Stephanie Weldon-micro
Hey Coach P-
Post IMTX recovery mode is on. HAVE NOT run. Starting to get back to teaching my classes but very carefully. I feel good physically but mentally been up and down. Sleeping and napping as much as possible. I think we should talk but I suppose I should finish and post a race report first. I'm terrible at those but will try to do that this weekend. Maybe we can chat next week ? Let me know where I go from here because my plan stopped with TX. Thank you. ??
-Stephanie.
Post IMTX recovery mode is on. HAVE NOT run. Starting to get back to teaching my classes but very carefully. I feel good physically but mentally been up and down. Sleeping and napping as much as possible. I think we should talk but I suppose I should finish and post a race report first. I'm terrible at those but will try to do that this weekend. Maybe we can chat next week ? Let me know where I go from here because my plan stopped with TX. Thank you. ??
-Stephanie.
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Ups and downs is 100% normal. Some folks look at it like "a day" but it's really a "six month training journey + a day" and your body knows it.
Now if you are hiding from work, friends and The Sun, well...that's another issue.
Looking forward to our call!!!
~ Coach P
Thank you so much for the post-race IMTX/regroup-for-next-part-of-season call last week. I always feel super motivated and inspired after we talk. So looking at Vineman I downloaded the 12 week Full-Minimalist plan. Looked at it with my teaching schedule. I really like the plan but I just need to bump the entire plan back a day. Friday long day. Saturday double run. Etc.
***Is that ok to bump the schedule back a day?
I think I forgot to mention I'm going to Alaska 6/16-6/28. I will be able to swim part of that time at the hotel. 7 of those days I'll be on a small boat that has bike and treadmill but no pool (it's a small small boat !! Like super small!!). Anyway....I should be able to get a lot in with ample running/hiking, biking/paddleboarding and napping that week. ?? No kids and super flexible schedule. absolutely ZERO classes for 13 days. Talk about a break!! Yay yay yay!!!
*****Ok so time will be permitting so I was thinking of just biking a bit more during my trip. Is that an ok idea? Or should I just let my body have a little more rest time?
Last question is in regards to the type of bike rides I need to be doing for a course such as Vineman. I have zero real hills or mountains to train on here at home. We have some rolling hills but nothing significant. I use the trainer a lot regardless.
****Do I need to change the bike ride profiles at all or stick with what's in the minimalist plan in order to prepare for Vineman bike terrain?
Thanks !!!
Steph ??
Great to chat to you as well. You are such an inspiration!!!
Bumping the plan back a day is PERFECT. I personally love my "sunday" swims...I am done early and have plenty of family time.
Re your trip, I want you to get something solid aerobic in every day. Minimum 30 mins, maximum 60'. Could be alternating days. I want you to enjoy trip, the no classes and even some sleeping in. Sounds like your free time will be very active so you should be ready to have fun there too. Enjoy it!
Re the hills, you could certainly dial things back a bit on the trainer...I don't know your bike set up / technology...but I bet if you post it to the General Discussion Forums asking for Hill Simulation advice, you'll get some great tips!
Ok IMVineman done. Mission accomplished. Minimalist plan work great as a segue between TX and VM and I feel pretty good. Brief recap of race:
Swim-PRd from 4 years ago by 16 min. Focus was on form and solid pull.
Bike-held way back loop 1. Loop 2 good and steady. Mild crash at mile 101 on a turn. I caught to curb and luckily was able to get going again. Road rash & a little sore in left knee but not major.
Run- challenging. I just tried to stay steady. heat and 2nd loop the hardest. Had a little weird emotional moment on second loop but got head back in game and keep "12 minute rock-star pace". Even that slow I was passing tons of folks and that gave me a bit of boost on 3rd lap. Pleased with "C" race effort.
Post race-tight hamstrings/quads (normal), knee and road rash sore but tolerable, able to walk easy these past few days. Nothing major.
Heading back to Mississippi today. ?? Suggestions for transition. Next up IMCHOO.
Great job out there considering the fatigue and the minor crash. I'm glad you are okay and I hope your bike is too ( Hint, get it checked out!).
With Chattanooga you have a bit more time. Honestly I like these first two weeks to be focused on some pretty hard-core recovery. Like days off recovery. Like sleeping in recovery. Or at least laying in bed watching TV recovering.
The better you can go deep with recovery now in these two weeks, the more you'll be able to do to get ready for race day.
That said, you don't have a ton that you need to do. You are fit, and strong. We need to make sure that your sharp again for Chattanooga.
When you get a chance, please send me a note with what your goals are for the race and we can go from there.
Ok so 8 weeks basically until CHOO. I only have 1 goal outside of finishing without injury and that is to feel prepared for hills on back half of run loops.
Thanks!
I feel insanely good. Been sleeping well. Using recovery boots. Getting one nap a day. Massage schedule for Friday. Just some light walking and biking. Is it possible for me to jump into week 5 of the 12 week beginner or intermediate minimalist plan on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Other plan recommendation? I kind of felt like last weekend was more like a good race rehearsal and am just wondering how best to use these next 7 1/2 weeks. I see a lot of the CHOO folks are at Camp this weekend. What do you recommend? My road rash still looks bad but doesn't hurt. Left knee is good. Bike should be back from TBT next week too. I feel ready to go and am getting stir crazy.
Thanks!
Or to put it in weightlifting terms, after just doing 150 lb bench press 10x for a personal best, you are coming to me saying, I am ready, when I can I start training to do a 150 lb bench press 10x?!! And I'm like...ummmmm...you just did that?
With 7.25 weeks to CHOO, you should pick one thing to work on for that race...is it bike / swim / run / what? That helps prioritize sessions.
I say yes to the Beginner IM plan, but this weekend I say that you go ahead and just do two easy aerobic rides....say 90' to 120' range...let's see how you feel with some time in your legs!
Weekend was a huge success! Lots of rest and two good rides as prescribed Saturday & Sunday. My TriBike isn't back from CA so I just rode outdoors on my fat tire. It was great!
So I thought a lot about just picking one thing to focus on these few weeks. I think that focus is going to be running on tired legs. I'm going to try to schedule enough time on bike/run days to do it all as one brick workout. Usually I've split it up or dropped the run due to classes. The schedule adjustment also means for the next few weeks cutting back on classes taught. That's a huge deal for me but I think will help me stay injury free and much less fatigued. Is this a focus that makes sense and would be beneficial? I'm not sure if I can even do it or sustain it. What do you think? Today is a swim day. Yay!! ??
+ better tracking of HR to make sure you are in alignment with race day expectations.
+ better nutrition around ride then run (to simulate race day).
+ better post workout recovery given larger single day dose of training stress.
I think that this late in the season you are better off cutting back the multiple classes to protect your body. But remember you don't need to just run long..it's about frequent running too...so you can still get in a 35 mile week with 5 x 7 mile runs vs 2 x 14 and 1 x 7, etc. At this point you don't NEED to get in big long runs given your training and recent racing!
It's been 3 weeks since Vineman and its 6 weeks until CHOO. We had decided to focus on my run frequency, dialing into to HR zones, reevaluating nutrition on the bike and lots of post workout recovery. I feel like last week was great in all of those areas. I did drop an hour of bike Saturday & 1/2 swim Friday due to work.
My question revolves around this weekend's race rehearsal. should I do this week as prescribed or should I do a modification based on my willy-wonka schedule. I don't mind trying to get it in (or as much of it as I can). Just wanting to know what's best. Thanks.
Stephanie W.
Thank you so much for checking in! I think you should plan on doing a long ride, but it doesn't have to be 112 miles. You can just get in six hours and ideally on the flattest course you can possibly muster. You simply don't need the added training stress of the hills unless you can't get away from them.
I still want you to be careful with the run, as that is where the real fatigue is. So plan on biking and swimming as prescribed this week but still keep the run frequency up to achieve your mileage target versus "just" a long run.
Feel free to write down your planned weekend schedule here and I can give you feedback on it.
I forgot to mention that this week I already cut 3 fitness classes (2 strength/1 cardio) in order to prep for weekend.
Ok here's my gameplan:
Wednesday-swim/run per schedule
Thursday-do Fridays swim/Thursday run
Friday- bike 4:30-8:30, teach 8:45-9:30, bike 9:45-11:45. Then drive to Nashville (6.5 hr drive) for work trip. That's gonna be tough. Checkin hotel. Dinner. Short run 45-60 mins depending on mental state.
YES, this should be filed under EPIC forum or a new forum I call "Stupid things athletes try to do". We'll see how it goes.
Saturday- bike 90 minutes before work conference. Bike 2 hours after conference/30 min run. Dinner will be in there somewhere.
Sunday-i think I'm going to be pretty whooped so shooting for 60 min run before conference day 2. Drive home from Nashville.
Luckily a couple of things:
1.) I can sleep a lot these next two days.
2.) I enjoy driving and it's not stressful for me.
3.) the weekend conference will be physically exhausting but mentally, emotionally and spiritually uplifting & motivating !! No kids, no spouse no home responsibilities. Every morsel of the weekend is stuff I choose and want to do.
I will totally listen to my body, hydrate & eat well, and get to bed at reasonable times.
That's the plan. ??????
I know its a crazy busy time for you guys so just know this is not a high priority message. Just checking in!
First of all things are G-R-E-A-T!!!! 2016 Mission accomplished...I got my Kona Legacy qualification # of races and avoided injury! Those where my two main goals. Not only did I accomplish those two things I had a BLAST this whole season. Loved going to races and being a part of the TEAM! By far made racing so much more enjoyable. I've met so many great folks and learned so much. I've also learned that a thousand athletes can do things a thousand ways but I have to learn to trust my coaches and myself. Its been a great confidence building year in that respect. By sticking to the minimalist plans, being super careful with the classes I teach, building in lots of recovery and really listening to my body I had a great mental year. Performance-wise not my fastest times but I'm so ok with that considering I did 4 freakin' fulls! I can't even believe it in retrospect. I'm starting to feel like a BA. haha
Most importantly now my application for KONA 2017 Legacy is IN! Whoot Whoot!! Filling that in made me cry....all of the work....all of the folks behind each race. Just so huge....
I don't know if you remember but my father has stage 3 cancer which has metastasized into a few areas outside his prostate. He's doing well and is in holding pattern. He's able to travel right now and we hope things stay on course. He is my #1 fan/cheerleader and might be able to come to IMLP with me in July. My hope is that I get chosen for Kona as soon as possible and his health holds on so that he can go. We will just take things as they come.
ok...so as for me as an athlete post IMFLA been super. November and into December been working on body composition/nutrition and rest. I'd was not at ideal racing weight this season and with all my strength classes Id bulked up. Got up to 147 but now down to 139 and still chipping away at it. 135 is a good goal weight for me. Noticeable happy difference. Right now I'm trying to maintain through holidays. Very tough but using the Lose It app per Coach R suggestion has helped.
Trying to maintain strength and speed while losing. Not lifting or teaching as many strength classes as I was in the first 3/4 of the year and feel a huge happy difference. I've been scheduling more sleep and that's been a huge happy thang!!!!!
Running is going great. I changed shoes which have CHANGED MY LIFE!! Well...at least my toes' life. haha! Running in Altra Torins. I bought a pair on sale in Chattanooga and from the moment I put them on I fell back in love with running again. I've been plagued by blister problems and finally i have a shoe that doesn't blister me AT ALL. It's amazing. I always wanted my legs to give out before my feet. Well I've finally got the right shoe that is making that happen. haha! Wore them for IMFLA marathon and had a PR marathon by 10 minutes over prior year.
So run durability is ROCKIN'. I'm easily getting the prescribed workouts in...and have time to run more. I did a local race last week as my long run and PR'd for that distance (half mary 1:47:28....6 minutes shaved off) and placed 1st in my age group. I've got my 2017 roadmap established through July which includes: March bike camp/Rev3 quassy/IMLP.
My number one thing right now that I'm working on is understanding power. I've started going through all the wiki resources and listening to your podcast now on power. I feel overwhelmed and like an idiot about all this stuff and sometimes I feel like my head is about to explode. I really do wonder if I have the headspace to be a techie. MERCY!! But I'm trying. I have some $$ to spend on gear/equipment and I want to use it towards power meter or pedals. Honestly I don't know what I need. My goal is to use these next couple of weeks of December to focus physically on running but mentally wrapping my brain around the power issue. I know in my heart I love to see numbers go up. I know that it WILL motivate me to work harder or to just not slack off during workouts. And most importantly I KNOW that the bike is the discipline I have the MOST room for improvement (cut time off my race)!!! I just have to take the time to study and figure it out.
So that's kind of an update. Family is doing great and we are all looking forward to pleasant low-key holiday. Merry Christmas to you and your family up north! Thanks for a great 2016!!
Stephanie
My advice with power is to kick it off with Trainer Road on your indoor rides...get it synced via your garmin to Strava or training peaks if you have that...and then we can see more / learn more. You don't need a PM for open road to be your best just yet (you have a few months).
And we can totally get you started out right with power..I think Coach Rich needs to rewrite the approach for newbies. Let me know re Trainer Road and we can go from there!
~ Coach P
~ Coach P
Quick questions:
1. Strava-signed on, now part of Team EN, been posting workouts. My question is do you want me to post ALL of my workouts (s/b/r AND core AND classes I teach)? Is that information necessary and/or helpful to you? I don't want to bog down Strava if not.
#2 I signed up for trainer road and paired up what I could. Seems like trainer road reads me a few mph slower than I am outdoors. Is this normal? I had to flip my bike & run days due to the holiday. I didn't feel particularly fatigued yesterday and my heart rate was in z3-4 but the work was just not reflecting effort. Is that just fatigue? Feeling good this morning, did Core & taught class. This is where I get a little lost wondering if I've set my equipment up correctly. Please advise.
Hope you and the family had a nice Christmas !
Thanks so much for signing up excavation point I'm going to become your friend on Strava right now.:-) I only want to see the workouts you do, You don't need to add and everything else like core or classes.
Don't worry about the actual speed of what Trina Road renders your workouts. It's a slight blow to the ego, for actually looking for a better workout! Sounds like from your heart rate that we are achieving that despite the external numbers not reflecting it. For some reason, I am always slower on the trainer so don't let it get you down.
I personally just like to think of myself as having two different personalities: my indoor one and my outdoor one!
And yay I'm glad I don't have to add classes to Strava. I think Everyone else will be glad too !!!
Oh and I got a couple new books for Christmas: a new training log, a book on power meters and one on nutrition for triathletes. My husband also go me a book on decluttering and organizing. I think the latter will be my focus for January!!!! Haha!
Happy New Year!!
~ Coach P