kenj mentor group - back for another great season! CLOSED (Page 57)

For the second Saturday in a row I was able to get outside for a ride. Here are some pictures from today's ride.

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They're great pics Kath. Where abouts are you in America again?

Reading all your posts I am constantly amazed that 1 country can have so many different sorts of weather happening all at the same time (and i won't start on about the time zones again).

small island girl

Jennifer

Awesome Kathleen!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and looking foward to some good weather this week (unless your in the mid west, again). Yep jennifer, we sure do have many varied eco systems in America. I'm looking to get outside for some riding soon, as well. Just needs to be a little bit warmer!

On a running note, Im heading back to my ortho in a few hours to check in on my knee. Ever since the HM, each run ive done since has had lateral pain that contniues hours afterward, even with pre and post foam rolling. Im not convinced its the IT band as first thought. Just hope im wrong or its a quick fix. Swimming later today and an evening walk/run with the wife. We're doing a Run Disney 5k together in May and she's been real dedicated to her training for it.

Enjoy the week!

Glad it is Monday... I spent all weekend working on a bathroom project getting it painted and putting Crown Molding etc. Did get out side on the Bike Saturday for 45 miles and tested a few things.

First, I brought two full bottles of water mixed with gatorade and a bottle with the perpetuem. I still felt like my legs would start cramping at some point which tells me I need to start looking at some salt tablets or maybe electrolytes...

Second, Althought the perpetuem gave me enough energy through the ride, I started feeling hungry as the ride was ending so next time I am packing a Cliffbar or something to see how I react.

Lastly, I rode pretty fast averaging 17 MPH which around these hilly parts is not bad, and when I finished, I put on my running shoes and headed down the street just to see who I felt.... I had zero get up and go.. I only went about 3/4 of a mile but next week, I plan on riding the same distance at a slower pace (May even do it on the trainer to have a steady ride)and then run again to see how that transition feels.

As alway, any thoughts would be appreciated.

Happy Monday everyone! I must say I had a pretty bad training week last week--I was tired, unmotivated, not feeling great. Granted, I was a bit sick the week before with a stomach problem, though I still got my workouts in. I skipped my long run on Easter Sunday but felt okay about it. But then Tuesday when I got back in to training I just wasn't that motivated. I did the workouts but didn't get much out of them. Thursday evening was supposed to be a 1hr15min bike followed by swim class, but I thought it was going to rain. So I had my roller trainer with me at work and hopped on to get my ride in before heading to the pool. Well, I had my first fall off the rollers! Two falls, actually. I've had them for about 2 years and miraculously never fallen, and I always ride next to something sturdy to steady myself on the starts and stops. I also have never ridden for more than 45 minutes (not being able to stand up really gets tough on the seat!). So I decided at 30 minutes to take a quick stretch break, grab water, and start up again. I was sweating a lot so I draped a towel over my bars when I started up again, but then wasn't happy with its positioning. In trying to move it I veered to the right and got caught off the rollers and tipped over--however, I caught myself on my desk so it wasn't a real fall. No problem, got back on (sans towel) and continued. I then realized that I was going to have to cut my session 5 minutes short in order to make it to swim class in time, so after 1hr10minutes I was stopping and couldn't get my feet unclipped from the pedals. I must have panicked and instead of tipping towards my desk, I tipped the other way and fell to the ground. So there I am, on the ground, stuck in my pedals, and my calves and feet are cramping--I must have looked like a helpless cockroach! I was also pissed...I knew I had banged up my knee, but of course the first thing I did (after getting my feet unclipped) was to inspect the bike for damages. I scraped the pedal and the front wheel moved off-center, but that was it, so no real harm done. My knee, hip, ankle and forearm were all banged up, though, with my right knee and left hip taking the brunt of the impact. How my right knee came off worse than anything else when I actually fell to the left I have no idea...anyway, I went to swim class, swollen knee and all, and did not enjoy my swim.

Friday morning I headed back to swim class and did much better, but was so depleted Friday after work that I skipped my planned bike/run transition workout. Saturday morning I headed out for a 3 hour ride, which started great, but went downhill from there. My legs were tired, my knee hurt, my seat was absolutely killing me for some reason, and then the last 20 miles were into a brutal headwind. Needless to say I was not feeling good about the week.

HOWEVER--redemption time on Sunday morning! I signed up for a local 15K that a lot of people from my running club were doing. It was close to home, first year for this race, so I figured I would do it instead of my planned 90 minute run. And it was awesome! I wasn't feeling well (stomach) at the start, but I told myself I would try to keep up with a few running friends, and if I couldn't, no big deal, I'd slow down. I haven't done a 15K in years, so I had no idea how to pace myself. The first few miles I just kept a couple of friends in sight, letting them set the pace. About halfway through, I realized that I was actually feeling okay. I kept waiting for my legs to start screaming at me from the tough 58 mile ride the day before, but they never did. At mile 7 I got a side stitch and the stomach started complaining, but the legs felt fine, so I picked it up. I ended up having a fantastic race, finishing in just under 1hr 11minutes. So I was able to completely put my bad training week behind me and bask in the accomplishment of the day. Now I'm looking forward to this week, which is the start of my 10 week Build Section of the plan. I'll get to start throwing in some higher intensity work in the bike and run, and the weekends will get a little more demanding.

Sorry about the really long post, but I had to get that out! Happy training!

Thanks, Ken! I know the bad days will happen, I was just caught off guard by an entire bad week! But that's over now, a new (and better) week has begun!

I forget who was posting about the solid vs. liquid nutrition on long bikes, but I also think I need solid "food" of some sort during long rides. I like Clif Bars, because they feel like they have substance, but I don't think I want to use those for the IM, so I have to try experimenting with some other stuff. For my 3 hour ride last weekend (which was really 3hr 15m because the wind slowed me down so much) I definitely did not eat/drink enough. I was trying to, and had Accelerade in my bottle and water, but only took one gel halfway through. That may have contributed to how spent I was at the end. In race nutrition = my biggest challenge right now!

Also, link to this week's blog: http://beakersironmanjourney.blogspot.com/2013/04/all-it-took-was-o...

Happy training!

 

I've got a little cathing up to do here!  I've been couped up for the last few days with food posioning.  NOT FUN!!

 

I saw Spring Saturday!   I ate something at a restaurant that made me sick Friday night.  But I didn't want to back out on my friend for a day trip we put together.  So Saturday morning we drove 5 hours south and east to Brown County IN to hit some MTB trails  If you want to see some pics check out my twitter account @BMeulen.  It was GREAT!  Even though I felt terrible, the weather was AWESOME!  60 degrees and partly cloudy.  Trail conditions were perfect!  We did about 30 miles of rip roarin' singletrack and then went back home.  When I got home, I promptly crashed and gave in to the stomach pains. 

 

Had to go to the doctor yesterday.  They got me on some meds and I'm finally feeling a little better this afternoon.  At least good enough to step away from the porcelan throne!

Edited by Meulen 2013-04-09 1:22 PM

double post!

Edited by Meulen 2013-04-09 12:25 PM

No spring here Anyone want to guess when I will get my first outdoor ride - last year it was the 11th (of April - Thursday). We have had over a 1 1/2 feet of snow in the last 3 days.

 

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I found summer, I am in DC and it is in the 80's!

How is everyones training going today? Longer run this morning around DC for me, need to get going, then I get to head home for a day before flying out west. Tired of the travel, but I get to see my son on this trip so that will be worth it!!Train well!

10 mile run yesterday which was my longest this year. May take today off or wait till tomorrow night if I can schedule a date night with the wife.. I have been feeling more tired as I am adding more intensity to the bike workouts and getting longer runs in.. Can't complain since at least I am able to get some consistent time training.

glad you are feeling better.

I have just completed 1hr on bike trainer - just spinning really - however, I stuck with it for a whole hour, which is an achievement. I'm still having problems with motivating myself - but have no excuses for it.

I have a question though...
when riding the bike in trainers i always tried to keep my heels down so feet on the pedals would tend to be parallel with the ground. I don't know why, but it worked for riding horses. I've been watching challenge wanneka and the wtu round at Auckland and I've noticed that frequently when on the bike the athletes toes tend to be pointing down to the ground more often or not. Is this a deliberate thing - do you get more power that way or does it just happen?

Jennifer