RFP GROUP 2013 - CLOSED (Page 10)

KC - Hope you recover quickly my friend and have a great training session on Saturday with the tri club.

KTC - Hope the track workout went well.

I finally made it to day 30 of the Whole30 program I have been using for my nutrition. There are more details about the benefits I've found in my log, but the big news is I've lost 7.6kgs (16.75 lbs) and am that much closer to my race weight.

I highly recommend this program, even if you only do it the once to give your system a break from all the high carb sugary calories. Here is the link - Whole30 Program

Trust me if I can do it and get those sort of results, anyone can!

Hello Team!

Hope everyone is doing well....

I am still resting my heels although it feels much better. I'm getting anxious but I will give it another week before I try running on it again. In the mean time I will do some maintenance work so that I don't lose my edge.

Take care...

Swimming is frustrating.

I just started as well.  Like a week ago.  Today I worked on putting my hand in the water more correctly and releasing my shoulder on the recovery.  Probably not really pretty but starting and finishing better helped me propel myself a lot further / stroke and roll a bit more fluidly.  And it just makes it more comfortable.  

Can't bang out endless laps by any means but I feel like that helped "feeling" in the water.  I read that incorrect entering and exiting the water are usually where most shoulder injuries occur so upped that aspect on the priority list.

Hope your ankle is ok, Deb!

For the "newer" swimmers, I took a few private lessons when I started tri training and found it VERY helpful.  I think it cost me $120 for three 30 minute lessons - so it def is an added expense - but I found it worth every penny!  She did not videotape me but looked closely above and below water to see how I could improve my stroke.  I literally could barely swim 50 yards without feeling winded but after she tweaked some things, I felt like I could swim forever! 

Might be worth seeing if there is someone similar in your area...

Happy Friday!

Well my track workout sucked!!!  It was very intense and very intimidating seeing all these fast runners.  I thought I could hold my own, but no I was the slowest female and the 2nd slowest of the group.  Didn't really feel welcome by the ladies in fact there were kinda rude.  I did make a point of saying Hi to everyone and introducing myself and that still didn't work.  Oh well, I like to think their loss.

Been having pain in my left arm when I am swimming recently and I like to think I am not doing anything different with my stroke but truth be told I must be if there is pain.  So, today I signed up for a triathlon clinic in hopes they can find my problem.

Lori - I am and had been working with a coach and she gives me my workouts.  I really like this because I have such a crazy schedule that she works around it and I can still get my workouts in.  When I was training for the IM the most I was working out was 20 hours a week and that only lasted for 3 weeks.  If I planned my own workout I would get stressed out trying to make it all work and here I just rely on her.  It works for me.

Gil - I know you might be anxious to get running again but it is good for you to take that extra week off.  

Simone - great job on the weight loss!

Pierce - Just take each lap one lap at a time and not worry about how many you have to swim for your race just yet.  Before you know it you will be swimming that length without really knowing it.

Great advice Kristen. Another option to look at would be a Master Swim group in your area. Here is the website http://www.usms.org/placswim/?utm_campaign=top_nav&utm_medium=local_programs

I think people get too stressed out about the swim sometimes especially when new to it.  Think of the swim as just a survival to get to the bike and run.  If you really put it in prospective the difference between a fast swim and slow swim is minimal.  IE... if you were to swim you 400 swim at a 1:20/100Y pace (Faster) you would finish in 5:20.  If you were to swim it at a 2:15/100Y pace (slower) you would finish at 9:00.  In theory you are stressing out about 3:40 which is very minimal and can easily be made up during your bike or run.

AJ brought up some good points and just focus on your form.  Speed will come eventually but if you start out with bad form it is gonna take a LONG time to correct it and you are gonna risk injury.  If you can - have someone videotape you and analyze it.  Have someone with swimming experience watch you swim and critique you.  Swimming is such a difficult thing to figure out yourself because you have no idea what you look like. 

Perfect example - last year I though my stroke was great until I borrowed a camera and had a friend video me.  I quickly realized that my pull was terrible.  i was doing some crazy thing where I was bringing my hand almost in front of my face.  I posted the video here and let everyone critique it.  After a couple weeks of drills and conscious efforts my times went down significantly.  

Basically just don't stress out about it.  You are gonna be slower as you start out but work on your form and you will be good.  You should see your times go down and your effort be much less with some consistent work.  If not then you might be doing something wrong.

So the doc cleared me to start working out again but to take it easy.  I have a show tonight so will have to start out tomorrow with a light bike ride

Hi guys! Sorry, I've been bad at posting lately. I have been keeping up the training though. Nothing spectacular but holding my own.

KC - hope you feel better

Deb - sorry to hear about your ankle.

Kathy - it's definitely their loss! I've sometimes found group that just don't work...and that's okay.

I do have good news and only a group like this would understand it (my other friends just can't relate). I met with a guy from Retul bike fitters and they want to do a project involving 6 different local (Boulder) companies to make a series of 10 videos showcasing what it takes to train and get to an olympic distance triathlon. The companies (Retul, TrainingPeaks, Skratch Labs, Zeal Optics, Pactimo & some one else) will showcase what they bring to the table and I would be one of the 2 athletes doing the training!! They said that I would get free coaching, trainingpeaks upgrade, skratch lab nutrition, a race kit and free entry into the Steamboat Olympic Tri!! I feel like I just won the tri lottery! I'm so excited but most of this stuff doesn't start til April. Should be pretty fun!

Take care everyone...sounds like we've got a lot of little injuries/colds.

Congrats on being cleared to train! Now go get em...slowly of course

KC - sorry to hear you've got the flu, real shame about missing the tri club training, hang in there buddy!

Deb - sorry bout your ankle hun, hope it isn't too badly sprained, keep us posted!

KTC - I feel your disappointment, I really hate clicky groups. I'm hoping this endurance run training I've signed up for isn't like that, especially when I've already paid up front for the package.

Tim - so happy for you that you can get back into your training, hope you have a great gig and then go smash it on the road!

Sounds like it has been a tough week for a lot of the Team, hope everyone starts to heal quickly, both from injury and illness.

I've had a great week, which is a nice change cause I've had plenty of bad ones, put in a solid 12 hrs of work and really looking forward to my day off.

I hope everyone has a good weekend, whatever you all end up doing.

p.s. Thanks very much to those who've been sending me inspires, it really is great to have that support!

Great news Jen, congrats, sounds like it will be an awesome experience! Good for you!!

Well I got my ride in today and felt great.  I recently had the big "V" so I wasn't sure how it was gonna feel sitting on the bike but I had zero issues so I guess I have no excuses now.  I am loving this Trainer Road.  Gonna hit the pool for the first time in a while tomorrow.  I am so out of shape -ugh.  It is funny how after all that training and mental preparation last year that I still have the mental aspect of it and wanna push but my body is telling me I am nuts.  Gonna have to get them back to the same level again.

Here is my workout data from Trainer Road -http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/156524# 

Great news Tim! Glad you have recovered from your procedures. I reckon after a few weeks your fitness will come back and you'll be firing like a V8 again.

Kc- Sorry to hear that you got the flu. It seems like everyone has it now.

Hope you get better soon!

Tim - It's great to feel great again but I think one has to be a little nuts to put themselves through all the pain. Look forward in hearing on how it s going for you.

Gil are you talking about the vasectomy pain or running an Ironman pain haha?

Had a pretty productive run yesterday.  Did a little over 8 miles with a 2 mile threshold run.  Tried to keep it under 6:15 but that didn't quite go to plan.  Recovered well but would like to clip that down to under 6:00 in the next few weeks.  Going from marathon to this shorter distance is a bit of a change.