Athena/ Clydesdale Official Mentor Group (Page 6)

Welcome Andrea!!! 

Tyler - I ran today it was 75% humidity.  It super stunk!  My legs felt like lead.  Unfortunately we still have months of this.  

I may not be doing any running yet, but I am SO there with y'all on the whole "heat sucks" thing.

Apparently Cindy has decided that Wednesday is her rest day, or at least it was today.  (I'm going to have to explain to her that they are supposed to be scheduled, not "I don't feel like it today".)  So I got to leave earlier than usual.  (7:20 instead of 8:00)  I'm sorry, but 75* does NOT count as a night time low.  It was 75* when I left the house and it was 80* when I returned 35 minutes later!  ETA: Oh yeah, 80% humidity too!!

• 1 mile uphill out = 18:04
• 1 mile downhill back = 16:56
• 2 miles total = precisely 35:00

Got a pretty good swim in last night, lost track of the number of laps but it was somewhere around 1km, roughly half freestyle and half breaststroke.

Did a timed 200m with breaststroke and it was 5:11, which is slow but should get me under any time requirements for IM, which is the goal...

Now to decide if I want to try and sign up for LP on monday... decisions decisions

Hey guys, sounds like many of us got in some good training so far this week. 

The weather is so oppressive in Minnesota, you wouldn't believe it.   I spent last night working with my triathlon team to put on a mini tri and I was sweaty and stinky within about 5 minutes.  I didn't get a structured workout in, but I did plenty of running around and also set up the bike course.   On my own bike, carrying turn signs and chalk and not fully knowing the course, it was a lot of work! 

My training lately otherwise has been a bit lackluster.  I have a race on Saturday, so I am calling it a taper.  I am going for a run tonight, though, come hell or high water (which roughly describes the weather...)

Have a great Wednesday!

Maybe you can determine your "I am sure I can beat this" time for the 400 hundred and just swim for time.   Then, on race day, you're likely to get done more quickly and you'll get a good boost!

Not a bad idea, thanks.  What would you consider to be a "I'm sure I can beat this time?"  What are some averages?

Edit: so I looked back at the 2011 results of the sprint tri held at the local ymca. it's a short pool swim, 350 yards. I averaged the times. Top 25 finished the swim in 5:40. 26-50 in average 6:26. 51-75 in 6:45. 76 - 100 in 7:36. The Athena/ Clydes finished in average 7:27

I guess my new goal is to swim non-stop with my bungee cord swim tether for 10 minutes straight.  That way, assuming I'm on the slow end of the averages I should be able to complete the distance.

I think a far outside time would be a 3:00/100 yards time, which is 12 minutes for 400.   So yes, I think 10 would be great - 12 even better. 

This week has SUCKED for me and training.  Was gone for a family reunion trip at Big Bear Thurs-Sun last week (no regrets there...it was an awesome time!), but trying to catch up for missing a couple days at work combined with soccer season starting for the kids has me all screwed up!  I'm making it way too easy to "I'll get to it later"-ize my workouts!  Missed my 5:30 spin class this morning after being up until 2:30 with the baby, and that 4:45 alarm just wasn't going to cut it...I have my first Oly distance coming up soon, and I know I need to get focused on hitting my workouts...at least the long ones each week. 

There's my b*itch session for the day...thanks for listening! 

Kudos to all of you fellow members who are actually getting stuff done...I promise to be back there soon!!!

My answer has to do with terrible pictures too!  Last year I was so embarrassed about wearing a one piece tri suit, I spent time in T-2 putting running shorts, and a shirt over my tri-suit.  I really am a big fella, and the pictures prove it.  I was also very winded last year.

This year I am down in weight, and only had to throw on some baggy shorts and my running shoes in T-2...

Laura - Be proud.  and yes Race pictures suck for me too!

I have done that a time or two already in my short training career.  I have done a couple things.  One is I make sure to hit the snooze if I'm not up and raring to go instead of the cancel.  Two, I remind myself how much better I feel after I workout.  Three, said screw it and enjoyed the sleep.  I try to listen to my body and if I am able to go back to sleep soundly after the alarm then I know my body is telling me it needs rest.  Usually, I hear the alarm and I'm up whether I lay there and torment myself or not.

B - Do what I did with Cindy, take hubby with you.

Totally unrelated, does the screen name come from a reference to the book Ender's Game?

I've gone through soooooo many fights with myself getting up in the morning, finally coming up with the "excuse" that I don't train as well in the morning as I do at night, which I do think is true for me personally.  All you can do is just get up right when it goes off.  No snoozing, throw your legs over the edge and take the covers off and sit up, that should wake you up enough so you won't be able to just roll back over and fall asleep right away, and at that point if you're going to spend 10 minutes tossing and turning to only sleep another 30 minutes you might as well get up anyway.  That's about the only thing that works for me, that and knowing how much better I'll feel after which someone already said.

This might be the answer for getting up in the morning. Carpet alarm clock!

(carpet_alarm2.jpg)

What I had to do when I was doing morning workouts was to literally throw myself out of bed and stand up.  99% of the time - I kept going forward and did my  morning workout.  1% of the time I did crawl back in bed.  But most mornings I would treat my legs as if they belonged to someone else and throw them out of the covers and over the edge of the bed.

Lately I've been reconsidering morning workouts - but until my baby is sleeping more than 2 hours at a time, it's not happening...

I put an alarm clock with a NASTY buzzer on the other side of the room. Even that is not enough to get me out of bed

Except.....

My wife, who is certainly no morning person, and is a lot tougher than me, will almost throw me at that alarm clock if I do not get up and turn it off. Once i am up, its all go for me.

In fact, I more often than not wake about 5 mins before the alarm goes off, just so I can turn it off before it wakes her!

Got my training in tonight -and eating a healthy dinner.  The pity train has left the station and while I still am under the weather, I'm fighting through it!

I'm in a weightloss challenge with a group of women.  Top prize is $250!!  We each put $25 in the kitty, it's going until labor day.  I am DETERMINED to win that damn money!!  I want to drop 15 pounds in 6 weeks.  7.2% seems like it would be hard to beat.  Hopefully!