Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 87)

Rene-one more week then the taper. Your training looks great.

Had a good visit to Tuscaloosa. It was a family affair as there were the 3 of us (me, wife and daughter) as well as mother and father in law, sister and brother in law and nephew. Great to see Gil race. He really loves school and running with the team. So far so good as he has been in the top 3 Bama finishers in all races so far this year. Coming up are the big races...SEC Championships and then Southeast Regionals. Looks like I will be able to make both of those as well. We had a good visit with him and a nice weekend. This is homecoming week for my daughter, a HS senior, so it will be busier than usual culminating with walking her out with the homecoming court Friday night. This time next year we will have an empty nest!

Have a good week everyone.

Randy 

Great swim this morning, definitely getting my swim volume up.  My Kurt Kinetic Trainer is now malfuntioning and I could not do my long ride yesterday.  I emailed them last night (on a sunday) and within 20 minutes got a response that a new one is being shipped out tomorrow, and to just toss the old one.   No questions asked.  I never even registered the trainer with them when I first bought it.  All I had to do was email the serial number.  This seems almost too hard believe, great customer service! 

I worked too much last week but have to trust that my volumes throughout the year are going to carry me through the upcoming IM.  I have readjusted my goal time (for what it is worth) to be sub 13 hours.  Next year hope to move up more in the MOP category.  Also going to do some HIM's.  I have the TrainerRoad up and running and so far I loved it!  A real eye opener for me as sometimes when on the trainer I just go at the same effort for a very long time, almost mesmerized as I watch Netflix. 

Great job on the races this weekend!  Have not read the reports yet.  Good day all!  Jim

Today was suppose to be a rest day but given my work schedule this week I ended up doing a swim at lunch and a run this evening.  I'll be missing some workouts later in the week so thought I should get done what I could today. Both workouts were good...now I'm tired!

Randy

Good morning! Legs are a little tired this morning after a good run strength workout last night. Pulling tires and running hills, lunges and things that nature are part of workouts that I would have skipped doing by myself ... :-)

I am on a roll reading running/triathlon related book. I finished Rich Roll's "Finding Ultra" which is a great book. I also just finished Team Hoyt's "Devoted" also a very great and emotional book. 

Currently I am reading "Eat & Run" by Scott Jurek. 

What else is going on with everyone. Seems like for some the season is over and our group is getting a little quiet. I got two more Tri's coming up ... one this Sunday and then my season ending Tri the Sunday after. I learned a lot from this group ... can't say that enough. If you guys start a new one  ... count me in!

Yeah, my season is over, but I don't really think I'm going to take much training-time off; it just won't be as regimented as when I was on a training plan. I have a couple things I really want to figure out/get done:

Bike volume: I need to log tons of time on the bike. I've figured out from my races that the bike seems to make a crucial difference just because of the amount of time spent on it versus the race time. 

Nutrition: I need to figure out how to eat during a long race. My stomach was killing me during much of the run last Sunday, and it stands to reason since I basically only ate sugar all morning (Stinger Waffle and 3 Gu's) I would not have wanted to run another 6 miles with how my stomach was feeling, but as soon as I was done, I ate a bbq sandwich...I was craving savory and salty, not just sweet. What does everyone else eat during a longer race? I'm guessing I just need to try some long workouts and try different combinations of food before/during. Suggestions?

My off season is going to be bike and run centered. I am going to spend most of my time on the bike and I am thinking about buying a new trainer. In addition to that I will continue my workouts with trainerroad.com. I got a half marathon scheduled in December and once that is done I am going to work on speed, speed and some more speed. 

Actually it seems I always have a cup of coffee in the morning and a Larabar. Shortly before the race I am eating a Honey Stinger waffle. I am not taking in any additional nutrition during a Sprint/Olympic distance race other than water. Everything else I tried like gels, oj with coconut water and such didn't sit well with me. 

Hello all-been on the road today for work. Was able to get in a good bike workout this evening. Not sure I will be able to get a workout in tomorrow given schedule.

Winter mentor group-talked with Michael and we are on for a Winter group. Not sure when it will start but I would guess sometime in December. We have enjoyed doing this group and I always learn so much from the group.  Of course, anyone that would like to stay with us in the Winter group is welcome to do so.  However, you should not feel an obligation to do so.  I would encourage everyone to consider becoming a mentor. If you feel that it may be overwhelming then maybe do it with someone else as co-mentors.  When I first started on BT I would switch up and join a new group each time the mentor groups opened. I "met" lots of people and was able to get alot of information from numerous BT members.  Don't worry about hurting our feelings if you want to join another group....its a great way to take advantage of the knowledge available here on BT.  This was not a paid advertisement

In the mean time let's keep at it here!

Randy

Jamie-nutrition can be difficult to nail down. What you actually need will vary by distance and even the temperature on race day. Work on it in your training over the Winter. Hopefully you will find something that works for you. I agree that less is best for the shorter distances. HIM and IM are different animals as you must fuel your body for long periods of exercise. Some people can't tolerate the processed gels and will try "real food" in the longer races. Things like Honey Stinger waffles should digest easily but slower than a gel. I would think any real food you eat during exercise should be something that is easy to digest.   Maybe some of the folks with more HIM and IM experience can help with their experience.

Randy 

Yes!  That would be great.  Are you traveling with family?

Hey all, Sorry for the long lapse in replies. Training is going well on my end. Had a great century this past weekend on a hilly and windy route. Kept the average over 20mph....I think I am becoming a 'cyclist' finally. Had my last long run (3 hours) on Sunday, and had to be in hold for a while as it was raining pretty good. Finally was able to start and it felt great since it was cloudy and windy, at about the 1 hour (ish) mark, the sun came out and it became very humid and muggy. The last two hours were difficult, but I finished and was happy to be done.

In terms of nutrition....I am rather sensitive to the high-sugar gels. I have switched to Hammer Perpeteum and have really been liking the results. I also like to chew on something, and I have been cutting up a Powerbar Performance Energy bar, as well a package of stinger waffle, and/or stinger 'chomps'. I also started to take salt pills recently, as I realized I wasn't getting enough salt in for how much fluid I was taking. Another little treat I've noticed is packing a few fig newtons. 2 of these are 110 calories.

Randy hit the main point -- experiment in training.  You might have eaten too much.  I generally taken in just some sports drink on the bike and one gel on the run in an Oly.  HIM is another beast (and IM yet another).  At that distance nutrition can be a make-or-break thing.  Savory food can be a nice break from the sweetness of drinks and gels, but tend also to be harder to digest because they tend to have actual substance.  A commonly used exception is broth, so you might try that.  Pretzels, nuts (in small quantities), and similar things are also sometimes used with success.  Practice!

Yeah, my best season ever (not this one...) was preceded by my best winter ever.

Right now I'm run focused (I would love to get back the run I had 9-12 months ago) but, like you, I'm going to hit the pool pretty hard, come December.

Nick-sounds like things are heading in the right direction headed into IMFL.

Blanda-you have a busy Winter/Spring planned. Good luck in the bike race.

On another note...what "discount" sites to you check for good buys on bike, tri or sport realted gear?  Of course there are all the main on line sites like www.all3sports.com and www.trisports.com but what about others with discounted or last year's stuff?

www.chainlove.com  Was previously Bonktown. Mostly cycling related gear. One item at a time and changes every 30 minutes or so. Have ordered Accelerade previously whenever they offer it...usually about half off.

www..com  I get an email from them everyday with current sales. Anything from running shoes, hiking equipment to bikes. Recently ordered some running shoes for about half of what running sites were charging. Not scheduled to be dielivered until early Nov. so we will see.

Randy  

Sorry, for some reason it will not allow me to post the link.  I'll try again later....weird glitch

Randy 

Another is www.leftlanesports.com  A variety of outdoor gear, clothing and shoes. I have not ordered anything but get regular emails with their current deals.

Randy

Blanda - so good to see your hubby is back!  Brings back memories from my deployments.

2 mile swim this morning.  Keeping the swim volume up so far this month. 

Randy/Michael:  This group has been wonderful!  I would definitely like to be part of your next mentor group. 

Jim