Missing the saddle when you sit down is almost as bad as being in your knee into the handlebars. Ouch! Thank you so much for the update and I think even as subtle as the change Is, I think it will pay big dividends for you. That said, I am concerned about what it will mean for you to ride in a time travel position on your tribe bike. Step one is to get you riding without pain, but let's file that concern away.
Saying a triathlete is Quad DominiNant is like guessing that human beings breathe oxygen. You are already doing the good work on those glutes, so we move forward.
Are you prepared to make some adjustments for the run volumes building off of what you were able to do this week?
Yes, I started with 1/3 my previous weekly volume and I'll have 9 miles this week. I'd like to try 11 or so miles next week by running every-other-day. I am doing a 10/3 run/walk for now (trying to behave/be conservative).
From what the ortho said, I should have the MRI next week and I'll continue on unless there is a problem or I am told otherwise.
All of that sounds good. Remember if possible you should try and spend a few minutes on the bike in an easier just to get loose. I personally have found that helpful even though it can be logistically challenging.
@Janyne Kizer Holy cow that was a big weekend and a really solid run off the bike as well. At this point you already have the baseline weekly mileage required to complete your half Iron Man. The question is how does it feel? Let me know.
Thanks for checking on me. The return to run is going pretty well right now (fingers crossed) and I am not in any discomfort while I am running or afterwards.
I think that the dry needling in the iliopsoas was a turning point.
I've been running three times a week, always leaving a day between runs and increasing my weekly mileage. I've continued to run/walk to be very conservative -- especially after the failed return to run in January. I ran 11 miles last week and should be about 13 this week.
As you saw, I've continued to add bike volume to "make up" the reduced run volume.
So... After I did my bike this morning (1+ hr) and my run at lunch (4.5 miles), I went to see my ortho for the results of last week's MRI, fully expecting it to be a big nothing because I've continued to see improvement and I had a very positive visit with my PT yesterday. Instead, he walked in and said "partial meniscal tear." (I have a call in to his office to confirm exactly what he said because he didn't write it down for me and I didn't think to write it down at the time either.) We can leave it alone or scope it. The procedure would involve about three days on crutches and PT. I said, but my return to run has been going well. He said, you don't have to have a procedure done but if it's stopping you from doing the things that you want to do, call me.
I spoke with my PT afterwards (well, texted) and he said, "None of our provocative tests irritated it. Likely irritated with activity some which is why it feels like an annoyance. If it is small you aren’t likely to tear it but would just have a possibility of irritation. We can talk bracing possibilities but may not be necessary. The fact that things are still improving is a good thing!"
Annoyance is a good word. Mostly it doesn't bother me and when it does bother me in the past few weeks it's been between "I need a band aid" and "it's annoying."
I'm really unsure of how to proceed. Right now, an hour and a half after seeing the ortho, I'm leaning continue with this return-to-run and if that fails, schedule a procedure. Is that crazy? Are there other pros and cons that I should be considering?
UPDATE: Notes from ortho:
"MRI shows a posterior horn medial meniscal tear with some mild extrusion as well as some full-thickness damage at the trochlea
"Impression: Right knee medial meniscal tear with grade 4 lesion trochlea but returning to run program without much discomfort
Plan: Lengthy discussion we will allow her to continue to increase activities as tolerated if she gets to the point where things worsen she will give us a call and we will discuss arthroscopy."
@Janyne Kizer I think it's worth a shot to run without pain, but there are other considerations re the long term health of your knee and arthritis that should be on the table per the article below. I think you can run and if you are relieved of pain, we are good. But if the pain returns or never fades, then we make a decision (end of season?).
Thanks! I set up a call for Tuesday the 24th at 1:00.
Basically, MRI said meniscus. Discomfort is not there but in the MCL region. MCL is intact per MRI.
PT progress is more related to iliopsoas -- when that is working well, all else is working well.
I've been doing return-to-run (again) since Feb 1 or so. I'll have about 19 miles the week of March 16.
I would like to discuss:
return-to-run
pivoting as season looks uncertain. It seems inevitable that May races will be canceled/postponed. As I mentioned to you before, who would what to share port-o-johns with the masses at this point?
online bike fit. I had a fitting scheduled for my new road bike but it was covid-19 cancelled and I need help. I guess that's a post it in the forums. The bike fit was only canceled yesterday and just as I was typing, it occurred to me that the team could probably help me out some. I did not anticipate putting the new bike on the trainer (Kickr Snap) and I have ordered a through axle do dad so that I can at least mount it for photos.
@Janyne Kizer -- I am looking forward to our conversation. I think your return to run progress has been fantastic. We have to make sure not to get too greedy, building in a down week every once in a while so that you can recover. So 13 / 16 / 19 / 13 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 13, etc.
Yes to the macro level conversation. In all honesty, I hadn't even thought about the bathroom part but you are 100% right. And I'm so glad you said something because on my long run on Sunday I was totally tempted to use the Porta John down by the beach and then remembered your words. Not that when I see a Porta John I think of you, but you know what I mean! 🤣
We can absolutely do the minimum for you to help. I would definitely post it to the general discussion forum with some port of bike fit in the title as well as the tags so we can jump on it. Feel free to post the link here for me when you do get it up there and I'll take a look. Some people of had trouble in betting videos in the forms, but it requires uploading them to YouTube first, then pasting the link into the forum post and it will render.
@Janyne Kizer - I'm not surprised to hear that, but there's always an opportunity here if we can take it. I am assuming that your run is still progressing nicely in which case we can continue that build out and look for other places for you to get outside and have fun. I'm not sure how open you are to getting on the bike and doing some writing, but if that something that's amenable to you let me know. We can easily take advantage of some of this nicer weather to shake the legs out and build some nice base.
Besides, there's usually a really steep learning curve when it comes to moving outside and at least now you won't have any pressure to get it right the first time. I think I forget half of my tools, equipment, and helmet the first time I ride. I know you're much smarter than me but you'll definitely mess something up. What are you thinking?
Thanks for asking what I have in mind. Only 58.5 weeks until my A race! hahaha 🤣
I have some "pretend" events for the fall that I'd like to train for just in case. I don't need races for motivation so much as I need them for structure. I am happiest when I have some kind of training plan so having a race/event to plan around is helpful to me.
At this time I really don't see larger events being a sure thing until we have a vaccine. I'd love to be wrong about that!
My return to run is still returning (fingers crossed). My weekday rides are on Zwift with the structured workouts from the HIM plan. I've been trying to get outside on the weekend. Duration limited by lack of "amenities" but I can get in roughly three hours. I don't want to loop back home because going out of town keeps me out of traffic.
BIKE: I'm happy with how my OutSeason biking went and pleased with my FTP progress. I'd like to maintain /improve that. It'd like to do bike workouts during the week on Zwift and ride outside at least one day on the weekend. I'm gravel curious and I'd like to give that a whirl. sometime. I have to say, I'm kinda looking forward to being about to stop at convenience stores again!
I did actually listen to your bike adjustment podcast and what I heard you say is to
complete my current training plan in mid May
take one week of recovery. Should what should have been race week be the recovery week since there will clearly be no taper and no race?
six week quality interval plan with 4 rides per week (good habits: warm up, cadence variation, nutrition) << need more info about the six weeks. Do you mean [Specificity] Bike Focus Plan, All Abilities (6wks)? Was the podcast done before the PDF guidance? Should I do the six weeks of specificity or the 12 weeks of durability? Does it matter?
RUN: I'd like to continue to rebuild my run with the idea that a fall half marathon may be possible. I've been continuing with the run program that we discussed a few weeks ago (13 / 16 / 19 / 13 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 13, etc.)
So just continue with the return to run and hopefully by then I'll be "cleared" by my PT for intervals. Hopefully this timing will align well with whatever the next plan is.
---
To give myself some structure, I selected a few events to plan around. I'm not registered for them, just faking it ;-)
August 30 - BWR Asheville (wafer, 77 miles) - maybe not the best gravel event to start with though! I actually was hoping for this in 2021 after getting some gravel stuff under my belt. We'll see what happens.
Sept 13 - Local 100K ride (rescheduled from May)
October 24 - Ocean Isle Beach half marathon
Late October means the start of November OutSeason and it all begins again.
I could really use some guidance of the "where to go from here" category. Basically, what training plan to follow between now and the November OutSeason so that I'm training as opposed to just riding around on my bike.
I was thinking of skipping the "taper" for the HIM that I am not doing and replacing that with a recovery week (or just using the taper as a recovery week). That means that I should be starting a new plan on May 18.
I'd like to do something like a Grand Fondo plan to prep for a hilly Grand Fondo-type event (or maybe the century bike plan with the long rides knocked back to 75% or so).
I'd also like to continue my running.
I'm not sure what this looks like exactly.
Run update: I was able to see my PT in person last week and I am down to my glute med getting "stuck." My run is slow right now. I put that mostly down to a lack of run-specific fitness. Also, I have done zero in the way of interval training since mid-December. My "long" run is currently 7.5 miles. I've been cautious about increasing the length of any single run but I feel that I am making progress with regard to frequency. I am running without discomfort so that is good.
@Janyne Kizer - thanks for the update and for checking back in. Glad to hear that you were able to see your physical therapist and that we have narrowed things down to a single issue. That's a long way from where you were just a few weeks ago, and gives me hope. More importantly, we have you running consistently from a frequency perspective and the fact that most of it is without discomfort is huge.
I'm not worried at all about run speed right now. One speed is relative to your total system functionality. I think we can say with pretty good confidence that your system has not been functioning at 100% for a long time. So your potential for a run speed remains, but the path to get there will be different.
I'm gathering from your most recent update that the shift in focus has changed a bit more to be on the Fondo that it has the half marathon. I think this is a smart move. While cycling Fitness does not directly translate to run Fitness it is a good bridge to getting you back, keeping you lose, and promoting overall aerobic development.
In terms of actual action steps, I recommend that you stick with the current half plan all the way through the race weekend. The difference is, you won't raise but you can certainly get out there and do a nice long ride to celebrate the work you've done and to put a bow on it so we can move forward.
ndo which should be sufficient. How does that sound?
You have two options. The first is to follow the Century plan but modified for the fondue. The other option is to do our bike focus block which has intensity.
I prefer the bike focus block which is six weeks long as your primary methodology for dialing in your fitness with a focus on intensity versus just Volume.
That said, I don't want to force any single plan on you so if you have any preference, now is the time to speak up. You can preview both plans in Final Surge if you like to get a sense.
Happy Tuesday! I hope that you had a great Memorial Day!
I was so happy when you said that we can post our check-ins in the thread instead of in Final Surge. 😊 I like Final Surge and all but this feels more conversational to me.
I wrapped up the HIM training block just over a week ago and inserted a few weeks of the 80/20 maintenance plan (without swimming). I'm also doing a 30-day yoga challenge through The Sufferfest. I am on vacation next week and when we return, I plan to start the 5-Minute Hack plan. I need to give some thought to the cross training (really only bike and run are available to me) as well as the Sunday bike+long run (does not play well with North Carolina summers) but I'll figure something out. Maybe move add the 45 minutes on Sunday to the Saturday ride and do and easy bike or run on Wednesday. Anyway, it seems like it could be fun.
I'm still working from home as is my husband Kevin. He's a software developer for MetLife and I do support of NC State Extension -- mostly Zoom support and Eventbrite support. All of the events were canceled (no 4-H camps this year, etc.), replanned for online, and are now being re-replanned for social distancing. And of course Zoom support has been crazy.
Vacation, you ask? Yes, Kevin and I have a place near Asheville and we are going up there for a week to do riding and running and hiking. I plan to bring both my road bike and Cx bike. I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway or not but I should be able to do some nice riding. I definitely plan to see how I like forest roads for gravel riding.
Oh, I'm still in PT for the hip knee whatever. I was interested in what EB posted and I plan to bring her list (PSO-RITE, Sidekick tools, theragun) with me next time I see my PT. I wonder if the Pso-rite will help more than a softball to the psoas? I have not found that or a LAX ball helps much.
@Janyne Kizer - Yay! So excited to get your updates here. I like being able to access your feedback where ever it makes sense for you, but I do much better when I have the detailed information a forum post brings.
I love the idea of the mini break, and I think it will set you up well for the challenge is inherent in the five minute plan. Those are some great workouts! I think an easy cross training option for you would be finding some adventurous places to hike. It's easy to get carried away with swim bike and run, but I'm still a huge fan of off-road hiking. And your glutes will be too!
That's a lot of time at home, I hope you guys are making it work. It's important to remember the need to stand up and continue. When I'm working at home I find myself stationary for long periods of time and that's generally not a good thing.
Anything epic you guys can do while you're in Asheville would be great. Even just riding up to the parkway itself is a good work out, as you know. I think riding up there it's just good for the soul, FTP be damned. Soak it up!
hat a few times pre run will give you some insight as to what it feels like to actively keep your hips in a good position.
Of course now that I have said that, he will let me know that you've been doing that for so long you practically have a PhD in it. 🤣 maybe all tricks are new to an old dog like me.
@Janyne Kizer - sorry for that. I was just trying to say that if you do that action of getting your lower back to touch the wall that you're standing against, and then release and engage in release and then engage again, you will be able to maintain that engaged position when you run. A little proprioception if you will!!!
Vacation was great! I did some road riding and some gravel riding as along with a little hiking and running. I have a Cx bike that I used for the gravel and I'm exploring some more appropriate gearing options. The forest roads that I selected were climbs up to the Parkway. Nice reward at the top at least! I scouted three routes that I can hook together in the future.
Insert too many photos here 😂
Hike up John Rock in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard
Gravel ride up Wash Creek Road to the Parkway from North Mills River Rec Area.
Wash Creek Road
Fletcher Creek Road. Kevin flatted. Mills River, NC.
Bent Creek Gap Road to the Parkway. This is where I needed more gears. It's a Cx bike with typically cross bike gearing -- crankset from 46/36 and 11/32 cassette.
Then back to reality...
Erg mode gave me fits yesterday morning. As it turns out, my trainer tire was shredding and that was probably the main issue. There were little bits of rubber all over the floor when I was done.
I have a Kickr Snap. I do not have a dedicated pain cave and I set up in the living room. I wheel my bike in each day and set the whole thing up. It only takes five minutes or so but the set up/take down every day has me hesitating about getting a direct drive trainer.
Also, the trainer tire is only about six months old. boo! I've contacted my mechanic about a replacement and it should be in soon (he's a one-man shop and I'm trying to keep him in business by sending all bike stuff through him). I'll muddle through my Thursday ride and I'll be fine.
Hey, I wanted to post this little picture of your bike because it looked to me as though your saddle is kind of tilted up at the front. I've matched the lines to the same degree and highlighted the saddle so you can see. Just something for you to think about in case do you wanna make any changes. I'm not recommending anything, just wanted to let you know.
I agree that you'll definitely want some arguing, a user-friendly front ring would definitely help with that because the back ring is pretty solid. And I assume you're not trying to push 34 miles an hour on the flats!
I am so glad that you got out though the smile on your face is awesome and I'm sure the whole trip was just good for your soul.
I personally am not a fan of erg mode as it just gives me fits as well, even with a direct drive Trainer. It's certainly better, but it's not great. I'm constantly fighting it with my cadence and simply prefer to ride the workout with my own Wattage. It could be very well that that is what is prematurely hurting that rear tire, just a thought.
When you think about the direct drive, it's just like this. I am locked in, but the unit is moveable. It is about 30-40 lbs though...just heavy enough to be a bit unwieldy.
To make liFe easier, you should have a small dolly (like a square one) so you could pop it on top, in that open state, and roll it away to a corner. The bike can go on and off easily, you just need to keep the bike in a space where you can keep the rear wheel off. I hang mine up when I swap. Putting it on the trainer is just like pulling off the rear wheel to change a flat. Easy peasy.
This is my second week of of the 5 Minute Hack -- all week rain here in the Raleigh area so using the trainer is a good thing
My hopes for this year have always been to focus on bike improvement post-May. I wanted to do the Chattanooga 70.3 for fun and then ride my bike and run. I used to be a good cyclist and as I did more triathlon, that became less of a thing. I'd like to get at least some of that back. I was hoping to do some kind of fall running event this year but that was mostly an excuse to travel and I'm not terribly interested in most travel right now so that's fine.
I really miss group rides but I can get the work done riding solo. I wanted to get back in touch with some of my riding groups this year after years of solo tri training but that's doesn't seem likely at this point.
Gravel
Earlier this year, I mentioned that I was gravel-curious. As you know, I scouted some forest roads when I was in WNC two weeks ago and I'd like to hook them all together into a longer ride. I have my eye on another route as well. I hope to go up to WNC again for a week towards the end of July. I understand that the area has been crazy crowded on the weekends -- especially at trail heads -- so maybe I can hit the forest roads during the week and ride the roads or run on the weekend (not 276 from Brevard to the BRP, that would be crazy to do that on the weekend! When I was there last, I took the road bike up Bearwallow mountain which appears to be a local favorite. I saw two cars and two cyclists and the climb and descent. That's my kind of traffic!)
I'm going to see about changing the gearing on my Cx bike to be more gravel-appropriate. The 46/36 crankset chainrings with and 11-32 cassette isn't cutting it. I'll have my saddle checked at the same time. I realize that this does not address the geometry difference between cross bikes and gravel bikes but I think that I can still have a good time on it with a more gravel-like gearing.
I may replace the Cx bike with a gravel bike next year but that's not in the cards right now. Also, I need to do more research. I need to learn more about things like tires -- tire pressure and width and pattern, "suspension" like SRAM red shift versus Specialized Future Shock or neither, etc.
NC State this fall
I work at NC State University. I do not work with students but with cooperative extension. In fact, I "get to" sit in on a bunch of virtual 4-H camps next week. The 4-H group wants extra hands on deck to manage 300+ kids on the Zoom call. Woo hoo!
The university has announced that they will have students on campus this fall. I don't see how they are going to do that. It seems.... optimistic. Especially considering North Carolina's more recent cover numbers. 😕
Thanks for the update! I think that we can get you back to being a stronger cyclist, it just means falling in love with the word associated with those goals. In other words, becoming a better traveling is a large part about dealing with a certain level of chronic fatigue from managing all of the training sessions and making it work into your life. Being a better cyclist is much more focused. It is less time intensive, but the workouts are very intensive!
I could see a nice balance between the general sessions are doing indoors and the longer sessions outside. I am a huge fan of intermittent volume on the bike to create processable fatigue. Maybe not 276 miles, but you get the idea!
So encourage you to check out some of the espresso rides that we frequent. Or perhaps some women's racing. There's value in having you do a baseline endurance workout and then finish with a five or 10 minute best effort. Even if you weren't winning, put in that effort in at the end of the session is a great fitness builder. And generally speaking those training sessions have a lot more banter on Zwift and I are a great deal more fun!
I'm currently in week 5MH plan. We can discuss what plan I should move to after 5MH. I selected this plan because I thought that it would be a good idea to keep some running in the mix after working so hard on my run after my injury.
I guess my choices are
Do the other 6-week bike specificity plan
Do something with one of the century plans -- maybe the first bit and then transition to something else as we start to loose daylight and approach the November Outseason so that I can get my run on again? Or modify the century plan to include some run durability?
Ideally, I want to plan for running and biking but don't care about swimming (it's not my favorite) and may not care about tri beyond next May. I don't necessarily want a long course du plan though because the run and bike events would not be on the same day. In other words, not all running for a while and then all biking for a while but more of a shift in focus between the two.
For example (both fake events!):
FakeBWR Asheville on Aug 30
Fake half marathon in October
So I want to do enough running prior to FakeBWR to be able to get into half marathon shape in 6-7 weeks.
There don't seem to be a lot of training plans to use as a starting point this sort of thing though.
We are planning to head back out to WNC for a week again towards the end of July.
@Janyne Kizer - hey hey!!! Thanks for the post and your patience! I think that after you have done the 5MH plan (with an adventure trip!) that you are ready for a bit of a transition.
With your two target events in Aug 30 and October, the transition is pretty straightforward...we have 8 weeks now, and then 7 weeks...so 15 weeks to get run ready.
I would go Century plan for the bike and we add in the run for some love. If you load the bike plan, let me know and I'll overlay the other stuff for you....deal?
That said, I would like you to find some time for more of the bike volume. You love riding your bike and you live in a great place to do it. I almost feel like some of your weekend should be pretty unstructured so you can just get out and explore as long as work and weather allow it. How comfortable are you with doing that?
Comments
Missing the saddle when you sit down is almost as bad as being in your knee into the handlebars. Ouch! Thank you so much for the update and I think even as subtle as the change Is, I think it will pay big dividends for you. That said, I am concerned about what it will mean for you to ride in a time travel position on your tribe bike. Step one is to get you riding without pain, but let's file that concern away.
Saying a triathlete is Quad DominiNant is like guessing that human beings breathe oxygen. You are already doing the good work on those glutes, so we move forward.
Are you prepared to make some adjustments for the run volumes building off of what you were able to do this week?
Yes, I started with 1/3 my previous weekly volume and I'll have 9 miles this week. I'd like to try 11 or so miles next week by running every-other-day. I am doing a 10/3 run/walk for now (trying to behave/be conservative).
From what the ortho said, I should have the MRI next week and I'll continue on unless there is a problem or I am told otherwise.
All of that sounds good. Remember if possible you should try and spend a few minutes on the bike in an easier just to get loose. I personally have found that helpful even though it can be logistically challenging.
@Janyne Kizer Holy cow that was a big weekend and a really solid run off the bike as well. At this point you already have the baseline weekly mileage required to complete your half Iron Man. The question is how does it feel? Let me know.
Thanks for checking on me. The return to run is going pretty well right now (fingers crossed) and I am not in any discomfort while I am running or afterwards.
I think that the dry needling in the iliopsoas was a turning point.
I've been running three times a week, always leaving a day between runs and increasing my weekly mileage. I've continued to run/walk to be very conservative -- especially after the failed return to run in January. I ran 11 miles last week and should be about 13 this week.
As you saw, I've continued to add bike volume to "make up" the reduced run volume.
So... After I did my bike this morning (1+ hr) and my run at lunch (4.5 miles), I went to see my ortho for the results of last week's MRI, fully expecting it to be a big nothing because I've continued to see improvement and I had a very positive visit with my PT yesterday. Instead, he walked in and said "partial meniscal tear." (I have a call in to his office to confirm exactly what he said because he didn't write it down for me and I didn't think to write it down at the time either.) We can leave it alone or scope it. The procedure would involve about three days on crutches and PT. I said, but my return to run has been going well. He said, you don't have to have a procedure done but if it's stopping you from doing the things that you want to do, call me.
I spoke with my PT afterwards (well, texted) and he said, "None of our provocative tests irritated it. Likely irritated with activity some which is why it feels like an annoyance. If it is small you aren’t likely to tear it but would just have a possibility of irritation. We can talk bracing possibilities but may not be necessary. The fact that things are still improving is a good thing!"
Annoyance is a good word. Mostly it doesn't bother me and when it does bother me in the past few weeks it's been between "I need a band aid" and "it's annoying."
I'm really unsure of how to proceed. Right now, an hour and a half after seeing the ortho, I'm leaning continue with this return-to-run and if that fails, schedule a procedure. Is that crazy? Are there other pros and cons that I should be considering?
UPDATE: Notes from ortho:
"MRI shows a posterior horn medial meniscal tear with some mild extrusion as well as some full-thickness damage at the trochlea
"Impression: Right knee medial meniscal tear with grade 4 lesion trochlea but returning to run program without much discomfort
Plan: Lengthy discussion we will allow her to continue to increase activities as tolerated if she gets to the point where things worsen she will give us a call and we will discuss arthroscopy."
@Janyne Kizer I think it's worth a shot to run without pain, but there are other considerations re the long term health of your knee and arthritis that should be on the table per the article below. I think you can run and if you are relieved of pain, we are good. But if the pain returns or never fades, then we make a decision (end of season?).
Full link is here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508273/
Thanks for the advice and support. I'm seeing my PT again today and we'll discuss this further.
@Janyne Kizer type more or type less + talky? https://calendly.com/pmccrann/15min is the line...or let me know here!
~ Coach P
Thanks! I set up a call for Tuesday the 24th at 1:00.
Basically, MRI said meniscus. Discomfort is not there but in the MCL region. MCL is intact per MRI.
PT progress is more related to iliopsoas -- when that is working well, all else is working well.
I've been doing return-to-run (again) since Feb 1 or so. I'll have about 19 miles the week of March 16.
I would like to discuss:
Stay safe!
@Janyne Kizer -- I am looking forward to our conversation. I think your return to run progress has been fantastic. We have to make sure not to get too greedy, building in a down week every once in a while so that you can recover. So 13 / 16 / 19 / 13 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 13, etc.
Yes to the macro level conversation. In all honesty, I hadn't even thought about the bathroom part but you are 100% right. And I'm so glad you said something because on my long run on Sunday I was totally tempted to use the Porta John down by the beach and then remembered your words. Not that when I see a Porta John I think of you, but you know what I mean! 🤣
We can absolutely do the minimum for you to help. I would definitely post it to the general discussion forum with some port of bike fit in the title as well as the tags so we can jump on it. Feel free to post the link here for me when you do get it up there and I'll take a look. Some people of had trouble in betting videos in the forms, but it requires uploading them to YouTube first, then pasting the link into the forum post and it will render.
~ Coach P
Chattanooga 70.3 was postponed. I've deferred to next May so my schedule is pretty much freed up.
@Janyne Kizer - I'm not surprised to hear that, but there's always an opportunity here if we can take it. I am assuming that your run is still progressing nicely in which case we can continue that build out and look for other places for you to get outside and have fun. I'm not sure how open you are to getting on the bike and doing some writing, but if that something that's amenable to you let me know. We can easily take advantage of some of this nicer weather to shake the legs out and build some nice base.
Besides, there's usually a really steep learning curve when it comes to moving outside and at least now you won't have any pressure to get it right the first time. I think I forget half of my tools, equipment, and helmet the first time I ride. I know you're much smarter than me but you'll definitely mess something up. What are you thinking?
~ Coach P
Thanks for asking what I have in mind. Only 58.5 weeks until my A race! hahaha 🤣
I have some "pretend" events for the fall that I'd like to train for just in case. I don't need races for motivation so much as I need them for structure. I am happiest when I have some kind of training plan so having a race/event to plan around is helpful to me.
At this time I really don't see larger events being a sure thing until we have a vaccine. I'd love to be wrong about that!
My return to run is still returning (fingers crossed). My weekday rides are on Zwift with the structured workouts from the HIM plan. I've been trying to get outside on the weekend. Duration limited by lack of "amenities" but I can get in roughly three hours. I don't want to loop back home because going out of town keeps me out of traffic.
BIKE: I'm happy with how my OutSeason biking went and pleased with my FTP progress. I'd like to maintain /improve that. It'd like to do bike workouts during the week on Zwift and ride outside at least one day on the weekend. I'm gravel curious and I'd like to give that a whirl. sometime. I have to say, I'm kinda looking forward to being about to stop at convenience stores again!
I did actually listen to your bike adjustment podcast and what I heard you say is to
RUN: I'd like to continue to rebuild my run with the idea that a fall half marathon may be possible. I've been continuing with the run program that we discussed a few weeks ago (13 / 16 / 19 / 13 / 18 / 21 / 24 / 13, etc.)
---
To give myself some structure, I selected a few events to plan around. I'm not registered for them, just faking it ;-)
August 30 - BWR Asheville (wafer, 77 miles) - maybe not the best gravel event to start with though! I actually was hoping for this in 2021 after getting some gravel stuff under my belt. We'll see what happens.
Sept 13 - Local 100K ride (rescheduled from May)
October 24 - Ocean Isle Beach half marathon
Late October means the start of November OutSeason and it all begins again.
I could really use some guidance of the "where to go from here" category. Basically, what training plan to follow between now and the November OutSeason so that I'm training as opposed to just riding around on my bike.
I'm not sure what this looks like exactly.
Run update: I was able to see my PT in person last week and I am down to my glute med getting "stuck." My run is slow right now. I put that mostly down to a lack of run-specific fitness. Also, I have done zero in the way of interval training since mid-December. My "long" run is currently 7.5 miles. I've been cautious about increasing the length of any single run but I feel that I am making progress with regard to frequency. I am running without discomfort so that is good.
@Janyne Kizer - thanks for the update and for checking back in. Glad to hear that you were able to see your physical therapist and that we have narrowed things down to a single issue. That's a long way from where you were just a few weeks ago, and gives me hope. More importantly, we have you running consistently from a frequency perspective and the fact that most of it is without discomfort is huge.
I'm not worried at all about run speed right now. One speed is relative to your total system functionality. I think we can say with pretty good confidence that your system has not been functioning at 100% for a long time. So your potential for a run speed remains, but the path to get there will be different.
I'm gathering from your most recent update that the shift in focus has changed a bit more to be on the Fondo that it has the half marathon. I think this is a smart move. While cycling Fitness does not directly translate to run Fitness it is a good bridge to getting you back, keeping you lose, and promoting overall aerobic development.
In terms of actual action steps, I recommend that you stick with the current half plan all the way through the race weekend. The difference is, you won't raise but you can certainly get out there and do a nice long ride to celebrate the work you've done and to put a bow on it so we can move forward.
ndo which should be sufficient. How does that sound?
~ Coach P
That sounds fine. Complete the current plan. Take the week of the 18th as a recovery week. Start a new plan the week of May 25th.
My question for you is what new plan?
:) OK, I hear you especially with the bold font.
You have two options. The first is to follow the Century plan but modified for the fondue. The other option is to do our bike focus block which has intensity.
I prefer the bike focus block which is six weeks long as your primary methodology for dialing in your fitness with a focus on intensity versus just Volume.
That said, I don't want to force any single plan on you so if you have any preference, now is the time to speak up. You can preview both plans in Final Surge if you like to get a sense.
~ Coach P
haha! Thanks Coach!
I wasn't trying to yell, just trying to draw your attention the specifics so that you could weed through the cruft ;-)
No worries! ALL CAPS is yelling... But honestly some times I need help like that. Thank you for understanding me as a coach. 👍
~ Coach P
Happy Tuesday! I hope that you had a great Memorial Day!
I was so happy when you said that we can post our check-ins in the thread instead of in Final Surge. 😊 I like Final Surge and all but this feels more conversational to me.
I wrapped up the HIM training block just over a week ago and inserted a few weeks of the 80/20 maintenance plan (without swimming). I'm also doing a 30-day yoga challenge through The Sufferfest. I am on vacation next week and when we return, I plan to start the 5-Minute Hack plan. I need to give some thought to the cross training (really only bike and run are available to me) as well as the Sunday bike+long run (does not play well with North Carolina summers) but I'll figure something out. Maybe move add the 45 minutes on Sunday to the Saturday ride and do and easy bike or run on Wednesday. Anyway, it seems like it could be fun.
I'm still working from home as is my husband Kevin. He's a software developer for MetLife and I do support of NC State Extension -- mostly Zoom support and Eventbrite support. All of the events were canceled (no 4-H camps this year, etc.), replanned for online, and are now being re-replanned for social distancing. And of course Zoom support has been crazy.
Vacation, you ask? Yes, Kevin and I have a place near Asheville and we are going up there for a week to do riding and running and hiking. I plan to bring both my road bike and Cx bike. I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway or not but I should be able to do some nice riding. I definitely plan to see how I like forest roads for gravel riding.
Oh, I'm still in PT for the hip knee whatever. I was interested in what EB posted and I plan to bring her list (PSO-RITE, Sidekick tools, theragun) with me next time I see my PT. I wonder if the Pso-rite will help more than a softball to the psoas? I have not found that or a LAX ball helps much.
@Janyne Kizer - Yay! So excited to get your updates here. I like being able to access your feedback where ever it makes sense for you, but I do much better when I have the detailed information a forum post brings.
I love the idea of the mini break, and I think it will set you up well for the challenge is inherent in the five minute plan. Those are some great workouts! I think an easy cross training option for you would be finding some adventurous places to hike. It's easy to get carried away with swim bike and run, but I'm still a huge fan of off-road hiking. And your glutes will be too!
That's a lot of time at home, I hope you guys are making it work. It's important to remember the need to stand up and continue. When I'm working at home I find myself stationary for long periods of time and that's generally not a good thing.
Anything epic you guys can do while you're in Asheville would be great. Even just riding up to the parkway itself is a good work out, as you know. I think riding up there it's just good for the soul, FTP be damned. Soak it up!
hat a few times pre run will give you some insight as to what it feels like to actively keep your hips in a good position.
Of course now that I have said that, he will let me know that you've been doing that for so long you practically have a PhD in it. 🤣 maybe all tricks are new to an old dog like me.
@Coach Patrick - I missed what you were getting at with the warm up?
hat a few times pre run will give you some insight as to what it feels like to actively keep your hips in a good position.
Have a great weekend!
@Janyne Kizer - sorry for that. I was just trying to say that if you do that action of getting your lower back to touch the wall that you're standing against, and then release and engage in release and then engage again, you will be able to maintain that engaged position when you run. A little proprioception if you will!!!
Vacation was great! I did some road riding and some gravel riding as along with a little hiking and running. I have a Cx bike that I used for the gravel and I'm exploring some more appropriate gearing options. The forest roads that I selected were climbs up to the Parkway. Nice reward at the top at least! I scouted three routes that I can hook together in the future.
Insert too many photos here 😂
Hike up John Rock in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard
Gravel ride up Wash Creek Road to the Parkway from North Mills River Rec Area.
Wash Creek Road
Fletcher Creek Road. Kevin flatted. Mills River, NC.
Bent Creek Gap Road to the Parkway. This is where I needed more gears. It's a Cx bike with typically cross bike gearing -- crankset from 46/36 and 11/32 cassette.
Then back to reality...
Erg mode gave me fits yesterday morning. As it turns out, my trainer tire was shredding and that was probably the main issue. There were little bits of rubber all over the floor when I was done.
I have a Kickr Snap. I do not have a dedicated pain cave and I set up in the living room. I wheel my bike in each day and set the whole thing up. It only takes five minutes or so but the set up/take down every day has me hesitating about getting a direct drive trainer.
Also, the trainer tire is only about six months old. boo! I've contacted my mechanic about a replacement and it should be in soon (he's a one-man shop and I'm trying to keep him in business by sending all bike stuff through him). I'll muddle through my Thursday ride and I'll be fine.
Hey, I wanted to post this little picture of your bike because it looked to me as though your saddle is kind of tilted up at the front. I've matched the lines to the same degree and highlighted the saddle so you can see. Just something for you to think about in case do you wanna make any changes. I'm not recommending anything, just wanted to let you know.
I agree that you'll definitely want some arguing, a user-friendly front ring would definitely help with that because the back ring is pretty solid. And I assume you're not trying to push 34 miles an hour on the flats!
I am so glad that you got out though the smile on your face is awesome and I'm sure the whole trip was just good for your soul.
I personally am not a fan of erg mode as it just gives me fits as well, even with a direct drive Trainer. It's certainly better, but it's not great. I'm constantly fighting it with my cadence and simply prefer to ride the workout with my own Wattage. It could be very well that that is what is prematurely hurting that rear tire, just a thought.
When you think about the direct drive, it's just like this. I am locked in, but the unit is moveable. It is about 30-40 lbs though...just heavy enough to be a bit unwieldy.
To make liFe easier, you should have a small dolly (like a square one) so you could pop it on top, in that open state, and roll it away to a corner. The bike can go on and off easily, you just need to keep the bike in a space where you can keep the rear wheel off. I hang mine up when I swap. Putting it on the trainer is just like pulling off the rear wheel to change a flat. Easy peasy.
Good luck thursday!
~ Coach P
This is my second week of of the 5 Minute Hack -- all week rain here in the Raleigh area so using the trainer is a good thing
My hopes for this year have always been to focus on bike improvement post-May. I wanted to do the Chattanooga 70.3 for fun and then ride my bike and run. I used to be a good cyclist and as I did more triathlon, that became less of a thing. I'd like to get at least some of that back. I was hoping to do some kind of fall running event this year but that was mostly an excuse to travel and I'm not terribly interested in most travel right now so that's fine.
I really miss group rides but I can get the work done riding solo. I wanted to get back in touch with some of my riding groups this year after years of solo tri training but that's doesn't seem likely at this point.
Gravel
Earlier this year, I mentioned that I was gravel-curious. As you know, I scouted some forest roads when I was in WNC two weeks ago and I'd like to hook them all together into a longer ride. I have my eye on another route as well. I hope to go up to WNC again for a week towards the end of July. I understand that the area has been crazy crowded on the weekends -- especially at trail heads -- so maybe I can hit the forest roads during the week and ride the roads or run on the weekend (not 276 from Brevard to the BRP, that would be crazy to do that on the weekend! When I was there last, I took the road bike up Bearwallow mountain which appears to be a local favorite. I saw two cars and two cyclists and the climb and descent. That's my kind of traffic!)
I'm going to see about changing the gearing on my Cx bike to be more gravel-appropriate. The 46/36 crankset chainrings with and 11-32 cassette isn't cutting it. I'll have my saddle checked at the same time. I realize that this does not address the geometry difference between cross bikes and gravel bikes but I think that I can still have a good time on it with a more gravel-like gearing.
I may replace the Cx bike with a gravel bike next year but that's not in the cards right now. Also, I need to do more research. I need to learn more about things like tires -- tire pressure and width and pattern, "suspension" like SRAM red shift versus Specialized Future Shock or neither, etc.
NC State this fall
I work at NC State University. I do not work with students but with cooperative extension. In fact, I "get to" sit in on a bunch of virtual 4-H camps next week. The 4-H group wants extra hands on deck to manage 300+ kids on the Zoom call. Woo hoo!
The university has announced that they will have students on campus this fall. I don't see how they are going to do that. It seems.... optimistic. Especially considering North Carolina's more recent cover numbers. 😕
Thanks for the update! I think that we can get you back to being a stronger cyclist, it just means falling in love with the word associated with those goals. In other words, becoming a better traveling is a large part about dealing with a certain level of chronic fatigue from managing all of the training sessions and making it work into your life. Being a better cyclist is much more focused. It is less time intensive, but the workouts are very intensive!
I could see a nice balance between the general sessions are doing indoors and the longer sessions outside. I am a huge fan of intermittent volume on the bike to create processable fatigue. Maybe not 276 miles, but you get the idea!
So encourage you to check out some of the espresso rides that we frequent. Or perhaps some women's racing. There's value in having you do a baseline endurance workout and then finish with a five or 10 minute best effort. Even if you weren't winning, put in that effort in at the end of the session is a great fitness builder. And generally speaking those training sessions have a lot more banter on Zwift and I are a great deal more fun!
Keep me posted on the gearing!
~ Coach P
I'm currently in week 5MH plan. We can discuss what plan I should move to after 5MH. I selected this plan because I thought that it would be a good idea to keep some running in the mix after working so hard on my run after my injury.
I guess my choices are
Ideally, I want to plan for running and biking but don't care about swimming (it's not my favorite) and may not care about tri beyond next May. I don't necessarily want a long course du plan though because the run and bike events would not be on the same day. In other words, not all running for a while and then all biking for a while but more of a shift in focus between the two.
For example (both fake events!):
So I want to do enough running prior to FakeBWR to be able to get into half marathon shape in 6-7 weeks.
There don't seem to be a lot of training plans to use as a starting point this sort of thing though.
We are planning to head back out to WNC for a week again towards the end of July.
@Janyne Kizer - hey hey!!! Thanks for the post and your patience! I think that after you have done the 5MH plan (with an adventure trip!) that you are ready for a bit of a transition.
With your two target events in Aug 30 and October, the transition is pretty straightforward...we have 8 weeks now, and then 7 weeks...so 15 weeks to get run ready.
I would go Century plan for the bike and we add in the run for some love. If you load the bike plan, let me know and I'll overlay the other stuff for you....deal?
That said, I would like you to find some time for more of the bike volume. You love riding your bike and you live in a great place to do it. I almost feel like some of your weekend should be pretty unstructured so you can just get out and explore as long as work and weather allow it. How comfortable are you with doing that?
~ Coach P