Ernesto's group - CLOSED (Page 70)

You'll get no arguments from me.  From when my wife found out she was pregnant with our third until recently my life and training have been erratic.  Just this summer with changing jobs and settling in to having a toddler I have found myself in a better place.  Although I know I wasn't ready to admit when I joined your group - I was overtraining and always playing catch up in my training - that led to inconsistency from not being able to train from going too hard too often.

I skipped a planned cycling workout the other day because I knew that it would be too much with the key workouts I had planned for the weekend.  After a few years or so dabbling the sport I'm getting smarter.  Its good to be around you guys!  Thanks!

Chris, I had some major problems here last few years even when I used to take out my hybrid. Couple of things are changing the saddles... work with your LBS in experimenting with a few. Or ebay them. I have started using chamois cream as well. A good bike fit is important so boys are bothered while riding. One of my buddies wears a spandex/compression underwear and then bike shorts over it for a snugger fit. I know, its not recommended but he feels comfortable this way (this dude is IM and very strong rider). 

With all saddle changes, chamois cream and bike fit in place sometimes its about how heavy you are on the saddle. Sometimes I have had good 50mi+ rides and sometimes uncomfortable ones and I think my riding posture was the key on those days. 

Just like Scott says, the other way is to spend time on the bike and get used to it. I'm not gonna lie, one of the biggest discomforts of Ironman is the last 30 miles of the bike when your genitalia is numb from the poor circulation and the saddle sore is through the roof. However, anything below 3 hours shouldn't hurt and if it does, it is time for your butt fit.

Ernesto... 

You all know I'm up for it and Scott is well ahead.  We have to up date out BT logs for this month.  I know I missed 2 days already do to weather here.  

As for saddle issues I'd like to add that you "BOYS" aren't the only one with issues.  Although the "girls" have different issues of our own, saddle time is uncomfortable and at times down right painful.  When I got a new saddle I thought I'd die, and never get through anything more than 30 minutes.  I've broken it in and that made a huge difference (although I think i want one shaped to me a little better).  Although I don't know exactly what your going through,..... It is universal.  

Ernesto,
That sounds good to me.  I'll update my logs to reflect this month's training.

As far as saddles go, I can tell my story.  My first saddle was rather firm and uncomfortable, so as I started doing longer rides I ultimately thought going to a gel type saddle would be a good idea.  After my second gel saddle I came to realize that squishy saddles were just too annoying.  So I finally did what I should've done and went to a bike shop to get measured for a saddle.  I got a rather firm Specialized saddle and after breaking it in I found it is very comfortable.  I've completed many century rides, two half IMs, and 4 IM bike rides on it.  The key is getting fit to your "sit bones" as the guy in the bike shop explained to me.  A properly sized saddle (after breaking it in) should be comfortable enough to do long rides.  Many bike shops will let you have a trial period for saddles so I would ask about that.

I hope that helps!

OK, I have updated my log for this month.  As you will see the first week, I was still missing time because Justin was home from school.  He seems on an upswing finally so I will be putting in my time.  Scott and I are working out offseason now so this is good for us.  We pick up a solid training schedule to train for the 10k in March.  That will include our speedwork and hills.  

Ernesto, you have been pushing for me to go to the track where it is more level.  how long should I run there (distance or time). And sould this be in addition to normal runs or in replace of one.  I think Scott gave me the times I can use the indoor track throughout the week so it's somewhat flexible. 

Today: 6 Mile Tempo Run; 00:50:47

Totals: 13 Days; 10:06:20

Scott, welcome to the group and BT!

Weekend... Saturday did a hard mountain ride, 45 min up on 10% climb, and it's getting hot here, so it felt like hard work. Sunday was just a pool day at my friend's house since we stayed overnight (and had few drinks of Jim Beam and coke...). I feel a bit like it was cheating, but he has a proper lap pool and I didn't just float there trying to get the booze out of the system. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Scott, welcome to the group and look forward to sharing your good insights!

I just came back from my 10K race and actually was able to set up a new PR! I finished it in 47:14 which is a 1:30 improvement from my last 10K.  I guess there is no such thing as just running a race for fun and not pushing yourself . After the race I got in a 50 min indoor bike ride in order not to fall to far behind!

Today, 10K race 47:14 + 50 min indoor bike ride 13.5 mi

Totals 13 days, 13:50:34

Gabe,

Congrats on your PR, more of those to come! And then a ride? wow. Somebody is cranking it up a notch.

Today was my first run for this week due to work, but it wasn't too bad.  9.57 miles of trail running in about 1 hour 32 minutes.

Total for 13 days:  9 hours 21 minutes 27 seconds.

Now you all can see first hand some of the struggles that married endurance athletes face when training for the same races.  Heck, just living the lifestyle!  Scott went out this morning and I opted to go this afternoon so I could get the kids breakfast and ready for church.  It was beautiful this morning!  When I hit the trail a few hours later the winds were up to 28mph...  Oh well, great resistance, right!?!  

So with today's workout I'm sitting at 5:15:23  I think I'm a bit behind but I'm Mom too..LOL!  I'm hanging in there!!  

Day 13, 2.83 miles in 36:22.

Just not feeling it today. I planned on 6 - 8 miles but I couldn't keep my heart rate down and just felt generally fatigued not to mention the 30mph winds. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Total 11:53:22

I feel your pain.  I almost didn't make my run this morning...heard the howling wind in the early AM and had a heavy dinner of beef short ribs, red wine, and mashed potatoes.  I started my run and it took me 1 mile before I decided not to cut it short - Glad I didn't - had probably the best tempo run ever.  Legs a bit sore after the last few days so tomorrow going to keep a slow pace and call it a recovery run.

Gabe, congrats on the PR!

Scott, glad to have your insight.

Jen, welcome back.  I tried the Vibrams and the Merrells.  My feet are drastically different size wise, and I didn't want to buy two pair of Vibrams, but I really liked them.  The Merrells gave me a big blister on the heel.  I ended up with the Saucony Fastwitch 5 (minimalist transition) and I really like them.  They are light and my legs no longer feel heavy when I get finished running.

Mitch, nice to see what you look like

My long run was AWFUL today.  My legs feel like jello.  Going to bed early tonight and probably swimming for the next two days.

13 days 15:43:53 (almost halfway through)

Well, this is the part of the challenge that starts to get tough. It's the body saying no to the frequency, which is normal. You've always known me for putting rest before stress, but in this case make the recovery a light workout, like an easy thirty minutes on the bike. You can do as many of those as you want, until you feel strong again. I'm planning on that tomorrow, there's no way I could have a solid workout after this weekend.

Stay faithful!

Here's today's numbers with everybody at thirteen days except for Scott that started the challenge yesterday:

Chris 16:37'25"

Mark 16:01'00""

Jackie 15:43'53"

Ernesto 13:55'59"

Gabe 13:50'34"

Barry 11:53'22"

Mitch 10:06'20"

Scott 9:21'27"

Keep rocking!

Today: Recovery Run; 00:30:15

Totals: 14 days; 10:36:35

Jackie:  Not the best picture of me - but conveyed an image of loving and being in the outdoors.  Not sure if its still in rotation on the home page - but there was a picture of me in a group of triathletes at race - they had my user name spelled wrong (dangermond instead of dangremond) but it was me a few years ago - in a blue and yellow Orca tri-top.  I think I was on the right side of the picture.

Ernesto: Today I had my first ever run completely in zone 1; 10 min/mile pace - but HR avg at 145.  Also - check out my log for yesterday; I pasted links to yesterdays Tempo Run and a similar run I did in September.  Big difference in all aspects.  I think you can tell how pumped up I am over my progress.  Thank you - and I mean that!

Good to know you finally drank the kool aid. Keep training slow, and you'll become fast. And don't worry about being on the bottom of the hours total for the challenge, most likely in a few days it will not weigh you down while it may not be the case for everybody.