FoggyGoggle's Mentor Group - Closed (Page 12)

While I am an ultimate newb...I will relay what I have found thus far.

I am a big guy, former football player etc.  My thighs are bigger than most so in my head I convinced myself I could power up hills etc.  I would stay in my "power" gears and mash my way up the hil and considered it a loss to drop into spinning gears.  Problem being that once I crested the hills my legs were in dire need of a break and so I would let gravity take its course and just kind of pedal along not really pushing it and recovering.  I would say my cadence over flats and downhills was probably 80-90 but going up hills it could drop to 60 or less.  I mean I was really mashing hard.  (Pride goeth before the fall....)

Anyway I was advised here to focus on keeping the cadence high no matter the terrain, and it took some pride swallowing and concentration, but I started to do it.  I would power up to a hill and as I started climbing I would start dropping gears to keep my tempo high.  I don't have a cadence meter yet but I would create a rythym betweeen my pedal strokes and breathing and would adjust my gears to keep that rythym as close as I could.  Anyway buy spinning uphill I found that once I crested the hills my legs were much fresher which would allow me to really power down hill and across the flats to my next hill.  By being able to do this I created alot more momentum going into the next hill and could get up a good portion of it before I started dropping gears.  I live in the Texas "hill country" so there is no escaping these rolling hills.

I've also focused on staying in the saddle and keeping my aero position.  This is tough cause its new but you have to practice like you plan to play so I am getting there.  But in the end these are the kinds of results I am seeing.  By swallowing my pride and taking the advice received here and spinning on the up hills I have added about 4.5 mph to my average speed on my bike.  And when I'm finished my legs don't feel like mashed potatoes, I feel like I'm ready to run.

Again its just my experiences (limited as they may be) so take them for what their worth.  Enjoy your time on the bike and let us all know how it goes.

Jenny

When i started to swim my wife told me to look stuff up on youtube one of the best things she has said in a  while. because i can watch it over and over and realy study it.  where as having her just tell me wasnt working as much.  i needed to see it.  i came a cross this vidieo and it has helped my breathing greatly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB_-1sXrYeE

Hope it helps.

Wow "Marshpike", I really wish we had to option to "like" posts (like on facebook). This was awesome! I really needed some motivation today, and this is gonna be it. You're hardcore! Way to go!!!

Hey Foggy - What do you think about this training plan? http://www.menshealth.com/triathlon/program/Fitness_Level_IV.php

It's less detailed than I would like (assumes you have experience with training, which I do), but it fits my timeline. Currently I am lifting heavy (for me) 3x weekly, running Sprints 1x weekly, plus 1 short swim (600-1000m depending on time) & 1 long swim (1600-2000) per week, as well as the occassional bout of yoga. I take one complete rest day, and have a 2nd optional rest day (which also serves as my yoga day).

My current round of weight training will end on March 31, at which point I will have 5 weeks until Race Day (for a relatively short race, even for a Sprint: 600yd pool swim, 12.5 mile bike over rolling "hills" & 2.8 mile flat run). The above training plan is really 6 weeks, but looking at the training plan I feel I could do it in my sleep aside for maybe the bike. I figure I can basically jump into the Week 2 training and take that up to race day.

What do you think? (clearly, I'll commit to a full & longer training plan for the almost-Olympic I have scheduled for August)

Ha! Yes, sir! Done and done. (seriously - my office mates think it's hilarious) Oh man though, I did an upper body workout yesterday morning and ouch! The 50 I just did now left me shakey and had to be eeked out in 2 sets. :D

Well, I finally made it back out to get some training in this morning.  A slow 6.2 miles at 9:40 pace, but since I've been slacking lately, I'll take it.

Question for anyone who wants to chime in.  What would you figure is the average lifespan of a saddle?

I ask because the stock saddle that came with my bike I had no issues with for the first two years. Then this summer I started getting some numbness.  I would start going numb at about the two hour mark. Now I'm starting to get numbness after only about 30 minutes.  

Do you think my saddle is getting worn out, or is it time to go to the LBS and get refit?  FYI my saddle has about 6,000 miles on it.

My saddle time is pretty much the same as in the summer.  Not any long rides right now, but more rides with a shorter duration.  I know there is some added discomfort from being on a trainer and not really moving around as much as you do on the road.  But looking back on my garmin connect info,  this past December is pretty much the same as Dec. 2010 as far as amount of rides and duration on the trainer and I'm nowhere near as comfortable as I was last year.

How do you like the Adamo? I was considering an Adamo or a Cobb V flow max.  I've heard the Adamo can be a little wide in the nose for some people.

Perfect - exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for, thanks! I kinda got the same impression, but of course it caught my eye as the only almost-full plan I found that was that short. Honestly, the Sprint is just a fun warmup for my season, switch over to tri-specific training, etc. It would be nice to see an improvement on last year's time, but I'm not out to win any medals. That said, I would love to custom-create something that would be the most effective use of my 5 weeks time. Going from 3 months of weight training, should I take that first week in April as a "recovery" (i.e. easy swimming, running, lots of stretching & yoga)? Which would leave me 4 weeks to pound out the bike training and pick up my running frequency...

For background, my longest run ever is about 7 miles, but I have no problem regularly cranking out 3-4, and I have a couple 10K races under my belt now too. I generally run around 10:30 - 11:00/mile, but that is solid for me. I've been doing sprints around the 8:00 mark, so maybe I'll see some improvement from that. I have really slacked on the bike since mid-summer (translate as "I have not been on a bike since July"), so I'll have to suck it up and do some bike-heavy training I suppose. (of course I fall into that rut of neglecting my least favorite, and hence, biggest weakness) but I'm comfortable going out and doing a leasurly fun-ride twice as long as the race. The swim won't be any problem since I swim regularly, training or not.

I definately have to get a better saddle.  That was a huge limiting factor in me pushing harder over the last half of my longer ride yesterday, it went from saddle sore to saddle pain....Also comtemplating on moving my seat a little forward.  It seems like I spent alot of time riding on the rivet.  I'm a big boy and thats alot of weight for me to put on my more tender bits.  Anyone have opinions on which saddle type they've had better experiences with.  Adamo or Cobb?  Course I'm going to look to try both but just trying to get a feel for it.

Same here Foggy, I switched to the Adamo road after one season with my stock saddle. Oh what a difference it makes. My LBS had a loaner program and let me try it out for a week.  I hope everyones training is going well.

That's a great idea Cajnrunner. I don't know why I didn't think of that.  My LBS let me demo a few pairs of race wheels before I decided to buy.  I'll give it a try with the Adamo.  They don't carry Cobb, but if the Adamo doesn't work I'll go ahead and buy a Cobb.  They have a 180 day 100% guarantee.  If you don't like it after 6 months, full refund.

Wow had a really good evening @ the pool tonight, I got my first swim cap and a proper pair of goggles on the weekend and got to try them out.

There was about 30 people in the pool all in their bermuda shorts bouncing about then I appeared with my jammers, cap and googles, felt totally out of place but I thought what the heck.

I couldn't believe how different my swimming felt, I did struggle with the first 30 laps but I was pushing too hard, then I calmed down and found my rythm, it felt pretty effortless and I managed 1800m of nonstop swimming in 34min, I didn't even feel that tired at the end of it.

Two week ago I was swimming in my running shorts with misty leaking goggles and doctor spock ears sticking out, now I feel totally stream lined.

Although I haven't really started cycling yet I feel the swim is going to need the most focus to get me to my Oly goal this year, but tonight I came a step closer.

Loving Foggy's mentor group by the way, helping to keep me motivated.

Not sure if any of you have read who dares run by Gerry Duffy, found out today that he won his last challenge completing 10 ironmen in 10 days, beating second place by 19hrs, crazy horses.

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Awesome! Like I said, no urgency. I've still got a couple months. Ummm...no considerations that I can think of. I do have a gym membership, so I can use the stationary bikes as needed until the weather cooperates. I generally work out in the early mornings, but work is only a block from the gym, so lunch & after work are options too. Swimming is my strength, but I don't want to neglect it because there is a lot of room for improvement there too. I'm not fast in any discipline, but I'm quite happy with slow & steady. I do enjoy doing speedwork on the track, but I have to go to a different gym location for that, so it only happens about once a week.

Also, since you know my terrain, if you have location recommendations for hills or bike workouts, I'm all ears. On the bike I have always just hopped on the Greenway & logged my hours. I did discover last year that heading out past Theodore Worth and north into Robbinsdale (?) the hills kicked my ! General creativity in terms of bike workouts would be useful. I get really bored. I do have a basic computer on my bike that also shows cadence.

THANKS!

To everyone having troubles saddles be sure your shorts have good padding and that its newer.  I have 3 pairs of shorts.  My very first pair of Shorts from college is one of the USPS shorts so its old.  The pads are weak sauce!!  I can't ride in them for very long, they have been relegated to motorbike racing duty only now.  My Pearl Izumi and Assos ones are great, hell even the pads in my TYR try suit are better than my USPS shorts.  I find that padding makes more of a difference to me then saddle.  My road bike has a XXX Lite saddle that is pretty old on it.  It's essentially and piece of leather laid over Carbon Fiber.  No problems doing any distance on it, same thing with my Tri bikes saddle.  Though In the aero position a saddle that is designed properly would be better.  I was thinking Cobb but want to see if Fizik makes a Tri specific piece.  There is always that time to get your sit area back to riding toughness.

I did some abs Sunday and got beat up by my massage therapist (First one in a while so it wasn't to much fun). Today I did 30 min of aerobic level cycling, and in doing so guilted my roommate into going to the gym HAHA.  I also signed up to Volunteer for the Madison Ironman this year, that will be awesome!!!!

Keep up the good work everyone!!!!!

Well I logged some more time on the road last night.  Running this time in a very hilly neighborhood.  And let me tell you some days your the bat and some day you're the ball and last night I was the ball.  Don't know what it was but everything was off and couldn't ever find a good rythym to settle into.  But in the overall scheme of things mission accomplished because I put some road under my feet.  Supposed to rain this afternoon so that may screw up my plans for biking.  May have to take my rest day a day early and bike on Wed.

On a better note I stepped on the scale again this morning to find I had dropped another 5.4 pounds, bringing my total to 11 pounds for the month.  I know this won't keep up and I'm waiting for my progress to slow down, but I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it until it does.  Thats 11 pounds total since the start of January.  Weighing in at 239...if this keeps up I'm going to have to change my signature.  Which I will gladly do.