Madcow's Group- FULL! (Page 6)

I have never heard of burning during a run. I have no clue.

I am thinking my food just wasn't digested all the way??? I waited four hours after eating though.  No big deal, as long as it doesn't keep happening. 

I made a mistake, my long run is not tonight, it is Thurs. night.  Since, it has gotten warmer here I will try to run outside today, if it is not too wet. 

I can't run after eating. I will have to learn to eat and run, but I don't even try now. A bagel at the most. Goodluck with your run tonight

BTW, I finished both liters of water already, so everything else is a bonus

It was too wet to run outside yesterday, so I laid down to take a short nap after work and when I woke up it was 11:45 pm. Whoops.   Yesterday ended up  being my rest day.  I did get all the water in though.

I have already finished my water for today and I know I will drink more after my run.

I am a real newbie at running so I'm skipping the run challenge, however, I bought a Nalgene bottle (very blue) with a wide mouth (dishwasher ready) that holds 64 oz, almost 2L and I have been chugging a full bottle each day.  I usually finish the bottle at dinner and then refill and into the fridge for the next day. 

I have a short extra run today (my right calve really hurts and I'm going to take it slow) and then my first swim lesson.  I've been swimming alot but Kathy says I need to get the fundamentals correct so I don't burn in a bad technique.

OMG!  My new water bottle holds a liter - I need to drink two a day DOH!

Did a swim lesson today with Kathy's swim coach and my right calf is so sore I didn't do my run.  Doesn't hurt to stand on it, or press forward or backward, but side to side pressure causes a sharp pain along the inside of my lower leg (where there's no fat).  I'm going to take it slow and work on the swim and bike for a little while.

Happy Valentines Day Everybody! 

I had to clean my house today, so much of my time was spent doing just that. I got a good work out vacuuming.  I have two labs, need I say more? I finished my water for the day.  No running today, I did a strength training DVD for an hour total body workout.

fungi32 - 2009-02-13 1:16 PM Did 750 all freestyle finally I was able to swim another 1000 and only went into my rescue stroke 2 times, felt great. I hope to get in an adult swim class soon and work on technique which I am sure is poor right now but still pleased with today.

Congrats!!! It only gets easier from here. Keep at it.

Good job getting in that water and make sure to take care of that leg. Maybe next week should be a swim challenge week.

You did great with your speed work.
I find it easier to do it outside, but I have the luxury of running outside all year.

This weeks challenge

Why don't we keep the water challenge going. Even though most of you already drink this much, if I don't have a goal I will drink 2 liters of Diet Coke instead.

Instead of a swim challenge, why don't we try a few swim sets?
My favorite swim set is the ladder.

1. First start with an easy warm up. I like to use the pull bouy and the kick board for a few 100's. I am not really going hard, just trying to get comfortable in the water.
2. Next we build each set a little further than the last set.
   So, since this is our first swim exercise, why don't we go:
3. 25, 50, 75, 100, 100, 75, 50, 25.

For these, try to keep the same rest interval for every set. So if you take a 30 sec rest after your first set, take only 30 secs between every other set.

You should also try to keep the same intensity for every set, which will get harder as you go. Since this is our first time, try not to go too hard or you might bust a gut on your last 25!

Add in a cool ddown as well. Again, kickboard and pull bouy are great cool down tools.

This set is 500 yards + warm up and cool down. If you want to go longer, you can double the distances or if this is too long, cut out some of your warm up and cool down

Let me know how it felt going up in distance vs going down in distance.

Good luck, I might actually get wet this week

 Just an update.

Melanie, glad to hear from you.  Sounds like you have been training really hard.  I am buying new sneakers today, as well.  I have researched and tried on quite a few pairs and have decided on the Asics 2140's.  I have also been researching and shopping for a bike.  No purchase yet. I took a recovery week this week and my masters swim program got delayed until March.  It has been frustrating, because they keep postponing it.  My official tri training starts with my coach in April though.  So I am not too worried about the swimming yet.

I feel spring is never going to come to western MA. I live in the Berkshires and we have had so much snow and ice here it is ridiculous.  It has been snowing all day today.  I am so sick of the treadmill, and I am scheduled to run 7-8 mi today. 

I am looking at tri-bikes but I need to stay within a budget.  They are so expensive.  I have been looking on ebay as well.  I am not sure, but I have read good things about Trek.  They have an entry level tri-bike that may be affordable, and has had good ratings.  

Morning everybody. I have been gone all weekend with soccer (as usual), but now soccer is over and I can start getting back into the triathlon thing.

I hope you all had a great weekend.

Trek does make good entry level bikes as does Felt. The most important thing about a bike is fit. Too big or too small and you will never get comfortable on it and never ride it.

Every manufacturer has different sized bikes even if they are labeled as being the same. I would suggest going to different bike shops and trying them out. You don't need to buy on the spot (I would advise against it until you try a bunch of bikes) but they can give you an idea of what size bike you are looking for in each brand that you want.

Most shops will sell you the best bike that they have in stock and not necessarily the best bike for you.

Once you know what bike and what size, you can look online for them. If you find one cheaper, you may haggle with the shop to get them to lower the price.

Now, remember, when buying a bike, the pedals don't come with it. So unless you already own bike shoes, you will need to add the price of the shoes and pedals into the price of the bike. Also, small things like water bottle cages, CO2 cartridges, tubes and tool bags are extra as well. And, don't let them let you leave without a proper bike fitting. Usually, they will adjust the seat so you can test ride the bike, but insist that they fit you before you leave the shop once you buy it. Most fittings can take up to an hour, so set that time aside when you are ready to buy.

Lastly, if you buy a bike online you can still go to a shop and get fit, they will just charge you for it. Sometimes up to $100, so take that into consideration when deciding what to buy.

Hope that helped