Baowolf's Winter training is FUN group..no really it is!! (OPEN) (Page 17)

Well I had a slow week this week for Tri-training anyway. I did fit in 2 strength training sessions, a run and a bike ride. I also took my daughter skiing for a couple of days. It was spring break here and so I slacked off. Tomorrow I will be back in the pool before work. Back to the rat race.

Lindsey - Congrats on the upcoming wedding. My only advice is make the wedding what you want and don't stress the small stuff. It should be a wonderful memory for you and your fiancé. Oh I think a bike is a great gift idea for the registry.
Mitzi - I always feel fatigued the first couple lengths in the pool but I find if I just push through it I feel better. I don't know if this is what you meant but I hope it helps.
Todd - I hope your Brick training went well and you continue to feel strong.
Dave - 50 n 50 is amazing. You must be really training hard to achieve that.
Dennis - Oh My, I am super impressed that you finished that race. I have ran one short winter race and it was pure torture so I feel for you
Julie - I am new to this too. I am not much of a cyclist either so I am really trying to figure it out. It is exciting to start this new adventure, isn't it?

Thank you for all your welcoming words, advice and encouragement. I am really enjoying reading everyone's posts.

Talk to you soon

Dennis - Awesome job! I am not sure I would have braved those conditions so my hat's off to you. I despise running in the cold. Ugh...

Julie - I was in your boat last year. Just up and decided to do a triathlon. Words of wisdom that were given to me... consistency and specificity are keys.

Everyone else - hope your training is going as planned.

As for me I started my build this past week. Let the good times roll.

Many comments about clip-in shoes. I remember my 'spill' at a stop with mine. Only about 30 cars saw me. Some even clapped and cheered for me. Of course I stood up and gave a bow! Good times, good times. =)

Practice the clippless shoes in the house, on the trainer, in a parkinglot etc. before going out on the road.... none of us do but wish we had. After all that advice doesn't apply to me... right?

Nice slog in the snow, hope you had on your smartwool socks. Some races are to go faster, some are just to get to the finish line, run walk or crawl.

Well I survived our weekend and even added a few projects that weren't planned. My wife and I did a 10K on Saturday morning at a very hilly golf course. I paced her so she could try for a PR, and she would have had it if she had not have had to stop to use the bathroom. Had she subtracted the time she spent in the bathroom from her overall time she would have gotten her PR. Then we went home to recover briefly before going to an evening 5K. It was during this time that we learned that our hot water heater quit working. The 5K race was part of our fitness race series but we originally weren't going to participate. One of our good friends was injured in a car accident and there was a large group of people attending this race to show support for her. I again paced my wife for the 5K and she PR'd by almost a minute. We had a good time.

Sunday was our Tri-Training Class and we went for a bike ride. Up a hill. Big hill. Back down and then back up. Then a third time. Then went back to transition and ran 1.85 miles. It was a pretty tough workout and my quads are killing me today. It was good because it gave me a lot clearer picture of where my weaknesses are. After class, we picked up a hot water heater and went back home to start really working. I'm not a plumber. Finally got hot water by 6:00 p.m. and called it a weekend. Still had hot water this morning so I must have done something right.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend. The weather here was almost perfect which is unusual in Nebraska in March. It was great to get to ride outside and it was clear that my bike training needs to a) increase in volume, and b) incorporate a lot more hills.

Steve

Dennis : Congrats on your race, and in the snow no less!!!

Pam : ok now I hate you (kidding of course!!!) sounds like a great vacation, good for you

Julie : welcome!

Had a great weekend of training. Up to around 5k runs now and I'm starting to feel like I am a runner again In fact last Saturday morning I had a 35 mins in Z2, felt RPE was higher, around 5-6 (I always struggle more when I run in the mornings vs at night) and came home to see that my average pace was higher for a lower HR than usual. I'll take that!

Started swimming again Saturday as well, 1,600 yards complete with drills, technique and a few faster intervals. I was feeling great and felt my form was not too bad. Shoulders and arms were sore the next day though.... ouch.

Sunday was long-bike day. I am so jealous of you all who can ride outside!!! My 90-min ride was cut short to 70 mins; had to go get my daughter at her friend's earlier than expected.

Last week I received tests results that show that I have moderate Cervical dysplasia (CIN 2) which could lead to cervical cancer if nothing is done. I am undergoing surgery on Wednesday, and I am not too sure what to expect for the days after. I know I cannot swim for 2 weeks, but I hope I can bike. If not it will be the perfect opportunity to have a run-focused week!

I have just been for my 4th ride ever on a road bike and my oh my... I've never realized how much a cross wind can affect you more than a head wind! It's a killer. I need more time on the bike.

My swim is definitely getting better now. Focusing on proper catch and body roll now that I'm able to breath a little better.

Run is going well. Slammed 8 miles yesterday, with the final mile being HIIT at 0:20/2:00 intervals.

Need to also spend more time with strength training! I seem to be falling into the age-old tri tradition of not finding enough time to strength train but will put plenty of hours into the swim, bike, run.

Good job Isabella on the swimming! 1600yds is quite a distance! I'm sorry to hear about the medical issue, but at least it's been caught now as opposed to letting it develop into something more serious. Way to stay positive :-)

Ugg 4600 yard swim... tired.

Robin, enjoy the tri! And best of luck to hubby who is doing his first tri!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alligators? Where are you? Sounds like my neck of the woods, sorta.

Isabella, Girl, thinking of you and praying for you. Hope the surgery went well. Recover Babe before starting back with training.

I'm tired. That is all...

Ha! me too! (says the girl who woke up at 4:15am)

Can someone make me enjoy swimming? I just don't like it. And therefore, keep skipping it.

I'm laughing about the clipless pedals. It took me an ENTIRE summer to get used to them. I fell all the time. Rite of passage.

Isabella, good luck today! Will be thinking of you!

Hey everyone! I'm brand new to BT, & Triathlons and I spent the last day or two going through this thread/group. I've been trying to parse and absorb so much information (articles, podcasts, videos, etc.), but I think it would be helpful to talk to people and gain some more insight into this sport. And so I'm here.. and if you'll have me, I'd be happy to post an introduction like I've seen many people do!

Thanks!

Dan

Common in Dan. Triathlon isn't complicated, you swim a bit, then you bike a bit then you run a bit then you eat a lot. However, you will start exhibiting symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder from all of the little things involved in the sport. Toss up any questions you have and we will try to answer them. Basically start off slow and remain consistent and you will be fine. Don't plan on doing an Ironman 6 weeks after you start training...

Advice, get good running shoes from a running store where they video you running on a treadmill and get you the right level of support. Don't ever wear anything cotton when you workout and you don't wear underwear under your bike shorts.

Sounds like some awesome stuff has been happening, good work everyone!

I too did the complete stop, slow motion fall with my clipped in shoes .

Question on swimming. I've always been a weak swimmer, even when I was in grade school taking swimming lessons. I have an inability to do the flutter kick, and I have never been able to break it (even with several swim lessons as an adult). If I take a kick-board and just try to kick, I literally go backwards....very very slowly backwards. On the other hand I rock at the whip kick, which is terrible for endurance swimming. I learned that when I had to take 6 months off of everything a few years ago.

I have been forcing myself to just get stronger and stronger at freestyle with decent success, but it is pretty much entirely upper body.

Is this a good direction to take? My theory being that I don't really use my upper body in biking and running anyway.

NAME: Dan

STORY: I'm 29 and way out of shape! (6'2, 250lbs.) There was a point in my life when I could run a few miles, probably 10 years ago. My adult life jobs and hobbies have all required me to spend extensive time sitting, and so I haven't actually tried to do any type of cardio in a very long time. I feel I'm way too young to have the frequent small aches and pains that I do. Golfing is a passion of mine, but even a round of golf leaves my back and feet sore.

So last year a family member said we should all do a race, and one of us jokingly said, instead of a run, why not a triathlon? I gave it some thought and did some reading through the winter. Finally, I'm in a place mentally where I feel comfortable committing the time/energy and joined a local gym which has a 25 meter pool! I spent a week getting acclimated to the facilities and to my abilities in the pool, bike and treadmill, and I've been logging everything the the BT training log.

FAMILY STATUS: Getting married to an amazing and supportive woman in 3 months!

CURRENT TRAINING: I created a 20 week, 3x Balanced BT custom plan based on the following paces: SWIM: 3:00min / 100m, BIKE: 16Mi / Hour, RUN: 11:00min / mile. I think the bike/swim is more on target than the run. I did get fitted for a running shoe a few days ago, but I did it after I wore cotton socks in a bad shoe and ripped up the skin on my achilles.

THIS YEAR'S RACES (2015): There's a Sprint level (SWIM: 400m BIKE: 10Mi RUN: 5k), on August 9 (Atlantic City, NJ). I haven't registered yet, but the 20 week training plan goes right up into that race. I'm a little hesitant to register so early on, and I figured about 4 weeks in if I'm seeing some results and think I can do it, I'd register then.

WEIGHTLOSS: Initially, this was an idea brought about for weight loss. I am @ 250lbs now, but I'm approaching this now as weightloss is a corollary to completing a race and getting my body to a place where I feel better. I've been eating better since I started the 20-week plan: Brown rice, chicken, eggs, salads, fruits, veggies. I've given up the starbucks drinks, ice cream, burgers, etc. which have been commonplace in my life for a long time.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I'm competitive, attentive and curious. I am very interested in doing this the right way and preventing any injuries, so I'm very open to suggestion!

GOALS: Summarized, I want to complete that sprint race in August. If I find my body is very responsive to the training, I'd like to set a goal to do it under 1:30. Lose weight, but not to a target number. If I enjoy the experience, I'll reevaluate my goals after that race!


Is competing in a Sprint distance this August, realistic? Here is the only idea of my "base" I've been able to gather:

SWIM: I've always been able to swim, but I've never tried to breathe and swim for a longer distance. After 5-6 pool sessions, I went from coughing and breathing in water every 4 strokes and not being able to get across the pool, to a medium effort forward crawl 550m swim yesterday in ~14:30. (my left side is noticeably weaker than my right when I try to propel with a catch!)

BIKE: The first day at the gym, I jumped on an upright bike, I went for 30 minutes @ 16-17mph & cadence ~80-85, covered exactly 8.00 miles in that workout. I was pretty beat afterward (high HR).

RUN: Ugh, I tried a 10 minute run 3min/3min/2min/2min respectively @ 4mph/6mph/4mph/6mph. I did this before a proper shoe fitting and it rubbed the back of my foot up on my achilles and caused a nasty cut. I was completely spent after this run (high HR) and the following day everything was sore!

Thanks for welcoming me, and sorry for the length of the post!

Dan


Edited by negatorx 2015-03-27 9:09 AM

Welcome negatorx! I, like you, started this journey at 247lbs... Now 50lbs lighter, much healthier, stronger and more fit, I can say triathlon is one of the best things I've pushed for.

Good luck on your journey!

Oh, and running shoes is one of the best investments you can make... spend some time at a proper running shop, listen to advice and splurge out the extra $10-20 bucks to get the pair that really will help. It pays off. Just this morning, I was talking with another runner friend of mine and they just took a step back in running shoe quality not thinking much of it, but it's affected every aspect of their run.

Calm before the storm for me. Weekend is coming and there will be pain. Lots of pain I predict. =)

Jimmy - My .02 on kicking during the swim:

Swimming is such a technique oriented discipline it is hard to pinpoint any one thing that might be giving you some issues on the kick from a post. With that, from my experience I have found that when people have difficulty kicking it is usually one of two thing. Poor plantar flexion and/or kicking from the knees. Great news is both can be improved!

Good plantar flexion is something we want to obtain as it will 1) give us the proper angles of our feet when we kick to propel us forward and 2) get those "anchors" (the feet) out of the way when we swim. Drag is enemy #1. Drag will cause you to use more energy to get through the water. Don't overdue trying to increase plantar flexion though. I have heard of injuries in the run from people being to aggressive on trying to get plantar flexion like you see in the ballet. That's crazy IMO.

Kicking from the knees is something we would like to avoid as well. Lots of drag. Work your kick from the hips, legs generally in a straight line hip to toes. Most people do not like this because at first they are using muscles they are not use to and they think it is slower. Stay with it and like all things you get better at it with more practice.

As for working just the upper body I would not ignore the kick all together. Me personally I have ~10% of my total yardage devoted to kick set(s). Some days a little higher and some days a little lower. You definitely do not have to be doing a 6-beat kick though. (6 kicks per 1 stroke cycle). Most triathletes I know use a 2-beat kick. They do just enough help them stay balanced on the arm rotation and keep the legs/feet from creating excess drag. Less energy expenditure as well. As far as 2-beat, 4-beat, 6-beat...I wouldn't worry too much which one you have or do not have at this point. Do what comes natural as far as the kick count goes.

Lastly, have you tried kicking without a kickboard? On your stomach? On your back? If so, how did that go? If not, maybe incorporate a no board interval or two and see?

Hope this helps some.

Dan - Welcome and congrats on the upcoming wedding.

Totally 100% you can do a sprint tri in 20 weeks! Have fun with the process. Most important thing I believe is staying injury free!

I look forward to seeing your progress and welcome once again. I just got here myself

Staying injury free is related to a lot of things. When I started triathlon I didn't know what this meant. And then I had a pulled muscle here, a bike crash there a shoulder impingement etc. The first thing is use all wicking clothing, especially socks. Then start a walk to walk/jog to jog to run program where you go easy enough that you don't get hurt. You need to build mileage safely. What I am learning this year is that I need to work some muscles to balance the overuse of triathlon muscles. I have not been good enough at this, but I have done some. For me that is shoulder for the swim, top of the knee for the bike and calves for the run. Listen to your body is another thing I didn't understand. So my runs have been crappy all week as have been my swims. If I had listened to my body I would have skipped my 6 mile run today and my 25 mile bike ride. My run pace is getting slower though my fitness is fine for the run distances. So no bike tonight. Next week I may have to drop down a few workouts. Bike fit is important. I realized too late this year that the nose on the seat of my bike is down just a bit. I didn't really notice until the longer rides and now the top of the knee is very grumpy with me. The more extra pounds you carry the more careful you need to be with your body. Also I don't lose weight until my workouts are 90 minutes long or longer. From the couch that is about 3 months out. So don't get discouraged about the weight loss, just cut out a few things like chocholate and icecream and see how things go for a month. If you don't lose any weight drop 1 more thing. Don't expect to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week and expect plateaus of 3 weeks followed by several pound drop. Be very careful after a 5 pound drop as you might want to reward yourself and kill the gain with some icecream.

Swimming for triathlon is mostly (90%) front quadrant. Real swimmers use their legs, but you can survive the swim with a 2:00/100 with just a 2 beat kick. Balance so that you don't have drag from your legs, a reasonable catch and rotation and figuring out how to breath are your first hurdles.

Dennis - you have been really strong and consistent and I'm impressed with you getting out there and doing your race in this horrible weather we are having.

Isabella - good you found out about your medical issue early. Wishing you an easy recovery.

Dan - switching to healthy food is a big piece of getting to a healthy weight. I did well on a high protein, low carb plan. You'll find the cravings for unhealthy food decreases and the more you work out the more committed you'll get to healthy eating. Though I do find myself getting hungrier...

Phil - nice to hear you all excited about the details of your wedding. It sounds like it will be a wonderful evening.

Robin - brave of you to camp before your race. That's great that you have inspired your hubby!

As for me, I'm disappointed with my lack of consistency. I'm making some nice progress with running, and with very little time in the pool I'm beginning to hate it less and think I'm getting that catching water with my forearm thing.
Four months out from my sprint, five months out from my first oly.

Well I had a much better training week this week and I am feeling pretty good. I am glad I took the time to build up a base fitness level before I started this. I did my first brick workout yesterday. It was only a 10 Km bike and 2.5Km run but I just wanted to see what it felt like and as I am training for a sprint I thought that half of each distance would be a decent test. The training program I am trying to follow didn't call for one yet but I was curious. I think the transition might have been the hardest thing I ever did. After about the first Km of the run I felt better but in the beginning OMG! It took a lot of positive self talk to push myself through that but I was pretty proud when I completed it. The winds have been crazy this weekend, between 24 and 40 miles per hour, but that could happen in the summer so I figure I should train in it, at least it is now above freezing.
I have found out I really need to work on my cycling times and staying low on the handle bars. I think I need to find a yoga program for cyclists because my lower back definitely gets tight. I am getting my bike fitted this week and I am hoping that will help.

Jimmy - kicking is hard to learn, if you use a kick board make sure to hold it with your arms straight out in front of you and hold it in your hands to keep your body as level as possible. When you hold it close to your body, your upper body will lift out of the water and your legs will angle down and create drag. Point your toes and kick from the hip, and do not lock the joints. It shouldn't be a huge motion. Your upper body is doing most of the work anyway so if you kick isn't perfect (mine is far from it, I have just taught it to young ones) it isn't the end of the world but I would work on it, without kicking swimming could be really exhausting. I need help with my whip kick though, any suggestions are welcome, my breast stroke sucks.

Robin I am interested to know how your husband did. I am betting the side stroke or back stroke would work just fine. I am not so sure about camping with alligators though.

Welcome Dan, I am brand new as well so I am excited to follow your progress.

Steve - Thanks for all the advice. I have been making sure to wear proper gear and did skip a workout due to fatigue this week. I am hoping to avoid injury if at all possible. A 10Km and a 5Km in one day and then hill training the next, WOW. Congrats to your wife on her PR!

Monday! "recovery" week for me.

Hope everyone's weekend was a good one. For those that raced I hope you enjoyed the experience. For those with medical issues I wish you a speedy recovery. For those that trained I hope some fitness was gained. For those that took it easy this weekend I hope you are physically and mentally rested.

Warm weather is coming!

And the week is off to a flying start :-) Great ride/run brick session over lunch... 20 mile/2 mile.