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Training Qs and Tweaks

kbaker1966kbaker1966
in Coaching Forum 🧢

Patrick:

I've been 'stalking' other emails between you and other members and saw that you do not endorse bonk breakers (or bites) b/c of inadequate sodium. I use those and I thought quite successfully - my FL 70.3 nutrition was spot on - so I wonder what is the recommended amount of sodium for endurance events (and of course the training for said events)?  and if I can't give up my BBs, what can I add to my nutrition to support that level of sodium. I use Infinit and Perform now, but will probably stop the Inifinit and just use Perform.  I also each Fig Newtons and gels, and on really long rides I have a PB sandwich mixed in. Just curious about the sodium ratio recommendation.

I'd like to address one of my running issues - the ball of my big toe (usually just the left foot but sometimes both) gets "hot" and/or feels like it's bruised. This feeling occurs pretty soon into the run (within 5-10  minutes).  First appeared at an Olympic in September.  No big deal for 6.2 miles....knowing I'd be running further I researched and invested in several shoe inserts with a "metatarsal bar" - I found one thru Specialized that seemed to work thru training (insert sold for cycling shoes but guy said he'd seen it used in running shoes with some success).  At FL 70.3 it came back but not as bad. But it's back with a vengeance. It's not painful and I can "deal" with it but I wondered if you'd heard of this and what else can I try?  Last resort IMHO would be a professional orthotic. 

Training tweak: looking ahead....IM week 10 ends on June 15th which is a 70.3 race I'm doing in Williamsburg, VA.  Obviously I'll need to taper just a bit, although appreciating that I'm training with the BIG race in August in mind and need to stay focused on that goal. Your thoughts now? or am I being too forward thinking and I just need to chill until we get closer to that week?

Finally - are these appropriate 'micro' thread questions or should they be 'macro'?  I don't necessarily want everyone jumping in with their two cents b/c that might be too much information at once....if you suggest they are group questions/issues, I'm glad to open it up.

My first bike ride on your plan (with intervals) went well.....I didn't quite make the 2x15 min mark, but I made a good run at it (more intervals at 3-5 minutes each).  I'll keep plugging away and will get there. 

Thanking you in advance for your time, KB 

Comments

  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Kay - thanks for reaching out to me. These row quick questions here although some of them could also be answered by the members I'm happy to do so.

    We usually recommend approximately 1000 mg of sodium in our across all sources. That is something that you should definitely test in your training to make sure it works but that's a target. The issue with low-sodium in Bonk Breaker bars is that they are harder to digest as a result. They're a great snack for the office, car, or even a regular ride. But on race day your body is in a much more sensitive place.

    I suggest you post your metatarsal question to the injury forum. My first line of thought would just to be let's make sure that your shoes of the proper size. Running shoes are naturally one size smaller than normal. So my dress shoes are 12s my running shoes are 13s. Please confirm that your running shoes are properly fit. After we understand what the fit is, I can certainly share my personal experience that it sounds like you do need some arch support. The pain you are experiencing is typically from too much movement or emphasis on that first metatarsal.

    We have general guidance on how to insert a race in the wiki. Under the self coaching section, there is a self coaching got there that you can read.

    I am happy to talk to the week before however, to understand where you are at from a physical perspective and how best modify the final days. Let me know!
  • kbaker1966kbaker1966
    Shoes are good - 1 size bigger than work shoes (that was the first thought by my ortho doc - the cycling shoes WERE too small so now I ride in a mens shoe - worked like a charm on the cycling feet falling asleep). I am now rolling my foot with a tennis ball and (knock on wood) the last 2 times I've run I've been able to sense the ball of the foot problem but it's not manifested itself into a really painful feeling. So I'm good for now.....once I add the miles it might come back and I'll check in with the group then.

    With my work/life schedule the way it is (crazy and very inconsistent), is it better to get the number of workouts in for each discipline, or is it better to do them when the schedule says do them and if I can't do it on those days then I just don't do them? For instance, last week b/c of work I couldn't ride on Tuesday so I rode Wednesday and Thursday (did the intervals both days). I also had company this weekend so I ran on Saturday instead of Sunday and although I was supposed to ride Sunday life got in the way and I didn't ride at all.

    I prefer to get all my workouts in for the week when I can, staying as true to the schedule as possible, but life just doesn't work that way all the time.

    Thanks, and is there a way to CC Rich so if these are more appropriate to him then he'll get them - at this point an email to him to get him up to speed would be time consuming.

    Thank you, Kay
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    Kay, thanks for the update. I love how you're adjusting to make things work. I am okay with you adjusting your week, we just want to make sure that you don't do it in such a way that it sets you back for future workouts. In other words, using your back-to-back bike intervals example, if that meant the next day you felt terrible and couldn't do your workout, it might be too much. In that case you might need a day off instead of trying to force the next workout.

    If it helps, use the color-coded system next to each workout to know which ones are the most important to accomplish for that week. That is the most important, followed by yellow, and green. In other words, we want you to get all those red workouts in for sure, and do your best to get the yellow ones as well. All the green ones are bonus time.

    Don't worry about Coach Rich, I usually bring him in when things are specific to him / I can't answer. :-)
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