Prof40's group CLOSED (Page 11)

So after sucking on the bike in my race, I've decided to try to get four rides/week in all summer. I'm tweaking the 3x balanced Oly program so that it looks like this:

Mon--AM short ride, focus on speed (40-60 min), PM short run w/ intervals
Tues--Commute to work (~20 mi total), swim at lunch
Wed--AM med run
Thurs--Commute, take the long way(probably between 25-30 mi total), swim at lunch
Fri--AM Long run
Sat--Off
Sun--Long ride

Only two swims, but I think I can afford that.

What do you guys think?

mck35,

The program that I am doing calls for running one day a week on the same day as a swim.  It is the shortest run of the week so it really isn't that bad.  I tried lifting immediately after swimming today and learned that my muscles are like jello after a decent swim.  Oh well, I'm not trying to be hurcules anymore.

I'm not making an official recommendation, but my first goal of any week is to just try to get the workouts done. If you have a life -- family, friends, job, a house, etc. -- you are always going to have conflicts with your training. With that in mind, I don't pay much attention to swim/bike or bike/run, whatever. I usually sit down with my calendar and my training plan on Fri or Sat and pencil in my workouts for the next week. I simply try to get all the sessions in.

I'm not always successful. For example, this week, my swimming is 1000 yards short and I missed lifting. On the other hand, I was able to get a yoga class in, and I did my own personal tri on Wednesday. So there's always some hits and misses.


At this point, you should have a sense of what your body can take and where you need the work. As long as you don't skip one of the disciplines, some minor adjustments to your plan should be okay.

Hi David... this is a little off top topic, but I noticed you're from PA.

Have you ever done the Pinchot Sprint near Harrisburg?

http://www.tricatsports.com/sprint.html 

If so, what are your thoughts? I'm about to sign up for it...


Thanks!

Jerry 

Ha, well that sounds fun.  I have to start swimming in the lake soon.  Ive talked to a guy who swims year round (!) and he said its pretty consistent over 50 now, so I should be fine in my wetsuit.   

Someone swims year-round?! That's about as insane as what a friend of mine told me: his friend only swims butterfly, but does 1500-3000m distances... swimming ONLY butterfly. Isn't that insane?!

So guys, how is everyone feeling? I had an intense weekend. On Saturday I did a Sprint triathlon, and got in under 1:30 which I am happy about. On Sunday I did a half-marathon race and, although I didn't beat my PR, I'm proud of continuing, not stopping because it was a very painful experience, particularly for my knee! Anyone got races coming up?!

Congratulations!  That stinks about the timing chip malfunction, but at least you got your finish time.

Swimming year round is CRAZY, i know.  He said as long as the ice isnt blocking his path, hes out there.  He has to wear deep sea diving suit and hood, gloves, booties, etc...

I used to swim butterfly in high school, and i remember it being impossible.  Theres no way I could do it now with my shoulder probs, but for more than 100 yards?! insanity.

So im taking an extra rest day today... I did two 60+ mile rides this weekend, and Im definitely feeling it.  I have a recovery week this week, so ill take it easy and hopefully feel great for next week.

I can't imagine swimming 1000+ plus yards of butterfly. I huff and puff just doing a 100 IM.

I'm off to the bike shop this morning. My chain snapped during a ride on Sunday -- a great ride, by the way, until it happened -- and the one bike shop I love is up where my parents live. It's also where I bought the bike, and these guys just know their stuff. I can speak in English and they can translate what I'm saying into Bikespeak and fix whatever it is I'm talking about. So I'll drive up, spend some time with the mechanic, get a tune up, do some test riding, and then dinner with the folks before returning home.

The chain issue also means my olympic tri on Saturday as an "A" race is in question. If the chain isn't sitting right, the bike won't shift correctly, and I could end up with the chain being tossed off the rings every time I jump between the big and little cogs. Of course, it could run absolutely fine, and my frustration/whining would be for naught.

So here's the moral of the story -- have your bike checked out! I had the chance to have mine tuned up a few weeks ago, which I do every year, and I skipped it, thinking that all was well. Perhaps a look-over by the bike guys then would have prevented my long walk in bike shoes on Sunday.

Hi all. I'm back from Baltimore. The Baltimore Hilton was amazing for training--it had a 25 yard lap pool, tons of great treadmills/stationary bikes, weights, etc. I got in three, one-hour swims, two, one-hour bikes and three runs, one outside on the harbor and two inside. One day I watched 5 innings of the Baltimore/Toronto baseball game as I stationary biked looking into the stadium. I had a "great seat." By the way Krystyna, the good-guys won.  I feel my biking suffered, but the rest was better than expected. I still gained 5 pounds from eating out 21 times in a row. All in all, I was very happy that I at least stayed in shape somewhat while on vacation/at a conference. My body feels great and healthy, so it propably acted like a light training-recovery week. I also walked at least 30 miles in two days around DC. I'll have to pick it up a bit now. I have a sprint on Saturday--my first ever real race with other people. I've never been in a competitive race of any kind--just played baseball/football/basketball. Should be interesting.

Congrats on all, all-ya'all (I heard that a lot in DC) have been doing. Good work.  

David,
What do you think about leaving your shoes cliped to your bike for the swim - bike transition?
I fell yesterday trying that............. Is it worth learning this technique? Any tips to success????
and, what is your thought on socks? I've always ran in thorlos wich are very thick and give you lots of cushion, everybody seems to be riding and running socks-less...........

Leaving them clipped in - I think its unnecessary.  Too many things can go wrong, and unless you're trying to win the race, is it worth it to maybe fall over trying to get your feet in? If you do want to go that route, PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.  And wait til you get up to speed to put your feet in your shoes, since youre more likely to lose your balance if your slow and wobbly.

Socks - I'm going to be wearing socks for the bike and run.  I know people frown on this, but come on!  One guy I was talking to a couple weeks ago said I should go sockless.  I said I'm more comfortable in socks, so whats 5 or 10 seconds putting socks on?  "well its more like 15 seconds" he said with a frown.  oh goodness, 15 whole seconds!  And I'm pretty sure being comfortable biking and running is worth at least that.

That said, you need to find a pair of socks you can wear for both, and its unlikely that the Thorlos will fit in the bike shoes.  Do you have bike socks that you can practice running in?  Or at least thinner, performance style socks that will fit in both?  Again, practice how you race, so you should get used to running in the thinner socks.

I totally agree. Until I am 100% comfortable on my bike (and that takes 2 years of solid biking, I'd say), I won't even attempt the acrobatics of starting biking with shoes already clipped in. Until then, I'm quite content to focus on the training that really, truly matters: the actual biking!

Mike, David & Kristina,
Thanks so much for your opinion and advice!
Well, I've already been a victim and have some marks on my knee to prove it, lots of things can go wrong. I have bike shoes with a single velcro strap, so I guess it can not be so bad, I'll stick to the normal technique, what's 15 seconds?. According to Kristina's rule, I'm only lacking one year, 10 months and 15 days to get experienced enough on my bike!!!! It's always good to know your limits!

On the socks, I bought today a pair of biking socks and tomorrow I'll be doing my first ever practice sprint triathlon (please keep me on your prayers!!!) and I will try, like Mike suggested, thinner socks for both biking and running. I know FOR SURE that I  would get blisters running with no socks.

So a lot of things will happen tomorrow for the first time ever. I've never done or practiced any of the transitions, I've read all your comments and watched a few videos............

Next week is the big day and I already have butterflies (feel more like dragons) on my tummy......

Yesterday after a brick with the Savannah TRI team, running felt like I was pushing a WALL. Barely jogging at 160 bpm.

The more I do this, the more I realize how much I have to learn, practice and train............ but the good news, THE MORE I LIKE IT.

Thanks guys for your help and wish me luck tomorrow.

Edited by boxer 2009-05-29 9:38 PM

Just a short note on my experience today, shoping for clothes for my first triathlon.
I've been looking at stuff on line and reading a lot and decided to go try a Tri Suit....ha, ha. What I saw in the mirror is going to take years of therapy to erase from my mind!!!!  Are these things designed for French catwalk fashion models???
I knew I had a few extra pounds, but this was beyond ridiculous!!  I switch to shorts and shirts and same thing, I felt like trying to fit on my kids clothes.
Finally found some decent shorts and had to forget about the tri-shirt.  I settled for a biking sleevless shirt with some extra room for my "spare tire"
Lesson learned: NO MORE CHOCOLATE!

Boxer--that is exactly what I felt like when I put on my wetsuit. It's getting better, but still not pretty.

Krystyna--I'm packing my bag for my sprint tomorrow with your list. It looks very complete. Thanks.

I found a great bike seat--Hallelujah! I was cruising on a hard 20 mile yesterday feeling pretty good. In mile 18 I was going up this big, long hill (about a mile) feeling like I had improved a lot when a guy blew by me like I was a little kid. He was doing the hill like he was on a flat. It was both depressing and inspiring. I need to ride more. 

David--Did we have a challenge for this weekend? I must have missed it if we did. All of the sudden it's hot here (in the 90s). Any tips for training in the heat?

I hear you on the triathlon clothing. Hopefully, I look like a cute chubby cyclist. 

And I totally forgot about a challenge. Let's do this: go for a perfect training week. Since we're all gearing up for different races and different distances, I don't want to overwhelm or limit anyone. So instead, look at your training plan for this next week -- Sunday through Saturday -- and follow it exactly. If you're tapering for a race next weekend, taper. If you're scheduled to go hard, go hard.

Now, if you're that one person who has been able to do this already, well then, you are indeed an awesome athlete. I don't think I have ever had a perfect training week, but I certainly do need one. A couple, actually. I'm going to pencil my workouts into my calendar as soon as I'm done with this post. Then, every few days, I'm going to report back on how it's going.

The team member who achieves the perfect week wins our admiration and gets to choose the challenge for next week. If there's more than one perfect athlete in our midst, they both will get to choose a challenge for consecutive weeks.

As for my life, the bike has a new chain and a new transmission, i.e., that thing on the rear wheel that your chain sits in. I took it out for a test ride last night and it seems to be running well. Still, I'm not racing this morning -- obviously, since I'm sitting here typing and sipping coffee -- as I want to have a really good ride on it first. And since it's only 57F here, I can't say I'm that bummed that I'm not submerging myself into a lake at this very moment for an open water start. I will go for a run in a bit, though.

Have a great weekend!

Go easy at first to let your body get acclimated to the heat and humidity. Drink plenty of water/Gatorade. If you're a heavy sweater, consider adding some extra sodium to your diet.

As in all seasons, listen to your body.

Man, that happens to me literally every time I ride. You're right about the response too, a mix of shame and determination.

I ran a 5k in January, going for a great time, and out of nowhere this little girl bursts by me for the last 50 yards. She had to be 10 or 11 years old. I couldn't catch her. All her family and friends are cheering her on, and I just cannot match her pace. I know there's a race photo out there somewhere with her beaming a huge smile and me over her shoulder looking like I'm about to have a heart attack.

I feel the exact same way! I had a bike ride today, and everyone in my cycling group was 100x better than me, with what seemed like decades more biking experience than myself. That really got me pushing.

I would have to say that this has been so far a perfect training week. It was more like a dream training week!!
Got one of the toughest swim training x 2, got a brick with the sav tri team and today (the icing on the cake) did my practice sprint tri.  I felt surprisingly well, much better on the bike-run trasition.  I'm awfully tired but very happy for the accomplishment. Going for a long run tomorrow and then start to taper a little for next Sunday's race.
Thanks David and everybody for your help.

I did my first ever triathlon today--a sprint. As you all know, no practice can prepare you for the real deal. It was a 700 m swim, 13.8 meter bike, 3.5 mile run. I was 1:31, which was not my 1:30 goal, but after the swim was way better than expected. There were 640 people, and we all started together. For some reason, I went out fast in the swim. I swam to the wrong bouy, and had to cross over about 100 yrds to get back on track. And then it was like being in a washing machine or a mosh pit. I couldn't breath, I hyper-ventalated, a had a near total melt down and seriously thought about quitting just to live--I'm not kidding. I finished in the back third, totally depressed and thinking duathlon was my new sport. But, my transitions were great, my bike was awesome--I averaged over 20 mph--and my run was just survival. I think I left it all in the water and on the bike. I never walked though, and I finished 39 of 640, mostly because it was a race with a lot of beginners and out of shape people.

It was a wake up call. I'm soooo far from 70.3 ready. Somebody told me I was now a triathlete. I felt some pride, but the swim humbled me greatly.