Eli's If the world is ending, I'm going to tri!- FULL (Page 8)

Had a good 5am tempo run this morning. It was pretty hard to get out of bed but after the run I felt great. A bit cold today 5 degrees equaling -5 windchill...so things were a bit frosty.

Also signed up for my first half ironman. It's not until August but now there is no turning back.

Kudos to you for your 5am run. THe only thing i can do that early is swim.

I am pretty excited about the weekend.  Decent training stuff: running, riding, swimmming.  But what I am really excited for is Sunday afternoon they are doing a 1K wine race in Crystal City.  So it's a one K walk with all the water stops actually as wine tastings.  So basically it's walking wine tasting.  But, I get a T-shirt and I am totally couting it as the race that kicks off my season!

Also- co-woker goaded me into a May half-marathon, so that should be interesting.     Happy Friday!

That is my kind of race.

I just started using the best method, because I have the same problem. I count laps by letter, going alphabetically. So 40 laps (1000m) would be A-Z and then A-N. I think of words starting with the letter of the lap I am on while I am swimming, and it turns into a sort of mantra. 

A- achieve

B-be better

C-challenge yourself

D-dont stop

Etc

etc. 

It has become a fun way to motivate myself, stay focused and keep track of laps. 

Hey all: Forgive me for a little vent sesh. 

I had to join a gym to be able to swim (and bike/run when the snow/ice makes doing it outside super dangerous for my clumsy self). Anybody else dealing with the mobs of Resolutionaries? The gym is absolutely PACKED every day. I'm talking 5+ person lines for cardio equipment, overbooked Spin classes, sticky air. Luckily, Colorado doesnt seem to appeal to the swimmers much, so I usually have a lane (or the pool!) to myself. This means most of my workouts end up being swims, because I completely lose patience with the crowds. 

Hopefully it will die down a bit when the New Years Resolutions become less sticky. 

In other news, I am travelling for business next week, and am nervous about being able to make time for workouts while downtown Chicago. The hotel has a pretty sweet looking gym, so I shouldnt have too much of an issue finding motivation. 

Happy Training!

Whitney

I am dealing with that right now too. It will die down. Then I have to step back and remember they have just as much right to this equipment as I do. Don't get me wrong it's incredibly frustrating and I mouth pissed off four letter words under my breath when a treadmill or bike isn't available. But I also don't want to be this smug gym member who thinks he should get first priority to equipment because he is training for a race while someone else is fulfilling a soon-to-be broken promise to themselves.  Don't worry it'll die down.

Whitney - I feel your pain (literally) it has been really raining here and the other day I had 1 hr to run and no treadmill.  I broke down and asked an gym employee and they said Feb 5 the attendance drops off.  Also avoid the pool when they have swim team (yes I showed up for a swim at that time)

Someone asked about swimming and trying not to lose fitness.. somewhere many moons ago I read that 1 mile swimming is about 4-6 miles of running depending on your fitness.  Personally I like to swim.  I just get lost in the laps (weirdo I know) so sometimes I just swim for a time.  Here is a listing of some different swim workouts http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=273354&posts=54&start=1  This is out of the GA group and the get off your duff workout (so if it isnt PC to cross post).  Mrs Brown Dog searches out some different swim workouts.  I now officially HATE push ups.

I am super excited I have a great trail run this weekend with a friend.  Then laser tag with a group of 10 yr old boys and a ski trip. 

Hope everyone has a great fun weekend and no trips to the ER

Wassup Humans! I'm ready for the weekend. Went to the pool this morning with Eli. That was the first time i've been in the pool since my full iron back in October. It felt good being back in the water. I missed it actually.  Im really looking forward to hitting my local 50m pool starting next week.  I'll be out on the bike tomorrow morning and hoping it's not too chilly out. I saw on the weather channel it's supposed to be around mid 50's tomorrow morning. Thats a bit chilly for me. But i'll bare it. :-)

That is AWESOME. I am going to try that one.

Careful of those rocks on that trail run!  We don't want another broken toe like mine

I got back in the pool today, the toe is finally not too sore to swim.  Felt great and I really got my heart rate up.  I think I'll be able to keep my fitness if I push a little hard.

I used this today!  I think it's the first time I've gotten my count correct.  Best part is making up the words... although I don't think it would be a good idea to list them here as many were of the 4 letter variety!

Love it!

Boooooop (sound of a bullhorn alarm).

Got out for a great brick today.  36 mile bike and 5 mile run. First time in a while, so my legs are a little sore already.

Little cold for us SoFla people (50 degrees), but a great day anyway.

Neal, I realized that the pictures of your kitchen look like someone ritually sacrificed a stuffed animal in there.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Well cabin fever struck today.  I knew I wasn't up to get out on the road so i dropped in Sweating Buckets and put the trusty 2.5 in the trainer.  Well, the upside is I made it 22 minutes before I cried uncle.  This cracked / bruised rib thing is for the birds.  I need to do something as I see the days ticking away until my first full marathon in March.  Arrrrrrrrrr........  Again, the upside is I made it 22 minutes and that is better than sitting on my duff.  Right?

Eli - you are right.  The falling through the ceiling and going to the ER was a cover story.  That darn Teddy Ruxpin...."Hi, I'm Teddy Ruxpin.  Can you and I be friends?"  NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Hey All,

Hope you all had a good weekend. Had a great brick on Saturday, and a good swim today.

I am up in the Boston area for a week for work, so it is workout at the gym for me. I can't BELIEVE how FREAKING COLD it is here. It is almost painful to leave the building.

Looking forward to getting some good swimming and treadmill runs in this week, but I am already missing my bike.

I had an off day on Saturday to spend with the family but I got out for some good training today. It was cold but I got my bike out and went for a ride. I then decided to try to do a little jogging since I was already warmed up and feeling good. It didn't seem to be too bad. The inserts do make it a little awkward since they are new and changing my footstrike. I will get through it though. Hope you all have a good week.

Eli-Try not to freeze up there.

Got in the pool last night. It is a 25 yard pool, so I feel awesomely fast! That is a real motivator, even if it is false. Kept me going for my longest swim in a while.

Hoping to get my run on a little today.

Question for all you experienced runners:

So my max running is about 6.5 miles which take me around an hour.  I wanted to do a bit more today and everything felt good until I hit the hour mark when I got a little light headed (not terrible) and just a general weird feeling...kinda like I had a sneeze coming on.  It worried me a bit so I walked a bit and then ran about half a mile with it lessening a little.

My best guess is that I may need to start refueling with a few calories (gel, gatorade etc.) on these longer runs.  Does what happened to me sound like a lack of calories issue or something else?

Just for reference I ate 800 calories at noon, 500 calories around 2 in the afternoon and ran at 3, which is what I usually do.

By no means am I all that experienced BUT what I learned about myself is that I needed to fuel around every 4 miles.  It is a fine line between having too much and not enough so take the time to figure out what works for you.  I fuel regardless of what I have eaten, but I really have horrible eating habits.

On the otherside maybe you are catching a cold..being sick, travel etc can affect performance.  Be sure to take care of yourself.

I would say you need to begin refueling after 1 hr. I think that's a standard time. Here's a forum about it:

http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/runner-communities/beginners/refuel-during-long-run

I agree that I usually only re fuel if I'm going for more than an hour.  And that's to fuel the time after the first hour.  I am by no means an expert but it seems that you should have been nicely fueled according to what you ate prior.  Some days we have good workouts and some days it's just not there.  I agree that traveling, sleep, eating habits and more all have a great impact on each specific workout.  I wouldn't worry too much about it.  It takes time to figure out what works best for you and your body.  Practice makes perfect.  I use Hammer gels, gluten free and easy on the stomach.... For workouts longer than 2 hours I add protein...

Thanks for the replies, all.  I picked up some GU gel today and I'll be trying it out next week on my long run.  Something tells me the placebo effect alone should get me through at least a few more miles.

I eat/chew on GU Chomps or Cliff Shot Blocks about every 20 mins. Also, for some reason it also gives me something else to focus on instead.