Ryan and Mike's beginner group - CLOSED (Page 11)

Nice job with the weight loss!

Welcome aboard Rhett!  What kind of tri shorts do you plan to use for your 70.3?  I looking for ideas for my half.

I would say it's normal, I have some the Squeak on some surfaces until the soles got a little on them.  My wife is having the same issue right now, but they are Squeaking on all surfaces.  We figured out that it is the inserts she bought in put into them.

Have a Great Day!  Michael A.

OK, I'm not familiar with the names yet, so I'll just reply to the usernames

@bgr82 - I actually enjoyed the heck out of the mountain bike races - maybe even better than the road bike races.  It just seemed to be a little more laid back.  It was out of necessity to begin with, as all I owned was a mountain bike.  After that first race though, I bought some road tires and mounted them on the mountain bike for my next tri that I signed up for.  For me, I always liked the adrenaline rush I got navigating a technical bike trail, and that definitely carried into the off-road tri.  But all things equal, the bike (road) is probably my weakest area right now and what I should be working on diligently - it doesn't help that I had to send my shoes back to the manufacturer and haven't been able to get a ride in for 2.5 weeks

@ransik - I have a pair of Pearl Izumi Elite Tri Shorts (http://www.pearlizumi.com/publish/content/pi_2010/us/en/index/products/men/tri/apparel/p_r_o__shorts.-productCode-0248.html) that I have been happy with.  I bought a pair of aevero multisport shorts, as they were cheap and included a free tri shirt last year, but doubt I will wear these again, other than for some short training stuff.  The tri top really rubbed me absolutely raw on the swim portion of my Olympic distance and my underarms were bleeding by the end of the race.

Anyway, looking forward to catching up with all the posts, and getting to know everyone.

Hi there, is there room for one more? About me:

NAME:  Jaime
 
STORY:  I have always been an athlete and hated running. However recently I started running and am enjoying it. I am signing up for a sprint tri that is in March. Its a great one for my first race, its small and cheap =) I am excited about doing it but am nervous bc I dont know how to properly train. I have a crazy work schedule (hospital work) so I am finding it hard to get time in.

FAMILY STATUS:   Not married but in a relationship. Have a one year old pup that is enough to take care of as of now =)

CURRENT TRAINING:  Running is in full swing, started biking, but need to get on it hard core.

THIS YEAR'S RACES:  Warrior Dash this Saturday (3 mile obstacle course) and Sprint Tri in March

2010 RACES:  Just 5ks and Beach Palooza (2 mile obstacle on the beach)

WEIGHTLOSS: I recently lost about 10 lbs but have about another 10 to go

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I am open for suggestions and a hard worker when I put my mind to something.

Welcome Jaime!

Kim- 5.5 pounds in a month is fantastic. You should be proud of yourself. 1-2 lbs. a week is the healthy range for weight loss. I have been running for quite a while and my shoes have never squeaked. Did you get fitted for yours? I'm just curious.

Welcome Rhett and Jamie.

Rhett- I had to re-read your post... for a second I thought you were doing your race while in the third trimester of pregnancy! Then I realized that you were talking about your wife being due in May.

So the other day I noticed that the clip on the bottom of my left shoe was crooked. A cyclist at the gym adjusted it for me today (I'm thankful) and offered some pointers on form and fit for the spin classes.

My left knee was starting to bug me and I think it is because of the clip on my shoe! I hope the adjustment makes a difference.

My thoughts on swimming and swim training

OK, I feel find of funny posting about swim training because I have a lot of work to do myself, but here are my thoughts.

First, if you are having trouble even swimming a lap, don't worry.  I was there two years ago.  I went to the pool three times and was on the verge of giving up my triathlon dreams (for the second time).  I decided to keep at it and I eventually got it.  As others have already mentioned, if you can afford a coach or Masters Swim class, do it.  I hired a personal coach for just a couple lessons and it really helped. 

She gave me the following tips on my first lesson

1.  Ditch the beach swim trunks and get some jammers (now I'm humbled and humiliated, great!)
extra tip - buy some speedo endurance jammers, chlorine eats tri shorts (mine became see through eek!)
2.  Do some curls, military presses, and tricep extensions (I never lifted weights in my life and had/have very little upper body strength.
3.  Relax, if you focus too hard on staying level and trying to have picture perfect form, you'll stiffen your body and have your hips sink.
4.  Think streamline.  The smaller your frontal cross section, the less water resistance you have to push. 
5.  Rotate around a line going straight through your body.

You Tube has some good stuff (and bad stuff).  It amazes me how much rotation some of these swimmers have and how they glide seemingly effortlessly.

- Vertical kicking, teaches you to keep good posture while kicking to be efficient.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKV7AjJqPO4 (in full disclosure I never did this one.  I have added kick board lengths to my workout and they are tough for me.

- Decreasing Drag (this guy is a goof but has good points) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2n_AceCr-c 

- Drills I do.  They are harder than they look, but I think they really helped me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nRCfeJNJkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_XRiy-ILyc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL


One last thing.  Doing long continuous sets isn't very helpful for your form or speed but they are good for confidence.  I do a long continuous swim every month or two.  The reason they aren't that good is that your form gets worse the more tired you are.  So doing sets of all 50's or 100's is fine.  I've read different thoughts on what percentage of the sets should be drills.  Most are between 25% and 50%.  I mix it up to keep things interesting.

Any trained swimmers out there, chime in.  Anyone else who has learned, please share your experiences.  And of course, ask questions and we'll do out best to answer your questions.




Edited by ransick 2011-01-27 8:23 PM

Brightbow,

I was lurking in your group and wanted to tell you that I too had left knee problems.  I had a professional bike fit, then an x-ray and then an MRI.  After that, I adjusted my cleat.  My knee problem definitely improved!  I'm still paying for the MRI

Hopefully that will do the trick for you.

Jackie
Just Do It

Stop lurking and just join the group :-)

I'll add my two cents in on the whole swimming thing here, as it's probably my best portion of the three events.  I swam competitively from around 2nd grade through high school graduation, so I spent countless hours in the pool swimming laps/drills/etc.  I also taught many kids and adults to swim, helped coach the younger swim team members, and even taught the lifeguard course a few times.

The largest problem I see with people who are learning to swim is technique and overall tempo - you don't go faster for long by pumping your arms like your trying to start a Model-T.  Slow and steady strokes, reaching as far out in front of you as possible will naturally rotate your body - don't push it or be too tight, simply let your body roll as you reach out in front of you. 

Also, learn to keep your head in the water - it will naturally plane out your body and keep your feet closer to the surface in a horizontal position.  The minute you lift your head, your feet will begin to fall and put more drag on your forward movement.  Don't get me wrong, you will have to lift your head to see where buoys are in an OWS situation, but you may get lucky and have someone close enough to you that you can just sight them on side of you during your normal breathing rotation and let them do the sighting in front.  You might want to check out in front occasionally just to make sure both of you aren't doing the same thing.  If you're in a pool, you're golden, just focus on the black lines on the bottom and follow a straight line until you run into someone, then swim around them. 

Oh and during practice, if you get tapped on the feet, it's polite to let someone pass you.  However, in a race, it is no holds barred.  I will never move over or slow down if I have someone slapping my feet, because it never fails, once I let them pass me, they poop out and I'm slapping their feet.  Hold your ground and keep at it, because when you slow down and lose the horizontal plane that has you gliding through the water, it takes twice the effort to get it back once you start going again.

Hope that helps.  Let me know if you guys have any specific questions on the swim - I may not know the answer, but I'll do my best.

Good luck,

Rhett

RHETT  with you said, sounds like anything i've heard fromm someone with a swim background(good they weren't lying haha)  And yes  onece you get OWS, everything gets nutty.  You will always find someone your speed and wants to get ahead of you, then your hitting them all the time OR you will become good at sighting but others will be horrible and start using you as a pinball machine. 

The bike is probably my worst area, and also the most neglected - go figure.  I wanted to put this out there for some of you that are more familiar with this event to help guys like me that just can't seem to get any speed and/or consistency.  Any drills or technique items that really helped or hindered your performance?

What about saddles - any advice?  I've been told that you eventually get used to the saddle, but my gosh, it's almost impossible to run after climbing off that thing.

I've heard some of the things about cadence being high, and try to do that, but I just seem to steadily raise my heart rate trying to keep the cadence where it needs to be, even on the trainer.  How can I build up my endurance to keep my HR in check while remaining consistent? 

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Hey Welcome everyone!!!

I just got caught up on 4 pages of reading WOW I missed a lot. 

Anyway after my long bike ride last week I was not feeling the best so I thought I would stop to avoid injury.  my leg/hip feels Ok today (not the best) but can't stand not doing anything so I am swimming tonight.  I think I will also step back on my cycle training to half(felt fine after training) and adjust my running(started to notice a nagging pain on long day) as well.  I would rather exercise a little every workout day then work hard one day and take a week off. 

Happy Friday everyone!!

Rhetts-

You will get used to the saddle, 3-4 rides normally.  Bike shorts help alot! (little extra padding)  I felt like I was in a rut, my times were not improving.  So, I desided to go to Spin Class  with my wife (she goes like 4x a week).  At first I felt a little silly being inside on a fake bike, when I could be outside on a Real bike.   After trying a few classes, I realize certain class focused on areas that were helping me.  There are two classes I try to attained now, 1 focuses on speed endurance and anarobic threshold and the other on long hill climbs of varying heights.  Being pushed by some else helps me increase speed and power.  I use a treadmill to accomplish the same thing to push up my running speeds and long hills.

Have a great Friday!  Michael A.

Great advice!  Thanks!!
Tanya

WD should be fun, I am running it tomorrow. Its the longest race I have done with obstacles so we shall see how that goes...

The tri I am doing is $60 which from what I have seen is pretty decent. I looked at the Danskin one at Disney and it is about $120 to $130. I am going to see how my first one goes and go from there.

Jaime1017-

Good Luck tomorrow!

Thanks guys! It is tomorrow here in my area. I will let you know how it goes for sure. Im a little anxious about some of the obstacles but I am going to make the best of it.

After this it is hard core training for the Tri. I started training some but I need to get on it. Does anyone have any tips on clothing, transition areas, etc. I have never done one before so I have no idea what to expect. The race is in March in Florida. Its a pool swim (non-heated). If the temp is low enough we can wear wetsuits.

Jaime

Jaime,

Have a blast!  My wife did the WD last year in Dallas, and then we both did the Jailbreak Run (very similar format) later on in the summer.  You will see some crazy outfits out there, just hope they all stay on......

I think the best one she told me about was a guy dressed up in a full business suit with a briefcase - said he was the Urban Warrior.......she said he didn't make it 50 feet without falling on his butt in his business shoes.

Enjoy

The best thing you can do to improve your biking is to bike more.  Build up to riding for an hour 3-4 times a week and you'll see improvement.  After that, it depends on how hard you want to work.  Are you training by power or heart rate?  Do you want to work hard?  If so, you can try Jorge's winter cycling plan. 

As for a saddle, I have an Adamo road saddle and it works for me.  I've heard good things about the Cobb V-Flow max saddle too.

I've heard you should keep your cadence between 90 and 100.  Spinning faster in easier gears is more efficient.  I would worry about building up to 3 rides a week before I worried about cadence.  If your hr spikes on the trainer, try shifting to an easier gear.  Also, set up a couple fans on high pointing at you while on the trainer to mimiv the wind cooling effect you get outside.  It might help with your heart rate.