Pilgrim's Group - Full (Page 12)

Working out can be addicting! I have been running a lot more than I used to since I have been doing these ultras and it seems that the more I run the more I want to run. I almost feel abnormal when I’m walking! Unfortunately the legs have to have some recovery time but I’ve found that trail running allows me to pretty much double my mileage. If anyone has some nice dirt trails nearby you might given running them a try, even dirt roads are much better on your legs than always being on pavement.

The anaerobic zone is where you are burning more glycogen than fat. The body holds enough glycogen stores to fuel exercise from between about 60 and 90 minutes. The better trained you are and the more “topped off” your glycogen stores are the closer you can get to that 90 minute range.

The byproduct of burning glycogen is lactic acid, which causes that burning sensation in your muscles. When there is a great enough buildup you can’t exercise any longer though I don’t know the mechanism of action for that. Your body can also burn lactic acid for fuel but not for long periods and your ability to do that depends on mow much training you have been putting in in the anaerobic zone.

Most of your workouts should be in the aerobic zone, which is 70 – 80% of you max HR. This zone is the highest intensity zone where you are still mostly burning fat for fuel. Since fat is practically unlimited as a fuel source even in very thin people this means that your ability to continue exercising in this range is mostly limited by your muscular endurance, ability to stay hydrated and maintain your electrolyte balance, ability to avoid “mechanical” issues such as blisters or a wrenched knee, and your ability to stay on top of your calorie intake…you are just burning MOSTLY fat, you still need a steady flow of carbs to supplement.

My training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene starts tomorrow! I am not fast at that distance but I learned some important things last year and I am running better now than I ever have. My goal will be to go under 14 hours but I have a super secret dream goal that is much faster and quite possibly achievable.

Hey Pilgrim,

I like the trail running thought. It's much easier on my knees. Have you done Xterra?

I had a totally unplanned 47 mile ride today... averaged over 16mph... was a good ride... if you want to read more check my log... hope everyone is having a good weekend! Beautiful here... 78 and sunny

Great ride Josh!

Mark, I have not done an Xterra yet but it's on my list. I've got a good mountail bike but every time I've got caught up on the tri season I just can't seem to pry myself off my tri bike.

So my first workout for IMCdA went well today. Me and a few other folks who will be racing at IMCdA got in about a 48 mile ride with 2944 feet of climbing followed by a 4 mile run. The weather was fantastic!

Ugh, I sure can tell that IM training is harder than ultra training. This morning I went for a 16 mile run with a friend and struggled through it at the end. It's amazing that your body actually adapts to this stuff but it does.

Hi Mark,

not sure if you know about this feature- but on your training log you can map out the actual route you run or bike - it then calculates how far and even the elevation. It's got Melbourne on it- and seems very accurate- so should have youcovered. Really easy to use!

Cheers

Maree

No way! Thanks Maree. I'll look into it.

Hey Everyone. I've missed a lot of great stuff. Glad to see people are still working hard.
After 2 weeks of hectic travel, followed by a few days of feeling sorry for myself and dealing with a crazy baby. I'm back in the saddle. Actually I think "On the road again" fits better since I still haven't broken the bike out in two weeks but I'm commuting-in tomorrow. When I was driving around West Texas last week, I kept wishing I could figure out a way to bring a bike out there to ride some of those roads. It's so great to see elevation instead of the flat, boring Florida terrain.

It could get real expensive dragging a bike around unless you were driving. When my wife and I did Ironman Kentucky it cost us $50 per bike box each way. However the airlines are very inconsistent about applying a price. I had a friend who paid nothing and had another friend who paid $100 each way and I was originally quoted $100 each way but charged $50 when I got to the counter.

I think the least expensive option for bike transport is to have a bike shop box it up, unless you happen to have your own bike box, and then ship it to a bike shop at your destination using Fed Ex or UPS. If you are going to a major even like an Ironman there is a company called Tri Bike Transport that delivers from bike shop to bike shop but they only go from major metro areas. My choices would be to drive like 600 miles to Phoenix, Denver or 800 to Dallas just to drop off my bike.

If you actually spend a good deal of time in two locations it may be best to have two bikes. I have known people to have a bike in each of the locations where they spend a good amount of time. It ends up being cheaper in the long run, actually make 4 to 6 trips and you have paid for a decent new road bike.

I am very happy to live in a place where I can ride hills, or mountains for that matter. I have thought about moving from time to time, just for the sake of career possibilities, but I can't bear the thought of leaving Albuquerque. However, a Chief Psychologist position did just open up in Boise, ID and that is a place I have always thought I'd like. It is a lot like Albuquerque but I think it gets colder and stays colder longer which is something I would not want to deal with.

Hey Pilgrim,

I did somewhat of a hill workout and can appreciate the slower pace you talked about. Didn't bother my knee at all. Actually ended up running faster than my normal pace. The fact that it was really dark outside may have contributed to my motivation. Thanks for the advice.

And, Maree. I figured out the route map option and was able to plot my unknown route fairly accurately. To my surprise, I ran farther than I thought, which translates into I also ran faster than I thought. Woohoo!

Edited by meclavea 2008-03-04 9:06 PM

I have thought about taking my bike out when I go for a longer period of time just to get some hill-work in.

I hear Albuquerque is supposed to be one of the top ten cities to live in. Before I got out of the Corps, my wife was really looking around and identified Albuquerque as a place she'd like. There was actually one job I interviewed for (Ethicon Endo Products-J&J) but I didn't really like the possibility of working shift work or in a manufacturing plant.

I hear we've had one of the coldest winters in a while in the central states of the US. Meanwhile, it's been a warmer than normal year here in FL. I'm not bragging, I'm complaining. Is it warming up for anyone? When I got to the pool and it was cooler than the air temp, I was a little shocked, but once I got swimming, I felt pretty good.

Idaho seems like it'd be nice, but yes, colder. I drove from Eugene, Oregon to North Carolina about 10 years ago and I had a great time. I was amazed how beautiful Idaho was. Then Salt Lake City was really nice as well. My favorite place though had to be the garden of the gods in Colorado.

You know what movie was on this weekend? American Flyers. Great flick...

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a great week! I have a friend who is lending me her tri bike. She is now pregnant and doesn't train at all during this time. I tried it last night for the first time....very strange feeling compared to my MTB.- in fact almost difficult. I guess practice will make it more comfortable...any suggestions?

Great job on the run Mark!

Albuquerque is a highly rated city to live in. As a matter of fact a couple years ago Men's Health magazine rated it #1 in the nation for fitness. We just have such a bewildering array of outdoor activities going on all year long. We also have the largest number of elite runners per capita of anywhere in the world.

We did have a colder than normal winter this year but our real cold winter times are pretty much compressed into December, January and February. We have a pretty long fall and spring but our spring is pretty windy. It is starting to warm up now, which is really nice. In the mornings I ride in to work wearing my light winter gear but for the trip home I am in shorts and a jersey.

Garden of the Gods is a very cool place! Spectacular!

Yeah, getting used to riding a tri bike takes some practice but it comes about pretty fast. The biggest thing is getting used to riding further forward and being down on the aero bars. It becomes real comfortable pretty quickly though. You do need to make sure the bike fits though otherwise it will probably not ever feel comfortable or stable.

If you are stuck having to get a bike fit from a regular bike shop that mostly serves roadies then that is probably better than no fit but if at all possible take it to a shop that either specializes in serving triathletes or has someone who knows how to do a bike fit for a time trial bike.

Hey Mark

its always good when you're running further than you think- and great to be gettng up the speed! I really like that route planner thing- really handy- as I'm too lazy to calibrate my ipod Nike thingy for runs and don't have a km counter on my bike ...I really need to get around to doing that!

Happy training all!

Maree

I haven't spent too much time in Albuquerque. However, I worked out of Santa Fe for a year. Pilgrim, I'm jealous. I love that area! My wife and I went hiking with llamas near Taos (yes, the tourist thing to do).

Hey Julz, I hope you like the bike. Doesn't it seem faster at all? Or did you already put slicks on your MB?

Mark, yes it seems much faster...or at least on my trainer. I haven't had it on the road yet but it was just the positioning that was strange. It feels so much different than my MTB. I haven't decided which I am going to use on my race - probably wait and see what feels most comfortable by that time. I haven't added slicks to my MTB, did you?

Hey guys, about 3 weeks ago, I went to get some new shoes because the nikes I had were wearing out way too fast and I wanted to see if there were more durable shoes. I got pointed in the direction of The Beast by Saucony. Good shoe, really durable, but heavy. Linda, the shopkeeper and world-class-triathlete said she recommends wearing the heavy shoes for training and then switch to the lighter shoes for races or for distance. Turns out she was right. I ran 5.65 (according to Mr. Garmin) this morning and felt so much lighter the first 3 miles in the lighter shoes. I even threw a bridge in there that I didn't need to cross (thus the .65).

Anyway, I recommend doing something like that because it really seemed to work well. It was about 94% humidity this morning so I was soaked for about 30 minutes worth of the run. I hate that feeling. But compared to being completely dry the whole time like you are in the desert, I don't know which is worse?

I might get in an ocean swim this weekend as long as there are no sea lice or jellyfish. While we don't have the great white here, we do have the Bull Shark which is probably worse because it's more aggressive. Da Dum Da Dum (theme from Jaws again).

Edited by GomesBolt 2008-03-06 11:42 AM

I've heard good things about the Beast for big runners but I thought it was made by Brooks. New Balance has a good shoe for big runners too; I think it's the 1023. I always wear my 767, which are now 768s I guess as of my last purchase.

I prefer staying dry. When it's too humid your body doesn't cool as well because nothing evaporates…never a problem in Albuquerque.

I had a great workout this morning! Kind of an inside out Olympic Sprint type deal. I missed my run yesterday due to work so I got up this morning and drove down to the gym. I started running at 4:30 and got in 9.4 miles at a good pace and got to practice my trail running in the dark, which was also pretty cool. I then found my wife in the parking lot and had to stop and explain where I had left the check book so that extended my transition time a bit. I then hit the pool for 1000 meters; 100 warm up, 200 paddles, 300 free, 200 paddles, 100 free and 100 drills. I then showered and shaved and got on my bike and rode the 15 miles in to work…well, I did put on my cycling gear first. I got snowed on a little bit on my ride in but it was very light and dry so no big deal.

I'll still get another 15 in on the bike after work riding back to the gym. The extra day for recovery did my legs some real good. I have been keeping my mileage so high because of the ultra running that I have often felt a bit stiff and sore even after relatively easy runs. However, this morning I was running very well. My average pace was 8:52 per mile but about half my run was on single track in the dark, I had a head lamp on, so that took some steam off my pace. My final quarter mile kick to the finish was at a 6:34 pace and I felt smooth, not like I was struggling.

This makes me think of one truism in racing. You get faster when you are resting. That's basically an admonishment to take your recovery every bit as serious as your workouts.

It's good to see folks back up on the board!

Oh, you know I have NEVER done a race with an ocean swim, just lakes pools and rivers. I'm jealous.

Hey Juls, that's a negative on the slicks for my MTB. I was debating investing in slicks and pedals, but then just decided to get a used road bike that's decked out for a tri. The difference was amazing. Haha, like Pilgrim said, "don't try to turn while using aero bars." :-p

Josh, I'm jealous about that 47 mile ride you posted on. Today I did a brick and doubled my bike distance to just under 25 miles. The way I felt, I'm not sure I could have made 47 miles. Good for you!

Matt, that's a great idea on the heavier shoes. A long time ago I got a pair of Air Structures because I over pronate. They were great for what they were designed for, however, they felt like lead weights on my feet. It makes sense to train heavier and then go lighter for races. I'll add it to my wish list.

You know what, you're right, I think they are Brooks. I can check tonight when I get home. As I said, I wore the nikes today.

I hope one day to be crazy enough to get in a 9.4 mile run and then a swim. Since I live 2.9 miles from the pool, I was debating on running to the pool, swim, running home sometime. As you said though, when you're wet, you can't evaporate and it holds-in the heat it's worse if you have a lot of arm and leg hair. That's why I subscribe to the body-shearing philosophy. TMI, I'm sorry about that...

Alright, I'm stuck doing Six Sigma class Phase 2 next week so I'm really going to need some nagging and motivation to get out of bed earlier than normal to work-out. I think my email is on my profile if I go missing, you can chime in and threaten me for not working out. Tomorrow, I get to hang with my boy for a few hours in the morning because his momma has a doctor's appointment. I think I'll go out for a short jog with my monster.

Have a good evening everyone!

I like the shoe talk....I am in need of a new pair of running shoes. I am still having shin splint issues and I think I will try a new pair of shoes. (I have been just icing when I am done and when sore) What do most of you wear? I have a friend who swears by Asics, one by New Balance. Mine are Nikes right now but I don't think they are providing enough arch support ( I have a very high arch).

Good to see the chatter has picked back up on the board. I am starting to feel some anxiety for the race in 3 weeks. Mostly about the swimi. I have signed up for the 1st timers wave and have heard there are more lifeguards than you can imagine Just a mind thing but hey - hopefully they won't be needed. I still need to rent a wetsuit, guess I will try to contact them again today. The water is suppose to be in the 60's and I think the lap pool water is chilly at first. Ha!

The weather is nasty here....cold and windy. Have scheduled a barbell class, and a swim tonight Have a great day everyone!

Sarah, your words actually made me tear up. My parents are both still living and in their mid 70's. We are 12 hours from them so we can understand the distance is hard. Don't worry about the race and enjoy your family. Who knows, it may just do you some good and peace of mind has to help your body and spirit.

On a good note, there is a mini tri that is happening here on Sept 7th, it was founded on behalf of a young mom who is fighting stage 4 stomach cancer. Last year was their first race, a great way to get newcomers to the sport and raise $ for the cause. I have sent the race link to all of my friends encouraging them to race with me. So far, I have 2 registering....yippee! What a great cause to get physically active and become healthier for everyone

Here is the link if anyone wants to learn more about the race or the cause. Be sure to read the story on Stephanie Johnson herself. www.triforlife.org

Have a great Sunday everyone
Julie

I rode in the continental airlines classic bike ride today... 67 MILES!!!... I have details in my log but I got my first half century and first metric century in on the same day... it feels awesome... besides my legs and lower back I'm feeling good...

Way to go Josh! And what I really liked about riding my first century was that practically everything I ate that day was voided out calorie for calorie with all that huffin' and puffin' ! Well, almost anyhow...