Scott and Kelly's Mentor Group- Closed (Page 13)

I do not at this time, but I think I should. Realistically, I am not sure where I would fit it in.
As a female, age 46, I think it is important...but I have not hit my stride with the S/B/R training schedule yet and I still don't see where I would squeeze in a strength work out. I would love to know how everyone else fits it in!

Agree!

Where would you put ST for optimum efficiency?
Sun - Long run
Mon - Swim + Bike
Tues - Trail run + Bike
Wed - Med run + Swim
Thurs - Trail run
Fri - Swim + Bike
Sat- Easy run + Long bike

I am really wanting to maintain the 5x week run because I am building my weekly mileage and I am doing Ragnar in early April...I may have to drop a day after that. Probably need to swap Sat & Sun and do my long run sat with the long ride on Sun.

I would also say that it is important for men too and anyone who has had lingering injuries and issues. Workouts can be pretty quick - 35-45 min when doing circuits. My routines are lots of dynamic exercises that often do not require weights but are still quite difficult. Since I have had a couple of ACL reconstructions my P-T took video of me running and developed routines and exercises designed to strengthen specific muscles in the legs, hips and my core to improve run form, stability, and decrease further injuries. Strong hips and core muscles also helps to improve swim, since we supposedly obtain a good deal of speed from the rotation of our hips.

So if you have only one particular workout in the day, maybe you could split it up (AM/PM) or do it before or after the workout.

Rest day?

Um, yeah. No. I was thinking that either Fri or Mon with just a swim would work as a rest day...but then I come up short on bike time. Advice?

Edited to add....I am not currently doing this schedule. I am running Sun, Tues, Wed, Thur and Sat. I am trying to get on the trainer a couple times a week but have not done well with that. I have taken a break from swim for now but planning to get back in the water the first of Feb.

My Ragnar is early April and my A race is in late August. my plan was to ramp up my run mileage and incorporate the other two disciplines soon.

Edited by dace 2014-01-22 11:03 AM

Other than...maybe it would be a good idea to take a rest day - no - simply because I wouldn't know how to structure a workout plan for me let alone for anyone else. There is one thing I have learned from my training last year - training is a year round thing and, for me, those little rest days where I don't do ANYTHING do as much for my spirit as it does for my body. I can't speak for you, but after training last year and learning about what training blocks look like, I think I would quit if I did not have one day of rest during the week. And, by the way, I love the taper.

I know you are right...part of my dilemma is that I truly have not settled on a training plan. I am at 30 weeks out from my A race, I guess it is time to seriously map it all out.

Agreed, I tend to do more strength work in the off season. Right now my only strength stuff is core work twice a week. I've been sporadically doing some upper body work with free weights at home. Don't belong to a gym right now as I had to pick between Masters and gym membership for budget reasons. Perhaps I could pick up some more free weights though...

Have you checked out the plans from this site - either free or for fee?

Free weights may not be required. A soccer ball could be used for one leg bridges, a chair could be used for one leg squats, a paint can can be used for skier squats (which are killer), plank exercises, swim cords for shoulders, a bench for leg-ups, a big ball thing for core exercises, push up bars/handles to be used with the big ball thing (really tough...especially if you alternate between one leg at a time) etc...

Into my second week of training. Week 1 swam 3 times, biked twice, ran twice. Goal is to get 3 workouts in each discipline each week. Strength training 5 days a week. Right now I am a terrible swimmer, can only swim about 75 meters without a break, finding a coach is not an option, but I can swim at least 3 times a week. Currently following the Swim Smooth program and doing the beginning drills in book. How long should it take to start seeing improvements in swim? Also any helpful swim advice would be greatly appreciated.

Congratulations about your second week. I am an adult onset swimmer and still suck, so I can't speak to how long it will take you to see improvements...but I think everyone will say, you will get there and swim and swim some more. If you can, try to have someone videotape you both above and below water. While you might not be able to take lessons, you could always ask people on BT or in this group to take a look at your video for feedback.

I did and I found one but didn't print it out and now I can't find it.
My swim is strong so I should probably drop that back to two days and keep both the bike and run at four. I have Be Iron Fit by Don Fink, and I could use one of his plans, they are two swims, 3 bikes, and 4 runs, but one run is only a 15 min. brick...that just doesn't doesn't seem like enough bike or run for me.
The bike is different than the run, in that I can maximize my mileage on three rides, correct? Where with runs 4-5 shorter mileage runs are better that three long runs, I am guessing you can just hammer out the bike mileage?

Do you have a Masters program near you? Even if cost is an issue, getting guidance from a coach for even just 1 month would probably make a big difference in your swim.
Congrats on knocking out week 1!

That's what I was thinking re: the swim and bike workouts (that I should rest). I go into the bike fairly well rested, even after a 2 mile intense swim workout. So I think I get a lot out of the class. But tris being endurance where you push yourself and don't have half-hour transitions, I wasn't sure if it would be of benefit to push myself during exhaustion. The reason for adding the run in between wasn't to add additional miles each week, but to possibly shift my schedule which is a little difficult right now.

Re: strength training - Yes, I do 3x/week. I work with a trainer one of those days b/c I feel that I can push myself much further. She mostly sets up the compound type strength exercises utilizing cords, bands, BOSU ball, planks and some dumbells/barbells and pully machines as my wrists co-operate. I also purchased some stretch cords from Perfect Bands to use on my vacation and I love the little extras that they have included in the design of their product. These cords along with a BOSU ball (currently available at Costco) are what I would use at home if I didn't have access to my gym. I like to do a 45-75 minute workout, but it could be done in 30 minutes and still be of benefit.

Swimming. Agreed - you need some feedback and even a month would make a difference. Lots of Masters programs, particularly in county pools, also have a drop-in daily fee (something like $5), but IME, many Master's programs are not that big and don't run consistently even if they are listed on a website. So call ahead to make sure they will be there. Also find out if there is a better day to come (for example - when a coach will be there, if one day is for technique vs speed vs other stroke, etc.)

Also, if you can only go 75 yards right now, even w/o help, but consistently getting in the pool will help you. Just keep increasing the distance. At that ability, you will see large gains (just like when someone is new at any activity).

From my experience, I'd also say 5 days of running is recipe for injury. You would be surprised by how much endurance translates between the bike and run. Obviously training is a personal thing, but you should be fine if you have your long run for the week match up with the long run for a Ragnar training program. Plus, unless I am mistaken, other than the 15 minute brick run, the runs are all a good distance.

I'm also using Don Fink's plan, about 6 weeks in. My running group is training for a half in March and a full marathon in May. I simply join them for their long slow run on the weekend for my "Sunday" run on the plan. And I have no problem with increasing the distance with them. What week would Ragnar fall in the plan?

Edited by MechEChick 2014-01-22 3:31 PM

x2. It's hard to give advice with out having seen you swim. And I'll also agree that you should look around for a Master's group and see if you can drop in. Even one session can make a HUGE difference



What is difficult about the schedule? The wait between workouts? Getting in that run another time during the week?

Edited by MechEChick 2014-01-22 3:35 PM

Don't discount short bricks. Perhaps bump it slowly up to 20 minn, 25 minn, 30 minn to 35 minn. I will defer to more experienced but I never did a tri until last year, and jumped right in and did a half iron. No biking experience, some running but not really, no swim. I think I biked 3-4x a week and only one of those rides were devoted to a long distance ride. The others were briefer (130-145) duration but higher intensity/intervals. In my opinion I did not think I was running enough...but I slowly built a base, began doing intervals by the summer, and lo and behold I PR'd my half marathon during the half iron. My point is, trust your training, and bike lots. There is no need to do hammer out long rides with lots of miles each time to bank up miles. Get feedback from others who have used similar plans.

I am a month into my training program and it has me STing twice a week. It is just back and legs. Maybe 7 exersizes, three sets each. It takes about a half hour. What I am finding is that even though I have a pretty solid base of muscle, the slow lifts with light wieght are killing me. The plan also calls for 3-4 core exercise days as well. I credit these exercizes to my crazy advancement in the pool. And the better I get in the pool, the more I want to swim! I threw in an extra 4000 yard swim in this weekend, because I had an opportunity to workout with a few of the National level coaches at Peddie Prep school, which is in my area. Not only was I keeping up, I left with only a few minor things to work on. Now we weren't racing, mind you, but a month ago I was struggling with a couple hundred yards at a time. The ST played a big part in that.

We do have a Master's program but with my work schedule (high school coach) it is not an option right now. Would be able to join one from June thru mid-August but that only gives me about 6 weeks before first race. Need to be able to complete a 500 meter swim by July 19th. So I have plenty of time, just concerned about the swim. So far the pool has been a very humbling experience for me. Guess I'll give it about 6 weeks and if I'm still struggling I'll look into getting swim lessons. As a beginner should my training focus be on drills or building swim endurance? Thanks for the help!

Scott,

I started swimming a month ago. I mean I swam my entire life, but never for distance or competitively. I swam to be a lifeguard, to surf, to play around at the beach. That sort of swimming I was fine with. So the thought of my first tri this year didn't bother me. Until I got in the pool to train. I got 100 yards in and I was out of breath. So I switched to breast stroke, to catch my breath and then proceeded with the front crawl. I did that for the first three pool workouts. The next week I did everything my workout called for, I just extended the rest time the workout called for. In between, I reached out to the good folks in this thread who had awesome advice for me. I spent a lot of time on YouTube watching videos, I spent more time asking questions and reading about how to make it easier. The third week I was able to complete 3000 yard workouts. I will tell you that I think a good swim program will have you do endurance swims, speed sessions and technique sessions. I am using the 12 week Olympic plan from BT and the swim workouts are broken into those categories for me. There is no thought to what I should be doing, I just follow the plan and I have been very happy with the results. The best advice I got was to stay in the pool and keep getting it! If you can find all the advice I received early in this thread, it would absolutely help. It probably starts on page two. Hope it helps.