Swimmer's Group (Olympic Distance Animals) - OPEN (Page 7)

I managed to get a hold of some sweets this past week...

I have done okay with my weight loss since I started my Olympic Training program almost 6 weeks ago but still need to watch what I eat.  Surely I’ll lose 1 to 2 pounds per week for a few more weeks as I increase my training volume and continue to eat sensibly most of the time.  I’ve only lost 5 pounds or so but I’ve had to go down another notch in my belt.

I get discouraged when I look too far ahead in my training plan.  However, following the plan and building my training over time I am already at a point where a couple of months ago I'd of thought..."no way".

David

That's fantastic David!! I know for myself that with time I continue to improve in each discipline. Just like with my swimming this past Monday when I finally felt like "I am starting to get this"!! Stick with your program the best you can and you will continue to improve and gain in confidence. I stuggle with the sweets myself and fall off the wagon occasionally but you just have to forget it and move on! Maybe even throw in an extra workout to punish yourself and burn those extra, typically, useless calories! I know for myself that with each new hurdle I cross I get more invigorated to tackle the next one. I can really feel my body start to tighten and get stronger with each passing week! We can do this! Have a great weekend everyone!!      Howard

Just dropping in to say hi to everyone.  I'm training through a cold this weekend.  Glad I don't have Jason's trainer workout on the agenda!  Managed a 5 mile run yesterday and a 24 mile ride outside today in the sun!  The nice weather (sunny and 50F) and changing scenery was a nice change from the trainer.  Feel pretty good too, so maybe I'm over the worst of the cold.

Just curious what you all do when you come down with a cold or other minor illness.  Do you keep training, or try to rest until it clears?  I'm not sure what is best.  I made sure I got lots of sleep last night... 10 hrs (can't remember the last time I slept that long).  I usually get about 7.  Maybe that's why I got sick.  7 may not be quite enough with work and training.

-Nat

Hey Nat,

It is amazing what sleep will do to help get rid of that nagging cold/illness.  If you were able to sleep for 10 hours then you must have needed it.

I'm ready to ride outside again but haven't been in a while.  We have had temperatures in the 60's and 70's but either my schedule doesn't fit on those days or more often, its raining, windy, thunderstorms, or tornados...  The trainer has provided some tough workouts which I'm ready to see what they have done for me on the road.

David

Good beer... another reason I can't wait to get over this lousy cold!  Heck of a run workout Jason!

I was swimming on a masters team for 4 years before taking the tri training plunge 2 months ago, influenced no doubt by the handful of triathletes on my team.  I'm amazed at how addictive a full training schedule is.  It all started in early fall when I pushed my number of swims per week up from 2 to 3, to 4 to 6.

Train on everyone, and I'll be jealous until I feel well enough to get back in the game!  It won't be long.

-Nat

Wow you were doing 6 swims a week! That is impressive. I am trying to fit in two and if I am honest consistently do one good one and one mediocre. Have just joined a masters swim group to improve speed, but didn't go this week due to my husband having to go to a meeting...so this morning thought I needed to test myself in the pool and did a 2km swim. Although I have done this distance in training before, I have never done it continuously, so pretty pleased really. Could never fit in another 4 swims!

Felicity

Good news/bad news... Over my cold, but stubbed the toe next to my little toe yesterday, and likely broke it.  Now entering an unplanned swim/bike focused training period. 

What do you think about filling all my training time with just swim/bike, versus swim/bike/stair climber/elliptical in an attempt to preserve any running base I may have built over the past two months?  My first race is at the end of May, so by the time this thing heals (assuming 4 weeks or so) I should have 8 to 10 weeks to focus back on my running.

-Nat

Disregard my chatter about a broke toe.  It feels way to good after just a few days to be broken.  Pretty sure I'll be running on it be the end of the week.  Just got 23 miles in on the bike out in a slight breeze and sunshine... very nice!  Good to be back in the game.  Hope you all are having a great weekend!

-Nat

Good news about Nat's toe...

My training is progressing but I think I need some longer rides.  I just don't stay on the trainer very long.  Today starts a "recovery week".

My main race plan is for an Olympic on May 19.  I was planning on a half-marathon on March 17 but now my daughter wants us to do a sprint tri (400/11/3.1) on March 24.  I really don't know if I should do both March races even though neither would be an "A" race.  I am just looking to incorporate with my training for May and I've never done a half-marathon so I want the t-shirt...

I am fairly certain on doing the sprint tri now and maybe not the half-marathon.  Even though they aren't major events I would likely need to do a little taper and recovery for each which I'm afraid will throw off my training progression.  I don't think the half-marathon would be too difficult if I run it at an easy pace; I'm getting 20-25 miles running per week with a few 10+ mile runs already.  The sprint tri would be about 8 weeks before my Olympic and the half-marathon would be 9 weeks before the Olympic.  I think I could work this out but I don't want to cut too many bike/trainer rides; maybe I could put more emphasis on the bike after these "tune-up" races.  Any thoughts?

I can see doing regular swims early in the week and doing light running during the week but how much biking should be done during the week leading up to an "easy" half-marathon?

David

I am not sure about an "easy" HM as I can barely get through a 12km run.

although I have only done a couple of sprints, I really don't think that there is much of a taper required. There does seem sufficient time in between them and the Olympic.

Cheers

Felicity

Felicity; Jason,

Thanks for the advice.  I think I'll try both.  I will treat the HM as a long training run and try to keep an "easy" pace as opposed to a "race" pace; I don't think I really have a race pace for a HM anyway...  I may not feel like running or biking the next day or two afterwards; especially if I develop any knee or foot pains but surely I can hit the pool.

The sprint will tire me out for that day but I have done more than these distances combined on some of my training days when I ended up doing all three sports on the same day (but with rest periods in between).  I don't normally do all three on the same day but sometimes its the only way to get in all the work.  I didn't need a recovery period for this and the race shouldn't be too much different; maybe a little harder but the combined distance will be shorter than I'm working now.  I think it will help me out in determining a bike pace/effort for the future.

This leads me to another question.  What effort levels do you feel like you are putting out when you race in a sprint and in an Olympic?  I know they are relative and depend on your level of fitness.  My race in May will be my first Olympic since I re-started my triathlon training after more than a 25 year layoff; I want to finish with a "respectable" time but don't expect to be competitive.  I have a fear of burning out early due to pushing too hard on the swim and bike.

I've been wondering the same thing myself.

Race Pace....hmm this could get long so be prepared. Keep in mind most of what I write below is my approach, but I may throw in some general guidance tips as well.

Sprints: The name basically says is all! Balls to the wall from start to finish. Okay maybe not quite, but pretty close. The swim is short so find a slightly above comfortable pace and go. Word of advice, get behind someones feet who may be slightly faster and use their draft. This way you will swim faster without working harder. This can sometimes take practice as it can take time to realize who the right person is to draft off of. Obviously you dont want to be behind someone who cannot swim in a straight line, nor someone that when you are behind them you feel you could hold that pace for an hour. 10-20 minutes and your out! For the bike don't start out to fast (this really goes for any distance). You want your legs and body to get used to the transition from the swim and dont want to blow your legs up in the first 2 miles. After about 7-10 minutes you should start to settle into a rythmn. You should not be able to comfortably talk to someone and you should be breathing somewhat heavily. Your legs will probably feel a slight burn which is good. Last mile or so before T2 drop the gear and spin your legs a little faster. Here your mind needs to switch over to the run. There are a couple ways you can go about the run. A) start fast and hope to hold on. I've done this is the past and it has occasionally worked and sometimes I have completely fallen about. B) start slightly slower than your goal pace, for maybe the first 3-5 minutes. Your legs will have tranistioned over by now and youll have your running legs. Kick it into gear. The last mile or 1/2 mile is everything you got! If you feel like your going to puke when you finish, then you did it right. You left everything on the course.

Olympic: A little different and has some more strategy involved (which I tend to like). On the swim it can still be a good idea to find someone to draft off of. In an Oly race you have more time to find that person. Always work smarter. Get into a comfortable pace and maintain that throughout. Towards the end of the swim I like to start to kick my legs more to get the blood moving for the bike. Dont kill yourself on the swim, it will only set yourself up for failure. You can't win a race during the swim, but you can certainly lose it! On the bike take the first 15-20 minutes at just below race pace. You shouldnt be working to hard and feel like you have plenty of gears to shift into. After that drop the hammer and pick up the pace. 80-90% FTP or what you can hold for an hour is where you want to be. Slight burning in the legs and deeper breaths. If there are hills dont kill yourself on the downhills, get up to speed and soft pedal or dont pedal at all. Allow your legs time to recover do you can pick it back up again when you hit the bottom. You wont gain an advantage by pedaling as hard as you can downhill to gain an extra 1-2 mph over your counterpart. If you save your legs you will be strong going up the next hill and easy gain time there. Take the last mile or so to spin out your legs and get ready for the run. Same rules apply on the run. Start out at an easier pace for the first mile. By mile 2 you should be at race pace. Practice tempo runs to find what you can hold if you dont know already. Last mile is everything you got!

It's all about accepting pain. It will come, it is only a matter of time before your body starts screaming for you to stop. But if you accept that and learn to embrace it you will find it much easier to endure.

As far as nutrition. Sprint - I dont carry anything with me. A hearty bfast in the morning is more than enough to sustain your levels for an hour. Olympic - Good bfast, a gel 20 minutes before the swim. On the bike I try to drink about 300 calories (I have 1 bottle in my aero bars). On the run 1 gel around the 5k mark and maybe some water or gatorade if I feel I need it. Dont take anything at the last mile aid station of the run because it wont get through your system fast enough, it will only waste time. 

Hopefully that helps.

Well first track workout of 2013 season was tonight. I took it fairly easy (meaning I didn't do as many sets). 

15 Min Ez run to track

2x (600m, 400m, 300m, 200m) w/ Ez 300 Jog between each; These are supposed to fast but not quite all out. (you can see my lap data in my training log, held about 5:40/mile pace for each)

15 min EZ run back to house.

Great workout to start. Nothing to hard, but a good way to test where my fitness is currently.

Read a great little article regarding strength training in general the other day and wanted to pass on what I learned. I will definitely be incorporating this into my routine.

Our upper bodies were made to push and pull around. Basically made for short and hard efforts. So keep reps for upper body workouts around 6-10 reps. Where as are legs were built for endurance and when lifting legs you should perform more reps 15-20. I still recommend 3-4 sets of each exercise. I've done this before but find myself lifting 10 reps for my legs pretty often, so I'm making the switch.

Hope everyones training is coming along. I got a tempo run on the books for tonight. Followed by hour of cycling, swimming and lifting tomorrow. If I can fit in an easy 20 min run I will do that as well.