Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 65)

I just wanted to stop by and let you all know that I don't HATE running anymore. I won't go so far as to say I like it but I definitely don't hate it. This is an incredible attitude change for me. I thought the only reason to run is if someone was chasing me and nobody really chases a guy my size. As a kid in football or basketball running = punishment. Do something the coach didn't like go run around the field or an extra set of lines after practice. Now I realize this put us in better shape and I loved to fast break in basketball but.... I no longer hate running. There you have it, thought you might want to know.

George - Try running for 10 minutes/walk 30-60 seconds/run 10 minutes.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with using run/walk to increase milage.  Once you hit your distance/time goal using that method you can start lengthening the run and cutting back on the walk time until you are just running.  A lot of people do marathons doing a one minute walk at every aid station.  My wife ran 4 marathons that way.  Really cuts down on injuries and keeps Bad Man from getting upset.

Craig - congrats!  So much of this is mental.  Wish i could get feel that way about swimming.

GEORGE -

Protein info coming shortly!

ROGER -

Glad you're back, and once again the advice you offered was solid and sound!

Just checking in. Still working on my leg soreness but it's coming along. I have my 20 miler Saturday then taper!!!!! I think I'll feel pretty good by marathon day. That's my plan anyway

Fun reading how everyone is doing. I fought with the bad guys for a long time before occasionally beating them. I used to never be able to run past my house even if I was supposed to. Now I just tell the bad guys to bite me (don't mean to offend ) and go along my merry way.
Johanne

CRAIG --

HUGE congrats on the psychological breakthrough with running! May nothing get in the way of it rapidly evolving into a full-fledged passion (or a reasonable facsimile thereof )!

GEORGE -

Straight from the horse's mouth, this will be! That is, a protocol and partial rtaionale for whey protein before bed, from a catalog for Hammer Nutrition:

"Elevate hGH While You Sleep

To safely and effectively raise hGH levels without risk to you endocrine system, try this: Just before bed, mix 1 scoop of Hammer Whey in 4-6 ounces of water and consume. This practice may safely raise hGH levels while you sleep by as much as 400% compared to the usual nightly spike. That's enough to have a noticeable effect on anabolic, muscle-building/maintaining activity in the body, which is definitely a beneficial thing."

You can also go to www.hammernutrition.com, and click on Hammer Whey Protein. When that product comes up, about halfway down on the right will be a bunch of little boxes in two rows. Click on "USAGE" and the last one under "Mixing Instructions" in the bedtime formula. There is also useful info by clicking "BENEFITS" and "PRODUCT DETAIL".


***PLEASE note that I am not pushing Hammer Whey, even though it is an excellebt product. You can probably get something at your local nutritional store/"muscle shop" that is less expensive and just as good.***


Oh, yeah. hGH stands for human growth hormone. Some sources capitalize the first h, others don't, and I can't explain either!

JOHANNE -

Are you getting all giddy with excitement about the taper? It is always SO rewarding to have done the work and earned the taper! Better than a merit badge in scouting, maybe even better than four years of studying to get a degree! ALL POWER TO THE TAPER!!!!

I am back and alive after the super bowl.  I really need to get a job, I hung out with some of my unemployed friends on Sunday night.  Well lets just say since we were all unemployed we relived our college fraternity days.  The last beer was drank at about 8:30AM.  I layed on the couch all day Monday and Tuesday.  I finally felt "normal" enough to train late Tuesday. I got a swim in Tuesday and today.  I also decided to get on the treadmill at the gym for a mile run.  Man am I tired.

I think I am going to start a swimming focused plan at the end of this month. This will MAKE get back on the bike and in the running shoes.

Ok, this bike searching is driving me crazy.. I decided to go by my local bike shop to see what size frame I need and that is when it got crazy.  They had a cervelo 54cm, atleast that is what size he told me it was, I was able to straddle it but there was not much room between the toptube and you know where.. They did not have anything smaller then a 54cm.. Then he said for the giany I will need a Medium which was to tall, so he then said I will need a small but they will need to do something with the stem to make it fit.  Well anyway I left the store thinking I need to look for a bike 50-52cm, that way I will have a little more room you know where..  Well I jumped on Ebay and found several bikes I like.  Problem is some were 52cm and they said the stand over was 27" - 29".. I guess I dont know what stand over is.. I thought the stand over was the distance from the ground to the top of the top tube.. Well my inseam is about 26".. I just dont see how the 54cm i tried at the store was ok, but a 52cm is going to be to tall since my inseam is only 26".. I just wish I could find a place locally that sold used bikes.. I just cant afford to buy a new one..

George - You can visit 10 bike shops and come away with 11 different opinions on what you need.  Their primary goal is to sell you a bike.  Some shops are truly concerned about getting you on the correct bike while others need to move bikes that they have had in inventory for too long.  Also keep in mind that a 54cm in one bike brand/type will be different than a 54 from another company. So don't get stuck on thinking that you need one specific size.  My inseam is 30" and I ride a 54cm Specialized Transition that fits me very well.

Do you have any friends or co-workers who are avid riders?  Free help in bike fitting can be hard to find.

Edited by bhc 2011-02-10 7:23 PM

Steve,
I am SO ready for this taper! Following this plan has been both grueling and rewarding. My body, at 50 and still about 20 lbs overweight, has let me know how tough this has been. Right now though I'm probably as strong a runner as I've ever been and the biggest plus is that I'm mentally tougher. I was never looking to do this marathon at a fast pace but I feel totally confident that I can finish before the pick up wagon comes to get me One more long run, taper and then our vacation to Australia! My huge reward.
Johanne 

Craig,
Congrats on your break through on your running!!! Happy running from now on!! Still hoping for this to happen for me in biking!!

George,
The Bad Man shows up every morning at 5 when the alarm goes off, for the last week and a half he has been winning.... I got him this morning though!!! He will also show up when I am doing stationary workouts, especially on the bike!! I don't have any sound advice on beating him I usually bargain with him for each extra minute!! Well anyway hope you find a way to get him out of your head!!!

Happy training all!!!!!
Shannen

GEORGE -

I understand your frustration and confusion, and Roger' assessment is 100% accurate. Not that that should make you feel real good, but at least take comfort that yours is not an isolated situation!

Depending on who you talk to "stand over" is an antiquated concept. I tend to think of it as a "bargain basement" sort of fitting technique, maybe what a bike shop will do as a matter of course in getting you and the bike out the door. It is really nothing more than straddling the bike and allowing for 1-2 inches between the top tube and your crotch. That maybe works well enough for people who plan to ride the bike as is and not mess with their position and add-on features, but I think for you it will be a bit more complicated. That might be a reason to wait until you get to Atlanta and can go to all3 and hear their take on fittings.

As for frame size, that is traditionally determined by the length of the seat tube, I believe, but without being able to cite examples, that too can vary dramatically. Roger has already said that it can vary from company to company, and even models within a given company*, but then also having to be factored in is a rider's individual needs and how they plan to have their bike set up. I think.

Finally, I have not heard back from my LBS about your numbers and what they might recommend. Theya re not answering the phone, which makes me think they might be off on winter vacations or soemthing; this time of year up here isn't exactly a boom period for bicycle shops!


*Just like running shoes! A size 11.5 in one Asics model, for example, might be a whole size or a half size smaller or larger in another model. I don't know why there can't be some agreed-upon industry standard. Grrr! (One benefit to my Newtons is that at least they are consistently-sized from one model to the next.)

SHANNEN -

Yo!

I really like your line "......I usually bargain with him for each extra minute!"

Are there any concrete reasons for why biking is a bugaboo for you?

JOHANNE -

Being a stronger runner AND mentally tougher are rewards in and of themsleves; Australia is just icing on the cake!

Jane (our daughter, in Sydney until March 20) did a 4-mile run in 109F temps last Saturday, and to add to the misery were two major hills, She has never walked a 4-miler......but had to on that one. She was quite disgusted with her time, but then when she saw where she placed overall and in her age group, she felt a bit better. She knew the number of walkers she saw was huge, but just didn't know it ws THAT huge!

That heat wave was exceptional, though, and by the time you get there it should just be magnificently balmy. Lynn is leaving for there in ten days, and will return on March 19. I envy both of you!

JOHANNE again -

Yes, virtually all training plans are aimed to the middle somewhere, and that usually doesn't include people in their 50s (or, actually, people in their 40s). Then again, if you can dig around and find a plan that is supposedly designed for the slightly older set, it is just much too cautious and doesn't challenge near enough.

If you have made it through a plan that has pushed you, then that is absolutely ideal. You chose well, to be sure! But also, big props to you for toughing out the tougher parts, presumably doing it by taking one workout at a time, yet keeping the Big Picture firmly in mind. Yup, you've earned that Australia trip!

Have a joyful run tomorrow!

ALEX -

Good work on the 2 Crossfit classes and the 2 swimming lessons. Any swim breakthroughs to report? (Remember, even the smallest ones count lots!)

And.....how did the wetsuit battle go? I think I forgot to tell you in my long 14-step fitting post that wetsuits mellow with age, that they become more pliant. So, if it seems really rigid and unforgiving now, after a handful of swims it should begin to loosen you appreciably. (Whew!!)

DANIEL -

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training any day now, and that is definitely cause for celebration. But if you must celebrate, you can't do it like you did for the Super Bowl!

Glad you emerged form that in one (quasi-toxic?) piece, and that you're ready to resume training!

NOTE TO PACKERS FANS (and maybe any football fan):

There was a very nice piece in Wednesday's (Feb 9) New York Times titled "What's Always Been So Great About Green Bay". It is written by Dave Anderson, and you can probably track it down doing a simple search at www.nytimes.com. It is lovingly nostalgic, with all sorts of references to days-gone-by.

SARAH (seeing as how you responded) -

That schedule I posted a few days ago? Already thrown into disarray! The front half of it is still mostly intact, but the back half is undergoing its own version of Extreme Schedule Makeover!

When some of the dust settles, I will maybe post an update. As for some of the more specific goals.......as goeth the schedule, so goeth the goals!

Steve,
Question on protein.  I am usually running or swimming by 5:00 a.m., so I'm either up and on the treadmill within 10 minutes or in the pool within 30 minutes.    As far as getting an energy boost i can't imagine eating anything first thing will hit my system in time to help with my morning workout, usually done by 6:00 or 6:30, am i right?  The idea of the whey powder before bed seems like it may give a morning boost, will it?

Steve,
The last few weeks I have been cruising with my run, adding incline and increasing speed.   My Guage has been if i finish a months' runs with my peak heart rate under 160 I've been speeding up .1 mph for the next month.  In November i set a goal of getting to 1.5 degree incline and 5.2 mph by the time of my first sprint on May 30th.  During January I jumped from 0 to 1 degree and 4.9 to 5.2 mph because my HR was staying below 160 for my longest run.  My weekly runs are 50 min, 45 min, 20 min, and 15 min.  I jumped to 5.3 mph for Feb and maxed my heart rate for the long runs last week at 161.  This morning after 30 minutes I was at 167 (if i stay over 165 for more than 10 minutes or so i start getting a little light headed) after 30 minutes at the same same speed.  I dialed back to 0% at 5.0 mph and finished the 50 minutes with a 163 HR.  

Sorry for being so long winded, here is the question "Why do you think i spiked today?  What should I do about it?  I'm thinking I should stick with my planned 45 minute run tomorrow at 5.3 and see what happens, or i could dial back to 5.0 and start building again month by month.  

I should add that I had a house full of sick grand kids last weekend and have had a low grade headache for the past three days and have been working 12-14 hour days the past two weeks, but getting at least 8 hours of sleep a day.

I suspect you are tired, maybe a little sick. Give it a couple of days and try again