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Need some schedule/motivation advice
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Okay...I've been gone quite a while. Focused on a marathon...got pregnant (greatest thing ...have the most amazing son now)! Took a year of just running and have gotten that back and then some,but am really wanting to get back into tris and am struggling with a few things and would love some mommy advice!

1. We've moved and I went from having as many training partners as I wanted to having zero. We live on the Western Slope of Colorado now in the mountains, which poses issue #2.

2. Cold... and lots of snow. Any motivational tips for trainer and dread..oops I mean treadmill? Have moved from the South and well... you can train all 3 outside most all of the year.

3. Um... schedule...how do you be wife, mommy (to an incredibly active 15 month old!), working woman and.... train well... I'm not one that just wants to finish.. I want to do my best.

Any advice or motivational thoughts or someone to kick me in the rear and tell me to get moving!!



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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1. Have a great set up for the trainer. I live up north and once it drops below 35, I only go out on the mountain bike in the trails. Otherwise I'm on the computrainer. Try some different things: watch a movie for an easy steady ride. Download some sufferfest video's, make up your own workouts. Keep it interesting.
2. Mountains rule. Get some snowshoes for the winter, awesome cross training.
3. For timing, make the most of it when you can. When my son went down for a nap, I was working out. Otherwise I scheduled it in during the early mornings, or once he went to bed at night. Never had a problem staying competitive, never had a problem with getting all my workouts in. Make sure your husband steps up so that you can get out for the longer workouts on the weekends.
Good luck!

__________________________________________________
Twitter: @jayasports
Web: http://www.jayasports.com

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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [jen-g] [ In reply to ]
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Snowshoeing is great cross-training, much harder than it looks.

I live outside Seattle and some winter days I just can't bring myself to run in the 40* pouring rain so I go to the gym and get on the treadmill.

When I'm on the treadmill I almost always do a structured workout like intervals or tempo. I can't run the same speed for an hour. I also watch TV shows in Netflix. I find the sitcoms the best. I'm re-watching all the episodes of The Office right now. The are about 22 minutes long and I can usually make it through 2 of them before losing my mind.

When I was still doing triathlon I did structured workouts on my bike trainer as well. Sometimes, for longer rides, I'd hop off and get on my treadmill for 10 minutes then get back on the bike or hop off and do sit-ups/push-ups to break up the monotony. I also like watching football and would invent workouts based on the game. Sprints for 1st down, single leg drills for 3rd down, etc. Kept it random and fun.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [JenSw] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks ladies... that's kinda my plan. The hard part is getting up earlier than I have been since we moved..... Previously 4:15 wake up call, no problem...now...5am is tough.. I can still get 10 or so miles in (run) before work or a decent swim, but the doubles... Currently the plan is to run Mondays if possible (weather), short run and swim on Tuesdays/ swim Wednesdays and a trainer ride Wednesday night after my little guy hits the sack. Thursday am, short trainer ride plus swim, Friday run only. Saturday bike (trainer once too cold)+ run, Sunday long run. I want to stay competitive. My last race I got 5th OA and won my age group. Have done well with 5ks and half marathons since, but I want to do well- my best- on the tri circuit again.

The other catch... looking at my little man's face when I've got to go run in the 20 degree weather...not so easy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks gals!



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Hi KT - where on the Western Slope did you move to? I've lived here for over 14 years now. From Vail and Edwards to Crested Butte. It's a great place to live - these mountains we call home...

When I was in my sporty days (I'm still on the childbearing bandwagon and don't do a whole lot of exercise), once the snow really started to fly, it was treadmills and trainers for running and biking and a rec center pool for swimming. Sometimes in the winter the bike paths would be clear - but there was ALWAYS icy spots and you have to be very careful of where your putting your feet when going from clear path to icy patches, so honestly for the most part, I just stayed inside. Snowshoeing as others have mentioned is great! There are running snowshoes - smaller and lighter, and races all over the place in the winter. Nordic skiing is another. You can get little toboggans for the little one to sit in and pull them behind you when you Nordic ski.

Don't forget downhill skiing and snowboarding too. Winter is a great time to cross-train. I've done a 13 mile run and then tried to snowboard after. Lets just say that always fun - that day was BRUTAL on the slopes. Wish I'd just gone snowboarding and done a short run later!

The earliest race I've done was in early June (Ironman CDA) and it was tough getting the outside miles. A big snow year, and you can be inside running and biking until late April or early May. Once spring hits - it's definitely day by day whether you train indoors or outdoors. Sometimes that rain shower you see coming turns into a blizzard before you know it!

I'd just say - be flexible. Have indoor options (trainer and treadmill) and enjoy living in the mountains! If you find a masters team, many swimmers probably do tri's too. Could be a great place to find training partners.

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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For spicing up life on the trainer, I HIGHLY recommend TrainerRoad.com. Cheaper than a Computrainer and really good workouts. They've transformed my indoor cycling workouts. (I live in Seattle and am a bit of weather wuss on the bike.) Running on the other hand I'll do outside unless it's icy. I hate the treadmill with a burning fiery passion.

The motivation and schedule are harder. I struggle with that and I don't have kids. But from watching my parent friends, it comes down to scheduling and being really organized. Lay your stuff out in advance, run with kid in jogging stroller if you can, etc. It's definitely not easy.

Good luck!

Michelle

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The beatings will continue until morale improves
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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [RockyMtnChic] [ In reply to ]
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Hey! We're in New Castle... Working in GWS. LOVE it but major adjustments obviously... from Alabama!!! I ran today out towards Carbondale and back for a bit over 11 total and had some slick spots I managed to avoid. There's a car down the street with Vineman 70.3 sticker...tempted to go knock on their door and find out if they want to do trainer rides this winter!

Along the cold lines... winter running tights.... fleece lined? Any good recs? I can get away with 3/4 tights down to about 27; full tights down in the teens but once we hit about 15 and wind...gonna need something a little more substantial... thoughts?

Thanks so much y'all... off to set up the trainer :)



Tiger for Life -- War Eagle!

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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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Try nordic skiing (both skating and classic). Nordic skiing is one of the hardest, total body workouts out there. Many of the top VO2max scores ever recorded were from nordic skiers
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Re: Need some schedule/motivation advice [KT-tri] [ In reply to ]
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My favorite running (and honestly cold weather riding pants) were from REI. I have worn them on hikes, biking, running, snowshoeing - pretty much everything. I've had them for years - so I can't remember exactly what they are - checked the tag and it's so faded I could barely make out the REI part - but they are either cold weather running tights (not expedition weight, but just below that) or a really nice and thick base layer. They are nice and fuzzy on the inside and finished and smooth on the outside. When it's super windy - some air gets through, but I've never had to wear them with a shell when exercising. They've done very well keeping me warm.

On top - layers! I usually start with 3 layers, and end up taking off the outer or middle layer and tying it around my waste for the duration depending on the weather. A nice fleece hat that is washable or ear warmers to keep the ears comfy depending on how cold it is.

You're lucky - I don't think you'll be getting quite as much snow as if you were in Aspen or a ski town directly, so you may get a bit lucky with the outdoor running at the least, but yeah - from Alabama you're in for quite the fun, exciting and different winter experience. Jealous of your access to the Glenwood Canyon bike path (in summer). That thing ROCKS!! Not so much for biking hard, but running and how GEORGEOUS it is! When we lived in Edwards and were tri training, long rides included going from Edwards to Glenwood just for the fun of riding the canyon (and hitting the 100 mile mark - or close to it).

**********************
Harry: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."
Loyd: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of shit, man."
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