Scott's Mentor Group-Closed (Page 6)

Hi everyone! I wanted to say that I am really inspired by all of the training that everyone is doing. I especially like to hear about some of you who are new to triathlon venturing to the pool for the first time. Good for you for getting going on it.  Keep in mind that everyone needs to start somewhere. When I first got into the pool in July of 2010 I couldn't even swim 25 yards without stopping to hang on the wall until I caught my breath. Fast forward to today where I am now comfortable swimming in open water at distances of around 1 mile. I improved by taking lessons and putting my time into doing what seemed like a gazillion laps. 

I have been battling a cold since the day after Christmas. I tried to get back on track with my training this week but I found that my energy level is severely lacking.  I have decided to shut it down for a couple more days until I can feel well enough to resume training. Listening to my body is something that I need to get better at. I tend to get caught up in following my training plan at all costs which is not a good way to go about it. I am going to listen this time because otherwise my training will be at a deficit and I'll have a steeper hill to climb to get out of it. I will of course be hanging around our group here on the forum. Cheers!

Tim,  I'm sorry to hear about your cold.  As you're expressing these things are often times there to tell us to slow down.  I'm glad that you're listening.  Looking forward to hear more about your training when you get better.  

Good morning peeps!

Slept in today after a date night last night with my amazing partner. Ideally I'd get my run in over lunch, but I can't access my work calendar right now, so I'll see how that plays out later. But I will be swimming for an hour after work.

Tomorrow, the weather looks to be great, so I'll be heading to the track to do the Friel heart rate test. That's going to be a bugger, so any running I do today will be pretty light.

Have an awesome Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!  I had an interesting evening last night.  I bought a treadmill for my wife that arrived yesterday.  When I got home from work my daughter and I put it together.  She was as much help as a 5 year old can be and so 4 hours later we have a functional treadmill.  By the time I got on the trainer it was after 9, and by the time I was done it was after 10.  Phew.....

I'm going to run for 35 minutes tonight and try to up my mileage a bit conservatively.  What are you doing today?

Morning!

I did some upper body training today, and a quick 3 miles on a bike.  I have gotten so used to sitting in those "relaxed" stationary bikes at the gym - you know, they have a big flat seat, a back rest, arms rests... so today I went with the regular seat... wow... it's going to take some time to build up butt callouses!! 

Morning, peeps! I did a walk/run yesterday for 40 minutes and a light weight lifting session. I haven't bought a new pair of running shoes in quite a long time. I tried on a pair and could not believe how comfortable they are! It felt like I was walking on marshmellows. I didn't want to start off with a worn out pair of shoes and hurt my feet. The local running store didn't have much in regards to analyzing my step. I might have to do the wet foot and towel idea.

Anyway, I'm gonna go for a swim or ride today depending on when the wife gets home and how she feels. For those that don't know, we are expecting our second child in August. We are in the first trimester so she doesn't feel well everyday. I am also heading to the library to get Fitzgerald's book.

Good morning.  Today is my “long” run day, 40 minutes.  Just trying to increase my endurance.  Not going to push for any results.  Also I’ve had a calf muscle bugging me so I’m going to do better job of warming up and stretching.

Wasn’t able to get the full 80 minutes on the bike yesterday because of scheduling issues but went hard for 40 minutes. 

All this training has me sleeping great.  Nice benefit.

Have a great Friday.

Hey Tim!  Thanks for saying this.  It's good to know and keep in mind as I slosh through the pool. 

I'm currently looking at bikes; my mountain bike is still back east.  And, it's a mountain bike.  I've been riding the bike at the gym until I find the road bike I want.  Preferably on Craigslist.  I'm not going to go tri-bike specific yet.  I've got some help from friends back home, but if you know of great bike search sites, Scott or anybody, I'm happy to check them out. Thanks.

I haven't gotten Matt Fitzgerald's book yet; but I'm working on it.

I'm swimming and running today.  Have a wonderful day, everybody!

hope everyone is having a great Friday and looking forward to the weekend...

i  did a 35 min run today on the treadmill and hopefully the weather will cooperate for a long bike ride tomorrow

enjoy weekend and keep up the good work

Pete

I've heard of Shakeology.  What's in it?  I've been drinking coffee for the morning energy piece.  I'm wanting to chill out on that for a while.  

Wednesdays are Bikram Yoga days for me - if anyone hasn't tried this it takes place in a hot room and is a series of stretches and poses.  I literally sweat POUNDS off in each session so you have to hydrate before, during and after.  This week I did not hydrate enough and two hours later had a massive headache but initially the rush after being done was like the high after a sucessful race (so drained yet you feel great).

As a big older guy I may not be as flexible as the young ladies that can fold themselves in half but I have found that this has been helpful in my recovery, reducing injury and in actually getting more flexible. 

My run yesterday never happened as I did a shoulder/arms workout and it was so damn cold I wimped out of running outside.

Today's run was a 4.4 mile run where I alternated speeds every mile - train pace then race pace - with the last .4 a slightly slower wind down.  Overall a 8:46 average for the run.

I usually do my long run Sundays - but my brother is dying to have me do a trail run with him tomorrow (after 4 texts I guess I have to go) ... so I guess we will be doing a 10 miler ... I am hopeful we can do a steady 9:40 pace but I guess that will depend on the condition of the trails.  Will try to get a bike in Sunday guess it will depend on how agressively we run tomorrow and if I can wake up early before the family obligations overwhelm me.

Love reading all your posts - I will post some of the books I have read as well though mine are more marathon geared then tri geared.

It's somewhat expensive at almost $4 a serving but Shakeology can be used as a meal replacement ( I eat 6 times a day and this is meal 1) ...

I take it with skim milk so its about 230-250 calories (would be less obviously with water but I like the taste better).  besides a bunch of vitamins it has chromium, some whey protein, a mix of antioxidents and prebiotics and probiotics.  I really dislike vegetables and as far as shakes go this one was closest to having vegetables that still tasted good.

After my surgeries removed 18 inches of my colon I needed to eat healthier and protect my colon this seemed to help my digestion and keep me regular.

My second meal (for the most part) three hour later consists of 3 prunes, an Activa with fiber and a cottage and fruit.  I usually add insome Clemintines or additional fruits and a granola bar.

My main protein come in my last four meals.

Like all shake prodcuts - Shakeology claims to be the "healthiest" ... I know there are sample packs available - I have never tried the green berry flavor only drank the chocolate.   

I decided to neither have any expectations nor look at my HR monitor for this run.  I just wanted to go out at a pace that felt good and turn around when I reached 20 min.  Well to my surprise, I got to my usual turn and I was two minutes ahead of my normal.  I went the additional two minutes and couldn’t believe how much further I had gotten.  It was hard not to get excited and keep the same pace on the return.  I finished only 30 seconds slower on the return and recorded my fastest pace ever on my longest run ever (or since I was in my late teens)  I’ve almost reached my first pace goal.  Very exciting.

Tomorrow will be a very slow day as I donated a double unit of platelet’s this afternoon. 

My wife even asked if I’d take her on a bike ride this weekend.  Who knows, maybe a new training partner Even more exciting!

Thanks. It was fixed, then it broke again but it seems to be good now.

Scott, No running last night but I did get one in today and it looks good for getting to the pool tomorrow so I should be able to complete all my workouts this week.  P.S. I'm sure your daughter did a great job putting the treadmill together...

So for this weekend: swimming, yoga and a 4 mile run (long run for me because it will take an hour).

I made today my off day. I am doing a long bike tomorrow and a swim on Sunday. I reviewed a lot of the training programs and many of them call for 2 days a week off. I read some of Matt Fitzgerald's book (via nook on my droid b/c the library doesn't have it) and he said everyone should train 6 days a week. 

What are your thoughts, Scott? I'm doing 6 days this week but I don't know how much it makes a difference. 

How many of you do each 'leg' 2x a week vs 3x a week?

My feeling is consistency is the key.  Whether it is 2x or 3x find a schedule that will allow you to consistently train injury free, and meet your goals.  This is my schedule right now:

Mon-Swim am/ Run pm

Tues-Swim am/ Bike pm

Wed-Run pm

Thurs-Bike pm

Friday-Run pm

Sat-swim am/Bike pm/short run after bike

Sun-swim am/Bike pm

Can some guys that have run longer distances 10 miles thru marathons give some insight on their race/training nutrition?

I run with a single fuel belt bottle of water on winter runs under 7 miles ... for longer I will take my 4 bottle belt and load 2 bottles with water ... not sure what to do beyond that ... in the summer I was taking two water and two sport drinks on short runs just because it was hot and I am not small ...

But as far as proper training/race tactics should I be carrying gels and jelly beans and planning to drink/eat at certain mile points regardless of if I feel a need?  I just want to get this squared away in training so when I get to the half marathon distance it is fairly second nature.

Thanks for any insight ...

My thoughts are that it's common for people to become over-reliant on gels and water. I drink a lot when it's especially hot ... but even then I can usually go for a 12 miler without bringing anything along.  I know I'll need to replenish upon my return, but I can go that long without needing to carry anything. In the winter I usually go 15 without bringing water along ... mostly because the freezing is a hassle.

But if I have to carry water (I never carry sports drinks), I like the Ultimate Direction hand helds.  On a very long run (20 miles or more) in the summer, I'll carry one in each hand. It's nice, because I can fit three gels in each pouch. I got these mainly for getting ready for ultra distances, as I could carry them along with my Nathan hydration vest.

I'll carry gels usually if I'm going longer than 12 ... I generally plan on taking them every 6 miles or so, but that's just what I've found works well for me. Many people take them every 45 - 60 minutes. I know that in a marathon, I'll have trouble wanting to take a 4th gel, so I'll sometimes switch to every 7 miles which will space them out a bit more. Getting in more calories is something I was planning to work on for ultra running before my PF injury. I know it's going to be something I really need to work on for triathlons (I haven't run my first tri yet).

As I said, I never take sports drinks during training or during a race but will replenish with them after a particularly hot race. I hardly ever drink them.

I anticipate wanting my calories mostly in liquid form during a longer tri (half IM or full IM), but I have a while to figure that out. I don't anticipate needing anything other than water and a couple of Gus (maybe only one) for a sprint.

You can find some literature written about people deliberately training through depletion (not taking any additional calories or water), but I'm not sure you can "train" yourself to not need water and calories. I just don't happen to need a lot of water while running.

But I drink a LOT during the day ... 6-8 liters is no problem. I'm often 8-10 liters.

I don't know if this is helpful or not ... but if you're wondering if you need to carry that stuff, and you feel like you don't ... I'd trust your read on what your body is telling you. Drink when you're thirsty and start logging how much water you have left at the end of different runs. Then note the weather conditions and see if you notice a trend.

After a while it'll become second nature. 

Edited to add: I'm 6'3" and currently weigh 193. I've been a distance runner as heavy as 220, and my hydration hasn't been all that different from what I've described above.

Troy, congratulations on your PB in the pool today.   

Scott, congratulations on your run today.  Sounds like you are well on your way to conquering your injury.

Great way to start the weekend everybody.

I second that, you guys!  Well done!!

Good Morning everyone

Apologies not been able to join in many of the conversations this week as had a havy work schedule plus some training and then family time to.

There have been some great efforts this week. People pushing their comfort zones especially in the pool. I have to say some of the advice and info has been great. For me the run is my weak point and to listen to people that regularly do 10 to 20 mile runs is inspiring to think eventually with training any thing is possible.

So what has my week been like. I have managed 3 pool sessions this week that totalled 6km, mainly due to shocking weather that you couldn't run or cycle in. Trying to focus on stroke quality rather than speed. I have a real issue with my left arm crossing the centre line of my body. The end result being in open water that I drift right over a period of time.

I finally managed to get my first run in of the year and of the last 2 months. Oh how quickly the body lets you remember taking time off is bad for you. I did a 4km run in 25 minutes.

I have a question - Cramp - I suffer with it, whether it is in the pool after 1200m or after the bike to run transition or sometimes after just sitting for a while and straightening the leg. How can I reduce the occurrences or stop it.

Have a great weekend all and look forward to seeing the traning logged. Just back from my morning swim of 2k and hopefully try to get another 4-5km run in this afternoon

MAC - I get calf cramps far too regularly. Never while I'm running and never on the bike ... actually I never got them WHILE exercising until the pool. Usually during high mileage peaks ... then they would come in the middle of the night. I'm talking scream-out-loud, scare-the-heck out of anyone in the house type cramps. I could actually feel them as knots in the muscle.

I had my left calf worked on with dry needle trigger point therapy as treatment of my plantar fasciitis. I'm sure Scott can talk about this in much better depth than I can. But that seems to have really loosened things up for me.

But I still get them in the pool ... usually after pushing  off the wall or when I try to really overextend my terribly inflexible ankles for more toe point. I have to be really careful when I feel them coming on. I think it's a flexibility issue. I've really been trying to improve the flexibility of my legs from the knees down. I'm hopeful that will help.

****************************

Today ... I'm going to enjoy a relaxing morning while I wait for the temps to climb into the 40s. Then I'll head to the track for a LTHR test ala Joe Friel. I think it'll be a tough run, but I'm kind of looking forward to it. And that's it for today ... only one discipline.