MarkQuiet's group - FULL (Page 12)

Jay, the key to bi-lateral breathing (at least for me it was) is to stay consistant with when to take a breath.

For example: breath left during the left stroke, stroke right, stroke left, breath right during the right stroke, stroke left, stroke right, breath left during the left stroke, continue this pattern for 1000 times.

I hope that makes sense, I re-wrote it about four time trying to figure the best way to put it. The point I'm trying to make is that you want to keep breathing as much as possible while swimming. During the two strokes your head is under water breath out slowly you want to be empty of air when your head breaks out of the water to give you more time to inhale. If not, you wind up swallowing water because your still inhaling after the end of the stroke.

Last chance for people to get in on "guessing Doug's finishing time" for tomorrow's half marathon. Be sure to stop by his log and wish him the best. Its always a good boost to morale to read inspires before heading out the door to do a race.

I ordered the Kurt Kinetic Fluid Trainer today from bikesport in Michigan. Thanks for the heads up fgray.  The total cost - shipping, the trainer, tax and a computer thingy to go on it was 321.00.  Great customer service.  It's shipping Monday via UPS.  I am SO EXCITED!!

This tri thing is starting to cost me lots of money!!  However, I do believe it's money well spent!

Thanks again fgray for the advice to go through bikesport. 

I'm sure this is a stupid question as I should probably know the answer.

However.

When ordering my bike trainer and computer today - they said this trainer measured watts and that was VERY IMPORTANT.

Huh?  Why?  I know what it measures - just not sure what difference that makes.  All I ever pay attention to is how far I go and in what time.  I know there is some other number I watch when I'm using the bike at the gym - and I'm not sure what it is - but I've read you should be at 90 or above.  Well, unfortunately, the fastest I hit and am able to keep up for any reasonable amount of time is around 83.  I have no idea what all that means - other than my heart rate is comfortable around 70 and working hard around 83.  (rpm's??) 

Just wondering if you bike guru's can explain what watts is in biking for idiots terms!

Thanks!

Tami 

Hey y'all, thanks for playing Kirk's game (and thanks to Kirk for coming out, I know it was hard not to be running).  I lost internet access Thursday and most of Friday and didn't have time this morning to check on y'all's guesses (and kind of didn't want to), but I knew that some of you were putting up numbers on me (no wagering, please).  I'm pleased to report that my chip timed finish was 1:54:53.  If y'all need to argue over who won, my gun time was 1:56:12.  Since we had chips, I'm going with that one.  It also jived pretty close to my Garmin time.

It was a fun race.  I'll post all the details in my race log, but suffice to say, it was humid and warm at the start (my warmup was to sprint back to the car and drop off running partners's vests and long sleeves, and to change into a sleeveless top.  Good thing I did.  It was really windy, too, but not cold, to I was pleased with my last second clothing decision.

I did have fun and the course support was great.  Friends and family set up a couple positions to cheer us on, which always boosts motivation.

Thanks for all your energy out there today.  And yes, this afternoon's beer and burger are tasting great!

db

Happy Monday All,

First of all congrats to Doug for finishing is 1st "official" half mary. The time was awesome for a first timer. I'm sure you could have gotten 1:52 if you did not play a full game of soccer the night before!!

As for the trainer questions. You are correct with the 90s part of the question. It is the rpm or pedal cadence. The number is may be slightly high for beginners, but is close enough. The reason you want to use cadence is to ensure you are not putting too much strain on the endurance type muscles and to get your energy from fat (unlimited supply) and not the glucose stores (limited supply). If you can not get up to that cadence then you are in to high of a gear (faster speed with slower pedalling). If you are having problems getting into the 90 then first try maintaining mid to high 80s. Gradually your cadence will get up there.

As for the watts measurement. That is a measurement of the amount of power you are putting out through the bike. The computer takes into account resistance / speed to calculate the amout of power that is needed to maintain. As I have never trained by power output I can't give a good answer on where you want to be. My suggestion would be to find a copy of "The Triathlon Training Bible" and review the section on cycling by power. I pretty much skimmed over that section.

Col: Let us know if you want to meet up this weekend in Las Colinas for a ride. I would be interested. More then likely you will be spending time with family as is understandable.

All have a great week of training. Remember to keep up with one another and help motivate, this IS a team effort.

leyla - great to hear that you are feeling better. I was wondering what happened to you.

Tara - you are right the power measurement is all about the amount of energy you are putting into your ride - not so much the speed. The more effort = higher wattage. Measuring wattage is interesting, but does little good at this point in your training. The people that gain the most for measuring wattage are those that are FOP (front of pack) and people that are competing for AG (age group). It ultamately comes down to what you want to spend your money on. 

The only thing I know about watts and a bicycle is from when I was a kid at the Seattle Science Center - the harder we pedaled the bike, the more and brighter light bulbs came on.

Somebody else asked about bike tires for use on a mountain bike during a tri.  I have two answers.  One, get some "slicks" which are smooth tires designed for street riding.  I don't know about whether the police model will increase speed (something about the engine strength, and whether the mechanical equipment, i.e. chain, gears, brakes etc. are working correctly), but I do know that - and here's my second point - if you pump them up to around 80-85 psi, generally well past the recommendation (caution, make sure you have good innertubes and a cloth rim tape - the barrier between you spokes and your tube - to prevent flats), you can ride like the wind.  This trick also works for knobbies if you can't find, afford or just forget to get the slicks.   For example, I ride my roadie at about 100 psi which is quite firm, and my mtb at around 80, particularly if I'm towing the kids.

Hey Jay,

Take the rest weeks. They are designed into the program to allow your body to rebuild from the "heavy" weeks. Work the plan the way it is written and enjoy the rest periods. When you go back to the heavy you will see larger gains.

As to the first tri in May. Sounds like a winner. Do the tri, start in the beginner wave, use it as a learning or test race for your A, and finally enjoy it.

Jay, I concur with Kirk.

As for TI, I'm only using the book as I didn't spring for the DVD.  The book makes sense, mostly, and is quite useful.  However, be prepared to be frustrated your first or second try at finding your sweet spot.  I sure was.  But once found, it's a great place.  I plan on logging meters/lengths from now on as I'm almost back to whole stroke form, i.e. swimming.  I also recently purchased, and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of, TI's open water swim (OWS) made easy.  This is my biggest challenge to overcome.

Keep up your good work.

Tara,

We must have spoken to the same salesperson - because your conversation sounds EXACTLY like mine when I ordered my Kurt Kinetic last weekend!!  

Supposidly mine shipped out on Monday.  I was REALLY hoping it would be here today - but it hasn't shown up yet.  The Y has been incredibly crazy this week and I have not been able to get a bike yet - so I hope it shows up soon!

I have read the TI book and have the dvd.  Sounds great - but personally, I'm having a very difficult time putting it into practice.  Kind of feel stupid sometimes when I'm working on it.  I've got the balance on my back thing down - but that's about it.  Next I need to woking on "pressing my buoy" or whatever that is.  I sure wish I had the cash flow to go to one of their camps because I think hands on training would be wonderful! 

Anyway - hope you enjoy your trainer!  Did they tell you how long it would take to get to you??

Tami 

Ok, y'all.  Here's my take on TI.  Like Sluggo, I thought of "cherry picking" the good stuff and trying to incorporate it into my regular swimming.  I had had good lessons last summer and felt that I could make any reasonable distance with more training.  It didn't work.  It was at that point that I committed to stop what I was doing and embrace the TI approach.  My first "swim" (floating on your back, really) was darn near disastrous.  I couldn't find the sweet spot and wound up sucking water, dragging my legs and feeling like a 5 year old kid who can't swim.  I couldn't believe it.  But again, I stuck with the program knowing that on my next attempt, I'd get it.  And I did.  I was able to float, find sweet spot, skate and begin rudimentary switching (all TI terms).  At this point I'm only swimming 2x week, Saturdays while the kids are in swimming lessons (I'll teach them TI when they get the basics down) and Mondays after work.  Did/do I feel a bit awkward sliding on my back and side, doing weird partial strokes while others are pumping out laps?  Yes.  Do I feel badly for taking a whole lane and not sharing?  Yes, but it is usually not a problem.  (NOTE: You'll need a whole lane to start with, trust me).  Do I feel I've made significant progress in my swim?  Not yet.  In TI?  Yes.  Do I feel TI will help me with my swimming?  Well, I'm committed to it now, so it better.  I'm now at the step where the whole stroke is coming together.  I'm excited to get in the water to try it out and practice.  I'm going back to counting distance so I can compare vs. my previous swimming.  I don't much care about speed, just stamina and not drowning in swims.  I believe TI will give me the confidence to swim my own segment (whatever the distance) safely.  But I will only know on April 22 when I have to swim 1500 m in a man-made lake.

I'll discuss my OWS problems in another post y'all can have a laugh or share your own issues with me.

My bottom line is this - I don't want to rely on a wetsuit, kayaks, buoys, lifeguards, etc. to get me through the swims.  I want to have the confidence and skill set to do it myself.