BikerGrrrl's Group - CLOSED (Page 6)

Leslie - sorry to hear about your episode of pain and the swelling!  I agree with the others - check with the doc.  Sorry I didn't see the message last night when you really needed it    Keep up with the diuretic and lots of fluids and I bet you'll feel better soon. Keep us posted!

Janet!  Don't be hard on yourself.  A half marathon is a difficult feat and you will need a recovery week.  3 workouts is great and don't worry about "getting behind."  Just keep moving forward and pick up where you left off.

My secret to relative biking success has always been two things:  bike lots and push myself.  I haven't done any sort of interval or other special workout until this year, but I have been consistently looking for bike challenges.  I do seek hills on my rides, I look for new places.   I find people to pass or keep up with, I don't obsess over trying to stay very high cadence or "easy".   If I encounter a hill, I stand up and go for it.  Okay, sometimes I kick it into an easier gear too   I know this doesn't sound very scientific, but it seems to be the difference between me and those who haven't really gotten into biking. 

Stuff like this definitely doesn't hurt, especially if you're on a boring stretch.

Okay, here's an example of a workout I did a few weeks ago.  I shouldn't do this with items from my coach, probably, but it's a good example:

Warm Up:

10 minutes easy including 3 x :30 pick ups stronger

4 x :30 picking it up over threshold like a hard attack, 1:30 easy

3 minutes building to zone 3 (for me, this is fairly hard, like I could talk but not hold a long conversation)

Mainset:

15 minutes @ 70 – 75 rpms, resistance fatigue interval steady in zone 3

@ 4 minutes: stand for 1 minute, effort/power goes up (I had to drop gears to do this without falling over)
@ 8 minutes: drop 2 gears down & push for 1 minute, then return to normal gear
@ 12 minutes: drop 2 gears down & stand for 1 minute, then return to normal gear
@ 16 minutes: pick up cadence to 80 rpms in same gear, effort/power goes up

3 minute easy spin

4 x :30 picking it up over threshold like a hard attack, 1:30 easy

Cool Down:  3 minutes easy

Sorry about the dog encounter!

Okay...the swelling went down today. Not all the way but it doesn't hurt today and it's progress. Called the nurse at the Dr's office and she said something happened to my blood sample and they needed more but they could tell a few things: I'm anemic and my electolytes are unbalanced. That makes a lot of sense. She cautioned me against working out too hard until they know for sure, but I came in and gave her blood they could know by tomorrow. So I did. I'll know more tomorrow.

Meanwhile: I went to a massage therapist to see if there was anything I could do. He showed me how to massage the lymph nodes and then told me to "pedal" or walk to help the legs shed the water now that the swelling is going down and it's not painful.  I asked, "You want me to ride a bike?" and he replied, "Yes."  So, I went on a VERY easy ride just around the neighborhood. I didn't break a sweat (don't want to mess up my blood more), but moved my legs with that "pedaling" motion he suggested.

I'm feeling much better.  When I know more I'll be relieved. So, I basically need to work on my nutrition which is what my husband has said all along.  I'll be asking questions and reading about that soon. :D Thanks for all the replies.

That all sounds promising!  It would be great if this simply boiled down to something you can easily fix - nutrition.  I hope you can find some good new things to add to your diet.  Let us know if you need ideas!

Hey Steve.  That's a bummer about the cholesterol news.  You can really change your cholesterol profile through exercise, so hopefully that will help inspire you when you don't feel like completing a workout.

So remind me - anyone racing this weekend?  What's on the agenda in general?

I am on a rest/recovery week.  Love those!  Small volume and all "easy" stuff.  I rarely have Friday night plans, but I am seeing the movie My Run tonight so I am taking a rest day to have dinner with a friend and see the movie.    It's kind of related to training, in that it's the story of a man who ran from Atlanta to St. Paul to raise awareness about being a single parent (as in "everyday heroes").  Should be inspiring!  I have a few bike rides and a swim planned otherwise.

Great idea!  Riding with the backpack will be a cinch.  I do this when I commute by bike to work  - 14 miles.  My only suggestion is strap it down well.  Cinch the straps so it's on you as tight as possible.  Sucks to have it swing over to your side when you're not expecting it

I actually ran from the gym once after a swim.  It's also about 4.5 miles from home.  My husband dropped me off and I was wearing my running clothes and had swim basics in a fanny pack!  It was okay, but I couldn't tolerate the fanny pack bouncing on the way home.  I eventually carried it like a purse, which was surprisingly easy.  I do have a running backpack that I've run more than 6 miles with without a problem.

Wow!  That will be quite the walk.  Ouch.

Hey Steve.  Boy, kidney stones are very painful from what I hear.  I hope that if it does go, it's as mild as possible.

That's a good question.  For me, the workout plan still feels a bit like a task leading right up to when I do it.  I would like nothing more than to just go home from work and chill most days.  But from experience, I have learned that when I am actually doing it AND right afterwards, I feel 10 times better.  Keeping my eye on the prize is what does it for me.  I also know that on the pain scale, for me, guilt for missing a workout is more painful that just sucking it up and doing it.

Some good advice I hear often is that if you don't feel like a workout, just promise yourself you'll do it for 10-15 minutes.  Usually by then you're into it and it's no big deal.  Occasionally, you really are NOT into it and you quit after 15.  I would say that rarely is the case, though, once you get started.

I try hard to find joy in my workouts.  I love the feeling of the cool pool water, so I focus on that.  I love finding a path to run that is shady and flat, so if I am feeling down about my run I use my favorite path.  I love seeing the sights on my bike, so I go for that ride and focus on how lucky I am to be in nature.  Sometimes the fancy interval doesn't get done, but 45 mins in the saddle is better than nothing.

I know that quandary very well about timing the evening workout, food, etc.  For me, I just have to workout first.  There would be NO working out if I waited until after a meal.  Because of this, I make sure to eat and drink well on workout days and have good snack about an hour before my workout.  If I don't, I can easily psych myself out and just go home.  I have actually worked out a few times after happy hour and I cannot recommend that either

Brooke - nice job on the walk!  Sounds challenging.  I am impressed that you aren't sore.

I haven't ever done a standard pool tri, just the kind with my own lane.  I've heard they can be rough, but I also know a ton of people who've done them so they can't be that bad.   I've said that about race ("I'm never doing that again!") and other people loved the experience.  Go figure.