Todd's Tri Turtles 3 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10K) Basically Closed (Page 12)

Well everyone already gave you great advice and one of the things I was going to mention, you knocked out yourself. Family time is family time and time that once past we can never get back. I have always be able to keep this sport more as a hobby / lifestyle. I have always been super competitive and it has ruined many things that I really enjoyed doing. If you are not getting paid to do this, and none of us are or likely ever will be, then keep it fun and free. Be prepared for your races, but enjoy the journey getting there. I think for me what helped me with this sport and not to get super obsessed and 90 to nothing was what happened with fishing for me. I love fishing, always have, always will. I got a boat and started fishing more, which lead me to fishing tournaments. Next thing I know I'm not having fun at the tournaments, not enjoying a normal fishing day (because I could not find fish for upcoming tournaments), just never seemed happy to catch a fish, like I was before. Well after a couple years I put down the poles and put the boat in storage. I have just recently got the boat back out and want to start fishing again for stress relief if nothing else. Will I fish tournaments, yes I will, but I will approach them like a race, with a smile on my face and just trying to do my best. I will not measure a tournament anymore by where I finish and who knows I may even do better.

The flip side to eating more while you train, is eating too much once you stop training. I haven't trained in almost a week and I kept thinking "Why am I so full all the time!" I started eating more yogurt, because you know, certain bugs are good for your tummy and... good bugs love to eat greek yogurt... so I did that. And then I was full of yogurt, which wasn't good at all. And now I realize since I'm not burning 500 calories midday, I should probably just east less.

So train more, eat more, and be happy.

Hi everyone, been a bit absent from here for a few days - been busy out in the fresh air, running, biking and swimming! Yay!

After three sea swims in my wetsuit I've had to accept that breaststroke is not a good option for my swim - my legs are too high in the water.

So I'm focussing on front crawl and trying to cram in total immersion learning and training, as this seems a popular and quick way to take great strides in endurance. Any tips welcome!

Have a great day everyone!

My weekly schedule looks like this at the moment :
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
AM OFF Swim Swim Swim Long Bike
Lunch
PM Bike Trainer Long Run Bike Trainer Short Run Short run

My long runs usually are somewhere between 7-8 miles. My short runs are usually 2-3 miles at the moment. I don't have time to get the bike out 3x per week so I use the trainer (sufferfest video) 2x per week. The long bike is out on the road and usually around 28 miles and I am working to increase that to 40+.

I am concerned about my run volume. I feel my swim volume is coming along nicely lately, and my bike volume seems to be good. I am thinking going to the gym at lunch and running 3 more times per week. The schedule would look like this.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
AM OFF Swim Swim Swim Long Bike
Lunch OFF Short Run 3-4m Short Run 3-4m Short Run 3-4m
PM OFF Bike Trainer Long Run7-8m Bike Trainer Short Run 3-4m Short run 2-3m

This would help me increase my run volume into the 25+mpw and continue to keep my bike and swim volume 3x per week. My ultimate goal with this workout would be to do an Olympic tri.

I would like to hear your thoughts on this split routine. Is having a lunch run just to much? I read its ok to break up a run to increase volume as long as they are 6 hours apart hence my Friday with 2 runs in it. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Shane

Hi Shane

Now as a complete novice I'm no expert, but your current schedule looks pretty amazing already to me (go you!!). I'll be interested to hear what others say, but my feeling is that to add in more runs (or more work-outs at all) would risk you becoming exhausted and/or injured. Rest is important too and I think a schedule of three work-outs a day could potentially slow your progress overall!

I would say carry on as you are, or maybe if you're really concerned about the running swap a swim for a run once a week?

Like I say, interested to hear what the others reckon... ??

Nat

Nat the only tips I can really give is to just keep working at it. I also believe that one swim a week it is good to swim freestyle for as long as you can, then take a break, and repeat. You will see your distances improve and gain confidence in your stroke. You call still work on technique during this workout as well as your other swims.

Shane so much of all of this depends on what it is that you are hoping / wanting to get out of your race. I can tell you that what you are doing now is more than enough to have you well prepared for an Olympic Tri. I can also tell you that the run volume jump you are talking about could lead to injury if you make that jump all at once. I'm not one that goes by the 10% rule but you have to be smart about it. You are already doing a long run that is 1 to 2 miles longer then an Olympic run and two other runs on top of that. Maybe just add a 1/2 mile or mile to each of the other two. I think that one thing you should work towards is more rides outside. Sufferfest is a great training tool, but it is not riding outside with road resistance and with road conditions and elements. Don't burn yourself out, I can not emphasize enough how many people go full bore for a year or so and then stop everything all together. Only you know what your goals are and what you want out of your Olympic but please remember it is your first and will be a PR no matter what your time is. I can also tell you that some people have killed themselves to prepare, did their race, not finished close to where they felt they should or would and then they are done. Triathlon is like a lot of sports in the fact that some will be unable to do some things in a certain time regardless of how much they work at it. ie. You are either a 5 minute mile guy or you are not regardless of how much and how hard you work at it. I noted by any means trying to sound like a defeatist but instead a realist. It is hard to really appreciate how much natural talent a lot of people in triathlon have and what kinds of times it takes to get on that podium when not at a tiny or first time event. Some do a great job dealing with that and accept it, just trying to beat their own times, while others get frustrated and get out.

Edited to add: I think I have said this before but I always tell people to go look at training plans for the distance they are doing in order to get a gauge of how their training plans compare.

Edited by Hunting Triathlete 2014-06-25 10:49 AM

Thank you for the responses. I was having a hard time deciding on lunch runs, due to the facts you pointed out. I like your idea of 1/2 mile to the other runs and continue to increase those. I appreciate your advice.

Thanks,

Shane

I agree with the caution, as I just start physical therapy this week to recover from an over-use injury. I've strained my calf twice in the past 8 months, and each time it took me out of running for about 6 weeks. I'm looking to do things right this time, build up muscle and flexibility where it might be missing, and take it slow. I want this to be a life-long hobby, so I'm trying to think of significant progress in terms of years rather than months. For example, I plan to do only sprints this year, add Olympics next year, and maybe longer events the year after that.... maybe not.

Hi everyone - I just wanted to share some thoughts from swimming this week. I've had two consecutive days of good swims (~2000 yards each) and am riding a bit of a good wave here!

Oddly enough, today's revelation came from my tiredness. I was about 30 minutes into lap swimming when my shoulders were really starting to burn and get weak. I think it was from this lack of strength that I found myself twisting more, stretching out and really feeling what your arm pull should do for you. This, in combination with a little stronger kick to compensate for a tired upper body, felt so different - that is different in a good way.

I also have been more conscious of my head position. Back when I started this foolishness I was holding my head way too high. Recently I found myself looking basically straight down. This also corresponded with having a harder time getting a good inhale. I think I've found my middle ground where I'm holding my head *a little* higher and my breathing was much easier!

I figure sampling the times of a few 100 yard stretches during different parts of my workout will give me an idea of my pace. So far my times have ranged from 1min 50sec to a little over 2 minutes/100 yards. It really is cool to go back through my training log and see what I was struggling to do back in April!

Oh, BTW - the tri training group I'm a part of moved from the pool to open-water swimming in a local reservoir. This body of water really is a nice small lake and it's where the Syracuse 70.3 took place last weekend . Too bad mother nature and her thunder limited our swim time to about 5-10 minutes this week. Oh well, I think we have 5 more weeks where were meeting for more OWS!

Having grown up on a lake in the finger lakes, I say I really miss going for a swim the lake and OWS!

I recently joined a health club that has a pool and its great to be able to go swimming again.

Great news on your progress! Its great that your seeing improving results, and it sounds like your doing all of the right things. Just some of my advice since the swim is my favorite part and the fastest part of a tri for me: Don't worry about speed right now, worry about technique. Once the technique is perfected, speed will come naturally. Also think about this phrase every lap: Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Once technique and endurance are there, speed will just come naturally.

Now if I could only apply this to the bike portion.... ;-)

I like it! Thanks!

One more little thing I did for myself this week - I ordered a pair of prescription swim goggles. Being in the pool this much and being very nearsighted (and not wanting to deal with contact lenses) has been a drag. I also had a really hard time in this past week's OWS seeing the buoys. Now I understand they'll have nice BIG buoys during the race, but it was unnerving not exactly being sure I was heading the right direction! It also occurred to me that without my glasses I would have one heck of a time finding my bike!

BTW Mr10670, what part of the fingerlakes are you from? My family has a place on Seneca. What a great way to grow up and spend summers!

Edited by mbcoulter 2014-06-27 7:48 AM

I am originally from Penn Yan and I grew up on Keuka Lake on the east branch. Certainly miss it now. Swimming in the summer hockey and ice skating in the winter and great fishing all year long!

I have a duathlon on August 3rd, two weeks before my open water triathlon. I am still working on my swim but starting my bike focus training because I am behind on the bike training.

Today's workout wasn't all back to back but it works for me

Run 5.76 miles
Breakfast at Bagel Bin (that's why I do my long runs)
Bike 10.5 miles
Run 2 miles

Really nice workout today. That second run was tiring but I pushed through.

I have to say focusing on my maintaining my cadence regardless of my speed has made my riding better.
Change your gears to match your cadence, instead of changing your cadence to match your gear.


Edited by Lovey 2014-06-28 12:49 PM

well, I rode 18 miles today on the bike! and had my first crash! wahoo! (not that hurt) I was riding with boy1, and he's kind of slow and not very confident. His tire went off the road, and he tried to get back on, but didn't manage too, and wiped out instead. He scraped his arm a little, but otherwise he was OK, popped right up asking if I was OK. I had been following too close, and hit his bike and flipped off my bike. Luckily I went right into the grass and my shoes popped off the pedals. I have some great looking bruises and a nice sized goose egg on my leg. I might take pics tomorrow if the color develops like I think it will. I felt quite the pro when I needed to straighten my handlebars.

My first crash since I was about 8. Thank goodness for quiet roads and grass birms!

Edited by el penguino 2014-06-28 7:36 PM

He did great- hopped right back on and we went another 7 miles together to his friend's house. I think he's going to go out again today with the hubby.

Hi all,

I intended to do a 13-week training for my first sprint tri in September...but then my whole family (husband, three young sons, and I) got the stomach bug from hell. By the time we recovered, my kids were in their last week of school and I was bogged down with field days and kindergarten graduations. So instead, I will be doing a modified 11-week training.

This week, I did my first full week of training. 14 sessions in seven days. Most of the sessions were certainly not a full workout, eg 20 minutes of core or 1000-yd swim. But, it felt good to set a schedule and keep to it, even with a few modifications to accommodate going away for the weekend for my anniversary. I even logged everything in my training log.

I rode my bike once this week. I'm feeling more confident and am nearly ready to switch over to a road bike, which I am super excited to say that I am borrowing from a triathlete friend who is not racing this season. One less thing to research and save up for

The thing I'm most stuck on is coming up with a good yoga routine. I have a few videos but I'm not looking for meditation and an existential moment. I just want to stretch my body. I'd like some balance, but don't really need strength work as I am doing two strength and two core sessions a week. Any recommendations on where to find a list of poses I can move through in around 20 minutes. Currently, I'm just winging it based on what I remember from a Vinyasa class I took a few weeks ago and felt fabulous after (but it runs at the same time as my favorite spin class). Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

Thanks for listening!
Melissa in Boston

Oh my goodness, Nancy.

I'm glad to hear everyone is okay. And kudos to you for bringing your son along. I look forward to the days when my boys will be old enough to join me in my training.

~m

Nancy, so to hear about the wrecks, but great to hear yall are alright and already back at it. I wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed your post with "the boy" and can already see how much he has improved. Yall keep it up.

Melissa, I am not and have not ever been a Yoga person so I have very little to offer you. The only thing I can tell you about it is that P90X has a 1 hour yoga and 1 hour stretch video that you may like. I understand where you are going with this because they are a necessary part of the P90X cycle, but to get honest I like Anna just didn't enjoy it.

Just to let yall know, I may not be on here much or at all the next couple days. My grandmother passed away yesterday morning, so between the viewing, funeral, and work I'll be pretty swamped. You know it's times like these that I really embrace this sport even more. We are doing and accomplishing things that can never be taken away from us and that most don't do. We are living our lives and are doing so in a manor that promotes health and therefore helps to extend our lives. I kind of smiled yesterday after being told because we were at the lake as a family and I just thought about how precise life is and how beautiful things are around us if we just stop and look. Thanks in advance for your sympathy, we will make it through this.

I am very sorry for your loss Todd. My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your family.