Dominion's Sprint/Oly Focus Group - OPEN (Page 3)

No on Skidaway Island.  That race got put together late after I had already set my schedule.  I'm considering it for next year if they bring it back.  I might swap Athens out for Skidaway in 2015.  That will save me a little travel time and expense.

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and got some good training in.  I had a great ride Sunday evening.  Here is a pic.  Yes we got wet.  34 mile ride and got within 3 miles of home when it opened up on us.  

Riders on the Storm!

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Hi David.  Welcome to the group and welcome to BT!  This website is full of helpful people.  Also you may want to look at the training logs as an option for keeping up with your workouts.  This is a great group for sharing training or racing experiences as well as asking questions and just keeping each other motivated!

Are you swimming at all yet?  Give me a little more information as to where your swim workouts are and I'll try to help you out in any way I can.

vizurragad, welcome.  When you get a chance post up a little more info so we can get to know you a little better.  Let us know your goals and what you are looking to accomplish in the short term (this summer).  By starting now with your cycling and swimming you should have plenty of time to be ready for a September sprint. 

Originally posted by scottjjmtri99 Hope ya'll had a great weekend! I was able to get into my wetsuit (was a bit of a struggle, but zipped) and test it out. Everything seems to be ok. I do find that I have a hard time getting my breathing down while in the suit. Maybe it was the cool water temps? 62 degrees? Probably just need more time in the water. Have 2 more 30-40 minute endless pool swims planned this week before the race on Sunday. Being it's my first Olympic my goal is to finish. Icing on the cake would be under 3 hours. I raised my bike seat a little bit and that seemed to really help with the hand numbness. I half suspected I needed to do that for some time now, just never got around to it. The bike course this weekend is a rather tough one, in that it is a loop that is done 4x and its hilly. I did get some practice on hills this weekend so I have an idea how/when to be shifting. Will look into some clip on aero bars for the next 2 races that are flatter courses.

Scott,

Glad the hand numbness thing has gotten a little better.  Keep working with the wet suit.  They can be a struggle sometimes but they are supposed to be tight!

Good luck in the race this weekend!  I've never done a 4 lap bike loop.  That might get a little tedious but at least you will know where the toughest parts/hills are by the 2nd time around.

Originally posted by nrpoulin

Originally posted by marriedthepoolguy Chris et al, I have a running question for you and group: I am looking for feedback and suggestions on adding sprint training/interval training/plyo, etc to help increase speed and endurance. I understand the concept of incorporating one or more of these into my training, but in reading about it, I'm not getting consistent info on how to approach it. For instance, should I incorporate it into my regular runs, or do it at the end of my runs or set aside a whole different day for this kind of training? So this morning, I ran the .75 mile to the local high school track, ran the bleachers a little, then continued on my run. Is this the sort of thing I'm supposed to be doing? I'm very confused. Compounded with the fact that running is my least favorite of the three sports. I still haven't found a comfortable way for my body to "hang together" when running, if that makes sense. Ladies in the group: do you experience this at all? Now, I'll admit, I'm a curvy gal: size 12, 36DD, Junk in my Trunk. and that could be a big factor here and one I have no problem simply rolling with if I need to. But if there are any mental or physical suggestions out there from the ladies (curvy or skinny, I don't care!) I'd love to hear them. Thanks much! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Jen

Jen - I typically do three runs a week. My long run of the week is a comfortable pace. Lots of people have trouble determining comfortable and a heart rate monitor maybe helpful. There is lots of info on this sight about using this in your training. Of my two additional runs one is always an interval workout and the final is either a tempo run or hills. Interval training is easy on a treadmill. Many of the smart phone apps can have a program setup if you pay the $5 to upgrade. I do a 10 minute warmup and then 2 minute intervals with a recovery. I started at 3 minutes and worked down to 1.5 minutes. The interval should be at hard enough pace that you feel winded but can complete the workout. Then a cool down of 10 minutes. In my area a hill workout needs to be on the treadmill and is similar. A tempo run typically has a warm up and then a middle portion that is at race pace, followed by a cool down. Some would say that there is no benefit to tempo runs and that the most physical benefit is from the interval and hill training. Although physical a workout, I think tempo runs help with the mental aspect of running (which is 90%). I got about 15-20 weeks of base on before I started incorporating intervals, hills, and tempo runs. Over the approx. 2 months that I started incorporating these in I have shaved my pace by a minute an a half with no significant change in perceived effort or HR when I wear my monitor. I am sure others have different opinions, but this is my strategy and similar to how my training was structured in track and cross country, the only difference is removing three days of running. Nate

Good info here. Thanks for posting Nate!

Hi Randy and welcome to the group!

Yes, I know how challenging having young children can be, especially when it comes to juggling triathlon with family responsibilities.

Your backstory sounds a lot like mine, recreational sports and a bunch of 5k's.  Also I originally got my brother into the sport many years ago, and then after a layoff he has helped pull me back in this time around. 

With a 27 minute 5k it seems you have a fairly solid run base.  How far is the swim for your race in August?  Being able to swim 1700m non-stop is a great confidence builder, as I'm sure the swim portion of your race will be much shorter. However, don't spend all of your time just doing longish non-stop swims.  Put in some 100's and/or 200's at a hard to moderate effort level.  Not sure what your total workout volume is looking at right now, but for say a 2000m total workout, try something like:

4 X 50 warm-up

8 X 100

4 X 200

4 X 50 Cool-Down

Also, I see you have started logging your workouts on BT.  That helps me a ton to see where everyone is as far as their volumes and intensities, so keep it up!

I hope everyone is having a great week of training. 

I wanted to point out that we have at least 3 group members racing this weekend.  !!!

Cassandra / burner2 is racing her first sprint on May 31st.

Scott is stepping up to the Olympic distance on Sunday June 1st. 

Kim / kmsitg is racing a sprint this weekend. 

I wanted to wish you all Good Luck.  I know you've worked hard and are ready to tackle these challenges, so make sure to take it easy these last few days and arrive at the start line feeling fresh and rested. 

(If I missed anyone, post up and let us know!)

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Hi,

I would like to join this group as well if there is still room.

here is my bio

STORY - I am a 48 yr SAHM who loves her job. Prior to being a mother, I was a fit active person and always considered myself athletic. Over the course of raising my children, I became a spectator and no longer the athlete I once was. Putting my family first, I forgot to take care of myself.  Last July , I decided to get back the active person I once was and signed up for my first triathlon October 20, 2013.

I loved training for my first tri last October which I completed with my family cheering me on - I am now hooked. I have lost weight, eat better and have become stronger and healthier but I want to keep improving. I love training outside and live in So. Cal so it is an option almost every day - I don't like the gym.

FAMILY STATUS - Married 19 years, 2 kids - girl 17, boy 13

This year I completed the Mission Bay Sprint triathlon May 4th  and The Tour of Long Beach 30 mile bike ride May 10. I have injured my achilles so I am off running and biking for 4 weeks but am continuing to swim and will focus on some upper body and core exercises.

My goals for the remaining season.

- Get my achilles healed ( currently in a c-boot)

- Complete at least 1 race per month ( excluding June) 

- Work up to an Olympic distance by December 6th for the HITS Palm Springs Triathlon.

Hi Tara, Yes we still have room! Welcome to the group!

It sounds like you are embracing the healthy and active lifestyle.  That is fantastic.  Sorry to hear about the Achilles injury.  Take it slow in your recovery and try to look at it not as a setback but as a chance to really focus in on your swimming.  This is a great opportunity to really do some work in the pool (or wherever you like to swim) and dial in your swim fitness.

I like your goal of doing the HITS Olympic in Palm Springs.  I am considering a HITS race for next year.  It will be one of the FL races most likely. 

Glad to have you in the group.  Feel free to share training experiences or ask any questions you may have. 

Yes! Monthly totals are great and encouraged!  I'd post mine but my month isn't over yet!

It's all good.  I knew what you meant. 

And you are right, the bike is usually one of the best places to shave time.  For one thing, it is most often the longest (time-wise) section of a race.  In one of my recent sprints, I cut 9 minutes off my time over last year, 7 of those came on the bike, so it can make a huge difference. 

What kind of bike are your riding? As far as alternating your workouts, hill climbing is always beneficial for building power and endurance.  If your race is hilly, then it's a good idea to train that way.  I think it depends a lot on how often you intend to ride.  If you are only riding once or twice a week, then alternating may not be the best idea.  In other words, one ride a week alternating means you would only be riding hills once every other week.  If you are planning to get 3 or 4 rides in a week then that might work.  Otherwise I would try to combine the hills and endurance into each ride.  Not sure how that works out for you as far as the routes you have available, but maybe ride your flat loop, then head out and tackle some hills or vice versa in the same ride.  If that is not possible then concentrate mostly on the hills and hit the flat loop just on occasion as an easy recovery ride.  As your first race is a sprint(I think, right?), the hill work alone should give you plenty of endurance to go the distance and still have something left for the run.

Motivation for all those racing and training this weekend:

Can't wait to hear about your experiences!

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Well that's kind of a tough question because I think there are a lot of variables depending on the individual, what their background is and what their strengths and weaknesses are.  Also what their goals are, ie. just wanting to finish an Olympic, PR a certain course, or podium, etc. 

Just speaking from a general perspective the majority of your rides need to be at least race distance and maybe race plus 10%, so in the 25 to 30 mile range.  So time based it depends on how fit the individual is as to how fast they ride.  An hour and a half to 2 hours would be fairly solid. 

I would take a similar approach with the running.  You can do shorter stuff, intervals, etc. like we have discussed on here before, but at least 1 run per week at race distance or race plus 10-15% so maybe a 6.25 to 7 mile run.  So depending on pace, around an hour run once per week. 

Swimming will vary greatly depending on background and comfort in the water.  Try to get at least 2 swims in per week (more is always better if you have the time) and concentrate on quality over quantity.  In other words don't waste  a lot of time with long slow swims of just lap after lap.  Swim some hard 100's and 200's.  Push your cardio in these sessions.

I hope this answers your question, happy to discuss this more if this is not what you were looking for.  To get into real specifics would be more of a personal coach type situation who knows more details about an athlete, what they are trying to accomplish and what their time limitations are etc.

Yes, to the bold parts of your post.  I would recommend incorporating it all into the same ride.  A 14 mile course with a couple of sections of hills sounds ideal. 

The road bike you have is fine to get you started.  If you decide to stick around in the sport you will most likely want to upgrade but the bike you have can still be useful for training rides and/or putting it on an indoor trainer at some point down the road.  I have a philosophy of "train heavy."  I still do almost all of my training on the used Raleigh (pictured previously in the thread) I started with.  It makes my race day bike seem so much lighter and faster.  I think training with the heavier/inferior equipment gives me both a physical and psychological advantage.  I employ the same thinking with my firefighters.  We train with the old yellow steel air cylinders.  They weigh a ton and the guys complain, but then when it's the real deal, they don't even notice the lightweight composite cylinders on their backs.  Train Heavy!