Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 60)

Warren and Dirk you guys make a great point here on family time and training time. My wife and my family have no issues with me taking time out to train and to race. I do my best to do what I feel I need to do without taking time away from them. That means training during lunch hours and doing some of my stuff prior to my wife getting home from work in the evening which works out great for me. I think my issues have been the same as you guys as far as talking about this stuff as they have no interest in hearing about it constantly. I have dialed it back a lot and only bring it up if asked or if I have a need to. That's what make this forum and the group so great is I still get to discuss those things here and I don't have to drive them crazy with it. I think I have been able to find a good balance between being able to do this and being able to spend time with family. Family will always take precendence over training.

HI Everyone ... I am still kicking around here from time to time and enjoy reading over everybody’s posts! 

From the over training to the lack of interest in training and the difficulties of balancing family & tri training.  These are all issues that I go through and with a baby due any week/day now we are 37.5 weeks along  the family time is a huge concern but my Kelly is eager for us to figure some kind of balance out so we can all keep our heads on strong and continue going after our goals.

Once reason I haven’t been posting in here or the training log is I started a new vlog/blog site please have a look www.joinaj.com

I too will be doing the Marine Core Marathon and much like Dirk I am running for a reason (hopefully)  The Parkinson's Disease foundation has accepted me as a runner however I have a huge commitment of $2000 to fundraise or I don't get to run and because my Grandfather recently (3 weeks ago) got diagnosed with this no cure illness I found this foundation to fundraise for.  Too if you do take a moment to check it out you will see I was taught to share so I will also be doing the 100 mile city to shore MS bike ride ... I don't remember who it was that is also doing one of these but thank you as you put the training into perspective as I noticed you've done something like 650 miles on the bike if memory serves me correctly.

Although I rarely get in here and make a post I really want to say thank you to all as you help keep me motivated, on target and educated as I read through your similar and future expected issues.

Well I have my second tri this weekend the Jersey Genesis Tri in Port Republic NJ if anybody is going send me a message and we should say hi.  

And again please do take a moment and check out www.joinaj.com especially the join aj tab as this is where you can see my nutrition logs and videos after workouts / yesterdays 4 mile run = fun has singing in it.

Too ALL of you   STAY AWESOME!!!!!!!

I have the Aqua Sphere Kayenne goggles.  They are the only goggles I have ever liked. 

I got on Amazon wish list to check out which kind I bought, and I ruined my surprise...  My husband bought me a Garmin 910XT.  Oh my gosh!  I can't even think straight now. 

Just a quick check-in!  I feel like I've hardly had time to get online the past few days but I'm keeping up on reading what everyone's up to.

Jeff, hope you are able to figure out what the problem is soon!  Sorry to hear that.

I'm glad I did the triathlon this past weekend, because I feel like my training for the next few weeks will be sporadic (including last week.)  To make a long story short, basically, I'm living between two cities (20-30 miles apart) until mid-June so I'm going back and forth.  I'll be getting running in where I can since I feel that's the easiest to squeeze in.  I'm letting my gym membership lapse (or rather, freezing it) for the time being ($$) beginning in June, so I'm hoping the water will be warm enough to get some open water swimming in.  And for the biking, it'll depend on when I'm at the place where my (good) bike is at.

Wow!!!!  How awesome is that!!!!  I've never done the Amazon wish list.  Sounds like a great idea!

You are in pretty good shape.  So I would think that you can do more than just sit around on Saturday and be fresh for Sunday.  My ideal day-before-an-oly-prep would be to ride the whole bike course, easily.  I would be using it as a way to open up the blood vessels and feed the muscles a rich supply of blood, but also would be making sure the bike tune is just right...derailleur adjustment and what not.  (I almost never use my TT bike except in races so it's important to check these things).  I would be noticing not just the route, but the condition of the turns and looking for broken pavement and loose gravel/sand.  I would be noticing the road surface itself to help me make a determination on the best tire pressure to use.

I would make sure to throw in a few 30 second HARD efforts (5 or 6 of them).

Then I would mentally check out the transition area and flow.  I would check out the swim entry and exit.  I would get in the water at the entry and note the depth, figure out how far to run/walk before diving in, inspect the bottom for rocks/debris that can hurt.   Then I'd swim 100 yards fast.

Then I'd check the exit and go through the same process.

And after all this I'd spend as little time on my feet as possible and as little time outside in the heat/sun as possible until morning.

WOW! That is awesome!

I hope you have a great race!

Hey Junkies! Just checking in with a couple of updates. I did a training run 5k at "race pace" on Tuesday and had no knee pain during the workout, YAY!

Last night my wife and I headed out to the lake for some open water practice. All went great and when we were approaching shore a couple of guys asked us about our training a bit and wanted to know if I was wearing swim fins. I showed them my bare feet and one of them said "Man, you were flying out there!"  That made me feel pretty good.

I had our LBS guy do tune ups on our bikes for my wife and I yesterday. I'll get out tonight for a ride to make sure everything is working properly.

Saturday morning my wife and I will be doing a sprint tri. My 3rd and her 2nd. I'm not expecting to place or anything, but I'm still getting really excited about this one.

We're also hoping to get to say hi to Tracy while she's there checking out the course for her Olympic.

Yeah!  Good luck to you both and to your wife, Jonny. 

Thank you, Jeff!!!! 

I'm going to try to get myself over to park before awards are given out.  Good luck to you and your wife!

Owlgirl and Vero, good luck w/ ur races!!!  I'm looking forward to ur race reports.

I have to go out of town next week for work but that means no chores around the house so I should get some good training in...  I also found a "tri" shop near by and we don't have one here in town..oh we have running shops and biking shops but no tri shops...

Got in 1hr 45 min run starting at 4:30am, to hot after that.  I carried a bottle of water but still ran out, i guess I'll have to get a hydration belt that carries water.  What do ya'll use?

Nice run.  We deal with cold all winter up here, but you deal with that nasty heat all summer!  I have a fuel belt that carries up to four 8 oz bottles.  I resisted having it, but my wife got it and I use it a lot now (as does she!).  It's snug and I really don't notice it anymore.  I think they have 6 bottle versions too.

I also sometimes leave water and do loops back to the house.

Allison, The 910 is a great gift!  Does Ryan know you're in the know or have you hidden it from him and plan to act surprised when you get it?  You're going to love the watch without question!  Especially if you are a data junkie like a few of us on here.  If you have any questions about it make sure you post and we'll do the best to answer them.

Tracy, I really don't think I need to offer any good luck wishes because i think you do quite fine without any.  Jeff posted a really good day before race day type of workout/warm up that given the chance I may even try if I get to a site the day before a race.  I have yet to get there that soon for any of my races. Regardless of whether you need the well wishes, I'll give them to you anyway.........Good luck and enjoy the race.

Vero, It's great to hear the knee is feeling well.  That had to be a great deal of relief for you.  Maybe the week away from running was just what the doctor ordered.  It sounds like others are noticing that you have improved your swim significantly.  That has to be a great pre-race boost to get from another person.  I am curious, did your wife draft you during this OWS?  This may have been a good opportunity to practice that a little bit if you haven' done some already. 

Good luck at the race and have a great race!

Karl, I have a few nights out of town occasionally and this past Wednesday night was one of them.  I had planned a 7 mile run on a trail in Ohio that I ran a couple of months ago.  I missed the run the other night because I was meeting with an old HS friend that i hadn't seen for 15+ years.  Anyway, out of town can be great for kicking the training up a notch when there's not much else to do in the evenings.

For hydration on long runs I have always used some type of belt system.  The current one, and my favorite, is the Amphipod that can have up to 4 bottles.  You can get bottles that are 8 or 10 oz. to carry and the "click" onto the belt making the access to them easier than the other Nathan system I used previously.

There are other methods that can be used too.  If you have time you can place extra bottles along your route via car pre-run and pick them up and drop them off as you run through.  Then after the run drive back through and pick up the empties.  Personally I would hate this method but some people live by this method.  Another method is a looping course and a specific location to stop and pick up the bottles as needed.  Again, this is an option that requires stopping and taking the time to find a place where no one will bother them.

Tracy good luck this weekend with your Oly Tri. I'm sure you will have a great race this weekend.

Vero good luck to you and your wife this weekend in the Sprint Tri. I'm sure you both will do well and I am glad to hear that the knee is feeling better. Hope you both have a great race.

Allison that is a pretty awesome surprise. I will say you are the envy of the group for those of us who do not yet have a 910XT. I hope you enjoy it.

Karl I have a camelbak hydration belt which holds two 22 oz camelbak water bottles. It is heavy though and it take some getting used to running with it. When both bottles are full you definitely feel weighted down with it. I basically use the loop system as described in the other posts and if I need to I will carry one 22 oz camelbak bottle with me. I have no issues running with one in hand.

I didn't even think to have her practice drafting. That is a great idea. We're planning at least one OWS a week through the summer. I'll start adding that to our routine. That should help her confidence quite a bit leading up to our first Olympic in July.

Typically I would give her a good head start and then I would swim my normal pace, eventually catching and passing her on the "outside" of the race line.  That was an area I was very timid about in my first tri last year and I'd end up slowing down when I caught up to someone instead of swimming around them.

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. I'm sure the race will be a blast.

Yesterday I felt reasonably normal for a change.  Today I'm feeling lethargic and sleepy and really want to leave work early for a nap.  I didn't work out this morning and that may be part of it.  Whether or not I've got 'overtraining syndrome' I feel worse when I don't work out.  I've felt my best when doing about half my norm.

The Dr. called me this morning about my test results.  My INR was low so I need more coumadin, but that's got nothing to do with anything I'm experiencing.  I've got low T and high cortisol.  So he's going to run another test on Friday to gather more info.  I didn't think to ask him if my cortisol was a little high or a lot high.

Oh, and my total cholesterol was high.  But I need to have a heart to heart with him about that.  He keeps bringing that up, but my LDL is LOW and my total is high because my HDL is off the charts.  But with HDL the higher the better as far as I can tell, so why even mention my total?

Tomorrow I'm doing a century ride with my daughter.  She's decided to temper her ambition and step down from the 100 mile to the 62 mile option.  I am not sure yet whether I will stay by her side the whole way or still do the 100 and keep rendezvousing with her as the courses continue to converge and diverge.

Have fun all you racers.

Matt, blasting out a 5k is a great workout even if there's not much volume.  Sunday is one of those opportunities that have been discussed recently to keep the family as a higher priority than triathlon.

Just keep telling the wife that triathlon is putting your priority in her....so she can have a studly hunk of a husband!