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How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition
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How are you, how was your week, and what are your goals for this week?

I am copying a post from abake on last week's thread that didn't get any replies... help her out :-)

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I'm closing in on IMFL, my first ironman distance and the volume is really starting to build. Training is going well but it seems like it's getting dark so early now, that evening bike rides are relegated to the trainer. I'm starting to think through the logistics of race day and would love to hear what worked, what didn't work for those who have completed IM distance.


maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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week was OK. Thurs. I had to force myself to run, and run my tempo run. Good new is I was only 2 sec over goal for the tempo portion of the run.
Fun trail relay on Sat.
Sun. was a long ride with the spouse instead of CX racing because husband didn't want to drive the distance (race was NOT close), I was slightly bummed we didn't go.
The shorter days are somewhat depressing.
We had total cloud cover and didn't see the lunar eclipse.

I wish I could have more advice or stuff to say about IM distance. Last one I did was 2008 and I do not ever plan to do another.
Only advice I'd give is yes, have a candy bar on the bike around mile 80-90 or so it's a happy pick me up. Was the only bright spot on my day. But I also have an iron gut.
If the run is going rough, yes, do have the chicken broth. It's magic.
Try to distract yourself and keep your mind occupied. It's a very long day. Stay positive, I failed miserably at this.

When packing for the race if you are traveling, take every possible conceivable arrangement of race clothes you might need. Both my IMs were supposed to be great weather and both ended up COLD and rainy. Better to have it than not to have it.
Don't forget to visit the athlete food tent after. I managed to miss this both times. Get the post race massage.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Last week was 4 weeks post-op. Told my doc I HAD to get off the oxy pain med as it was making me feel like crap! Though it was a good weight loss helper - 21 pounds in 4 weeks since it killed nearly every taste bud in my body. But one cannot live on applesauce and instant mashed potatoes alone. Seriously, that is all I could eat. And then most of the time I laid on the couch feeling terrible or calling my Dad and crying to him. Nasty stuff!

Physical therapy is ongoing and I got the word today from PT Jonathan to start walking DAILY. Unfortunately, I still don't have good bend in my knee and that is coming back slower than I would like. This was a much rougher surgery than I had thought.

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Hang in there Cathy, and yeah get off that stuff as soon as you can. Super nasty stuff.

As for IM advice, definitely echoing what determination wrote and will add: Have a plan a and a plan b and a plan c - anything can happen. Recognize that at some point during the event you will feel terrible physically and/or emotionally - eat some carbs - seriously. Problem solving is key in long course racing. Be adaptable. Race YOUR race, no one else's. Let go getting upset about things you don't control (weather, etc.) - that's wasted energy. Get to the start line healthy and rested even if you are slightly undertrained. Deal with little niggles before they become big ones. Get there early morning of, don't be rushed, give yourself tons of time. Stay warm before the race start. Eat tons on the bike and ride at a pace you can digest it all, pack something you like for your special needs (I had a turkey wrap with lots of mustard and salt).

BREATHE and ENJOY the experience. Thank every volunteer you can. SMILE.

Last week:
- 2 weeks left to go to new job :-) - YAY
- skate 5x - 4 times but I'll call it good - they were HARD
- run 4x - 3 times but you'll read why...
- ride 4x (already rode to & from new work - it's double my current commute so 1hr each way - bring it on!) - DONE
- keep on the good diet bandwagon (more veg, less fries haha) - DONE but hard, everyone is trying to take me out for lunch! :-)
- interior paint and source trim for 2 windows (this will be hard as the original trim is from 1908) - DONE
- roll my R hip as all this skating will get it tight. - Fail ...hmmm...
- BONUS: did a Intro to CX clinic on Sunday - 2hrs of learning to dismount, flying mount, corner, starts, and TONS of riding. Fun but hard. May do an intro race in 2 weeks.


This week:
- training for aerospace certified inspection techniques (for new job) - DONE
- big fat external audit (for soon-to-be old job)
- run 3x
- skate 4x
- ride 2x
- celebrate FREEDOM come Friday afternoon :-)

AP

------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks everyone for the IM tips. It's very helpful to see what's worked. I need to find a mantra to get myself through the really dark hours (and I am sure there will be many of those).

Last week was a lot of s/b/r, with a 108 mile ride/4 mile run on Saturday that seemed to go very well. Sunday was a 14 mile run that turned into a 10 mile run and then 4 miles of wogging. Trying to stay positive about that but I am my own worst critic.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Last week's goals:
2 x swim: win with 3
1 x bike: win with 2
6 x run: WIN
4 x core/strength: win


Last long run is in the books - was only 27.5km, which isn't ideal for a 50k and 6-hour coming up, but I ran it HARD and didn't want to risk pushing too far and re-injuring myself. Ran 9k of hills the day after (Sunday) which was tough but I was stronger than I expected, especially for the end of a 67km week. Last night's run was rather slow and miserable, though.


This week's goals:
1 x swim
4 x run
4 x core/strength


With the last of the build now in the books, I'm going solo backpacking this weekend (Fri-Sun) - climbing steep hills with 30lbs on my back actually translates pretty well to the end of a 50k. Just have to be careful; my hamstrings are in rough shape, and this particular trail put a beat down on them last year. Not tapering running yet - weekday mileage will be consistent with last week, but no long run on the weekend.

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [AndyPants] [ In reply to ]
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Eat tons on the bike and ride at a pace you can digest it all, pack something you like for your special needs (I had a turkey wrap with lots of mustard and salt).

Salt is my favourite food group :-)

Do you have time off between ending the current job and starting the new one?

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Goals from last week:
- Start actively tracking food again. - Partially achieved. Still a work in progress.
- Work on adjusting bedtime and wake-up time to allow for AM spinning - Total failure due to sick fiance keeping me up all night. Carrying forward.
- Get back into the habit of school work (semester starts today) - Done!
- Go mountain biking! - Almost.... Went for a rail trail ride with the girls from the bike club on the cross bike instead.

Overall, not a bad week. Had a blast out on the rail trail, and it was satisfying to be able to hang with a couple of women I consider to be much stronger cyclists than I am. I also got in a short but sweet road ride because I bagged a conference I was going to attend because I didn't want to share my awesome Fall germs with other people. I'm trying to make the most of the abnormally warm weather before Maine realises that it's supposed to be getting cooler now!

This is my first term at a new university, so it's been a bit of a learning experience in what they expect. I found myself looking for assignments I missed because I didn't feel like I'd done enough work, but I'm sure that will change as the semester beds down. Mostly it's a matter of routine for me; Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays are schoolwork days, band rehearsals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays for fun stuff!

Since the best way to get accountability is to tell everyone: I have decided that I want to do a HIM at the end of next summer. I'm thinking Barrelman, because the course sounds awesome and it's within driving distance. I figure if I start training consistently and diligently now, in a year I might be able to do that without dying! I ran for the first time in... well, a while yesterday, and I still hate running but I love the feeling of accomplishment when I do it.
1) Does anyone have any fantastic tools they would like to recommend?
2) I'm looking at a Garmin VivoActive. Does anyone own one, love it, hate it?

I also bought a new saddle to try on my tri bike, having had a "Come to Jesus" on my road bike with a saddle replacement. I'm waiting anxiously for that to arrive.

Goals for this week:
- Keep actively tracking food
- Get to bed by 10:15 every night
- Complete the workouts on my run training plan
- Get in the pool
Last edited by: UK2ME: Sep 29, 15 9:23
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [UK2ME] [ In reply to ]
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I'm so with you on the "I don't like running, but I like that I ran".

I do not have a VivoActive, but I know someone who does and they are very happy with it. I'm sure that my old Forerunner 405 is going to die at some point, so I've been doing some research on what I want next. If the Vivoactive had more of a "multisport" feel to it, I'd be all over it. Have you checked out dcrainmaker?? His website has very detailed reviews of all the gadgets.

I too want to jump off the deep end and sign up for a HIM. It's the 20th anniversary next year for a local race - cool to be a part of that. I'm so hit & miss with training though & I don't want to sink that much money into a race only to fall short & not get to the start line.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Main goals for the week are (a) don't eat junk while traveling done!!! resisted the I'm-tired-and-want-to-eat-skittles-and-twizzlers urge (b) be present while doing work yeah. didn't do much work though (c) swim 3x swam 2x which is fine(d) get 100 mi of biking in (30 done!) In a surprising turn of events, I actually accomplished this!!!

School started Thurs. so I'm back in Oregon.

swim 2x = 6500 yds
bike 6x = 104 mi
run 6x = 48.4 mi

Had some food issues on Saturday and still having some minor ones. Some of my usual "safe" foods are not feeling safe anymore. I don't really want to talk about this, I'm just saying it to be honest about it.

Goals for this week = bike 100 miles, take at least a day off from running, swim at least a mile each day M-F, be present while doing work.

It is fun reading all your advice for IM; I look forward to doing one someday.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [UK2ME] [ In reply to ]
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I love the rail trail! I have been on the parts of it in Augusta-Hallowell and Saco.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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I don't usually join this weekly update but need some womens support, I guess!
I have not been running due to a 2nd degree MCL sprain that I thought was just a "sore knee" I ran with for 3 months, till I went to the doctor for allergies and mentioned, BTW my knee still hurts. That took me out of my local trail race (2200 feet up in 4 mi, turn around and run back down) and then out of my A-race triathlon last week, where I was training for the podium this year (5 deep, and I am getting old). I had a legal-transfer entry into Aquabike (1 mi swim, 34 mi bike) and shredded my front tire at mile 20, so well off the podium there too. Then last Sunday I went after a 2.4 mile no-wetsuit, ocean swim -- I took that swim clinic with Gary Hall and Andy Potts and have been swimming really well, and the water here has been great this summer. But the course was not marked correctly, and when I got to the last buoy in the line, which I assumed was where to turn into the harbor, a lifeguard on the jet-ski came rushing out ... long story short, 2.4 ended up being closer to 3 mi for me (and a number of other swimmers, I hear). Came in 3rd in the no-wetsuit category (of 10), and only one wetsuit swimmer (of 27) was ahead of me, but podium was only 2 deep.

I have not had a single successful race all season, and when you train so hard and feel like you meet no tangible goals, it really sux.

As for abake's question about Ironman -- My advice based on 3 tries.
Don't hang out too long at transitions or special needs or if you stop to pee (or puke or kiss your partner, or whatever); you get stiff and cold. Less is more in your transition bags. If you don't need anything special at the midway points, pass on special needs, but if you want something like salt/vinegar chips (my preference on the run) or a jacket or a special fluid mix, don't stop for too long but be sure to thank the volunteers. Keep eating and moving forward all day, cheer for everyone you pass or who passes you, and OWN the finisher chute no matter what (that last was actually advice from Andy).
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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I am a big fan of the Eastern trail - I do a lot of my workouts on the section between Biddeford and Kennebunk because it's on my way home from work and I can catch the last of the light. I'd love to get up and do the section around Augusta, it looks really nice.

This weekend I actually got down to do a new section for me - the Rockingham Rail Trail in NH. It runs all the way from Newfields to Manchester, but we went to Epping, stopped for tasty things, and then went back!
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [edbikebabe] [ In reply to ]
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edbikebabe wrote:
I'm so with you on the "I don't like running, but I like that I ran".

I do not have a VivoActive, but I know someone who does and they are very happy with it. I'm sure that my old Forerunner 405 is going to die at some point, so I've been doing some research on what I want next. If the Vivoactive had more of a "multisport" feel to it, I'd be all over it. Have you checked out dcrainmaker?? His website has very detailed reviews of all the gadgets.

That's comforting... I always feel like everyone else is all "Yay, I love running!" and I'm like, I want to kill you all.

I did check out dcrainmaker (and a bunch of other reviews!) and feel like the Vivoactive would be a good fit. I actually like that it has all the multisport functionality I'm looking for without the multisport "feel" - I'm the type of person who only wears their sneakers when they're running, so the "ubersporty" look isn't for me!!
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [Gee] [ In reply to ]
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I'm really sorry you've had such a rough season. I think I recall that you really like to run so I'm empathetic that when you are a runner who can't run, that sucks too. Glad to hear from you. May the world start turning in your favour soon!

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [Gee] [ In reply to ]
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Gee, that does sound like a sucky season for sure. I would say that if there's one thing you can take solace in it's that it was not a sucky season for any reason that you could control. Yeah, it is a serious bummer to put all the time into training and have everything go horribly like that, but it sounds like you were really well prepared outside the injury, and I would take it as a sign of confidence that you can do the same for next season and have the stars align to bring everything back together.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [UK2ME] [ In reply to ]
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My garmin 310xt died too. It was really too big and bulky for me. I am dragging my feet about buying a new garmin type watch. A friend of mine just got a 15 and likes it. Basic.

most of the time I like running but yesterday and last Thursday it was absolute drudgery. I didn't even want to go out the door. I forced it. Glad when I was done but that was a about it. Usually that's not the case, but even those of us that *love* running have "those" days.
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Just the weekend :-) but I'm super anxious and excited to get started!

------------------------
"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS
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Re: How was your week? Sept. 28 Edition [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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I love the idea that you think of me as a runner! I try to think of myself that way, but the truth is (as the womens campers know) I am a fish, then a QOM mid-pack cyclist, and dead-last runner. Thanks to compartment syndrome problems, I didn't run at all until age 40, so I have to work extra hard on it to not be even more embarrassing! I am meeting the PT today and already planning next year's goals. Thanks, womens!
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