Big Steve's Group - CLOSED (Page 11)

Sorry for all the posts I'm just getting caught up today!!!!!

Don't apologize, I enjoy them ! 

Logging on from sunny Cancun to check in. Great threads everyone! Keep on posting and venting.

It's never as easy to train on vacation as I plan on. Especially with the party crew were with. My liver is the most worked out part of my body right now :-)

Hoping to hit it hard next week to work off this short vacation.

Swim: 3000.00 Yd, 1h 06m 23s
Bike: 39.00 Mi, 1h 19m
Run: 14.50 Mi, 2h 09m
Strength: 30m

-Steven

Edited by stevepiv 2011-02-06 3:40 PM

Just back from my bi-weekly trip down island; here's my week:

Here's my stats for the week!!!!  I got a full week of swimming in this week!!!!   This was my recovery week, except for swimming.

Swimming:    3300 meters   3 hrs 20 mins
Biking:           19.3 miles      53 mins 10 seconds   (using the spinning bike, I think the miles are off!)
Running:       2.46 miles       31 mins 43 seconds
Strength:          90 mins

I'm finding my enduracbe is starting to come around, but I hate gettting up at 5am for swimming!!!!


Steve...have a few drinks for me!!!!!



Edited by OspreyTriAhtlete 2011-02-06 10:46 PM

I feel all of your pain on the snow, ice and cold thing. I get the cabin fever riding the trainer, running on the treadmill and trying to learn how to swim indoors during the winter. Can we get some sun please? Even if the weather is in the 30's or 40's here, the inversion is so bad that riding/running outside will still be foggy and gloomy and the air quality could kill you. San Diego sounds nice right about now!

Thanks for the advice and get well soon!

 
Yeah, I got the "gain" down pat
 
But I'm suffering from a shoulder thing, I think it's from swimming because it's the only newer thing I've added to my training.  But for the life of me I have no idea what or how I've hurt it.  But I'm thinking it's the going at it (swimming) with cold muscles.  I always do a few warm up laps but if one doesn't really warm up in the pool, it would explain an injury. 

Does anyone warmup outside the pool before laps?  oh that's got me thinking now, I don't even stretch after a swim?  huh?  I'll have to re-think my swim training session.....

Hope everyone has a Good training week!!!

Edited by Muskwa2 2011-02-07 11:32 AM

Why didn't anybody warn us that this triathlon training was going to be dangerous?

Hey everyone,

     I have been out of touch for two weeks. Sorry for not checking in. I went a skiing bender and took off to Vermont for the last ten days. Like Steve, the liver has had the most work, closely followed by the skiing muscles. I did manage to get in three work outs, but no swimming. And I conservativly logged more than 80 hours on the slopes. The good news is the legs are ready for training, the bad news is I left my heart in Vermont. Looking forward to a great week training.


Justin

80 hours sounds nice you lucky devil! Now get your pickled liver on the trainer, road and pool and log some hours!

Yeah!!!!! Wow, very jealous. Cancun was nice but 80 hrs on the slopes trumps that!

Sorry I couldnt get the group summary posted tonight. Was surprised to find family waiting in my house upon return. More liver damage.... This was not in the plan! Was actually hoping to get 30 minutes in the pool tonight but that didn't happen :-( Will try and find time tomorrow to get the summary up & do the brick that is my training plan & catch up on missing 3 days @ work. Gonna be a long day.

-Steven

ditto that!!!!

I'm definitely in the pain\crazy cave!!!!   Swimming at 5:AM, hour of strength conditioning in the afternoon and a run after wards.   All have to say is tomorrow is a "rest" day!!!!!

Have any of you completed Jorge's winter cycling program? I just started and am on prep week 2. Since I can't ride outside right now due to weather, I figured I would give it a shot. So far the prep has been kicking my a$%!

http://jorgepbmcoaching.blogspot.com/2010/10/off-season-cycling-plan-v30.html

Making great progress.  Highest training time yet for the group with 8 out of 16 of us reporting hours.  That's only HALF of us, lets get training!!!    We're all 1 week closer to race day! 

You guys are very motivational.  I need to crank up my hours big time.

-Steven

Total

------- SWIM -------

------ BIKE -------

------ RUN ------

Strength

---- OTHER -----

userid

Name

Time

Time

Yards

Time

Miles

Time

Miles

Time

Time

Details

stevepiv

Steven

5:04:23

1:06:23

3000

1:19:00

39

2:09:00

14.5

0:30:00

Northern ivy

James

11:24:33

3:39:33

5197

6:17:52

128.7

1:27:08

9.57

mat13pal

Mat

jamesjong

James

0

Animalcrackers

Jules

0

TriToga

Steve

2:02:00

1:30:00

2000

0:32:00

4

Sooner

0

Muskwa2

Maureen

6:56:00

3:00:00

4134

2:36:00

40

1:20:00

7

Grauch

Grant

8:15:00

2:15:00

6000

5:00:00

85

1:00:00

6.7

Leftrunner

Robert

0

Margarita

Rita

0

myred86

Rob

5:30:00

1:15:00

2900

3:24:00

63

0:31:00

2

0:20:00

roberto24

Rob

5:55:40

1:29:00

4350

2:51:40

40.12

1:35:00

9.25

Poolgod

Justin

0:00:00

simonewright

Simone

0

OspreyTriAhtlete

Mike

6:14:53

3:20:00

3300

0:53:10

19.3

0:31:43

2.46

1:30

Totals

58:37:29

17:34:56

30881

22:21:42

415.12

9:05:51

55.48

2:20:00

Edited by stevepiv 2011-02-08 8:04 AM

Great story about a guy that last week completed 365 marathons in 365 days for a new Guinness Record.   After you do 20 Ironman's in a year I guess you get bored and need a new challenge.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=6092994


Edited by stevepiv 2011-02-08 10:22 AM

This is just amazing to me, thanks for sharing! He must have some amazingly tough knees and joints that's for sure!

The BeginnerTriathlete iPhone App was released today.  You can now enter and sync your workouts from your iPhone.  They're also working on a Droid version, don't know of any ETA.

Also, read a great article last night about getting motivated when the alarm goes off at 0-dark hundred on lavamagazine.com.  It helped a lot when the alarm clock went off @ 5 AM today.  At first I hit snooze and was not going to go swimming but then I started thinking about the article, got up and drove to the gym. As per the article everything was packed, clothes laid out and ready to go.  Made getting out of the house a breeze. Here is the link:

http://lavamagazine.com/features/life-trainer-rekindle-the-spark-with-your-alarm#axzz1DQCtymDh

So from getting ready to log a "rest" day I got in 140 laps in the AM 1hr20min and 7 miles 1hr for lunch.  Riding the trainer early tomorrow + TI class in the evening on the agenda for tomorrow.

-Steven

I just completed my first heavy training session with the Master's swim team last night.  We had multiple people per lane in a circle swim formation.  I covered 4650 yards at the highest intensity that I have ever swam at.   I find myself badly cramped and in need of a recuperation day (first one in a long time).  I also find myself wondering if the high intensity workout is benefiting me as much as a long slow workout.   I find myself sitting here with cramped calves thinking . .  "Wow, should be burning another 1500 calories today!"   I'm really having a hard time sitting out for a day, it feels like I'm backsliding.  

Do you find that when you train at high intensity that you are more likely to be injured or require a longer recuperation time?   Do you think it's better to just focus on the long slow as a means of building endurance until peak season and then begin to raise the intensity and then back off allowing a peak for event day?   I'm still reading the training bible and am beginning to second guess everything.  

Grant, great question.  My coach has been talking to me rather sternly about training intensity recently.  He is a big proponent of training at your optimum power (on the bike that would be watts) on the run HR, and on the swim I am not sure yet as I am still building my base.  
As I learn more I am starting to think that training for a tri (at distances beyond a sprint) is about the endurance effort.  I to struggle with backing off on intensity as well as I am still trying to lose weight and high intensity makes me feel better.

Great question!  I am by no means an expert; but I believe we are trying to build the slow twitch side of the muscle equation; and the long slow ___; seems to be a part of that equation rather than the LT heart rate zone that we all love to push on a killer work out!  Great question; I am eagerly waiting the rest of the sage advice!!! 

Wow, that is insane.  Hope you feel better quickly.   I totally agree that a higher intensity will increase the chance of injury and it definitely increases recuperation time.  IMHO I think slow by steady builds endurance.  I went from 2 laps to 170 by simply increasing the amount of laps every time in the pool and never increased intensity once.  I don't know if that was the "recommended" way but it worked for me.

I just got back from my 4th TI class and I am becoming a bigger and bigger fan of form over muscle.  At this stage in our development we are not swimming correctly and we're compensating for bad form with extra effort (at least I am, hope I didn't insult anyone).  From what I've learned so far, its a lot easier to correct form than to increase intensity.

Lastly, its the swim - so I wouldn't worry too much about speed at this point.  Its the shortest leg of a Tri and you wont gain much by finishing it a few minutes sooner.  My main swim objective is too finish less tired than I normally do.

So I have been in the pool now for about two weeks; and the whole time all that I could think about is having to swim 1.2 miles and how impossible that seemed as when I first took TI I could hardly swim 50 yards.  As you might have already figured out I am a tad obsessive; my coach keeps tell me the distance will come and not to worry about it.  But me being me found that hard to believe.

After alot of discussion we agreed that today's workout would be my first distance swim test.  The rules were I was allowed to swim as long as I could until my form started to break down.  And at that point I had to stop.  The second rule of the test was that I could swim till exhaustion but rule number one would likely be broken first.

The UPS delivery guy delivered me a FINIS swimsense watch today; so I figured what better way to get things rolling.  I hopped into the pool and set off; no flip turns just touch the wall and go.  

I set off with a few focal points; breathing, head postion, and finger dragging.  My first priority was breathing.  Once I settled into my rythm it was head postion.  After finding my balance it was all about finger drags and arm entry.

I was amazed that after sometime things really started to slow down and you enter a sort of trance like state.  The pattern of your breathing and is really all you hear after a while.

I did not look at the clock when I started first mistake; thinking that the watch would beep or vibrate every so often either distance of time (I was wrong).  So I was really swimming blind.  I started counting every other lap and would always loose count and start over.  Looking at the watch under water was useless.  So I was just swimming.

My first issue came about 30 mins (I think) in; a major foot cramp in the arch of my left foot.  Not really sure how I got rid of it; but I did, so I pressed on.  A felt good; it was amazing as my TI instructor stated that once you find balance you can really swim all day without really noticing the effort.  And now I know what he was talking about.

Unfortunately the foot cramp came back and this time no matter what I did I could not get rid of it!  I tried and tried but no luck and I stood up in the pool (no idea what I would have done in deep water).

I looked at my watch and was amazed that I was swimming for 50:43; and I could not wait to come home and look at the data.  Well the watch had all of the splits screwed up (I am not sure what I did wrong but I know I was not swimming 25 yds in 14 and 15 seconds) so I averaged out my time about 43 seconds per 25 and came up with 1727 yards.  

Well I feel that this was a solid effort for a first attempt after being in the pool two weeks.  It is further than I have to go for an OLY and just shy of a HIM; which is cool.  I can honestly say that without the foot cramp I could have easily done the HIM distance and seeing that I was only 300 yards short and at my pace that would have been another 8:36 which would have my swim at 59:19.

The Shoreman HIM that I am targeting for my A race has a 5 hour cutoff for the bike; and based on today's effort I find myself at ease; 4 hours to go 55 miles; no problem at all right .

Well thanks for listening; for all of you swimmers out there give me a sense of how slow this time is; and what is an appropriate target.


 

Northern Ivy,

Thanks for sharing all that info.  In the short time you've been in the water its obvious that you've become very passionate about this and are taking it very seriously.  Dedication is half the battle and I totally agree with your coach, distance and speed will come.

I wish I could help with cramp advice but I don't have any.  When I get them like you said I somehow manage to get rid of them.  I almost never get them swimming in the morning, but at night or during TI class, all the time.  If you find a good way to deal with them please share.



Edited by stevepiv 2011-02-12 12:21 PM