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BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! (Page 9)
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 2011-04-27 1:45 PM in reply to: #3468635 |
Extreme Veteran  996    Minnesota |  Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN (but door barely ajar....)sanl - 2011-04-27 9:05 AM Hi Denise, What an inspirational story. That encourages me to keep working. I just signed up for my first Sprint on May 29th, but up till now, I only add injuries! But seeing that you even had a surgery and still kept going makes me feel that my own injuries are nothing.
Actually it was arthroscopic so I don't know if that counts as an actual surgery. Except for that, I've had very few injuries, so I sympathize with those who do. Great map! I'm sorry about your crash. I've fallen off several times but never crashed - so I'm due. Denise |
| 2011-04-27 1:53 PM in reply to: #3465509 |
Extreme Veteran 996 Minnesota | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN, and looking a few more able-bodied and willing-minded multisporters! lufferly - 2011-04-25 6:54 PM STEVE, yes, it was a bit "scary" meeting up with Denise and her husband, so brought my own husband along. Alison is still enjoying the touring and talking about continuing on in the fall, now that she's seen the tour stops. She just finished her first half marathon two weeks ago ... Glass City Half in Toledo with several of the cast. The tour was in Detroit ... they had two shows on Friday, two shows on Saturday, drove to Toledo Sunday morning for the run, then back to Detroit for two more shows that afternoon/evening!! Oh, to be 22 again!! Beach Palooza is an obstacle course 5K on, you guessed it, the beach! Off to my masters swim. LISA Hey Lisa, This is such a coincidence. Our daughter Laura just developed an interest in running last year - we've run a few 5ks and 10ks together in Mpls and Madison. She's training for the Madison Marathon at the end of May - she's never run a 1/2. But she's 21 - I'd love to have a young body again - not to look good but to be able to run/bike/swim faster. Denise |
| 2011-04-27 2:03 PM in reply to: #3435045 |
Extreme Veteran 996 Minnesota | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Steve, Yes, those races you mentioned are repeats, along with Alexandria (You must have something written down somewhere - haha) I've never done a USAT race. Racine will be my 1st, and I think one other race this year is USAT. I might take a look at rankings next year. So you're moving up,up,up - but how could you let Ben Ewers beat you - haha. My 1st du ever is Sat and because of weather, I've only ridden outside 4 times. AND IT'S SNOWING RIGHT NOW. And the forecast for Sat is rain and winds 22mph with gusts to 35. Oh well. It is what it is. I wasn't going to taper for this race because it's just a warmup but the weather and other things have made me miss several workouts this week so instead of being bummed I just decided to call it an intentional taper. Denise |
| 2011-04-27 9:55 PM in reply to: #3469519 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! DENISE - No, nothing written down. (Honest!) It just must be one of those quirks that allows me to feel less addled than usual, when the memory actually shows some gumption! |
| 2011-04-27 9:56 PM in reply to: #3469519 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! JEFF - Coaching thoughts tomorrow, okay? |
| 2011-04-28 1:38 AM in reply to: #3435045 |
Member 42 Concord | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Ok, a question (I'm usually good for 2+ a day I have been training for my tri on June 26. Mostly building up my distance. I'm considering starting lifting weight 2x per week. (Already went once - and man am I sore) My question is: should I start weights 2mo before my tri or just focus on endurance and distance? (and maybe start weights after the season?)
Thanks for your input, Canon |
)| 2011-04-28 5:31 AM in reply to: #3470500 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! HELMUTH - ACK! I've forgotten to answer your question about nutrition for an olympic-distance! So without further ado..... My protocol for olys has become quite simple: --A gel about 15 minutes before the swim start --On the bike I will have one water bottle of energy drink (HEED or EFS), about 2/3 full, and a second bottle about 1/4 full of water --I will drink from the HEED as wanted, but usually have nothing for the first ten minutes --The water is mostly to chase the gel I will have about halfway through the bike --If I have gone the last few miles without HEED, I will have a last gulp in the final half-mile --I leave transition with one gel, which I will eat at the one- or two-mile mark --I drink the race's energy drink at every aid station, and on hot days will have water as well. That comes out to a three-gel race, plus about 20oz of HEED, plus a few small cups of energy drink on the run. Pretty simple, overall, I guess. I also keep it simple pre-race, with usually a bagel and tea for brreakfast, plus nibbling once I get to the race site. This could be a banana, some more bagel, or an energy bar -- I am partial to Clif Mojo Bar, all the flavors of which have a decent level of saltiness. If you are not a gel person, then you might want to "do the math" and see what a comparable level of carbohydrates might be in the bar of your choice (I think you mentioned that you use energy bars). Each gel has about 25g of carbohydrates, so were I to go just bars I would aim to be CLOSE to that, but sure wouldn't worry about being off by another 25g either way. Not only is race nutrition not exactly rocket science, but it is highly variable from one person to the next. So, while mine above works for me, it might not work so well for you. But you have to start somewhere, and a good carbohydrate is a good place to start. The system needs fuel and it needs to replenish what is lost -- but only up to a certain point. During a race it is impossible to replace everything that is lost, and some people err by trying to do this, but it is wise to aim to put back some of the lost electrolytes and carbs. For races under about three hours, protein is not essential. That said, there is a LOT of controversy about this, and all you have to do is go to the website for Accelerade and AccelGel to see their arguments in favor of a 4:1 carb:protein ratio. I am not opposed to allowing protein in my body while I race, and I can handle it well enough, and I use Accelerade products wheneever I feel the urge, but for sprints and olys I do not make a point of consuming some protein during the race. After the race is a different matter, and within an hour of finsihing you should try to get a god amount of protein and carbohydrates back into you. Most post-race food will satisfy the carbs, but you might need to work at the protein part. I will often have a bottle of either Recoverite or Interphase. The former will provide 10g protein when added to 8-12oz of water, while the latter gives 34g protein in about 8oz of water. (The straight whey powder I have provides 18g protein.) Quite a difference, and it goes to show that different companies will have different views of what is "required"! Finally, all of the above, for me, has come through trial-and-error. I have never sat down and started with numbers and then figured out a way to meet them with whatever I was eating. Of course, this was not a perfect system, and msuitakes have been made!   (I am especially prone to making mistakes in half-irons, usually in the form of not eating and rinking enough on the bike.) But for olys and sprints, I can be a bit more loosey-goosey and not pay too heavy of a price. HOWEVER, I would never want to stray too far from the protocol I list at the top! Let me know how this sounds to you, okay? |
| 2011-04-28 5:32 AM in reply to: #3470524 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! HELMUTH again - When exactly is the race, and when are you leaving for it? |
| 2011-04-28 5:49 AM in reply to: #3470500 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! CANON - Two-a-day questioning is good!! That's a good one, about weights. I start my lifting program (2-3X a week) right after the season ends (mid-Oct, usually) and keep it up until early June. I give it up reluctantly, just because I enjoy doing it -- the discipline and focus and all. For the first five season I did triathlons, I never lifted, and didn't begin until Feb of '05. I think it has helped me in a number of ways, although I will quickly add here that I no longer do ANY leg work - haven't since about March '06. That was when I tore my meniscus (not through lifting) and decided that I wouldn't put any weight-related stress on it. By the time I started lifting regularly, I had a pretty good Base built up over the previous five seasons. I keep a it pretty regualrly nowadays for the same reason -- that my Base is huge, plus I need a good break from heavy-duty SBR during the off-season. In your case, though, I'd just be careful that time in the gym does not take away from time that could be spent on building endurance -- and technique! - in swimming and cycling and running. Few of us "power" through triathlons, and even those with power (i.e., strength) to spare will not not do a race well if they are lacking too much endurance or specific technique in the three sports. VERY roughly, you should be looking at two sessions a week in each of S-B-R....and then fit in lifting (or Yoga or Pilates or anything else) if there is still time. However, if you really love lifting and need it for whatever reason, then getting it in there at least once is good -- even if it comes at the cost of one of the sport-specific sessions. I have to head off now, but let me know later what you think of the above, okay? |
| 2011-04-28 8:15 AM in reply to: #3435045 |
Extreme Veteran 624 Spring TX | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! I think my masters swimming is leaving me oxygen deprived. Got home wanting to shower. Took off my suit, threw it in the bathroom sink, plugged the sink, turned on the water, and jumped in the shower. While I was showering, I thought I heard water running that didn't sound like the shower. Finished showering, looked over and the water from the sink was overflowing. I stepped out of the shower into an inch of water throughout the bathroom, dammed up only by the new carpet we put a few months ago. I even had water standing in the drawers of my vanity. The only thing I could think to say was "You are lucky that you weren't the one that did this!!" to my 12 year old son as he brought me every bath and beach towel we had in the house. DENISE, when I read yesterday afternoon that it was snowing up your way, it was 93 degrees at my house! The low yesterday morning was 78!! We've had temps 15 degrees above normal this spring, absolutely NO rain, and steady blowing winds. Our pool has already warmed up to 85 degrees! It's nice that we can "inspire" our kids in some way or another. My 24 year old son wants to go to Memphis in December and do the St. Jude half with me. He's a nonathlete and started his training about a month ago. LISA |
| 2011-04-28 9:25 AM in reply to: #3470536 |
Member 42 Concord | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Thanks Steve, that sounds good. I'll probably keep up the weights no more than 2x a week and switch my cycling from 3x to 2x, and use one of my runs and one of my swims to focus on technique. I'll stop the weights by June and maybe pick them up after my last tri this year. Thanks. |
| 2011-04-28 10:47 AM in reply to: #3470389 |
Expert 1191 Sarasota, FL | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Not a problem Steve. Obviously you have taken your "triathlon game" to a higher level and I'm interested in what role a paid coach played in that process. Personally I have thought about it but I have continued to make forward progress over the course of the last 3 years. My thoughts at the moment are to continue doing what I'm doing (self coached using Gordo Bryn's training plans). Perhaps when I hit a performance plateau then it will be time to look for other solutions. That is, if I still have the desire to go faster!!
stevebradley - 2011-04-27 10:56 PM JEFF - Coaching thoughts tomorrow, okay? |
| 2011-04-28 7:54 PM in reply to: #3435045 |
Regular 108 Crystal Coast | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Has anyone ever swam with a snorkel during a race? I read that they are legal but I have never seen anyone use one in the race. Since I tend to breath every stroke I was thinking a snorkel might improve my form. Thoughts? JK |
| 2011-04-29 4:15 AM in reply to: #3472456 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! POWER! CONTACT!! Huge winds here yesterday, enough so that I decided to scrap my run; who needs that level of aggravation?? Unfortunately, the winds were also huge enough to knock out our power.....and that was off until about half an hour ago. I was awakened by the sounds of things "kicking-in", such as the fridge and the sump pump (praise be!!), and so here I am, apologizing for missing a whole day here. We heard last night that the outage was widespread and that our area MIGHT not be reconnecetd until Saturday morning! So, having it back now, after about 14 hours without, is a huge relief. It's still windy and I guess it could happen again....so I will post this now before I lose it! |
| 2011-04-29 4:33 AM in reply to: #3472456 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! JK - That's correct, they are legal. This came as a big surprise to me last fall when someone in one of my other groups asked the same question and I said I didn't think so. Oops! First, I had never seen one in a race. Doesn't mean a whole lot, but I do race alot and figured at one race or another I would see one if they were USAT-legal. Second, and more compelling, is that I just couldn't see USAT allowing them in a race for the sake of safety. Here are three people I would not want to be: 1.) The person who got hit by an arm or elbow which jarred the snorkel which jammed back into the mouth or whacked against my teeth or cut my lips. 2.) The person who plied the accidental arm or elbow, juts feeling awful for having hurt someone so badly. 3.) The race director who had to face a pretty serious injury during the swim....and who might face a lawsuit later. You will hear me say often here that all the stories of getting knocked around during a triathlon swim are mostly over-stated --- stuff happens, but it is very minimal. In my 88 races that have involved a swim, I have been "swum over" just once. Granted, I have been bopped a bunch of times, but nothing serious; I have never lost my goggles. But of those "bops", some have been to the head, and all i can say is that I am glad I was not wearing a snorkel. And who knows how many times an arm may have just missed me....but might've clipped the snorkel had I been wearing it? Sooooo.....you can guess my position on this one!  I think snorkels are a terrific training tool, allowing you to watch the front end of your stroke and work at getting your balance more even. This is especially true of you and me and others who are unilateral breathers, as our tendency is to roll more to our breathing side. And while this "works" for us, it is not optimal as it can lead to shoulder injuries and drifting to one direction in races. I will post this now so it doesn't get lost, and if you want more thoughts on training with snorkels, please just ask! |
| 2011-04-29 4:34 AM in reply to: #3472733 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! JEFF - You're still at the top of my "get-to-soon" list! |
| 2011-04-29 11:12 AM in reply to: #3470766 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! LISA - I'd like to say that's a funny story, but having just gone through worries of flooding here if the outage continued and the back-up sump pump failed, I'm still a bit too wary to be giggling aloud. However, I am smiling -- some -- and especially liking the aspect of the double-standard we often keep with our kids and ourselves. There were many times I did something that, had either Jane or Peter done the same, I would've blown up at them. But seeing how it's me who was responsible, all I could engage in was a little figurative self-flagellation. (Well, I also had to fear the warth of Lynn, but thank goodness she is not regularly wrathful!) Is the carpet salvageable? I hope so. Is your oxygen-depeleted brain salvageable? I hope so! And aside from the overflow, how are you finding the masters swimming? |
| 2011-04-29 11:21 AM in reply to: #3469519 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! DENISE - It will be interesting to see if you see any big diffs between your local races and the USAT ones. You should get more bells and whistles at Racine just because it's 70.3 and a qualifier for the 70.3 championship, but for any of the shorter races that you're doing that are USAT, there may not be much difference at all. It usually comes down to the RD and who they can get as sponsors, which usually translates into better aid stations and better post-race food. And maybe more conspicuous swim buoys! Got the USAT magazine yesterday, and nice to see my name in it! They now only list All-American and A-A Honorable Mention, which means that I can't sit there with a magnifying glass and scan the complete rankings to see how people I know fared. For that, I need to go to the website that has everyone listed. And, yes, there is Ben Ewers at 35, and me at 37. Bah. He was 78.64204, I was 78.42225. Bah again. Beyond that, I form the center of a perfect "Steve" sandwich -- Steve Chapman above me, Steve Bell below me. I know neither, but think we ought to get together and celebrate our Steveness. |
| 2011-04-29 11:22 AM in reply to: #3473425 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! DENISE again - And how IS your training going? You mention no setbacks, so that's a very good thing! Any nagging injuries? Incipient ones, even? See? You were made for this stuff! |
| 2011-04-29 11:25 AM in reply to: #3473432 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! DENISE once more - From the rankings, the top M65-69 in Aquathlon is Bullet Bales, and as the top dog he has a photo -- bald, but with a prominent Fu Manchu moustache. I think he has taken his name to heart! |
| 2011-04-29 11:30 AM in reply to: #3469466 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN (but door barely ajar....) CANON - Just a quick thought.... It wasn't my intention to "guilt" you into two each of swim and bike and run. That is kinda sorta a rough ideal, but all that can fly out the window for people who have commitments similar to yours -- work, spouse, kids, church. And it can also be affected by other things that are loved, or at least enjoyed -- lifting, in your case, and probably one or two others. So, this has to fun and as non-stressful as possible, and in that light you fit in what you can and where it goes, and try to keep the whole kitten-kaboodle in balance! |
| 2011-04-29 11:33 AM in reply to: #3473453 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN (but door barely ajar....) JEFF - Okay! Here goes! BUT.....seeing as how the weather is still pretty wild here I will do this in a few installments. That way, if the power goes I won't lose an entire big post (which has happened to me on several occasions ). And just as a fore-note, taking a few days to do this has allowed me to come up with some thoughts I never really knew I had. Thank goodness for procrastination AND foul weather! |
| 2011-04-29 11:34 AM in reply to: #3435045 |
| New user 388 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! Hey everyone old and new, Hope everyone is well and training is going good! Mine is virtually non-existant. Too much other stuff going on. Not to mention my girlfriend is now laid up in a walking cast and not supposed to be on her feet a lot. So I've also picked up some additional household activites. I've got a 5k tomorrow. It's a group of 10 or so and I think I may be the quickest of the bunch but it will be run at the pack pace. No matter what it will be a race PR for me as I've never run a standalone 5k (completed two tri's with either a 5k or 7.5k run). So I'm hoping to have fun and enjoy it but I'll probably struggle as I won't be running my pace. So I expect not to hit my groove. I think I may just place myself at the back of the group and walk with whomever walks and that way they have at least one person they are finishing with. I may even place myself with the one walker so she has someone to walk with vs feeling so dejected that she never got to run the 5k and she was the most gung ho about. However now her attitidue has changed into wanting it to be a pub crawl 5k with the slowest finish earning the winners medal! |
| 2011-04-29 11:46 AM in reply to: #3473460 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN (but door barely ajar....) JEFF (part one) - Your first question was why....and that's not entirely clear. It was a long time ago, and I guess I just realized I wanted to get more serious, which seemed to require at least examining formalized training options. At that time there were not too many plans on-line, and no detailed books full of them, so the next option was to look for a coach. I first did this in early '01, right into my second season. I won't say who I went with, but it didn't work all that well -- after a few months I realized I was receiving "canned" plans. Granted, I wasn't paying much for the service, and even though I was able to email my coach maybe once a week, I really wanted more -- like, plans that could be adjusted to my specific progress, which includes setbacks due to illness or injury. I finally noticed that the plans I was getting didn't really correspond to where my training was at, so after 5 or 6 months I terminated that relationship. After my 2002 season, I got the itch again to be more structured and formalized, and in doing my homework a bit better I landed on D3. When I wrote Mike Ricci in early '03 he personally was full, but had just hired Erik Cagnina to pick up the growing clients. He wondered if I would be okay with that, and I guess I had enough faith in Mike's coaching philosophy to figure he would only hire good people -- and that sure was the case with Erik! I will tell you more about that later, but as I said last post -- I want to get these posted before the power goes! Summary of "why": 1.) Wanted structure (I thought I was doing too much "junk" miles and meters) 2.) Wanted accountability (a coaching relationship cannot exist without it) 3.) Wanted improvement (felt I had a bit more potential...although wasn't at all sure how much....which made me worry that I was just being a starry-eyed fool!) Onwards! |
| 2011-04-29 12:12 PM in reply to: #3473490 |
Champion 10618 | Subject: RE: BigSkiesMentorGroup - OPEN (but door barely ajar....) JEFF (part two) - Your second question concerned the diiference coaching amde, and was it huge. The answer to that is very clearly a resounding "YES!!!".....but at the bottom here I will add something to it. Up through 2002 I was generally MOP, and could compete okay in my age group -- usually FOP there, which was 50-55. 2003 was my first season with Erik, and it began with an injury (tibial hairline fracture), diasgnosed literally the day before the first workout he ever posted for me. So, that set back my running by about two months, but the short of it is that I went on to have a pretty good tri season, with a few very good performances. He worked me very hard, harder than I ever thought imaginable, but was also completely in tune with my life and my ups and downs, and made adjustments whenever necessary. He would pots workouts in three -week blocks, and if on the fourth day of a block I told him I had aggravated this or that, he would reschedule things to accommodate whatever was going on with me. It was clear to me after the tri season that I would continue with him for the off-season, and the first item on that agenda was a lat Nov marathon that I hope would qualify me for Boston. My previous marathon best was something like 3:52, but following his workouts to the letter I did my qualifier in 3:29 -- either 11 or 16 minutes faster than I needed, I can't remember which. Also, in July of '03 he had floated the idea of me doing Ironman Lake Placid, which is about 2.5 hours from home and a race he had done twice himself (and would also do with me in '04) . So, I thought that was an okay idea, and signed up, and having Boston to do in April of "04 was good training for IMLP. I preceded that with a decent race at tough Columbia, and then at Eagleman I went 5:09 (but due to an UNINTENTIONAL four-minute drafting penalty, officially was 5:13 ), and was ecstatic with that. The whole goal of IMLP, my first, was to stay within myself and finish strong and happy, and I did that in 12:57, which was 7/44 in the M55-59. I then had four more races, all of which went well, and that was sort of my breakthrough season as I finished with a USAT ranking one spot removed from All-Ammerican Honorable Mention. I never figured I would be there so quickly! 2005 was racing mostly in Canada, and 2006 was a year in which all I did was aquabikes, due to a torn meniscus. Erik was with me kind of part-time in '07, just because he was stopping coaching due to a growing family and more work commitments, and that was the end of my coached days. I'm going to post this, and then continue with pt. 2. |
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