Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 65)

Nice work, Joe.  The weather sounds perfect.  I like it a little cooler running. 

I have my biggest peak weak this week.  5-6 mile run just over race pace, easy 3-4, 10 800 repeats, and a long of 14, then taper time!

Steve - Ya I have a feel for the pace...and I am still feeling it. Yesterday was not too bad getting around but this morning things are a bit sore.

Larry - That work will pay off come race time. One thing I would have like to have had was  a long run over race distance (maybe two) but you have to start somewhere. You put yourself in a great position to break 2 hrs. One thing a fellow swim parent asked on hearing I completed the 1/2 was did you cry. Well "No" I said missing her point that it is a really big accomplishment. Ok maybe you don't have to cry but make sure you know how big this is.

Starting the year my goals were to loose some weight (lost 30+ pounds). Do some swimming to get fit, was talked into running a sprint triathlon (fininshed 1:37). Now I am hooked on this journey to greater fitness and had some very significant personal best in running. What an unbelievable year!

Good morning, everyone. Hope things are going well for one and all.

I'm back at it with some short term goals of 3 months of consistent SBR training, lose 15 pounds, and get myself ready to tackle HIM training beginning Jan 14, 2013. Will keep going with the core work the next 3 months as well. This AM at the pool it was clearly evident it has helped. Catch & pull seemed stronger without more effort than previously, and balance feels better as well.

Had a bit of fun on Saturday while on the trainer for a short 'ride'. Had the Kona broadcast on the laptop, watching the bike while I rode along. Not exactly like being there, but about as close as I'm going to get

Have a great day everyone!!

Larry, I am thinking 9:00 for first 2 miles, next 8:55 3 miles, 8:50 next 4 miles, 8:45 next 2, 8:40 next 2, finish at 8:35.  For a pretty ideal race.  If you are feeling the love you can push a little harder after completing mile 9 and then flat out from mile 11 to the finish... if you have a lot left in the tank at mile 11. 

Completely rewrote my IM plan this am.  It is not going to be pretty and we see if the knee holds up to an actual full IM workout week (this week).  I was able to run long enough on Sunday to feel where my drop in run fitness is now, stamina dropped off after mile 14.  The knee was buggy around mile 8, however.  It will be minimal fitness if I can hit all the workouts and I may lose about an hour off of last year's IM (more if the leg is uncooperative in the mary).  I have 1 build cycle, 1 recovery week, 1 peak week then taper with little to no intensity work and lots of sleeping.  I am banking heavily on the 4000 miles I have already biked and 1300 miles I have already run this year to help me rebuild faster than I would normally build.  Hopefully if things go south I can still pull off a solid HIM as a fall back option.  

So anyone who wants to hear how the story ends will have to join my winter mentor group... they typically start it November or early December.   

Congrats Joe!!!  Good job on your race, and sounds like you enjoyed it too.  Bagged that official sub 60 10 K while you were at it . Wow, I didn't realize you has lost 30 lbs in the process.  Great journey for you all the way around.

Mike, way to make the trainer ride interesting!  Your plan sounds good, and being 15 lbs lighter is always a help.

Samantha, nice run for you!  Glad you are recevered and ready to start your maintenance plan.

Larry, big volume week for you.  You are continuing to do a great job of staying with your plan, and I look forward to hearing about how it plays out on race day. 

Steve, thanks for the vote of confidence on the 4:00 mary stuff!  Glad you have a plan for your IM, and now just time to work it and figure things out from there.  Yeah, you may be stuck with me for another mentor round because, yes, I do want to see how it goes for you.

I may very well have jumped into a too aggressive plan.  Nothing "broken", but soreness, tenderness in the trouble spots, and fatigue is pretty high for this early in the game.  Pre plan weekly mileage was 23,22,24,25,26, then I hopped on the plan with 32 wk 1, and then 36 last week where I almost ground to a halt during/after a 13 miler on Saturday.  Yeah, not so smart. Trail 20K is this weekend.  No time goals...just takin' in the scenery and trying not to bust an ankle.  So this week will be lighter in hopes of some sort of recovery so I can have a little fun without wincing every step.  Then time to regroup and jump on a Steve plan.  I really do listen, it just takes me awhile sometimes.

I would do 1 tempo run starting from the first week. What is a tempo run?

The plan BT set up for me is 12 weeks long. 3 weeks of build (but the increases are very small) and one week recovery. The distances per week are 3700S, 101B, 31R. Does the swim seem too low? Week three I will see how I feel and start adding in the tempo and 800 repeats. Can you explain again what the 800 repeats are, please? Repeating what I think you said, one day a week will be 800 repeats, the next week hill repeats, then recovery run week three. I will also be doing core work 2x/week. It will be a bit of a jump from taking my month break, which I have really enjoyed , so starting tomorrow I'm back at it. PIcked up an indoor trainer this weekend and am excited to get it setup; although I'm not sure riding inside will ultimately be very exciting.

Steve - so glad you are getting out there and I look forward to the day you can say there were no hitches in your giddy-up. I was thinking about you yesterday while I was biking and wondering if you have notices a difference in your bike performance with the new ride? Did you gain some speed just from having a better bike? Oh, and don't worry I will be joining your November group to keep up with your race to IM in December. We come too far to call it quits now.

Carol - I love that you are working towards BQ'ing. I have no doubt you can accomplish the goal especially with the time frame you have given yourself. How exciting! Sorry the plan has been a bit heavy for you. I am wondering the same about mine. Get some extra rest and enjoy the trail run. It will be so different from road running. Is is a pretty area?

Joe - Way to go on you HM. Sounds like you stepped into it with all you had and ran a solid race. Plus adding friends with common interests is a bonus. How are the legs doing?

Mike - I have to say one of your last posts made me think you are doing so much better than the last month or so. You sounded way more positive, rested, upbeat and ready to move forward. It made me happy to know things are settling down in your life; at least, that's the impression I got. Your plan sounds great!

Larry - Continued weight loss - woohoo! I agree with Mike and I've said it too. I hope you can find a way to get your story out there for others to hear about. You have accomplished so much. I'm really looking forward to your race! Only a couple more weeks now.

Carol - that looks really pretty. I like the trail for running. That smooth red dirt is pretty sweet and it doesn't appear to be a trail where twisted ankles will likely happen. Though you never really know. It also makes me want to mountain bike. I mtn. biked in Moab, Utah a couple years ago on trails very similar to this...the smooth red dirt was fast and awesome. And when temps are cool I love running in wide open spaces where you can see forever. Oh have fun! If I were there I would do it with you.

BTW, if anyone want to see pics from my race please feel free to add me as a friend on facebook. I can't figure out how to get them on here. My name is Samantha Purcell and the picture you will see when you type in my name is feet dangling in water with a white flower sticking out of my rolled up pant legs.

It turns out that making a plan on paper and getting it done will be 2 different things for me.  Knee problem came back on today's short run and ended up walking 4 of the 5 miles.  Sigh.  Could be I am trying to do too much to soon... hrm.  So about that HIM plan I need to write up now.... Oy. 

Ok 800 repeats = jog 1 mile nice and easy to warmup then run 800 yards (half a mile) at your race pace for your marathon or as close as you can get (for Carol this is 4:00 per 800 or better= 4 hour mary), then jog as slow as you want to go for 400 yards (quarter mile) then run 800 yards at mary speed, then 400 yards at easy pace then finish with 1 mile comfortable pace for cooldown.  You probably want to start off with 1 as part of a longer run and then add 1 more every week until you are up to the desired number of repeats.  8-10 is good for a half mary, 13-15 is good for a marathon.

Tempo run= 1 mile easy jog to warm up then every 1/2 mile increase your pace so like (9:00 (mile1), and halfs miles at 8:40, 8:20, 8:00, 7:40, 8:00, 8:20, 8:40, 9:00 and then 1 mile comfortabel pace cool down.  This is just an example you could start at 10:00 mpm and go up by 10 second increments.  It is like a swim workout pyramid, slow faster faster faster slower slower slower.  You can add as many tiers to it as you want make it peak faster or slower.  You could just go 1 mile 10:00 1 mile 9:50, 1 mile 9:40, 9:50, 10:00 or whatever.  It is just slow to faster to slow.

And Hills while I am at it: you are looking for a hill that is at least a quarter mile long and up to a half mile (5 to 10% grade would be nice), you jog 1 mile to warm up then do hill charges (run up the hill fast) and then come down the hill at a slower pace, repeat then cool down for 1 mile.  Just like the 800s you are going to want to start with like 1 hill charge week 1 and then add in another 1 every week that you do hill charges. 

Samantha your maintanance program looks a bit um challenging for you.  My winter maintanance program may have less run miles in it than that and about the same for bike and swim.  You might want to go more like R 26 (3,4, 6, 3, 10), Swim 4500 (1500, 1000, 2000, bike 105 (15, 25, 20, 45)or some such.  It depends if you want to focus more on one sport.  This would give you a really strong base to build from.  You could get by on R20, Swim 3000, bike 75 and be fine. 

Carol ya that is a big jump if you don't have a really big base to work from.  You probably also jumped in intensity for 1 or 2 of those days and your long may have jumped more than 10 %.  

Steve - your knee is lame duck sauce. It really needs to get with the program, right. So sorry. I can only imagine how hard it is to want to get out there and be ready for IM you've been working towards. I am sure I would try to push also. All things work together for our good, right? Glad you are hanging in with yourself and us. I might have given up in despair because that's how I roll sometimes. Your journey is so good for me to be a part of, but I'm sorry to gain from your situation. You are a tough dude!

Okay, I'm making Steve adjustments to my plan. I thought it seemed like a lot, but I'm trying to utilize the BT membership training plans to save myself some work. Oh well.

You probably want to start off with 1 as part of a longer run and then add 1 more every week until you are up to the desired number of repeats.  8-10 is good for a half mary, 13-15 is good for a marathon. Where is it best to add the hill repeats and 800 repeats? Short, long or medium runs? Over time, as I build up to more repeats it seems like I would be doing two longs run per week. One of repeats and one endurance. How does this work?

And what about increasing my distances over the next 12 weeks? The BT plan shows an increase, though it is very small, but I haven't heard you mention it. I have to say it would be nice to just stick with the same plan and never worry about it. I guess that's all for now.

Wow!  It's great to see action on our mentor forum!

Samantha, I'm getting the impression that you are really getting into this triathlon thing as a life style.  That is awesome. 

Carol, I like your outlook on the trail run.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that it is ok to enjoy the training, and not just check it off my training schedule.

Steve, you have provided great insight on how to deal with an injury, and how to adjust training accordingly.  I like your suggestion for pacing and plan on trying to follow it as close as I can.

Joe, great job on achieving your goals.  I kind of did mine as I went along.  I do remember setting a 100 pounds as a goal for weight loss (trust me, I've missed horribly on this goal a lot).  I then added a half ironman, then running training runs at 10:00 per mile pace, and my goal now is to run a half marathon in less than 2 hours.  My last goal, which I am going to hammer at after the half marathon is getting by body fat under 12%.  I've got 13 pounds of fat to go for that one

I did a 5 mile run today with splits of 8:30, 8:40, 8:50, 8:38, and 8:27.  I pushed pretty hard, but not ridiculous.  I was pleasantly surprised with the pace. 

Larry you will be more ready for your first HM that I was for my first that is for sure.  Our paces may be the same when the day is done for that first HM but you are coming in with much stronger training.  For 4 months prior to my first HM I couldn't eat solid food.  I had this intestinal thing that stayed forever and I could only hold down water and crackers and pediasure. It was not a happy training time at all.  I am kind of in that space now, hit the long run/ride and then recover for the rest of the week then hit it again.  Ya not in the best spot emotionally, still ups and downs, hate to not race when I paid my money.  But triathlon and fitness is a lifestyle, so any 1 race or 2 doesn't really matter, it just focuses the training for the year.  I will be better in time and training for IM Tahoe 2013.  I am about 99 percent sure the IM is trashed based on todays knee condition, not sure about the half.  God's plans are beyond the comprehension of me, but they are his plans and he is soverien so I can accept that.  It would be nice to have a peak at the playbook to see like it says, "Steve should slack for 6 weeks then his knee will be fine, he should punt on the IM and the HIM and regroup for next season after no runing at all and it will come back then" or whatever.  But I guess that is where faith comes from and discernment is something I do the best that I can and the outcome is what it is.  If I do my best to figure it out and follow the journey with my heart then I have already won and can be at peace.  The rest is just the motions that enact the path and the end is what it will be.  (Warning Steve waynes philosphical when not exercizing).   

Ok ideally you would do a 3 layer cake slice of an actual training plan and just hit repeat on it.  So week 1 = base week, week 2 = build week 1, week 3= build week 2 then you go back to week one and start over again.  You are not really building, but you are putting your body through different distances of workouts including an recovery week.  You could do the same amount each week if you wanted to it really doesn't matter if your total vollume is low enough to not need a recovery week. 

So run 3,5,6,3,10 then 3,5,7,3, 11 then 3, 6, 7, 4  12, then 3, 5,6,3,10.  repeat.  For me the 3 is a recovery run slow speed, just smell the roses, 5 mile is a tempo run, next day is off (from running) then fresh for my 800 repeat day, then 3 mile recovery run or brick and then long run at a steady z2 effort.  On build week 2 I do hill repeats instead of 800s on the 7 mile run.  Then on recovery week I can keep the tempo run and punt on the 800/hills that week and just do whatever I feel like could be all z2, some strides, whatever. 

Bike and swim same idea.  Or you can just pick a set distance each week and rotate the 800s hill and steady runs.  I have my whole workout strat in that chart i posted eariler.  You just plug your distances in to the matrix and get your workouts.  I like it a lot and it is the combined effort of studying 50 training plans reading some books and taking to a coach.  But yet simple.  You just add the distances and do the same type of workout for shorter or longer, more or fewer hills/repeats.  Keep the questions coming. 

The other way to go about it is maintain run and swim 2x per week and hit bike hard 5 days a week for the winter then regain your swim and run in January/February.  That is hit your weakness hard to improve your overall game. 

Carol - That trail run looks like a lot of fun. I love that terrain and the scenery should make it that much more enjoyable. The mileage looks like a big jump in your training. WOrk those kinks out before you build too much more.

Samantha - Great pic's. Look forward to hearing how you IM goes. Of course there is a little work to get there. You have shown what a competitor you are. 

Mike - That is one road to Kona I think we can all achieve. I like it! I read a little about the race. Was it as interesting watching it?

Steve - Bad new on the knee. Do you figure there is nothing structural wrong because of the relative comfort of the early miles? Looking for the positive and maybe learn something. My right foot can get pretty uncomfortable after 6-8 miles. part of an old injury and hope that as I build it will get stronger too.

Larry - Way to keep at it.

I had a nice 40 minutes at the pool yesterday and worked out some of the kinks. Tonight I took the dog for a walk and still felt some stiffness. 

Mike, glad things are more settled for you and your family!

Joe, sounds like the recovery is going well, and for sure the dog is liking it .

Samantha, you seem to be really well recovered mentally and physically from your HIM.  Can't wait for your next chapter.

Steve, you can wax philosophical any time.   I'm a recovering overplanner and perfectionist.  Not seeing much of the playbook seems to be a theme with me as well.  Those who knew me before and after I allowed Christ into my life would tell you that is a good thing.  Reminds me a little of this speech, though God doesn't shout at me like Jack Nicholson does:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXoNE14U_zM

Short run today -- mixed bag of a few 800 pickups, neighbor chat, and jog with Katy to the pharmacy.  Ran into CEO I do some contract work for at the coffee shop in my sweaty ragged out state.  Thankfully he is an ironman, so understands sweat

Happy training to all for the rest of the week/weekend...going offline after today until next week.

Larry, Larry, Larry, Larry - this is me practicing my cheering for you when you do your HM.

Steve - I don't like that fact that you aren't training as much right now, but, I agree with Carol, wax away. Your outlook on life and training play a significant part in my success. Had I joined a group led by someone without the balance I see you trying to build in us I might have pushed too hard or not hard enough. Love the reminders!

Carol - See you soon. Hope all is well. Glad you didn't suffer an awfully embarrassing moment when running into a client.

Mike - So glad to hear life is settling out for you. I was just thinking today about how thankful I am to have a sense of normalcy in my life so I can live this dream. If I weren't single with no children I don't think I could balance everything the way you and the others do. I'm always impressed.

My trainer is up and running, but today I came home from work and was going to ride outside because the weather was great. Then I realized I would have to swap out my trainer tire. By the time I would have finished I would not have time to finish the ride before dusk. 23 miles on a trainer was not easy. Any suggestions? Yesterday I did 15. And I have found riding the trainer and maintaining the same speeds I ride outside is actually impossible. Is that the way it is for any of you? I have adjust the amount of pressure being put on the back tire two times and that helped, but I can still only maintain about 14.5mph; as soon as I jump up a gear my legs start screaming.

On a sweet note, I am getting really close to a waist size of 32. That has been my goal for a long time, but I haven't paid too much attention because I figured it would just happen as I continued training. Well I am about a 1/2 inch away and that made me gasp when I measured myself. I didn't believe it and had to check it two more times.

Samantha, great job on the waist size reduction.  I also love that you are already cheering for me.  I hate trainer rides, so I can sympathize with you there.  I have no suggestions on that one.

I finished my last set of repeats.  I did 10 X800 at a 3:57 pace, finishing all under 4:00, which was my goal.  I jogged a lap between.  It's funny, my recovery jog is faster than my pace for my beginning one mile runs.  I have a 14 mile run Saturday, then it's taper time for my race in 2 weeks.  Tip of the day, no beans and corn for dinner when facing a hard run this next morning. 

Larry - nice repeats!

Steve - your son is crazy fast. How old is he? Does he race or want to race? I love the way you set up a 100 miler on your trainer. It sounds like it would be great, but trainer work isn't really ever great. Yesterday I was talking to my pastor, he did CDAIM last year, and he told me about a video he made of the entire course for people to use in training on the trainer. Pretty cool idea. I'm gonna check it out and make good use of it over the winter. Happy training for the weekend and I really pray your knee stops complaining

And I want to clarify what I meant about the trainer. When I was talking about it being hard I was referring to pedaling seeming harder than when I'm out on the road. I can't seem to get above 14.5mph for longer than maybe 7minutes because it starts burning my legs out. So I was wondering if I am putting too much pressure on the back tire with the trainer?

4mile run yesterday and I maintained 10.5mph. Today I run 6 and swim 1500. Haven't been in the pool for a while so it will be interesting. Gonna go see a guy about a Garmin forerunner 305 for $70. I did research to know what it should come with and I asked him to make sure it was charged up so I could check it out. I get nervous buying used electronics so I will see. It could be a really great deal if it is fully functional.

Wow you ran 10.5 mph for 4 miles... smokin... 8).  Much fasater than my 7 mph run today.  I know whatcha meant.  Anyway I would be really reluctant to purchase a used gps watch.  The rubber on the bands only lasts so long (mine 3 years) and they can get banged up a bit (mine again).  I have the Garmin 405 wich is might lighter and less bulky that the 305 and I think garmin has a new waterresistnat/proof watch.  Also the timex watch here is $150 or so and is water resistant/proof whatever to 50M.  I think the timex has twice the battery life of the Garmin also.  I like my garmin, but I might trade it in for this.  Some of my bike rides are longer than the battery life of the garmin and in an IM I could use the watch for bike and run info instead of just bike info.  I think my battery holds less of a charge than it did when it was new but not sure.  They hold up pretty well, but I think I would go new and take advantage of a full warranty and such.

As far as the trainer tire goes, ya you can put it at a lower tension so it feels more like the road to you.  I ride about the same speed on both except that it is harder to maintain speed on the trainer becase there are no downhills or flats really it feels like an uphill 1 percent slope the entire time and you are hotter because no wind. 

Solid mantanance plan there Samantha.  You are gona have you some speed coming into CDA. 

Hopefully I can go a litte farther on my run this weekend.  I am thinking of trying to just do the HIM in December.  I don't think I can reasonably build enough while babying the knee.  Oh well I will probably know by Monday which way to go.   

 Oh and that son is 17 years old.  I beat him in our last 5k... maybe my last win at any distance... although he tends to slack in the offseason.  As long as I race him a month after x-country is over I may be able to take him still.

I read your suggestions too late. But I will say that the Garmin seems like it is brand new. I don't think the guy used it more than 15 times and he never used the HR monitor. Plus I really coundn't spend more at this point. Maybe hindsight is 20/20. The deal is done anyway. It will get me what I need right now and I'm sure if I called garmin they would honor their product. Most companies do when I am REALLY nice.

Today I used the Garmin and did a 5miler at 11:17/mile. It was a good push, but never felt I was giving too much. And I swam 1100 this morning. I also like my plan. Thanks Steve for your input. I'm gonna get going on interval/repeat training next week I think. I might add mileage each week in tiny increments, but I'm not making any decisions right now. So yeah I feel good and am ready now to get back at it. My excitement for IM is starting to build again and, of course, living in the city where the race is held adds to it because it is kinda all around me. I see the courses, I run on the courses, I bike part of the course, etc. Plus chatter on BT and Facebook.

I bet in 10 years there is a chance you will be able to beat the 17 year old again. My guess is he'll fall off the workout wagon during his twenties and then reality will hit him that 17 is not a perpetual age and bodies change and lose things. But you will keep cruising along and getting better. Maybe my prediction won't come true; time will tell.

I'm off to take care of the grey hairs now - I really love my job! (I'm being quite serious)