Allison and Ryan's Beginner Mentor Group - FULL (Page 8)

Have you gotten your bike professionally fitted?  it can solve alot of those issues right off the bat, everyone I talk to says on top of decent bike it's the best money you will spend most LBS will do it for around 80, less if you bought the bike there.

Speaking of I now own a roadie, deal came up on craigslist that was right in my price zone so I now have an 06 trek 2100 to ride, now I just need some peddles...

Gratz on your Bike!

I considered that briefly when performing my self diagnosis and analysis but frankly I haven't managed to spend enough time on the bike for it to be much of a contributor to my woes. I'm fairly certain my fit is spot on and equally confident that my knee issues are a direct result of running.....too much on poor form with weak legs. I dealt with this issue a few months back when I was not riding at all.....it's definately running induced. I thought I had it behind me but I guess not.

Dan

ps. congrats on the bike....I got a "new" roadie this year too....makes a big difference from my mountain bike.

Well....I'm ashamed to say shoes may have something to do with it......I have a new pair of Asics that I was just wearing as my "in the gym" shoes for the treadmill and indoor track....and was using my old Avia's for "just a few more runs". I think I'm paying for trying to squeeze every penny's worth of miles out of those old shoes. I have retired the Avia's to lawn duty and will be running in good shoes from now on.

I have a rule: No Criticizing My Own Training Effort. I can have the best workout of the month, and still find some way to discourage myself with shoulda's.

So, making a mental note to try something different next time? Yes, that's legal, and leads to improvement.

Making myself feel bad because of some imaginary bar I didn't meet? Illegal.

You had a tight schedule, and you still managed to fit some training in. Pat yourself on the back, and say "good boy," and move on.

Hey alath - I LOVE that rule! I'm posting that at work...

Just when we thought winter was over.

sheesh - it's snowing this morning and we have almost an inch stuck on the ground. I guess I won't be running outside today. (I don't run outside given my habit of slipping on ice-y surfaces). So treadmill, here I come.

Mary

Tripopo:

Bike Nashbar is a great place to get decent equipment at good prices for the bike.    Congratz on getting the bike.

I went to a running store, got fitted and they gave me some suggestions on shoes.  I wasn't comfortable with any but the Nike's, but still didn't "feel" it, especially when he told me they were $145.  I went to another running store (one recommended by a couple club runners where I work out). He was more thorough, and after watching me walk and run in my old shoes, and my socking feet, he said "There is only one shoe on the market that will work for you".  I'm heavy, very low arch (not flat), and I'm a neutral runner.  I don't pronate.  He brought out a pair of Brooks Dyad's.  AMAZING difference.  They were $90 off with the club discount, a free pair of running socks, and a free t-shirt.

Get properly fitted shoes, and get a second opinion.

Good Luck

I LOVE Nawlin's!  I'm now officially jealous!

Aww I am jealous. I miss authentic New Orleans food and I haven't been down there for quite a few years.   Are you eating beignets at Café du Monde?  Have a hurricane for me at Pat O'Brien's And have fun with the girls!

Alath,

I agree with Mary, I love that rule.  I try to focus on the positive, that any injury free workout was a good workout.  But sometimes it's easy to dwell on not hitting the goal for the workout/day/week/month.  One of the biggest changes I'm trying to make regarding my workouts is in managing my expectations.  The old me would have looked at my schedule and my plan and immediately figured out that I didn't have time for a 41 minute run and bagged the whole thing.  So me going out and getting in what I could is a dramatic change for me.  But I was still frustrated at only getting that short little run in.  So I love your rule and will work at keeping it more in mind the next time I'm caught short, like today!  Thanks much for the feedback.

Haven't been in here to post updates last couple of days because of a last minute emergency business trip to NYC that I'm still recovering from.  Didn't help my schedule either.  Can you believe the Hilton in NYC charges $15 to use their fitness center?!  Ridiculous.  Pretty much on travel on Sunday and managed to squeeze in a half-hour run on the dreadmill (I'm starting to hate that thing) on Monday.  I flew back early Tuesday morning and got in a swim. 4x25 warm-up 5x100(10sec rest) intervals, 4x100 kickboard, 4x25 cooldown. 

I'm back on schedule today (hopefully).  I have to swim my first continuous 500 today.  Wish me luck! I can't say I'm not intimidated by the prospect of going to full distance.  Hope to get in a quick bike ride today too.

Hey all, good to see that everyone is getting some workouts in and making progress.  I'm having a tough time fitting things in myself right now.  I ended up tossing a swim, long bike and a run out the window over the weekend and taking a much needed rest with the family.  Sometimes you have to do that to let your body and mind recharge.

With three full days off I was able to hit my workouts yesterday with renewed spirit and may actually be able to keep myself on track this week.  At the same time I'm contemplating dropping from a competitive training plan to something a little less driven.  As much as I love triathlon and want to do the best I'm capable of, there are lots of other factors to consider with time and family.

I see that crazy Aunt Quincy stopped by to say hi.  Don't listen to her when she says her only advice relates to running in costume.  She's an amazing runner who regularly podiums in 5ks for her age group.  She's also run a half-marathon, a marathon and finished an 8(?) mile race with sub 7 minute miles after a breakfast of beer and tacos.  Her sprint and Oly times are consistently FOP and she's doing Racine 70.3 with me this summer where her speed and agility will make people wonder if we swapped age groups.

Anyway, I've been working on a nice long post about heart rate training that I hope to finish and put up here for you guys today so I'm going to get back to that now.

Okay, since the question has come up a couple times, I'll give you a brief rundown of training by heart rate and zones.  This is how I train and as a control freak who loves to see the numbers and be able to do concrete comparisons it's wonderful.  There are a lot of good things about heart rate training, but it's important to know that it's not the only way to train nor is it the right method for everyone.

Everyone has their own individual heart rate zones.  The tried and untrue way to calculate these has traditionally been 220-age to get your maximum heart rate then set your zones as percentages of that.  According to that formula my MHR would be 187 but I regularly finish races with my heart rate at 200-202 without having a heart attack so we know that's not accurate.  You can get your actual maximum heart rate by doing a test but it's dangerous and should only be done in doctor's office under supervision. 

Fortunately there's a better way to figure out your zones and that is using numbers based on your lactate threshold.  When you go into an anaerobic zone your muscles don't have the oxygen they need to continue working so they create lactic acid to convert glucose into energy.  That lactic acid builds up and then needs to be removed through the blood stream and absorbed by the body.  When the muscles produce more lactic acid than can be absorbed into the blood stream you've reached your lactic threshold and your body can't sustain the effort any more.

Over time as you increase fitness your body becomes more efficient at removing lactic acid.  As this happens your lactate threshold will change allowing your body to continue functioning at higher heart rates for longer.  That's why you want to test your lactate threshold every 6 months or so.  The tests are simple, but grueling.

Run Test

Plan a 20-30 minute route on flat roads/trails or head to a track.  You could do this on a treadmill, but I've found that it's easier to do this outside.  After a 10-15 minute easy warm-up start your 20 minute trial.  Run the fastest pace you can sustain for the entire run while recording your heart rate.  You're going to be tired and it's going to hurt but keep pushing.  At the end of the 20 minutes stop recording to your heart rate then do a 10-15 minute easy cool down. 

Your average heart rate for those 20 minutes will be considered your LT.  That number can then be plugged into the zone calculator here on BT in your training log settings to give you your zone breakdowns. 

Bike Test

Plan a 20-30 non-stop route on a flat or slightly uphill road or use a trainer.  Do a 10-15 minute warm-up keeping your RPMs up around 90.  Start recording your heart rate for your 20 minute trial where you will ride as hard as you can sustain for the entire trial time.  You'll want to keep your RPMs up around that 90 mark which may require changing gears which is fine.  After finishing the 20 minute trial do a 10-15 minute easy cool down.

Your average heart for those 20 minutes will be considered your LT which you can plug into the BT heart rate calculator in the training log settings.

There are several excellent articles here on BT on the subject of lactate threshold, testing and heart rate training and you should definitely read through some of those as well.  I'll do another post later about which zones you should be in for training and racing.

Lactate Threshold Heart-Rate Zone Testing Protocol

New Triathlete: What to Use Instead of Lactate Threshold Testing for Heart Rate Zones

Which Method is Best to Find My Training Heart Rate?

Heart Rate Monitor Training for Triathletes Part I

Heart Rate Monitor Training for Triathletes Part II

Lisa, this sounds very similar to the problem I've been struggling with over the last month.  My left IT band flared up more in my hip than my knee.  The tightness caused it to keep snapping over my hip bone which caused more pain but also inflammation (bursitis) in the hip socket.  That in turn pulled my pelvis down on my left side resulting in an imbalance the twisted my L4.  From the first sign of pain to all of this happening was 48 hours and I could barely walk for about 5 days. I still haven't run further than 2.5 miles since it happened.  My chiropractor said all of this was a result of OVER stretching.

If you have persistent pain that doesn't respond to typical treatment (rest, ice, compression, elevation) go see a doctor to make sure you're treating the right thing in the right way. 

WOOHOO! Swim breakthrough for me today.  So as you all know I've been doing this 12 week beginners swimming plan.  Well today the workout was for me to swim the entire 500 continuously and I did it!  Prior to today the longest continuous swim I've ever done was a 100.  I was sceptical at first it because it seemed like a ridiculous jump to go from 100s to a 500 but I was able to do it and still felt pretty good at the end.

I could tell that I was getting tired toward the end though as my form started to falter a bit but at least I know now that I can swim the entire distance of the swim leg.  I'm pretty stoked because now I know that I can finish my first triathlon.

Congrats Keye.  Nothing like completing a long swim to build your confidence.  Now you can work on that distance and improving your time in it and staying strong on your form throughout. Pretty soon you'll be swimming 750!

Keye - that's GREAT news! Good for you.

It's so wonderful when you hit your own milestones...