SWBKRUN -CLOSED DUE TO TRAINING (Page 84)

Thanks for the input guys. I will spend a little time revisiting why I picked the races that I did this year and see if maybe I need to modify the schedule a little.  I feel confident in my ability to finish the marathon in April as I've already done it once plus I've done a couple of 20 mile training runs already this winter and maybe that is the reason I don't fear it enough to get out on the road more. As for signing up for something sooner for motivation, I'll have to research that and see if there is anything nearby.  My ability to travel to a race is minimal right now. Since the snow is blowing now and we are expecting a ton of rain later today it looks as though this afternoon will be a trip to the pool instead of a run once again, though maybe I'll do a short run on the treadmill after the swim.

As for trying to watch TV or a movie while I'm on the trainer, I've tried.  I find that my mind wanders too much and I get more into what I'm watching than I do how I'm pedaling.  I've done some spinnervals with better success, but where do I find these Sufferfest videos?  I'm willing to give them a try until I can get back out on the road.

So few of us are lucky to have HUGE melons, beesting lips and a skinny waist!  Now, will this get pulled down or not?

They started pulling down pics while I have been gone????   Bummer.

Awesome that my name is on the big sign behind her.  Too bad there is also a pic of a monkey on that sign!!

Just dropped $30 on the pre-order and I'll pick up a box every time I walk by a stand!!!!  The trouble is they have a flavor to match every craving! 

I hear you buddy.  I hate the trainer more than the treadmill.   Personally I found simply watching TV doesn't do it.  I don't spin fast/hard enough to really get anything out of it.  The best bang for my buck is to follow a training video.  I like the Carmichael series.  This feels more like a spin class and it's easier to follow along with a group this way. 

So I don't post alot but I lurk a lot. 

For motivation, I just found this article on Chrissie Wellington.  Awesome for training motivation.  Here is the link for all that are interested.  I will also copy a small segment.  She has great ideas to keep you motivated.  I can't wait to get her book on May 15th. 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/21/health/chrissie-wellington-triathlete-champion/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

(CNN) -- Training for a race is like riding a roller coaster -- you experience highs and lows, ups and downs, and more peaks and troughs than the New York Stock Exchange.

Two weeks before I raced at the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii, last year, I had a bad bike crash. I won the race, not on physical prowess, but on grit, willpower, determination and mental strength.

I hope I showed, through my performance there, that sporting success rests, in part, with having the mental fortitude necessary to overcome our fears, pain and discomfort.

But how does one develop that strength? Is it innate, or can it be learned?

I believe it is the latter. We can all train our brains to be as strong as our bodies.

It sounds simple, but it's so easy to forget. If we let our head drop, our heart drops with it. Keep your head up, and your body is capable of amazing feats. To plunder the words of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, "Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body."

The message is this: All the physical strength in the world won't help you if your mind is not prepared. This is part of training for a race -- the part that people don't put in their logbooks, the part that all the monitors, gizmos and gadgets in the world can't influence.

But how do you train your brain to help you achieve your goals? I don't profess to have all, or many, of the answers. But in the five years that I have been a professional triathlete, I have learned a few techniques that help me keep mind over matter and ensure that I can ride the roller coaster of sporting success:

Saw this one over on ST.

Amateur comes in 3rd at Tokyo Marathon running a 2:08  Pretty funny video watching him catch up to the leaders (about 5:30 in I think)

 http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2011/02/mekonnen-wins-tokyo-marathon-amateur.html

Ok, so I lied I have one more thing based on Tracey's post.  Go ahead and call me a total douchebag if you want to but here's my perspective.....the trainer and the TM can be great mental training tools.  Don't use distractions, set up a mirror, a fan and hammer out the workout--how long can they really be this time of year.  If you feel like you want to puke or die of boredom, AWESOME, keep going....the more you power through it, the more you can power through your race.

Ok, bring it on....I am sure someone will jump down my throat with something...

ROFL... too....many....jokes....

I ride the trainer a lot, but it's also a computrainer so the workout is set for me, I don't have to worry about increasing cadence/rpe/HR, etc, the computer just does it for me.  Unfortunately the $300 computrainer craigslist deals seem to not be as frequent when Doug, Andy and I picked up ours a couple years ago.

Motiviation in the winter is hard, plain and simple. For me, I just think of all the guys I have to race against, sounds cheezy but if I'm training and they are sitting on the couch watching TV that's one less guy I have to worry about in front of me.  Also after a few years of doing this I've come to learn that my motiviation is down in the winter but I'll appreciate spring more if I come in ready to go from winter trainer sessions.

Ok I'll chime in too. I have a computrainer too, and I like riding it and running on a treadmill. (I have not seen agood deal on a CT in some time). When working through my minor leg injuies the treadmill was a major tool. If it got to be painful I could quit and I was not miles from home. The running surface is forgiving and I can acurately control the strain.

Yes, time does go by quicker outside, but as Suzy said, if you can handle inside you can handle outside.

On motivator for me is that I know what it is like to tow the line for a race without having done everything I could to be ready. I hate that feeling of knowing I could have been better. I am determined to bring my best to my A races. So no regrets for me about taking December off, etc..

Wanna be tougher?   Pick a course and ride it without it being pre-programmed.  I used to have these files that were set up for me (MRCs), but I think it is tougher to grind it out on your own where you have to worry about cadence or gearing to hit the zones. It also really forces you to pay attention to what you're doing all the time (except of course when you're gazing at yourself in the mirror).

I find the ERG files much tougher than riding the 3d files.  There is no downshifting in ERG mode, if it's 300 watts you can be in your 50/11 or 43/28 and you still have to push 300 watts.

Not into the mirror or brick wall training, I always watch a movie while riding.  Riding on the trainer is not overly exciting so I need something else to think about when I'm on there for 2 hrs.

X2000   ......  Makes being able to run/ride outside that much better!!!

It's FAT TUESDAY!  Since I've spent the last several days gorging myself, it seems appropriate!  I wanted to share.......

We celebrated Jeff's birthday on Sunday - I planned the day! Got up fairly early, did a 15 mile run on his favorite course....which was trails and hills.  oy!  Home to stretch, ice bath and shower, and then off to a favorite local restaraunt (La Foret) for an amazing brunch, with champagne!  One of the best brunches I've ever had, and a beautiful location along the creek we'd just ran along!  Home for a nap.  Out to Saratoga for a couples' massage (which began with a glass of champagne on the spa's balcony)  Relaxing AND therapeutic!  Nice little stroll through the village, then off for our dinner reservation!

We ate at Alexander's - yum.  It's a michelin-star steakhouse that's special-event dining at it's best!  I had let them know we were celebrating, and they met us at the door with a glass of complimentary champagne.  We'd brought in a bottle of wine (1997 Silver Oak Cab!) and they decanted it for us.  Their never-ending bread service included 5 or 6 types of bread - including bacon popovers that were to die for.  2 different amuse-bouches that were fun.   My first course was a sweet potato soup that we rich, smooth and yummy beyond words.  Jeff had a caesar salad with a 65 degree egg - sounds silly, but it was wonderful!  We then shared a dish of shaved fois gras with shrimp chips....it truly just melted in the mouth and will be permanently on my top-ten-ever list!   My main course was a New York steak with applewood bacon, bleu cheese and I don't-remember-what else.  WOW.   Jeff had a 28 ounce Porterhouse that was stunning.  Other menu choices included some Wagyu steaks that topped at out $250 PER STEAK.  We didn't order those.....

We had a nice intermezzo of passion fruit and coconut sorbet  and then a dessert array that was unreal!  Mostly chocolate - displayed beautifully - and consumed quickly!!

As you may have guessed, eating is a favorite hobby of ours!  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Jeff's 49th - and I got to enjoy it as much as he did!

Today's Zach's 16th birthday.  He stayed up last night and went for a run at 11pm with a buddy.  Did 8+ miles in an hour.  Amazing.  Tonight we're taking him (his choice) to La Fondue for dinner.  Ending a long run of birthday celebrations, appropriately, on Fat Tuesday.

Lent starts tomorrow.  I'm giving up cheese.  This could be VERY UGLY, and perhaps, just a bit, very good for me.

BAck to your regularly scheduled SBR programming!

Given the cheese and the reference to bacon are you sure you didn't live in WI in a former life?   Sounds like an absolutely terrifc way to spend a few days.  Overall consumption earns you an A-.  It would have been an A+ if you had a recovery beverage after that super long hilly run, but before brunch.

Love how detailed this posting was.  Just reading it, I can taste all the different flavors and courses. 

Hey Scott, we've all been there!  I think I have posted this before but I think of my workouts in little chunks, whether they are 3 x 5 minutes at x HR or 2 x 15 minutes at x power, etc.  You can get a ton done in a 45-60 minute workout and the time flies by when you break it up into a warm up, main sets and cool down.  It also helps me to set some improvement goals...and testing every once in awhile to see the progress.

I get what Suzy is advocating about a fan and a wall, but I personally love listening to music and podcasts and it kind of breaks things up by songs or episodes.  May as well be entertained mildly while I sweat buckets.  I can't seem to concentrate on TV or videos and keep up my intensity, so I just kind of close my eyes and lock into the rhythm of my cadence and whatever I'm listening to, occasionally glancing at my cadence and HR or power to make sure it is where it needs to be. 

Report back after your next ride!!! 

I am so low rent

I am soooo low rent

A kids free workout is good enough for me!!

Honestly, if i ride when they are in bed, that is my quiet time. I'll put on an IM dvd or something like that and spin. Or do whatever workout I've got.

Or Michelle(wife) will ride with me. She's pretty new into this, so I'll get her doing my workout. Keeps me occupied that way as well.

Remember though.. This is coming from a guy who essentially took 4 months off after his IM, started to get fat again, signed up for the same IM 2 months into getting fat. And now is realizing he can't be fat again. IM's are long days, and fat guys don't do well!!!  ......