Penn State's mentor group - CLOSED! (Page 51)

OWS tonight

70ish mile ride sat morning

Supposed to run on sunday but am pretty nervous bc of my groin issues this week. It feels 100% now...but am just a little scared.

 

Just got in a 56 mile ride.  Super windy and I took the hilly route today.  I figure I may as well train in tougher terrain/conditions than my expected races, hopefully making the race day seem easier.

With regard to barefoot running.  Not for me, I'm a wuss when it comes to walking around without shoes/barefoot.  I can't imagine running barefoot or even with the VFF.

Greg

I have a pair of the VFF Sprints.  I use them as a training tool about once every 2 weeks.  They are not something I ever intend on running a marathon in, or even a 5k.  But I think they work well as a training tools for me.  I naturally run on my forefoot, but struggle excessive ankle flexing due to my overpronation.  

Over time I've found that the occasional use of the VFFs have helped to strengthen my ankle and keep it from flexing as much.  I still overpronate, which is fine, but my ankle doesn't flex inwards as much as it used to.  Which should help prevent injuries by allowing my leg to remain straighter while absorbing shock.  I figure a spring that is straight vertically absorbs and returns energy well in the direction I'd want, but one that flexes outwards in the middle as it's compressed will be unstable and likely shoot off to the side, which is what my ankle basically did and forced my muscles to work harder to try to keep it stable.

When I was little I used to run around our house, but were we lived in Jersey the water costs were too high, so no one had grass.  We all had stones in our yard.  So running on stones barefoot was a normal thing.  Now, as I grew up, moved out of Jersey, went to places with grass, started wearing shoes always... I can barely tippy toe over a rock covered yard.  I've noticed the VFFs have actually helped to get my feet to HTFU ;-)  I used to get blisters on my forefoot on the side, but over time my feet have callused more, become tougher skin.  So now, even while running in 'normal' shoes, if I step on a small sharp rock in the middle of the road I barely notice.  it doesn't hurt through the soles of my shoes at all, my ankle is quick and strong enough to adjust for it, and even trail running I don't feel like I'm about to twist my ankle as easily.

I'm not saying VFFs are for everyone, but from a guy that would never use them as a race shoe, I believe they have benefits in terms of a training aid. 

I have a few sets of calf compression sleeves made by a local Boulder company called Recofit.  I used them for training, while I slept after a hard training day, traveling, as well as during some of my longer races (like my first ultra... ~48miles in 14 hours).  Obviously it's hard to know if they truly helped or if it was placebo, but I think they have helped with my recovery.

I was talking to Jamie Donaldson (female winner of the Badwater ultra  the last two years) and she was saying she just buys the compression socks and cuts the foot portion off.  That way she can wear the socks she prefers and have a wider selection of calf compression options.  I think a lot of people have issues with cutting a pair of $45 socks though.  I have a hard time finding white compression sleeves (RecoFIT makes them, but no one seems to carry them).

Anyway, for what it's worth, I like them, I like the way they feel and I believe they help me, but it's impossible to measure a difference in recovery between having and not having them since you can't do both at the same time under the exact same fitness level and conditions... well, unless I only wore one.  But I think I'll pass on doing that.

Thanks for the info. I know 2XU and CEP both make white socks and sleeves

http://www.cepsocks.com/cep-all-sports-compression-sleeves.html

http://www.2xu.com/compression/ua1244b.html

there ya go

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Back from my ride... which ended up being 95 miles.  I'm worried being Fred's mentee is making me too much like him, because I had a ride a lot like the one he talked about the other day.  90ish with hills, which went really well until the last 90 minutes, where I was reduced to a humbled blob.  As long as we're on the 90s theme, it being almost 90 degrees by the time I finished didn't exactly help things (I'm not acclimated to that kind of heat, and in general do poorly in the heat to begin with).

Hopefully with more T.I.T.S., I will be able to escape that gremlin that comes along and lets 30psi out of your tires and puts a parachute on your back at the 4 hour mark. 

Actually, I think it just shows that there is a huge difference between HIM shape and IM shape.  I've got decent 70.3 fitness but if I had to do the ironman today, it would be a mess.  I'm not discouraged, just motivated to really get the most out of the next 2 months.

Edited by JoshKaptur 2010-05-14 5:11 PM

I try to support my local brick and mortar business as much as possible. ;-)  I like being able to try my stuff on.  My local running store actually a 60 day return policy on shoes... even if you run outside with them.  First time they told me that I looked at them and said... "I'll easily put 100-150miles per month on them... you sure it's 60 days even if I've run 200+ miles outside with them?".  They said absolutely. I've never returned a pair, but they continue to give my friends discounts because I'm a "VIP" just by mentioning my name, even exchanged my friends shoes he bought there after almost 45 days ( ~100-120 miles for him) for a completely different brand/model because he was getting blisters.

There really is something to be said about local shops, good ones are hard to find sometimes, but once you find them, you have to do your part to make sure they stay around.  Besides, they lose their business, that effects their employees, their employees don't buy things and it can domino into your neighbor losing their house to foreclosure and effecting the value of your house. ;-)  All from not supporting your local running store ;-) 

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I did my last run last night and did a PR again (11:35 min/mile). This has come down from over 13 min/mile when I started. I'm hoping by my 1/2 IM that my time is down around 10 min/mile. If I keep chunking away at the time slowly I think I can do that. The runs are feeling very good now that I have some level of fitness. Still need to increase my distance per run but I'll add that slowly also.

Going swimming with the wife tonight. She's so close to committing to a tri n the fall. I know if she trains she can do it. We just need to get her a bike and a few odds and ends. It would be fun if we could do them together and train together.

Saturday I need to get my bike in transition the day early and don't know what I'll do for physical exercise yet. I'm feeling good for Sunday. I feel a new PR for a sprint.

Sounds like everyone is already off to a good training weekend. Some good long runs and rides.

Have a great race!

Man you guys are doing some big volume this week!   

Friday:  3 mile run / 2000 yard swim

Saturday: 36 mile bike / 2000 yard swim

Sunday: 36 mile bike /2000 yard swim

I'm not doing big miles on the run because my left calf has been weak since my injury, and until it feels as strong as the right I won't do big running volume; besides, its summer and that means cycling! 

80% of my swim sessions are drills.  As U of W coach Mickey Wender says, 'practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent, and if you're doing the wrong things, they will be a permanent habit'. 

Our tri club is setting up a Masters group this summer; they're just shopping for a pool right now.  Since one of them is a former D1 swimmer, it should help me alot.


As for the barefoot stuff, I have ran on the treadmill barefoot, and I think there's some validity to it strengthening the foot, but I wouldn't do any real volume that way...

Edited by furiousferret 2010-05-14 7:54 PM

Just got home from a ... [hm... thinking of the words to describe it]... wet, muddy and long trail run.  ~11.4miles, puddles all over the trail (and the correct thing to do is to stay on the trail in these conditions in order to not widen it)... which meant running through some puddles ankle deep.  Along with the mud clumped to the shoes making you slide everywhere, you have the extra 5lbs clumped to the bottom of your shoes, not to mention the soaking wet socks from running through puddles.  Overall, a great run though!  definitely a tough 11 miles, but it should make my ankles and knees stronger in the long term.

Tomorrow I take it kind of easy, probably just going to 2.5miles easy, go pick up my race packet for the marathon relay on Sunday and maybe hit the pool and relax in the hot tub and steam room to clean out my lungs a little before the race.  Sunday I have a 5.3mile leg of the relay, so it should be some good speed work, then I've organized a 50mile bike ride that it looks like 6 people will be showing up to.

 

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I got up at 6am this morning (very early for me) so I'll be nice and tired tonight. The race starts Sunday at 6:30a so I guess I'll have to leave the house around 4:45a to get there, park and get transition set up. Ughhhh that's early. Couldn't races start at 11am or something?

Hi everyone - just checking in from our hotel in Rochester. Just got here after the red eye so my husband and I are resting and getting ready to spend the afternoon with my family. Got the scoop on the local running paths here from the hotel desk clerk so I should be good to go to squeeze in a run sometime tomorrow. Happy training/racing to everyone this weekend!

I just had the 12-27 put on my road bike. I have my first "real" ride tomorrow and I am a bit nervous. I am riding with a cycling group (never have done that before) that my friend is a part of. I have joined their team for the MS 150. From all I know they are a very friendly group and welcome people of all levels. The one thing that I had to do which I really didn't want to do was remove my aerobars from my road bike. We are riding in Boulder tomorrow and apparently doing some good climbing. I have never ridden in Boulder before and between not knowing the route, not knowing 99.9 % of the people and this being most likely my most challenging and longest ride to date, to say I am a bit nervous is an understatement. I am sure I will be fine (I am a much stronger cyclist then a runner) but I haven't ridden near as much this winter as last winter and not knowing what I am getting myself into is very unsettling. Being nervous for me is nothing new. I mean, I get nervous for people I don't even know. It is very tiring

Edited by Kath2163 2010-05-15 12:34 PM

Had a little snafu at check in today. I was given the wrong race number and didn't notice it until I got home. The name was "Todd" it was "sprint" and the shirt size was "large' but the last name and age didn't match. Emailed the race director and we worked everything out. I'm now assuming the number that was given me and my chip and everything will go with that number. I guess you learn something every race and I learned to not have them put the number in the goody bag. Look at it and then put it in the bag. The race numbers had a tag attached on the bottom of it that had all of the name, age etc but I never even looked at it. just assumed that I had the correct #.

I'm # 785 at the Tempe International Triathlon tomorrow.

Good luck with the race, let us know how it goes.