Last week's goals:
- run x 6 / 50+km: WIN with 54km / 20k long run
- bike x 4: WIN with 5 incl. 2 outdoor!
- swim x 4: WIN
- core/strength x 4: WIN


Super happy with last week's training and the lovely weekend weather, though I had forgotten how much being outside all day long takes it out of you!


This week's goals:
- run x 6 / 50+km
- bike x 4
- swim x 4
- core/strength x 4


Cheers!


-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

4x swim
3x bike
1x run
2x eliptical
3x strength and flexibility

Have had to back off on running, which always makes me a little depressed, as it really functions double-duty for me as both training and therapy. I'm just not strong enough on the bike or swim to get the same kind of release on them as I do when I run. I'm having some funky lower leg issues (same leg as my PF), but basically I feel like my right calf is on the verge of a charlie horse all of the time :/ I've been doing some hydro and massage, but it is not cooperating.

Have dialed in my race season though. You guys will appreciate this--first tri of the season (only a sprint) is the day after one of my hardest road races of the year, a 12.6 miler (weird distance, but super fun race). Gotta love starting the season with a back-to-back, then an oly 6 days later. Hmmm, and I wonder why I'm injured? Real nice.

Other than that, just wanted to congratulate the Womens on stepping it up in our little forum. Fun to be getting to "know you" all a little better :)

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

M - 8 mi run
T - 8 mi run + 2000 yd swim
W - 6.5 mi run + 5500 yd swim
Th - 8 mi run + 2500 yd swim
F - 7.5 mi run + 5500 yd swim
S - 2 hrs on the trainer
S - 3h15 outside on bike

Totals: 15,500 yds swum, 5h15 on bike, 38 mi run, also did 8.6 miles of walking

Eating was good M-F, meh on Saturday, bad Sunday. Must... not... purchase... pop tarts and toaster strudels... My new little brain trick is to think "what would my mom say about this food choice?" for instance, growing up, pop tarts were (a) a treat and (b) something we could only have after we'd have a healthy breakfast. They were not something we regularly ate as snacks (which is what I have been doing. I am a fan of pastries!!!) and I know I underate on Friday (as evidenced by being suuuuper hypoglycemic an hour into the ride on Saturday) which is a GREAT way to set oneself up to eat a bunch of not-so-healthy foods... my brain still thinks I can undereat and get away with it (i.e. not binge later). I mean I did it for YEARS. I am not sure why I want to undereat, as I do not need to lose any weight. One trigger is seeing super skinny girls at the gym. I would not trade my body for anyone else's - I love my body - but I see anyone skinnier than me and think "Damn, I want to be that thin again." Even though (a) some of the girls are undergrads and haven't gone through that transition to a more adult body (this does happen, right? I am fairly sure my body shifted a bit in late college/grad school to something more adult and less 18 year old) and (b) being that thin means having no shoulder/arm muscle and w/o my shoulder/arm muscle I couldn't swim nearly as fast. Sigh. I don't need to hear "your body is awesome, you can do amazing stuff" - but I would love any ideas about how you learn to stop comparing your body to others'.
I guess I feel like I am doing really well with food, for the most part, but there are days when I am NOT and I am tired of them. I would like to remember my ph.d.-schooling w/o it being riddled by eating disorder memories. And that means to stop slipping. (Still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that this means both not restricting AND not bingeing).

Goals for this week: Last week of classes before finals week and then spring break! I FLY HOME NEXT WEDNESDAY!!!
- Swim 5x
- Ride 2-3x w/ 1 hill workout (I found a really good hill this weekend :-)
- Run no more than 35ish miles
- Be in the pool at 6 am tomorrow + Thursday
- Plan activities for the evenings (this is when I get the most anxious and or am most likely to eat poptarts and toaster strudels)

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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

I had a really tight calf issue once that a physical therapist sorted out with some very painful deep tissue massage. It sounds like you are already working on that, as I can't imagine you're the fluff-and-buff massage type. Is there a physical therapist who could do laser treatment on it? Can you roll it on a tennis ball, golf ball, foam roller?

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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

Went well! I was sluggish after my 15k on Sunday. I was very pleased with my results from that, beating my goal pace, but was still recovering on Monday. By Tuesday I felt better and everything started clicking again on Wednesday.

Speed work, hill work, a double run day, and a trail run that left me muddy and tired.

Total miles: 46.

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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

Yeah, I have a close, personal relationship with the foam roller--we go way back;). Whatever is going on in there is creating gristle; I know how gross that sounds, but that is the truth. I can absolutely feel little tiny gravely bits of tissue--WTF? I know a couple of really good PTs in town, I just need to freakin' go see them. I am always very, very resistant to getting help with stuff like this. Ran a marathon three weeks after breaking my ankle in three places wakeboarding because "it's probably just a bad sprain, and I don't want to take time to go to the Dr". Again, real nice :/

I am the antithesis of fluff-and-buff in every single capacity of my life:) The best massage therapist I ever had was this 6'6" ~350 guy named Timor in DC. He was also Turkish. No one since has worked me like Timor the Turk, though I do have a guy now who works with athletes and he lets me play my own music during the massage--sahweet.

OK, now I'm gonna tough love you for a minute. Poptarts? Poptarts? TC, they are f-ing loaded with poison! The next time you feel compelled to get poptarts, you PM me, and I'll talk you down:)

As for not comparing your body to others...hmmm, that's a tough one. I can tell you it has gotten easier as I've gotten older. I work in two college towns and I feel surrounded by 18 year old bodies. Some are very lovely, but for the most part they look weak, soft, and unhealthy. They can't swim or run the distances or speed you are, fo sho. I want to tell you to not "idolize thin" (your words from a thread a while back), but it is really hard when every media medium pushes that at you. Not watching TV and not looking at magazines can help.

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

Last week's theme: Steady as she goes...
M: 6k EZ -> DONE
T: 11k (am) + 11k (pm) -> DONE
W: 8k with strides (am) + 8k (lunch) -> only the morning run was done
R: 1hr ride + -> DONE + a 7k lunch run
F: 8k with strides (am) -> DONE
St: OFF - Flying to TX to visit coach so maybe an optional short run in WARM weather! -> DONE ;-)
Sn: Whatever coach gives me - I expect ~20-30k trail run. -> 32k (20mi) run.

This week's theme: Stay Sharp (I have two full days of auditing to do in Mexico, so those will be my days off this week, leading up to the Chuckanut 50k on Sat)
M: Anything -> just finished a ~10k hilly trail run up & down a mountain here in Texas so DONE
T: WORK/OFF
W: WORK/OFF
R: Fly home early/ez 40ish min run
F: ez 40ish min run with strides
St: Chuckanut 50k
Sn: OFF

:-)


AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Jen - WAY TO GO GURL!!!! I am so happy that your race went well. It is so motivating when training exceeds expectations!

AP - GOOD LUCK w/the 50K!

I hope I am not violating any code with the all caps but thats me cheering for you from NJ

As far as me - been in winter maintenance mode for the past two months so training has been fit haphazard keep some aerobic fitness training. I have also been in a bit of a funk with the cold weather and lack of sunlight.

Last week coming out of funk . . .
4 runs all slow
3 swims at a pretty good pace for me
1 bike to remind my legs that yeah - you are supposed to go round and round now. . .

This week - with warmer weather and daylight savings time, it's time to finally wakeup from winter hibernation! Let the serious training begin! so goals this week . . .

5 runs - mostly EZ but its time to do some tempo runs!
3 swims - some speed, some endurance work
2 bikes - low tempo pace as I haven't been riding much and the old legs need some time to adjust

Happy training all!

Scar tissue?

My favorite massage therapist lets me choose the music too. That is a nice touch. Pun intended

Thanks for the other helpful things ;-)
The only TV I really watch is The Big Bang Theory (no one particularly thin there) and 30 Rock (but Tina Fey is a good role model). Magazines, eh, those are a problem.

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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

Keep in mind that even if you are only watching a couple TV shows, you are still being exposed to so many images of what "beauty" is supposed to be, it is almost numbing. I walk by a Victoria's Secret store several times a week. It has huge posters of women in the windows. Airbrushed and looking all of 15 years old. The focus is clearly on the models. I feel terrible for teenagers being faced with that.

In contrast, there is a lingerie store in the same mall that is targeted to women over 30. No posters, just average sized mannequins in the window. The focus is on the underwear. I should take a picture and post them side by side. The contrast is sad.

We are bombarded with it every day. When I see it, I remind myself they are heavily made up, airbrushed and not real. On Dancing With the Stars I watched them airbrush abs on one of the male dancers. They are an ideal that no one meets. I love those photos you see where they show the actual picture vs what was published.

What I find interesting is that we can say that we know it but do we actually internalize it?

You will never have someone else's body, you will only ever have your own.

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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

My first thought was "thank goodness." That's a good response, I think.


I think it's easier to internalize what we SEE than what we hear - I think our brains are wired that way.

What I can't figure out is how Victoria Secret models have such huge boobs and so little body fat everywhere else. Implants I guess, but it took me a second to come up with that - another example of image vs rational brain.

This is helping. Thanks. You womens are SMART!!!

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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

What I can't figure out is how Victoria Secret models have such huge boobs and so little body fat everywhere else. Implants I guess, but it took me a second to come up with that - another example of image vs rational brain.


It's called Photoshop.

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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

Last week-
Monday-Swim--coming off a cold, and the pool was too warm UGH!
Tues-off
Wed & Thurs- spent the day "pretending" to be a triathlete. Filming background for a tv show called "The Mindy Project". Wed we filmed registration lines, swim to bike transition, and swim entrance and exit, so got a bit of running in and a bit of swimming (open water), was wearing wetsuit (at least bottom) all day. Thurs. filmed finish line, got quite a bit of running in (someone clocked it at 4.5 miles on garmin) back and forth across the finish line from various distances.
Fri- So sore from all the running on Thurs. OFF
Sat- Swam, nice outdoor pool, lovely weather. Then off to fundraiser/awards for local Down Syndrome Association (won tickets to see Mike & Molly taping in silent auction).
Sun- ran on treadmill at the gym, then went to Disney CA Adventure for a few hours.
Managed to work Monday-Friday -- the 2 days of TV taping, and 3 day subbing, 2 of which were math classes (yay!)

This week-
Monday- swim
Tues- run
Wed- spinerval trainer class at local tri shop (Tri-Zone in Los Alamitos)
Thur- run (hill workout with training group)
Fri- ??
Sat- Brick
Sun-bike

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check out my blog http://theswimmingtriathlete.com

but in the commercials?! they bounce!

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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

I spent 3 days cycling in the Australian high country in Victoria (Mt Buffalo, & Tawonga gap) - a cruisy 12 hour drive from my city!! and managed to break my tri bars in the process.. I'm also about to spend an exorbitant amount of $$ on some smaller cranks for my teensy bike (i'm vertically challenged).. so there will be a set of FSA SLK light 170mm cranks up for grabs soon just in case anyone's interested! Thus all in all, an up and down week punctuated with great cycling and broken bike, new cranks on the way, and a new bike fit to improve my aero position but no training until the bike's back from the shop.. best get the running shoes on i s'pose!
Always great to read about the motivating training of other womens out there - thanks for keeping my head in the game! :)

Got on the bike 5x last week. Ran 3x
didn't swim due to travel :( Took big exam on Sunday morning. I know one section where I likely did worse than the first time around, but hopefully that is outweighed by the improvements I know I made. Now for the 6 week wait period.

Last Friday I had my run gait analysis done to try to see what's going on with my leg. I watched the review of my videos. Nothing too earth shattering.
I overstride.
My left foot is slightly externally rotated on impact.
Point of impact is the 4th/5th metatarsal heads, so basically when I land I'm supinated. Then I go into pronation heavily.
Afterwards, it was determined that my left hip doesn't externally rotate as much as my right. My right will go to 'normal' - about 45 degrees. The left will only do maybe half that at best.
Running coach had some advice for me, I started practicing it immediately. Was quite happy with the results at last night's 1.6 mi run.

let us know when the show airs! Too cool.

That six week wait period is b.s., girl. Ugh :/

Very cool gait analysis. How awesome that you were able to internalize the coach's advice and get good results right away! Sweet!

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

I agree, I think it is tough to go through our world and not be impacted by the advertiser's idea of beauty.
Somewhat similarly, I try to think the word "fake" when I see this stuff. I also try to concentrate on something about my body that I DO like.
A while back I decided VS was just sleazy (their adverstising methods, mainly, plus I had quality issues with their stuff) and I haven't shopped there in probably 10 years. So if I walk past a store, I'm not even tempted to look at their stuff, because a long time ago I decided I didn't like it/it was poor quality stuff.

I think age helps too. I seem to feel better and better about myself as time passes. Sometimes my work helps. I see a lot of folks who are in really really poor health, and I'm thankful I choose to eat healthfully and exercise - they also motivate me to keep doing it.

Damn it, TC, step away from the television :)

They bounce. You can have bouncy ones too. They do a good job of making you feel like you need that, don't they? Every second you watch TV your mind is taking in--and processing in some way--images that can hurt your self-esteem. Companies spend millions (billions?) of dollars every year on advertising to make you feel not good enough so you will buy their shit. They're very good at it. And after a couple thousand images a day, even a strong, smart brain can get worn down. Don't let them do that to you.

I used to chase that ideal. It never felt good. Never. Fuck that.

You know what does feel good?

Having a fast run. Climbing a hill on my bike faster than last week. Figuring out swimming. Seeing small, incremental gains in my pushes and pulls. Those things always feel good. They never let me down. Never.

You know which women catch my eye now? The strong, bad ass athletes. They're hotter than anything else out there.

And if this, for you, is in anyway about what guys value, let me ASSURE you, that there are men who really, truly, prefer, natural, healthy athletes. I married one.

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Trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists

"- but I would love any ideas about how you learn to stop comparing your body to others'. "

I'm not sure this will ever happen. I still do it, and I'm 48 yo. The positives are you know you're at a healthy weight, and you love your body. But I think we (and a lot of women) have the idea that skinny is better because of society / media, etc. And I probably agree to a point, but when you work out as much as we do, not eating (and I try this all the time, only to get overly hungry and eat too much later) isn't productive. In fact, it probably hurts our long term goals. It, like much of life, is just another balancing act. I diet for days at a time, only to go off the deep end, esp over weekends when I'm home more and working out more so I justify it.
The funny thing about all this is we're strong, smart women, but weight / eating is just one of the those things we all battle with. And you're doing amazing. So well done! And don't buy pop tarts :)

Last Weeks Goals
2 swims
3 rides*
7 runs (I am once again in a run streak challenge with a goal of running 1 mile every day this month)
2-3 strength (and keeping up my PT)

All done but the running. I am bailing on the run streak challenge. It is just to hard to balance running a mile every day with my planned s/b/r workouts. I will still try for 5-6 runs a week but on the days where I have a 2 hour ride, 1 hour swim, and work, I am not going to force myself to run one mile at some point. Once I made this decision, I ended the week with 4 runs. My "long" ride of the week was at Sub-9 Death March and had a blast. 8 hours of gravel, hills, mud, rivers, hills, puddles, more mudd, and some pavement in search of 5 checkpoint cemeteries and 7-8 bonus time checkpoint cemeteries. It was a long hard day on the bike but I think the base miles will pay off in the long run. Plus I learned that I can fall and not break my wrist and that I can still ride single track (albeit poorly but that is nothing new).

This Weeks Goals
2 swims
3 rides
5 runs
2-3 strength (and keeping up my PT)

Hope everyone training is going well (No clue how or why my font got larger here).

haha - yup.

It sounds like everyone is doing amazing.

AP - good luck on the 50K - please give us a race report
Lucky - You and I are sisters from different mothers. I often have a race schedule (and get hurt) like that. Haha. So many things to do, so little time.
Everyone else sounds like you are all training really well. Go us!!!

last week was recovery week
I got 3 swims in- which is huge for me.
3 bikes - started Trainer road and I'm hooked.
3 easy short runs.
only one core

This week
3-4 swims - want at least 8 K
3-4 bikes, w/ one being at least 2 hours long
5-6 runs.
2-3 core

Happy training everyone