Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 63)

I also had trouble with cramps in my feet a few years ago. I was seeing the podiatrist at the time for a different problem and he suggested the hydration issue also. I never, ever take anything to drink while I swim. I did for a little while after his suggestion and the cramps went away. I have since stopped taking a drink again (for several years) but no longer have any trouble. I guess I'm saying I'm not sure if it was fitness (I was swimming a lot of intense intervals at the time) or hydration but I'm sure it didn't hurt to stop a take a drink every now and then.

oohhh... the Wisconsin recall?  I guess there are people in Michigan who are trying to organize a recall against our governor here using Wisconsin as an example... but I'm not sure if it's quite as organized and/or if they are making any traction.  Oh politics.

Sounds like most of your training would be pre-pregnancy, if you're targeting a summer/fall IM and trying to get pregnant in the fall as well.  I think this makes a ton of sense, and it gives you another full year to get more base into those legs.  I'd say you have to figure out how to get some more running going on without injury, so that will be your fall/winter challenge next year.  Of course, the whole idea is dependent on a very upfront agreement with Kate about everything involved just so you guys are on the same page.

Do you have an event in mind?  I know you heard rumors a while back of an IM in NH; if that one came to be I may join you in 2014.

I feel so lost from the group!  My main form of communication is my Iphone and normally during the "important" meetings at work !  Since my kids are out of school we are testing the waters and letting them stay at home by themselves.  Being a new age family we do not have a land line and only use cell phones.  Since I have a poopberry for work I leave my IPHONE at home for the kids.  I feel completely disconnected!

Anyway: My 2 cents on the training for IM while expecting a child.  For the 1st child I think it is doable, my wife was easy going.  2nd child would of been a little more difficult because for some reason I was being blamed for everything.  The 3rd child I didn't dare leave the house.  Not sure if the hormones get stronger for each child but holy cow I was counting down the days to have the 3rd kid!  Then of course once you have 3 kids there is absolutely no time to train for an IM.

I definitely agree. We will both be totally on board with it.  The full IM was something that Keith from Black Fly was going to try to put together, but rumor has it that was squashed.  So in lieu of that, I would say IMLP.  Which means you and I have to go volunteer next year and get spots.  I think camping is a good/cheap option and we can ride/run/swim the course while we are up there.

Yes, I definitely have to work on building that run volume without injury.  I may have to sacrifice a lot of biking this fall to add my run volume in.  My plan is to swim masters and to run as much as my legs will allow me to.  I know this is sort of planning way ahead, but I need to run the marathon fall of 2013 in order to prepare for IM in 2014.

Matt that is pretty funny but so true unless of course your kids are older like mine and don't really have any interest in what I'm doing. I agree with the consensus though I think you can train for an IM in that situation. As long as you have the support of your spouse and there is an understanding there in regards to the training commitment I think you can find a way to make that work.

This happens to me occasionally toward the end of my swims.  I actually associate the cramps from pushing off the wall too hard and forcibly pointing my toes immediately after coming off the wall.  It seems to me that I am getting tired toward the end of my WO's and I am trying to get everything out of my last few reps before going onto a cool down.  Usually once I feel this coming on I will go into more pulling with a buoy.  After I get a couple of these sets  in I can go back to the normal CD and flip turn and kick off the wall with no problems.

The only thing I would add to this is that race day nutrition is going to be pretty personal.  But if you are having some GI issues you should begin with this advice from Jeff but don't be afraid to do your own experimentation until you figure out what works best for you.

The key are going to be making sure you keep the eating to something light enough to make sure you have food in your system to make sure you have a little bit in your stomach at the beginning of a race so you don't have any hunger pangs to occupy your mind and make you mentally hungry.  This happens to me if I knowingly begin any form of training or racing very close to meal times.

I can usually do about anything I want for breakfast as long as it's not anything big.  I usually stick to what I eat most mornings so I don't upset the balance of my normal digestive routine.  I suggest you have a typical routine that you can follow on nearly every morning, including races and training mornings.

I was thinking of IMLP too... I didn't realize it was one of the ones you had to volunteer at in order to swipe a spot. Hmmmmm... I was also thinking about doing a non-branded race - we have the Chesapeakeman tri here in MD, which is non-branded but pretty well run from what I understand.

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On a note about the stitches - I tried Jeff's advice yesterday and did a lunch time brick of 10 miles on the bike and 2 miles running. I ate no dairy since a grilled cheese sandwich the previous day, didn't eat anything at all that morning and made sure I was done with my coffee a couple of hours before I started. Result - no serious stitch, despite busting out a 7:20-pace first half mile and pushing my HR into the mid- to high-170s. If I pushed out of the mid-160s on Sunday it would be so bad I struggled to breathe. I did get a little stitch like feeling on the other side from normal, but it wasn't enough to slow me down at all.

On the not so good side, I was thirsty as anything by the time I finished. I'm going to need to find a way to reconcile those two if I want to be quick. I think at least a part of the solution is better bike fitness.

Today I'm going to eat no dairy whatsoever and try the same brick again at lunch time tomorrow but take on a little water on the bike. We'll see how it goes.

Other big news - I joined our local masters group here in my community. It's not much, but it does give me a structured workout and there's a fast guy or two in there with me. Some of these guys are just smoking me in the intervals, hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be in better shape!

Just a little caution to put as much time into your relationship as you do your training. 

The first year of our marriage was one of the most stressful for me because I freaked out that this was how it was always going to be. Whatever "it" was at the time. Hubby played golf a lot, would say he was going to be home at x time but not make it then, not call (this was before cell phones were so prevalent) and I'd be home alone. I started to really resent golf and that has carried over to 15 years later. He still feels defensive if he is away playing golf even though I don't care anymore.

He also used to train for marathons. He would get up early to run on a Saturday then be wiped out on the couch all day because he was exhausted from his run.

I don't mean to pick on my husband, he is a wonderful person, just sharing some real life experiences.

My advice would be to just make sure you are present in the relationship when training is over for the day.

Just want to share my wonderful training day yesterday. The public outdoor pools are open and one of the pools has lap swim times for an hour before the pool opens for the day. I had the entire gorgeous pool to myself! I love swimming outside with the sun shining down on me and the water temp was perfect.

The pool is only a 5 minute drive from the state park that I like to run at so after the swim I headed to the trail. The temps were mild (76 degrees) with very low humidity. It was wonderful. I feel very spoiled to be able to do this on a random Wednesday afternoon.

After all that fun I got to take the kids fishing!

Dina good for you, glad to hear you had a great workout and day yesterday. It's great when everything comes together and you wind up having a great day training. It was like that for me last night sort of for my run. The weather was absolutely perfect yesterday evening so it was a very pleasant to be out running in that weather but the 7 mile run was a little bit tougher than it normally is. This has been tough week training wise for me. It seems like all my workouts have been a little bit harder than usual and I have had to push myself and give it more effort this week to get through them. I am glad to report that after a terrible swim session on Monday I bounced back today and got my longest distance session in at 1750m's. Funny thing was I didn't really feel that much different then I did on Monday but I was absolutely determined to do more distance and do it better than I did Monday. It was tough but it wound up being a really good workout for me. I hope I saved a little something for a decent session on the bike this evening if not it is going to be a really long hour.

Echoing Tony, it's great you had a great day!  It made me smile.

As for me, well, I think I may be forced to have an off week next week, for the first time due to how I'm physically feeling.... My hip adductors (old injury) have been acting up on me since Tuesday is when I really felt it.  I personally believe I started feeling this because of my wetsuit swim on Monday... I think there was something about the tightness of my suit on my leg that made it wacko.  (I felt the wetsuit was weird on my back then too, as well as during my triathlon a couple weeks ago.)  I really don't think it was because of my run mileage increase. (although I guess that could have been a slight contributor...)  Anyway, I started to feel it walking around on Tuesday, and on Wednesday when I went running, when I did pickups and really sped up, it was not good.  Today, I went to see my ART specialist guy... I'm hoping tomorrow and Saturday will get it feeling back to normal... although I am not very hopeful.   I'm planning on seeing the ART specialist again on Saturday.  Sunday is my 8 mile race which I was really looking forward to. I'm just hoping that it'll feel back to normal by then...

OMG!!!!  This has been a ridiculously busy week!  I need to finish my story!!!!

That evening, I was organizing my tri stuff into my bag.  I looked for my wetsuit.  It was no where to be found.  I asked my husband where he put it.  I looked.  Nothing.  He looked.  Nothing.  We all freaked out.  He drove to the race site and talked to security and campers and anyone else that would talk to him.  I contemplated swimming without a wetsuit until I realized that my goggles were in the wetsuit bag!  Dammittttt!!!!!  At that point, I decided to not do the race.  I was just too stressed out.  Husband got back around 9:30PM without a wetsuit.  We were all bummed out.

Around 2 in the morning, the neighbors were banging around and shouting.  (Remember, we're staying with friends of ours.)  They woke me up no less than three times!  I told my husband during one of their noisy excursions that it's a good thing I decided not to do the race.  I was exhausted!

We drove to the race site as transition was opening.  We wandered around.  I picked up my race packet.  (I had to get my expensive goodie bag!)  No wetsuit.  Just as the race was beginning, husband started to rearrange the back of the truck so we could just throw the rest of our stuff in the truck and head home.

What did he find?????

Wait for it!!!!

He found the wetsuit!!!!!  GRRRRRR!!!!!!!

This is the second Olympic distance this year that I have had to skip!  The universe is trying to tell me something!  Good gawd!!!!  What gives????

I was not meant to do this race.  My husband and I did not get in a huge fight.  He felt AWFUL!  Poor guy.  I'm just thankful that everything has turned out fine.  It's all just stuff in the end.  My toddler had a fantastic weekend!  His joy makes up for the crappy circumstances.  We got a mini vacation.  We did a little shopping that can't be done at home.  I'm not missing a week of training due to recovery.  No worries.

I should not have looked at the results.  I would have been in the top 3 in my age group with the way my training has been going.  I was really confident going into this race.

I now have a HUGE plastic box that all my travel tri stuff goes in!  It has my name and lots of stickers all over it!  If it is not Tracy-Tri-Related it doesn't go in the box!  If it IS tri related, it better damned well be in the box!

Everything about your post is cracking me up! 

Our landline phone is a glorified answering service.  We have the ringer turned off since the silly thing won't hold a charge.  We just use our cell phones.

I agree that training for IM when expecting first child is completely dependent upon the pregnant woman.  You better be available at a moments notice if hailed!  I was very easy going, as well.  We did have a couple of medical scares that came up unexpectedly.  My fragile, pregnant mind would not have been able to deal with them if my husband had not been close.

Now that I have a toddler, I couldn't imagine being pregnant with a husband out-and-about!  I need him more now than I did when I was pregnant!  (Due to my age, I probably will not want to have number 2.  My friends are all having babies, so I can get my newborn fix whenever.)

The injury doesn't seem like it would have been caused by a wetsuit.  I've been trying to rattle through my mind what the wetsuit may have done to get you hips in such a position to cause any issues and I can't come up with one.  I would say that you are more likely to have done something on the bike or run than swimming in a wetsuit.  Given your history I would lean toward the running as the culprit.  Remember running injuries seem to pop up over time, not at a moment you can usually pinpoint.  What is your shoe mileage?  Have you switched brands?  Basically, have you changed anything in the past month that had not changed for some time?

That is not a a good story!  I would never have made it home after that.  I would have drowned myself in the lake after finding the wetsuit.  It's better that you can take it in stride and find the high points of the weekend but I couldn't have done that so soon.  I would have been upset for just "wasting" the money on the race.

Thank you - Its not something I make a habit of, but I wanted to do the experiment and lunch time was the first opportunity I had to do the brick without getting run over by rush hour traffic or cutting into meetings at work! Point taken that it's not smart. :-)

Good luck getting through workouts with your new trainer - he sounds like he's going to make you work for it. I've checked in a couple of other people for races, even when the rules say you can't. I'm sure if you email they'll be able to make an exception!

Thanks again! 

John

ETA: Also thanks to everyone else who has chimed in on the side stitches issue. Its something I REALLY need to get solved and now I have a ton of options to explore.