Team 'Ohana 2009: No One Left Behind

[dsnyfan21]

Hot?? That is pretty much what it is like here most of the time!

I remember training for the DL half here last June/July/August and it was rough. I found out exactly what Jeff mentioned before, I tend to do my long miles EARLY in the am and be done before the sun is up too high in the sky.
Hydrate well, which is most of the time in the summer anyway. Put on the sunscreen ( or I look like a lobster! ) LIP BALM is a must. Carry my CamelBak waist pack. I use what Robert uses in really hot weather which is a bandana that has a shamy inside and holds moisture or you can put icecubes in it. Place it around your neck and helps to keep you feeling cooler. I will jump in the pool when I am done with long miles or do an ice bath. I also use sports beans and G2 to help myself out when needed.

Thanks for the mixer guys!!

Racey Tracy

 

[chimera]

I'm not sure I can really add much but there are days when I run in the afternoon that I just stick to the TM. For LR, definitely get out there and get back home before 8 am in the summer.

I sweat a LOT so hydration and sodium are really important for me. I also have to stick to really lightweight synthetic wicking fabrics...cotton just turns into a sodden mass on me.

Sunscreen, lip balm and a hat or visor are also huge.

Jeanne...ouch...hope that gets better soon.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I don't have any new tips to add -- just wanted to check in! Still looking for self-help book suggestions...

Feel better quickly, Ms. Jeanne, that sounds painful! But I'm so proud of you for finishing! You go, Girl!

Maria

 

[Optimator]

Jeanne and Allie - Thanks for the kudos but you both are too kind. The hour head start I got by starting toward the front made all the difference. That was an exta hour of at least a little cooler weather as well.

You both did so well and looked GREAT at the finish. It was a real pleasure getting to spend at least a little time with you this weekend.

Jeanne - Good luck with the raw spot and the stress test.


Debra - I did mention some trail running. There is a very local 50 miler run here every spring. It's run on the same weekend as Boston. If I don't manage to BQ this fall I will give some serious thought to taking the plunge. It would be super-de-dooper cool if DOOD wanted to do it too.
http://www.vhtrc.org/brr/

 

[JimB.]

Hey Ohana Kids!!

My daily mixer tips for hot weather.....

1. Run early. This I rarely do. Can't drag my lazy butt out of bed in time, plus I do not trust the local drivers around my house. It's pretty hectic in the mornings.

2. I always take a washcloth with me. I absolutely HATE sweat in my eyes, and wiping my face down helps to ease this.

3. I am pretty susceptible to cramping on hot weather LR's, so I always try to choke down a teaspoon of salt a few minutes before I take off. It's pretty gnarly, and DEFINITELY needs a chaser of some sort, but it seems to help (me) and is a heck of a lot cheaper than endurolyte pills................

4. Try to wear as little cotton as possible. On REALLY hot days, I try to wear as little CLOTHING as possible (within the bounds of societal & cultural norms, of course )

5. Hydrate copiously for 1-2 hours prior to running, and have some Gatorade or Powerade as soon as I finish. HINT: Don't drink it real cold. Brain Freeze City!!!

Happy Monday To Everyone!

 

[corinnak]

I don't have any new tips to add -- just wanted to check in! Still looking for self-help book suggestions...

Maria,
have you looked at Tosca Reno's pages or books at all? She is the "Clean Eating" lady. My friend this weekend had her books and they seem to have a lot of great recipes and health/fitness ideas.

I'm still plodding along with WW online and it's not glamorous or flashy, but at least it's a structure. I SO benefit from some structure.

 

[jbucci]

Corinna: Congrats on your race. Your pace sounds pretty good to me, especially considering the heat and hills.

Jeanne and Kathy: Congrats to both for you for toughing it out in the heat at CMM. Sorry to hear about your wardrobe malfunction Jeanne-- I've had that happen too and know it is really painful How did the TM walk go for you?

I just have to take a moment to vent about the media. I know swine flu is serious and we need to make people aware and take precautions but do we really need to scare the out of everyone. Work today was awful-- lots of really worried people and tons of over-reacting. I hope this turns out to be a minor event and that most people are ok, but if it does get bigger I hope the media can stick to facts and useful info instead of sensationalizing and panicking everyone. Rant over-- I'm just tired..... now to go exercise

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi Corinna!

No, I haven't looked at the Clean Eating books, but I will certainly check them out! I also pay for WW online (notice I said pay for, not follow). I'm going to start using it again. I've been writing down everything I eat and planning my meals/snacks every day since Sunday. I can already see a difference, and I definitely feel better, much more in control.

I also cut back on the distance of my workouts (no more 6 milers until I start training), so I will actually do all the workouts I plan.

Ok, I have to get to bed so I can hop up and do my run tomorrow morning before work. Everyone have an awesome night!

Maria

 

[plutosmyfav]

I just have to take a moment to vent about the media. I know swine flu is serious and we need to make people aware and take precautions but do we really need to scare the out of everyone.

Well said.

Jeanne-- I hope you heal quickly, that was painful just reading about!

I'm so impressed with all the WISHers who braved those temps and hills. Kudos!

 

[Cindylou]

I just stopped in to lurk and I noticed Corrina ran the same 10K as I did this weekend. I WISH I knew you were running. It really was a scorcher. You look a heck of a lot better than I did at the finish. For proof of that look at pg 41 of the 10K photos on their website. Ugh. Groton is a really beautiful course. I hope you'll run it again when it's not so hot.

Cindy

 

[corinnak]

Well, Cindy! I'll be darned. I never saw you! I thought about wearing my WISH shirt but ended up going with the light green and visor because I had no idea there'd be another WISHer there! I think I got my decent photo by walking most of the last mile, and you obviously RAN - hard work that day. Great job!

My friend Jess actually lives in your town - I wish I had known as well, BUT, I promise I will return and run Groton again, though probably not next year. I went to high school at Lawrence Academy, so we return to the area from time to time. My DH's Reunion is next year, and that is usually just a few weeks after the road race, so it might be the year after instead. That area still feels so much like home in a weird deja-vu kind of way. I haven't lived there in 15 years, but all the roads are still so familiar!

 

[jeanneg]

Oh dear, what happened to the thread? I just popped in to catch up .........and find there's very little to catch up with. Where'd everybody go?

I am s-l-o-w-l-y healing. The left side is just about back to normal, but the right side still has a way to go. Thankfully, today is the first day that it is totally dry. It was not much of an issue during the stress test, because I could not have been on the treadmill for more than 3 minutes and it was only going about 2 miles an hour when my heart reached what the testers consider 90% capacity.......so they took me off of it! Talk about a very unstressful stress test I told the technicians that I usually workout in the 170s and typically spike in the 190s but they would hear none of that and took me off at 152, which is a warmup for me. Of course all the pictures came back totally normal, which is what I would have expected since I never experienced any stress. I just hope there's some validity to the procedure because I wasted an entire day and God knows how much money on this.

Now that April is finished I will tally up my miles and minutes over the weekend and report them to our captain.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

[tiberius]

For all my teammates:
Here's my report on the CB&I Triathlon in The Woodlands, TX.

First off, this was the 6th year for this race and it appears to be well run and well coordinated with the local community. I racked my bike in the transition area early last night with no problems. I also arrived early this morning to set up my stuff in transition, also no problems there. I found some friends from some races last fall and this winter, and chatted with them for awhile before finishing my preparations.

I was in the second wave and started out slow so I didn't get caught in the mass of swimmers in the lake before I really took off with my wave. The transition area was well-organized and caused no issues for me, I also had a good racking area which was well located with respect to the exits. The bike was good and traffic control was excellent, I never once had to so much as slow down or worry about road traffic. The run was slightly new for this course (although I hadn't run this event before I had volunteered for it) but it was a nice out and back, looping through a nice community. I saw several friends of mine volunteering during the run portion as my local running club was helping out with that, so I was well-cheered for during that portion. I'm not one to be confused with a speedster, and I finished well back in my age group, but I did beat my personal goals for each of the 500 meter swim, 15 mile bike and 5K run events. My stated goal for the race was to be under 2:00 hours, and I really hoped to beat 1:50; in the end my official finishing time was 1:43:54.5!
Afterwards, the post-race food and party was definitely better than average, and I got to sit around with my friends some more and discuss the course, future events and other stuff like that.

For my first real triathlon event, this was a great experience, and I am already looking forward to the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that,...

I hope no one minds that I have also posted this report to the Race Report thread.

 

[deekaypee]

Sorry I've been MIA. Computer issues, which should be fixed this week. In the meantime, loading pages let alone posting is super-slow. On all my sites, but particularly the DIS.

But, there's business to attend to, so I'm ponying up for a long, slow night online...

April Miles and Minutes, please!

Congratulations to JenB & Butch on Broad Street. Looking forward to the RR, maybe with pics.

Congratulations on your first tri, Richard! I love that you have a goal time and the secret goal time, and that you beat them both. I'm also glad that your first tri event was surrounded by friends. That's got to relieve some of the pre-race anxieties, and helps you with the post-race celebrating.

JenB: About the swine flu concerns/media... Word. Hope your race went well.

Jeanne: I'm so glad that you're healing. Be careful, okay? I'm not sure what was going on with the stress test--certainly seems off! You'd think the techs would listen to you about your HR. You're an athlete--you pay attention to such things.

Corinna: I think you represented WISH incredibly well at the Groton race.

Maria: I checked out this book: You Being Beautiful by Micahel F. Rozen and Mehmet Oz, but haven't started it. I'm skeptical. The latest RW advertised a new book, The 7-Day Energy Surge by Jim Karas. I've requested it from the library. I like the Clean Eating books, but figure you know most of that information.

Nancy: I'm glad you're back to semi-normal living! (Almost as happy as you are, I'll bet.)

Everyone else: Check in, please! It was a slow week here and I'm worried about our training and goals. Plus, I really missed being here and hope you all feel the same way when LTO/WTO.

Congratulations to DOOD, for finishing his first relay at the reinstated Pgh marathon. The coordination of the relay was more difficult than the race, at least for him. But I saw many runners walking the hills of Pgh, of which there are many as well. The day was cool, almost perfect for running, although it sprinkled 3/4 of the time. They started the walkers an hour before the runners, interestingly enough. I also volunteered at the expo; it was small, but well organized. I was disappointed that MS Dave injured his back a week before the race and was unable to do the 1/2. We didn't meet up. Other than that, it was a nice, small race although DOOD and I agree that the hills would be tough unless you train in them and that it's not such a spectacular race (at this point) that WISHers should add it to their list.

Role Call: Who's going to see the new Star Trek movie this weekend? It's my second must-see summer blockbuster (by release date). I saw the first, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Saturday night. Don't bother if you're a fan of the comic books, comic-book movie adaptations, or good films. Not even close to Spider Man, Ironman, Batman, or the previous X-Men films.... More akin to Daredevil.

And in reading news....I reread The Traveler's Wife, without remembering I'd read it until halfway through. Apparently I wasn't paying attention the first time around.

 

[deekaypee]

'Ohana Monday Mixer

Free advice, it's worth what you paid for it. Then again, sometimes the best things in life are free. You decide in this week's mixer prompt.

Share with us some memorable advice you've received.

Your advice can be related to training or races. It can focus on healthy habits or be "life" advice. It can be the best advice you've ever received, the worst, or the most profound. It can be helpful tips that helped you as a WISHer and athlete. Or it can be simply the funniest, most useless, or totally inappropriate for a situation. Just so long as it's memorable.

And just like M & Ms, don't feel restricted to just one piece....

 

[MouseDogMom]

JenB - Thanks for the commentary on swine flu. I was afraid I was being too laid back in my response (i.e. lack of panic), but you made me feel much better!

Jeanne - Continue healing. Too bad the medical community doesn't trust us to know our own bodies!

Richard - Congratulations on your triathlon!

Debra - I'll doublecheck, but I'm pretty sure my miles/minutes are current, sad though they are. Give my congrats to DOOD as well. Anyone who races on hills is my hero. I'm sorry MSDave couldn't do the race - I was so bummed when I read about his injury after he'd waited to get into the half. And thanks for the review of "X-Men Origins." Bill & I were discussing possibly going to see that this weekend, but other things got in the way and I held out for "Star Trek" next weekend. We usually only see 1 or 2 movies a year in the theatre - generally the newest Harry Potter installment (so we have a date for July 15th!), but I'm feeling adventurous and wanting to try out this empty nest thing that we're going to have in a couple of months!

As for activity to report... there is NONE! DD went to Carowinds on Friday with the band, and DH and I decided to drive down and spend the day unofficially with them. Which ended up meaning that he and I spent the day riding roller coaster after roller coaster after roller coaster... then we got home about 9:30 that night to discover that Sienna had been sick in her crate all afternoon (after our neighbor walked them - we did NOT leave them alone all day!), so I had to clean the crate and bathe her (and she proceeded to barf in the bathwater, just to complicate things even more.) It was a LONG night. Needless to say, there was no way I was dragging myself out of bed to run Saturday morning! I'd already blown off the entire week, so I have to turn things around quickly and redeem myself this week. Please send active vibes my way.

Jackie

 

[jmasgat]

Hey Ohana, checking in for the Monday mixer on advice. Let's see, while it doesn't actually qualify as "advice", one of the things that sticks with me is actually something I learned at work. 10 years ago, we were preparing for a global gathering of executives and put together this workshop. The now-VP wanted the main message out of it to be that "the most important things that will help you be successful are Attitude and Effort". I thought it was rather trite at the time (of course, that's my "bad attitude"), but over time I have come to respect the simplicity of it. And when it comes to running and racing, it truly fits--the attitude part especially. You have to believe you can do something, even when it appears to be impossible, and then with continued work you can actually do it. So I learned that lesson--and proceed to try and teach it to my DS, with mixed results!

AS for the advice I never got, but wish I had......never mix cuaparinhas, grappa and cigars in one sitting!

Maura

 

[jship210]

Well my little piece of advice I received several years ago while recovering from a duty related spinal injury (This is the reason I choose to run, but that's a whole other story). I was worried I would not be able to return to work

Work to Live, NOT Live to Work.

While it is important to Enjoy what you do, don't let it define who you are, and most importantly don't choose IT over family, life is to short .
Just my 2 cents for the day~

 

[aldisneygrl]

Well I got some good advice from a stranger while waiting for the CMHalf to start. He said that his brother told him NOT to run up the hills, but WALK the hills and run the downhill and straightaways. Well, I followed that advice, and I believe that is how I finished that race with all of its hills, heat, etc. with a smile on my face.

Plus Chester gave me tons of tips on the shuttle ride over to the Start. Thanks again Chester!!

Plus, the guy here at home that makes my training plans for me also told me to hydrate all week long BEFORE the Half. I believe that is what helped keep me from getting dehydrated. That and the fact that my daughter had the "unknown" virus, and I was drinking water AND OJ like it was going out of style.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Lots of great advice so far! I can't wait to hear what everyone else, particularly some of those recalcitrant cousins, has to say!

I received some good advice from my 9th grade World Studies teacher -- "Never give me a reason to doubt your veracity or your rectitude". He used to say it before every test. It's actually good advice for life in general.

And then there's that timely quote for this week -- not advice I received, but good nonetheless -- "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."

Maria