Briderdt and Lkct's Mentor Group - CLOSED for training! (Page 7)

Speedy! Very consistant race!

Definitely. I've always said that success happens at the start line.

Great race today, Mike. What did you end up doing re: nutrition?

I ran on the treadmill today-- still kind of babying my tweaky calf. Should be ok in a week to resume the training plan for the 15-k in March.


My HIM in 2009 made be a believer in terms of training plans. I had never used one before, even for Oly's and my half marathon. I always just trained as much as I could, and generally alternated between long, slow efforts and faster, harder efforts. It worked fine for several years.

But the fact is, if you're in reasonably good shape, which I think I am, and have a high tolerance for pain and suffering, which I do, you can fake your way through a Sprint and even through an Oly. But I don't think you can fake a Half-Ironman, so I found a training plan that fit my schedule (in a magazine called "Women's Fitness" of all places. It was fairly rudimentary, rehired only 5 days a week, which was what I needed. I followed it as best I could, and it worked like a charm.

I wouldn't use one (personally) for a Sprint, but I think if you're just getting into the sport and really need the structure to help you build fitness and stay focused, they're great.

Icy road and snowy trail, Night race today.  IDIDARUN in Linden, MI  1:03:?? for 8.07 miles.  Considering conditions, very happy with time. 15 degrees outside.  3rd in AG.  I should be older or younger cause 40-45 yo are TOUGH.

Just wanted to let you know I bought a Kinetic Road machine around Christmas and I love it. Way to cold for outside so it has been great. I don't have a ton of space so I put the bike off and on between workouts and takes about 90 seconds to set it up and get going. You won't be disappointed!

Very nicely done!  Always great to be increasing pace at the end vs. dying / slowing.

I decided to start watching the Biggest Loser. Never seen it before, but I was amazed to hear that Rulon Gardner, the former Olympic wrestler is on it. I remember when he won--it was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.
How does he show work? Are they really supposed to lose 100+ lbs in 13 weeks? Are they scored based on actual pounds lost or is it a percentage of their weight?

I was supposed to swim today, but the pool was too crowded. I swam around for an hour with my son and then sat on the deck waiting for a lane to thin out to less than 5 people and it never happened. I enjoyed watching his class though. His coach really works them hard. He's only six and he swam 300 yards over the course of the 45 minutes.
How'd everyone else do today?

Wow!  Is it always that crowded?  I ran 5.5 miles today so I am excited about that.  Snow is coming down hard in ATL now, so the most I can do tomorrow is ride my bike in the basement.  Our roads don't clear quickly and schools are already canceled.

Wow--thats your second big storm of the winter, right?

My pool's usually pretty crowded. Circle swimming 3 to a lane is pretty standard. Today was unusual. I expected it to be crowded, meaning I'd have to either circle swim with 4 or do short intervals (100y or so), but between the kids' swim lessons and the resolutionists, it was the perfect storm.

DT- I have another bike question. I'm having my bike repainted and I want to find bottle cage bolts in black. Is there a particular place I can find them? I don't think I've ever seen them, but they must exist, right?

Also, the mechanic pointed out that I'm missing one of the plugs that goes in where the internal cable routing exits the frame near the bb. Considering that this bike is a 2001 model, do you think there's any chance of Trek having a replacement? And if not, any other resources worth exploring?

Well I haven't trained in almost 3 weeks...what a good mentor I am :-P  But today that "streak" will end!!  I just can't get discouraged at my losses....I wish some of my husband's motivation would rub off on me, but he doesn't want to share it :-(  (He DOES try to encourage me...but I'm stubborn!)

Hope everyone had a good weekend and is staying warm and active!!

I've gotten standard-grade metric cap screws at Home Depot that are a black finish. Not as rust-resistant as polished stainless, but they're also cheap. Other than that, you could do a rattle-can paint job with BBQ paint for something fairly robust (I used this on my motorcycle exhaust, and it's lasted almost 2 years so far).

For the plug... Not sure exactly. Trek may have replacements (and might even send them out gratis). I'm surprised the shop doesn't have them on hand.

I haven’t checked at a shop for the part. My mechanic is a guy who has a very well-regarded bike repair business that he runs out of his home. It’s great because he picks up and delivers and his prices are very reasonable for labor, considering that he’s much more experienced than the average LBS wrench. But the downside is that he doesn’t have a lot of parts on hand, and he charges a little more than the LBS for replacement parts since he can’t always get them in bulk wholesale. I emailed Trek this morning. I'll let you know what I find out.

The rattle-can paint idea is a great one. It’s brilliant in its simplicity…. Thanks for not saying, “Umm…you could get some paint and paint them, .”

When it comes to buying the screws at Home Depot or wherever, is there something particular I should look for/ask for? If I ask for “metric cap screws”, will I get what I’m looking for?

I'm forgetting off the top of my head whether those are 4mm or 5mm cap screws... Take one with you for reference if you head to Home Depot. Then there's length. I'm a fan of getting them longer than needed, just in case you want to install something like a pump bracket under the bottle cage.

4 inches of snow in ATL = no school & no leaving the house.

I still was able to ride my bike on the trainer for 50 minutes.  I did a little ladder workout.  Then we all played in the snow.

Unfortuantely I am not losing weight.  I wish that I had a nutritionist or a chef

To me that sounds like a great day of working out! 

Without getting too preachy about nutrition....(one of those things I "know" but don't necessarily "do")....you are doing something "wrong" if you're not losing weight.  But that "something" may just be you're not being patient enough.  I suppose I should say...you're not doing something "right".  It's all about making sure your calories in, are less than your calories out...while being reasonable about calories in.  (They say that you can go into starvation mode and not lose weight if your calories in aren't high enough.)  Hopefully you don't get upset at what I'm saying....I will also say - IT IS NOT EASY!!!  I have realized I need to be very strict with myself in order to lose weight and I'm not always up for that.  Everyone is different.

I think I'm done being "preachy" and have a few suggestions.  Ignore them if you'd like
(1) I see that you're weight is 139...and you put that in your log, so I'm guessing it's not a secret.  That to me seems pretty reasonable, but I have no idea what your height is or your endurance level or your body fat.
(2) I see that you're logging your workouts, and you're logging your calories used...but it might help to do a week of journaling your food intake.  Either on BT or just on a piece of paper.  If you've never done this before, they say that sometimes you don't realize how much you're eating...and it helps to actually see it.
(3) This next is my own personal opinion.  I don't weigh myself often.  I judge how I feel and how I look.  How my clothes fit or how far I can run/swim/bike or how much I can lift.  I've heard/read - and this is one of the hardest things - that there is a lot of psychological aspects of losing weight...and that's not about how you exercise or how much or little you eat.  Some people stop concentrating on losing weight and then they lose weight....(I, on the other hand, usually gain weight.)

I hope this was helpful!  This entire group is here for support.  You can tell me to shove off and I'll be quiet...but it looks like you wanted some input.

ETA:  Darling husband added that, in opposition to what I said about not doing something right....That patience is key.  You may be doing everything right, but your weight can plateau.



Edited by lkct01234 2011-01-10 9:09 PM

I also find that it takes my body a little while (a couple of weeks, sometimes) to respond to the decrease in calories. I spend the first couple of weeks feeling hungry and sluggish; the weight comes off but very slowly—more slowly than I think it should be coming off. I imagine that my body is thinking that it’s getting into survival mode and assumes that the calorie reduction is temporary, and it’s trying to wait it out until the calories increase again.
It’s hard to push through this period, but I find that if I stick with it, avoid cheating and stay active, eventually my metabolism seems to say, “Ok, I guess this is how it’s going to be now,” and I find I have more energy with fewer calories than I did before, my workouts become easier, and the weight starts to come off more quickly.

I ran 5.1 miles today in under and hour!  And its my birthday!!  I felt good about the run.  It was rough terraine...snow and ice left over from the last storm.  They are predicting a bad storm for tomorrow so I upped the miles for today figuring tomorrow would be a bust. 

I have a question for all of you out there...I have this strange thing that happens when I run my first mile.  Most times it feels like my toes are falling asleep.  I have to wiggle them to get the feelings back.  It then seems to subside after the first mile.  I have tried extra stretching before I run.  Tying my sneaks in different ways.  Trying different sneaks, different brands, etc.  Nothing seems to make that stop.  Wierd I know...but any thoughts?

Awesome! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (It's my daughter's birthday today, too.)

No idea on the toes. Numbness is usually something to do with nerves getting pinched (or circulation, but that would take longer, I would think). Might be a circulation issue where it just takes that long for the blood to get pumping there? Maybe some more medical types could shed some light on it. Try posting the question on the tri-talk forum and see what comes up.

I moved up from a size 10 to 11 1/2 cause the shoe store said my shoes were too tight (who knew feet got bigger when you get older).  Try loosening up the laces a little or maybe some of those elastic laces.  When shoes are too tight across the top of my foot I have similar problems.

Could it be your socks and not your shoes? Some of the newer running socks are very tight, especially around the mid-foot to support the arch.

I've been away for several days, so just catching up on the posts

I did the warrior dash in Dallas last year and it is a great time! Very muddy (at least this course was) and fun! I would say it is a bit over commercialized though. I think I saw every costume/outfit imaginable there.

I've been a fan of the Biggest Loser for several seasons now. The show lasts 13 weeks, but it is pre-taped. After the 12th week on the ranch, the remaining contestants all go home for several months and then come back for a live finale. All in all it is like 7 or 8 months. They are scored by the percentage of weight loss. Of course body fat % would be better, but the scale is more dramatic for TV I guess.