Jim Kelley's (aka Birkierunner) General and Long Course Group (OPEN) (Page 6)

I've been pushing pretty hard lately so I took Friday and Saturday off. Turns out it was some much needed rest. I'm starting to figure out that I can only do the 1 rest day / week pattern for 2-3 weeks then I need 2 consecutive days off to recover. 

Sunday was a nice long swim followed by 5 miles on the treadmill and then 2 hours indoor rock climbing. Back on the bike (i.e. the trainer) tonight!

I had a good weekend. Saturday was exactly three months to Ironman Texas!  Other than the wind I can't complain about the weather in North Central Texas.  We're running in the 40's at night and mid 70's during the day.  Had a good run/bike/run workout on Friday and a strong run on Sat.  I'm starting to implement my nutrition plan now which will lead to some questions/discussion I'm sure.  Today is my off day because I have to move some workouts around, long bike tomorrow before I start night shift on Wed.  I don't like changing my plan around but 4.5 hrs on the bike after a 12 hr night shift wouldn't be pretty.

Have a great week!

I really wouldn't recommend a trainer tire outside. Trainer tires are meant to take the heat from high friction without breaking down or damaging the tube, but isn't concerned with traction on road surfaces. I personally took a short ride on one last year (it's a black trainer tire, I wasn't paying attention) and learned the hard way that they don't give you much traction at all. 

The easiest thing to do is get a cheap second wheel and keep your trainer tire mounted on that one so you can swap back and forth with no effort. I bought a brand new wheel from my LBS for less than $100...there are tons of options on eBay, CL, Slowtwitch, etc. Plus it saves the hassle of mounting/re-mounting those super stiff trainer tires

I guess rowing is better than nothing...but how about trying some tubing exercises instead.  Check out Sheila Taormina's videos   She has a variety of strength workouts using tubing

A friend of mine who has small kids and not a lot of money purchased a Motobecane from BikesDirect and he really likes it.  It has carbon forks and 105 hardware, I think.  He's not any slower!

I purchased a soft tail mountain bike for my wife from BikeDirect.  It's heavy even for a soft tail but seems to be made well.  Easy to assemble.  Unfortunately it's a little too big for her so we're thinking about getting a smaller size in a 26" instead of 27.5 and selling this one.  

Check youtube.  I found a couple of vids there before I purchased.  

6'5'' here...definitely felt your pain. 

Definitely add Facebook groups to your search. There's a group specifically for tall guys and a number of really active groups where a "WTB" or "ISO" post can churn up some good stuff. I would suggest trying the same approach on Slowtwitch...throw out your price point and specs, you never know what someone has laying around. A couple months ago, I saw a similar post on Mid-West Velo Swap (on FB) and found out that a local guy was selling a 62cm Fuji well within my price range...too bad I had already bought a bike!

Another option is to find a frame that fits you and build it yourself. Your entry point is cheaper, helps spread the cost out over time and gives you some flexibility in componentry...plus there's no better way to learn your bike than build it yourself. You do have the input cost of buying tools (or borrowing them from good friends), but those tools are useful in the long haul. I found a 61cm Cervelo P2-SL frame for very cheap on ST and was able to build a complete bike, including a really nice full carbon cockpit for under $600 without race wheels...add in a nice set of race wheels I sniped on eBay and I've got a full setup including two sets of wheels for just under $1100. Patience is key if you're going that route and of course it has to fit in your timeline...but there are VERY good deals to be found if you know how to look for them. If you decide to go this route, let me know...I've got some components sitting around that you can have next to nothing to get the build going. 

Alternatively, you can likely find a really good roadbike in a tall person friendly size and then add clip-on aero-bars. You end up with a really versatile setup that will ideally be friendly on the pocket-book and more than capable for racing. 

You might double check and make sure the HIM plan loaded and not the Full IM plan.  I've done this two out of three times now and I never figured out if it was me or BT.  My first clue was the really long swims in the first month.

Question for the group on pre/post workout stretching...

I come from a strong team sports background where you're taught to do a lot of static stretching before any form of dynamic exercise and usually some cool down stretching after a hard workout...which has pretty much been my routine ever since (25+ years now).

In recent discussions with some friends who are multi-marathon & 140.6 finishers, they were strong in dynamic stretching as opposed to static stretching...using a running example that I'm actually better off walking or light jog to loosen up before a long run instead of the old fashioned touch your toes, quad stretching, etc. I tried this out over the weekend as an experiment and really didn't notice much of a difference other than I feel a little more sore today than usual after a fairly middle of the road workout. Their argument (right, wrong or indifferent) was the body was meant to stretch itself out naturally through increased workload and that static stretching can have a negative performance impact. I'm not sure I fully agree...but it was an interesting discussion anyways. 

These guys also strongly recommended yoga for flexibility and recovery 1-2x per week which may play into the equation.

What do others do/recommend for stretching both before and after a workout? 

The outdoors (especially on xc skis) is the best gym!!