Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 58)

Thanks guys. I'm not ruling anything out at this point.  I won't be hitting either race as well as I had trained for them, but ya my injuries are not anything I won't recover from in the next 6-8 months so Tahoe is still realistic.  I will have to see about the gash in the top tube.  It would be a shame if I had to upgrade er replace the bike.  It doesn't look that bad, but I don't know how thick the upper tube is as to whether it would cause a structural intergety issue.  I went for the walk today and now that I look at my ankle it is a bit swollen still.  Go figure nearly 48 hours later.  So I should probably wait another couple days for the swelling to go down and be a better example...

Still emotinally meh not really worked through it all, but will within the next couple days.  25,000 miles on the bike and lose focus for 3 seconds and bam.  Got to respect the skinny tires, momentum and enertia.  It is all good.  The nurse today said, "you must exercize alot, you weigh below 145, your heart rate is below 45 beats per minute, your resperation rate is low and your bp is 100/60.  Silver lining.  I hadn't been to a doctor in 2 years so you don't hear them get shocked about your fitness just from the numbers very often. 

Mike that workout plan looks fine.  Anything close to that, move things around as you need to, but it looks good as is, similar to mine.... well used to be 8).

Steve - I'm terribly sorry! I was wondering about you since you hadn't posted in a couple of days. I'm not sure I could get back on a bike after a crash like that; your strength comes through in everything you do. No novacane..crazy! Super glad to hear you made it out with minor damage considering what it could have been. Yeah for helmets. I get upset when I see people biking without them; now I have a story to tell if ppl ask why wear a helmet. I'm prayin for fast recovery and that you can still participate in the December HITS IM. Wish there was more I could do or say - definitely take your own advice in letting your body heal

Back is still tender. Heat and ice are my friends. Legs are still tight. Went on a four mile walk today just to keep moving. I'm starting to understand what y'all meant about getting anxious during a taper. At this point I'm certain I am losing everything and race day will be super hard, but I remind myself that I put in the time. I suppose it would be less like this if I wasn't trying to take care of legs and back. So even my mileage for a taper week is super low.

Steve - Glad you are ok. That really sucks. Maybe a little meditation to calm the nerves and speed the healing. Great that you are hanging in there but it must be nerve wracking on so many levels. 

Samantha - You might try adding some basic MYRTLE exercises, and stretches. It is amazing how strenuous they can be, they are low impact, and will help with the recovery by getting the blood flowing.

Carol - Thanks. Hope that weather has finally cooled off for you.

Completed 5 miles last night, so recovery week went pretty well. Got in the 5,4,3 milers just in reverse order and feel strong for race Saturday. Yesterday's run was well paced and finished a strong 5 miles. Splits 9:52, 10:09, 9:39, 9:51, 10:20. 

went to a personal trainer last night to get in some core strength work. Only a 20 minute session, but I have to tell you I was completely wiped out when done. We tri folks do a great job of going in a straight line, but change that up to sit ups, push ups, crunches, boxing, lunges, planks, dumbell weight work, all without much of a rest, and it is tough! I felt like I was going to heave a couple times. So, for the next few weeks, I"ll be adding this on to my tri workouts and see how it goes. Shoulders are tired this AM!  Will go for a run tonight, bike tomorrow, run/swim on Sunday.

Bike crashes suck!!

Steve, sorry to hear about the accident.  Thank God your ok, and that you are approaching it with the right attitude.  I'd say you were lucky, but lucky would have been to have it not happen at all. 

It's great to see our core group still getting after it.  I wish I had more time to comment on all of your accompishments, but I'm going to be overwhelmed till the end of October with football, work, and running kids to everything. 

Mike, I know what you mean about how hard the weight training can be in the beginning.  It is a total different fitness.  I've been trying to lift regularly.  My workouts are usually 15 to 20 minutes, with very little rest between. 

I want to share with you some things that I've learned (many you all probably know) along my weight loss journey.

1. Eating small meals, with a mix of protein and complex carbohydrates is the way to go to cut fat, retain muscle, and not feel hungry.  I never let myself get stuffed or starving.  If I feel hungry I know my next meal is coming shortly.

2. Eating more protein when cutting weight helps maintain muscle, or build it if that is what you are trying to do.  I try to eat 45% carbs, 40% protein, and 15% fats.  I don't keep track, but ball park it.  I know this is not what is recommended for an endurance athlete, but I kind of like muscle on my frame.

3. I keep track of everything I eat, even if it is a cheat day.  It keeps me from completely going crazy eating large amounts of food.

4. There will be people who will try to sabatoge you!!  I have good friends who try to get me to go out with them and drink beer and eat chicken wings all the time.  Some people do not like to see other people succeed.  Some of these people are dropping on the friend scale rapidly.

5. Surround yourself with like minded people.  You all know this because you're on this site.

6. This seems kind of silly, but was a big one for me.  Don't be embarressed to special order at the drive through.  My Wendy's order went from "#3 biggie size, diet coke" to "Grilled chicken combo, no butter on the bun or honey mustard, small chilie extra onions and no crackers instead of fries, biggie diet light ice." 

I've got a million more, but those are the biggies and I don't want to bore all the skinny people in our group.

Steve, still feeling for you on the bike crash.  I'd imagine you are pretty sore about now.  Quite a reminder of how vulnerable we are as humans, bike or not.  Samantha is right, you may be saving others from riding without a helmet as we tell your story.  I'm the first one to enjoy the ride, but also reminds me that we're only here physically for a little while.

Larry, thanks for the post on some of the things you have learned on your journey.  I personally needed to hear it.  I know what to do, but I have really struggled lately with consistent healthy eating.  My unhealthy forays are relatively tame since going wild really messes w/ my blood sugar and I've got to at least acknowledge what I'm eating enough to dial up the right amount of insulin.  But a second helping here, and a bad choice there, and the pounds come on my middle aged, female, insulin dependent body a LOT quicker/easier than they come off.

Oh my, and Mike and Joe on the strength training/core stuff.  Good for you!  One more neglected thing that I SAY I want to do, but don't put into practice lately.  It makes a lot of sense that the lack of lateral movement in bike/run set us up for some imbalances and injury vulnerability.

Samantha, a road trip and a wedding sound like the tickets to minimizing taper madness.  Good for you for walking.  Going into this rested may well be about the best thing you could do, so might as well embrace it! 

Larry - Good pointers. I have definitely increased the protien intake and have no problems special ordering. Keep the suggestions coming, I still need to loose 10+ lbs.

Samantha - It might be easier to if you can follow the link http://gogorunning.com/general-strength-training/ but the basic idea is strengthen the core. Not sure how accurate but I heard it is called Mertyl to rhyme with gertle, refering to the mid section. The race is tomorrow morning.

Just checking in.  Ya everything is fine here.  Shoullder fried, ankle still swollen, etc. not a big deal, just downtime.  That first night I couldn't get comfortable in bed, but have been fine the past two nights.  Mental note don't be too stoik in the ER or the doc won't prescribe you pain meds 8(.  Oh well IB prophin works fine but for only 4 hours and I like to sleep longer than that.  Life lesson, don't let nurses put nonshiny gause on wounds that ooze, very hard to get off when roadrash/cuts dry.  Why do they not know better?  So I was thinking that once my stitches are out I can work on my kick for swiming until the shoulder gets better.  Scarry thought.. kicking drills for hours.  I kick at about 10:00 per 100. 

Stay safe, take care.  Prayers with you Samantha, I am more worried about you than me.  I have used a foam roller on my back, but for soreness not for minor pulls.  There is another fire 20 miles away not contained ashes on the car in the morning.  I feel like a fish swimming in some of our polluted rivers.  Just want me some clean air that wont sting my eyes.

Joe, thinking about your race today.  Hope you had a good one!  Let us know how it went when you can.

Steve, good job on the walking.  Bet your dog would like to join you!  Yep...definitely would have been good to get some pain meds.  Maybe a little whisky prior to changing the gause would do the trick.

The most GLORIOUS cool front came through last night.  My run this morning was in the 60's.  Picked up some new shoes at the LRS last night because I could tell mine were nearing the end (achy ankles, knees and hips).  Went 8 miles and felt AWESOME.  Didn't look at the garmin much, but came out pretty even anyway with gas left in the tank at the end:  10:03, 10:19, 10:17, 10:08, 9:56, 10:05, 9:59, 9:54.  Yes, there is hope for me yet!  Followed that with a nice ride to/from breakfast w/ hubby.  OK, bkfst was a biscuit with gravy and a latte.  Better eating starting (again) now  .

A friend from church is doing the same training program (based out of a local running store) I did for my first attempt at a 1/2 marathon several yrs ago.  She's been doing great, but is now coming up with a very similar injury to the one I had at a very similar stage of the program.  They add hill repeats and a bit of speed work in for first timers with a very sketchy base.  Knowing what I do now, it's no wonder some of us masters runners wind up injured on a program like that.  Hoping she caught it early enough to minimize the damage/down time and can still do her race.   

Insufferable humidity here today. I did managed a 23 or so mile ride, and it was hot, hot, hot. Drinking lots of water during and now post ride. Slept in this AM, so my usual AM ride time was spent snoozing. Felt good. still sore from my training workout on Thursday. Masters starts back up on Monday AM and I'm looking foward to my time back in the water. Looking to run 5+ miles tomorrow AM.

Hello Everyone! I'm back from fun filled weekend. The wedding was gorgeous and I saw so many good friends. Good news on my back - it is feeling better. I need to continue to rest. Dancing at the reception, in hind-sight, might not have been the best idea. But I felt really good. Today I have overall back tenderness adn tightness, so I am putting some heat on it. Tomorrow I will do some more heat/ice. I also got a 25mile bike in today.

So five days to go. Lots of things running through my mind. The race has two different transition locations and is run like an IM with my gear in bags and changing tents. Starting to think through what I need where. Have some questions: Should I bring my amphipod so I have water with me all the time? If I do bring it what about my race number. Should I where my amphipod and my race belt? My shoulders really get tired and sore riding in aero. Should I widen my aero bars a bit to minimize that or tough it out until my arms are used to it? Please feel free to throw out things you think I need to know. YOu all have shared so much, but I forget some of it. My race starts at 9, so I plan to have all my transition stuff set up the night before so I can have a fairly relaxed morning. The lake is supposed to be around 60 degrees. Hoping I can keep my breathing under control. I didn't get as much time in OW with my wetsuit as I would have liked. The last OWS I did in my wetsuit I struggled to keep my breathing calm. Part of that was the choppy water making it hard to know if I would get air or water when I took a breath. I have been really excited, but sitting here right now my nerves just kicked in.

How much more training should I do this week? Would it be best to just do what my plan says. Last week's workouts were so minimal and there is a part of me that want to make them up this week. I know that would be stupid. I'll stop babbling now.

Steve - I'm curious to know what the bike shop says. I do think it would be great if you could get a new bike. And since you now legitimately need a new helmet...Way to keep at it while you are recovering. You are going to bounce back from this so much faster than someone else because you are strong and fit, and you are still moving forward.

Larry - I apreciate hearing your process for weight loss. I constantly need to be reminded that my food intake is just as important and my training output. Glad you are still hanging with us in the midst of your crazy busy season. Go win some more games!

Mike - How are you feeling now that you've been back out it for a number of days now?

Joe - I'll check out that link this week. I would like to start building my core up as I move forward in my training. it is the weakest part of my body when it should be the strongest. Thanks!

Carol - those temperatures sound refreshing. What a change of pace for you to get out and run without having to worry so much about how you will make it through. Here's to hoping for many more cool days in Texas!

Night!

Samantha - Five days! Trust the training and don't change too much. I might suggest not using the aero bars too much until you get more time in the saddle. This would be the conservative approach but it might save a you some trouble in the middle of a big race.

Carol - very nice splits. I still need to work pacing on distance.

Steve - Hope Felt comes back with some good news.

Ok race saturday was decent. Finished the 10K in 66:34. I really made it hard on myself though with a first mile split of 8:40. There was some confusion on where the start was, and I really should have made an extra stop before the race. At mile 2 I found a nice place to answer nature call though, lucky. Basically I ran a 5K in some heat and high humidity which killed me followed by another 3.1 miles. After the race i also realized I ate a fairly large bowl of salad for dinner and nothing else. That might not have helped either. I did have a a decent breakfast, then powerbar 30 minutes prior to the race and a couple chomps during the race. Nothing seemed to help the soreness that developed in the upper back and shoulders. Very scenic course with some long climbs, not too steep just long. On a better day would have been very nice. Final splits 8:40,10:19,9:52, 12:16,12:40, and 13:30.

Joe, way to get out there and compete!!

Samantha, enjoy the taper the best you can.  Everyone said I'd get antsy, but I liked the down time.  Good luck.

Saturday I did a 7 mile run at 10:08 pace.  It was my long run for the week.  This morning I did 6 miles at 9:28 pace.  I was tired, working on only 5 hours sleep, and wanted to sleep in.  I took the challenge as a "mental toughness" day, and once I got going the run went quite well.

Steve, hope your hanging in there. 

Joe, grats on completing your 10k.  It looks like you went out too fast and then went boom. If you had started at a 10:00 mpm pace your overall race time may have been better with less crash at the end.  Get that run fitness up though and you can hit all the miles at 8:40.

Samantha, don't "make up" workouts from last week, just no.  Follow your taper plan for your race.  You should have enough water on the course to not need a water belt.  If you feel that you really need one due to very hot temps (100F+) then you can pin your race number to the water belt, no need to wear 2 race belts (friction would not be happy with you).  Feel free to spend as much time on the horns as you feel comfortable with or aero, you can mix it up.  Just less time in aero means slower pace.  Less time on the pavement > all. 

Steve, easy does it!  Watch some Monday night football whydocha?  Hope the bike comes out clealy totalled or easily repairable so you don't have a tough decision to make.

Samantha, so glad your back is mostly better.  NO more dancing during your taper though, OK?  Remember wetsuit = floatation ~ wetsuit is your friend .  I typically run with the amphipod and pin the race # to it as Steve suggested.  I do it for reasons specific to just me, but also really like being able to drink/eat a shot block/etc. on my terms (aka going up a hill) rather than when the aid station placement dictates.  YMMV though.

Joe, in addition to going out too fast, I'm betting the heat and humidity were big factors.  Still a solid effort, good learing experience, and you left some room for next time.

Larry, we must be shadowing each other's runs.  My last two were:  8 miles @ 10:05 and 6.2 @ 9:34.  Good job keeping it going during your busy season!

Mike, good going for you as well on your workouts.  Bet it feels good getting back in the groove.  LOL, wish I could love the pool like you do!

Another gloriously cool morning. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do for this run, but felt a little frisky, and my run splits turned out pretty nice naturally (not peeking at the garmin):  9:56, 9:33, 9:30, 9:35, 9:22, 9:26.  The best part is I don't feel exhausted/beaten down by the heat.  Remembering why I enjoy running.  Hubby and I are doing a group ride this evening; should be fun!  Oh, and passed a guy on a bike today who had his helmet on, but the chin strap not fastened.  LOL, they don't do much good that way.  I shouted out "hey, check your helmet strap", but not sure he cared or understood.

I will not make my workouts up Carol do you where your belt on the bike? Or do they not require racers to where their number on the bike portion. I was thinking about it and I don't remember how it works. If I pin my number to my water belt then I would have to wear it on the bike or switch it out. Right? I like the idea of having my water with me, plus I can carry my phone so I can use it to know how far I have gone throughout the run portion.

Steve - what psi do you recommend for my tires? My LBS guy told me 105 in the front and 110 in the back.

Joe - nice race. Once you get pacing sorted out your running is gonna be spot on.

I've done races that require you to wear a # "on you" on the bike, and others that don't (more of the latter). For the ones that require it, I pin the # to the amphipod belt prior to the race, don't put the water bottles on it, put it on in T1, and turn it around where the # is in the back while on the bike.  In T2, I twist it around where the # faces front, pop my bottle(s) in and go.  Of course remember that I have some of the slowest transition times in the history of the world !