SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 7)

OK, I'm late to the party and will probably not post much, just read and learn. But, I do want to be a good forum member, so here is the bio and such:

cdban66/Chris, amongst other names

STORY: I had been somewhat athletic in High School, playing soccer, beach volleyball and basketball, but that was a long time ago. Marriage, two children, business ownership, and the general busyness of life just got in the way. A few years back I began going to the gym, lifting weights and such. Then, in late July, 2010, we had a family weight loss challenge. In order to lose (BTW, I did win the challenge), I began running. My youngest daughter suggested we run a race at Disney, so I began to prep for that and my oldest sister joined in as well. Before that race had happened, I began looking for more challenge/diversity, since I was enjoying the training. I had a friend who had been in tri’s a while back, he gave me his old bike and it grew from there. Now I am on the Health and Wellness committee at work, head up the work running group, and look forward to any chance to get outside and train.

STATUS: I am a 6’3”, 46 yr old male and I've been married for over 25 years. I have 2 girls, ages 22 and 24. My wife is the most wonderful person a man could have in his life and has been very supportive of this addition to my lifestyle.

CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently pushing my run in an effort to improve there. I am trying to run at least 5 times a week with a weekly mileage goal that will grow from my current 20 up to 25+ in the next few months.  I have found that I really enjoy trail running, so part of my training is done there every week. More than anything else, this has been about changing to a less sedentary lifestyle.

LAST YEAR: 2012 was a skinny racing, or should I say participating, year. I did a couple of races, but family obligations (there were many) took precedence this year, as they always do.  My hope is to see time improvement from last year, especially in the run, and advances in my overall endurance fitness.

2013 RACES: I am pointing to 2 races in Feb and March. After that, who knows. I'll probably do the local sprint tri in July and possibly hit an Oly and a couple of other sprints during the summer. Oh yeah, my wife and I may do the "Life’s a Beach Triathlon” which is a fun race for the second time.  And I intend to volunteer at Rev3 Venice again, as I had a great time doing that this past year.

BODY COMP: As I mentioned above, this all started as part of a family weight loss challenge. I started at 240 lbs. At my lowest I had reached 207, which felt low for me. Currently I am about 220, with a goal weight of 210+/- for race season.

I am very interested in health and wellness. I am not the fastest, nor will I ever be. I am supportive, upbeat, and really do want to be a better triathlete. I have questions and will hopefully have answers as well.

Hi all, Happy almost near Year, I hope there's still room in this group once I finish typing....

Name:  Reece

STORY:  Just finished my 4th season in endurance events.  Swam two years in HS, slow for a swimmer in SoCal, best 500 yd free was 5:45, something like that.  Ran one year of HS XC, best 5K was 17:37, wish I still had that speed.  After HS it was 3 years in the army, then on the sofa for 20+ years.  Did my first tri at the young age of 42 and I'm still in the game.  I'd like to complete a full IM before the age of 50, maybe 2014.

FAMILY STATUS:  Wife, daughter 13, son 16, 1 dog

CURRENT TRAINING:  I try to do some kind of s/b/r 5-6 times a week.  In early November I developed a bad case of PF so running has been here and there but I feel optimistic about my run form for the upcoming summer.  I swim with a masters group twice a week.  Currently going to spin classes at the gym, I like the group setting, the socializing etc.  I actually bought a KK fluid training two years ago, it's still in the box.  Thinking I'll finally get it out this winter as I want to beat "that guy" who kept finishing in front of me this year.

2012 RACES:  PR'd my 5K, ran a HM, 3 sprints, one HIM (Branson), bike relay for HIM (Kansas), one Marathon.  I also completed my first century where the temp got to 105 deg F.  I broke my collar bone back in May ans was supposed to do the K.C. 5150 series race and the Kansas HIM.  I was in good shape to qualify for HyVee 5150 AG Elite when that all went down.  So that resulted me in signing up for the quite hilly but fun Branson HIM.

2013 RACES:  Actually nothing scheduled yet.  I will probably do the Kansas HIM in June and there's talk of the 5150 series race moving to the same site as the Kansas HIM in May so will probably do that.  I will probably do some sprints and a few oly distance races.

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER OF THIS GROUP:  I'm fairly active on the forums, I log every workout on this site, I enjoy learning from those who post here.  I take constructive criticism well and don't take things personally and admit I can use a good kick in the pants every once in a while.  I have a competitive spirit but am not overly competitive, whatever that means.  I have improved my fitness every years since I've started and look to do the same this year.  When I read the guidelines for SBR Utopia it sounded like a good focused mentor group which is what I need.

bzgl40 - 2012-12-25 4:44 PM

Asalzwed - 2012-12-25 3:27 PM

bzgl40 - 2012-12-25 3:32 PM

Asalzwed - 2012-12-25 2:13 PM

bzgl40 - 2012-12-24 2:52 PM

Two things, snowboarding is not crazy, and let me know if you want any tips regarding Rainer.  One thing I can confidently say about climbing Rainer is - Do not unclip from your rope team to wander off and go to the bathroom.  The odds of falling into a crevasse increase greatly apparently...  The next year my team wouldn't let me unclip, like I was even going to think of it.  Once in a crevasse is enough thank you very much

I said weird, not crazy Did you climb Rainier while training for SBR? Glad your crevasse story ended differently than a lot of them do!

Yup, I was doing a few races at the time, as well as marathons.  Same with my climbing partners.  The seasons slightly offset each other and the running and biking actually really assist in the climbing.  I've done a few attempts at Rainer and I must say the best was the winter cause only the crazy were there.  lol 

It makes me incredibly happy to read that. In addition to the SBR what else were you doing if you dont mind me asking? I'm trying to gauge what kind of a commitment I'm making. Not that I have an issue doing so but I am a planner. Also, badazz climbing in winter. I'm not that tough! I'll bet the crevasses aren't as wide though

That was the time I feel in the crevasse.  lol  In the summer they are exposed but in the winter they can have a layer of snow over them, hiding them.  Conditioning wise you will be totally fine.  It is probably a bigger impact to your running so you'll want to plan were you can have an easy week after the fact.  You'll be doing a mountaineer summit, so you'll just plum be exhausted if nothing else from getting up at midnight and climbing all day.  Coming down is the worse.  Your typically going from 10,000ft to the summit and all the way down in the same day.  EXHAUSTING.  And it feels like the mountain will just never end.  And a lack of oxygen to boot.  Are you thinking of doing it guided or with experienced climbers?  I climbed a lot back then, many a trip up Mt Hood and other mountains around but I'd say my running is what got me into shape.  The other big thing is the weight on your back but how much depends on if your guided or not.  We had tents and all our gear so we had a lot.  So you'll want to make sure your lower back and shoulders are ok with that.  I actually did strength training specific to that.  Personally I would spend some time taking some self arrest classes and practicing.  We always practiced when we were out climbing.  An avalanche safety class wouldn't hurt either.  Best that you can make solid decisions for yourself and not have to trust anyone else.  Rainer is serious stuff but totally doable with some common sense and no summit fever. 

I'm going up with experienced climbers. We already have plans in place to do an avy safety course (refresher) as well as self arrest so, I'm feeling pretty on track. 

Thanks again. This is the feedback I have been looking for. 

So, these are sort of nitty-gritty questions.

Can anyone explain to me the purpose of a tempo run? And by tempo I mean about 45-15 seconds slower than 10K pace? It's my understanding that it is a variety of LT training, more specifically to improve endurance at a more difficult pace. I could be wrong though, and feel free to correct me.

Now my second question is specific to a LT workout. If you are doing a workout specific to improving your LT, is it better to run this at or slightly slower your LT pace than a little too fast? I read somewhere (I think it was Pfitz's book) that running harder than your LT pace can actually set you back. I'm curious if that is true. And if it is, why it's true. 

Different folks use different terminology. I use the Macmillan calculator and tempo is closer to 10km pace than that and I usually run them from 20-30 minutes at 10kpace + ~10s. I was told they your body to clear lactate, but personally they teach me to run at threshold which you  'get more used to'. If I  don't do these runs, running at threshold is very difficult.

A bit slower, is what Macmillan calls steady state. 40-45min runs at close the HM pace. These apparently teach you to run longer at faster pace.

This year I was doing Oly and HIMs so felt both runs would be more race specific to these distances.

When in prime running season, I run each of these once a week as part of my medium (BarryP) runs.

I usually don't hit LTHR during either of these runs.

That is my limited experience and understanding.

Great questions.  I would be interested on hearing the responses.  I tend to run mostly easy.  Rarely do I run faster than marathon pace.

Yeah, that was then!  Now I am happy to finish a workout without the paramedics being involved!

Aiii! Carumba! I get sidetracked by holidays and look what happened...a whole new Mentor group already on page 8...hopefully I will sneak in under the wire (directly copied from last go-rounds bios with a couple of updates):

NAME: itsallrelative_Maine / Jennifer

STORY:  Inactive (mostly) until starting triathlon training 3.5 years ago. A local triathlon (in the boonies in Maine) course passes right by my house. I watched one year and thought that there was no reason I couldn't do that with some training...so I trained and DNF'ed due to a bike mechanical. I made myself sign up for another sprint two months out and was able to finish that time - and officially caught the bug. After my initial sprint year, I did another couple of sprints and an Olympic - but had to cut the season short due to family illness. The next year (2011) I planned on completing my first HIM - but was derailed by an injury (the cuboid bone in my right foot slips out of place due to a long ago run in with a car). This year, I completed my first HIM (Patriot HIM in East Freetown, MA in June) and was so pumped up after finishing, I promptly signed up for another (Pumpkinman HIM in South Berwick, ME in September). I finished but was crushed by my solidly BOP performance.

FAMILY STATUS  Married (20 years in February) with two girls (12 and 10), an aging cat and the best running buddy yellow lab a girl could ask for.

CURRENT TRAINING: After my HIM performance, I told my husband to sell my bike and wetsuit because I was all done with triathlon. I am now slowly, slowly, slowly finding my way back into training. I am working on Jorge's Winter Cycling program (I do the bulk of my bike on the trainer due to schedule constraints and the fact that there are no shoulders on the roads up here), continuing to build the strength back in my foot with the help of a PT while using BarryP's running program. Right before the second HIM, I was running between 35-40 mpw, which I really enjoyed. I'd like to get back there - pain free. Swimming....this I struggle with. There aren't any Master's Swim options nearby, I have access to a pool, but am not very good at swimming, so I don't like to do it. I would like to swim 3 times a week, but because it is my least favorite of the three sports, it becomes the first to fall when schedule conflicts arise. For the winter (during swim team season when fighting for a lane is too challenging for me), I'm substituting Bikram yoga (hot yoga) for swim until mid March when I will get back into the pool. Sadly - the ice won't be out on the local ponds and lakes until late April - so indoors it will be for the bulk of my winter training.

2012 RACES: I completed the Great Bay Half Marathon in April with a dear friend, the Patriot HIM in June (fantastic race - I really liked it) and Pumpkinman HIM in September..

2013 RACES: My four year ago goal for 2013 was a full distance, but after my experience on the HIM distance, I'm thinking I need to get this figured out before moving up. Also - I figure I should try to spend time with the kids while they still want to hang around with me...there's always time for the full in a few years. I have signed up for the Great Bay Half Marathon (will be the third year in a row) in early April as a way to motivate me through the winter. I have tossed around the idea of doing the Patriot HIM again, and possibly the Rev3 in Old Orchard Beach in late August. I'm still a bit gun-shy from last season to commit to a specific race, but I am hoping to get my head on straight by late January.

WEIGHTLOSS: I'd always like to lose a few, but don't have the motivation to be strict enough with my eating. I did Paleo for the first three months on 2012 and didn't notice anything significantly different.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:  I am pretty active on the boards and always want to learn.

Name: Chris

STORY:  Participating in the sport since 2008.  2 IMAZ's, 3 HIM's, some Oly's and sprints under the belt. Looking to improve speed at the HIM distance this year.   I am active duty in the Army, currently stationed at West Point, NY.  This should be a great year for consistent training while building off of my fitness from last year. 

FAMILY STATUS: Incredibly supportive wife and a 1 year old daughter. 

CURRENT TRAINING: Building my winter base.  Coming off of a 50 mile run in November so returning to swim and bike focus, while maintaining running endurance.

2012 RACES:  HIM, marathon, 50 mile run, a few century rides thrown in as well.

2013 RACES:  My focus is Eagleman 70.3 for now.  Will likely throw in some additional races as the year progresses. 

WHAT WOULD MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER OF THIS GROUP:  I am ready to learn from the veterans on the board on what it takes to go to the next level.  All of my workouts are logged.  I want to support others to accomplish their goals, as I attempt to accomplish mine. 

That kind of highlights one of my concerns about training with a Masters Swim Team - I am not convinced that a Swimming Coach fully understands the needs/goals of a triathlete.  Before everyone gets upset, I understand and agree that training with a Masters team (or any other organized team for that matter) is probably better than trying to go it alone, especially for someone for whom swimming is not their "first" sport.  Don't know about everyone else, but when I hit the water in a tri-event, I will be doing freestyle.  Arguably, it is beneficial to train in all the strokes during a workout to strengthen other muscle groups; however, I don't believe you need to perfect those other stokes, unless you are planning to swim 2.4 miles using that other stroke or are planning to enter swim meets (and we can debate the wisdom of an above water breaststroke recovery for 2.4 miles another day).  I am not a big fan of kick-boards and swim fins, which seem to be in vogue with a lot of swim coaches and training plans now days.  I recall back in the day, we were putting in 12-15K yards/day and I don't recall doing 500 yards/week on a kick-board.  Swim fins?  Don't even get me started!  I don't think we can use those in a race can we?  What is the purpose of using them in a workout?  I have a great deal of respect for swim coaches, and I trained for decades under a coach who I believe was and is the best swimming coach EVER, anywhere in the world.  One of his guiding principles was that you must fully understand what you are doing in training and why you are doing it.  What is the benefit?

Next time your deck coach asks if you want to streamline your breaststroke, I would ask how that is going to help you as you are doing freestyle 1.2 miles from shore in the swim leg of a triathlon.  My guess is he/she won't have an answer and they will leave you alone.

Thank you to everyone that offered comments on snow and ice running!  I woke up this morning with the greatest intentions.  I was NOT going to let a little bit of snow keep me from my meager run.  Then I looked outside - 6+ inches of snow on the ground, near white-out conditions, wind-chill at like 9 degrees (F), wind over 20 MPH.  After a couple minutes of careful consideration (actually about 3 seconds) I decided the better part of valor was to not do something stupid and cause an injury.  My wife had a snow day from work, I had a snow day from running.  I got to spend more time coding a clients new website, my wife got to work out her thumb (channel up, channel down).  I guess all in all, it was a wash.

Please forgive me for being naive about all things running - not sure what that means?  Are you referring to intervals or something similar?

Sorry in advance to everyone, I will be asking a lot of "newbie questions."

Name: Elaine

Story: Headed to Army Training in January - just want to hang out with you guys until then.

Family Status: Live in boyfriend and dog.

2012 Races: A few sprints, an Xterra, 70.3...

2013 Races: Hitting the Oly circuit hard trying to make the Army team.

Weightloss: Just maintaining. Basic will be interesting.

Winter Goals: Be physically prepared for Basic and OCS

What Would Make Me a Good Member: At this point - not a lot. But you'll deal with me anyway, and I'll contribuite for another month... then come back in the summer.

Couch to 5k

A few things:

1. the coach is there to coach swimmers, not triathletes. If you have special needs as a triathlete, you should talk to the coach about them outside of practice time. You shouldn't talk back on the deck.

2. Swim toys - like fins, bouys, and kickboards, have a time and a place. They are tools that can help achieve certain body positions, a "feel", or just take off the focus from one area to work harder on another. Or even, just break up monotony.

I'd re-do if you're basing training on HR Zones. You'll be mostly training on the hills you'll be testing on, right?

Pretty much yeah

Finished another day of the daily challenge with only 5 rides left to make the year.  After that I went out for a seven mile run with my daughter to burn off some of yesterdays food.  She was kind enough to run at my pace.  Legs were tight and didn't want to move as I would have liked them to.

Question on the BT training for the 1/2 iron.  If it is a twenty week program and the half I want to do is in August, should I start to follow it now or wait till spring when the timing seems to match? With the New England winter starting to settle in, my concern is I wouldn't really be able to stick to it that much (I hate trainers).  Should I just do my bike, swim and runs as I am now and just build over the winter?

I'd wait until 20 weeks before your race. That sort of structured training (and repeating sections) can get tough, mentally.

You've got time and freedom to focus on a weekness, maintain fitness, and have fun with your training.

Take a look at the first few weeks of the program and see if it seems like it will be a challenge for you or not.  If you are looking at those weeks and thinking it's going to be tough, spend the time between now and then just being as consistent as you can and build yourself up to the point that the beginning of the plan isn't a major shift in your training, it just becomes something more structured.

You could also look at some of the winter maintenance programs here on BT and follow one of those between now and the beginning of the HIM plan.

I agree with this.  It's also a good time to focus on your weakness

Can I ask why you train based on HR vs pace ? Not saying it's good or bad, just curious.