Asphalt Junkies Spring 2013 - Closed (Page 84)

An early word of warning for everyone..........

They will be starting new mentor group in April.  I have seen nothing to indicate that we are going to be archived soon but I thought an early warnig process would help everyone plan for the spring/summer session.

I am pretty sure Brenda would like back in for the next session.

I'll do a little check on her by seeing if she reads this post and lets me know that she is sure she wants back in.  She says she still reads our posts on a regular basis............So, Brenda if you're out there make sure you reply in this forum

Dirk thanks for the heads up and it's goes without saying but I want back in as I'm sure everybody else here will be wanting back in as well for the spring/summer session. It'll be nice to have Brenda back as well.

Yep!  Me too! 

mambos - 2013-03-16 3:24 PM With that being said, I give everyone permission to yell at me if I don't start spending time at the pool! as for the buckeye fan...we can settle this when OSU and scUM play in the big 10 tournament! Oh wait....Michigan has already been sent home . Oh well, next time!

Quit talking trash and get in the pool you fool!

I want to stay.

Jonathan, gret pics but where is your mountain bike..lol

Off to go do a duathlon.  Fearing riding my tri bike since this I rode it 5 minutes yesterday for the 1st time since October..yikes

pistuo - 2013-03-16 9:47 PM

mambos - 2013-03-16 3:24 PM With that being said, I give everyone permission to yell at me if I don't start spending time at the pool! as for the buckeye fan...we can settle this when OSU and scUM play in the big 10 tournament! Oh wait....Michigan has already been sent home . Oh well, next time!

Quit talking trash and get in the pool you fool!

I need the like button for this one.

Karl good luck to you and Pam in the duathlon today.

Jo63 - 2013-03-17 8:59 AM As for me: Long Story.... When I got back from DC we had been given some trimmers from Andis co. To test for them, one of my stylist took it upon herself to distribute them and 2 of them came up missing this girl who is 25 makes really good money also has a gambling problem, and in the past I have sometimes had the gut feeling she was stealing from me, but couldn't prove it. She also told our new receptionist to change inventory numbers, then 2 weekends ago we were at the salon and when we left and the door wouldn't shut completely to lock, this had been happening for sometime, and i actually went to work one morning and it was unlocked, So we were trying to figure out what was going on...swept at the threshold where there were salt chunks when my daughter notices there was a wadded up something at the top of the door, we wiped it off and whalla the door shuts and locks, along with this we had a snow storm when we were gone and no one from the salon would drive her home, so she walked and the local police chief picked her up. I decided I would call the chief and possibly see if he would come in an question my entire team in hopes of finding the culprit when he asks me who iam talking about, he then proceeds to tell me I need to find a way to get rid of her because based on the car ride home she is no good for my business, she is trouble and she has money problems and has most likely taken the trimmers and is trying to sell them for money. I said wow all this from a ten minute ride? He reminded me this is what they are trained to do So I ended up writing her up for putting our company in a bad spot with Andis and ruining our reputation with them i also told her she owes the money for the trimmers apparently she didnt like being pushed into a corner and she quit on Monday So needless to say along with some other stressors going on I had gotten sick and didn't do a whole lot for 3 weeks, but this past week I felt so much better. It is amazing what stress does to us. On top of that my team is soooo much happier there is definetly a different energy in the salon now, amazing what one person can do to a whole group!

JoAnne glad to seeing you checking and sorry to hear about what happened at your salon. It seems very unfortunate that someone working for you would do something like that. I'm glad to hear things are better with her gone. I hope you are feeling less stressed and feeling better and getting back to your workout routine.

About the treadmill I actually like it better than I though it would. It is made it very convienent for me to run so I have been running a lot more especially getting more bike/run bricks in. The one I got is pretty good the Proform 600c. I also got the iFit module which is pretty cool. I actually ran one loop of the Syracuse 70.3 course yesterday. Not sure how accurate it really is but it was a good workout for me. I have mapped out part of the Wisconsin course and will try and give that a go. The one thing that sucks is you can only map out a course up to 12 miles right now. They do have full marathon courses though that you can purchase.

Joanne,

It sounds like a pretty serious thing to be dealing with an employee like that.  I think you should pursue charges if you can.  She needs to know where she's headed unless she gets things under control.  However, I am not surprised about an employee like that.  I think the general work ethic in the country as well as the attitude that people can take something from another because "they have more than me" is becoming more prevalent.

I also know just how bad one person can affect the attitudes of other employees.  I had a bout with that kind of person for about 3 years after I became a line crew supervisor.  Once he quit things became exponentially better!

Jo, well at least you can get better now.  Glad you got rid of the bad person.  Maybe things will return to normal.

Tracy, that is funny!!!!  Just saying'  lol

I did the duathlon, and did better than I ever imagined.  I was so happy.  A rece report is posted in anyone wants to read it but this is the 1st time I've run in a LONG time w/ no IT band issues...

Well, I managed to get back in the saddle this weekend. I hit the gym for a little weight training on Saturday afternoon and was a little weak, but felt good. I don't push myself as hard doing weights, which is why I didn't get back into cardio till Sunday.

Sunday I did a 4.5 mile run in the morning and while my lungs and mind wanted to run faster, my body told me otherwise. I was hoping to do a brick, but had to give my body time to rest and did a 90 minute bike ride in the evening.

Yes, deciding to pass on the duathlon was a good decision. My legs would not have handled it well.

Jeff- Being a few pounds lighter and leaner, I do hope that I will be faster for Red Hills Sprint in two weeks.

Matt - I think its awesome your wife is planning the remodel with your training equipment as part of the plan! Maybe she really like the moobless-Matt.

JoAnne- Sorry to hear about what sounds like a troubled (now former) employee and fraud happening in your business. Situations like these can be so hard as you want to help  them, but also need to protect your livelihood at the same time. Glad to hear that you are feeling better.

Karl - Congrats on the duathlon. Did you go to the OWS clinic on Saturday?

Tracy -  Your story is too funny. I thought I had an interesting run when I sprayed an ankle biting dog with pepper spray, had to beat the freight train across the tracks, and got chased by a feisty raccoon. Mules... you are the first triathlete I have ever heard talk about tri training and mules in the same sentence. LOL!

Tony, that sounds like a great treadmill. I might like that treadmill w/ the software on it.

Ok bikers, I was really happy w/ my bike time on the duathlon being around 19.5 mph BUT!!!!  now I want to get to 21 mph.  Is it exponentially harder to increase speed on a bike like it is on a bassboat?  Any clues as to how to increase speed other than riding more...  hill repeats or intervals?  I was cooked when I got back from the bike ride, so I know I need to ride more, a lot more!  Then you know me, once I get to 21...then 23  lol

Karl the iFit software definitely makes it a little more interesting to run on the treadmill. I'm glad I was able to get it. As far as getting faster on the bike I think it might be all of the above. The more that you can get outside and get some hard rides in the faster you'll be. The same with turning and corning you just need to get out and ride and practice those things. The more you do it the better you'll get at it.

Unfortunately, yes, it's not a linear increase in speed and power.  The forces fighting you from going faster are wind and power output, and increasing power 10% doesn't mean a 10% increase in speed.  For instance, some crazy bike software shows on a perfectly flat, windless course, with a particular type of bike and position and such, 19.5 mph requires 165 watts.  To go 21, everything else staying the same, requires 200 watts. So running the numbers, you get a 7.7% speed increase for a 21% power improvement through training.  Lots of training indeed!

However, there is likely some free speed in there are well.  Position is the most important thing you can affect.  If the race is short enough, it can be a good trade off to go super aggressive on the position and trade some discomfort for some free aero speed.  I wouldn't recommend that for long course, since if you can't stay in the position it's not worth it.  The bike setup can make a big difference as well, such as where you place any bottles, loose cabling, and anything else on your bike setup which might catch wind.  If it's hilly, obviously weight becomes a much bigger factor, but it sounds like you're pretty much on flattish terrain so I'll ignore that part of it.

In terms of $$$ for speed, tires, tubes, and helmet are big bang for the buck speed enhancements.  Wheels are super expensive but do matter, and then there are the other bike parts which help but are made of unicorn bone so they get more and more costly.  This stuff is really the dessert though.  Training and position are the main course.

Karl,

First off, great job on that duathlon.  Very impressive.  Take a moment and reflect on why you may not have had IT band issues during that run.  Could it be because you were warmed up really well from the bike ride??

As far as the biking goes, I echo what Warren has said.  No it's not exponentially harder to get to 21, but you should think about getting to 20 first.  It's often the case where you can actually make up a half mile an hour just by changing the way you approached that particular race.  I know you felt like you couldn't have pushed harder...but were you consistent in your pedaling?  How was your cornering?  Were you able to pick lines and get around people all right?  All of these things add up A LOT.

Overall...great job my man.  And congrats on the ITBS.  Definitely do your best to analyze that so you can duplicate the "no issue".

SERIOUSLY!  I would love to have the mountain bike out by now.  I honestly thought there may be a chance to get in the woods this weekend, but as of today they are calling for another foot of snow tomorrow.  I'd like to kick that little groundhog in the butt.

Jonathan, great points on bike handling, such as cornering.  This also plays into knowing the course.  Knowing what are the best lines, where you can afford to hammer a little more, etc. can really make a different, as well as making you more confident about the effort level you are putting out.

I did a sprint last year which was 3 loops of a 5 mile course, and each of my laps was a little faster at the same effort as I learned the cornering and hill layout.

Thanks!  Yea my cornering leaves a LOT to be desired..I about took the deputy out at the U turn.  I also got out of aero during turns from 1 street to another.

I do not have any electronics on my bike but I tried to maintain a steady cadence but I was shifting gears some just to vary the cadence and give other muscles a chance to rest by going to a higher cadence and sometime a lower cadence in bigger gears...and trust me..I had plenty of big gears to go to.  I did ride aero the whole way except for the turn around and turns.  I did not stand at all.  I drank about 1/3 of my aero bottle of gatorade.

I wish I knew what relieved my IT band, maybe it has been healing for several weeks and finally got well?????  knock on wood!

I'll try to get a pic on my bikes and get wife to post, I may have to e-mail them to Jen and get her to post for me.  I've been fited for both but just because you are fitted that does not mean there are not advantages of having another set of eyes look at it.

Karl - Feel free to e-mail pics to me or have Pam e-mail to me and I will post.

Sounds like you are going to be booking it at Red Hills

My wife (PinkSocks) was contaced by a lady at the attached links and gives medals to people w/ medical conditions.  My theory is I got to do the event and the medals just collect dust for me.  I keep the race bib # and donate the medals.

Below is what wife asked me to pass along IF anyone is interested...  If you have questions, contact her, not me because I do not know...lol

Also, I know this is a sticky subject for many people because medals are precious to many.  But there is a program called

www.medals4mettle.org 

http://www.medals4mettle.org/ that takes HM, mary, and tri medals and

then gives them to children and adults going thru debilitating diseases. It looks like an awesome program.  I take pictures of my medals, front and back, and then remove the ribbons.  I have pix if I ever want them and I have the ribbons and I'm happy with that.  My rep is so cool that she sends me thank you notes and emails me when she gives out my medals.

Mentioning in case anyone is interested.

Thoughtsby Jack Handy.... a learning experience in SWIMMING today.....

Today was the first time in the pool after 10 days off due to stomach bug, probably the longest gap in several months. The water temp was a cool 81°. In all reality it wasn't cool by California standards, but it was cooler than the regualr 84°-86°. I noticed that during the first ten laps I had trouble catching my breath. I think I tried to swim faster because the water was cooler, which got me to thinking about why I have panicked in previous swims during actual races.

As I continued to think about this I decided to close my eyes and just open them when taking breaths. This exaggerated the coolness of the water and elevated the sensation similar to that of me panicking during races. I think I have come closer to one of the reasons I am panicking. I continued to keep my eyes closed and tried to slow down. Eventually I found a groove, however, I did have to give myself a pep talk, which went something like this... I have swam in Waimea Bay, in Hawaii, I have swam in nasty shorebreak surf in Sandy Beach, Hawaii, I have swam at Zuma Beach, Ca.... I can do this.... I have climbed crazy double black diamond chutes on Mammoth Mountain, Ca and snowboarded them in blizzarding conditions.... I can do this, I can remain calm.. find your happy place.... just like in running.... I can do this.... don't think... just do... the only time your mind is quiet is when you run... let your mind be quiet now....

I did manage to swim the last ten laps a few seconds faster, but not as fast as usual. I am already pretty slow to begin with, but here's what my short swim looked like today:

100 yards - (freestyle) warm up, not timed

500 yards (pull buoy) - 13:04

500 yards (freestyle) - 13:24

500 yards (freestyle) - 13:01