Dominion's Sprint/Oly/70.3 Group--Closed (Page 5)

Hey Chris, I'm not sure if your group is still open but if it is, I'd like to jump on board. Brief background on me: I'm a 45 y/o weekend warrior in Pennsylvania with 4 kids and great but busy wife. My biggest challenge is squeezing training in between (and usually at) kids' sports practices and a busy law practice. I've been a recreational runner for 25 or so years. Have done several marathons and lots of half marathons over the years. I finally forced myself to learn to swim distances about a year ago and did the Eagleman HIM this past year. So far this year I'm signed up for a trail marathon in April and an Olympic tri in May. My plan is to also do the Princeton HIM in September and maybe some shorter races over the summer time permitting. Thanks

Todd R.

Welcome iluvlucy and welcome Todd!

With these 2 joining, I've made the decision to go ahead and close the group as the requests to join have been more than I expected.  Hopefully most will stay active and it will be a great spring/summer group.

 

 

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I did great. Thanks for asking. A few years ago my best 5K was 21 min and change. I got a bad case of achilles tendonitis 2 yrs ago and have been coming back since. I started running again last year and have been getting my speed back. This 5K I came in at 24:19 and it wasn't a totally flat/fast course so I was pretty stoked.

Whoa, thread has exploded.

Just back from a family vacation/conference at Disney. We arrived right after the WDW marathon. Boy does that make you feel lazy seeing everyone walk around for days with their finisher medals. I was only able to get two runs in. This trip over lapped with my birthday and I got a TomTom multisport watch. So far I love it. I did a run with it at Disney and the GPS seemed to work great. I did a treadmill run today, and swam with it. The lap counter was great. There is a lot of data that I will need to figure out the significance - SWOLF?

Overall my training is down. Having lots of trouble finding the time. Need to get on a program. Have been just going haphazard without any build.
Sounds like everyone else has been busy.

When is everyone's first race?

NP

Been training pretty hard here. I have an indoor Tri coming up at the end of March. Slightly different format. Bike (12 miles on a spin bike), run (5k on a treadmill), swim (500m or yds in pool), but I kinda expect to do rather well. Placed second overall for men last year and hoping to be closer to first this time around. Also, looking for another potential indoor tri but not having much luck with anything close by. Been running outside in temps anywhere from 4 to 36 degrees. Windchills in the negatives at times. Gotta love those Michigan winters! Can't wait for spring lol.

Scott

Hope the family had fun on the trip, Nate!

I got a Garmin Fenix 2 GPS watch this winter. Have only really used it once in the pool, but plan to start using it more. The material that came with it also talks about SWOLF. If I remember, it's supposed to be a combination of the SW from swim and the OLF from golf. It's basically like a stroke count for how many strokes it takes you to get from one side of the pool to the other. Your goal is to reduce the number of strokes it takes to cross the pool. I guess taking fewer strokes to cross the pool means you are swimming more efficiently? I'm more interested in my splits than my stroke count, but that's just me.

Living in New England, I probably won't do my first tri until June. I've got several 5K races lined up in March and one in April. I'm aiming for my first Oly this year and have one definite 10K on my calendar in June and will probably want at least on more.

What about you? Do you have any races targeted yet for this year?

Haha, it's all about having the correct clothing in cold weather and then realizing that once ya get out there it really isn't that bad. It's more mental than physical. Especially if the wind is howling (which is usually the case, but lately it has been minimal). I'll be hitting the trainer again today. Resorting to earphones and some podcasts/music to pass the time. Can't hear the tv or seem to focus on whats happening anyway.

Are there such things as bluetooth headphones out there for working out that wont cost me an arm and a leg?

Scott

I already did my first race, a 5K back on the 4th. But tri season is MA doesn't start until May, so outside of a few more casual 5Ks here or there, I doubt I'll be racing until June. Just lots of lots of time on the trainer for me...

Thanks for the info on SWOLF. My first swim it gave me a 30. Not sure if that is good or accurate. Guess its just one of those things you trend.

I'm looking at a super sprint in March that had a indoor swim

Got my bike adjusted today an fortunately in didn't need much. Removed a riser and adjusted the seat a little. Had hoped for a transition run tonight but decided to bail when I finished my spin at midnight. I don't have to work tomorrow :-)

Well, In California the season starts early. My first race has already happened. I did a duathlon on 1/3. And I just did a 5k last Saturday. I plan to do another DU in March and then my 1st A race in April, a half iron distance in Napa Valley (wine country).

Should be fun!

Edited by ecpasos 2015-01-23 1:22 AM

Grrrrrrr! Seriously, I'm gonna get very mad! Pushing my distance up in the pool tonight and I had to stop my long swim short by 150 meters because I got a serious cramp in the arch of my left foot. The first cramp, in my right foot, set in about 500 meters in. I was able to work through it, but then a short while later my left foot got a cramp. I was able to work it out with out stopping, only to have it pop up again in my right foot. Then left. Then right. Left. Right. You get the idea. The last one was too much. I couldn't work it out and I was really starting to struggle. That last lap was 10 seconds slower than my average for the rest of the swim. I finished 1300 meters, but was so mad I didn't get do to the 1450 I wanted to.

So, anyone got any ideas or suggestions? Really, I'm all ears. I did find some stuff last year (yes, this isn't my first rodeo with foot cramps) that showed some stretches you could do to stretch out your arch. Maybe it's just because I have pushed my distance up a little too quickly and my foot muscles haven't been able to keep up? Is my physiology just weird and this doesn't happen to others?! Are there foot arch gremlins in the pool?!?! Help, please!

So, anyone got any ideas or suggestions? Really, I'm all ears. I did find some stuff last year (yes, this isn't my first rodeo with foot cramps) that showed some stretches you could do to stretch out your arch. Maybe it's just because I have pushed my distance up a little too quickly and my foot muscles haven't been able to keep up? Is my physiology just weird and this doesn't happen to others?! Are there foot arch gremlins in the pool?!?! Help, please!


I've struggled with foot cramps on and off. I've always attributed them to nutrition. Still perfecting it but it seems I personally need more carbs and or potassium. Also partially think endurance is part of it for me. My cramps take place towards the end of my swims if I get them. Good luck.

Scott

Hi,

I'm having trouble with cramps, it seems like every time I do a hard bike session I get cramps in my calf. Sometimes they come on at the end of a bike session and sometimes at the beginning of the run in a brick session. I never get them when just doing a run.
I have tried stretching before and trying to up my salt intake.
Anyone else experienced this or has any ideas?

Thanks.

That happened to me last year during my first two triathlons. I got off the bike and started the run only to get a cramp in my calf before I had even run a 1/4 mile. I stopped to stretch it out and it didn't bother me for the rest of the run. These were both sprints, so the run was just a 5K. The stretching was good enough to get me through that distance, not sure how long your event is.

Call me crazy, but I've seen articles that say both pickle juice and mustard (separately, not together) can help with cramps. (http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/Why-Every-Athlete-Should-Have-Pickle-Juice.htm) Something about the vinegar that stops the signals your body sends that makes the muscles cramp. I've experimented with mixing pickle juice and water. Funny thing is that the cramps in my foot during my swim I just posted about happened on a day where I didn't drink the pickle juice. So it either works or it's a weird coincidence. I'll be drinking pickle juice during my next long swim! I do know that they sell a commercial sports drink that is pickle juice based. I've never tried it, so I don't know how it tastes. I do know that I can handle pickle juice straight from the jar, so I've been strongly considering ordering some of this.

http://www.amazon.com/Pickle-Juice-Sport-16-Count/dp/B00OGMXC8K/ref...

Edited by rjchilds8 2015-01-24 8:27 AM

You know, I've often wondered if that contributed to the cramps. Thanks, Chris! I tend to get some crazy theories about things. Glad I at least come close to the mark sometimes. I'm sure I'll add the stretches and take in more electrolytes. My wife also suggested a banana or some other source of potassium.

Frostbite 5K
Official time: 40:50
Course length: 3.51 miles

A personal best! My first 5K of 2015, and my first race with my GPS watch. It was about 36F, foggy, and drizzling, which is perfect weather for me. I started out strong and stayed pretty strong for the first half of the race. When I felt like I was running slow, I'd check my speed on my GPS watch and find out I was running faster than I thought, which really gave me a lot of encouragement. I ran my first mile in 11:17, which is really, really fast for me and faster than any time I'd ever posted, including time running on the treadmill. My second mile was 12:00, which is also really fast for me. After about the second mile, I started to slow down a bit, but my GPS watch still showed me running a good pace, which kept me running and encouraged me to push myself even harder. I found without the GPS watch, I was comparing my speed to other people, which is very discouraging, even though I'm not racing against them--I'm racing against me. My GPS watch gave me the visual feedback I need to let me know I was NOT running slow (for me) and that I was going faster than I thought. I'm really glad I took the plunge and bought it! I cut almost two minutes per mile off my time just having that visual feedback. My watch was well worth the money!

I've been in physical therapy for about two months, and it has really paid off, as has losing another 12 pounds since my last race at the beginning of December. My left leg didn't stiffen up, and I didn't end up shuffling at all. I had no trouble lifting my feet high enough to clear the ground. My hips also didn't hurt enough to cause me any discomfort. What slowed me down the most this time was my own physical ability--I just plain got tired. That's something I can fix with more running, and the stronger I get, the more running I can do.

My next race will probably be the St. Paddy's Day race in Spokane in March. It's five miles, not 5K, which will be longer than any race I've ever run, and good practice for Bloomsday's 7.2 mile run in May. I had planned to do an indoor triathlon at the end of February, but I will be having a surgical procedure in a couple of weeks that will keep me out of the pool for a while. It's actually kind of nice because I'm pretty competitive and don't take time off from training, so this is kind of like a "get out of training guilt-free card" from my doctor.

So, it looks like my first triathlon of the year will again be the Troika at the end of May. I'm really looking forward to it because I've raced that course twice now, so it will give me a good benchmark not only of my winter training, but also of my summer training as I will race the same course in August for the West Plains Wunderwoman Tri.

And yeah, I've suffered from foot cramps in the pool. They're from pushing off from the wall. If I feel myself starting to get them, I stop pushing off from the wall for a couple of laps. It's annoying, but keeps the cramps away. Drinking pickle juice can make you stink. You might not know it, but those around you will.

Edited by burner2 2015-01-24 9:24 PM

I definitely used to get foot cramps in the pool, and never had a good solution for them. Interesting that they might be caused by pushing off the wall. The last time they happened I started suffering from a case of PF a few days later, so I'd always assumed they were a precursor to that. But maybe it was just coincidence?

My 2 cents on this... I get cramps usually at the beginning of my season when I start building up my distance again. In my experience, the more fitness that I develop and the more I swim longer distances, the less cramping I get. So when I first get in the pool after a break, I will cramp up early in my pool session, but the more I train the farther I can go without cramping. So in my case, I believe it's just low fitness level that creates cramps. So what I do to be able to finish my intended workout is that I use a pull buoy when I feel cramps coming on. So I let my legs rest basically for either a short while or the remainder of the workout depending on how my legs feel.

I've read a lot about cramping because I used to get mad about them too. What I've found is that research shows that no one truly knows the cause... there are several plausible causes. This below is from TriathleteTraining.com. I found it very informative:

Cramping
The cause of cramping is difficult to pinpoint and often misunderstood in general literature. Long and intense efforts are a common cause. I quote this New York Times article in the podcast:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/health/nutrition/14BEST.html?_r=0

I had a segment about pickle juice alleviating cramps, but removed the segment when some articles questioned the vailidy of the research.
http://trailandultrarunning.com/does-pickle-juice-prevent-or-allevi...

Joe Friel has two good articles on cramping:
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/05/muscle-cramp-theory.html
http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2010/05/muscle-cramps-and-mythology.ht...

Congrats on your 5K and PB!

Thanks, Enrique! Some good information on the true lack of an understanding of what causes cramps and how to prevent them. I'll continue to pursue my own "research" into what works for me. Like I mentioned, the pickle juice seemed to have been potentially working for me since I hadn't experienced the cramping until the first workout when I didn't drink it. But from what at least one article was saying, it may have negative effects in an endurance event. So maybe I only drink it during the start of my training season and then taper off my consumption as my strength and fitness improves and see if I no longer get the cramps.

I probably should have included that my name is Carolyn. Ha! Sorry!