Beer Drinkers Appreciation Society (BDAS) 2023 Mentor Group - ALWAYS OPEN (Page 6)

Andrew--sorry to hear about your race, but probably a smart thing. It really sucks when the realities of living in our fragile human bodies gets in the way of our passions--I know. I lost all of 2021 racing season to it, and it SUCKS. Rest up, heal up, and rock out your 70.3 in December! I love that you know how many days it is this far out.

For me, 2500units in the pool this morning. I'm becoming increasingly convinced it is a 25yd pool, because I don't think I can swim the times I'm swimming if it is a 25m pool. That makes no sense here, they use metric for everything else. It is an American chain hotel, so I don't put it past Americans to build an imperial pool. Sunrise swim...beautiful to watch the sun rise over the Nile while swimming. This pool is a lot more exposed than the other one, with the hotel breakfast buffet opening out to the pool area. I have an audience when I swim.

Gretchen - sounds like a great pool, size issue notwithstanding. I can only imagine the sunrise - sounds beautiful.

Andrew - sorry to hear about the March tri. Sounds like you have a series of races in the summer to keep you busy though, so good luck!

I treadmilled again. This time I just ran 12s and never felt like I emptied the tank. I don’t feel like I even touched the tank to be honest. Is my next step to shoot for a faster average time or add distance? I was at 3.27mi and had to get ready for a call, so I had to cut the run short, but I feel like I could have kept going. I was going to try for 4mi but just ran out of time.

Anyway, there’s a massive storm heading my way. I was snow blowing at night on Monday which is always fun. This storm is supposed to start off as snow but then switch to rain overnight. It’s supposed to be in the 50sF tomorrow morning, so I’m sure it’ll be a mess on the roads. Fortunately, I only have to drop the little one off at school and then go to the gym, so my total drive is about 4 miles. Hopefully it’s not too bad.

Thanks guys. Not going to lie, it is disappointing to make that decision DFL>DNF>DNS and all that. But its the right one. This training block has not gone as planned, mainly due to the repeating flu. Time to reset and try again.

@Gretchen, If you really want the locals to thing you're this mad foreign woman, next swim you show up with a meter wheel or similar and measure the pool yourself.

@Mike, hope that you are kicking that cough. Don't push too hard and turn a few days illness into a few weeks one

@Jay, Nice job getting another treadmill run in. I know they can suck so goon on you for making the effort on your least favorite part.

Not emptying the tank is a good thing, it doesn't mean your workout wasn't good enough. You need to forget the clichéd 'no pain no gain' 'harder, faster' attitudes to training if you're giving endurance stuff a go. Most of your workouts you should finish feeling you can do more, and that you can do the workout again tomorrow. If you try and push yourself to the wall every time you're going to injure yourself, and also not let your body recover from the hard work and make the adaptions it needs to for you to actually build fitness.

The 80:20 rule is pretty universally accepted these days. That means 80% of your workouts are 'easy' (easy means conversational pace, if you have enough breath to sing its to easy, if you can only gasp 1 or 2 words out it's too hard, if you can talk in short sentences its about right). But the hard 20%, are damn hard and focused, those ones you finish feeling you emptied the tank.

What's the next step for your running? You just have to run more. Increasing duration of your workouts is good, but also frequency. For example rather than 2 x 4 mile runs in a week you could try 2 x 2mile, 1 x 3 mile and 1 x 4 mile, with some harder intervals in the 3 mile run (say 3x5 minutes at 5km race pace).

@Jay--where abouts are you from? (You might have mentioned it previously, but I can't remember). My wife said they are getting piles of snow in the midwest (southern Illinois).

@Andrew--I was considering, yesterday, whether we have any of our long measuring tapes from site in the office!! I NEED to know how big that pool is!!! And I've long since given up caring whether the locals think I am a crazy foreigner!

@DQ--you out there buddy? How's it going?

Today was a great run around my new home island! I moved to Zamalek, an island in the middle of the Nile. It is like a little haven for the wealthy and expats, so it is much, much different than downtown, where I've been living for the last several weeks and where I was before we went to Amarna. I ran 90' and not one single person yelled at me, or spat on me, or even tried to run me over with a car. I'm almost insulted! :P I even saw another woman running when I was just finishing up my run. She looked like an Egyptian--wearing hijab and all. Maybe I won't be pulling all that much time on the treadmill!!!

Nobody taking a dump in the middle of the road either? Booooring!



did she walk like one?

Edited by Rollergirl 2023-01-26 8:17 AM

@Mike—sorry to hear your cold is getting worse. Take your own advice and don’t try to come back too quickly!

Good weekend for me. Yesterday I did a 2500unit swim, then went and finished moving all my stuff to the new apartment. Set up my bike again and then did a short ride (35’) checking on setup and strength training. In between, I spent a bunch of time just puttering about…drinking coffee, a bit of laundry, dishes…all interspersed with sitting on one of my…get this…THREE balconies (one with a Nile view!).

Today was a 2300u swim, followed by a two hour ride, after I walked to get my rear tire blown back out. I run tubeless, so if you somehow get a leak and lose all your air, you really need a compressor to get your tire seated again. Alas…I have no idea how it happened, but sometime between today and yesterday my rear tire lost its seat and it was flat when I went to ride. I’m guessing at some point in the move, but it wasn’t flat yesterday or…I didn’t notice it was flat. And yes, I totally set my trainer up on one of those balconies. The neighbors are gonna think I’m nuts, but I don’t care!

@Mike - hope you feel better soon.

@Gretchen - I’m just outside Boston. We’ve actually seen a good bit of thawing the last few days, but the end of this new week is supposed to be downright cold. Too cold for me to ski, and there are very few days like that.

In an effort to get better at climbing on the bike, I did a 1,650ft climb on Zwift. It was miserable doing it, but I’m satisfied I completed it. Tomorrow is pool day. Looking forward to it - the pool is my happy place of late.

I can’t believe I went to bed at 5pm and got up at 10pm to watch that Eagles Niners game. At least the chiefs bengals are making a game of it. Getting in my strength training by doing one scheduled exercise per commercial break. After the game, I’ll go for my scheduled run (90’). It should be just about the time I normally get up. Monday at work is gonna feel like an uber-Monday

I’m amazed you get the games there. VPN?

Best laid plans and all...

Ended up relocating the run to Friday, which was inexplicably a day off on the schedule. Why? Because I fell asleep on the couch exactly 12 seconds after the Chiefs won the game and didn't wake up until 8:30 (so, about 3 hours). I moved Thursday's tempo ride of 60' to this afternoon. It is a mess...oh well.

Games viewed via Hulu and VPN. It only works with Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon...HBOMax is more savvy and recognizes VPNs.

Well, the paperwork has come through and my transfer to Decembers 70.3 is official. only 280 days and 20 something hours training to go

My cough is pretty much in the rearview mirror now so will be getting back into regular training this week. Unfortunately we had flood in Auckland on Friday, and the pump/switch room of my local pool was hit hard. Pool is closed for an unknown amount of time till they get it sorted. Good thing I no longer have a 70.3 in 8 weeks I guess.

This week the focus is shifting to half marathon training. There's 9 weeks till the last race of the summer series, so that is long enough to have a crack at making some gains. Monday was a day off but the plan is 4 or 5 runs, 1 or 2 zwifts and 3 or 4 strength and mobility sessions on the cards for this week. My IT band/knee has been playing up the last 10-14 days, if I keep up with stretching/foam rolling it goes away so the S&M stuff is very important this week.

@Gretchen, are you sure the pool isn't something weird, like 20m Just to add another variable for you to stress over.

@Mike, How's the cough going? Back to normal now?

@Jay, Nice climb on zwift. Enjoy the swim.

@Andrew!!--dang it, man! I actually have plans to ask again when I go this week for a weights session (pool is now closed for three weeks for annual maintenance...as are ALL of the other pools in Cairo--it is mind boggling they all close at the same time). I have to know...I really do.

I'm actually beginning to think I might just be getting faster, because it is happening in all three disciplines. Swim times per 100 are about 2-3" faster than when I arrived in October. Cycling my Z3 ride yesterday felt like a Z1 ride, and I kept overclocking and ending up in Z4 without realizing it. Run this morning I set a new threshold pace, which I did last week too. I think, to be honest, the strength training I introduced at the end of December is starting to pay off...and if that is the case, I've been an IDIOT for not incorporating strength training in my overall plan for the last decade!!

50' tempo run this morning, which hurt a bit, but then I looked at my metrics and realized I was setting new PRs at all the distances TP tracks, so yeah, I guess it hurts some. This is the last week before my actual training plan begins on Monday. 194 days until MiTi2023!

@Gretchen:  for the pool length, what are your stroke counts?  This is how I usually tell meters vs. yards.  I also walk it off - I have about a 1 yard stride so I just count.

@Andrew:  all better now except for some lingering nose bleh, but that's pretty much my permanent state from November to April anyway.

Had a good workout at 5:45 AM this morning...warm-up on the spin bike, a repetition workout on the treadmill totaling almost 4 miles, legs day, and a short swim to keep my body from seizing up.  The main set for the run was 7 x 30" @ R pace which I'm running at 7:30/mile right now.  Felt great - no issues.  I'm going to be sore from the heavier weights, though.  January is in the books - I almost jumped on the bike for a mile and swam a little longer to get to round numbers.  LOL

Swim: 6h 19m 02s - 14518.18 Yd
Bike: 10h 25m 49s - 199.13 Mi
Run: 5h 50m 38s - 31.37 Mi
Strength: 8h 26m
Hiking/Walking: 4h 26m

Edited by jmhpsu93 2023-01-31 8:36 AM

Gretchen - Thanks for not forgetting about me. I am indeed out here, and I've been meaning to sign in since the beginning of January. I guess since I'm getting a post in before the end of the month, it's not a total loss, but as you can all see, I am having a terrible time with consistency. But here I am, once again, hoping, that I can get back into the grove that made the place my home for so long. In the last 11 years, when I've been successful at getting in shape and losing, I've been a frequent visitor here. So, I must find a way to make this place a habit. So, I've made it my goal to try to sign on at least 2x per week during the month of February. I'm gonna ask y'all a big favor because I am convinced that this place and, more importantly, you people and this community are so important to me and my weight loss goals this year and that is this - if you'd be willing, would you PM me and I'll send you my cell phone number. That way, if I fall off the earth, you guys could shake me a little bit. I hate to ask for such direct and personal help, but I'm pretty desperate at this point, so please give it some thought. All I want is just a simple text - Hey Dave, come visit us. That's it. I'm hoping if I can get back into the grove, then things will get easier. Let me know.

I'm trying my hardest to dig back in. Here's the situation - my sleep apnea is terrible, and I feel like crap each day - like I'm coming down with or on bad days like I have the flu. But the last two days, I pushed past nausea to go out for 40 min on the bike yesterday and 50 min today. It was not pretty, and there were a few times when I thought I was gonna lose my breakfast, but I kept going and got it down. I'm in such bad shape that the split from the second half of my ride today was 6 minutes longer than the first, which is about 8-10 behind what it normally is when I'm in decent shape. I'm hoping that I can get in rides on Thursday and Saturday and that the rides will improve my sleep and, hopefully, in the long run, make me feel better. No pain, no gain, right? And I know I'm not pushing myself b/c today my bp was around 125-130, right where it should be, so I have a long way to go before I start to enjoy rides again. I am proud though of getting out there, especially this morning - it had just finished snowing - but I layered up and other than the nausea was fine. If I wasn't breathing so hard (the pot I've been smoking for my anxiety and nausea did not help) it would have been a serene ride.

I've got it on my list to get you a bio either today or manyana for those that don't know me. For those that do - I'm looking forward to working with you and supporting you this year. Let's do this!

Here's the bio, as promised...

STORY: Let’s start back in elementary school where I was picked DFL each time we made squads in PE class. That’s right, from grade kindergarten through grade 6 I was the last person chosen every quarter we made new squads because I was the opposite of an athlete. I had no real natural skills, but I did like running on my own and I actually did my first 10 K when I was nine. Sure, I finished last, but how many of those kids in my PE class ran a 10 K that year? Not many. I ran off and on through my 20s and 30s but I was always getting injured because I would push myself too hard and I would get an overuse injury like iliotibial band syndrome or plantar fasciitis. That was until one day my massage therapist who kept Humpty Dumpty working finally said, “ you know you wouldn’t be so injured if you were to take up a sport like triathlon where you wouldn't pound your body as much. So, I dove into triathlon with the same passion and gusto that I dive into everything. Three months later, I did my first race (I finished back of the middle of the pack and how many of those kids from my elementary school could do as well) and fricken loved it. 2012 was the year when it all came together. At the end of 2011, I decided that I needed to get Happy and Healthy - and in so doing I lost 100 pounds. Over the year, I took it from a sprint to an Olympic and then from a Century to a Half Iron (again - I'm willing to bet no one else from my elementary school has done one. That led in 2014 to a full Iron, during which time I raised 25 grand to pay off my mental and emotional debt to my son's rehab hospital (he had a TBI and Guillen- Barre Syndrome). I was proud of both accomplishments but most proud of having trained and completed the IM because I basically showed what an idiot my PE teacher was. I hope he is rotting in hell. But since then, I haven't done much. I ran Boston twice and got that out of my system and am now trying to make a comeback with two goals: the first is to lose enough weight so that I can improve my sleep Apnea. Last year, I managed to lose enough weight to qualify for a new sleep apnea procedure called the Aspire system that shocks your tongue (you don't feel it because you're asleep) every time you breath, thus greatly improving the sleep apnea symptoms. But I also must drop the weight because I'm in my 50s and that's when heart attacks started happening to my brother. My father and both grandfathers died of MI and I have no interest in dying before the Indians and Browns win it all so I need to stay around for as long as humanly possible But exercise and triathlon need to become a part of me on a regular basis not just when I'm fat; I can't get so fat ever again (100+ over is 100 pounds over). Plus, I'm getting married at the end of April so I have to lose the double chin before then so my fatness is not memorialized in all those pictures. My fiance has lost 50 and I'vber only lost 32 so I've got some catching up to do.

FAMILY STATUS: Divorced 5 years ago - that's part of why I porked up. Have met and am engaged to a wonderful woman named Tam who is not only more compatible but who makes me far happier and that is a beautiful thing. My first wife and I had three wonderful kids I have a college senior, a college junior, and an eighth-grade daughter who has me wrapped around her little finger.

CURRENT TRAINING: Sometimes so fat, my training is pretty simple right now - get out whenever I don't feel like puking. In a perfect world, I'm trying to get out on the bike every other day (I had my roadie fitting with 28' tires so I can ride it in the winter). I need to add two swims a week as I have some tri's coming up this spring and summer. It's crazy how these workouts exhaust me but starting over with sleep apnea is no joke and for right now I have my hands full just getting out the door.

LAST YEAR'S RACES: Does sitting on the couch for long periods of time count? I swear I'm an ironman in that too - haha

THIS YEAR'S RACES: 3/25/2023 Virtual Turtle 5K 5K
4/16/2022 IPA 5K Spring 5K
5/15/2022 Season Opener Sprint Tri
6/? Virtual Race TBD
7/17/2022 Whaling City Tri Sprint Tri
8/21/2023 Cranberry Tri fest Olympic Tri
9/9/2022 Pumpkinman Triathlon Olympic Tri
10/1/2022 Run for the Troops 10K Run
11/13/2022 B.A.A. Half Mary 13.1 Miles

WEIGHTLOSS: My plan here is to lose two and a half pounds of weight a week with the goal of being somewhere around 170 by Thanksgiving 2023 - so I can win a huge bet with my Cousin who will have to publically humiliate himself at a Michigan game if I can reach my goal weight by then. I want to be healthy to start out the second half of my life but more importantly, I want to look good for those pictures. I know I don't look like the Staypuffed Marshmellow Man right now but God I'd look better if I dropped 80 lbs.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR/MENTEE: I know I have a ton to relearn because in the 5 years since I fell out of the sport, I've forgotten a ton but I really really got into the sport of triathlon when I was into it and I plan on getting back to that in the future. So I can definitely help answer a lot of questions if you've got them. However, what I really need is the accountability that you provide me. If I say I'm going to do something, that matters to me and while I'm not going to be quick to pull the Coors Light penalty out this time around, I am going to be expecting that you are going to hold me accountable and that I am going to work towards fulfilling what I say I'm going to do. As an example, when I finish this, I'm going to do a few more things and then go for a bike ride. I promise to return tonight and I'll read some of your all's posts, and comment on them but I do promise to get that bike ride in and participate and support you guys. So that's my promise and that's how accountability works for me. I really appreciate any help you can provide and please let me know how I can help support you this year because it only works if we all achieve our goals.

Mrs Bullfrog is an Architect, and she has a cheap laser tape measure for her site measure ups. Not sure what the home improvment shops in Cairo are like, but get something like this. It'll answer your mystery.

https://www.amazon.com/MAKINGTEC-Measurement-Distance-Pythagorean-Me...