbs as well.  This is critical for restoring glycogen in the muscles so that you can "top them off" and be available for the next workout.  The 3:1 carb:protein ratio is good for recovery type drinks after a workout.  We suggest to our athletes that a protein drink before bed is also beneficial for helping re-build tissues while training.

Edited by Birkierunner 2014-06-18 6:44 PM

Definitely. Checking weather.com quite alot. Looks like great conditions...to be honest, I hope the temp drops even further. The water may be a bit cold, but bike and run conditions look nice.

Good luck! I'm racing too - sprint on Saturday.



I totally agree with your definition of a "good" day.