Beer Drinkers Appreciation Society (BDAS) 2023 Mentor Group - ALWAYS OPEN

NAME: drfoodlove / Gretchen

STORY: I was an active child--basketball, tae kwon do, swimming (not competitively!), running amok on a farm, etc., but then into high school slowed down to just a couple of sports--volleyball and track (throwing, not running). In college, all activity pretty much stopped, with the exception of the 12oz curl. Lack of activity plus lots of drinking (and eating!) led to weight gain, which caused me to not want to workout, which caused weight gain...rinse and repeat for 10-15 years. Got into triathlon in 2012 after seeing it in the London Olympics broadcast and thinking...that doesn't seem hard, I can do that. Turns out, I was right, but it was pretty hard.

FAMILY STATUS: Married for 23 years to the most supportive woman who simply does not understand my obsession with hobbies that 1.) could kill me and 2.) involve so much sweating and laundry. Dog mom to one super cute and sweet, but exceedingly dumb mutt.

CURRENT TRAINING: Jan 1, 2023 begins base training for season in earnest. Have been kinda slacking over the last couple of months as work has been intense, but with the new year, the routine and dedication have to return.

UPCOMING YEAR'S RACES: signed up for 140.6 at Michigan Titanium to defend my national championship! That's the only race I'm signed up for right now, but likely will do at least one my tri in early September and I spent a bit of this morning looking for races in Cairo/Egypt to see if I could squeeze one in somewhere while I'm over here.

WEIGHTLOSS: In 2021/22 I lost ~160lbs. Currently maintaining that loss and looking to drop another 25, but I'm not sure that is a physically realistic goal. Have been stuck at current weight for months, so it may just be my body's happy weight, whether I like the number on the scale or not.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I've been a member of this group for some number of years now...maybe five? Not sure...I can't remember exactly when I finally saddled up and joined a mentor group. I'm generally active on the boards and consistent in my training. Love the international perspective we have in this group, along with the diversity of backgrounds and focuses.

Yay new 2023 forum!!!  Welcome to those new and returning members!  Goals for 2023:

• ramp up running volume safely
• maintain strength and core gains from the past year
• qualify for Age Group Nationals at Rock Hall in June
• 3000 miles biking, 500 miles running, 200K yards swimming
• keep having fun doing it!

RE:  treadmills.  They vary widely on speed accuracy so you never know what you're getting, and the Garmin watches tend to underplay your pace when only using your armswing as a measurement.  Get a footpod...they're only like $50 and make a big difference in accuracy.  The accelerometer in those can be much more accurate because it's reading where the rubber meets the road so to speak (or I guess literally in this case ) vs. using your armswing 3-4 feet away as a proxy.  Like the armswing method, it needs to be calibrated outside while you run to achieve the best accuracy later on the treadmill.  

Lifefitness treadmills are about as good as you're going to get in a gym, and I would imagine the belt speed is at least close to what's it's saying.  Remember incline matters, too.  For me 5.7 mph @ 3% incilne is 9:50/mile or so and that's my E pace (I also incorporate a 5/1 or 6/1 run/walk ratio).  Daniels has a whole table on speed/incline and perceived pace that I'll try to dig up when I'm at my regular computer.

Good on you for slugging through 4 miles...that's about my limit indoors.

ETA the table (this isn't Daniels - his paces for us are laughable):

Week 2 is in the books for me.  Seven straight days of training mostly easy stuff though I let it rip in the pool for a few lengths on Friday.  Those speed skill sets are fun - all out with lots of recovery so you're not sucking wind.  I broke 42 seconds for an off-the-wall 50 yard sprint at about 95% effort on one of them.  My PR for the OTW 50 is like 39.5 but that was years ago.

Planned day off today then back at it 6 AM tomorrow.

@Nathalie:  I have some good news for you - no need to retest!! 

Your FTP number is simply a metric Zwift will use to set your target paces.  So if you're doing a Z2 (slowish) ride Zwift will probably tell you to ride around 70-72% of that for an hour or whatever.  I can't remember if you have a smart trainer...if you do and use ERG mode (I think that's the default when doing a Zwift workout) it'll set your trainer to that resistance no matter what gear you're in or what cadence you pedal, within reason.  For intervals it'll depend on the type of interval but it's usually a certain number of minutes at 100+X% of FTP, then a recovery of like 40-60%, repeat a few times. 

As for your weight, it's part of your watts/kg metric but nothing Zwift uses (except to make sure you're not cheating while racing, and you'll see it in the box where you're with all the riders around you). 

The Plan by Nathalie looks good to me from a base training perspective.  I'd go to the pool more but I'm not dying on that hill arguing with you about it.  I'll consider you getting there a few times before your lake thaws a win.   

This morning was rough, up pretty late Sunday watching the Ravens debacle (seems to be a weekly theme) then watching the Penn State Rose Bowl game (much better result), then the horrifying Monday Night Football game where one of the Bills players had a cardiac arrest on the field.  Reminded me of Christian Ericksen last year at the Euro Cup soccer match.  Awful.  

Got to the gym anyway at 6 AM and slogged through a treadmill workout, then a strength workout that went much better but I took forever getting through it.  Pool was closed so no cool down swim but frankly I didn't feel like it anyway.  Sprint bike workout tomorrow morning.

I only got nine this morning. 

I'm really bad at following torque instructions and typically tighten a little past what it says because I'm a big guy.  When you have to move it around during a ride, does it seem like the screw has loosened?  Loctite might be your answer if that's the case, but make sure to get the blue one vs the red or you'll need a blowtorch to unlock it (which I would definitely NOT recommend ).

An hour on Zwift this morning in high Z2 with 4 high cadence sprints every 10 minutes or so, flamed out on the last one.  Still can't spin up my legs past 120 on my bike.  Maybe I should jump on my wife's Echelon bike to see what I can do without falling off or breaking something.  Also got in another strength session and @#$@#!! planks. 

I probably didn't read the instructions properly but I'm hoping to join in the group. 

My goal race is a little sprint at the end of March & hopefully be able to lose weight (again). I used to be really good at motivating myself but as the years go by, well, that motivation seems to be waving good-bye! I was here oh, waaaay back around 2008 when I was training for ironman & I was back last year for the sprint tri in my area, so I'm dusting off my gear & doing this again. I keep getting injured & I seem to use that as an excuse to sit on the couch and do nothing but eat chips. Crossing fingers I can stay injury free so I can earn my beer (and chips)!!!

Maybe I can keep motivated after the sprint & do the half I've had my eye on for years. Who knows. 

Anyway, nice to read about you all. BT used to make me laugh so hard back in the day, I'm sure there will be some good laughs over the next few months. 

Off to do my gigantic 10 minute run and 12 minute swim now...hopefully I don't burst a seam!

Helen

Welcome, Helen!  I've been through the injury wringer a few times myself.   Glad to have you here.