Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 61)

I cannot fathom sitting on a trainer for 4 hours! I hope your toe gets better soon. Way to stick it out!

Congrats on the weight loss!  What do you think is the key for you to lose weight? Training, diet?

Blanda- so sorry for your friend.  Glad he is going to be able to recover and ride again.

Michael - Rene is right on with the bruising.  When I care for trauma patients I always warn them how bruising can spread, due to gravity and external forces applied over the area.  Just wait till it starts turning all colors of yellow as the blood is resorbed!

Well another month gone.  I feel pretty good about the volume I have put in running and biking.  The swim is always the most challenging due to limited pool hours and work schedule.  I worked all but 2 days last month, and as a result have not reached the volume I had envisioned.  

 I had a day of rest yesterday, and today had an awesome brick.  One of my best runs after a bike!  I wish I could tap in to whatever that "thing" is that happens when I suddenly get that adrenaline rush and feel like I can go forever.  When I started the run, I felt slow, tired, and had a hard time finding motivation to continue.  Then, 20 min into it, I got a new wind and felt great.  If I could figure out exactly what it is that makes this second wind occur....... 

Off to bed and an early morning for me.  Good night all!  Jim

. 

Thanks!

It's definitely a combination. I keep a pretty strict diet log at myfitnesspal.com. I've also changed over to a completely plant based diet. No meat, dairy or animal protein. I actually find that on my really hard days of training it's really difficult to keep my calories up. I have to force myself to eat in some cases so I don't end up starving my body of the calories and nutrition it needs. 

It's working for me very well so far though! I'd recommend the plant based diet to anyone but I understand it's a difficult transition to shun meat and animal products. For those who don't care to make that switch, I'd bet strict calorie and nutrition counting would also work very well!

-Nate

Wow! Those are inspiring numbers! Looking forward to when I can hit those!!

-Nate

Wow ...its already August ... time goes by so fast ... 

The month of July was a very good month. I PR'ed in the Olympic Distance Tri by 20 minutes and I set a new PR in the Sprint Distance by 11 minutes. I learned from this group that consistency is the key ... I got my PR because my bike strength increased due to the consistency that you can see in my July numbers. I am really happy with my bike numbers and now I will have to find a way to be just as good with my run and swim training. 

I have also been doing well on my weightloss journey. I started off with 206.2lbs on May 21st and I weighed myself this morning when I got up and I am currently at 196.4lbs. This is the lowest I have been since 2000 when I left the German Army. I am really excited that I joined this group as it holds me accountable. 

With that said ... I hope to make August even better than July. There are no races planned until early September for me so I have plenty of time to improve my base until then. 

Nate - Also congratulations on the weightloss. I am not sure how you do it but I would not be able to drop meat from my diet. I just love it way too much. You are right about counting calories because that is what I do and have been successful with. I am using livestrong.com which has plenty of great tools!

Jimmy - I hope I can get close to your numbers in August. I will use them as a guide. 

Blanda - Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope for a speedy recovery. 

Michael - I hope your broken toe heals fast ... I can't believe it is even possible to sit on the trainer for 4 hours without any injuries! :-)

Rene - I think you are keeping one of the most detailed training logs that I have ever seen which I am trying to follow. 

Well, lets start the morning of right! Getting on the treadmill right now for a quick 30 minute run. 

Morning all.  I'm headed to the pool right now, then massage therapy (you know, to help me recover from the training that I'm not doing...).

July was spotty for me -- some good times, some bad times.  It's crunch time, so hopefully I can get the work done over the next few weeks, especially on the run.

July's totals:

Bike:22h 02m 19s- 426.48 Mi

Run:14h 41m 44s- 113 Mi

Swim:8h 30m 50s- 24525.29 Yd

Michael-after 4 hours on the trainer I would need a different type of "therapy"! Nice work.

Randy

Swim   29430.42 yards

Bike     360.54    miles

Run      93.91      miles

About average for me, maybe a bit low due to taper before Chattanooga.  In looking back at last year I am doing more swimming, less biking and about the same amount of running.  Difference is the level of intensity.....more "harder" sessions. Still doing easy rides and runs for recovery as a part of regular training cycle but many more "focused" runs/rides. I think this has been key in seeing improvement in my splits in sprint/olympic distance.

Randy    

Here is something to think about.  As I looked at my numbers for the month and looked back at last year I was thinking about where I am in terms of my goals for this season.  Where are you at this point in your season?  Pleased with progress? Not just results...it can be overall improvement, weight loss etc.  Any dissappointments?

I'll work on my response.

Randy

Michael/Experior, I'd say the toe discoloring is normal. I broke my little toe a 5 or 6 years ago while running around my house playing with my dog, and the same thing happened. Eventually, the discoloring spread to three other toes...it was pretty ugly, but it went away.

I'm happy with my totals, especially the bike. I can feel a difference in how long I can sustain hard pedaling, so hopefully I'll see a difference in my upcoming race on the 12th.

Jason-those are some beastly numbers! Most of my riding is done on the trainer as well.  I'll try to do a weekend ride outside but the convenience and safety of my garage is too easy.

Randy

I feel this year is a complete mixed bag regarding achievements and disappointments.

Let's see:

1. Operation One-derland: Get below 200 lbs.
2. Operation Drop and Give Me Ten: Lose the next 10 lbs.
3. Operation 180 Degrees: Get down to 180 lbs.
4. Operation Homestretch: Get down to goal weight. I figure that would be between 160-175 lbs.

I am still in phase one. I take this to mean I am consuming the right amount of calories to remain stable. If I can get down to my goal weight I feel I can maintain a healthy weight without increasing volume.

OTOH, I feel much stronger. I can move around easier due to the strength and conditioning improvements I've made. I PR'd my benchmark race while being the heaviest I've ever been - and felt good during and after.

Yet, I know I can hit my time goal if I were lighter.  I won't be sub 1:20 at my weight.  I really wanted to hit that goal this year.

I also had to re-evaluate my race plans. I wanted to step up to Oly distance this year but don't think that will happen. I'd like to finish next season with a HIM so, the plan was to start next season at Oly and work toward HIM in Sept. 2013 (Westchester Toughman). This is still a doable goal, just not the way I envisioned.

Overall I'm on the right trajectory, albeit a flatter one than I'd hoped. I feel I can complete a sprint tri comfortably on any weekend which is great.

I'm questioning what I'm training for though. Am I training to race, or am I training to lose weight and be healthier? I started this year with a focus toward racing faster and about mid-June mentally switched to weight/health. My propensity to skip s/b/r workouts reflected this for sure.

I think I need to focus on weight/health but still do races because they're fun, well, fun-ish :-) I feel I can get down from a 1:36 to a 1:16 sprint time with what I'm doing (though not skipping s/b/r workouts) and can't wait for that day to arrive. Getting from 1:16 to a 1:06 will take a different type of training I think - one I can't handle until I'm fitter/faster. I'll figure it out when I get there.

So, mid-season, I'm more disappointed but I realize this is a journey and the destination is not Sept., (the end of tri season around here) but in Sept. 45 years from now.

-Mark

I believe the correct word is y'all or y'all's  which still pass the spell check.

I can't really comment though because I'm a Yankee, and a New York one at that. So, for me the correct term is "yoos" (pronounced "use") as in, the plural of "you" 

Jason: Thank you. I too have a healthy fear of my 'hood. Actually, all of the island. Many of us act like cyclists and runners have no right to slow us down on the road and the reactions are normally quite frustrated.

I love the "y'all and yoos"! I'm not worthy of using those as I'm not from those areas, so I chose "you all's" hoping it would make sense and not get the squiggly red line, haha! Here we say "your own", lol!

I think that's where I'm at.  The fear of walking the marathon at IMWI will enable me to grit many teeth....

Nice training volume in July.  Can we trade?

As for your question, Randy, I would have to say that I'm feeling a bit directionless, right now.  This year was supposed to be about IMWI, but I had too many setbacks over the winter and spring to put in a good performance in September.  I will still race it, and I'll enjoy it, but my expectations are quite modest at this point.  For the next 5 weeks, I'll just do what I can to prepare, and then reassess my situation when it's done.  I think, then, I'll be in a better frame of mind to decide what my next goals might be, and how to achieve them.  Right now, I am in the 'general panic' phase of IM preparation.  Soon I'll be in the 'specific panic' phase. 

This year? So far my results are better than I expected so overall I am pleased with how things have gone. Consistent improvement in swim,bike and run paces.  The only race that I did not exceed my expectations was Chattanooga and given the heat I feel that I had a good race there.  Most importantly, I have remained healthy.  I have worried about that at times since I am doing more interval/speed training with my running.  It has paid off in better run splits in races but at my age it is a fine line to push hard in run workouts yet avoid injury.  Ultimately, that long term consistency in training is what pays off. 

Right now I'm kind of in a funk.  Nothing long term to work toward as the Fall will likely be 3 more sprints. I think I fall in the same category as Jason described....thinking there is always someone faster or that I could be working harder. I get very excited after a good race result but that gradually fades into a "Now what?" phase.  I think that's where I am right now.  Have signed up for a sprint on 8/18 where there will be a really strong field so that should be motivating.  As always, what gets me out the door for a workout is that I like the feeling of accomplishment after a good workout. Hoping to continue to improve and stay healthy the rest of the season.

Randy

Michael, you just can't seem to catch a break... errr... good luck this year.  Hope the toe heals quickly and doesn't impact your training too badly.  Blanda... thoughts and prayers to your friend.  I've heard too many similar things recently.  Makes one pause and ask difficult questions...

Wow... some serious numbers in this group.  I shall post mine to bring up the rear:

Actually, it would have been much worse except that my last 10 days have been relatively decent.  We'll see if this is the start of an improved trend or not.  Summer has been way too disjointed.

I did a silly thing today.  Signed up for an Olympic length triathlon on Saturday.  I had been aiming for this one, but got really discouraged with my poor training in June/July, but ultimately decided to do it as a "motivation" race.  Translation - it will kick my butt and remind me why I should train more.

Will have to think on Randy's question some.  Not sure I want to go there right now... I'm a little like Michael, I think... kind of drifting without any clear goals / motivation. 

Stu

Not silly.  You'll get through it, and you have good reasons for doing so.

Hey all,

Looks like everyone has really been logging some great training miles.

Had a great swim yesterday (with Fartlek Intervals), got out of the water feeling really good...definitely have made a breakthrough with my swimming in the last few months. Had a good "little" 40 minute treadmill run to top it off, and get my legs feeling a bit better as they felt a little tighter. Was going to do an easy spin, but was lacking motivation and honestly didn't feel like setting up the bike trainer at home, hence I found myself on the treadmill at the gym. Oh well...

Have the morning open, and I am headed out the door to do a 90 minute bike with a 30 minute run brick. Looking forward to really feeling the pain in this insane heat today...definitely bringing more than enough water. Have a good day all!

-Nick