The Frozen (not so) North Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 9)

Ally, I think it's absolutely worth it to change your rear tire.  My trainers eats tires pretty quickly, so I don't want my regular tires getting worn out for no reason.  I went to the bike shop and asked for some old beater tires, they actually had a few to give me but I also bought a "trainer" tire.  Is that what you mean by a slick?  The one I got is red so there's no way to forget you have it on come spring.  I think any old tire is fine and you don't really need to use a trainer tire, but I wanted to spend some $$$ at the shop for all the help they give me.

I'm not sure what your price point is for a bike computer but that will set what is the best one to buy.  I have a Polar 725x.  It's fine and does everything I need - cadence, speed, HR.  As a bonus, it's waterproof and the Polar HR works in the water, so I can wear it swimming and get HR during my swims.

At some point, I'll be getting power to train and race more efficiently on the bike, but the price tag is a bit much for me to get by the finance committee right now.  If you have tons of money to spend, that is the best bike training tool you can buy, imo.

Edited by wbayek 2011-01-18 8:58 AM

hi, everyone.

Hope you having a good Tuesday.   
Sorry to hear about the teething baby.  Did you get anymore sleep lately?
Its allrealtive_Maine How is the shoulder?

I need to figure where I am with mileage in the challenge will have to look later today. 
Did swimming lesson last night and ran for 1.4 miles took 20 minutes.  I am getting a little faster (2 weeks in since I decide that I was doing a tri)

I was able to find a used bike trailer for the kiddies.  Now for the bike and spring of course.


today's workout will be one hour of strength and may be a zumba class.

The first week of the challenge and I am off to a bad start.
Hubby has to go to work but he shovelled off layers of frozen ice from the driveway with help from my oldest (12yr) before leaving.

Sunday - I did nothing because I was so exhausted from my long run and 3to 4 hr sleep a night for the previous few days. I did my Sat 16 mile run on 3 hours. Not a good thing. I woke up early and my body said it needed rest more than a spin class, so . I was also the event coordinator for my church's grand opening and had to be there a few hours early. Monday - I spent all day updating a new software on my computer. Still incomplete. No workout.

Tuesday - ice storm, schools closed. Today, I am going to make an effort to figure out how to do setup my trainer. I keep saying it but never get around to it. I will be on conference calls for work for a couple of hours too. HOPEFULLY, I get a workout.

I don't have a trainer tire or a spare one so I am going to use the one on the bike.
Getting in my bike mileage will be the most challenging for me.

Lovey

Bike computer - I would get the best you can afford...there are many options out there...I had a cateye for many years that just had the basic speed, distance, cadence - no HR (I had a separate HR watch that I used, and could use for running as well). Last Christmas, I got a Garmin 305 and am thrilled with it. In addition to being able to see your distance and pacing during an event (or a training ride/run), there's all sorts of analysis you can do (elevation vs. speed vs. cadence) to examine your workouts. Biggest problem for me is that it isn't good in water - but I have found other ways to figure out my distance swimming. If biking is by far your favorite sport - I would have to agree with Warren that a power meter would be the best bang for the buck (but they aren't cheap)...

Lovey - sounds like you had a very busy weekend! Setting up the trainer really isn't too complicated - the hardest part for me was getting the tension set so it wasn't too easy or too hard...I had to hop on the bike, pedal a bit and run through the gears, then hop off the bike, adjust the tension, hop back on the bike, etc.

My shoulder is still grumpy...so no swim today. I'll evaluate in the am. We're getting dumped on snow-wise right now (the ice storm that Lovey had has made it's way up here) - the girls got sent home early from school and chances are good they will delay the start of school tomorrow...at least I can bike and run at home - while looking at the disaster that is our basement.

Stay safe, dry and warm!

I hadn't heard of the Power computers, so I was just having lunch and googled them.
WOW amazing yes, but for that price they had better pedal the bike for me  

Haha, my wife says the same thing to me!  It's totally not a necessary piece of equipment, but everyone I know who gets a power meter says it changes your bike training forever.  I'm just too much of a part timer right now to justify the price, but if anyone wants to sponsor me I'm all ears!

It's 1am, again, but getting enough sleep to function and workout so far.  Thanks for asking- have a fabulous time w/ Zumba!  Seems like quite the rage...

To everyone else braving the latest storm, be safe- guess we're getting more Friday.

Will attempt my morning run 5 hours from now, and am feeling the extra 3 minute run add-on this week in my calfs.  I won't be overly headstrong w/ workouts, as dumb things seem to happen to me w/ excessive fatigue.

Will update IM stats soon.  Off to put the kiddo down...*crosses fingers*

Miserable weather up here - under 32 but raining, so it's icing the roads immediately.  Only the salt is helping.  I'm going to try to run today, but only on super side streets.

By the way, Nashbar has some good deals right now and here's a link for a basic bike computer on sale.

I suck. I really suck. Didn't do the trainer properly so I will have to attack it again tonight. I didn't get a workout in. I had to skip my lunch hour workout because i was late due to school 2 hour delay start. I called the babysitter to come in the morning so CAN get out of the house. When i am home, workouts seem impossible. Last night I went down stairs determine to do something. Sat down and open my eyes to realize I fell asleep for 4 hours.

Just venting because i am both mad and disappointed at myself. I am going to run tonight on that treadmill even if I have to run/walk it. Anything. Even for a short run is better than nothing.

x2

Oh, let her kick herself  a little bit! 

Just kidding.  Actually, when life throws some curves it's a good time to remember that this is supposed to fun and add to our enjoyment of life.  I'm on a huge drop off in workouts the past 2 weeks, so I get your frustration.  I'm also kicking myself a bit, but I'm considering it to be a chance for my body to absorb the work I've done and prepare for some hard training ahead.

A COMPUTER QUESTION: How do I set up my profile to have our mentor group at easy access vs. having to through the forums?


On Monday 1/18/11 I got a 1 mile jog/walk in and a Zumba class. Tonight, I am setting the alarm for the A** Crack of Dawn with the goal of a workout before heading into school. I want to aim at two early mornings per week until I finish my thesis. It will give me more focus in the PM if I work out a bit. Then I will only be obsessing about 1 thing instead of 2.

There may be a better way to link to our thread, but I just played around & added a LINK using the buttons on the right side of my training log.  I put it the following for the URL: 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=236947

It's bringing me right to page 11 (the current/last page) of our thread, but I don't know if it will default to the last page or always bring me to p 11. 


Here's a different forum question - so, how are we supposed to reply to inspires?  I realized I was just adding a comment to my own training log when I thought I was replying.  So I tried hitting the reply button, but it just jumps me to the inspire-er's log - but then what?  do I just leave my reply as another inspire or send a pm?  not a big deal; I just wondered if I'm missing something obvious. 

You can go to my training log and copy it from the top of the page and paste it into your dashboard.

First go to my training log by clicking on my name, then logs. Copy the group links. then to get to and setup your dashboard, click settings at the top of any page, click Training Blog Customization, then click Dashboard. Paste.

You can also write your goals for 2011 on this or whatever you want. Whatever you put on the dashboard will show on the top of you training log all the time. Look at mine or anyone elses for ideas.

That's what I do - leave my reply as another inspire...that way it shows up in their logs and they get an extra inspire! It's the only way that I can be sure what I am writing is getting in front of the person I am intended.

I got into the pool, yeah. Another storm is brewing so they may cancel school tomorrow again.



I record my swim in yards so I converted the 2.4 miles to 4225 yards (rounded).

IRON MAN CHALLENGE 1/16 - 2/13/11

Swim - 2.4 miles (4225 yards): 1000 done/ 4225yds to go
Bike - 112 miles: 0 done/ 112 to go
Run -26.2 miles: 0 done/ 26.2 to go

HI ALL!!

The sun is out today but we are back in the deep freeze with more snow starting tonight.  I love winter and all but this is getting a little old!  Maybe I should look into getting my miles on cross country skis soon.

Lovey- if you fell asleep for 4 hours getting ready to train your body was telling you something.  It is always smart to listen.

Warren- I totally agree that this is FUN and I need to keep it squarely in that camp.

Regarding inspires-yes absolutely hit the reply button and leave the message in the inspirer's blog.  You get what you give.

It is also easy to add friends to you dashboard and reach their blogs through the friend link.  Just go to "Settings" then click "Training Blog Customization" then "Friends".  Type in the BT names and save.

My progress since Sunday.

Iron Man Challenge:

Swim: 1100
Bike:16 miles
Run: 5 miles

BTW, you can change your first day of the week to Monday rather than the default Sunday.  It is in the "Training Log Settings"  "Log Defaults".

Keep up the great work!

@Lovey Thanks so much it worked.

I got my butt out of bed and did a 5mile bike ride and a 1 mile run.
Any thoughts on footwear and/gear for my outside 5k this Sunday??

Lovely-life sure can get in the way of excerising .   Were things any calmer today?

I know that this isn't a lot to do with triathlons but I am resuming my  martial  arts after being off for 6 months because of boyfriend's injury .   Super excited....tomorrow will be a 45 run (if I can last that long)

and reviewing some of the new techiques I learned for swimming.  Hopefully we don't get the storm that they are calling for.
 

Today started off great. I was up on time and as soon as the babysitter cam at 5:30 am, I was out the door. After the kids went off to school, I went to make a cash deposit at the ATM. My cash got stuck. I was there for an hour but they had to call a technician. I have to check in later to make sure I get credit on my account. I weighed in at Weight watchers and as I expected, I gained 2lbs. Somehow, I still feel good. I wasn't even mad at the bank. I think the endorphines are still running thru me. Tonight is my running night ab=nd hopefully the snow starts after my run. If not, I told the boys we are going to the gym so mom can use the indoor track. I have a btter chance than if I stay home staring at the treadmill.


@KellySue - For winter rund, I wear my regular sneakers but thicker socks to keep my feet warm. A lot of people wear wool socks too. I tried wearing two pairs and it was horrible and uncomfortable. I race in Belaga socks and the hidden comfort socks have extra padding on the heel, arc and forefront.


My hubby said he is going to help me with the trainer this weekend but he is going to the bike shop to see one first. He would like to be able to switch out my hybrid and his mountain bike. If we feel like we are using it a lot we might get another one at the Huuuuuge BIKE SWAP they have in Maryland each year in February.

My Polaris snowmobile jacket and bibs!! Best of luck to you, you're braver than I am.

For winter running, if it's likely to be wet I'll go with something wool, but in general my feet don't get cold running, so I just wear my normal running socks.  Now my cheeks are another story.

Mike - winter running is a blast.  As long as the roads are deserted, I love running in the snow.  We're looking at another 8 inches tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get out at some point during the day.  It's actually a very peaceful time, as long as you don't fret over the pace, because footing can be a problem.  I stay right in my neighborhood so there's no traffic, and I just do loops (it's about 1 mile to the end of all the roads).

I do the same.  Great time to run if the wind isn't too sharp.  I wear Smart Wool ski socks.  Nice and toasty even when wet.  Looking at 4-8 inches here too.

Last night, I missed my group 5 mile run because my babysitter called in sick with the flu. I then spent the next 2 hours tutoring my son and didn't feel like going on the treadmill afterwards.

This morning, I went to the gym at 5:30a. I did my Body Pump weights class but left 15 minutes early to go on the treadmill. The treadmill. Finally, I ran 2 miles on the treadmill without stopping. I can 10K racess nonstop but that treadmill is a killer for me. I so wanted to stop at a quarter mile, half mile, etc but i didn't. When I felt like I wanted to really stop, I sped up instead and pushed thru. I could have gone longer but I was also on a time crunch.

I honestly felt like if I didn't do that weights class first, i wouldn't have been in the fram of mind to run. It seemed s much easier to get motivated to get on it once I was there and worked out a little.


IRON MAN CHALLENGE 1/16 - 2/13/11
Swim - 2.4 miles (4225 yards): 1000 done/ 3225yds to go
Bike - 112 miles: 0 done/ 112 to go
Run -26.2 miles: 2 done/ 24.2 to go

Tomorrow (Sat) is a 12 miler and even though I only got 2 miles in today, psychologically I feel better about doing that distance. Between last week and this week, I have missed my group weekly runs which are on rolling hills. My last 2 long runs were on flat terrain. I think for my 12 miler on Sat, I need more than flat. Not super hilly but just a little challenging. I don't want my body to get use to the flat. That way, when i do my weekly runs next week, my body doesn't go into shock.


Lovey

Edited by Lovey 2011-01-21 7:00 AM