Waterdog's Group - Closed (Page 8)

Hey Cyndy, I sure do remember you

Glad to see that you made it over from RWOL. I think you will find more than a few friendly faces here at BT. (Susan, Carol, Tom, Donato, James, Jess and Jessi all post regularly here) I think everyone is using their same Monikers here.

Trisha and Jill have accounts here but don't post much.

If you look along the left side of my blog, you will find links to everyone's blogs. I am sure they would be happy to hear from you.  

Welcome to the group

Welcome Wes

Sounds like some agressive goals but definitely not unheard of. If you check out this blog:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.asp?memberid=19823

This is my friend Global and he (And His Wife) went from the couch to his first Full Ironman last season. The great news is that your coming from a very good base of fitness and so have a big head start.

oh, and if your getting some good mileage  out of TTB, also look at "Going Long", also co-written by Friel. (With Gordo Byrn) I got a lot of good info from both of these  books when I prepared for my first IM last year.

Sounds to me like your definitely on top of things

Welcome to the group Linda

Wildflower is a really great race. (I have done both the Olympic and the Long Course) Should be great fun this year although I am very dissapointed to be missing it this year. have also heard great things about Big Kahuna.

I think you will find a lot of BT folks doing both of these races this year. (Always nice to know folks at the race)

Wow how is yuor group not fill up! If I was mentoring my own group I would have been in here!!!!

You guys have an awesome mentor

Thanks Cat

We lost a few folks early in the process and decided to open it up for a few more. Your always welcome to come over and hang out any time

Yeah, Cat - those of us who've been hanging around for a while knew to snap this guy up! 

Just wanted to put my quick welcome out to the new folks in the group - glad to have you here!

Big welcome to Linda, Cyndy and Wes

Maybe hold out for one or two more folks if that is OK with everyone.

I see the Introduction Forum is getting quite Chatty so maybe one or two of them will wander over to the Mentor Forum and sign up.

Random, but good ones, Chris.  And I agree - we need to get our postings up a bit.

As far as forefoot strike, I agree with you.  I've read a bit about it, tried the whole Chi running thing, and started having knee pain that I'd never had before in 10 odd years of running.  What I took out of it was keeping weight forward and incorporating my torso/arms into my run stride.  I try to focus on that now, rather than worrying about what part of my foot is striking.

The bike... I don't know why the bike is so many people's favorite part.  I'm not a true "biker" yet, but I do recognize that I seem to have more than typical speed for a relative newbie, so I'm trying to use that.  I think that a lot of bikers get into triathlon (because they've already crossed the major bike purchase threshold), so you have a disproportionate percentage of passionate bikers vs. the other sports' enthusiasts.

I've read several IM race reports (just because I find the idea of it fascinating, even though I don't know if I'll ever get to that level myself), and I wonder if reviewing some of those might not be helpful for beginning to get an idea of different nutritional plans and how they worked/didn't in the race setting.  I really look forward to seeing how it goes for you, Chris, and hope you feel better soon!

Great stuff Chris

FWIW: I am a forefoot striker (Quite obvious in my running photos) and it definitely does save me from some grief because I am also an under-pronator. (It takes a bit of the running stress off of my shins)

But, it does make me more prone to Metatarsalgia and also Metatarsal Stress Fractures. (Especially if I let my shoes go flat) Something that Pfitz recommends is that if you running form is a bit wonky, (Epecially the stride) try a bit of barefoot running. (I do a bit of this and it does help)

I am personally not a big fan of messing with running form simply because what you have is what works for you and your bio-mechanics.

As for race nutrition:

My initial approach to race nutrition was forged in marathon training and was totally and completely inadequate for long course triathlons. I could be casual about it with the Oly but I bonked at mile 11 of the run in my first HIM. (Warm Flat Cola saved me that day)

What I figured out works best for me is this:

Water: Bike Bottle An Hour (Or Cup every water stop)
Food: 1 Clif Bar Every Hour
Carbs: 1 Gu every 30 minutes (Or 4 Miles, which ever comes first)

If my intensity goes beyond my LT on the run, I will usually switch to Gu every 15 minutes or 2 miles. (Usually 2 miles comes first in an HM) 

This approach worked very well for me at LP last year and I plan on using it again for CdA and Cal 70.3.

The funny thing is, I now use this plan for marathons and my friends think I am nuts eating that much out on the course. (On friend of mine does marathons on nothing but a few sips of water at the half way point but her best time is 2:47)

One of my training partners suggested something very interesting for LP last year. She said to plan for my nutrition to not work and throw a bunch of alternatives in my SN bags. If things go well, it will feed the homeless. If not, it will save my bacon.

The idea is to stash something that is totally different from what you normally race and train with. I put Fig Newtons and Apple Juice in my bag but never ended up needing it. My Nutrition worked well for me.  

Ok, thanks for the kick in the pants Kristin. (See my log today)

When things go well its all "look what I've done", but when things don't go so well, I've got nothing but excuses. Yea, I haven't felt so good... kinda had a little cold with a cough... kinda felt run down... have the winter indoor cabin fever feeling (frumpy).

ENOUGH! Kristin is right! (see inspire me post today)

Momentum works both ways, and just like physics, it moves faster on the way down! You're right, I've been struggling. I could say, "Life" is getting in the way, but THE TRUTH IS...

Are you ready?

I suck at prioritizing my time. I procrastinate and I'm lazy.

However, I want so bad to not burn out and make it. I don't know why its such a struggle. Anyway, thanks for the constructive criticism. Like Elton John said... I'm Still Standin'.  (Does that date me a little?)

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hopefully everyone has Monday off and can take some extra time for themselves.

Train Well

 You are SO not alone at sucking at prioritizing.  I had a huge list of workouts to do this week that Coach sent out on Sunday.  7 in 7 days.  Doesn't sound too unreasonable.  But then life gets in the way, I get lazy, and I push it all off until the very last minute.  So now I am sitting here at day 7, with a 2500 meter swim (my first, I'll have you know-- I will be like Gumby at the end), a 60 minute high intensity bike, and a 90-minute bike with hills still left to do.   Now, I am going to brick a swim and a short bike in about a half hour here, but I really think the 90 minute ride is going to fall  by the wayside.  Ugh!!  If I had not taken Monday off and done a spin class, I would not be in the predicament I am in right now.  So frustrating......my race in April is going to kick my rear, so it doesn't help that I'm 7 weeks out and skip a workout.

Anyway, just had to vent!  Glad to see more faces here.  We should try to keep it lively!

 So, does anyone have any good brick or two-a-day recommendations?  I've only ever done bike-run and swim-run, although since I work at night, swim-bike, run-bike, or run-walk will probably be the only things I'll be able to do given the very limited amount of sunlight left after work.  Can you actually get meaningful workouts in if you go twice a day?  Does the 2nd one get the shaft and have to be low intensity?  Would love to hear how you guys make it work....

Have a great weekend.

At the end of the day, we can only do what we can within the confines of our other life commitments.

sometimes, (For me anyway), the urge to stay in bed or sit on the couch is just a subtle reminder that I may need some downtime. For me anyway, training is not the only thing in my life that requires recovery time.

As for two-a-days and Bricks, let me go dig up Going Long. There are some great indoor workouts in the book that I have used when time becomes a factor.

Most all of my bricks are really just transition runs after a good ride. I have done a few cycle sessions before a planned run, but this is usually a recovery technique. (To shake the legs out)

As for doubles; I am usually doing 2 disciplines every day. I typically have a morning and an evening workout slot and the key for me is to insure proper recovery from the morning session when heading into the evening session.

Also making sure the evening session does not impact the following morning's session. After doing doubles for a while, the body seems to get the idea and 8 hours is plenty of time to recover.

Here are a few brick workouts that I use: 

10 Mile Easy Spin on the bike: 10 Mile General Aerobic Run
30-50 Mile Moderate Effort Ride: 8 Mile General Aerobic Run (First 2 @ Recovery)
5 Mile Moderate Effort Ride, 2 Mile Moderate Effort Run. (Transition back to bike and repeat)

50-100 Mile Ride: 5 Mile Transition Run (Recovery Pace Run)

Indoor Brick Workouts from Going Long:

Session 1: 

Run: 30 Minutes (Recovery Pace + Strides)
Bike: 120 Minutes (60 Easy, 60 Steady)
Run: 45 Minutes( 15 Recovery, 15 General Aerobic, 15 Recovery)

Session 2: 

Bike:45 (Progression from Easy to Mod-Hard)
Run: 30 (Progression from Recovery - General Aerobic)

Repeat this Cycle as many times as you wish

Session 3:

Bike: 60 Minutes Steady Effort
Run: 30 Minutes General Aerobic
Bike: 45 Minutes Steady Effort
Run: 20 Minutes General Aerobic
...

Repeat the progression and increase intensity with each cycle

I think the hardest part of bricks and doubles is insuring that it does not impact the following day's planned workout. If I do find myself in a situation where I hit a workout too hard and I am not ready for the following day, I will not hesitate to rework my plan. (Either bag the workout or convert to active recovery)

Hope this helps

Tim--

Thanks for posting that!  It looks like your "breakthrough" workouts are standalones.....and your aerobic, somewhat easier workouts are the ones you can double up on.

I stupidly did a tough 1-hour spin class followed by a 2500 meter swim set (the latter was a breakthrough session for me) yesterday morning, and I was useless in the water.  Much slower than usual, my knees ached, and I barely made it through.  Today, I felt sluggish and weak.  Live and learn, I suppose.

This week's challenge will be fitting everything in when I have to go to DC for 5 days and live out of a hotel!

Have a good Sunday....and thanks again for the post.

Good luck with your business travel and "On The Road" training

So how did everyone's week go

Hopefully most everyone has today off and is getting an extra bit of rest and maybe also a bit of training in.

Weclome again to our new group members. I will post an updated set of links later today when I get back from my ride.

Question of the Week:

What brand of Running Shoes and Socks do you wear?

Hope everyone has a good week

I'm working today... but I don't mind.  My poor son probably does - he's off school and I didn't make any plans for him, so it's a very mellow day where he plays/reads and I work.

 Shoes/socks...  I have messed around with several different shoes, and then last November I did something that I highly recommend for anyone who's had any recurrent leg/low back issues (which I had - years of low back issues, from the time I was in college playing vball and actually had it checked out by an ortho).  I went to a tri/running shop and had a gait analysis done. 

I have a leg length differential of 9 mm which has never, from the ortho through various PTs and chiropractors, been diagnosed.  I also had thought for years that I pronate, but that has actually changed over time and I now supinate on one side (likely due to the leg length issue).  So the stability shoes I was using weren't working at all for me.  I'm now in old school Adidas Boston Classics with arch inserts and a lift on one heel and I feel like a new woman.  No more back pain, no issues with my IT band - seriously, it's been like a miracle.

For socks, I prefer Smartwool.  I never realized what a difference socks could make until I started running longer distances and getting blisters.  There's a reason people swear by wool!

I had a great weekend of training and am feeling back on track.  Hope everyone else is doing well, too!