Asphalt Junkies CLOSED AND GETTING OUR FIX (Page 97)

Allison, the situation with your dog reminds me of my cat... He was looking really bad, had no energy, would hardly move.  This went on for a few days. Had some testing done, they still couldn't figure out what the problem was.  He had some high levels of something or another (I forget what exactly, but something that shouldn't have been high.)  I think from this they concluded the kidneys were not well, but they couldn't figure out the cause, or a solution for that matter.  Eventually it was decided that it would be best to put him to sleep... It was very sad.

Hopefully this won't be the case with you!

Allison....I hope you find out what is wrong with your dog.  Poor puppy. 

Dirk.....I haven't been sore from the Hill Climb at all!  I didn't get any blisters, hot spots or chafing.  It's very strange.  I've just been extremely fatigued.

I'm finally feeling like I'm recovering.  I'm not as tired this morning.  I'm going to do my planned short brick workout this morning.  I have a date with my husband this evening!  Yay!  We're going to an auction and dinner for the community college's sports program.  Should be fun!

Man, the IMNYC swim might be canceled this weekend because of raw sewage issues.  If you haven't seen it: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-09/new-york-ironman-triathlon-may-cancel-hudson-swim-due-to-sewage.html

That really sucks!  Tony, I remember you were talking about doing this race.  Were you thinking for 2013 or 2014?  (Or beyond?)  I know a backyard IM can't be beat.  I'm curious what your thoughts are on this being a local.

Samantha I think it sucks that this happpened. I hope that they are able to get the swim in but not at the expense of anybody's health. I would rather see them cancel the swim in that case. This kind of puts a damper on the whole race as it was great to see NYC get this race and then something like this happens. I didn't want to say anything but I am planning to register for 2013 on Sunday. The registeration opens at 5 PM so I will be all over this trying to get in. I know there are some that I train with who want no part of this race as they don't want to do the swim in the Hudson and they don't like the logistics of the race. For me even though registration is higher than the other IM events it will be cheaper for me to do this plus I will get so much more family support being this is closer to home and I don't have to worry about traveling. I hope this turns out to be a great race this weekend and I hope I manage to get in as this is going to sell out quick.

X2! Good luck getting in!

You haven't been sore?  Wow!  My legs would have been trashed but then I don't have any hills to allow any practice unless I travel a few hours.  I'm probably unlikely to do that for any long run training every week.

Enjoy the date with your husband.  Those nights fro my wife and I were very few and far between when our girls were as young as your child.

I would be extremely upset having trained for any long course race only to have the swim cancelled in the days prior to the event.  I actually was thinking about doing the Steelhead Ironman 70.3 race in Michigan as my first HIM but they had cancelled the swim 2 out of 4 years due to Lake Michigan currents and chop.  I opted out and that led me to the Rev3 Cedar Point in 5 weeks for my "A" race.

That said, I also would be unwilling to swim in "treated" raw sewage regardless of being decontaminated by chlorine.  I don't think I would like looking up to sight and seeing anything floating by me or hitting me in the arms, etc.  But then I wouldn't do IMNYC anyway.  Way out of the price range I will pay for an IM/HIM!  But, if I were local like you are, Tony, I would be much more likely to take that race on.

Soooo... that 5K I said I would be volunteering for tonight?  It was yesterday!!!  oooops!!!   I showed up at the running store (that's hosting the race) tonight asking where volunteers should go and he told me the race was yesterday... I was like are you serious!!  I can't believe I did that!  I believe that this race has been on a Thursday in the past, and therefore I had it in my mind that the race was on Thursday and didn't even bother checking the date.  pshh when he first told me it was yesterday, my initial thought was "is today Friday?!?!?" and I thought my days were completely whacked!  haha!

Good thing I didn't sign up to run it!!  I had thought about it for a split second a couple weeks ago.

Need some input on my upcoming week of training.  This past week has been completely miserable for training volume, I have only ran twice and been on the bike once!  I am hoping to at least reach my running target for the week with a long run Saturday morning, but the bike is stuck on low!  I think it was just a fantastic idea to do the garage roof, I guess at least I don't have to worry about leaks and such.

The good part is I am on vacation next week, we are going to a lake up in Michigan.  My wife has given me clearance to do whatever I want during the mornings.  So my temptation is to hit the training hard and get a bunch of miles in.  But I am also concerned this may put me in hole only 2 weeks out from my "A" race (8-26).

Should I go "all in" next week or just hold steady?

Samantha that is too funny I was laughing out loud reading this and I have had those moments as well where I had to think about what day it was.

Brenda welcome back and glad to hear you had a great trip. Good luck this weekend with your upcoming sprint tri.

Matt I got a good laugh out of that post too. I'm not sure there is much anybody can do about that anyway it's just really unfortunate that it happened and I feel bad for everyone doing the race this weekend. As far as your training goes if it were me I'd probably take advantage and do as much as I could reasonably do without over doing it if that makes sense. I would try to get as much work in without killing myself.

Dirk I agree with you if I didn't live in NY I would not even consider IMNY since it's probably more expensive than the other IM races here in the US. It's not just the registeration but staying in and around NY is expensive. I had to search high and low to book a hotel room for the NYC marathon that I thought was reasonable I can't imagine what it is costing people coming here to do this race.

Brenda, you are gonna do so good.  Enjoy the race and remember, everyone here is pulling for you!

Samantha...lol, wrong date... funny!

Well have ya'll ever stuck your foot in your mouth...I'm actually beginning to like the taste of mine but my most recent.

Wife came back from her bike ride last night.  She was so excited, she rode 4.5 miles in 25 minutes...I blurted out...dang, you can run faster than that...she said well at least Bronco didn't buck me off...  she knew I was just joking w/ her...

Matt, I'm in the same boat as my training has died the last week or so due to many factors.  I have the added issue of my other "A" race being the bike leg next weekend, but my plan is to stay the course and do one last long run next week but not try to recover the missed time and consider it rest time for an old man.

I don't think you need to go crazy, but feel free to train hard next week.  However, the real goal at this point is to show up at the start line totally healthy and well rested.  You have the entire week after next to taper and rest, so the rest part shouldn't be a problem.  But don't go so overboard next week to risk a tweak which could show up on race day.  I don't think there's a lot of fitness to be gained at this point, but getting your bike legs back isn't a bad thing. You've done the work all summer and your fitness level is high.  You will be prepared and ready to crush it on the 26th.

Of course, given we have a challenge on, I could be trying to sabotage your race!

bswcpa - 2012-08-09 9:06 PM Matt - that's hilarious! Thanks for making my night. Samantha - I'm glad I'm not the only one to have made a mistake like that. Hope everyone is doing well. I had a blast at XC camp. I was able to run, stretch and do body weight circuits with the girls so my body is a bit sore but I won't complain. I almost forgot that I have a sprint tri on Saturday. It's in the next town over and a lot of members from the team I'm on (FCA Endurance) will be racing so that's why I'd signed up long ago. I'm not feeling real competitve at this point but we'll see if I push it come race day. I AM feeling totally unprepared for the HIM in 17 days. Again, I'm just not into race mode, especially with school starting for my kids on Monday. Ugh. I hate summer coming to an end for them. I don't remember reading about anyone racing this weekend but if I missed it - good luck! For the rest of you, be blessed in what you do.

Sounds like a great camp.  Just go enjoy the race tomorrow.  You'll have fun and I'm sure racing with your FCA teammates is always a blast.  Once the gun sounds, give it all you have for that day.

School starts Monday?!?!?! Ouch.  I don't want this summer to end either.  Sounds like we have a lot of 70.3 races coming up.  You'll be ready.  Just give Matt a trip if you happen to see him on the run.

My opinion is to go all in for next week and then back off for a 1 week taper.  I think you can hit it hard for another week and then do a one week taper into the race.  If you chose to bump up your training for one more week it may do more for the mental preparation than the physical at this point but late in the race it's going to turn more mental anyway.

I would make sure to get WO's in everyday if it works well with the family time.  Family comes first!  If you have to, back the volume down a little bit for the big WO's and raise it for the shorter ones to try to maintain a higher volume.  That said, the longer ones are pretty key to the HIM distance in a few weeks so I would think about how that might play into your plans.

Now for me and my 2 HIM's coming up.  I am doing the same race as Matt and then another one 2 weeks later.  My training plans are to train at a high volume up until the Wednesday before the race that Matt, Brenda and myself are doing on Aug. 26.  I plan to do a short taper and really load up on the protein for a full week prior to this race to allow for any muscle recovery I can get.  I'll also plan to back the intensity down to keep from digging myself into a hole, physically speaking.  My carb loading will begin on the Wednesday or Thursday of race week and I plan on going to Brenda's house so she can make me Muscle Milk pancakes on Friday morning before I leave for the campgrounds later in the day.  Then she'll have to make them at the campgrounds too.

Then for my second race, I'll take a few days of very light training to recover and not grow stale and then dial it back into a moderate week with low intensity stuff based on feel.  I'll not try to kill anything since I will be right back into a taper the following week.

The key to everything working out for me will be discipline for the first race so that I am ready mentally and physically for my second one to really race.  I am not planning on racing for the first one.  I have already decided how the first race will look from an intensity perspective.  I am not so worried about the swim because I feel confident I can swim a race pace and not come out 2 weeks later feeling any adverse affects.  The bike will be a ride that I feel I can complete any other week and carry the same training intensity right into another ride a day or two later.  The run will be a slow and steady pace at a normally easy run pace but this will be where I think it will begin to be a little more difficult to pace correctly because I will have brought my body into a distance and effort that I haven't been before.

bswcpa - 2012-08-09 9:06 PM Matt - that's hilarious! Thanks for making my night. Samantha - I'm glad I'm not the only one to have made a mistake like that. Hope everyone is doing well. I had a blast at XC camp. I was able to run, stretch and do body weight circuits with the girls so my body is a bit sore but I won't complain. I almost forgot that I have a sprint tri on Saturday. It's in the next town over and a lot of members from the team I'm on (FCA Endurance) will be racing so that's why I'd signed up long ago. I'm not feeling real competitve at this point but we'll see if I push it come race day. I AM feeling totally unprepared for the HIM in 17 days. Again, I'm just not into race mode, especially with school starting for my kids on Monday. Ugh. I hate summer coming to an end for them. I don't remember reading about anyone racing this weekend but if I missed it - good luck! For the rest of you, be blessed in what you do.

I am sure the camp must have been pretty great.  I would love to spend that kind of time with my girls doing something we both loved to do, together.  My only problem would be that I would be trying to keep up with them and probably blow myself up and kill any chances of having a good race.

Where is your sprint?  I imagine you'll be fine for the race after a couple of good days of rest from all of the activities of the past week in training camp.

Dirk, I think your biggest problem will be following the plan on that first HIM.  Once the race starts, I just can't see you doing anything but hammering to the finish.  Good luck following the plan.

It sounds like a blast having three Junkies in that first race.  I'll be there in spirit doing my half the same day.

Dirk I have complete confidence that you can handle your 2 HIM's successfully. Just stick to your plan.

I'm planning on racing another local sprint on Sunday then I'm probably wrapping it up for this tri season. I think I am feeling similar to Brenda - just ready for a break mentally and physically.

Dirk sounds like you have a solid plan for how you are going to race your two HIM's and like Warren said I hope you can be disciplined during that first one as it is easy to let your competitive side take over and get caught up in the race. I think you are set to continue the success you've had all season and have two great races.

Dina good luck with your sprint race this weekend. If it's your last one this season make sure you leave it all out there and kill it.