KiterChick's beginner friendly group - CLOSED (Page 9)

Sarah, I know there was some discussion earlier about tri clothing. What do you recommend for a half? I want to be comfortable on the bike. I was considering changing shorts from bike to run or even all 3 sections. I've only worn my 1 piece suit with no chamois as I was riding a hybrid bike with a comfy seat.

 

Since you haven't answered yet, I want to add I bought a pair of CW-X Tri Shorts today to try.

 

So I want to pose the discussion of nutrition for the half. I cannot use gu's. They do not agree with my stomach at all. I've used sports beans, hammer gels, powerbar gels, accel gels, accelerade. I've been trying so other solid foods on the bike - nutrigrain bars, planning on a poptart tomorrow. I don't seem to have too many problems on the bike but me and running nutrition don't tend to get along.

Edited by missyw2you 2014-02-22 7:36 PM

Hi all, Sarah I think following on from my previous question I've now got a little better info. Did a trial super sprint tri in the gym today (400m in the pool, 15.5km on the exercise bike & 2.5km on the treadmill) 1:07 was my time - on avg how much should I add for changeover & real world conditions? Trying to figure out what time to aim for so I've got a better goal than "just finishing it"

Hi everyone! For the second week in a row, I didn't make it to the pool. I just can't seem to get motivated for it. I really need to get in the habit of going more often though before my race in June, especially since there's a chance it may not be wetsuit legal and I have to make sure I can handle that if needed. Hopefully, next week will be better. On the plus side, I got in more cycling and running than I have previously and hopefully, I'll get in another run today to end the week.

Omne - Congratulations on swimming 100 yards, that's awesome! You guys are all really making progress on the swim. Sounds like your running is really coming along too. Have fun in PR!

Kristina - Glad your 6M run went well, it's nasty out there. Sorry you're feeling sick too, hope you feel better soon!

Melissa - Great questions, I'll do my best to answer them, although everything you brought up all comes down to personal preferences. Regarding appropriate clothing, personally, I don't change for HIMs and wear my tri top and shorts throughout, but I know that people do. I did choose to change for my IM though, so I have done a race where I swapped clothes. When I swapped, I did still wear the same top throughout, but I wore bikini bottoms for the swim, then changed to bike shorts and finally put on tri shorts for the run. One thing to consider is privacy if that's an issue for you. My race had a changing tent, although even that was open inside so I was briefly naked from the waist down in front of anyone who was in the tent. I don't think any of the HIMs I've been to have tents, so you would potentially be changing in the transition area. You could have a towel to hide behind, just something to keep in mind. Otherwise, if you now think you want to wear the same outfit, just make sure you know it will be comfortable. I wore a tri top for one of my HIMs that was fine for shorter races, but I hadn't tested for longer ones. It gave me the worst under arm chaffing, which made for a pretty painful race!

As for nutrition, no problem if you can't use Gus. Basically, keep playing around with your options that you can tolerate and definitely practice a schedule during your training. You're obviously going to have to run after biking for the race, so don't plan on eating anything on the bike that's going to bother you on the run since you'll have it sitting in your stomach and it will likely come back to bother you. Personally, I use Clif Shot Bloks on the bike. There's six per tube and I usually eat three every half hour. I also drink every 15 minutes alternating between Gatorade when I'm not having the Shot Bloks and water when I am. For the run, I sometimes use a Gu, but that's because I'm okay with them. Just keep practicing to find what you tolerate best and keep in mind that you'll want something that's easily accessible on the bike too.

KJ - Great job on your trial super sprint! Transitions can add as little as under a minute, but up to several minutes apiece. Given that you're a beginner, you probably won't get them done under a minute, but they hopefully shouldn't add too much time. You can practice them at home. Just lay out your gear as you plan to for race day and work on making any changes as quickly as possible. That being said, sometimes in the race, you'll fumble things due to nerves, or you may come out of the swim feeling disoriented, which will slow you down. It's hard to say until you do it. Maybe assume approximately 3 minutes per transition though as an average. As for the events, that's more difficult to predict. A pool swim is very different from the open water swim. You might get nervous and get thrown off your game or you may sight poorly and have to spend time getting back on track. It may go great though! The bike depends on the course too, is it hilly, is it going to be crowded? The run is probably the easiest to predict, so hopefully your gym time will be comparable to your time for the race. On the plus side, race day adrenaline may actually speed you up too, so you may end up being faster than your gym trial predicts. Sorry, this was rambling and didn't give you an accurate answer, but it's difficult to predict. I'd suggest making multiple goals - a reasonable one, one that you'd prefer to make and a holy crap, I can't believe I went that fast one.

I hope those of you who have been feeling ill are feeling better! Also, Omne, I'm very jealous of your Puerto Rico vacation. Have fun!

I want to give major props to everyone in this group. Everyone seems to be doing so well with training and your levels of fitness appear to be pretty high. You guys have really set the bar for me! My second swim class went much better than the first (no throwing up), but I'm anxious to start practicing laps and working on techniques learned in class. The high school pool isn't a viable option for reliable swimming because I often am unavailable the one two-hour time slot (the other day is right after my swim class, which is too overwhelming). I've tentatively decided to work three overtime shifts at work, which will finance my gym membership for the year. Then I can finally start getting some serious training in like the rest of you!

I'm considering running an 8K (Shamrock Shuffle) at the end of March, so I'm going to be significantly amping up my running game, too. Thanks for your support, guys. If only we all lived in the same city so we could socialize at a happy hour or something!

Carolyn, you're an inspiration too - working overtime shifts just so you can afford more access for working out is some serious dedication!

Nothing really to report here. I've had a lot going on personally this week so I haven't had a chance to workout. It's not a build week at least. Things have calmed down at this point, so I'm planning on bundling up for a chilly run tomorrow morning. I actually can't wait. Of course, feel free to remind me of that when it's early tomorrow morning and I'm all cozy in bed!

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Hello Everyone,

I completely fell off the wagon in regards to my training in February. I hate excuses but this month was just the worst in terms of trying to have a regular schedule because I was so busy at work. Also with the bad weather and a chest cold thrown in there, February ended up being a write off.

But good news is that March is a new month and I am going to start over and get going. Because my triathlon is July 6th, I still have plenty of time assuming I'm able to stick with it this time, I just can't afford another start over.

I have, however, been going to my swimming lessons somewhat regularly and have really felt it is helping. In my last class which was two weeks ago we did a test where we had to swim for 10 minutes straight (any stroke) to see how many lengths we could do. We weren't expected to be amazing or fast but this was meant to give us a point of comparison to see our improvement when we try again in a few weeks. I was able to do 275m continuously (no stopping at the ends) but had to use a variety of strokes including the backstroke which I used almost as a rest length to try to catch my breath. At the end of the 10 minutes I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, but I did it. And at least now I will have a point of comparison to see how I can improve over the remaining 5 weeks of the course. (Then I will probably sign up for the next 8 week session)

It sounds like some of you have had set backs as well with being ill or busy, but glad to see that we are all persevering and the support in this group is awesome!

Is it normal to feel bloated the day after a big workout? Rode for 3hrs yesterday. Didn't go crazy with eating but still feel bloated today.

I think I have pretty much given up trying to lose weight and train for a half at the same time. I'm sure it's possible but with my work schedule and everything else, it's one added stress I don't need. I'm not too happy about it but i can't afford to be distracted/emotional about the scale.

Hi everyone! Well, I managed to do absolutely nothing last week, which was not good. I can't go back and change that, but I can try to be more dedicated in the future, so I hit the gym after work for a run on the treadmill followed by a swim. I should have done them in the opposite order though, since I'm prone to foot cramps and they're generally worse after running. The first half of the swim was okay, but I was fighting them on and off throughout the second half. At least I got in some swimming though!

Lacey - February can be one of the worst months to motivate in the best of situations and it sounds like you're genuinely busy on top of that. You definitely have time to reassert yourself and be ready for your race in July. Hopefully, things will warm up for us all soon and the nice weather will help in the motivation department. Sounds like you're making some real progress with your swim classes too. Keep up the good work!

Melissa - I'm not sure that I've ever felt bloated after a big workout. I've definitely seen the scale go up after one though. I believe that is due to your muscles retaining more water when they're damaged. That goes away pretty quickly though. Hopefully, whatever bloating you're feeling is due to a similar reason and you should feel like yourself again soon. As for losing weight, it's really difficult to do while training. Your race is coming up soon, so I think you're making the right decision to not focus on that for now. You can always give it another go after your race.

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

Omne, awesome job on the 10k run and the swim!
I swam 1/2 a mile twice last week! I can now complete 50 yards without stopping, and sometimes I can turn right around and do 100 in a row. If I really concentrate on relaxing and gliding and going slow I can breathe better and go further without stopping. If I breathe back into my armpit so my head is the right angle it's also easier to breathe. It's actually getting there! Nothing feels better than working hard for something that was so difficult and then conquering it with good ole' hard work. I'm NOT there yet, but progress is what I need to keep motivated and it's coming. Sounds like we are all doing it bit by bit.

I have typed out my own plan up to my 70.3 with the races building up in July and August. I detail out 6 weeks at a time and tweek each week as it comes around life and my schedule. It's fun to be my own coach. I'm doing 3 weeks "on" and 1 week light for recovery, and building weekly volume by no more than 10-15% to prevent injury. It's working like a charm so far. I've followed so many plans for long distance running that I am looking forward to doing this on my own. I just need to stay objective on how I'm feeling in case I need to back off if the schedule doesn't have that in the plan, that's how I typically get injured, not listening to my body and over training.

Half marathon coming up on April 6 so I'm focused on running and looking forward to it. I'm trying to dial in the diet too by eliminating sugar and flour/wheat, but the zero degree temps just make me want to eat. I can't wait to sit outside and enjjoy being active beyond the workouts!

Good luck everyone! Keep it up., and don't beat yourself up - progress not perfection. Now, to follow my own advice

Hi everyone

Well done to everyone's training efforts and events whilst I was away

Finally back from visiting home - was totally awesome but not as training focused as I hoped. got some runnning, biking and one ocean paddle in ! So this week is focus on getting back into routine and sprint tri & 1/2 marathon coming up in May. I so have to commit to swimming training !

I did get to see Ironman New Zealand whilst I was there - so very inspriing to see so many people of all shapes and ages out there giving it everything. The swim in the lake was cold, most people came out blue ! The bike had a nasty head wind coming back into Taupo - two loops made it very tiring and the run was hot ! Hats off to my friends that completed and were still smiling at the end...... I'm now seriosuly considering doing Auckland 70.3 in January 2015

Ok - back to work and setting up my training plan for the next 8 weeks!

Jan

I leave sunny, beautiful San Juan and return to....an epic ice storm in Memphis. Back to the treadmill for my miles for another few days! I did manage an easy 3 miles while I was there, plus a hike in the rainforest (i brought my Garmin, just for the awesome elevation profile) and did plenty of "swimming."

Time to kick training into high gear, especially swimming. Half marathon is on the 16th with a sub-2 hour goal, and then my sprint tri in mid-May. Let's do this! Very inspiring to come back and read about everyone doing whatever they can in their training, it's awesome!

Edit: Carolyn, I totally agree!

Edited by Omne38103 2014-03-04 4:58 PM

I'm glad to hear you're all doing pretty well! March will be an excellent month for training for all of us, I'm sure. :-) Today, a particularly cold day in Chicago, I decided to bite the bullet and get the gym membership at XSport Fitness! Instead of the $100 fee, I only had to pay $50 because I work at a school. Thank goodness! I'll only have to work two overtime shifts to pay for the membership, so I'm pleased by how it all worked out. I started out my first day as a member with a 9:42 mile on the treadmill. For not running in a few months, I'll take it! I'm really excited to go back tomorrow to try out the pool for the first time.

I don't know if any of you are religious, but tomorrow is the start of Lent. I've decided to give up cheese, sweets, and most bread. I may have a lot of diet things to work out because I want to make sure I'm eating enough food and getting in enough protein to gain muscle. Do any of you have low bread or cheese diets regularly? Cheese/dairy products = my weakness. Bread, too! So, basically, pizza is the best thing ever. :-) If anyone has any favorite recipes that are pescetarian/vegetarian, then feel free to post or message me!

Hi everyone! This week has been going fairly well. I've been doing a decent, albeit not perfect, job of eating healthy and I got in workouts on Monday and Tuesday with plans to hit the gym tonight after work. The interesting news of the week has been the reported potential issues with TriColumbia and speculation on how that may affect their 2014 races, including Eagleman, which I'm registered for. Apparently they "hope" to put out a statement about what will or will not be happening late in the week, so hopefully they'll release more information soon. Trying not to worry about plans until anything becomes official...

Gail - Sounds like you're making a lot of progress in the pool, keep up the good work! Your 3-1 training plan base sounds good too, I'm on a similar setup.

Jan - Wow, your trip sounds great! IMNZ also sounds like it was pretty awesome although a cold swim, windy bike and hot run sound pretty rough. Perhaps "challenging" would be a better word!

Omne - You definitely chose a good time to get away from the never ending winter we've been having. Sorry you still had to return to more of it. At least you're in the south, so things should hopefully start warming up soon!

Carolyn - That's great you only had to end up paying $50 for the joining fee. As for recipes, I made this last night: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/recipes/french-green-lenti... I mixed in some ground beef to up the protein, but given that you're looking for vegetarian/pescatarian options, I think it would be great with a piece of baked salmon or other type of fish.

Hi everyone,

I've been out of the loop for a few weeks. I finally had an MRI for the groin pain and I have a stress fracture in my pelvis - on the pubis bone.

I'm out of all my races for this year and was in a really dark place for a few days. I was able to defer my Savageman 70.0 until 2015, so at least I didn't lose any money.

No running, no biking, and technically no swimming for a few months, and even then no training for another 6 mths. I was swimming 3-4 days a week (funny how when it's your only option for cardio the attitude about swimming does a 180!) but another doctor said that any movement that contracts the adductors, like kicking or even holding a swim buoy between your legs, call aggravate the fracture by causing the muscle to continue to pull at the bone.

So I duct taped the buoy between my legs so I'm not actively holding it and using my adductor muscles.

In the end, all this training is for naught if you get injured. So follow the 10% rule and don't be stupid like I was.

I'm excited and a bit jealous of everyone out there training hard, and one day I hope to see everyone at the finish line. I'll be back in 2015.

P.S. For everyone who doesn't feel like going for a run, bike or swim, this is a virtual kick in the butt to get you to do it anyway. I would give ANYTHING to trade places with you and just go for a run or a bike or a swim where I can kick my legs!!!! xo

Chuff, I'm so sorry to hear about your injury and I'm going to think of you every time I'm not feeling motivated enough to complete a workout. It must be difficult to face limitations like this when your dedication is 100% there, but I'm sure you'll make the 2015 season an excellent one! I will heed your advice and I'll be sure not to train too often/intensely.

Sarah, thanks so much for the recipe! It looks perfectly nutritious and delicious. With salmon on top, this could easily be ~34g protein--just what I need!

Things are going really well at the gym for me so far, but I'm really intimidated by the resistance training machines and weights. The only women I've seen "over there" are working with personal trainers and the men are super muscular, intense, and seem to know exactly what they're doing. I walked through the machines trying to find the ones my training plan called for, but I got scared and left! I think most of my problem is that I'm totally uneducated when it comes to proper use of machines that aren't the treadmill or elliptical. (I had a *lot* of trouble figuring out how to adjust the spin bike.) There isn't much muscle on me and I'm sure working on strength training will really help. I just need to figure out what I'm doing and try to tune out the intense, buff guys around me!

Chuff - so sorry to hear about your injury 2015 will be bigger an dbetter for you !

Hi everyone! Put in an hour on the trainer last night, then headed out for a relatively short run this morning. Wasn't feeling great for the first half, but then got hit with some pretty severe GI issues just as I was starting the second half. Ended up having to walk for a few minutes, then ran at a very slow pace for the remainder. Have a longer run planned for tomorrow though and the weather is supposed to be great, so I plan to redeem myself then!

Carolyn (Chuff) - I'm so sorry to hear about your injury! At least you were able to defer your Savageman registration to next year. I just don't know what else to say other than that sucks and I hope you're able to heal up soon!

Carolyn24 - Glad the recipe sounded good to you. I wish I could help you regarding the weight training, but I'm in a similar boat there. There's always a ton of guys in the weight room at my gym. It's not so much that I care what they think of me, but I hate to butt in to ask if I can take off their multiple 45 lb. plates so that I can swap in my measly 5 lb. ones. Good luck and try not to worry about what the guys think!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Chuff - That stinks! I'm sorry you're injured. You're making the right call though; if there's any doubt, just read up on Frayed Laces (triathlete blogger) who had a similar injury and has bounced back.

Sarah and Carolyn: just ignore the guys and go about your business. I'm not a big guy by any means, and I was definitely intimidated the first times I went to the weight room. But truth of the matter is, everyone is there to do their business and move on. Do what you came there to do; the big, bulky guys aren't staring at you and laughing at the exercises you're doing, or the weights you're lifting. I've been in your position, you can get past that mental hurdle. And please, do ask if you can switch out plates! Even if the guy isn't done yet, it'll let him know to hurry up and quit playing Candy Crush on their phones and finish their set!

Omne and Melissa - You're both right, I need to just forget about worrying about people in the weight room and get in some weights. Unfortunately, now that my HIM training is bumping up, I need to focus most of my free time on that. I'm going to try to start the weights this summer when things calm down a bit.

As for training, I took Monday and Tuesday off, but got back into things with a decent run this morning. I'm also hoping to hop in the pool this afternoon. I'm hoping since I'll have had time to rest after the run that I won't get horrible foot cramps like I did last week when I swam directly after a run on the treadmill. I'm really prone to foot cramps when I'm training and they hurt!

Keep up the great work on the training! It's got to warm up and help us all get outside soon, right?

Wow lots happening here!

First of all - Chuff I'm so sorry to hear about the injury. It's easy for me to say but hang in there and you will have a great 2015. Whatever you do don't stop checking in with us because we will all be racing for you this season! I'm getting close to my first race in May and I am already planning on making it to the finish with you on my mind the whole way! You will have to just return the favor next season! ;0)

I'm almost feeling guilty that I don't have the bad weather to contend with that most of you seem to have had to endure this winter. But the last three weeks for me were very odd in a different way. First I was sick and that interrupted my training for a week, then I got busy helping my landlord put in a new backyard fence, while it was definitely a workout it totally messed up my training for another week and then I was in a taper week for for race that took place this past weekend. Funny thing is I actually PR'd each segment of the Duathlon! The only problem is the official timing was screwed up and they are trying to correct it but I I already know from my own running app that I pr'd by about 15 minutes total. Yay me!

My advice to all who are dealing with lunks at the gym. I have a TRX training system which is based on body weight exercises. I love it and there are specific exercises for developing Strength for triathletes, running, cycling, swimming, you name it there is a group of exercises that can develop strength for any discipline. I love it! I need to use it more to be honest but at $199 I think it's the best deal in fitness today! I highly recommend it and then it makes it easier to include strength training to your Tri training right away. I know $199 isn't necessarily cheap but compared to many other options it's the best bang for your buck by far and sometimes there are deals that bring the price down as much as $50 bucks from time to time!

I really am glad I joined this group I do get so motivated reading everyone's posts. It helps me feel like I'm not alone in this newbie thing!

Happy Training!

John

Hi John,

Great stuff on the PR at the Duathlon last weekend

Are you doing the Sping Tri at Mission Beach in May ? I've entered - now swimming with the Tri club to make sure i can at least complete the first part !

Jan

Edited by Millienz 2014-03-13 4:21 PM

Hi Jan,

Yes I'm doing the Sprint Sprint in May. Each of the last three duathlons I did were on that same course in Mission Bay so now I'm ready to add the swim to the mix. Well I say that but I'm still anxious about that part. In fact I'm heading to the gym in about an hour for a swim session. I feel like I will be fine but the idea is still nerve racking! LOL! Again the objective is to just finish of course and I think once I get out of the water I will feel much better about the remainder of the race. I still need to register, get a wetsuit, probably gonna rent one, and make some adjustments to my bike for more comfort then I'll be ready!

Hi John,

The whole swim is going to be my weakness too - I'm hoping the coached session with the Tri club are going to improve my stroke but I'd stilll feel better and probably quicker if I did breastroke at the triathlon ! I'm thinking of doing a practise swim at Mission bay beforehand if you are interested in joining ? i've borrowed a wetsuit - I think HiTech bikes at Clairemont hire wetsuits....

Cycling and running are a little easier - although practising bike sprints on Fiesta island tuesday, I was lapped many, many times by some fast lycra clad peloton

Jan

Son of a! I missed coming in at 2 hours in my half yesterday by 1:50! A damn 9 second per mile difference! Ugh!