@ Nemo - can you send me Joe's number, I think i need to talk to him see how he managed that.....
HA HA HA! I wouldn't recommend it. I think he was going for the family record (previously held by his brother at 7 years. It helps significantly when you start dating at a young age
Sending good thoughts to Al today for a successful surgery and quick recovery.
@Al- good luck with the surgery today, I', sure you'll be chompin' away in no time! Looking forward to hearing your wisdom again once you are back at it!
@Al - Good luck with surgery. And last time I was under anesthesia I understand that I was singing the Village People's YMCA song . . . .loudly.
Glad to see a lot of action in here the past few days. I get immediate emails of these thread posts and my phone seemed to be pinging all day with messages from this group. Very good juju as I was taking down all the outside Christmas stuff which takes a big chunk of the day. FYI - On my street they call me Griswold.
@All: In case you aren't aware, the JOS group section is starting to get some traction. Does anyone know how to actually "subscribe" to a thread there? Or do I need to ping tech support to fix that like the pics issue?
Went out for the Pre-OS week four 45 minute run at Z2 this morning. Legs not there, energy not there, attitude not there. One of those days, I guess. Avg'd 9:11 that included several short walk sessions. So was more like easy Z1 run.
@ John, with your attitude and positive mojo goin you will be absolutely fine! Its just a warm up.............no worries mate. Happy New Year! Cheers, Greg
You'll be fine John, good to see you're totally positive about it, love that about you. I feel like shit too but after a 2.5 week illness, I'm allowed. Got in run 2 this week today and did not feel as good as I did yesterday. A touch sore, joints stiff, wish I could get a blood plasma transfusion to get me back to par!!!
catching up... miss a few days and there are lots of "new" folks... cool!
@Al - thinking of you, hope it went well this morning!
@John - I thought the same thing when I saw 3x5s on for yesterday and only 45 minutes running today... I'm still trying to figure out the nuances of the Joule and reading the charts... and since I don't have a watts goal I try to keep my cadence up and my HR in the right zone... since I tacked on a few lbs during Christmas, hitting my HR was easier than it shudda been.
@Hasan - FWIW, I don't know if I'd want an alien proposing to me... but then again, it would certainly be interesting!
My pain cave is my living room (small condo) - so I will stare longingly at your pictures wishing i had a dedicated space.
Back from surgery... 3hours ... Still breathing, but that's about it. Ignore any advice, comments from me next 72-96 hours... It'll just be the percocet or vicodin talking!
Back from surgery... 3hours ... Still breathing, but that's about it. Ignore any advice, comments from me next 72-96 hours... It'll just be the percocet or vicodin talking!
Back from surgery... 3hours ... Still breathing, but that's about it. Ignore any advice, comments from me next 72-96 hours... It'll just be the percocet or vicodin talking!
Oh, this could be fun:
Al - What's the meaning of life?
OK, I'll start with the easy one first: DNA is the most powerful force on the planet.
Al - What is my future destiny?
To quote the Firesign Theater boys about the future: "Live it, or live with it" (From I Think We're all Bozos on This Bus.) Meaning, of course, create your own, or have it rained down on you.
Al - Should I buy GM stock?
My next car will be a Volt, and I haven't bought American since my '85 Chrysler Laser. And that was only because the company would only pay for UAW constructed vehicles. Seriously. (Before that, it was a '66 Dodge Charger - VROOM VROOM.)
Starting the OS (Beginner) on 1/3. Going to start training by HR, but am susceptible to being convinced that becoming a power peep is the way to go. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's successes.
...Starting the OS (Beginner) on 1/3. Going to start training by HR, but am susceptible to being convinced that becoming a power peep is the way to go. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's successes.
Welcome, David!
Several arguments for a PM:
Economic: Probably the same as you are paying EN for a year, and equally valuable.
Time efficiency: A PM enables you to spend LESS time training AND racing. Also, being in EN, with all the knowledge of the coaches and crew here, the learning curve is way shorter.
Geek factor: you're already a cyclist, so you must have some inclincation to wallow in data. PMs provde an exponential boost to that.
Bottom line, for me at least: You WILL go faster in an HIM or IM with a PM.
have been eating too much and working out too little. Last weekend i had three hard days of downhill skiing in and am coming up on another three this weekend. Monday i will be hitting it hard again!!!
@ Scott, i am right there with you brother........up 7 pounds from IMAZ already! Have fun skiing and look forward to hearing about your adventures in the Jan OS haus of pain!
Without equivocation power is the way to go, it produces un refutable evidence of "work".........ok, that is my lawyer speak! I am a marine biologist who now is a full time desk jockey and have to read a ton of lawyer crap...................
Ok, my 1.5 cents worth on power. I started training for my first HIM in 07 and did IMLP in 2008 without power. I was uncertain about the ROI on making such a purchase because I didn't want to spend the money and thought I did "ok" in my first IM. I then signed up for team EN drank the koolaid and bought a power meter. It is an awesome piece of equipment for multiple reasons.
keeps you honest and helps you push yourself.
IM training is a lonely proposition 99% of the time and having the power meter is like a companion in long term relationship.........you can read into that as you may.........LOLOLOL
it is real time, there is no lag in results like you get with HR
HR training can be affected by sleep, nutrition and stress from life giving you elevated HR's sometimes when you may not really be working at the optimim level according to the work out
puts quantative data against qualitative results; meaning that sometimes you may think you are working hard based on "feel" and HR and when looking down at the power meter you quickly realize that you really are not working at the level you are supposed to. It also keeps you in check to make sure you have a high quality workout; on the long rides it keeps you going according to plan and prevents you from burning up to much energy early in the workout.
EN is about quality and not quantity. Power lets you realize the gain through the zone workouts and power allows you to monitor your level of output in real time to maximize the interval training.
it provides quantitative results to the question "am I getting any better, stronger or faster"? Through FTP tests, you can monitor your progress throughout the training season. You can see massive improvements through the data........I can't tell you how powerful that is come race day. Its a ton of "mojo" stored up in your psychy and gives you mental support at the beginning of the race and more importantly helps you cross the "line" as you think about the 4 keys.
Its not about fitness; its about execution. As the coaches say "there is no such thing as a good bike split if you walk most or all of the marathon". So, most importantly.........the power meter allows you to execute your race according to plan and allows you to have a great run! For example, the bike segment during a IM should be approximately 70% of our FTP and having a power meter tells you in real time if you are on the mark or deviating from plan. Helps you to stay in your "box" during a race.
You may be asking.....FTP? its Functional Threshold Power. How do you determine it? With a power meter through an awesome test that is a ton of fun. 2 x 20 (2') intervals on the bike as fast and as hard as you can push without boinking or seeing signifant drop off in power ................ you take the data and plug it into WKO+ (seperate software to be purchased) to get your "normalized" power. Once you have this data, you plug the Pn into the spreadsheet that Coaches RnP developed and "wallaahhh" you get your zones that define your workouts going forward.
I am a believer and so GLLAAAAAAD that I bought one! Couldn't imagine training without it and more importantly racing.
Back from surgery... 3hours ... Still breathing, but that's about it. Ignore any advice, comments from me next 72-96 hours... It'll just be the percocet or vicodin talking!
Welcome back Al! Hoping you now have a very un-hockey like smile!
i am new to power, just finished my 2nd ride on the drainer with my new PT hub & joule. my Drainer has it's own power meter though not very accurate, and doing a few rides with that over the last few weeks got me to fully understand all the things that everyone is saying here. on my first ride, i saw how different it was, and then when you pile on an EN style workout onto it, it is unreal. the cost seems high, but when you amortize it over a year or two or three, it is a drop in the bucket compared to everything else you do, including being here.
Welcome back, Al... darn, looks like the drug induced haze is wearing off but awfully glad you clarified the meaning of life for us all.
@David - the EN way is definitely in favor of getting a PM... that said, I want to give you another perspective or play devil's advocate for a second and tell you my story. Before coming to EN I'd run 5 marathons and already done a HIM. In my first season with EN (last year), as an HR athlete, I did another 2 HIMs and an IM. I saw tremendous gains in speed and fitness as an HR athlete in da haus following the plan. But, in the interest of full disclosure I want to tell you that, after having been in the world of triathlon 3 full years and deciding long course is my preference (HIMs and IMs), I decided the investment was worth it and just got a PM.
PMs are a huge monetary investment in the sport. (I had the money all along... but I had to decide for myself that doing these events was something I wanted to do long term before deciding to invest it in a PM. In addition to the money there's a lot to learn to be able to read, understand, and utilize the data... are you willing and able to spend that kinda time? is it worth it to you?). I would think long and hard about getting one at your stage - having only done a few sprints. I don't intend to sound snotty - but I've been in your shoes and having see a lot of people do a full or a HIM and decide they like shorter distance races. When someone tells me they want to do a tri but don't have a bike I recommend they get an entry level (=cheap) road bike first to get the feel for riding and see if it's something they like... it would be ridiculous for a newbie to drop several thousand dollars on a Cervelo TT only to discover they hate riding or don't like tris. I kinda look at PMs the same way.
My $0.02: I suggest doing a season of long course events to see if you like long course events (and if your family and work commitments will allow you to continue training and racing over the years)... and then, if you think this will be something you want to and can keep doing, get one. As I mentioned, I did it that way. I also many others in da haus who did, too -- we learned the system, we liked the system, and then decided to make the investment (of time and money). You would certainly not be alone as an HR athlete; you will have a lot of others who can help you as an HR athlete; and you will absolutely improve following the EN plan as an HR athlete.
Bottom line: You don't need to have a PM to succeed, to learn, or to improve. I'd say that a good number of the athletes here don't have one. It may not seem that way bc the ones with power are very active on the forums, etc - more so than those without... or perhaps it's just bc those without don't have as much detail/data to discuss wrt individual rides.
In any event - welcome! Whatever your decision, you can't lose!
Al, so glad that your surgery went well! I didn't have surgery, but have to wait two weeks for a root canal that I needed yesterday! (How can Endo docs take 2 weeks of vacation??) So, I'm on the vicodin circuit as well. Holding out on taking them as much as I can, but when the tooth tells me at 3 a.m. that it wants a vicodin, the tooth wins! So glad to see all the new peeps on here. This will be a fun crowd, I can tell! And as for pain caves, Aleksandar, I feel your pain...my pain cave is my garage, and it is cold and boring!! Time to get ready to go do some Yoga, before a run. BTW, are any of you guys doing IMLOU? I'm signing up for my 2nd round...
Comments
@ Al, all the best to you during and after your surgery.
@ Nemo - can you send me Joe's number, I think i need to talk to him see how he managed that.....
getting ready for pain cave pic.
HA HA HA! I wouldn't recommend it. I think he was going for the family record (previously held by his brother at 7 years. It helps significantly when you start dating at a young age
Sending good thoughts to Al today for a successful surgery and quick recovery.
@Al - Good luck with surgery. And last time I was under anesthesia I understand that I was singing the Village People's YMCA song . . . .loudly.
Glad to see a lot of action in here the past few days. I get immediate emails of these thread posts and my phone seemed to be pinging all day with messages from this group. Very good juju as I was taking down all the outside Christmas stuff which takes a big chunk of the day. FYI - On my street they call me Griswold.
@All: In case you aren't aware, the JOS group section is starting to get some traction. Does anyone know how to actually "subscribe" to a thread there? Or do I need to ping tech support to fix that like the pics issue?
http://members.endurancenation.us/C...fault.aspx
5 days to OS start!
Well that sucked!
Went out for the Pre-OS week four 45 minute run at Z2 this morning. Legs not there, energy not there, attitude not there. One of those days, I guess. Avg'd 9:11 that included several short walk sessions. So was more like easy Z1 run.
Back at it tomorrow.
You'll be fine John, good to see you're totally positive about it, love that about you. I feel like shit too but after a 2.5 week illness, I'm allowed. Got in run 2 this week today and did not feel as good as I did yesterday. A touch sore, joints stiff, wish I could get a blood plasma transfusion to get me back to par!!!
catching up... miss a few days and there are lots of "new" folks... cool!
@Al - thinking of you, hope it went well this morning!
@John - I thought the same thing when I saw 3x5s on for yesterday and only 45 minutes running today... I'm still trying to figure out the nuances of the Joule and reading the charts... and since I don't have a watts goal I try to keep my cadence up and my HR in the right zone... since I tacked on a few lbs during Christmas, hitting my HR was easier than it shudda been.
@Hasan - FWIW, I don't know if I'd want an alien proposing to me... but then again, it would certainly be interesting!
My pain cave is my living room (small condo) - so I will stare longingly at your pictures wishing i had a dedicated space.
Al, glad you are ok! Want to send me a couple of those bad boys? I could use it during my FTP test Monday!
Cheers, Greg
My pain cave. I'd like to point out the following handy features:
1. Being right up next to the workbench makes it easy to change tunes, store a towel, etc.
2. Proximity to trashcan makes it easy and convenient for the potential deposit of any sick
3. Plastic flooring advertised as "oil resistant" but also resists sweat pretty well.
Winters in South Texas are fairly mild. We'll see what happens come summertime.
Oh, this could be fun:
Al - What's the meaning of life?
Al - What is my future destiny?
Al - Should I buy GM stock?
Al - Is Darth Vader really Luke's father?
Talk to me.
@Al, great to have you back. Get better now.
Nice Matt! Any entertainment out there or are you working on the mental toughness at the same time.
@Al good to see that you are doing well enought to be in front of the computer!
Noob here . . . jumping into the thread (better late than never):
-- Oklahoma City, OK
-- 37 years old-- Married, 2 kids (3.5 and 1)
-- Attorney (let the jokes commence)
-- New EN member (joined in Nov 2010)
-- Previous triathlon experience is handful of sprints; ran 2.9 half marathons in 2010 (http://members.endurancenation.us/Community/Forums/tabid/101/aft/4463/Default.aspx)
-- Goal/A Race: Redman 70.3 (September 14, 2011
Starting the OS (Beginner) on 1/3. Going to start training by HR, but am susceptible to being convinced that becoming a power peep is the way to go. Looking forward to hearing about everyone's successes.
Welcome, David!
Several arguments for a PM:
Economic: Probably the same as you are paying EN for a year, and equally valuable.
Time efficiency: A PM enables you to spend LESS time training AND racing. Also, being in EN, with all the knowledge of the coaches and crew here, the learning curve is way shorter.
Geek factor: you're already a cyclist, so you must have some inclincation to wallow in data. PMs provde an exponential boost to that.
Bottom line, for me at least: You WILL go faster in an HIM or IM with a PM.
Perfect, the Community>Groups>January OS 2011 method worked like a charm. cheers, matt.
have been eating too much and working out too little. Last weekend i had three hard days of downhill skiing in and am coming up on another three this weekend. Monday i will be hitting it hard again!!!
Happy new year to all!
@ Scott, i am right there with you brother........up 7 pounds from IMAZ already! Have fun skiing and look forward to hearing about your adventures in the Jan OS haus of pain!
@ David Harris.....welcome to the team and JOS!
Without equivocation power is the way to go, it produces un refutable evidence of "work".........ok, that is my lawyer speak! I am a marine biologist who now is a full time desk jockey and have to read a ton of lawyer crap...................
Ok, my 1.5 cents worth on power. I started training for my first HIM in 07 and did IMLP in 2008 without power. I was uncertain about the ROI on making such a purchase because I didn't want to spend the money and thought I did "ok" in my first IM. I then signed up for team EN drank the koolaid and bought a power meter. It is an awesome piece of equipment for multiple reasons.
You may be asking.....FTP? its Functional Threshold Power. How do you determine it? With a power meter through an awesome test that is a ton of fun. 2 x 20 (2') intervals on the bike as fast and as hard as you can push without boinking or seeing signifant drop off in power ................ you take the data and plug it into WKO+ (seperate software to be purchased) to get your "normalized" power. Once you have this data, you plug the Pn into the spreadsheet that Coaches RnP developed and "wallaahhh" you get your zones that define your workouts going forward.
I am a believer and so GLLAAAAAAD that I bought one! Couldn't imagine training without it and more importantly racing.
Cheers,
Greg
Welcome back Al! Hoping you now have a very un-hockey like smile!
@ Matt S, nice pain cave! I like how the car, floor , helmut and bike are all color coordinated. You gouchi rider you.......! Cheers, Greg
Just back from 10 days of hitting the holiday party circuit hard...think that I'll need to get started a bit earlier than next week
Feel the Burn in a new window or:
www.irondaughterirondad.com/better-...l-january/
@david Harris - what Greg said +1
i am new to power, just finished my 2nd ride on the drainer with my new PT hub & joule. my Drainer has it's own power meter though not very accurate, and doing a few rides with that over the last few weeks got me to fully understand all the things that everyone is saying here. on my first ride, i saw how different it was, and then when you pile on an EN style workout onto it, it is unreal. the cost seems high, but when you amortize it over a year or two or three, it is a drop in the bucket compared to everything else you do, including being here.
Go for it, i am a convert, you will be too!
@greg c - glad to hear i am not alone!!!
Welcome back, Al... darn, looks like the drug induced haze is wearing off but awfully glad you clarified the meaning of life for us all.
@David - the EN way is definitely in favor of getting a PM... that said, I want to give you another perspective or play devil's advocate for a second and tell you my story. Before coming to EN I'd run 5 marathons and already done a HIM. In my first season with EN (last year), as an HR athlete, I did another 2 HIMs and an IM. I saw tremendous gains in speed and fitness as an HR athlete in da haus following the plan. But, in the interest of full disclosure I want to tell you that, after having been in the world of triathlon 3 full years and deciding long course is my preference (HIMs and IMs), I decided the investment was worth it and just got a PM.
PMs are a huge monetary investment in the sport. (I had the money all along... but I had to decide for myself that doing these events was something I wanted to do long term before deciding to invest it in a PM. In addition to the money there's a lot to learn to be able to read, understand, and utilize the data... are you willing and able to spend that kinda time? is it worth it to you?). I would think long and hard about getting one at your stage - having only done a few sprints. I don't intend to sound snotty - but I've been in your shoes and having see a lot of people do a full or a HIM and decide they like shorter distance races. When someone tells me they want to do a tri but don't have a bike I recommend they get an entry level (=cheap) road bike first to get the feel for riding and see if it's something they like... it would be ridiculous for a newbie to drop several thousand dollars on a Cervelo TT only to discover they hate riding or don't like tris. I kinda look at PMs the same way.
My $0.02: I suggest doing a season of long course events to see if you like long course events (and if your family and work commitments will allow you to continue training and racing over the years)... and then, if you think this will be something you want to and can keep doing, get one. As I mentioned, I did it that way. I also many others in da haus who did, too -- we learned the system, we liked the system, and then decided to make the investment (of time and money). You would certainly not be alone as an HR athlete; you will have a lot of others who can help you as an HR athlete; and you will absolutely improve following the EN plan as an HR athlete.
Bottom line: You don't need to have a PM to succeed, to learn, or to improve. I'd say that a good number of the athletes here don't have one. It may not seem that way bc the ones with power are very active on the forums, etc - more so than those without... or perhaps it's just bc those without don't have as much detail/data to discuss wrt individual rides.
In any event - welcome! Whatever your decision, you can't lose!
So glad to see all the new peeps on here. This will be a fun crowd, I can tell! And as for pain caves, Aleksandar, I feel your pain...my pain cave is my garage, and it is cold and boring!!
Time to get ready to go do some Yoga, before a run.
BTW, are any of you guys doing IMLOU? I'm signing up for my 2nd round...