We Don't Just Tri - We Do (Season 2) - Closed (Page 12)

Thought I would share with you a view on my bike ride today. Got it in before the rain comes. 

The Queen Mary

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That's quite a view!!!  Glad you got out for a ride.   I have been struggling to get back on a regular training routine.  Work has me exhausted.   Working on my running plan now, maybe that will help. 

how is everyone else doing?  Board seems kind of quiet. 

I'm definitely learning the balance between work/school and training. We have exams coming up next week, so I toned down my training a bit to focus on training. But I seem to have strained a hamstring the other day, so I'm taking the rest of the week off and focusing on morning and evening stretching with a lot of ice packs, heat packs and foam rollers. Hopefully after my exams and spring break I can get back into the pool and focus on consistency there. 

Hope everyone else is doing well, and that warmer weather comes to a lot of you. For me there is no inspiration like being able to get outside for a run or ride!

Yeah, I haven't been on in awhile. I had a hard time following every post and thread since the email notifications don't tell you much unless the poster quoted something. I signed up for a women's only boot camp (before work 5x a week) before I signed up for the tri, and slightly regret it. I love it, but I'm still working out after work too, so I'm just all around exhausted. Boot camp 5x a week, 3 swims, 3 runs, 2 bikes. Just don't care about that third bike right now! Dogs are getting the worst of it though, so cold and fewer (if any) walks, they're going stir crazy, so I'm trying to get them out for long walks at a park on the weekends as well. Next week is the last week of boot camp so then I can get into a regular routine of swim/bike/run/walk dogs. And maybe have a little bit of a life again That's about all here!

Liz

I definitely had to push the restart button this weekend. Between being sick, not having a good mental focus or firm race schedule, I was all over the place. I was able to sit down Sunday and register for a few races and get a final schedule together . I am back to run/swim/bike instead of just running and put my plan in a notebook/planner. I feel a bit better now that I am organized and have everything written down. I have 67 days until my first race so I need to get back to it.

I am going to try a Master's Swim program on Monday. I  am hoping I can improve my technique and endurance in the water. 

YES! California is finally getting some rain which means snow in the mountains. Dan, I know what you mean about the dry conditions. We were up in the Sierras over the holidays and took 2 ski runs. The conditions were so bad, we stopped after that so we wouldn't ruin our skis. So very sad for the area. Now there is finally some fresh powder. My husband and I are heading to Mammoth for a few days of skiing so I will be getting in some fun leg work. I am going to bring my Garmin along and see what info I can collect on our runs.

Have a great weekend!

Joellen, 

congratulations on your finish.  Sounds like it was productive all around.  Finding your swimming stroke is a great feeling.  I have experienced it a few times but can't say I am consistent with it.   Looking forward to hearing about your progress for the rest of the season. 

a

Hello everyone, 

Looks like most of us have had trouble keeping up with our workout schedules.  For me, this past week was just ok.   total of 4.5 hrs for the 7 days.   Today I started an 8-week swim program.  I have not trained much in the pool since last year and I am feeling it now - Tired.  Hope to put a bit more effort next week and get in 7-8 hrs.  Nutrition-wise, the mostly veggie diet did no do much for me.  I did not drop any weight and so I am now trying to go by counting calories.  I am using an App called MyFitnessPal which is quite easy to use and definitely highlights how easy it is to overeat.    For this coming week, i will be going back to mostly veggies but counting calories.   I am sure this approach will make a difference. 

Hope you all have great week. 

Armando

So today I started an 8wk swim program - I mentioned that already.  Last week I had a 1 day swim analysis session.  Just got the video and here it is for all of you to see.  Hopefully this will help some of you.   Even with my "terrible" form, I was able to do 2.4 miles.  Now that I focusing more of proper technique, I hope to improve my swimming time.  enjoy!

--------------------------

Armando --

Here's your video from the swim clinic -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9x853EDGQc

First thing to notice is the back end of your stroke. Your legs are dropping and dragging behind you, which is acting as an anchor when you swim (you can see your legs are almost at a 45 degree angle below the water). First priority is to find you balance point in the water, get your hips up and the getting you to use smaller kicks from your hips (you don't want to be seeing bent knees and ankles when you kick). This can be done with some kick / hip position drills and by working on lower core and hip strength. For the kick work I would suggest these fins -- http://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Sphere-Alphafin-Size--10-11/dp/B001Q3LTW... Also I want yo think about engaging your lower core muscles and keeping your butt up on the surface of the water.

On the front end you have two big issues to address -- a crossover and a slipping elbow. You can see on the front end video that you have a crossover and slight scull. When you enter the water with both hands you hand crosses over the center line if your body. You then scull out with your hand to get back into a position to pull but rather than pulling straight back with your hand lower than elbow, you lead the stroke with your elbow so you're getting a fairly small area for the pull. I've attached a picture of what the pull should look like and you can also check out these video (which also demonstrate the drills -- http://www.youtube.com/user/SonicEndurance.Essentially what we want is for you to have your hand lower in the water than your elbow for the entire pull and for you to work on catching the water with your forearm rather than having it slip through the water. You have a lot of strength, you want to use that to pull yourself through the water.

WOW it is nice to hear from everyone again about their progress.

Joellen, congrats on your first indoor tri. That sounds like a lot of fun. I too sometimes get nauseous when working out. I read somewhere it has to do with blood sugar levels or rather a low blood sugar issue. I do have to have something to eat prior to working out and it has to be at least 1 hour before so. I find I have better workouts in the late afternoon and am lucky enough that I can work that into my schedule.I am also hydrated better in the afternoon than in the morning so I think that helps as well. I am usually pretty nervous for races so I get up early and have steel cut oatmeal and egg whites for breakfast 2-3 hours prior to the race. I wonder if Dan's suggestion of a gel would work on blood sugar quickly enough. I will be interested to see how you do so keep us posted. 

Armando, thanks for sharing your video. The video is such a cool tool to have. I wasn't able to link to the other youtube channel but would love to check it out. Do they also take another video after you have worked on your form? I am also on Myfitnesspal my username is trbilbao if you want to be "friends" 

I was able to "test" a master swim class last night and really enjoyed it. I did not know what to expect of a master swim class. It was pretty relaxed which I needed since I am not ready for any heavy duty endurance - yet. There were only 2 other swimmers there last night so each of us had quite a bit of personal attention. The coach worked with me on my technique primarily on my arm stroke. I need to keep my arms straighter ( eliminating cross over), glide longer and also learned to scull underwater while pulling back.  I was able to take off 2-4 strokes per 25 yards which is much more efficient and faster. It was somewhat difficult "un-learning" arm strokes that I have been doing for 40+ years and building new muscle memory. My bilateral breathing went out the window as well since I was concentrating on my arms. I am very excited to see where this will take me and how much I can improve. I am going to have to re-work my training plan since the swim class is on a set schedule and the plan I have mixes the s/r/b workout days. Does anyone know how to delete a training plan from BT?  I actually keep a training planner/journal that I will go by so it looks like I'm slacking on the BT site Silly I know but it just bugs me. 

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week!

Originally posted by Mountaindan

Originally posted by MamacitaT Does anyone know how to delete a training plan from BT?  I actually keep a training planner/journal that I will go by so it looks like I'm slacking on the BT site Silly I know but it just bugs me. 

 

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week!

 

Tara I believe this is how you delete a training plan, if you haven't figured it our yet? Training Log - My training Plan - My Planned Calendar - Delete - this will bring up a window and allow you to indicate what date range you would like to delete and chose what training data to include. Hope that helps

Thanks Dan - I have decided to leave it in and use the weekly totals for s/r/b/l to plan my workouts in my workout planner/journal. Thank for the information I am sure I will need it in the future.

Hello My Friends,

Just a quick question for you and an issue that I wrestle with - How many days a week do you train? My plan calls for 6 days and I struggle with that. I would like to do 5, but feel guilty if I don't get the whole plan in.

What are your thoughts?

I'm definitely having trouble balancing life (school, family, need for sleep) with training at this point. I think I started off too ambitious, with multiple workouts for 3 days/wk and only having 1 rest day/wk. I'm adding in another rest day and reducing swimming and running down to twice a week and keeping biking at 3/wk.

I think I'm going to get the mindset of my workouts are the goal for the week, and if I can't get to the goal because of a hectic week, I'm not going to beat myself up. Now if I don't reach a goal because of my own laziness, that is another story.