Baowolf's Fun In the Sun Mentor Group (OPEN) (Page 5)

Mike/Phil/Isabella: Congrats on each of your racing conquests this past weekend!

Steve/Mitch: Enjoy the tapering...even if it doesn't feel like much of one right now.


As for me, I had a busy work week. I'm not as busy as Mitch but I've been putting in about 55+ for the last 3 weeks. This is making waking up at 4am for short runs/biking difficult right now....I need to get that started ASAP. My mind has also been preoccupied with work....I had a very disappointing situation arise at work and it all stems from an unfortunate event that happened a few years back at my old place. I went to my current place to get a new start and now our superintendent (warden) is aware of what happened. To make it worse...he was friendly with the person that I had the issue with....so we had a very....tense meeting on Thursday. I had a great deal of respect for the superintendent until our meeting...now he can join my growing list of dinks I never want to associate with. The good news is this is where faith carries you; I don't know why this happened but I do know that God only gives us things we can handle and manages to make a negative into a positive. I struggled with my attitude for a few days but I'm back to normal once again.

I had a very good training day today....1550 yards in the pool with a long of 300. Whats more important to me is I found my zen in the water....I didn't struggle with breathing during my longer distances....I stayed calm and consistent and it was a good feeling. I felt that smooth is fast and fast is smooth mantra and I liked it.....I wanted to swim all day. I went home and hit the bike for 30 minutes while watching the World Cup. I need to get some time in the saddle...my swim/running are improving but bike...not enough time.

PS- Carol, my Bday was supposed to be a secret....it was a bad one this year! 40 blech!

Hang in there with the work situation. Sometimes you can win over someone, even someone who you don't care if you win them over by just doing good work day in and day out which makes them kinda let go of the past and just let you do your work. I don't mean kiss up, I mean, just by doing a good job. At work, even when politics are crap, a good work record and reputation can earn you respect even if someone doesn't like you.

I have had some productive speed workouts to burn off some ... feelings about a day or person at work.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-06-17 6:04 PM

Long day today - had a day trip to NYC with a bunch of meetings. Up at 3:45 am, get to the airport, blah blah blah, 6 am flight, traffic into the city, run around mid-town manhattan, back to airport, fly home, traffic, get home and collapse on sofa. And I'm supposed to run after dinner. Ugh.... Actually the run turned out good and I'm very happy I put aside the days weariness to get it done. Back to the pool tomorrow.....

Good job Mike

Steve, I've done the same with people many times on runs etc.

Today my goal was to do 9 miles.....trying to follow Steve's plan of putting on miles I mapped out a nice hilly course. Unfortunately, my day ended at 4.5 miles because I twisted my ankle slightly past the 4 mile mark. I usually go 4.5 one way and then opposite of that back home....I was looking at my Garmin to see how close I was to a turnaround when my right foot met a pothole. I tried to run it out but it was bothering me and showing Steve's influence on me....I called Kiley to pick me up. I did walk for about a mile after that and it stopped bothering me so I got some extra cardio in. What makes this more frustrating is I woke up early to do my long run before the gym but there were t-storms so that idea was nixed.

Jay, I like how you said you felt a "zen" in the water. It is rare that I feel that way, but when I do, it is a good thing! I hope your foot feels better today. I agree with Steve that sometimes we can use our work stresses to fuel our workouts. I have to be careful though : ) Don't want to break the bod.

Jay, ice that ankle, walk on it a little see how it feels. You can maintain fitness if you walk on it if pain free. If painful to walk.. don't run. You can do some walk jog to feel it out, stay close to home incase it acts up. Hopefully you are good in 3-5 days.

I figured out a trick for aligning bike shoe cleats. If you have a kitchen counter where there is a 90 degree corner, you line up the side of the cleat at the front of the counter scooted to end and then align the shoe perpendicular to the side of the corner. My left shoe had crept in from unclipping, something I had noticed riding and then I had to replace the cleats anyway. You can try it out on your shoes now and see if they are aligned. A simple loosening and retightening fixes them right up. Today is the day to change out the old tires for the race tires and maybe clean the chain... or do that tomorrow feeling lazy.

Oh and yesterday was our 25th wedding anniversary. My wife is so good for me, although that chocolate cake was too tasty.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-06-18 3:17 PM

Hi all.

Nice to see everyone staying active.

Mike - I love when I can get out for a run like that. Can change the way you feel about the whole day.. good job getting it in

Jay - sorry 'bout that ankle. Hope its not too bad. Those can be painful though.

Happy Anniversary Steve. 25 years! awesome. i can't wait for my 25th,..

So I am feeling very sore and tired. Haven't done much, this week, 4 mile run. Exhausted from the weekend. Supposed to swim in the ocean this morn but crossed communication messed that up. Gonna get it in tomorrow am. I have to drop my bike to Tri-bike Transport Friday afternoon, so I am going to try and spin on it before my swim tomorrow and try to get a quick 1 1/2 hour Friday morn before I lose her 'till CDA.

I swear I feel like I pulled a muscle under my rib. I really think it's just my body repairing itself etc... at least i hope, but no doubt there is a little soreness. Just hoping I'm not losing anything during this taper. don't feel like I'm doing much but working. I definitely am having a bit of taper brain today and everyday I feel like I'm getting further away from being ready than I was before I started tapering.... Hope it's just my brain messing with me.

Anyway, that's my rant. and yes, Steve I will make sure to get all info so I can meet up with you... I may need a little grounding!

Hi Everyone! My name is Christina. It looks like I'm a little bit late to the discussion but, I was wondering if I could join your mentor group? I am planning to participate in my first sprint triathlon in September and just started training for it last week. I’ll post my bio after I receive confirmation that it’s okay to join.

Hi, Christina! Good luck with the training. This is a great group with people at all levels so if you have questions, ask away. What is your background?

I'm trying something new today - found out a we now have lockers & showers at our office, so I'm going for a run at lunch time. Not only will I be burning calories, but I won't be consuming a bunch! Nice day outside, and I've already planned my (short) route, too. Should be fun.

Mike

Name: Christina

Background: I started my fitness journey in January 2013 and I wanted to get “in shape” (like everyone else with their New Year’s Resolutions). I decided to set a goal for myself and I ran my first 5K in March 2013. After that, I fell in love with running. For the past few months, I’ve been looking for a way to push myself like I did last year. I considered running a half marathon – but, I’ve always battled achy knees and ruled that out. So I decided on a sprint triathlon. I’ve done a good amount of research about my first race and I’m really excited to participate!

Family Status: I’m married to my husband of 3 years and we don’t have any kids (yet).

Current Training: In May, I did swim lessons at my local YMCA to learn good swim technique. Since then, I’ve been trying to build up my endurance for the biking, swim and run portions of the race, doing a little bit of each every week. I just started the 13 week to sprint program posted on this website.

2014 Races: My first race will be September 13, 2014.

Goals: My goal is to finish the race and have fun doing it. At this stage, I probably won’t be competitive, but I want to do my personal best.

Great goal for a first race, Christina. But be warned -- crossing that finish line will be one of the best feelings ever, and you'll be hooked....

So, the lunchtime run thing worked out nicely. Hot out, but thats OK. It was less than an hour total from the time I left, until I was back in my office. Probably need a few more minutes of cool down next time, but this is pretty cool. I'm going to try to do this a couple times a week.

Welcome Christina!
Steve, happy anniversary to you and your wife. We are 24 years : )

I hope the taper is going well for you.

Thanks.

Welcome.

Mitch, it is too late to really worry about stuff, much time later for that. At this point it is just get in whatever is left on your taper and meet up for the race. I also have the aches of taperland with the shoulder and back still iffy. Oh well. You would think that with wimpy workouts like an 18 mile run or 3.5 mile bike that endurance should be coming back quickly.... but not so much. Still time. Lake temp up to 58F...so bring the wetsuit.

Christina, welcome to our group I'll give you the first advice that I wish someone had given me when I started....work on your weakest discipline. We all tend to gravitate what we're comfortable with and let our weaker disciplines fall by the wayside. For me, it used to be swimming but its biking at the moment. Everyone in our group has stronger disciplines which you'll figure out soon.

Steve: Congrats on 25 years!

Linda: only 1 year behind Steve, I'm impressed

Mitch: read Steve's post about tapering and your mind playing tricks on you....sounds like that's happening to you!

Good news with the ankle....no pain or swelling or bruising. I'm going to take today off and then try to get a run in tomorrow. Interesting news on work front....my superintendent got moved to another institution effective this Monday....this came out of the blue. It certainly gives me some peace about work right now and that's a good thing!

Glad its working out for you, Jay, on both the ankle and the work front.

Taper madness seems to have a firm grip on our 2 IMCDA entrants. Hold strong, folks!

Back in the pool today and had a nice "ah-HA!" moment. Coach has been emphasizing a different approach to the catch & pull, and today it all just made sense, and it definitely felt faster. Worked on it for most of the class, and now my shoulders & lats are very unhappy, but I was told that is a good sign that I was doing everything right.

Should be a beautiful weekend here, and I plan on taking advantage of it. Tomorrow will be a long run (4 miles!!) and Sunday an expected awesome long ride along the ocean as the sun comes up. its so incredible to see it happen. Makes me feel lucky to live where I do. I'll take some pictures and post them .

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!!!!

Anyone racing?

Jay, great news, perhaps the man upstairs thinks you have been through enough of a character building streak for now. Glad your work life will likely stabilize and remain positive for you. Very happy about the ankle as well. Sometimes you can tweak it pretty good, but dodge a bullet on having it take you out of training. However, don't tweak it again in the next 2-3 weeks, it could be a bit weakened. Start off with some walk, jog and keep the pace sloer for your first couple of runs.

Taper is being the reed in the wind, letting the thoughts and feelings come and go, know the training will carry you through and getting to the starting line as healthy as possible.

Good things to get you through include cleaning the bike chain, bike frame, putting on the racing tires, etc. 50 mile bike ride tomorrow and then a very easy week, packing up and heading to Samantha's place in CDA on Wed/Thurs.

Edited by Baowolf 2014-06-20 3:34 PM

Took your advice and biked on the trainer instead of running. I suspect I'll get a run in Sat or Sunday (whichever day I don't work overtime) Hoping to get in a swim after my sons baseball game....assuming there isn't any drama.

Jay you are giving good advice to Christina. Focusing on one's weaknesses. I have not done that in over a year. My weakness is swimming. My strength is what I gravitate to, running. I need to get back to being more comfortable with my weakness. Thank you for the reminder!
Also, I am glad your ankle is feeling better. Very good news indeed!

Christina, Welcome!!! Glad to have you.

Mitch, Steve was the first one that ever made me understand those pains that occurred during taper. I always thought it was the devil trying to wear me down and freak me out but it’s your body healing.

Steve, Congrats on 25 years! We just celebrated 20 years. I love what you said about your wife being too good for you. That is the way each spouse should feel about the other and that is why you two have just celebrated 25 years. I was talking to my best friend the other night who is now single for the first time in 25 years. It is so hard for a smug-married to counsel a singleton on dating but I keep telling her not to settle and to only go with a man that is going to put her on a pedestal. I like your answer better tho, each should feel like the other is too good for them. My hubby is way too good for me. And too HAWT.

Jay, that is awesome about the work situation working out!

I have a trail race tomorrow night; I think it’s 4.5 miles. Temps are predicted to be 94 and it’s single track. I would love to not break any bones.

Hrm 10 day forecast for IMCDA = 68F, scattered showers all day and 10 mph winds., water temp 58ish atm. Tomorrow is 50 mile bike ride 2 mile brick run. Happy training.

Great 1 mile ocean swim Friday...(about 31 mins) 1.5 hour ride yesterday... 5.9 mile run this morn... Felt like a marathon. Still having some issues with my side... Feels like a pulled muscle... dunno

Dropped my bike a tribike transport yesterday so she's on her way to CDA!!! Can't believe its so close that I dropped my bike off! Tapering sucks.... Hoping this body of mine heals up cause that little run today was very hard and I walked a few times!!! I do have my old tri-bike here still so I'll still get a ride or 2 in...

jay - Still being smart I see. I do believe you have a good grip on training these days. Well done.

Pam - Good luck on that trail race...

Mike D - Let me know how that sunrise is. Mine was amazing this morn....

Christina, welcome! Taking that first step into the triathlon world is exciting! Jay gave good advice, and Mike is right that may be addicting. When I signed up for my first tri, running was my weakest link, as were my knees, too. I couldn't fathom running more than a 5k, and no faster than 30 mins. Once you get into it, your muscles, tendons, and mind will all help you increase your distances, times, and reach your goals. Now I run 5ks in the 24 min range (in training) and completed my first half marathon this year. Got a long way to go, but a little bit of Steve's tutelage goes a long way.

Jay, take care of that ankle, seems like you got a good groove going on in training. I can't seem to get myself out these nagging injuries myself. Almost every week someone stomps on my feet in soccer (or shoves their cleat in my shin!).

Mike, I'm starting to do lunchtime training too, at the office, which feels twice as productive as actually working. I don't skip lunch though (I rarely skip meals; I'm more likely to add extra ones!). Did another spin class at work a couple days ago.

Aside from that spinning class and a superhumid soccer match this week, I haven't been very active. Maybe I'm recovering from being electrocuted. Or maybe there's just too much Fifa on tv.

Steve, congrats on the silver milestone! 58 sounds a bit chilly. I'd wear two wetsuits and a sweater.

Mitch, you'll see your bike again in a week :-) and we'll see you both on the podium! Right?

Back from my long run for the week, but it felt great and I'm feeling like this is the week to start feeling good. Funny thing today , the longer I went the better I felt. While I'm still in recovery/restart mode and doing run/walk I can already feel the benefits and know it will shortly be all run. Regardless, I'm moving and it's all good.

Christina - when I signed up for my first tri I could neither run nor swim, and had 3 months to figure it out. :-). Keep consistent, and enjoy the journey.

The lunch run is going to be a twice weekly thing for me now.

Found a bag of GU and Rockutane I thought I'd lost so tomorrow's bike nutrition is all set, and saves me the ride to the store. Hoping to do 40-50 miles.

Welcome Christina! This is a great group and I think you will really enjoy the encouragement and camaraderie here. Sounds like you have a solid plan to get to your sprint tri. Good for you on getting swim lessons sooner rather than later...definitely the smart way to go if your swim background is limited (as in most of us).

Shout out to the taper crazed ones...Mitch and Steve. Hay is in the barn, just have to keep from burning the barn down now .

Mike, your restart is giving me hope. Glad the run is feeling good!

I've had a solid week of workouts. Bike X 3, Swim X 2, Run/walk X 3, Yoga X 4 (will make it 5 tonight). Starting from absolute ground zero on the run, and picking up where it feels right on bike and swim. Foot is good, glute is good....hopeful!

Glad to hear it, Carol!!!!