Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 6)

Yay, David is back too!

Welcome, Samantha and Tony!

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In answer to Dirk's questions my goals for this year are:

1. learn how far I can push myself and still have fun racing

2. complete at least 2 sprints and an Olympic this season

3. run my first half marathon in October

4. build a base for a 70.3 in 2013

Hi Group, yes this does sound like a good group and glad to be a part of it.  Well ya'll may see the time on here and say what...well I got up early to go help w/ a triathlon here in town.

Goals.

1. Learn to swim - I have a 14 yo son and I have always taught him to give 100% and if he has a dream or anything to go for it.  Well swimming has kept me from doing tri's and I said, that is not teaching my son properly.  I want to show by example. 

2. Do at least 1 sprint by summer and 1 Oly this year.  Run my 1st 1/2 marathon.

3. During 2013, complete 70.3

4. I will never get on stage but I would like to get some AG stuff but where I live it is VERY competitive.

5. Bucketlist...140.6, may not happen but it might.

Must confess I am computer and anything mechanical challenged.  I do not have a gps and anything mechanical  on my bike.  Wife has a Garmin gps and loves it and talked me in to running w/ it one day.  I get up early (she was asleep) and put it on to go for a run.  I thought the whole time, this is uncomfortable...well I was running w/ the charger attached.

Anyway, my bike wouldn't go into the upper gears so I took it to the shop and they repaired a cable.  While there I also had them take the toe cages off and put on clip on pedal and do another "fit" of the bike.  They dropped the handles and moved the seat closer, a little more aggressive.

Another confession...  I did my first dualathon a few weeks ago and got passed by 9 folks.  I was so dissappointed (to the point of wanting to sell the bike) as I thought the biking part would be my strong point.  I said I was pedaling hard and everyone who passed me was on a tri bike or at least had aero bars.  Well I thought I was in 17 - 19 gear...  U see I am challenged...  I was pedaling in 7 - 9 gear..no wonder I was so slow. 

For anyone who got up early and read all this, I apologize if U spit coffee thru ur nose while reading this.

Enjoy ur day!

Well that is exactly what I did when I read you ran with the charger . Now that is funny!

Good for you for getting up early to volunteer! I love to volunteer at races, sometimes it is more fun than racing. Like when it's 40 degrees and misty rain with a 20 mph wind......

Thanks David! I really appreciate that!

My physical therapist and Muscle Activation Therapist have both stated that I have a muscle in my lower back that does not fire. The PT gave me all the back exercises to work the muscle but in reality the exercises are just working the surrounding muscles. Regardless, the PT did help so I will continue the exercises. One of them is a hip flexor stretch.

Now, here is where it gets complicated, the MAT guy says stretching is absolutely the wrong thing for me to do so I stopped that one. I hate it when medical people give me conflicting information. I have issues with my joints being really loose and flexible. I've thrown my shoulder out swinging a golf club, stepped in a hole and sent my SI joint off track, and of course all the trouble with rolling my ankles since childhood. I used to do Yoga a couple of times a week and had a stretching routine based on the yoga poses that I did after every ride and run. I have currently stopped all stretching and I gotta tell ya, it's hard to get used to. But, when I drive 3 hours for a treatment, if he says don't do that I guess I might as well listen. So far I have not noticed any negative side effects by not stretching anymore.

I want to emphasize that this is not general advice I am passing out - just something I am experimenting with based on my therpists recommendation.

I'm so glad you found something to improve your back pain though and really, thanks for thinking of me!

Dirk - to answer your questions about race goals, mine are pretty simple.....

Do my best, put together a solid effort with limited mistakes and try to have fun.

I have to be realistic, I am moving up in age groups as I celebrated my 40th birthday last month. These women are tough and fast runners. You guys know where I am with my running so it is what it is. I was able to win or place in my AG consistently in our small local races in the 35-39 AG but I'm afraid I will have to prepare to find a way to be satisfied with my own race and not worry about hardware for a while.

Right now I am just excited that I am healthy enough to think about racing again!

Wow - I leave for half a day and you guys fill a full page with posts! Welcome Samantha, David and Tony.

My goals for the season are (starting with the soonest):

1. To place in the top 3rd overall of my first two sprints.

2. Complete an Olympic Distance race in July

3. Complete a 70.3 in October

I MAY have placing goals for 2 and 3, but I'll come up with those later based on last years results and my training.

Speaking of training. I'm off to bike 30 miles in the 30 degree temps outside! 

John

Tony, that's an incredible story.  You've made an amazing transformation already, and the best is still to come.  You will hit those goals easily with the time and effort you're willing to put in.

David, take Dina's advice as well.  Stretching isn't always the answer, so I think it's important to have someone in the medical arena who knows endurance athletes and whom you trust.  As we get older this becomes more important, imo, as the simple tweaks at 30 and 40 become longer term and more aggravating at 50.  Having someone to evaluate you and find the real root causes of issues can go a long way toward staying healthy, which is priority #1 to stay consistent.

I'll play Dirk's game.  My goals this year:

1. PR my three main events: half marathon in May, 5k in June, 70.3 in Sept.
2. PR the bike leg of the 70.3 relay team with placement in the top 5%, and podium as a team.
3. Cross the finish line with my son at his first sprint in Sept.

Great goals for everyone so far.

For many of you that just want to complete your races, that is actually a very good goal.  As an ultra competitive person I can get hung up on certain things and races can become something more about how well I can place than the enjoyment of the race itself.  Triathlon is a "journey" as some have called it.  The journey includes so much learning and testing of wills.  Whether your race is a sprint or a full IM, you will be tested.  And when you cross the finishing line, you will have learned many tings about yourself.......................And then you keep learning...............With each race.

Karl,  It's great to see that your already volunteering for a race.  I know many of the races can struggle to find people who will get up that early and help.

Running with the charger still on the watch is pretty funny, but frankly I have had 3 different kinds Garmin watches and none of them have been particularly comfortable.

Dina,  Not stretching seems counter-intuitive.  I can't say a whole lot however since I am not a big time stretcher.  David and Warrens comments about the importance of keeping your hamstring loose is pretty important and I would say that most people need to heed that advice.  For you though, it sounds like you should be following the advice of the medical professionals working with you.

John,  I rode outside the past few days and as a little cold at 45-50 degrees but I don't have any real cold weather riding gear.  The trainer has provided some really awesome WO's on the days I have had to change my rear tire  back to the trainer tire, so I can't complain.  My plan today is a 50 miler once it warms up this afternoon.

Taking risks is what racing is about.  Consider that the first time you ever ran a race or did a triathlon.  Did you know you were going to cross the finish line?  Some people feel really unsure of themselves despite their training and don't have the confidence in what they know they can do.   You know your training.  You know you have the base have currently built.  When you have a race, use that knowledge to gauge your effort.  Don't forget though, racing can hurt and hurt bad at times. 

1. One of my goals this season is to complete an Olympic triathlon.  That'll happen next weekend.
2. Improve my swim speed and distance.  Currently, I'm just under 2:00/100yds for a straight 2000yd swim.
3. Climb higher on the podium at my July sprint tri.  Last year, my bike split was 2nd fastest woman.  I'd like to do better.  I know I have it in me.
4. Build my bike base so I can do a 70.3 in 2013.
5. PR a half marathon.  Shouldn't be a problem.  I'll do a half mary in May.
6. Swim, swim, swim!  (It's worth mentioning again. )
7. Enjoy fitting in my training around being a super fabulous mommy!

As a yoga teacher, I believe in the power of yoga.  I've used it to "heal" many ailments.  I am not a doctor, so take my advice as you will.  Here is a short yoga routine that I do after many of my runs and rides.

• Half downward dog with hands on wall, window sill, fence, etc.
• Forward fold.  Bend knees if necessary to touch floor.  Avoid rounding back.  Keep it extended.
• Downward dog
• Childs pose
• Pigeon
• Reclining seated warrior.  Use lots of blankets to protect your lower back.  This one is especially helpful for releasing tight psoas muscles which are notorious for contributing to lower back pain.
• Legs up wall

Wow!  You're in Redding?  Hey neighbor!

Oh my goodness!  Too funny regarding the charger! 

I'll turn 40 this summer!  Yep, those ladies are fast!

Kurt I commend you for getting up early and for volunteering that is pretty awesome. I would like to do the same. Also, you made my day with your battery charger story, you are too funny man! Got to read while I was at the eye doctors this morning before she dialated my eyes and world became a big blur. Good thing I took the day of from training as I sorely needed it but I have to sort of do the house chores Triathalon today, food shooping, shopping for a new washer and dryer which we sorely need and then I get to do yard work! Looking forward to getting back to training tommorrow as I hope to get in 25 to 30 miles on the bike and than an 8 mile run.

Dirk I will post my goals later on this evening as I have a bunch of things that I am looking to accomplish this season as I get started. Hope everybody enjoys thier day today.

Hello everyone!  Just putting it out there now, think I'm gonna have trouble keeping up with these posts, but I will try. 

NAME: Samantha (Sam works too)

STORY: I started triathlons in 2010 because it's something I've always wanted to do after seeing the ironman champs on tv in high school.  (I'm indifferent to the ironman distance at the moment though, I think I like the shorter distances better.)  My 2010 season ended quite awfully, as an injury just waiting to happen exploded during my last race of the season near the end of the race... right leg's glutes to hamstring just lost it on me... So in the months following I didn't really know what to do, but I still tried to do what I could, although I continued to have problems with my groin area (attachment area of hip/hip adductors)... then finally I went to see a doctor (seriously, it was from the nudge of Dirk!) and at that point the "healing process" began... frustrating process as the first few people I saw were not helpful, but eventually someone was able to help me out.  This went on into 2011, so I didn't do any triathlons last year.  Fast forward to today... it has still never been determined what the actual source of the problem is, and the problem is still there, it's more of a discomfort now.. it is more a thing about how to manage it to make sure it doesn't get to a point where it did before. So I am periodically still seeing someone for a check-up type thing.  I think I'll stop there!!!  (Because I could certainly go on...) And so I am hoping to be able to get in at least one triathlon this year!!

FAMILY STATUS: I'm the definition of the boomerang generation..

JOB: umm.. it's complicated.  My paying job: Currently I'm a temp at the University of Michigan in the dept of Employee Wellness and Risk Reduction Services... My (currently) unpaid job: I'm working to start a nonprofit for at-risk youth (http://atlanticimpact.org)

CURRENT TRAINING: I decided to start back up again a couple months ago, and I've just been working towards slowly building a solid base, hopefully to avoid injuries associated with too much too soon!  I'm hoping to make April a solid month in terms of sbr, which for me means I'm aiming to swim 2-3x/wk, bike 3-4x/wk, run 4x/wk.

LAST YEAR'S RACES:  None..

2012 RACES:  I'm not quite sure yet!  I think I will find a sprint to do in June/July~ish.  I would also like to find a 5K to do to get a PR.

I think my main goal will be to do a sprint tri (haven't decided which one yet).  I might do a same race as I did 2 years ago, in which case I would be disappointed if I didn't better my time... the best I came in my age group was 6 out of 20-something, so it would also be nice to improve upon that... but I also need to be realistic, as 2 years ago I had in a lot more sbr than I will likely have this year.  I think my weakest leg is biking, so I would like to improve on that for sure.  I think running is my strongest, and I want to make sure it stays that way, so I do have an added focus towards running. 

I only have time to post this vid before heading out for wedding registry stuff.  We filmed this and found some mistakes in my stroke at slow speed.  Anyone able to find them in this video???

Also, I'm very happy to say that my fiance Kate PR'd her half marathon this morning, beating her goal of sub 2 hrs by over two minutes.  Very excited for her.  She's a happy camper.