GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 65)

SNAP!

LOL.  So, the wheels are starting to come off a bit.  To be expected I guess.

Fatigue is becoming a problem.  I hope it was just the weekend trip to St. George, but I was exhausted on Sunday, and then very fatigued on Monday/Tuesday evenings.  I ended up hitting the snooze this morning and pushing my ride to this evening so I could get another couple hours of sleep. 

Last night I was so exhausted I was just in a BAD mood.  I had to tell Maggie, "I'm going to need some space tonight - I'm too tired to deal."  It was like I was a tired 5 year old - ready to snap at anything and everything - so I had to ask just to back away and keep it together.  Thankfully, she understood.

I've got a doctor appointment early next week as well.  For the past couple of weeks, I've had terrible night sweats.  I'm waking up just drenched in sweat and freezing cold.  We don't run the heat at night and the room is always cool, so it isn't that I'm too hot at night.  I did a little webmd search and ruled out menopause (lol), but the site mentions other possible causes including infections, hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism, yadda, yadda, yadda.   I'm hoping it's just a low-grade infection, or I'm fighting off a small bug (though otherwise, I feel fine, no sniffles, sore throat, etc.).  We'll see. 

tonight, we'll get back on the horse and get in a good ride.

SteveA
Grease on the arms to keep them warm?? Never heard of this.  What kind of grease??
Denise

Heh, that was kind of tongue in cheek.  I hear that when people swim the English Channel, they grease themselves up in some petroleum jelly stuff to insulate better.  But I wouldn't really consider it for a tri - you'd never get it off for the bike and run, and you'd be all slimy!  LOL.

I've had a short sleeve for a while now, and swim in 60ish degree water in Malibu.  It's a bit chilly when you first get in, but your arms are moving and they tend to warm pretty quickly.  I've been in as cold as 55 degree with the sleeveless, and it's cold, but not uncomfortable.

STEVE-

Thanks so much.  In re-reading my post, I don't think I described it very well.  I first noticed the discomfort only in the top left part of my calf in Dec.  Now I notice it from there down to the inside lower part of my calf.  So it doesn't migrate as I run, but the amount of area with discomfort has increased. So it doesn't move, it starts and finishes in the same place, but the amount of area covered is much more than when I first noticed it.  It is deep, I think from the diagrams it is the soleus, not gasrtocnemius, but that is just a guess.

Get this - I have recently been focusing on forefoot running.  I read Chi running in Nov, got Newtons about a month ago.  I noticed the problem at first in Dec, and then when I started running in my Newtons, the problem got a little worse.  (Aside, I love Chi Running and Newtons, so this is not a dis on either.  But just got on the Brooks ID program, so will be switching AGAIN.  My shoe loyalties sway with who wants to give me the best deal ).

Good news, no pain/discomfort in the arch, heel or Achilles (yet, hoping to avoid it).  I will concentrate on stretching and strengthening with toe raises and wall stretches.  I found "The Stick" - it is ordered, thanks.  Wow, lots of options there, thanks for making it easy to pick one.  I checked out www.tptherapy.com too, thanks so much - I think I will try The Stick first, and keep the TP Therapy saved as an option for later if needed.  I  have been wrapping it, but I think I am going to get the 2XU compression you suggested, it looks easier and probably better than what I am doing.

Another mid-stream confession - I have been very bad at adding flexibility and strength to my program, I have been completely half-a$$ed about it to say the truth.  This could just be a polite nudge from my body to say "HEY, A LITTLE HELP?" And maybe to back off. A little. Maybe just from the running. If it still hurts next week. 

I hope it isn't small tears, I don't like what I read about that. Boo.  Compressing now. 

Thanks so much for the great info and input.  Point taken about missing time now verses missing time later BTW.

Cheers,

Mandy

I just ordered a book by Fitzgerald from Chapters, but not sure it is the right one.   It is the only one that came up in my search.    Triathlete Magazine's Complete Triathlon Book:  The Training, Diet, Health, Equipment and Safety Tips.   It was 24.95.    I have 30 days to check it out to decide if I want to keep it.   

Looks like Lindsay Vonn fought through the pain - gold! 

I watched her race.   She was quite amazing.   I couldn't believe all the falls that were happening.  OUCH!    Did you see the women's snowboard cross?   They were having a tough time with the course with lots of falls there too.   

Funny story for you.  One of my buddies did the Peaks to Portland (2.5 ish mile swim) at the time they didn't allow wetsuits.  So she used grease to keep warm - the funny thing is she went to like a NAPA or something and asked for some grease, they asked what she needed it for, and went into the types of grease...she was like, well...I need to rub it on my body.  I guess she got a stunned silence until she explained herself.

When we raced in Vancouver in June '08 the water temp was 50* and there were no sleeveless suits and people (not me) were putting petroleum jelly all over their faces, wearing full neoprene caps PLUS caps on top of that.    People were pulled out of the water, and several athletes from warmer countries pulled out of the swim.   They actually shorted the Olympic distance to 1000 meters.    I did what Steve mentioned in an earlier post about getting into the water as soon as possible to get the face used to the shock (it took your breath away) and let the water seep into the suit and warm the body up a bit.   It helped me alot because I ended up swimming faster than another girl who didn't get in the water until the gun went, and she normally beats me.    

Despite wanting a sleeveless, I wouldn't give up my full sleeve.   I literally can't tell it is full sleeve, and not because it is too big - just a great suit.  

I haven't seen it yet, I did hear there were a lot of falls - I hate to see them fall after working so hard to get there.  YES I heard the women's snowboard cross was tough! 

CRAP!   Went on-line and it looks like I ordered the wrong book.         Will have to check another bookstore.  

ANNE -

Oops! No! It's the wrong one! It's not a bad book....but it's just not the one with all of the plans in it. In fact, the only thing that the one I'm grabbing from does have is plans!

I still haven't found my riginal, and the replacement one was bought at a Chapters 2-3 weeks ago, so it must be in their system. Did you try the search using just "Essential......" rather than "Triathlete Magazine's......"? And it should also turn up under Matt Fitzgerald. I should be at a Chapters tomorrow, so I will hit the computer there and see what I can make work.

Oh! Maybe try it though the ISBN: 978-0-446-69676-0.

STEVE -

The short-term fatigue doesn't worry me. Given the drive, the VO2 test, the ride at SG, the drive back.....you're fully expected to feel fatigue for several/many days.

The crabbiness and night sweats are a bit more worrisome, and I'm very glad that you have a doc app't next week. I wish it were sooner, but I guess you do, too.

Sometime in the past year I found an exhaustive list of symptoms of overtraining, and I will have to strain my brain to remember where it was from. I posted it to my other group, and if I can remember to whom, and in reference to which race, I might be able to find it there. And maybe a google search will undercover it, although I thibnk there are likely to be thousands of references to stuff on overtraining.

Three biggies of overtraining are fatigue, depressed immune system, and mood swings, all of which you suggest in your post. It would be good if the problem was overtraining, as that is something that is pretty much within your immediate control.

Wiith that in mind, when did you last have a recovery week? You should be aiming for every fourth wek to be a recovery week, and it should be a pretty good one at that -- no cheating or sneaking allowed!

Please let me know how the ride tonight felt!

MANDY -

That must've spiked the heart rates of the NAPA guys!!

MANDY again -

Now that MY heart rate has gone down , I can go on to the more serious stuff!

Big tip: When trying Chi running in the Newtons, aim for the lugs! Aim for the lugs! Aim for the lugs!

I bought my Newtons in Nov. '07, and they were in their infancy -- as was the Newton website. At the time it was quite uncompromising about forefoot running, so in my infinite wisdom I went out and tried to get as forefoot as was humanly possible. BIG MISTAKE!! That is what led to clf misery which morphed into PF, which a year later re-visited me in the form of Achilles tendonitis.

The Newton websoite has been toned down quite a bit since '07, mostly in response to so many calf-related injuries they received. They now talk more about forefoot running, and as I see it the only ones who should be venturing to get way forefoot are those who were at least solidly midfoot-strikers in a previous life.

Form what you say, I would think soleus as well --- especially as you feel it is deep. Another thing to search for, though, is posterior tibial tendonitis. For me, at least, this manifest itself as kind of wrapping around the back part of my inner ankle bone. So, find the medial ankle bone, drop your finger staright down about an inch, and then start tracing it back towards your heel and then up you calf a few inches, parallel to your Achilles tendon -- that's where my post. tib. tend. lives and breathes when it visits me. And what I mean is that I can feel it for that whole extent -- from under my ankle bone to above it, but closer to the Achilles tendon. Any similarities?

I have never had the compression calf things with feet and toes included; both my pairs are just the sleeve, from below knee to above ankle. And tight is good! You don't want to cut off all circulation, but they should be nice and snug. If you get the 2XU ones, make sure you wear the patterned side on the back of your leg - not the sides, not the front. The Zensah ones have a more complicated patterning, two very different forms of "ribbing" for front and back. They look like they should be far more efective than the 2XU, but I've had the 2XU ones as my go-to pair for several months now. But that's just me; it might be worth searching to see what the larger consensus prefers. (Note: 2XU is part of Ironman expos, so their exposure is huge compared to Zensah's.)

I think I typed 'Fitzgerald Triathlon' in the search and that is the only book that came up.   I will call them tomorrow and see if I can change the order over the phone and will give them the ISBN #.    

ANNE -

Have you seen that the Multisport Canada sereis will be using Infinit as their official drink this season? Nice touch!

I have tried Infinit on a few occasions, ordered the "customized" formulations (it's so much fun playing around with the "sliders"!). Great taste, easy on the gut.....but kind of a nuisance to re-order. So I keep going back to HEED as something that works really well for me, but I continue to be intrigued by Infinit. They now produce two pre-set formulations that look to come in individual packages, and I think this will be in each race kit at the MSC races, along with what will be served on-course.

Just so you know!

No, I didn't know that.  Don't know if I have tried Infinit.   Do know I HAVE had trouble finding stuff that agrees with me.   I will check it out.

FYI, I was able to cancel my order for the wrong book and they said they do have the other in stock.   If I order on line it is 17.78.   Will scoot over to Chapters later to get my refund and order the right book.       Thanks

STEVEB,

I managed a short 2.5 km run outside about 15 minutes after cycling an easy 20km.  Run was slow but I was able to run close to 19 minutes w/o walking and without neuroma problem.   Not sure how much further I could have gone before it started to act up, but it seems to be coming.  

I think that's it for me today.  

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the note.  The ride went wellish last night.  I made a point of not pushing too hard and kept my HR low.  I was tempted at times to push harder, but I just kept chanting the mantra of "active recovery".  All in all, it was a good ride - but looking back, I wish I had pushed more.  And at the same time I know that would be bad.  And I was in a much better mood as well - though that was likely the endorphins hanging around after the ride. 

Back to normal this morning - early swim and run.  I made a point of skipping the intervals, and just settled in for a 6.4 mph pace for 90 minutes.  I did throw in the hill program for about 20 minutes or so, but HR never got above 153.  All in all, I think for the next week or so, I'll be bagging the intensity work and see if that helps. 

I haven't taken a true "recovery week" in a while, but have been taking an extra day off here and there.  This weekend I go to KC to meet my dad and see the Jayhawks play at the Fieldhouse.  My plan is to workout tomorrow morning, and then not again until Sunday - and then to make Sunday a pure Z2 effort as well. 

I hear what you are saying about recovery.  I get now all those posts on the other boards about people freaking out that they are not doing enough - and now with only 10 weeks and 2 days left (including the taper), I'm freaking out that I need more.  More volume, more speed work, more, more, more.  I just need to chill out a bit. 

Also, took your protein pitch to heart.  You should see my drawer here at work.  Stuffed with protein bars, almonds, beef jerky, muscle milk powder...recovery, recovery, recovery. 

Yeah I am trying!  Lots of thinking to do on that, huh?  No wonder I trip so much.  Running tonight, will see how it feels running with compression.

But now that I said that, I checked as you described for pt tendinitis.  Man, I don't know, that might be it - it isn't quite as low as what you describe, but everything else seems right.  Actually, now I am looking at a diagram of a calf muscle (see at end of post - showing the right, not left foot, but the gist is there), and if you asked me to point out where the pain is the worst, I would point directly at the right image of the calf all peeled back, the spot where it is labeled "tibialis posterior", on the back of the calf.  And it kind of starts above what is labeled "tendon of tibialis posterior" on the picture on the left.  Crap.  Makes sense. That would explain how I feel it inside my lower calf, and as you work up, I feel it in the back and then to the outside of the calf at the top where the tendon connects to the knee. 

The more I read, the more I am certain that might be it.  Right now it is very manageable I think - it is talking to me just enough to get my attention. 

Sooo... From what you have gone through with this, what has worked for you as far as recovery?  My thoughts: I should concentrate on some bike and swimming workouts instead of much running for a few days.  Compression.  Ice.  Elevation.  Tennis ball until I get my stick.  Stretch.  Strengthen.  Hope I can get my miles in needed for the marathon in 11 weeks. Ha. I can do that, just mentally, I hate to miss runs when building for a marathon.  Better than missing the marathon though. 




Thanks again Steve, I think without pointing my head in this direction to get this info I probably would have kept running and making it more angry, causing more troubles.

Cheers,
Mandy 

STEVE,

A couple of months before I raced in  Vancouver I sent almost the identical post above to Mike Ricci, and he basically told me to trust the program and trust the person who wrote the program and I would be more than ready.   He was right.    From what I see, most of the people who veer off and starting doing more, and more end up injured.    Keep the faith!      And listen to STEVEB.

Hey all,

Sorry for being MIA. I have no real good excuse besides work, school, and work travel have been kicking my butt, so I've been occasionally lurking and skimming the messages as they flood my inbox (in a good way!). I can't comment more specifically since I don't know what is going on with the group, but I'm slowly catching up and will be back on track very soon.

As for me, I'm slowly building up my base, though not as religiously or consistently as I'd like. I am getting some tri-specific workouts in, focusing on running mostly, but I should probably work on the bike as well since I've stopped biking to work lately (too cold and snowy) and that's how I've kept up a pseudo-decent base lately.

Anywhos, I'm just dropping in to say "Hi", that I'm back, and that I'm catching up on the group.

Hope all is going well with you guys,
Kasia

DENISE -

More on the insulation material!

It is prosaically called "pipe insulation" (in French, "isolant pour tuyaux" [I'm reading the sticker]), and is one of the last great bargains in the universe -- 36" for a whopping $0.45! I use the 3/4" size, and once you get it just slice it end to end so that it will open up and wrap around a hanger. I cut two pieces, one for each hanger arm, rather than one piece with another slit cut that wou;d fit over the actual hanger thingy on the top. And I use a bit of duct tape to close it along the lengthwise slit part. These things are black, and weigh next to nothing, and are the kinds of "toys" one could safely give to their kids and allow them to belabor each other, with virtually no possibilty of any injury. With that in mind, I think I'll go upstairs and pester the dog for a while!

ANNE -

Have you tied HEED? That's about as agreeable to my gut as they come, so I recommend it highly if you are sensitive to many sports drinks. HEED also has a good electrolyte profile, a nice balance of calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

Tastes good, and good for your body, too!