Yanti & Lynn: Manatee Madness Mentor Group CLOSED (Page 51)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

I was back in the pool this morning.  This is a recovery week for me after last weekend's marathon.  Hopefully I'll be able to be more active in the mentor group this weekend too.

Have a great day!

Enjoy your recovery--you deserve the time to relax! 

I hear ya on the mentor group activity--I always try to get on here, do inspires, etc...but between school, work, and training, I tend to lose focus! I'll try to do better!

Happy Valentines Day everyone.  No big plans for us.  Got my wife roses, box o' chocolates, and a card.  Treating her to a nice dinner but we're pretty low key about all of this.

Dinner on the beach sounds beautiful Yanti.  Gives me an idea for our anniversary in April.  I keep forgetting that I live in a beach town.  Funny how you take this stuff for granted when it's so close now.

As for training, discovering the challenges of trying to stay on task with an infant.  The original plan was to do an early morning spin on the trainer with a swim at lunch (short workouts today).  Well, the kiddo was waking up every 3 hours and needed to be coaxed back to sleep.  Needless to say the early morning spin didn't happen.

Did just get back from my swim though.  Felt pretty good but discovered something new. Maybe Yanti and our other swim experts can explain to me whats going on.  I've been working on my pull lately and have been noticing a lot of improvement.  That said, I've also noticed that towards the end of my swims my hip-flexors start to get tired. Weird eh?  Today was no different and I also notice that my back was starting to get tired too.  I try to keep my body pretty straight and I'm pretty sure I just ended up getting really tense as I do this.  My guess is that when I swim I'm arching my back as I try to keep my body straight and push into the water with my chest.  Well today I just got tired and decided to swim "lazy" at the end, relax my back and let it create hump in the water to relieve it.  It was the slightest change but next thing I know I'm flying through the water at similar or even less effort (flying is a relative term here for me).  So what's going on?

Meh, no one is keeping tabs on your activity level in the group. Just join when you can 

Oh and wow, snuck in a marathon on us! Very nice! A Huge PR, too!!

That's right--just party with us when you can!

And that smokin' PR deserves one hot pair of sparkly glitter legs!

CONGRATULATIONS JANYNE

I was just reading a thread in the main forum about using a rubber band to hold your bike shoe in position, so you can leave the shoes clipped in in/through T1 and it reminded me that I wanted to ask about this practice.  I've seen people leave their bike shoes clipped in and it always seemed like a good idea to me b/c there is no running or trying to run in bike shoes, but I don't understand the use of the rubberband - i know it's used to keep the shoe from hanging, but I don't know the actual "how to" of that process (the forum did not explain this).  I also figured that there are some tricks to getting your foot into your shoe as you try to pedal.

So, anybody have experience using this method?  If so, can you explain the use of the rubberband and offer any tips for getting into the shoes without killing yourself or others?

Thanks!

The rubber bands keep your shoes/cranks from rotating. (Leave your shoes clipped in and you will see that the weight of the shoes naturally rotates your cranks and this would drag as you are pushing your bike)

Seems to me like one of those things that you do once you have gotten to your maximum ability levels in all the other areas. But who knows...maybe to some it's worth the few seconds it takes to put on shoes and not have to run in them. I can't speak to that part.  Then again, I happen to be a champion bike-shoe-runner 

This is my second time posting this, so here goes.

Salty is correct about the rubber bands. You wrap them and they hold the shoe in position so you can slip into them coming out of T1. I've done it in a workshop but not in a tri. It might be useful for shorter race distances, but for HIM and IM, probably not worth the hassle for me. It may save you some seconds in your transition, but if you're like me and not competing for a podium spot that is separated sometimes by seconds, it just may not matter. Now, as for the cool factor...another story. I have slipped out of my shoes coming in from the bike to T2 and then rode on the bike on one side to the line before hopping off. That was pretty fun. Definitely practice lots if you want to try it sometime.

Wanted to see the awesome glitter runner again for Janyne!! Nice job! Recover well.

Thanks all!

So far recovery is going well.  I went for my first post marathon run this morning.  It was short so I took Em with me.  Gotta love a four legged running partner!  So fun!

Who's racing this weekend?  Anyone?  Bueller?

No racing for me this weekend...but I am kind of inspired by all of you racers last weekend...I'm almost sad about not having a race!!! Weird. My plan is to stick to my training plan (Isn't that always the plan??) for a long bike and shorty swim and run. Also have a vet appt. for the pups and a pottery class. Not a lot going on over here. Hope you all have a more exciting weekend than that!!

Not racing, although my OWS partner, Slammer, is participating in the Dock Dogs event here in town as part of the South Eastern Wildlife Expo which is always amusing, he just doesn't understand the jumping part, he only goes to the beach with it's gentle shores...

Sorry I've been AWOL for awhile, I have been having trouble gettin my training in which frustrates me and then I over think it and get more frustrated if I don't hit more unreasonable goals, like today tried to do a 30 min swim, 2.5 hour trainer ride and planned on a 4 mile run after...

It didn't happen (probably for the best me thinks), warm and raining while out on the porch for the trainer ride, was just about done after an hour so took the pup for a 2 mile run instead.  But it brought me to a point where I realized that I'm not really enjoying the training and it is causing more stress than it is relieving.  Triathlon is my hobby/sport/me time and if I'm not enjoying it why am I doing it?  The thing is I enjoy the actual training I do get in but it frustrates me when I don't get them in and then I miss more...  spiral down, y'all understand I'm sure.  I've come to realize that I prefer/can manage shorter workouts or not as many and enjoy myself.  So while the ability and desire is there for a HIM the time managment is not- at least for my planned HIM in April.

So I asked my friend who ran the HM with me in January if she would be willing to do the run portion for the HIM and she agreed so I will be part of a relay team.  My initial thoughts on training is to continue the plan in terms of swim and bike and keep a couple or 3 shorter runs in to keep my running from losing too much for the sprints and Oly's I have planned for during the summer/fall.  What say the wise MANATEE POD on this or should I add another workout to the swim/bike already in my training plan?

And I will race a HIM, maybe later in the year when I have less on my plate with the fundraising I've been doing for the unity tour but definitely next years HIM at the latest.  Sorry for longish post but had to get that out.

I never understood how to get the rubber band on to make the shoe stay.  We do the one legged dismounts as standard operating procedure at work, there are actually a few ways of doing it, in case you need to drop the bike and run etc...  sorry I digress, been updating training info for my next bike patrol class, but I've gotten pretty good at running in my bike shoes and jumping on putting the pedal on the arch of my foot if that makes sense, speedplays, it takes some doing but it seems to work for me.

I can't speak to the specifics of what you should add/take away in your training but I think keeping your training enjoyable and manageable is the most important thing in training. We aren't doing this because we are getting paid to. We are doing it because we love it and it keeps us healthy. I say do what you can do and if you miss a workout you have to learn to completely let it go (easier said than done, I know.) There is some level of commitment to yourself, your goals and the training program that you want to try to establish so that you can complete the races you sign up for (if that is your goal) but I think that should be dictated by what makes you happy not the other way around. 

Those are my two pennies...

I agree with her.I have totally felt the way you do right now--if I miss one workout, it is very hard for me to get my butt out to do more, then I get angry with myself, depressed, etc...BUT...once I get back out there, even once--it is an amazing thing...Just 'hop back on the horse'--even if you don't do the immediate race, getting back out there will do a world of good!

WOW! I just ran 7.11 miles! At an 11 minute pace!!!! I realize that's not terribly fast for most everyone on here, but I usually consider a 12-13 minute pace pretty darn fast...For me, that is bleeping amazing! It was a beautiful run too--lots of different songbirds...

Okay, time to enjoy my night--with some tasty homemade lasagna--yup--came home from the run and cooked up some awesomeness!  Tomorrow is a rest day--so just work then taxes for me..Yay? This weekend has no races, just training...

Bueller. Ha ha ha ha! Oh, how I love that movie.

I'm recovering from having my (unlubed buttcrack) butt on a trainer for 6 hours yesterday. People say wow (yep, my buttcrack really is that bad now--oh wait, you meant the drainer drag), but if you saw Bali traffic, you'd ride on a trainer too, regardless. Everyone's trying to occupy the same space at the same time, there are extremely few rules, and even fewer are enforced. I mean, if I were training to be a daredevil trick biker, sure, but not real conducive to training for a long, straight, rolling, closed IM course.

Come to think of it, a drainer is perfect for that. It's pretty much hunkering down and not a lot of gear changing (long gradual hills, no steep ones, though not much of the course is flat per se. False flats).

What?! Stick to the PLAN? Sacrilege!

AAAAAAAAAAAAH NO YOU DIH-UNT SAY IT!

JoGILF!

That pic of you and your beautiful grandpuppy makes me smile every time I think of it ...

It's all about balance.  You just need to find yours :-) 

Regarding your HIM relay training -- what expectation does your teammate have?  I would use that as your guide. 

Janyne and Salty - YES!! I second that! Balance and fun!! When the workout plan and carrying out the plan become more stressful than joyful....you need a new plan! Your hobby should be FUN-you are right, Kirk. Make it fun again-whatever that means.

Even if fun means pottery!