chichitao's group - FULL! (Page 78)

I know it's a holiday but I am at work so I will post my weight today.  A little embarrassed but I went to a few parties and celebrated my wife getting a promotion!  So all things considered I didn't go up nearly as much as I thought I would.  Began this morning at 207.2, and was a 205.4 last Mon.

Hope everyone had a good and safe weekend!  Happy Independence Day!

Tim - Congrats to your wife!!!  Super cool.  I know how you feel with the parties and the weight gain.  It's tough!  You'll get back on track this week though!

I didn't weigh myself today (forgot!), but I did weigh myself on Saturday, and I'm back down in the 159 range, so I'm doing pretty good about my food intake.  I'm just getting frustrated with not being able to workout.  I need to get this knee thing figured out ASAP, or I think I'll go crazy!

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans!  And Happy Belated Canada Day to the Canadians, too!  Don't want to leave you guys out of the fun!

Tim, I'm right there with you. I don't remember the exact number, but I was up about 2 lbs, as well. All things considered, not that bad, considering the consumption that took place this weekend...

So this week is my taper week. Have to really reel in the diet and hydration, which I know I have been a bit relaxed on for the last week... time to get serious! No more messing around!

It's been a busy time the last week.  Finally more than a few minutes to check in here with all of you.

Debbie, happy belated birthday!

Erica, nice going on the positive progression with your weight despite the decrease in activity due to the injury, that's not easy.

Tim and Pete, good job with keeping the weekend in check weight-wise, it is hard not to go up on these holiday weekends.

Meggan, hope all is going well with you and that you've managed to get in some good beach time over the long weekend.

My weight was once again steady this week, no change, which I am okay with considering the many indulgences over the weekend.  I did have to take to days off from any activity last week, having had a minor surgery on my shoulder, but I was back at it again on Friday morning, with an 8KM race on Canada Day for charity.  I was very pleased with my time, as it now feels like I am almost back to before my calf injury(speedwise) last year.  Saturday, we had a very large group going up to do the Grouse Grind, took a minute off my best time so far this year, and since the weather cooperated we got to enjoy the outdoor patio while we had our recovery drink(BEER!)  Finished the day off with a 2hr dog walk with a good friend.  Sunday was a 12K run, and more enjoyment of sunshine before heading home to do laundry and chores that had been put off. 

All I can say right now is, Life is GOOD!  Happy belated Independence Day to my American friends!

Hey guys!  The good news and the bad news...

Vacation was fabulous!!  We spent lots of time at the beach, hit the waterpark on Logan's birthday, tons of time spent on the rides at the boardwalk, miles and miles of walking, and lots of other fun stuff with the family.  I got a few bike rides in on my hybrid that now stays at the shore.  We hit up a local zoo one day when the weather was iffy.  We got some storms Sunday morning and they were calling for them off and on all day.  We have about a 3/4 mile walk from the house to the ocean so I was not feeling the beach that day.  We went to one of the waterparks for a 3 1/2 hour session on Logan's birthday and I was beat.  This was the first year that Joe did not want to spend most of the time in the kids area.  I was up tons of stairs for the entire time.  I told him I wanted a break at one point and he said the slide down was my break.  When we are on the boardwalk for the rides, Joe always wants John with him so I took advantage of him wanting me for the morning.  There was some family crap over the weekend and we almost came home a day early but my mother in law would not let us leave!  We had plans to go out for drinks Sunday night and I told her we were leaving the next morning.  She told me absolutely not because she was going to the beach with us on Monday.  This woman does not leave the house when she is down there!!  She rotates from the front deck to the back deck the entire weekend.  This is probably the only time she will step foot on the beach all summer so we stayed to spend the day with her.

The bad news...Did you notice I did not mention "runs" in the vacation description?!?!  I have finally accepted/acknowledged that something is probably wrong with my Achilles.  I have an appointment with a podiatrist Thursday night.  I wish I had a doctor already and could just call and have them send me for an MRI.  I know that will be the first step so I wish I could just bypass the first appointment. 

Because of the Achilles, I have taken a break from running and plan on spending more time on the bike for the next few weeks.  I still can't get outside often so I have taken to setting the trainer up in the living room yesterday and today.  I can't leave my bike out because of the boys but it is simple enough to move it.  I guess it is better than nothing.

Well, I'm off to the cottage for my first race of the season! I'll probably check in from time to time before/after the race, too, to let you guys know how I fare! Here's my pacing plan:

Hammer the swim

Hammer the bike

Hammer the run

Hopefully it works out and I can better my time from last year!

Meggan, glad you had such a good vacation.  But sorry to hear about the achilles.  Sounds like you are doing the right thing in getting it checked out now.  Wife had some achilles issue and it was caused by a flat foot and the lack of flexibility in her calf.  She's been doing a lot of foam rolling and tennis ball rolling on her calf and it seems to have helped.  Good luck with it.

Good luck with the race Pete!  Did you grab the goggles?!   What distances are you doing?  And your plan seems spot on!

Have a great race Pete!  Sounds like you have a good race plan, hammer, hammer, hammer, finished!  Can't believe it has already been a year since you did that race...time sure flies by.

I'll be going off the grid probably till Monday, full day tomorrow with Dr's appointment, visiting friends, possible visit to the grind and dropping my dog off at the doggy daycare for an overnight stay.  Saturday, I'm up and attum early to head down to Seattle with a 11 of my running friends for an 11am start time for the Dirty Dash(a 10K run in the mud with obstacles), it promises to be a fun day, after which we head back home pick up the dog and off to a party at a friends and then possibly(but doubtful) a trip into Vancouver to watch an outdoor concert.  Sunday morning is my long slow run and then probably a long walk with the dog(hoping he'll be too tuckered from his overnight stay/doggy daycare) laundry and meal planning for the week...I'm exhausted just thinking about it all!

I hope everyone has a totally awesome weekend!

Well...I am glad I already ran my marathon because I don't think another one is in my near or distant future.

Long story short, the structure of my foot is totally messed up and is the root of my flat feet and my Achilles issues.  He took an xray of my left foot since that is the one that is giving me the problems right now and a bone is not even pointed in the right direction.  Short of major reconstructive surgery, there is nothing that will fix the actual problem.  He did not offer details on the surgery and I did not ask because I am not interested in that at all right now.  He also said there is some minor arthritis in that foot and will most likely get worse.

So, the plan of action right now is anti inflammatory daily, a night splint, and some laser therapy that is supposed to increase circulation and decrease the inflamation.  There was talk of a different kind of orthotic too but we will talk about that more next week when I go back. 

He asked me when my next race is and I told him next Sunday and I will be doing it.  I am definitely doing my next two tris but will be skipping the half marathon in August.  I told him I have no problem doing the tris on very few training runs.  I will probably do a mile run this week and two 1 mile runs next week at the most. 

This sucks!

Ugh, really sorry to hear the news there Meggan.  Doesn't sound like a fun situation to be in and hope the initial plan will bring some relief and be all that is needed.  Surgery on a foot sounds like it could be a long recovery.  Just more time to spend on the bike and swimming right?!

That sounds terrible, Meggan! Sorry to hear the news. But you got your marathon out of the way, and no one can ever take that away from you! 

Speaking from experience, I can't imagine being off of your feet for any amount of time with kids. I was non-weight bearing for 3 months a few years ago, and you are really useless. It is something that I took completely for granted, but when you are using crutches, you really can't do anything, because you can't use your hands. I couldn't even make my own meals, get my own glass of water, etc. Not a fun position. If you can put it off and it's not going to get any worse, I definitely think it's a good idea. At least until the boys can wait on you hand and foot That's what kids are for, anyways, isn't it?

Definitely a good time to get yourself super comfortable on your pretty still-new-ish bike!

I am trying to be ok with this but I am far from it.  I have been close to tears all morning.

Virtual hug for you Meggan, I hope they can figure out a way to make it all work for you, without major surgery, I know how much the running means to you and how it played a big part in your PPD, so you will explore all your options.

Well, the race came and went. I'm still a little upset about it. I will do a race report later on, probably tonight, but here are the vitals:

1:19:xx (4 minutes slower than last year, similar conditions)

26th overall (17th last year)

5th in AG (6th last year)

Great swim, with a wetsuit, good T1. Time was faster than swim alone last year, and this year it included T1 time

Awful bike. At the mount line, dropped my chain, which added about a minute, maybe a bit less. Was 3km/h slower average than last year (granted that includes the chain, but still). Pushed too hard, I think, because...

TERRIBLE run. The course was long (5.6k according to a friend), but it took me 27 mins to finish. It should have been under 25... I am pretty sure my bike limited my run. I just couldn't get the legs moving.

So... overall, I should be pretty happy, because I did alright, but I'm not. I don't like that I did worse than last year. I REALLY don't. I am very happy that my swim got better, and I was the 3rd person in my wave out of the water. Don't like my bike, and really don't like my run. I'm still pretty down on myself about it, if you can't tell :P

Oh, and I gained some weight (which I expected, I was a munching machine after the race), and got super sun burned, so I'm really sore. And I had an awful dream last night. Just not a good start to the week

I think 26th overall and 5th in your AG is pretty darn awesome!  Every race doesn't go as planned, but provides a good learning experience.  You started, you finished, your not injured, and you did the best you could on that day.  Not much else you could ask for, IMO. 

My weight came in at 205.8 today.  I was 207.7 last Mon so it is still trending down.  Been a little lax with the workouts lately but going to kick it back in gear today.  It's hard to get motivated to go workout when it is 100-105 degrees every day, but I brought my run gear to work so I have no excuses. 

So has anyone been watching the Tour?  It's been super crazy.  Been taking up a lot of my time watching it every day.  Today is a rest day for them so I get one night of reprieve too!

Thanks, Tim. I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but I'm just mad that I did worse than last year, that's all, I think. But the past is the past, I can only look to the future now!

I haven't really been watching, because I can't find a place that I can watch it online, and I don't have cable. I saw some at a pub last night... Saw the guy get hit by the car! That was scary... real scary. I haven't heard what came of it, though...

Meggan, I hope that you're feeling better today!  I'm so sorry about what you're going through.  It's so tough.  Please keep us in the loop about it.

Pete, I think you did great!  But we're all our own worst critics.  If it makes you feel any better, I have awful nightmares quite often that will really affect my days.  Ryan has had to shake me awake on multiple occasions because I'll be sobbing uncontrollably.  And you think YOU have it bad...  

Have we heard about Sandra's race, or did I miss something?  I haven't been around at all!

The last week has been pretty good for me, all things considering.  My PT finally gave me a cho-pat strap, and it works WONDERS!  I've felt tons better, and I have been doing short jogs with the PT at my sessions.  He released me to job 0.5 miles this weekend if I felt up to it, so I'm hoping to do it tonight!  I should go to once/week for PT next week, then hopefully once/month after a couple weeks!  SUPER excited, especially since I leave for Portland in under 6 weeks!  AHHH!!!

Ryan's race is this Sunday, too!  IF you guys could give him some inspires this week, I would really appreciate it! His username is menglo.  He's getting nervous, but I have faith in him!  He hasn't missed a single training session in months.  So impressive!

I am trying hard to be positive right now.  I already know I am going to be spending more time on the bike which is not a bad thing.  I have been checking out the 15 week bike plan by JorgeM.  I am being realistic and know a lot will be on the trainer and I am ok with that.  I remember someone saying about the foot cadence/sensor thing that is compatible with my Garmin.  Anyone have one?  Is it worth it?

I have the Garmin 310 with the cadence sensor and speed sensor on it.  I don't care for cadence counting, and honestly, the speed part of it isn't really right since it all depends on your trainer's resistence.  It's only really accurate outside.  To me, the Garmin is really only helpful while running!

You will LOVE Jorge's plan though!  I had such a good time doing it, you'll see improvements immediately.  Let me know what you think! 

OH, I also got in my first ever OWS with a wetsuit on Friday night!  It was really hard since I haven't swam in forever, but I figured it would be okay since I didn't kick at all with the suit on.  I had so much fun, and I only did like 300 yards!  Ryan did 1.25 miles in like 33 minutes, too, so he's ready to rock!

Also, totally random, but I got my hair cut short Friday.  I've never had short hair, so I'm looking forward to my first run without my hair all over my neck!

And here I am again, it's been a crazy weekend, but oh so much fun!  The Dirty Dash was well worth the 7-8 hours of driving to do.  I'll try to post a picture later in the week. 

I was up 2lbs this week:-(  I think it is water weight, because of some of the food I ate over the weekend.  I'll check it again on Thursday and see where I'm at then.

Erica, good news about the strap, I know a few people that run with them and love it.  I hope this helps you progress through your problems and gets you back on track to where you were before you were sidelined with the running.

Pete, any race completed is a win in my eyes, so way to go!  Each race is different even if it is the same course, and I can only dream of placing that high in a race:-)

Tim, you are doing great on the weightloss, having the wife on board this time around is really making the difference I think, keep with it and you will reach your goal!

Meggan, really hope you can get things figured out with your foot, so that you can continue running the long distances.  Really explore all your options and in the meantime focus on the bike and build up your confidence, speed and distance there. 

Please be honest with me, if you were in my situation, would you do the tri on Sunday?