Gray Guys/Girls Masters Focus Triathlete Forum--OPEN! (Page 10)

Wow Steve!  That sounds really terrible, but good to see you still have your sense of humor.    Good luck with your recovery.

Hey Steve -

Oh man, what do you say?  Sorry you wrecked and really glad you are on the mend.

I have heard many times that there are two types of cyclists - those that HAVE crashed, and those that HAVE NOT crashed.  I suppose this may be a good time to ask everyone a simple question?  What would happen if YOU crashed while on a training ride or had an accident while running?  I personally do not carry ID with me while I am out training.  How about you?  Would first responders know who you are?  Would they know how to get hold of your loved ones?  Would they know your pertinent medical history?  When I realized I had to answer all of those questions "NO" I became very concerned.

I now wear a Road-ID bracelet - http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx - whenever I am riding or running.  (NO I don't have any financial interest in RoadID).  They have several options, one being that your entire medical history and all of your contact information is privately stored and instantly accessible with a pin that is on the back of the bracelet.  First responders are aware of RoadID is and look for it in case of an accident.  Less than $30 bought absolute peace of mind for me and more importantly, for my wife.  I encourage you to investigate this protection as countless others have.

Steve - get well soon my friend.

This is largely the result of an improper bike fit.  Seat to high, bars to low - your weight transfers to your arms causing pain in your hands/arms.  Seat to low, bars to high - weight transfers to your backside causing pain back there.

Sounds like you had a fun day Deb!  

Scott,

I think that I am doing a better job at keeping my head down and only turning it a little for that breath.  I did read your blog entries for both body roll and breathing and I am pretty sure I need more body roll.   Can you say anything about where in the stroke cycle you actually turn your head to breathe?  Seems like the peak point in the body roll would coincide with the recovering arm (elbow first) just starting to come out of the water.  Is that right?  Should I be starting to turn my head just slightly before that?

Thanks.

Ouch!! Heal well Steve!  Broken ribs are so painful.  Seven of them with all the other injuries sounds brutal!!

Hi Scott -

Let me start by saying there are two types of freestyle.  There is 'Triathlon Freestyle' and there is 'Swim Meet Freestyle."  In swim meet freestyle, the one and only consideration is speed - going as fast as you can for the entire race.  Then you get out of the water and generally have a couple hours before your next event.  Triathlon freestyle on the other hand is about conservation of energy.  You don't get to recover any time soon and when you do get done with the swim you are going to climb on a bike and ride, often for a considerable distance.  Then you get to run to cool down.  My point is that you swim the two different types of freestyle differently to accomplish disparate goals.  The VAST majority of swim coaches and instructors out there are teaching or coaching swim meet freestyle.  If you try to swim a triathlon swim leg the same way you would swim a 100 freestyle race, you likely will not complete the triathlon swim leg.  If you do complete it, you will pretty well be trashed for the rest of the day.  When I talk about freestyle here, I am talking about triathlon freestyle.  In a swim meet, specifically the longer distances at a swim meet, glide is not such a bad thing.

Now on to your question.

The swim leg of the majority of triathlons is held in open water - ocean, lake, or river.   In open water you tend to have rough water.and in rough water, the last thing you want is a long glide.  The catch-up drill teaches a REALLY long glide.  There is a person I recently started working with who has so much glide that the recovering hand is nearly entering the water before the other hand begins the stroke.  That means there is NO propulsion except for the little bit from the kick during nearly the entire recovery.  If a swimmer does that in open water they will be nearly stopped by the time they start the next stroke.  Then you have a constant battle, trying to get momentum.  You start to go, then you slow down, then you start to go, then slow down.  That is a VERY inefficient way to swim.  On the other hand, if you have a symmetrical stroke, you will always have "a paddle in the water."  You won't be fighting to develop forward momentum with every stroke.

As I think about it, even if the swim leg is held in a pool, this is going to apply as there would be so many people in the pool that there would be fairly rough water.

I tell anyone I work with to NEVER do another catch up drill unless their goal is to compete in swim meets.