BamaDC's Mentor Group v4.0 - Closed (Page 8)

My training was cut short last week by a trip to Memphis, Tn.  Wife and I took a quick trip to enjoy the weekend alone...without kids! It was a great trip but I did not get any running in over the weekends...unless you count the trips to the bar.  Wife and I ate ribs, drank beer on Beale street and ate fried chicken!  I have not had fried chicken in almost three years.  I have drawn a conclusion that the people in the south only eat fried foods....lol.  It was a great time but good to be back and running. 

I ran 2.25 miles today and it felt smooth.  HR began to drift up halfway on the run but it finally slowed back down.  Starting over after 8 weeks off is killing me!!!  I hope to be released from the doctor next week.  I'm looking forward to getting on the bike and being able to swim.

Hope everybody has a great week.

Not a big deal, but my screen name is actually JCZ.

But you've given me inspiration to finally upload an avatar...... of JCVD. 

Busted!! 

Todd, are those average or normalized power? 

I had orginally thought of doing New Orleans 70.3 (just too early in the season for me to consider), or even the 5i50 down there in May, but doesn't look too promising of a review.

I've since registered for Memphis in May and Augusta.

So Augusta 70.3 is much better?

That sucks.  As protective as WTC is of their brand you would think they would try to clean up the races to avoid these problems.

As for normalized power I believe GT calls it "xPower".  Slightly different calculation but basically the same thing.

Thanks for the rundown titleloops. I had heard from some of our locals that there was a good bit of drafting and not much to do about it. Really stinks.

I guess you would've thought they would've put the cyclist out at 30-45" intervals instead, but that would've been too easy.

Oh well.

You raced it, and you did well. And of course like Bama said, a little more training and you probably could've done even better! I can't say anything though, I haven't done a HIM yet.

Wow, what a horribly run race!  I was considering doing the 70.3 there as well, but ended up just doing the half marathon in Feb (would have wanted to do the full but couldn't get into the training mojo).  I still haven't done a WTC race, and that's kind of making me not want to!  I would have been pissed to travel all that way for such a poorly run race 

Glad you had a good weekend anyways.  The HM in Feb was my first time in NOLA, and it was a blast.  Definitely a fun place to go to for a few days 

I agree and have 15 lbs I'd like to loose myself.  Problem is I can't seem to do it an maintain my training load.  Anyone have any suggestions?  I've basically resolved myself to the fact that I'm going to be hungry.  I'm OK with that but can't seem to find a plan that works.

I read the book Racing Weight last year, and probably have to re-read it now that I'm getting back into training.... It talks about trying to get to a body composition that supports peak performance....

It goes into detail about improving your diet quality (focus on whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean proteins, etc), as well as balancing your macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbs) and nutrient timing (should eat more immediately after working out).  The main points I got from it was to make sure you're getting most of your calories from nutritious foods, and determine how much protein/fats/carbs you need based on your weight and training load (more carbs with higher training volume).  It also tells you to base your weight loss goals based on your body fat %, not just weight, and also on performance (10k run times, 30m TT, mile swim time, etc).  If your weight AND performance are decreasing, that means you're probably losing too much weight, or muscle instead of fat, etc.

Anyways, I think I will be re-reading that book so that I know how to eat this season!  It's pretty science-y but there's a lot of stuff in there that could help you come up with a personalized plan for getting leaner while training!

I've never really considered what an ideal weight for me should be.  Training weight vs racing weight, no idea.  I checked in with the scale this AM and was @ 168 which is pretty much par for the course.

Which reminds me, what do you guys snack on during the day?  I used to get a box of mini-Clif bars but I'm pretty tired of them now.  Occasionally I'll eat some mixed nuts but have found I will burn thru a can of those real fast.  What do you guys like to snack on between meals?

Not surprised at all the roads suck.  It is New Orleans, after all.  Everything sinks.  Did they really have to cancel the swim?  The images I saw really weren't that bad (though the lake can get pretty bad, so it may have been).

I've never really been all that excited about the 70.3 as a race (and I'm from New Orleans, so I have a long history and perspective there).  The road conditions are always bad and they really pack too many people into that race.  The only part that really enthuses me about the race is finishing at Jackson Square.  That has got to be truly awesome.

And for Golden Cheetah xpower = Normalized power.  You'll find it in the Ride Summary Tab.

I'm thinking of doing the full there next year.   What did you like/not like about the race?

Sometimes I do clif bars or clif builder's bars if I want more protein.  I also do greek yogurt, hummus & veggies (red peppers, celery, carrot sticks, cucumbers, etc), fruit, HB eggs.  I also like to do variations of pb&j on multigrain bread- but I'll switch it up and use different nut butters (almond, cashew, peanut), and different fruit-based jellies (raspberry, blueberry, fig) or honey.... but I only usually do a 1/2 sandwich between meals.  Of course, I have access to a fridge though!

I've read it, good book.  My 15 lb goal will take me down to 195 which is about 5% lower BF and inline with his recommendations.  I do run and bike testing to figure out what my training zones should be but I'm not comparing them to weight and trying to find and ideal weight because I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not there yet.  My plan was to get down to 195 then start doing things a little more focuses to see if that was the right weight to maintain.  Problem is that I can't figure out a good way to execute this plan.  Mark suggested keeping a food diary but I haven't tired that yet because I figure I need to know what my calorie goal should be first and I've had trouble figuring that out.

I really liked the race, actually.  The first few miles are kind of boring, but it's probably better that way so that you don't get too excited and start off too fast.  I don't really remember the roads being all that bad, but it's probably easier not to notice on foot and when riding!  It was a Rock n Roll race, so there was music every few miles, and pretty good crowd support.  I didn't think it was too crowded or anything, so no pushing or anything like that which I've seen in some of the marathons & half's I've done.  I was just re-coming off the couch, though, so I'm not sure if the lack of crowdedness was because I was running with slower folks.

All in all, I thought it was a good race!  I was kind of annoyed there was no gatorade (or whatever the beverage was) at the first aid station since I like taking in race beverage when I'm not eating a gel.  Not sure if they just ran out because it was just a bunch of empty cups there... But there was water at the other end of the station, so it wasn't a complete fail.  I would have been madder if I was doing the full instead of the half, though, and if I cared about my time for that race!

Besides that, I thought it was a pretty good race, and well-run.  I only had 2 friends do the full, and they mentioned that the end of the race (miles 20-24) pretty much lacked any shade whatsoever, so they were overheating.  Scott Jurek was the 3:30 pacer, and since my friends were planning on finishing 3:30-3:45, I got to see him run by cheering everyone on while running exactly on pace!  Not sure if they always have a celebrity pacer, but it was definitely neat 

As far as I was concerned, No. I was standing around transition watching Terenzo warm up on the trainer, when the RD walked over and was talking to a couple of the pro's. He said they had a couple of problems with the swim. 1. he said they couldn't get the buoys to stay in place, and 2. they couldn't get the kayakers out there without them flipping over. The pics on ST are from way later in the morning though. It was rough and choppy. Definitely would have been a slow swim.

Jackson Square was cool. I sat in the sunshine and had a Purple Haze! On a side note, TJ Tollackson busted his azz doing a running mount of his bike at the start. I like him, but still chuckled a little to know the pro's do it to. Thanks for the GC tip. Here's my power profile for the ride:

Yeah, that's my problem too!  It's hard to figure out how much to eat since everything is a moving target!  I haven't done it yet, but I might try scoring my diet based on the diet quality score he had in his book (here's an article with the chart about halfway down the page).  I don't really want to start counting calories because entering in all that data on a daily basis would be a nightmare, but I do sometimes make note in my logs what I've eaten for the day.  I'll try counting up my score and seeing where I'm at, then try to improve on that!  It might be an eye-opener.....

It is not recommended to try losing weight during race season, it should be kept for off season.   You risk burn out.  Create a base for daily calorie consumption with breakdown of carbs, protein and fat (the good stuff).  Then spread it over 5 to 8 meals.  Then add your estimated burn rate for your workouts and replenish by adding to existing meals and pre, during & post workout nutrition. 

As for counting calories, you only need to do it for a couple of weeks.  Once you have your base, you should have an idea of how much you need to eat on a regular basis.  Nutrition is key to success.  If you fail you risk going into catabolic mode, which is when your body starts to eat itself to supply the energy required.  I speak from experience. 

Please note I'm not a nutritionist.

When most people try to loose weight during the season, they set their goals are too lofty.  For some reason it's mostly a pound a week(500 calories/day). 

The most calories I can cut for consecutive day and my training not be affected is 200-300 calories.  And even then I do that in 2 week blocks.  I'll add more to this topic tonight.

How has your training been this week?

Yesterday, 3200 yard swim and a 1:10 bike at .6 to .8 FTP

Today, 7 mile run and 1:00 bike at .6 to .8 FTP.

I had a great run this morning!  I thought my achilles was acting up over the weekend but I am just dumb.  I tripped over a piece of wood on my long run on Saturday and hit it with my left foot.  I was not able to run Sunday and yesterday was a rest day.  I had a great run so I am thrilled!  I was afraid my marathon was out because of my achilles.

I am off of work the rest of the week and hoping to get out on my bike one of these days.  I am thinking it will be Friday because my husband will be home in the morning and can be with the kids.