Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED (Page 66)

Nancy-I think the 220-age is pretty misleading. There are several ways to claculate your "real" max heart rate and from there you can calculate the zones. Link below is an article about different methods. I recall another article that had a running test procedure.......I'll look for that one.

  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=405

My tri team volunteeered at the Semper Fi Tri Camp this morning in Pensacola Beach. The participants were all Marines with varying degrees of disability. Some had PTSD, others were missing a limb and the guy I worked with had no use of his legs. Some had done several tri's, like the guy I worked with, while for others it was their first. Great way to spend a beautiful Saturday morning. Really inspiring to see these guys accomplish something that we sometimes take for granted.

After that I went for an easy ride with some of my Team...it quickly turned into a hammerfest so I bailed after throttling myself for 25 miles. Followed the ride with a short run now I'm planning on racking out on the couch for some Master's action.    

Great job!

Nathan- nice job! Congratulations!!

Nancy, so glad to hear that you like UCAN. I've been using it for the last 2 years and have had great successful with it . Blueberry Pomegranate is my favorite flavor.

Sounds like lots of folks out getting some training in. I did 42 miles fairly easy on the bike. Ran into a buddy from the LBS and rode with him for awhile. Fairly strong wind from the south so I was either fighting it or loving it. Then did a six mile run off the bike with a couple of hard miles mixed in. I think that's my longest run since December. Big training week so I did and ice bath when I got home..........only hurts for the first 5 minutes then I'm too numb to feel anything. I think it helped. Got in a couple of hours of outside chores now I'm sacked out on the couch watching golf. Legs feel pretty whipped!

For those racing New Orleans 70.3 I suspect they had some wind to deal with. Times in my AG seem to be somewhat slower this year. Its a popular early season race for folks down here.

The local TV station was out at the Semper Fi Camp yesterday. They did a nice piece about the folks doing the camp. Really impressive to see what these guys and girls are accomplishing. Makes me appreciate the ability to this even more. http://www.weartv.com//news/features/featured/stories/wounded-warrior-vets-train-paratriathlon-4451.shtml

Also attaching some pictures of the team working the camp. I'm the guy on the right assisting the young man out of the water. He was seriously fast on the bike and doing the hand cycle run.

(Eric Larson and Randy Walton.jpg)

(GCTT Saturday Morning.jpg)

Well done Jamie!

Nathan -- Congratulations on your AG 1st place finish yesterday! Nicely done.

Jamie -- Way to go running a 1:40 half-marathon -- that's an excellent time! Very sad to hear about the two deaths in the race...

Randy -- Thanks for sharing the Semper Fi camp pictures -- very cool that you are giving back so much to the sport.

Sorry I'm late in joining the discussion about motivation and competition. You guys have all had some thoughtful and intriguing answers...

Most of my motivation comes from a combination of curiosity and redemption -- I want to see what I'm capable of doing if I'm healthy and give myself a chance. In high school, I was a complete bust in basketball, baseball, football, track, and cross-country. I regretted that for many years. Some of my problems were health-related, and others were due to self-confidence issues. Ultimately, though, I just wasn't a very good athlete. As an adult, I've managed to overcome many of the health and self-confidence issues, and I've tried to leave the regrets behind. These days I'm mostly focused on doing the best I can and enjoying myself. I feel fortunate to lace up my running shoes, clip into my pedals, or hop into a pool or lake. I really enjoy putting time, effort, energy into triathlon and seeing myself improve. It feels "earned" to me -- it makes me feel more alive.

As for being competitive, about 95 percent of it is against myself. I've never come close to a podium finish, so I don't think much about it. But I do get a lot of pleasure out of putting out my best effort and setting a PR. I also enjoy the energy and enthusiasm surrounding a triathlon. It's fun being a part of an athletic event and calling myself a triathlete. That being said, I have to admit I also enjoy the rush of flying past people on a bike, or sprinting to the finish line ahead of a pack... Life's simple pleasures, I guess. ;-)

Nancy-nice job on the swim. Huge improvement. Your comments about swimming downhill reminded me of something I was going to post.....then forgot.

Over the last week or two I have been mixing up my pull sets. Some with the buoy between the thighs, then between the knees and last between the ankles. As you move the buoy further down you really have to engage the core plus it makes your legs ride higher in the water. For me I feel that my head is just a bit lower in the water and I get than downhill swimming feeling. Great way to practice staying "taut" while swimming. Keeping the core engaged results in greater power/speed in the water.   

Hi Gang!

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I have checked in a couple of times to see how things have been going for you.  Things look VERY positive for the group and I'm happy to see it.  It was hard for me to weigh in since I've been broken.

Had my surgery today.  Surgeon saw exactly what was on the MRI and nothing more.  He cut the bad part, left the good part and told my husband that my knee had no degeneration to speak of.  He was happy and that makes me happy.  I did find out that lateral meniscus surgery is not quite as rapidly healing as the medial side because of the way it situates on the bone so running will take longer to begin (probably six weeks).  Don't have any idea of the exact rehab schedule until I see the surgeon on Monday afternoon at my follow up.  I start some very basic PT on Thursday, get to spin on my bike with no tension on Friday and the rest is a big TBD.  As sad as I've been to miss Boston and all of my early season, today was a step forward.  I am thankful for it.

Suzy-glad to hear things went as hoped/expected. Take it easy the next few days. Great that there was no arthritis or degenerative problems.

Along the same lines....my son goes back to the ortho tomorrow for a follow up on his knee problems. He has spent the last 5 monts getting 2 cortisone shots, doing PT and exercises and slowly building back into running. Unfortunately, the knee pain keeps returning. I'm betting they do another an MRI then scope the knee to se what is going on. He is just ready to move forward after 5 months of trying to rehab. Only 5 months until XC season starts and he is already getting anxious.