Destination MoP Group is FULL (of motivated life jugglers) (Page 6)

Beachprof - don't beat yourself up about what you can't do, just appreciate how much you've done.  You'll get into the pool.  Just make sure you're not actively avoiding it.

Andrea - that indoor tri sounds fab.  I've never heard of anything like that over here.  Make sure you let us all know how it goes.

Today went a little awry on my training plan.  Landed up sleeping in rather longer than I expected after my late night, and didn't have time for my run.  I chose to take our rather frustrated dog for a nice energetic walk instead.  However, I went to the gym while my husband was at a class this evening and did my run on the treadmill instead, then we went for our swim.  Hadn't planned to do them back to back, but it was probably good for me ;-)

Going to try to do my long cycle tomorrow.  I won't have managed a short cycle in this week's program, but otherwise have managed to catch up.  Yay!

Good luck Andrea.  I hope you share the experience with the group.  Have fun

Ron

What a great quote!!!  RIGHT ON!!!

On a semi-related subject I have two homework assignments for our group over the next three days.  First is to read this short article about your first triathlon.  Lots of wisdom in there whether your first tri or getting back into it again after some time off.  Andrea, you better read it fast... lol... good luck this weekend... can't wait to hear how it goes!

2nd homework assignment for this weekend is that I'd like each of you to come up with two goals for the month of January that you'd like to have us (all of us) help you be accountable for here in the mentor group.  Examples might be - 5 hours of training each week, eat 3 salads/week, find a training plan, do core exercises 3x/week, run with my spouse once/week, etc.  Post those goals here in the thread and I'll compile all of them into a nice little table and each week we'll ask you to report your progress.  These should be goals that are achievable, measurable and are important to YOU, not someone else.  If you've seen my training page, you can tell I'm big on goals.  I have ones I set each month and others that are long term.  Some I'm pretty sure I'll eventually achieve (God willing and the creek don't rise), some are probably a long shot at best.  But I like to see them every day when I log my workouts... they remind me of where I can go if I choose to put in the effort.

So here are mine:  7 hours of training/week (including tri-related exercises) for the last two weeks of January.  Weigh under 200 lbs on Feb 1st.  I've been knocking on that 200 door for a good 6 months now and I need some extra to get through this weekend when I'll be surrounded by temptation!

I head off tomorrow morning at 4:30am to Anne's part of the world for 3 long days and hopefully get back Sunday around midnight.  I'll be sure to check in at least once each day, and on Monday morning I will plan to have a nice summary of our group and our goals for January.  Can't wait to see what you all decide to conquer!!

-Stu

Edited by juneapple 2011-01-13 6:55 PM

I think I'm ok for this indoor tri. Outdoors seems more confusing and complicated. Here's what I'm bringing.Swim- suit, goggles, towelBike and run - bondi band (headband), sports bra, sleeveless shirt, Capri length pants, socks, running sneakers, waterbottle, hand towel (for sweat).All are used during training and should be fine. 10 min transition from swim to bike. I'll have to get a move on. I hope the spin and treadmill areas aren't too hot. I don't do well with heat.I read the article linked by Stu. Thanks.

Life got in the way of training today. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.

Phil

Today is an off day for me so I am at work still! Last night however was an 1hr and 57 min bike ride...not two hours!  So on the stationary I went.  Unfortunately the gym closes at 8:30 so I had to cut my ride short by 20 mins but I did mange 32 miles.  Not sure what that would convert to on an actual bike. 

I work about 70 miles from home so getting to the gym is way tough without getting a speeding ticket!  Every place closes early in my little town but I use the free gym on NAS Fallon.  Guess I better invest in a trainer...any suggestions?  Gear Reviews?

I hate when that happens!

Thanks so much for the tips on getting the link to my training page. It worked like a charm. 

Yep, check out the gear reviews on BT, plus, often you'll find equipment that is also for sale by BT members (a little tag at the bottom of each item).  After 4 years, I think I'm going to break down and get one too, just too many missed training opportunities.  There's only one room in the house where it can go though... and I told myself no trainer until it was cleared out :-( 

I've been eying the Kurt Kinetics.  I read a decent article recently comparing the types (probably the first consideration).  I'll see if I can find it while I'm on the road.

Stu

P.S.  32 miles... Woooohoooo!  That's freakin' awesome Cynthia!

Edited by juneapple 2011-01-13 9:43 PM

Good Morning!
For any one looking to follow a great winter cycling program, check this one out:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=230692&posts=674&start=1

I followed his program 2 winters ago, and it was fantastic.

As far as trainers go, I have a Cyclops Fluid trainer, and I love it. It's definitely something you can pick up pre-owned. I got mine off of Craigs List for $75, with everything included.

Also, I know we've talked a little about how most of us have to be creative and flexible with training schedules. Just 2 reminders: Don't do hard workouts on back to back days. Ie: long run on Sat and Long bike on Sun.
And in general, try not to do the same type of work out 2 days in a row. I think this is especially important with running, to prevent injuries.
-Heidi

agree with you on the not doing hard workouts back to back- unfortunately, life gets in the way and I have to do my long runs and long bikes back to back. in about a month I will have to fit in 4 runs per week plus 1-2 swims and 1-2 bikes to keep my OLY base up and train for the HM.

I do try to keep one rest day per week, normally after those hard 2 days.

Stu, working on the goals. Have to think about it. Last January I had a one month old and was just getting back into training after taking some time off (I kept up with the bike and swim for most of my pregnancy but was not allowed to run). This year I'm coming into January from a different place and not sure what goals to make. Last year I wanted to lose weight, get in shape, get back into racing. This year I am not sure what I want to do.

How about a recipe? I'm in charge of nutrition around here for the husband. The best thing his coach taught him is that every bite counts and view your food as FUEL. Would you eat a snickers bar and expect to have a decent run? Nope. Definitely changes how you eat in that we talk about recovery foods a lot (Soba noodles!). And we eat a ton of chicken. And have one night off a week (tonight is pizza party night with some other triathletes).

Anyway, I adore sweets but I have daily migraines, and take a beta blocker to prevent them. The beta blocker makes me very slow (but my neurologist and her team are always amazed that I still manage to do triathlons and train). One of the migraine triggers is sugar and processed sweeteners, and if those build up in my body I have a massive migraine. I still like cookies and such, and I eat fruit (and make my own applesauce, just apples and water, every fall). Here is a recipe for bar cookies we made this week and they are fantastic-

Oatmeal Honey Peanut Butter Bar Recipe (Based on a recipe by Sandra Lee)

3/4 cup baking mix (she used Bisquick, I used Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix)
2 C quick oats
1/2 C creamy peanut butter (I used Simply Jif)
1/2 C applesauce (used our homemade applesauce)
1/2 C raisins
1/2 C chocolate chips (used the dairy free, nut free, allergy-friendly ones)
1 egg
1/3 C honey

Mix the baking mix and the oats together; add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Press into the bottom of a sprayed 11x7 baking pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (20 minutes here). Cool, then cut into bars.

Quick, easy, tasty, and just sweet enough thanks to the honey.

Did my long cycle today.  Which means I've done too much in the last couple of days.  Tomorrow I'll be swimming in the evening, but otherwise will be having a nice chill out.  Today's cycle was outside as well!  In January!  It was a gorgeous day, and it was so much easier to do a long ride outside.  Got in nearly 18 miles, which felt great!

I have a couple of questions for the group:

1) I've just got cleats for cycling.  Is there anything (drills/exercises) I can do to improve my use of the cleats?  I'm looking for stuff I can do when I'm on the turbo trainer etc.

2) On my training log when logging swims, do people include rest/recovery periods in the time, or just "actual" swim time?  I was trying to keep track of just what I did (which is what I do when I log cycle/run - I don't include any stops), but that gets challenging when I'm doing drills that include timing my recoveries...

As far as goals go, I want to follow my program and do 2x swim/cycle/run each week.  I also want to get my weight to 82kg by the end of January (that's on the way to my final goal of 75kg by end of May).

Good news everyone! I managed to escape work during lunch hour and swam! It's a miracle, I know. But it really did feel great during and especially afterwards.

I also have that question about reporting the time in the workout logs. I've been putting total time and then the rate is rather slow because it includes any rest or down time. Even the 5min cool down on the treadmill shouldn't really count, right?

As a new tri person (calling myself an "athlete" is an overstatement!) I don't really know what are some realistic goals for the next two weeks, but I really like this idea and thanks Stu for compiling them in one place. I have some non-tri goals, like win half of my tennis matches, but should those be included? Right, you only asked for two.

The rule to not do two long workouts back-to-back is a problem for me too when Sat and Sun are the only days I can get enough time.  What about one weekend long run and shorter bike (but longer than a week night) and the next weekend the reverse?

I have a big tennis match tomorrow afternoon so no tri workouts planned, but I'm doing a bike ride Sunday morning before a tennis match and then a tennis practice.

Hurrah!  Glad you made it, and glad you enjoyed it!

beachprof-I'm glad you got in the water.  Congrats!

My two goals for the rest of Jan are to get in 3 runs and 3 swims a week and to get my weight down to 204 (last official weigh in was last Sat at 209.)

First, great job on getting in the pool! I've never managed to get in a lunch time work out, since I only get 30 minutes for lunch.
I think that your weekend plan sounds reasonable.
Good luck with the tennis match!

In reference to the logging workout questions:

Some people lump everything into one time. So,for those people, their logged run time includes warm up and cool down. I'm not a big fan of that, because (for me) it really effects my times.
So, on the runs: I log the actually run as a work out. Then I log my warm up and cool down as a separate workout, or not at all.
On the swim, I think most people log the overall time, then in the comment section, they break down the specifics of the workout. Look at Stu's logs for some good examples of that.
 

Hi Rachel,

In the winter, it is amazing how uplifting an outdoor bike ride is just now and then.  Yay!  (and yay for the good workout too!)  On to your questions.

On the cleats, this may sound funny, but if you've never used them before, practice clipping in and releasing a bunch.  Visualize in your minds eye that you are coming up to a stop in the road and unclip, etc.  It seems to be a rite of passage to go out on the 3rd or 4th day using cleats, and forget to release and boom! over you go.  Everyone does it once :-)  Otherwise, I think the main thing to work on if you're not used to it is to have a smooth stroke where you are getting power out of the full motion, not just on the downstroke like we all biked growing up.

On the swim, I log total time if I'm pushing the pace on the repeats and then I usually write down at least a range of times if I'm doing 100s or 200s so I can reference back.  If I need to find out my average pace, I'll do a time trial workout every now and then where I might swim a 500 or 1000 and then calculate the pace (most pool swims will ask you for your 100 yard or meter pace and this would be one way to calculate it - don't just sprint a 100).

-Stu

Just a quick semi-philosophical thought here.  I think for many folks, tri training is all about swim, bike, and run.  But there are two other important skills to consider.  As Anne has suggested here, nutrition is also really important.  I love Anne's description of food as fuel... and it is oh so true.  So nutrition during training and also during the race (longer especially) is a skill to work on (and a great potential goal as well).  The other skill to practice are transitions.  This is more important if you're concerned about your race time, whereas nutrition just fits into the more healthy lifestyle.  But just wanted to mention that as well.  So I think of these as the five skills of race (and training) performance.

And after mentioning the importance of nutrition, I confess my willpower was weak today with the snack trays.  Could have been worse, but could have been better.  Phooey on me.

Anne - more power to you.  It is cold and icky up here!

Stu

Well guys I have tried three different times to post something on the board and have failed so I hope this time is successful. I'm trying to do this from my phone so sorry for ant typographical ertors. I hope everyone has an awesome sat workout. I'm going to attempt to run un 30 degree weather.my lungs are going to hate me but it's gonna feel so great ! Can't wait to read aboit everyone's progress! Good Luck!

That doesn't sound so funny because I did it yesterday!  I'd been practicing clipping and upclipping early in the ride, and was feeling quite good because I was really getting the hang of it.  Got home, pulled into my drive, unclipped left foot, and then tried to step off with both feet!  Landed up lying on my right hand side wondering what just happened, and hoping my husband wasn't looking out of the window!  Fortunately only came away with a slightly skinned knee and a small bruise on my hand. :-)

Today's plan is mostly rest.  I've had a busy few days and need to take a break.  I'm going to the tri club swim session this evening.  Will have to see how hard that is before I make a decision about tomorrow, as I think I may need to work in a proper rest day...

to go out on the 3rd or 4th day using cleats, and forget to release and boom! over you go.  Everyone does it once :-)  Otherwise, I think the main thing to work on if you're not used to it is to have a smooth stroke where you are getting power out of the full motion, not just on the downstroke like we all biked growing up.

-Stu

Here are a few videos about pedal stroke and positioning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ZrbnR-0dI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAAUDv0ja0w&feature=related

LEt me know if these help.

Thanks Heidi.  That's perfect.  I'll have a go at that next time I'm on the trainer. 

The video really helped as I don't feel like I'm getting the even motion yet, but seeing it really helped give me an idea of what I'm aiming for.