2010 Molly's Mentor Group - IS ALL FULL UP (CLOSED) (Page 12)

Happy Tuesday and mid-March to everyone. I cant believe this year has gone by this fast. I'm sorry for not being more active but between Little League, training and being sick, it's been tough to post as much as I was hoping to in the last few weeks. Everyone is looking good and should be getting excited for the upcoming season. As the snow begins to melt (and hopefully for some of us the wind begins to die down), we should be focusing more on getting out on the streets and putting our nice long base building time to good use! For those with races coming up in the next couple of weeks, and if you are starting you taper period, now is the time to get fast. Sessions during taper time should be short but fast - not too fast because we don't want injuries. Make sure you are getting good warm ups and cool downs in your sessions too. For those that have races a little longer out, now is the time to get focused on your plans. Pick a couple of sessions each week to get better in that discipline whether it is swimming with better form or running faster. Use the remaining workouts to go easy, put miles in the bank and focus on the mental preparation for your race. Keep up the good work everyone. It wont be long now so as we get closer, please post questions and comments along the way. Happy training  

I think if you are limited on price, fit is definitely the best way to go. IF your bike doesn't fit well it can make you less efficient. You can always get newer better components to add on over time anyway. Good luck!

So, I went running tonight at 9:30pm, my legs did not like it at all. I've been focusing so much on my base that I've completely short changed speed. I feel like I can run a lot longer but I am not as fast as I was at the end of last year (my last race was in Dec.). How do you balance speed with endurance? Can you train for shorter distances as well as longer distances? i signed up for a cross country 25K in two months, but i don't want to lose my 5K speed. Any advice?

Getting faster at a longer distance does take time. The 10% rule should apply to speed as well as distance. There are lots of ways to increase your speed though. Interval training is key to increased speed. Also trying running hills. When you are running focus on good form, stride and turnover. Try a workout of just form work (ie high knees, grapevines, skipping, butt kicks, strides...) This will help improve your form and should make your turnover faster. Also if you are hill running focus on faster turnover and shorter strides. I will see if I can get you some articles on speed work at a longer distance.

On thing to keep in mind as well is if you are running off the bike you may be a little faster than just going for a run. This is true for me and most triathletes. I don't know why but my run speed off the bike is anywhere from 30 seconds to 1:00 per mile faster than if I just went for a run. I guess this means I need a good long warm up before I run... 

Question: I do a run or ride or swim whatever and my back aches. Right now it's upper back between my shoulder blades, kind of like I have been carried a lot of weight on my shoulders. Do I put heat or ice?

typical rule of thumb is to ice for the first 48-72 hrs, then go to heat. If it is recurring though, you should 1. stick with the ice and 2. figure out whats up with your back dude

agreed with the ice/heat...also make sure you are relaxing your shoulders during your workouts and using good form...lots of pinching in that area comes from stress when you are fatigued and pinching your shoulders or pulling your shoulders up...think relaxed thught and try to relax your shoulders during your workouts...you may notice less tension being held there.

Ok, tell me about strides. I have been told about them before, but I'm just not getting it. What are strides? How do I do them? And do I incorporate these drills into my workout like I would incorporate drills in the pool? 

Happy Sunday everyone! I hope your training week went well. I have just returned home from a week of travel for work followed by the IMCA 70.3 in oceanside yesterday! I will post some more tomorrow and answer the questions above, but for now, I need some rest. Happy training.

Wow Molly!  Congrats for doing your 70.3.  How was it??  Happy resting!  You deserve it!

Congratulations Molly!  I snooped at the results of your 70.3.  You did AMAZING!!!  Great job!!  Someday, I hope to do a half iron.    Baby steps....

Happy Wednesday everyone! I looked at everyone's logs and it looks like the training is going well. It seems most of you are settling into a routine with your workouts. If there are any specific questions anyone has, let me know or post them because I am sure others have the same questions. 

Ok so just a word on nutrition come race time. I cannot stress enough how important a solid nutrition plan is for a successful race. I can tell that my HIM in CA was hindered by not sticking to my nutrition plan. The last 1/2 mile of the run was a substantial struggle because I started to cramp in my calves. I can understand now how some people simply cannot complete a race because of poor nutrition. Try to find and practice your nutrition strategy for race day. There's alot going on during a race and it is really important to stick to your nutrition plan. FOr me, I use hammer products and like the sustained mixed with HEED for bike nutrition along with some hammer gels and shot blocks. I mix it up so that I can continue to eat during the race. For shorter races though, I use gatorade and a hammer gel. Again, find what works for you and practice, practice, practice.

Great job this month everyone! Races are coming up quick so be sure to post comments and questions.  

Bike: (some inside, some out)	1h 59m  - 11 Mi
Run:	5h 15m 10s  - 26.2 Mi    (I ran a marathon this month!  Too funny!)
Swim:	1h 06m  - 3800 Yd
Boot Camp Conditioning: (30 day shred)	1h 20m
Walking:	1h 45m

Edited by jenmel 2010-04-01 5:59 AM

My numbers weren't as high as I would like, but I'm hoping to do better in April.  I have a 5k this month that my husband and I are running together, and I have a sprint tri next month (450 yd lake swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run).  Have made contact with local tri shop to rent a wetsuit for the event.  One of these days, I need to go get fitted.    I'm in shape to do the sprint tri now, so I should be OK, and maybe could actually RACE it!!  Am looking toward a half marathon in the fall (either Sept 19 or Oct 10), so will need to start upping my mileage soon to be ready.

I discovered that there's a new half marathon in my town scheduled for 10/10/10 (at 10 am!).  I emailed the contact, and I think I now have a running buddy (and group)!  I'm so excited!  We've been emailing back and forth (and I'm pretty sure we've met before somewhere - it's a small town!), and she invited me to join her and a small group of her women friends to do long runs and other runs.  We run about the same pace.  So, I'm hoping to join them soon.  It will totally make a difference, especially as I bump my mileage up for the long runs.  They belong to the local runners club - so I'm going to need to get off my butt and actually join it - been talking about it for months.

GOAL:  to stick with my training plan in April, and do all workouts scheduled!

Hi Everyone-
  Its been an interesting month here in Maine. We've been getting a lot of rain and cold weather, except for a nice 70 degree day in there. I am hoping I will be able to get outside a lot in April. Been disappointed about swimming, it costs money that I just don't have right now so until I can get outside I am going to have to deal with minimal swimming. I think I will be able to go at the end of april with my wetsuit. Here are my numbers for the month
running:11hrs 5 mins 68.18 miles
Biking: 10 hrs 3 mins. 167.14 miles

As far as questions on nutrition go... Last year when I first started doing tri stuff I lost a fair amount of weight, 20lbs from my pre pregnancy weight, 30lbs total (I started training about a few months after I had my daughter). I am 5ft 5 and was down to about 125 which was probably a little on the low side for my frame, though I felt great. I didn't really do anything different but add a little more exercise (which I did beforehand to and never saw those results). All of a sudden, the past few months my weight has increase by 10lbs and I have no idea why. My training is the same, and I wasn't eating any different.
I have had drilled in my head the whole eat everything low- no fat (though I do understand the importance of fat to your body) and so I've always checked fat and never Calories. Now, frustrated, with my weight gain, I am watching Calories, but not so much fat. What is the appropriate balance? I'm also trying hard to remove processed foods from my diet and find that some less processed food (such as breads) have a lot more calories and fat. Is it better to eat the less processed (all natural, no hydrogenated etc...) than the more processed but less calories and less fat?

March's totals:
Bike:	17h 25m  - 353.2 KM
Run:	10h 22m 31s  - 99.28 KM
Swim:	9h 20m  - 21050 M

I feel like my base is well established going in to my full out training plan (which starts middle of May).

As for nutrition - I've struggled my whole life with yo-yoing weight. For sure all the aerobic stuff works, and I'm a firm believer in calories in/calories out, BUT this year, I discovered I had a wheat or gluten intolerance, and stopped eating bread and wheat pasta. That reallly helped push me down below the weight I always sort of plateau at. I've also started following a modified version of the Paleo diet for athletes - although I do eat wild rice (and sushi rice - with the sushi!). As for processed foods, I follow Michael Pollan's advice: If it comes from plants, eat it. If it's made in a plant, don't. Seriously...check out the sodium content on just about ANY processed product and it should be enough to scare you away.

Check it out people, I have a swim line! This morning I decided I loved it and the coach said it won't be long for me to get promoted out of the slow lane. This was the second class and I swam much longer. AND, AND, I now own a road bike!

March's totals:
Bike:	8h 30m
Run:	8h 31m 46s  - 71.75 KM
Swim:	45m
Stretching:	3h 15m

Yay Tania! Tell us about the bike!

Congratulations on your swim and on the new bike. Specs please! 

Thanks Molly, I tried posting a picture but that didn't work. Below is the link. It's a Trek 2.3, full 105 gears, carbon post and carbon fork. I got the clipless pedals and the facy Sidi shoes. I off to try today!

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/2_series/23/