Gray Guys/Girls Maturing Triathlete - Always OPEN (Page 11)

The group had some impressive workout totals last week!  Janet!  Wow, over nine-hours on the bike - way to add time in the saddle!

Our weight may not be where we want it, but it sure looks like progress is being made!  Rebecca - down four-pounds!  Perhaps you should get a tattoo every week!

Remember - 

Never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey.

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Hey Steve,

It's widely known that swimmers are crazy and put in ridiculous time in the water.    While I'm not sure I can call myself a swimmer any longer, there's probably still a little bit of that craziness deep down inside somewhere.  My fingers don't look like prunes and my hair isn't green from chlorine so I could still swim more!

I think I just graduated to "Guppy."  I still have a long way to go before I get back to "better than fish."

George,

You probably were faster and smoother.  The combination of shorter interval with appropriate rest allows you to maintain technique.  Proper technique allows you to swim faster, smoother, and more efficiently.  More importantly, that proper technique is being stored to muscle memory - which means you're making positive changes to your overall swim mechanics.

Hi Carl,

There's always room for one more!  Welcome.  When you get a chance, please post a bio so we can get to know you just a bit.

You may have noticed, we have an ongoing weight-loss/workout challenge.  If you'd like to participate, hop on the scale and jot down your weight.  Every Sunday we do a "weigh-in."  Then we report our weight loss/gain for the previous week.  We also report training time in tri-related sports - swim/bike/run, strength/core work, yoga.  We're still early in the challenge so you have plenty of time to rocket to the top.

 ETA - I should have looked before I posted.  Steve beat me to it!

I use a foot-pod on the treadmill so I'm fairly confident in the pace my Garmin is recording.  I don't see a difference in cadence with the faster face though.  I've thought for some time the treadmill itself is "helping" you run - as you both said, it's easier to get the turnover rate.  I still wonder if there might be some aero-drag that's contributing to the  difference.  Short of a wind-tunnel that would be a hard question to answer.

My treadmill lives on 1% incline unless I'm doing hills.  I absolutely agree, running on 0% is like running downhill.

Here is something for everyone to think about - for the fun of it.  I know I'm going to be thinking a lot about it.

Tonight in my email I received an invite to join Team Penticton to go to Germany to participate in Challenge Roth 2019.  I can get a guaranteed spot on a race that sells out every year...and there will be beer.  (sounds like I like beer but only on hot days after a hard effort).

I don't think I can do the full distance but I could do the swim or bike on a relay team.  But, I'd prefer to do the full event - greater glory?  I'd need the bike to be flat, flat, flat!  Or, maybe, the swim and the bike.

There is a lot of time between then and now and lots could happen to make it impractical for me.  Like if there are no others to form a relay team.

Carl - welcome to the group.

Scott - yeah, 9 hours is a long time for me on the bike (it was actually 13.5 hours over the 9 days of the tour) and certain parts of my anatomy are enjoying a couple days off .  I enjoyed doing it though - it was a challenge and I'm looking forward to seeing how/if it improved my biking when I'm able to get back outside to ride.  

Heide - congrats on your HM!

Carl - welcome to the group!

I'm starting to work walking/running back into my workout schedule this week but I seem to have lost all motivation to get in the pool.  I set my alarm twice this week to get up early and go for a swim and both times I stayed in bed .  I know some of it is issues with where I swim (lap lane availability sucks), but mostly it's just me not wanting to get up and go.  I've heard that there's a masters swim near me although I can't seem to find any information on it.  Might have to check with the tri club - I think some of them go to it.  Having someone to swim with might just get me out of bed in the morning.  I'm also hoping that the swim camp on Sunday will give my motivation a boost.  10-1/2 weeks until my first tri of the season, a super sprint. 

Janet

Heide,

Steve's pretty well addressed this so I don't have a great deal to add.  However, there is one thing, and this is for everyone's benefit - nothing new on race day.  Not EVER.  If you haven't used it in training, don't use it the first time on race day.  That goes to everything from hydration/nutrition plan to equipment choices; from race morning meal to race strategy.

I worked with an athlete a few years ago who was working towards his first 140.6.  His plan was to be self-sufficient and carry his own nutrition during the race.  At the last minute, he decided to use the gels provided in the aid stations during the run.  He'd never used the type of gel available on the race course.  Within a mile of taking in the first one, he developed severe GI issues that ultimately forced him to DNF.  Nearly a year of training was compromised because he ingested a 1.2-ounce gel on race day that he'd never used before.

I heard somewhere you know you're "really" a runner when you've had a black toenail or lost a toenail!

Yes...I attribute it to the belt being motor driven.

When I was n grade school I remember coming across an inclined tread mill without a motorized belt.  The belt was on rollers and you had to run to make the belt move (i don't think I have ever seen one like that since then).  On that tread mill you had to push off the same way as you do out doors.  With the motorized belts you don't have to push off.  All you have to do is pick up your foot and move it forward. You are reducing the friction between your foot and the ground when you are on the tread mill because instead of pushing against the ground you are just letting you foot fall in sync with the belt speed.

The aero drag may have something to with it too. I can defiantly feel the drag when it is windy outside.

I'd forgotten you were doing the "Tour of Sufferlandria."  Now I understand the hours and the painful anatomical parts.

Working out with a Masters Swim Team could be beneficial.  Having a group of friends that "expect" you to show up at practice is a powerful motivator on those cold mornings when the snooze button is calling your name.

Carl,

Wow!  Thank you for sharing.

I can't suggest strongly enough that you develop a plan and follow it  Whether you use one of the free plans available here on BT, you find a plan elsewhere, or you create your own - find a plan, customize it to YOU, and follow it.  Without a plan, you'll be like a leaf in the wind - you'll get blown to and fro and won't have any real direction. With a plan, you'll be like a train on a track - steadfastly making progress towards a set destination.

There's a great group of people here that are only too happy to help to please don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have.

Oh, and don't worry about being long.  I'm WAY ahead of you there.  Sometimes you just have to write long to fully express your thought.  At least that's what I've told people as they look at one of my posts and roll their eyes.

Welcome, I look forward to sharing your journey.

I was talking to one of the athlete's I work with a couple of days ago.  We got talking about achieving goals. That led to an interesting discussion on what's holding this particular athlete back.

That question has lingered in my mind for a couple of days now as I realized I"m facing the very same issues as that athlete.  Each of us has something, maybe several somethings, that's holding us back from achieving our athletic goals or attaining athletic excellence.

I'd like to challenge everyone to take a few minutes.  Can you identify what's holding you back?

For me, "conflicting priorities" are holding me back.  Achieving my athletic goals requires I put laser-like focus on those goals and the steps necessary to achieve them.  However, since I formally opened a coaching business, that has become increasingly important. Both sets of goals require me to focus.  Unfortunately, there's only 24-hours in a day.  When I'm working out, I'm not fully invested in working out because my thoughts drift to coaching.  When I'm working on coaching duties, my thoughts drift to the workout that I could have done better.  It's becoming increasingly apparent I need to revisit my priorities and re-define what the top priority is.  I can't have my cake and eat it too.

So what about you?  What's holding you back?  Once you identify what's holding you back, what do you need to do to "fix" it?