Fred D Mentor Group Part III (Page 83)

Whoo hoo! That's great news.

For training - of course, talk with your doctor...but based on my experience, swimming was delightful. It was so nice to get into the water and feel lighter with less pressure on my joints (I also suffered from edema and being submersed really helped reduce the swelling).

After? Listen to yourself. Your body will know when it's ready to start moving and grooving. I did a lot of walking the first few weeks with the girl in the stroller. The one main suggestion has nothing to do with physical ability...but if you want to workout - tell your partner. It is all about communicating. I now have my partner well enough trained ;-) that every weekend starts with "What's on the calendar for workouts?" and then we go from there.

It's a wild ride - but oh, so worth it. A key thought I tried to remember when I got frustrated with how much fitness I "lost" was, "This is temporary. I will have plenty of time to get back to start." Enjoy!

Congrats Jen!!!!

I took advantage of the long weekend, and time off the footo to let it heal, got 9 hours on the bike last week    My only black friday weekend purchase was a new saddle at my LBS on the Amex deal. 

Congrats Jen!

Didn't do squat Fri-Sun.  Might be the first time I took 3 days off in a row other than illness, but eager to get back at it.

I had a busy 4 day weekend. The weather was lovely here, so I made the most of it. Friday was recovery, not so much from the Tri but from the eating and drinking I did hit the black Friday sales though. On Saturday and Sunday I did a couple of group rides fro a total of 130 miles. Not sure if I am sore from that today or from the neighborhood soccer game after our annual 2nd Thanksgiving yesterday

Re: training when pregnant...there's so much conflicting advice...seek medical advice, keep it fun and listen to your body. I swam, ran and walked through both my pregnancies but I didn't "train"...I just wasn't into it, I took it as a nice break from structured training and the pressure to meet any time or distance goals. You will be amazed at how strong your body is when you do come back to it, it doesn't take long at all

I'll be interested in the responses...  I've used real Course Videos, didn't really like them.  I have used 3D mode to pre ride a course, like Oceanside.  that was ok.

99% of the time I use it in erg mode to ride a 2 x 20 or similar.  I like that you either hit the power or stop.  It can be a ball buster

I know people use ergvideos, been meaning to get one.   From what I can tell a mix between erg mode (it sets the power) and RCV.

So, it's been a while since I stuck my toe in the IM pool, looking for advice on season planning.  I'd already signed up for Oceanside at the end of March, some friends are doing Wildflower 70.3 beginning of May......   I was thinking instead of a HIM in July as prep, but can't find one except for June Lak in the sierras, at 7600 feet elevation, trails.  I can't imagine how hard that is gonna be so probably not.   Vineman would have been good, but totally sold out.

Maybe gear up for Oceanside/Wildflower, then take a week off for vacation, and start IM specific training shortly after return.

These are just my ideas throwing out there.  Anything I should look to add?  Or subtract from this?  Only bolded ones are signed up.  I'd like to work on the long bikes....   Just feels like I should have something in July, but maybe it's unnecessary.

March 8 - Solvang century
March 30 - Oceanside 70.3
May 4 - Wildflower 70.3
May 25 -ish - Ojai century, moderately hilly
June 9 - sprint
June 23 - Olympic
July 13  - June Lake 70.3 (likely not)
Aug. 2 - 2 mile swim
Aug 25 - IM Canada

How difficult/easy is it to setup the 2x20 type of workouts.  Say she wanted to follow something like Jorge's program, is it easy to setup the workouts?

Rev3 Portland HIM is in July and has a very tough bike course.  It would be right in your wheelhouse for IM Canada prep.  I was considering it myself leading into Tahoe in September.

Very easy, two ways to do it.  You can just push the "+/=" buttons to set the power as you ride, or you can write a program (never done it but there are templates, literally insert numbers into boxes, i.e.. 5 minutes at 240W, and it wil change the resistance for you.  I really should do this.....

Interesting option, cheap to get to from L.A. and could be done as an overnighter......  Interesting.  Thanks

The other one that's (relatively) near you is Vineman 70.3, also in July.  Probably a 7 or 8 hour drive from L.A.

*Edit: just saw it's sold out already.

LOL...I can't fathom driving for 7-8 hours straight.  I think you could drive around the Oahu 3 times in that amount of time...even though over half the driving will be on 35-45 mph speed limit roads.

Chris - I personally would not do a HIM as "prep" for an IM - I would instead keep my schedule clear of any long races for at least 10~11 weeks prior (I would do a sprint or two and/or maybe an olympic). So I would do Oceanside with my friends in March then get on with the IM focus. Use that 10 weeks for pure, unadulterated IM training.

I just find a HIM poor prep for an IM, but I am also always in the minority on this - I know every plan out there recommends it.

I recall Bryan having the same opinion on that, although I am not sure how far he backs that up.  Might want to hit him up Chris as I think he has tried both methods.

It sounds bad until you remember how much trouble it is to fly these days.  Especially if you're taking the bike with you.

Where I live it's about a 6 hour drive from my current location to either CdA or Penticton.  I've driven both and it's not too bad.  If I fly, it takes me about an hour to get to the airport, and I have to arrive early to jump through their hoops, then fly, then get ground transport at the destination.

For Penticton at least, being international, I think the drive is faster.

Back before 9/11 we used to do quick flights between Seattle and Portland.  But nowadays it's both faster and cheaper to just hit the road.

I like doing them but you definitely need to pick which one is your "A" race.  If the answer is your IM, then race the HIM at your IM pace.  Just my opinion

At that point in the IM buildup I want to be steady and avoid injury.  The HIM is a good day to dial everything in if you don't overdo it.

Chris - this part exactly - and I think that is what Melissa is getting at as well. Doing a HIM during your build up to IM because it is fun is EXACTLY the right reason to do it. To do one because you think it is good prep for the IM is the part that I find debatable, at least in my personal experience. For me the HIM bike and swim are too short and the HIM run is way more distance than you need as a simulation to dial in your pace, nutrition, etc for IM. Add to that my own inability to not race a race and a HIM during my IM build would definitely not lead to an optimal IM. but as stated above, an optimal IM is a relative thing. If I had friends that said "hey, let's do a HIM the day before our IM!" I would probably do it, just for the fun of it. But I would not expect my fastest IM. That of course is the whole idea behind a race like TTT.

I like this idea Chris.  Do the two races, a quick mental reset and then grind it out until Whistler.  

I had to drive almost 14 hours to Mont Tremblant.  That's really beyond the limits of what I would normally do but having the bike made it more reasonable.  

7-8 hours only gets me half way through Maine if I want to do a race in the Northeast US!

Same here - I especially like the idea of the dive trip after wildflower - a great reward/bridge/break/transition between your LT and IM specific blocks. Stick a sprint in somewhere between Coz and whistler and that sounds like a really fun season to me!