Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 58)

Just a quick post about what's going on with me here the past 2 weeks:

As everyone already knows, I have been working on the porch and trying to get it completed before the graduation parties that come with it.  This is going pretty well and I only have to do  dome final sealing work around the fascia and under the roof line of the porch itself.  We will do a few cosmetic things in the near future to get it dressed up before dropping a larger dime to make it totally complete.

This weekend though had brought my brother home from Wyoming, but it's not a visiting visit.  It's a moving visit!  He can back VERY spur of the moment and he is moving his wife out there with him now.   They have been separated for 3 months waiting on the house to sell and couldn't wait on it any longer, so it's time to be together again for them.  I am happy for them because they can be together again and the they are very much ready for that.  They have been apart 3 months and it has been pretty difficult for each of them.  Anyway,  I spent the entire day (8AM-10PM)helping get everything packed and into the truck and it's not done yet.  It happened EXTREMELY FAST!!  Josh didn't know he was coming home to move her back with him until Wednesday afternoon, so nothing was packed.  I have another day today to get him ready to leave for tomorrow mornings departure.  Another long hot day..............97 degrees forecasted for today!

I'm planning a 7 mile run before I head out but I knew I needed to check in with all of you and I have to get my coffee in me before anything happens.

I reread my original post and wonder if I left the idea that a BQ is easier than completing a full IM.  The resounding result was that the path to BQ was much harder in the thread

Anyway, I might suggest, based on your proposed schedule, a couple of changes that may help you a little better fight some of the fatigue and recover a little better.

• Mon - no running - Cycling day
• Tues - 3 mi easy
• Wed - 4 mi easy 
• Thurs - 7-8 mi tempo or hill (Tempo should be shorter runs to start. 2-3 miles to start and building them slowly to up to eight miles and longer overall runs as you progress toward complete marathon training.)
• Fri - 2 mi easy
• Sat - no running - Cycling day
• Sun - 15 mi long and easy

I think it's pretty important to get the cycling or some other type of cross training for you legs each week to allow the legs a break and keep a solid muscular balance.  I have fought muscular balance injuries and they can knock you out of an "A" race if  you're not careful.  It can also help alleviate fatigue from your legs when done correctly as well.

Based on your pace for a HM at 8:10 the McMillan running calculator puts you right on top of a BQ.  This calculator has been pretty darn close to everything I have done in my races and it is an excellent resource for paces at many different types of runs.

A 50 mile week may look daunting at first but after you begin your build it won't be so bad.  Here's what it looked like for me:

• Sunday - 9 mile run (w/Tempo) and  maybe a 20-ish mile bike
• Monday - 7 mile easy run
• Tuesday - 20-30 mile bike
• Wednesday - 12 mile easy run
• Thursday - 5k easy run
• Friday - 20 mile easy run and maybe a 2500-ish swim
• Saturday - 30-40 mile bike

This was a few weeks out from the first marathon from last year.  I also planned 2 - 22 mile long runs last year befoe my race but I had a crazy busy day tht caused me to run 2 steady state paced runs split on the day I planned that last 22 miler.  A word of caution about running over 3 hours, I don't have time to look for it but I had read an article about runs beyond that time frame beginning to increase the chances of injury substantially.  So be careful as you approach that kind of time duration.

The time I spent running last year was pretty substantial and I think it is important to note that it was fairly stressful for my family during that time.  I tried to run when there was as little impact to the family as possible and I NEVER missed any family events.  I think it wise to run your plans by your husband with possible time commitments you are looking at before diving into this first.  I think it would be fair to let him in on how much time this will be since he will have to pick up some of the extra time with the kids.

Samantha,  that is a great race!  I am anxious to read the RR as soon as you can get it up and I have the time to read it.  I also understand your nervousness leading up to the race.  Now that you're past that you can get your gidde up  on and place 1st in your AG for your next one.

David, It's great to now have your first Oly under your belt!  I am really looking forward to reading your RR too!  Your swim time sounds like it was pretty amazing for your first Oly too.

Dina,  I'm happy your back.  Your presence was missed in this group while you were out.  I hope you enjoyed your time away and hopefully you got a few of those training sessions in while you were gone.

Now it's time for my run and the rest of my brother's moving adventure = ANOTHER LONG DAY!!!!

Race report!

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=442495&posts=1&start=1

This, and your own long term plan, has me thinking.  Leading up to my triathlon I was planning week to week, and basing one week's plan on the previous week with a gradual build.  The last thing I want to do is get injured, and even if progress may be slower, it's better to have slow progress injury-free, rather than no progress with an injury!  So, now you may have unknowingly convinced me to perhaps focus on a fall half marathon. 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=442507

Here is my race report.  There are a number of things that I learned from this group that made my race so much better.  Thanks again to everyone for the help and support.

I don't know if I'll keep doing triathlons, but I'm glad that I did this one.  My family time is so important to me, and all of this training really cut into my time with Leah and the girls.  She was great about it, but I know that I haven't been as good a partner as I normally am.  Or, as she said "All you've talked about is triathlon for the past 5 months."   I don't want her or the girls to feel like they're not the top priority in my life.

You can definitely complete a HM in the fall.  You already have a great approach to your training given your injury history and a slow build will allow you greater success.  Keep in mind that you can also challenge yourself as your body adapts to the increased loads you are putting it through, just don't proceed without a little caution.  This past race should give you all kinds of confidence about your running abilities.  A 7:40 pace is a very solid running pace!

I also think it is pretty wise to have long term goals.  Establishment of goals can me the motivation to continue training and/or racing when things begin to run a little stale.  Try to establish fresh goals every so often, even if you haven't accomplished all of your current goals. 

A side note:  Given this past race you have a pretty good chance of getting up on the AG podium at several of your races.  Hopefully you'll be able to get a road bike or a tri bike sometime in the future because you'll absolutely crush your AG with that kind of weaponry.

bswcpa - 2012-05-26 7:28 AM Dirk - How's the deck project coming along? Your daughter looked beautiful in her prom pictures. Have you come down off the big podium since your super win last week? In unrelated news - my daughter is going to State with her 4x400 relay team!! She had a really bad night (a lot of tears - being ranked 3rd and coming in 9th) Tuesday at regionals in her individual 400 race but came back strong a half hour later with the relay team which she anchors (ranked 3rd and came in 2nd). She and 2 other freshmen make up the team with 1 sophomore so they're young. They're ranked 17 out of 27 state qualifying teams in Indiana and they're just thrilled to be going. What an experience! We'll be driving about 8 hours round trip next Friday just to see her run for one minute. It'll be worth it, though.  

The porch is almost complete and I am still shocked at my overall podium finish.  After figuring the race was going to be somewhat blown as I started toward Pokagon I was very surprised to have done as well on a difficult course.

I am very happy that you have an extra trip to make.  It should be pretty amazing to be able to experience the state meet for and with your daughter at a young age.  Now there is only room for improvement and maybe a state meet for her on an individual level and event too.

owl_girl - 2012-05-28 1:05 AM I had an awesome recovery meal tonight!  Fresh caught in the ocean salmon!  Yum!  My husband went fishing this morning! 

I could use a little bit of the protein and omega's from that after this weekend.  I finally got my brother out of Indiana.  After another very long day yesterday he is ready and likely, at this point headed to Wyoming with his wife right now, I need some extra water and nutrition.  It was blistering hot yesterday!  Especially in an aluminum sided truck!  I didn't eat well from any standpoint so something good for me would be really good for this tired body today.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to check in and prove I'm still reading and around. I spent the weekend in a polocrosse competition in NC and my team swiped second place in our division (despite a nasty injury to one of our players and some horse issues). I was also voted best player at my position by the umpires, so I'm pretty stoked!

I gotta run back and catch up on some posts from the weekend - I feel like it's been forever.

John

It was a nice day. I put a medium ride in of 50 miles. This was my last longer ride for the week before the benefit ride on Sunday. I passed my goal of 650 miles this month and only have 4 miles of running to finish up my goal of 80 miles.

I plan on a more run/ swim focus in June. I still need to put the miles in on the bike to stay race ready for the century, but I will set new goals for the swim/run. There is a couple of 5k races next month and I was thinking of trying those out. One is a trail run and the other a benefit race. It's just a matter of time off work to race.

Hey Dirk, when you finish that porch I could use a green house built. LOL

Tracy, sure miss the fishing up there. I use to spend many summers up in N. Ca. fishing. Sure miss it.

John,  Sounds like and amazing tourney for your polocross.  I think it sounds pretty fun but I wouldn't be able to hit anything while riding a horse.  Congrats on the honors too!  MVP sounds like a great accomplishment.

Stan, Your cycling is going to allow you some very strong races in triathlon.  Turning in some extra run volume will increase your chance of having some even better races too.

I'll be more than happy to come to Tahoe for an all expense paid trip to build your greenhouse and cycle and run in the territory you get to see everyday.  Just let me know when my plane ticket leaves and returns.  LOL

JoAnne it is the first weekend of Nov. I am hoping that all the other training I am doing for the HIM will help along with bumping up the run days and mileage incrementally starting in July. I will be running more than I expected to as I really did not expect to get in this year. I will just have to find the balance training for all three disciplines. BTW did you get to the book signing for Chrissie Wellington. I am halfway through the book and it is a very good read.

John congrats on the 2nd place finish in the competition this weekend and the recognization as being voted best player at your position by the umpires. That is pretty cool and I am sure well deserved.

Stan that is pretty awesome, 650 miles on the bike is pretty amazing to me. Glad to see you are going to hit your run mileage goal for the month.

Dirk glad to hear the project is almost done and the porch is nearly complete. I can relate to helping out with the moving of your brother as I was involved in some cleanup work this weekend which involved some heavy lifting and hot weather.

So just to check in with everybody I hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend. I have been off since Friday and did get most of my training in this weekend. On Saturday I did get a couple hours in on the bike but only managed 33 miles. I think the yard work prior to that and the cold I had slowed me down. My legs were on fire after like 45 minutes but I did push through that and made sure I got the work in.

On Sunday I went with my wife to help her and her siblings cleanup and clear out her Dad's place. He passed away almost two years ago and they have been dealing with the aftermath of trying to clear his place out. He had a lot of stuff so her and her siblings were working to cleanup and clear out this weekend as much as they could. They had a 20 yard dumpster there to get rid of stuff. He was the type of person who kept everything, no exaggaration. I was there on Saturday evening and did a little work but really went back on Sunday to help out. So while I did not train it was not a day off and was a workout in itself. We got a lot done so hopefully they are a little closer to being able to trying to sell the place.

Today I got out for an 11 mile run in the heat followed by 45 minutes of strength training. The run was good and the heat really didn't affect me much so that was a good thing. I am making progress there. I was mainly dodging wasps most of my run. Last year it was the yellow jackets this year it is looking like the wasps will be the problem. Since the pool was closed I opted for a long run to try and make up for what I did not do yesterday and flipped my Wednesday workout to today.

One question I have for the group is regarding the bike. My right hand has been a problem on my last two longer rides of 1:45 and 2 hours. I have gotten like a numbness and loss of strength in my right hand following both rides. It isn't like the normal thing I usually get where I might get a little numbness but it goes away after I finish the ride. I tried with and without gloves and have been moving my hands around when I ride in a road geometry. It doesn't seem to be a problem going aero but I ride less aero and more in a rode postion at times because I feel I need to due to where I ride. It seems worse this time as my ring finger and pinky feel the worse. If I turn my hand over it's like I can't extend my index, ring and pinky fingers or put them together. I was only able to do that tonight. So I am not sure if I am doing something wrong as far as my positioning or if I am gripping the bars too tightly but this is definitely not right. I am open to suggestions on what I can do to mitigate this besides riding more in the aero position which I will try to do going forward.

Yes.....this!!!!!  And......my LBS turned me on to some gel pads that they wrap under the bar tape.  It was the best $20 I ever spent!