Penn State's mentor group - CLOSED! (Page 6)

I'm looking to get a good long run in this weekend.  I'll probably get to the gym and hit the treadmill unless we get some warmer weather.  We're also heading out to the cottage to get things opened up, so I hope to go for a ride (that's where I have my bike stored).

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2 OWS's; at least 1 mile, 2 40 mile bike rides.  2 short runs after the bike rides.

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Today's a double swim workout day! WOOHOO! I NEEEEEEEEED to get on my bike!!  I was on the trainer all stinking winter so that I could be ready for 4+ hour rides and things pop up. NO more excuses (I hope, but Rstocks says it's supposed to be in the 20s when I want to start my bike ride tomorrow. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr)

Thanks Fred!


My name is, ahem, Josh Kaptur.  I'll give you all a moment to catch your breath.

A little background.  I'm a decent athlete who hasn't ever realized his potential.  I've spent A LOT of time over the years paying what I call "stupid tax" -- injuries, weight gain, laziness, too much speedwork, inconsistency, etc.  In high school, I was a decent middle distance runner (800 meter to 5K).  I always had early season PRs (2:06 800 meter, 5:01 mile, sub-17 5K) but then always ended up injure and on the sidelines by the time the big meets came around.  I believe STRONGLY this was the result of poor coaching - we had one really fast guy and everyone else's workouts consisted of seeing how long they could hang with him day after day after day.  That meant I was doing mostly speedwork.

Back then I was 160-170 pounds, 6ft 2in tall.  In the past 12 months, I have weighed more than 230.  Basically I did the freshman 15 and never looked back.  Ironically, the heaviest I ever weighed (frighteningly close to 240) was the day I toed the line for my first marathon.  I mistakenly believed that if I was running "huge" mileage (30 mpw) I could eat whatever I wanted.  Guess what - I still constantly struggled with injury... because I still did mostly speedwork (I ran HARDER not MORE) to compensate for being busy... and my connective tissues took a beating with all the weight.

Somewhere along the way, I began coaching the cross country team at the high school where I taught.  I spent a lot of time reading the literature, looking at what other sucessful coaches (particularly at the collegiate level) did with their athletes, and realized just how stupid my training had been all along.  I wasn't running much myself, but I literally turned around the running carrers of several of my students -- they went from being early season peakers that ended up injured to healthy all season and crushing the big races.  It took a couple years but one girl in particular showed up without a hint of athletic experience and went on to have a full track scholarship.  And do you want to know how she got fast?  Good genes and LOTS of volume... with very little speedwork.  And that was to make her a fast 1-3 miler.  A light bulb went off, but I've still always struggled to DO what I made them do (and continued to pay stupid tax).

My first year of tri was in 2007.  I did a local Oly and Savageman (ouch!!).  I figured I was just an injury prone person and couldn't run because my body couldn't handle it, and so I reluctantly thought tri was a good solution to allow me to "cross train" in the other 2 disciplines.  Once again, I ended up injured, and once again gained weight.

In 2009, I was registered to do IMLP and crashed my bike badly on Easter weekend.  A bunch of titanium, plaster, skin grafting, and suturing later and I had to defer my entry to this year.  I consoled myself with oreos and beer (though rarely together) and packed the pounds back on.

Even though I haven't raced, 2010 year has been a breakthrough year already -- with respect to my attitudes about food and about smart training.  I basically started from scratch after 4 months on the couch recovering from my crash last year.  And I did it right... I built my run volume up VERY slowly through adding runs before adding distance.  This winter I was regularly running 9 times a week (in 6 days) and even now with more bike/swim time I still always get at least 6 runs a week, usually 7-8.  I'm running 50mpw consistently with not even a hint of injury (so much for my body just not being able to take it).  I also weigh 190 now.  Oh, and I'm FASTER than I've been in a long time.  I'm planning to post a thread next week (after cherry blossom 10 mile race this weekend) documenting the progress I've made without any real speedwork.

I've got a lot of questions about training methodology.  I think I know a lot about run training but struggle to put it all together with 3 disciplines.  Right now, schedule permitting, my plan basically looks like this:

Run lots, almost always easy, very occasionally hard.
Bike as much as possible, very occasionally easy, almost always hard.
Swim a little, always hard.

Anyway - sorry that was so long.  I'm really looking forward to contributing to this group.  Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with this sport and don't know if I'll ever be "just a runner" again.

Edited by JoshKaptur 2010-04-09 4:03 PM

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I have custom orthotics and thet have helped me a lot. I was having some foot problems during my first year of tris while running but once I had the orthotics it went away. I still have pains every now and then but I just think that is wear and tear.

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Hubby has recommended orthotics for me (he's an orthopedic p.a.).  I have nasty plantar fasciitis that is helped with aquajogging and lots of new pairs of shoes (I think I'm going through them every 5 months, but may have to replace every four as I train and race through November).

Does everyone have their blogs open to us in the thread? I was going to start adding friends and sending inspires this weekend. 

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Sounds like everyone is keeping very busy. I've had two rest days this week but I'll still get my hours in for the week. Going to get in at least an hour of something tonight. Want to workout with the wife so probably run and strength. Tomorrow I have a 24-30 mile ride in the am and then some yard work in the afternoon. Sunday I have my 1st OWS in my wetsuit. It should be warm outside but the water might still be cold. I'll let you know how it goes. Probably a hike in the afternoon.

I've been swimming a lot lately with the pull buoy because I think it will imitate the floating of the wetsuit. I hope that is a good thing to do. I actually swim better and faster with the pull buoy.

I think I have 3 hours left this week so I'm pretty sure I'll hit that. 2 weeks til my 1st Oly in Mexico.

Hey Guys and Gals,
Have any of you switched from a road bike to a tri bike and if so do you feel that it was worth it?  When all was said and done,  the money paid,  the bike fit perfect and a few rides under your belt did anyone regret or second guess their decision?  I have a road bike with aero bars that has served me well for the most part.  Despite this, I have started looking into tri bikes and test road my first one earlier this week. I went to another LBS this afternoon hoping to ride two different brands but they didn't have either one in my size (not good planning on their part ). I know that there is no right or wrong answer to this but it is something that crossed my mind so I thought I would ask.
I can say that I enjoyed the short ride I had on the tri bike on Monday. However it was very very windy, the wheels were deep ( I think that is the terminology) and the bike was worth more then my car (of course that was the one bike they had in my size) so much of my focus was keeping the bike from being knocked over due to the wind hitting the wheels. The last thing I needed to have happen was to damage that bike. I think what it would come down to for me is if I found a tri bike to be more comfortable especially with the longer distances that I am going to be doing. 

I would enjoy hearing anyone's thoughts.
Thanks!



Edited by Kath2163 2010-04-09 10:53 PM

Looking to get in some good saddle time this weekend.  Hoping to get a couple of 30-50 mile rides in.

Up at the crack of dawn to get a good bike ride in with my tri friend Kelly. We keep ourselves motivated here in Phoenix. Should start to get warm here. I think it's suppose to be 88 today.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

Did 40 miles on the bike this morning. This was the longest ride to date. I think the 56 for the 1/2 IM will be attainable by Oct. I just need to keep building distance and start to work on more time in aero. After my next 2 tri's I'm going to go get a bike fit. Haven't had the money lately because everything else has cost more than I expected. I'm feeling good on the bike today but after about 35 miles my hands were starting to hurt and my right foot started to fall asleep. My HR is down about 18 BPM on avg while my speed has gone up about 1mph.

Tomorrow I have my 1st OWS. Hoping to do about a mile or so. We'll see how cold the water is.

Maybe a nice hike w/ Miki (My wife Michelle) this afternoon. Will need sunscreen!!!!!!!!!!!

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