Kenj - triathletes in training CLOSED (Page 10)

CyborgQueen - 2012-04-11 9:30 AM

Meulen - 2012-04-11 5:59 AM I'm having the same issues with IE. It's only with a few threads on BT though. this being one of them.

Come to the dark side....use Google Chrome. :-)

I picked Chrome over IE because it seems like I always have issues with IE. Picked Chrome over Firefox because for some reason my laptop hates it and I screwed up somehow deep in the files no matter how well I delete everything to reinstall. 

I like Chrome because it's much more easier to use, and the layout is very simple and non-cluttering. 

Did you tell them on the BT Support Forums?

I PM'd Ron when I first set up this thread and he had me try a couple of things to no avail.  It was fine with my Ipad on Safari so I just switched over to Firefox on my laptop.  At home on IE it works fine.

Meulen - 2012-04-11 10:32 AM I'm kinda stuck using IE here at work. So I'll have to live with it here. I have a topic....... Coaching: I've always done things on my own. Of course I read, read, and read some more on how to plan workouts and prepare for races. I'm kind of OCD. However, lately, I've been having trouble. I've hit some real ruts in training. Life has slapped me cross the face with changes in my job and time spent. Being Obsessive Compulsively structured, the inconsitency with work time has driven me crazy! For the first time, since I've started my journey of weight loss and triathlon I've been failing to reach my goals. I'm feeling more and more like I may need some help here. I WANT to take this to the next level. I WANT to start getting onto the podiums. I WANT to make qualify for Ironman 70.3 Vegas! I'm feeling stuck just under this level and don't know how to get there. When do you know it's time to seek out coaching? Have any of you used the pay memberships and or coaching here on BT? What did you think?

Very good topic Brian and one that I am struggling with as well.  I used an Endurance Nation off season plan once and for the marathons I have used Pete Pfitzingers plans a couple of times, other wise all of my training plans have come from BT.  Started out using the canned programs that they have for the various membership levels.  Lately I have been using their custom plan creator.  The only time I used the coaching services that have here are before they changed it to a monthly fee based program with greater access to the coaches and more services.  At that time, you just chose the plan and you could ask the D3 coaches questions in a forum thread that was semi private.  But it was somewhat limited to who and when someone was available to answer.  It is funny that there doesn't seem to be much talk about the coaching program  in the other forums that I have seen.

I am thinking I would like to change something up with my training, mostly because the plans here are all written to some degree by the same people and although I think they are great and have prepared me well for my races, to me they are getting to be a little of the same old thing.  For the longer distance racing I like to do takes a lot of hours of training and boredom can become the enemy.

Sounds like you might be at a point where having a coach may help in giving you a professional opinion on your training and the ability to change it up on the fly, something a canned plan can't do.  The feed back may be worth the cost assuming you choose the right coach.

I know that Ice and Carla use a coach and I Kathleen has used one in the past.  I would be interest to hear their perspective as well as anyone else on this subject. 

Brian - a GOOD coach will accept your changes in the schedule and will be able to give you flexibility on the fly.  

If you're a reader of DCRainmaker's blog, he has a real wacky schedule, and has commented many times about his coach is able to understand and switch things up.  

If you feel like you're in a rut, switch things up a little bit. Go mountain bike riding, go hiking, etc.

I haven't used the coaching services on BT, so I don't know how personalized it is for each athlete though. From what a friend told me (she only used it for a month then she quit), is that they want you to use BT specific plans and follow it.  So, it sounds like while you're getting coaching, but not personalized. 

I would search for a coach that will HELP you reach your goals to get you to WTC Las Vegas 70.3 instead of following a canned plan.  It seems like the BT plans will help you finish, and higher volume plans will help you finish better, but not in a competitive way. I could be completely wrong...

We've had some cooler weather of late and I've tried to take advantage of it by running as much as possible.  I never realized until this year how much the temperature affects my endurance.

But what i really need to be doing is getting back to the pool.  I've been "lazy" because it's so much easier to just put my shoes on and walk out my door than going to the pool.

I think I am going to finally break down and get 1-on-1 swimming lessons.  Has anyone done this?  Did  you get much benefit from it?

Russ I did this last year, and as soon as my shoulder is better I am going to do it again.  After 5 years of struggling through the swim and not seeing any gains I took advantage of this at my Y.  Best thing I have done.  Even better if you can find one that offers under water video analysis as part of the lesson.

Hey Yvonne! Glad you still made it to see your family!!! I received an "inspire" message from you, read it, and couldn't retrieve it again. What did I do wrong?

Thanks,
Lynda 

I agree - at first I hated the cold, and would avoid it, but then I realize that i do so much better running in much cooler weather.  It's worse when it reaches 100+ in Vegas. Have to put my runs very early morning or at the gym tracks. Night time is still pretty hot because the sun is beating down on asphalt, and the heat is radiating from the asphalt at night. Not 100% idea, but once in a while I put in a run at night. 

I've gotten swimming lessons and yes I got quite a bit benefits.  Look around, there may be a Swimming for Triathlons group swims. In my area, there's Swimming for Triathletes every few days (and yes, you have to pay because you're being coached at the same time). There's Swim Las Vegas that also does swimming classes, etc.  

If you can get a real good deal on a swim coach for triathletes (I was told that Triathlon swimming is different than competitive swimming, so I don't know if that's true or not), I would take it. It'll help you form habits for your swim strokes. 

Really, really hoping to get outside for a bike ride today (first one of the year) as it is supposed to creap into the 50's.  it is almost noon and only 32 degrees - if it doesn't get at least into the 40's (need to make sure the ice is all melted)  in the next few hours I will have to get on the trainer.

Another issue with my outdoor bike ride is that hubby has the bike pump in his car.  I am going to TRY and use my CO2 cartridges to inflate them as I should know how to use them just in case  wish me luck!

Agree completely - there's a point where it gets too cold, but about 40 - 70 seems to be my sweet spot.  I start getting "diminishing returns" in the mid 80s and really struggle when it gets above 90.  Waiting until night is nearly worthless because as you said, everything holds onto the heat and it's almost as hot at night as it was in the day.

On swimming, I've tried a group but didn't get much good out of it - it was just a coach telling you which stroke to use going across the pool.  I think I needed to be a better swimmer before it would be beneficial.  I hope the 1-on-1 help will do the trick.

First outside ride of the year check!

Interesting ride - I was expecting the 6 months worth of gravel, but the mud was a surprise - Several (up to a foot?) in some places. After I got off the bike I realized why a few people honked - my entire backside was quite dirty - dysentary anyone?

Crashed once when I hit a snow bank covering the road on a downhill - luckily my mtn biking paid off and was able to jump off before the bike hit the ground. Still was enough to get my front tire out of alingnment and I couldn't get it to stop rubbing on the break for the remainder of the ride back. definately could tell it was the first bike of the season - I will be sore tomorrow!

For those who haven't gotten outside yet - do it! Even with the mud and crash I had a great time!

I took a couple of photos - the first is to show how much snow we still have in our yard and the second was to show how dirty my bike was when I was finished riding - but the road grime doesn't show up very well.

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Holy carp, look at all that snow!!!!  Glad you were able to avert disaster!

A thought about transitions..

The tip about remembering where your bike is is so important. Finding a landmark is critical. On occasion I have made the mistake of not having a landmark or counting rows and when I came off the bike, I couldn't find my spot. Things look a lot different when there aren't bikes (or they are scattered) in transtion.

With regards to coaching, I have to admit that my experiences have been dissapointing at best. I know that there are many great coaches and some people have great relationships and experiences with coaches. What happened to me was that while I was paying someone to write my plan, give me feed back and be my cheerleader when I needed it, I often recieved workouts that I am sure were copied and pasted from another plan. The feedback was inconsistant at best and I really didn't feel like he cared.  I think coaching can be wonderful but finding the right person can be challenging. It is also pretty pricy. I was receiving my training plan every week so sometimes I wouldn't know what the next week was going look like until Saturday or even Sunday. I didn't like that. I wanted more "notice".  Again it is finding the right person and making sure you are both on the same page in terms what the expectations are. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to have a coach that really cared, that cheered me on at a local race, and invested some time in me but at this point I am flying solo.  I think I will enjoy now having to report to anyone or worry about not getting a workout in.  Now all I have to do is find my motivation

Hey everyone, still here, have seen all the posts, unfortunately busy and time is a premium right now. Will be back later to post.

Peter

Good morning all!

Whats everyone up to today?

For me 90 minutes on the trainer and I am planning on finding time for a run later as well.

Getting 1-on-1 swim lessons was the best thing I have ever done for my swimming.  The other thing that has been very beneficial has been swimming with a Masters class.  Our swim coach does an excellent job helping evrybody and having challenging work-outs.  Over 1000 yards, my 100 yd splits have probably increased by 30 seconds or more.  That being said, I'm also swimming a lot more than before.

Morning!

Working then going for my first bike ride of the season too! Sure glad all our snow is gone, unlike Robin's!

Already finished a trainer ride of 1:45.  My legs were up to the challenge, but my butt is sore!

yeah!!! have fun!

*praying* that the Wind Gods decides to leave us alone tonight. Going on a easy night bike ride with my bike club, with a 1 mile run after. Tuesdays - Hard, hilly ride, Thursdays - easy recovery ride/brick (if this is a bit on a slower side, I'm going to change it up so I can put more focus on speeding up my cadence), with a short run after. So it'll be a brick ride.   My new NiteRider MiNewt is screaming, "Please can I go outside? Please please please?!"

8 mile run then some yard work - took the day off to work outside with the family.

I missed these pictures when I looked through earlier!  Yikes, that makes me cold just looking at the snow!