Baowolf's Mentor Group- Closed (Page 58)

I'm a plodder.

We had a 5K run at work today. How nice is that? There were about 300 people and most walked. It was half wet, tallish grass and half asphalt and the course was rather confusing. It was fun tho and I chit-chatted with another Ragnar person the whole time. Then they gave out awards and surprise, surprise, I won Female Master! Not a bad prize package either with some flashdrives, lights, and a 4-in-1 kitchen utensil.

Ragnar report is up. http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp... Very, very, very long. But of course you all know that I'm long-winded anyway.

Run trivia for the day. Your foot arch and achilies hold 50% of the elastic resistance (bow string) for running. And running is 4 parts elastic return to 1 part power. So the trick is having a straight stiff bow or your arrows (force vectors) go all screwy and waste energy. So a straight line from ankle to knee, hip, shoulder (core) and head. If it is not straight it is like a stack of bowling balls running, they wiggle all over the place. Some problems folks make, head up to high like a horse with reighns pulled in (slower) or down (can't breath well), back arched = pulls weight back (we do this more when tired) slows you down, bending your knee too much (more than 25%-ideal 15%) (requires more power and decreases elastic return). Also when your foot starts bearing weight your shin should be at most a 90 degree angle to the ground and better if the knee is slightly forward causing a foot to be behind the knee (with hips behind the foot very slightly). If you are overstriding on dirt you will kick dirt in front of your footprint. You can go back and look at your footprints if you want to see. It is important to keep your pelvis parallel to the ground and not have your unsupported hip (the leg off the ground side) dip as you go through your stride (loss of power, diminishes elastic return). Your hands should not cross midline (sternum) in front of your body, should elbows should not flare out to the sides behind you (unless you are going down a steep hill and want to be breaking). The tip of elbows should be pretty much a straight line going forward and back again, but the forward shoulder does drop down a bit as that side's arm moves forward. Got it? Great, carry on.

Congrats on your 5K, Pam! I'm not sure you could really be a plodder and run that fast ! And way to go on Ragnar. What an experience! Your race report was awesome!

Steve, will have to re-read (several times) to figure out all the things I'm likely doing wrong running wise. Since part of my bow is a bit sprung, I'm sure there could be some improvements made there. Race photos reveal my left hand crossing over quite a bit....something of which I'm not at all conscious.

Ha, Jay, I'm trying to make 113K yards total for the year by 12/31/13. 4K/week will get me there, so no, I have not sprouted any gills.

Here are my YTD totals and by end of year goals:

Swim: 28h 57m 25s - 79724.89 Yd -- Goal = 113,000 by end of year

Bike: 96h 36m 18s - 1349.28 Mi -- Goal = 2,000 by end of year

Run: 107h 38m 29s - 596.47 Mi -- Goal = not tempting myself with anything other than try to head into 2013 ready to rebuild

If just your left hand crosses over, that means one of 3 things. Most likely you are dropping your left hip as you plant and move your right leg back as your left leg moves forward. Your arm moves in a protective motion to counter the offbalanceness of your weight shifting left. This will also make you land harder on your left foot probably irritating your left hip. Alternatively you could be planting your right foot foot too heavily on the inside of your foot causing the chain reaction with the same result. The last option is that you are not rotating your shoulders symetrically as you run thus causing a side to side (torso) chain reaction issue where your right arm goes short and your left ar goes long which would probably tweak your back, just above your belt line half way between your spine and the outside of your body on that left side. If your left foot is the one that is bugging you it is probably related as that is the first point ofimpact as you land with a slightly offbalanced gate onto that left foot. At least that is what I gather from my 1 hour of biomechanics videos.

And I don't consider someone a plodder who covers 6 miles in less than an hour..... raises left eyebrow, taps foot.

So I think tomorrow I will do my 5k TT to help develop my new offseason training plan. Then Sat will be bike TT and sunday or maybe Monday Swim TT. Not sure I am up to this but meh.

Guys remember if you want to add a year of Bronze BT it only costs $25 for 1 more day. Not paid by BT here, but regular price for 6 months is $30 so 1 year for $25 is not bad at all. Just sayin.

Edited by Baowolf 2013-11-01 12:43 AM

So, I'm off to the sleep doc sometime in the next couple weeks. As a life long sleep apnea sufferer, I've been using CPAP for about 3 years and its made a huge difference, but the past couple months, I've been tired all the time. Not sure what is going on, but I need to check in with my guy. My training has suffered for it, and even my wife is saying that something isn't right, and has noticed the drop off in exercise. Maybe its all related, but who knows. I have a feeling its some combination of stress (new work situation, etc), home, sleep issues, but want to find out what I can as soon as possible. I was always a get up & go type guy, but lately its been, get up and hit the snooze bar, which I'm not really a fan do doing. Getting older sucks.

Quick checkin. Just got back from a RP run and almost got it. Now we will be leaving for IMFL soon. We have Transition Swim Exit from 4am to 6:30am.

Mike, hubby is insisting I go see a sleep doc too. Let me know what happens with yours.

Totals for last month are below. 0 on Swim and 0 on Bike. Run is slightly lower than it should be because my fall and the the HM hill repeats took it out of me for a little while but still, I'm ok with it. Got to get back on the strength sessions tho.
Run: 23h 07m 26s - 125.6 Mi
Strength: 4h 35m
Race Volunteering: 5h 00m

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!! Remember if anyone decides to regiser for IMFL 2014 and can be there bright and early Sunday morn, post now or forever hold your peace.

Pam, nice totals! Have fun at IMFL. Geez though, that is EARLY!

Mike, good to get the sleep apnea status checked out. We wives have to nag, er, encourage our husbands sometimes .

Steve, yes it's the left arch and left crossover...at least for now. I've also had a tear in my right arch in the past, as well as left hip issue (flexor area)several yrs ago, right IT band, right piriformis, stress fx in right foot. In other words....kind of all over the place. Question is what to do to rebuild on a better foundation. You've probably already researched this but is it normal to do back to back TT tests, or better to wait say a week between them.

Got my bikes (75 miles) and swims (4K yards) in this week. Went to the pool for a "bonus swim" seeing as how holiday closures are going to impact pool availability some weeks. All lanes were taken, two by a couple ladies who did nothing but stay at one end and talk for 20 minutes. Tired anyway, so gave it up and avoided confrontation. Off tomorrow for last visit to my friend in prison....she will be released to halfway house next week...yippppeee!!!! Aggie game this weekend = hotels all booked up, so driving down and back same day.

So you might be favoring your right foot at the expense of your left hip and your left arm is compensating for the imballence in the mechanics. I have not watched the stretching, strengthinging videos yet. Once you get healthy though you will probably need to start off slow and focus on your right foot strike to make sure it is the same as your left foot strike (not rolling it to protect the arch) and then focus on keeping your left hip from dropping and having symetrical arm swings. One way to test the arm swing is to exagerate it up. So with hands flat like plates and perpendicular to the ground not up like holding food, exagerate the movemeent and your hands should end up on the side of your head near your ears, not smacking yourself in the face. Then lower your hands down to normal and maintain that form. There are a ton of hip flexor, stregthaning things, I just haven't gotten that far yet.

There are very few activities that will get me out of bed at 4 am....ouch

One down, run TT 5k distnace. So my HR zones would be set up on 173.
5K TT 21:32: Ave HR 173, Splits:
Splits
6:57 (HR 169),
7:00 (HR 176),
6:55 (HR 176),
6:26 (HR 176)

Edited by Baowolf 2013-11-01 3:15 PM

Heading out for a run tomorrow AM and will try to time it to pass by the beach at 6:45 so I can see the partial eclipse! If you have a clear view to the east, check it out!

don't forget to put your clock ahead.

Watching the IM Florida finishers on Ironman.com *really* makes me want to sign up for one.....

15 bike TT done 21.4 mph, HR 159. Now to improve my bike so that I can do that for 112 mile at an easy effort rather than at an LT effort. I am looking at adding a cheap power monitoring system to my trainer (trainer roads) will let you know once I get done buying all the parts to make it work and changing equipment around on the bike.

Remember that the clock goes back not forward 8).

Steve: Are you going back to HR training for 2014? I noticed you found your LT running HR and posted your HR for your bike TT.

Mike: Good luck with the sleep dr. How was your run yesterday?

Carol: Hope you have a good visit with your friend. Now, your 113K makes a lot more sense to me lol.

Pam: I just read your report on Ragnar...cracked me up. I may have to steal *roadkill* and *fodder* from you for future races :D How was volunteering for IMFL? I had a buddy who finished their yesterday.

You know the saying the best layed plans are destined to fail. Well, that's how I'm feeling right now. After making up my mind about my future at work...things are popping up that may not allow me to leave when I want to. My wife's work schedule and another year of coaching Braden's basketball team may prevent my move. I can work around the work schedule but if I'm asked to coach again....I can't go If I get stuck on an offshift I won't be able to coach the kids...call me sucker but I won't do that to them. I started trying to plan my race schedule for 2014 and am finding that equally frustrating. Everytime I think I have an answer...I start to research the races and find out I don't want that experience. Add to that the fact that I hurt my back at work on Thursday (if there is a more vulnerable feeling then having temporary debilitating back spasms in a prison...I'd rather not experience that!) Yes, I'll pass the cheese...this is a whine post for sure.

Hello all. I just wanted to drop in quickly and let you all know I am still here.

I forgot how hard a newborn is, Add a 3 yer old and WOW... so am I regretting signing up for IM Coeur? Not sure yet. I've been trying to sneak in a few runs here and there but I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to fit in the training. I thought i would be able to get up at 4 am and ride the trainer. sneak in a run during the day, but talk to me this morning at 2:30 am with a crying wife handing me the baby.... No sleep for Mitch.... I did manage to sneak in a 3.65 mile run this morn though after my wife woke up. It's all I had...

It's going to be another just finish IM for me I guess.

I hope all is well and you all are in my thoughts...

OK, set them back. Be a stickler, Steve!

no eclipse here as it was all cloudy, rainy, & windy outside. Run moved to this afternoon when its a bit nicer outside

Jay, sorry for the back thing and RL stuff. The races will always be there for you. You might want to just focus on intermediate stuff HM and Oly for the year, get healthy and just work on getting a little speed at the shorter distances while being healthy for a whole season. Ya family trumps Triathlon training or at least going long. On just 8 hours a week you can get some stuff done and maintain a base fitness level.

Mitch, take care of your wife, that is number one priority. CDA is still a long way off, a solid 2-3 months before you need to even be doing any kind of significant base training. You could get by with 4-6 hours a week for now as you can and just take care of your family. 5 month olds are much much different than 1 month olds with regard to being able to go longer without needing more attention and sleeping longer without need more food. If you train smart you can probably do a 15 hour a week training with like 4 run 3 bike 2 swim per week. May shift to more intensity to make up for the lack fo training time.

So ya with the offseason free training I am getting form TriDot I am setting up HR zones for training etc. One more TT in swim tonight or tomrrow and I can get going with the plan. I was happy with the 21:30 ish 5k TT and the bike at 21.4 mph was decent for me. I was able to do a continuous 8 mile run this morning, so getting back being able to train again. The shoulder seems to be coming along after a few weeks of more intensive stength balance training. Calves are still not 100 percnet, but we see how things go. So yes I will be doing focused HR training this season. Last season I was pretty much able to do the HR zones I wanted in my workouts, but didn't obsess about the monitor itself. Hopefully this year I can dial in some more intensity safely on the bike and get another .2-.5 mph at CDA.

Thanks for the encouragement Steve. Its tough being a type A personality! I had things set in stone in my head and then things go to heck in a handbasket shortly thereafter....not much frustrates me more than that! The answers will start to come next weekend. If the town isn't begging for coaches at Braden's tryout then I'll be clear to make my work move. I loved coaching and I feel like I help the kids a lot but I'm not begging people to let me volunteer to help coach. You can call it prideful, stubborn, or many other adjectives but that's how I feel! Kiley's class is only 6 Monday evenings so I can either use sicktime for them, win a day shift at the new place (ideal!), or talk to administration and ask them to put up an offshift with Monday/Tuesday as days off. I may have to live my favorite biblical passage with this; Proverbs 3:5-6

I just scheduled another HM training run for Tuesday with my sometimes run partner. I'm hoping my back will hold up for the run; I've told her about it so it won't be a shock if we have to cut the run short. Also planning on getting some new run shoes soon. There's a running store about 30 min from me (closer to Mike) that will watch you run and suggest a shoe that fits your running style. The last time I tried that didn't go so well....I was there to shop and the person asked me who I was shopping for...I was a little put off...I know I'm not the typical runner....perhaps I was a little sensitive but I've never bothered with those shops since then.

Mitch: Nice to see you pop in and say hello! I think Steve's advice is right on point; especially the self sufficiency between a 1 month old and a 6 month old. Things will get easier...you know that already though. I suspect your 3 year old wants to help with the baby more than you want them to! I had a slight chuckle about the wife crying at the 2AM feeding....that's like the right of passage with a newborn. I found with my two that the cry means you've reached the worst and are on the other side of things getting better.

All this talk of babies....my oldest baby turns 14 tomorrow, and I'm feeling old, let me tell you. If anyone can tell me where the last 10 years went, I'm quite interested to know.

Back at it today, and signing up for stuff. So far, its the local Turkey trot in a few weeks, and a half marathon the end of Febrary. later today will be a HIM and possibly a local weekend "Tri-fest" in August which would be a sprint one day, oly the next. Still on the fence about a HIM in August. Would love to go back to Timberman and actually run as opposed to the walk thing I had to do this past summer.

Getting cold here -- only 27 as I headed out to the pool this morning. Brrrrr!!!

Hey all, lots going on with you guys considering it is the "off season"!

Mike, ok, back away from the register button before you get in real trouble!

Pam, I saw the pic you posted on your race report and LOVED it! You guys need to go check out Pam's team.

Mitch, you will find the right balance for training/life. Do it for fun, health and sanity .

Steve, LOL on smacking myself in the face trying to fix any arm crossover. I'll have to video that! Glad the TT's are going well and that you will soon be on your way to measurable improvements. Sounds like your getting healthy and ready to roll.

Jay, getting the right sales person at the running store makes all the difference. Can you figure out before you go who you would like helping you? I've been helped by everyone from a college kid who really didn't give a carp, to a very experienced guy who was the outright winner of the Cowtown and White Rock marathons in the 80's. So sorry for the frustrated plans. I agree, Prov 3:5-6 is helpful in those times, and so is Prov 16:1-4.

Speaking of plans, I have been struggling the last couple days with motivation to reach my newly set year-end goals. You know how they say that the hardest part is to get started? That's just really not how it is for me right now. The last two days I have started a longer bike and a longer swim and cut both short. Just feeling zonked and low on energy. May have been that the long day on Saturday impacted me more than I thought. 7 hrs in the car and 6 hrs visting. Had a great time with my friend, but the image I'm having trouble clearing from my mind is that of a very suburban looking family...mom in prison, dad and two boys...probably 9 or 10 yrs old...visiting. She is new there, and this was their first visit. Seeing the grief on her face as they left and afterward absolutely broke my heart.

OK, I've calmed down on the 'register' button

I was frozen this AM when I went out for a run. Temp in mid 20's (it was 4:15 AM, afterall). Skunk paranoia at DEFCON 2 as well. Took more than 2 of the 3.2 miles I went to just feel warmed up. Struggle, but I got out of bed, which is the biggest win of the day.

Carol said so much of what I'm thinking. Back away from the computer, Mike. Put down the register mouse.

Steve, wow! Sounds like you are coming back.

Mitch, so glad that you were there for your wife when she was in tears. I love Jay's take that it may have been rock bottom and now things will start getting better. Sure hope all gets better fat one fast.

Jay, wish I could take credit for creating the term Roadkill but alas, it's a Ragnar term. But one team was called "Peace, Love, and Ragnar" and their van was decorated with lots of 60s motifs. And instead of using the term Roadkill, they counted "Flowers Picked".

Oh my, I've been such a joy to be around today - NOT. I inherited a program that I have been given no documentation and I don't have the proper access so when I was investigating, I got a reminder that I shouldn't be making changes in production. Responded back that I don't break the rules and they need to find out who has access and have them fix it. Had a rental situation today that put me in a foul mood; dealing with the government isn't fun. Then my son didn't do what he was supposed to do and I crawled his butt. Then snapped at hubby - who, lets be honest, made a d.a. comment and needed to be called on it. And then I went running and flipped off a driver who owned the roads. And Goodness, it was such a struggle to do my 6*800 tonight.

And then I finished my run and mapped it out. Checked it 3 times to make sure all was correct and dang, 5.4 miles in 45 min. That is outstanding for me!!! Now I’m happy! Maybe I won’t be as bitchy tomorrow. Naw, I’ll probably still be a beyotch. Can’t change a leopard's spots.

IMFL was fun. Well sorta. We were in transition entrance and some of the volunteers didn’t use common sense. They made people PROVE that they were bodymarked. Made people raise or lower wetsuits! Oh boy. We watched the swim start which was still a mass start. Thank God the weather changed dramatically; the prior day it was totally unsafe with huge waves and strong winds. But Saturday, the water was much calmer and I must admit, we saw fewer people DNF the swim the last year. We then left and went back to in-laws condo which was bike Mile 7 and Mile 105. We pulled out the chairs and cheered for those leaving and then later, those returning. Most IM athletes are awesome and appreciate the support. Some are donkeys tho but thankfully we don’t have a lot of those. Then we went to the finish line later that evening. Wish we could have been there just before midnight but we had to leave early the next day so we only stayed til about 8. And before anyone asked, I didn’t see either of the princes. Seems like I should have seen them and maybe I did and didn’t pick up on it. Saw their 10 black SUVs and some of the bodyguards tho.


Edited by Pink Socks 2013-11-05 7:36 PM

I get to the pool a bit early today - 4:50 am. Get my stuff out of the car, and head to the door where I find a small group of folks, including the lifeguards, waiting to get in. Should be open at 5, but that comes and goes. The overnight guy at our 'temp' pool (only 3 more weeks) is nowhere to be seen. Phone calls made, and one of the guards went around and checked every door of the building. No dice. 5:20 comes and goes, and the lifeguards give up, and leave. So, that essentially finishes our day there. My coach shows up and I tell her its a no go. So, the big question becomes -- where the heck am I going to take a shower now?

I recall hearing about some shower facilities at our office in a different part of the building. I drive in, and after wandering around for a few minutes in an empy building, I find them. Whew! Need to keep this in mind for potential lunch-time runs during the week. Would work out perfectly!

Pam and Mike - you two both win the prize for making lemonade out of lemons!

Pam, great run/stress reliever. How is your Garmin situation by the way?

Mike, nice find on the shower at work! Pretty sure I would not have bounced back as gracefully from a locked door at 4:50 am.

Jay, absolutely nothing wrong with being type A. Type A folks get things done. The only downside is that some things are more like erosion projects (eroding a small trench like the grand canyon over time) and some are blow it up and drive a train through it kind of projects. Triathlon and lifelong fitness is an erosion type of project. It is a nuance, and balance, changing habbits, learning 10000 data points on how to swim a straight line, more than anyone has a right to konw about aero dynamics, how many calories you burn to jog 1500 miles, how many gels it takes to complete an IM, what temperature the water has to be before you put on a neopreme swim cap. etc. It sounds like you are getting hit from all sides at once and have been for quite some time. A lessor man would have grabbed his jack and coke, maybe tossed the coke, grabbed a 100 pounds of good popcorn and hit every football game on Sunday. But you are not. That drive you have is pretty amazing. The trick as in taming a high spirited horse is to get the drive to calm down enough so that it is controlled and moving you forward in a planned way to accomplish not just short term and long term goals, but balance. So that you can be at peace while the walls are falling down and you are dragging kids out of the burning building. A very wise man refered to this as the "calm warrior." Maintaining calm with your HR at 175, knowing what you need to do and getting it done in a planned and purposeful way or taking a rest day because you know your body needs it and walking past the weight bench, calmly tipping your hat to muscles that are too tired to take more abuse. It alright boys, today we rest, but don't get used to it, tomorrow is an LT test. I think of it as being a reed in the wind, the wind blows from the East, West, swirls around, blows you this way or that, you bend with the pressure and move back to center as the wind subsides, roots always firmly planted in the center. Another way to think about it is being the eye of your own personal storm. LIfe happens, moves fast, does damage, but the calm center allows for all this energy to move around you while not becoming chaotic and disturbed by it, not in an I don't care way, but in an I care so much that I will remain focused on what I can do and not focus on what I can not control, and get er done. I think men struggle with this more than women, but everyone is an individual with their own struggles. Our Type B's can struggle to create about 1/4 of the energy you have swirling around on a daily basis. It is sometimes harder to get a car moving that is parked than to slow down a car that is moving too fast. Neither is better or worse, just different.

And for our new dads, sometimes the smart thing to do is to set the crying baby down in the crib take your wife outside to the front porch and just sit for 10 min, reassure each other and regroup. The baby will live for 10 min and you can regain a little distance. This is really hard to do, but well worth it to get a littel focus back from the brink of constant crying baby sysndrom.

I like the calm warrior mentality...wish I could say I'll steal that one too but somehow I don't think I'll live up to my end of the bargain! I chose this quote out of a very kind post (Thanks Steve!) because this is what I've learned more than anything else since I joined this group in the winter. My running partner and I only did 5 and change yesterday because of life. Thankfully, my back held up and I had every intention of doing my 13 mile run today...and then my little Steve popped up! 4 weeks hard, 1 week recovery. So I started thinking back to how I've been adding my run miles...never once have I recovered at all....so that's what I did today. I lifted, swam, biked and purposefully didn't run. And that's why I say thanks Steve...my legs were sore from an uneventful 5 mile run....there's a time not too long ago I would've pushed through that and got my long run in. Instead, I used the bike to work out the soreness in the legs and had a reality check in the pool today....I need to start doing 1K or more much more consistently....when I don't, I feel lost in the pool for a little bit. So today's semi rest day was eye opening for me in a few ways!

Unfortunately, I have to add my sons teacher to my pile of "issues" I was warned by friends that 3rd grade in my town isn't a good year...and they were right. For unknown reasons, sometimes they give the kids homework that they don't cover in class. My sister is an asst. principal so I asked if this is a statewide thing...one of these things where they want the kids to learn how to learn independantly...answer NO. An email has been sent to his teacher with a question as to why this is being done....2 days, no answer. I'm praying that I get an email by tomorrow night at the latest.......my frustration levels are already high and this maybe the tipping point....I really don't want to start calling principals and blow this up but I will if I continue getting ignored.

The calm warrior is not something you pick up at the grocery store, you earn it over time by steadying a little bit here and there..... as you did today with not doing your 13 mile run. Already incorporating the concept into your life. And with the teacher you are already considering the non buldozer approach. You underestimate your inner calm, it is already there, just needs to be watered from time to time to grow.

I as a 45+ year old recover after 3 weeks instead of 4. I am glad you ditched the long run today, you can pick it back up next week.

Each teacher is the king of queen of their own domain. Even the principal can not make a teacher change a student's grade. They can heavily recommend it and can give a negative evaluation or even recomend that a contract not be reneiwed, but if a teacher decides they want to destroy a kid at all costs, they can. Some teachers do email some don't. You may or may not have followed that I work in a schol system as the school psychologist. So anyway, if your teacher isn't an email person, a phone call might help, but usually teachers learn best when parents are in the classroom face to face with them. Often you can get a school secretary to set up a meeting with you, typically after school. Many teachers have a "prep period" during the day when they can meet with parents. I personally met with my son's English teacher last week face to face during his prep to talk about my son's grade and how everything was set up. And today I got an email, telling me that my son who is away at small school's cross country championships forgot to get a work makup sheet to the teacher on time. My son admitted that he forgot this. And the teacher who would not have done anything previously, sent me an email with a link to the assignment and where on the web my son could read the article he needed to respond to. I could have come in all heavy handed, but listned, looked at the grade book, took notes, respected the teacher in his space and the teacher responded back by helping my son out by getting him the information through me.

So when going to a foreign country, try diplomecy first. Found out what that country's rules are and see if there is enough neutral ground to move forward for the rest of the year. A 2x4 is a marvelous tool, you can break out windows, pry up heavy rocks, etc., but it is not as good at getting that little speck of meat out of your teeth as is a toothpick. Luck in your negotiations with your son's dignitary. You can fall back on principal and such, but it is not your first or 2nd choice. Take care.

Edited by Baowolf 2013-11-06 4:55 PM

Or...as we say in the south, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. So imagine luring that teacher into your fly trap and whammo!!! Oops...never mind, listen to Steve!