Wyld Hair On A Tangent Group -FULL (Page 14)

Really nice pics Bill.  I never take pictures but my mom insisted that i take some when I went to Ireland.  I took probably 300 pics  and there are only 5 that I really liked.  I'm not all that "talented" when it comes to pics so I was really pleased with 5   Do you do this as a hobby or do you also try to make a little dough off of it?

Also, a question for you?  Yesterday I did a 2000 yd swim with the pull bouy.  I focused on reaching and gliding that you mentioned the other day and really trying to initiate the rotation at my hips.  I could tell a big difference when the rotation was smooth.  I counted my strokes and I'm at 22-24 strokes (11-12 stroke cycles) per 25 yds and 1:52-2:00min. per 100 yds.  23 strokes was really the magic number on most.  My question is, is this about right?  Should I be doing less/more?  I know that its slow, but I'm just trying to get more efficient.  I found that when i counted, it put me more into a rythym  and I didn't seem to drag near as much. 

As

As a a side note, there was a mountain of a man in the lane next to me making slow deliberate strokes, really smacking the water as he went.  He had less strokes and was straight up moving.  He paused for a second at one end as I was finishing my ambitious goal of 2000 yards and I asked him how far he was going.  8000 yards and he was half way there.  I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

It's strictly a hobby at this point.  I really just got a good camera and have only taken a few photography classes.   I have no dreams of ever making any money off it.  Maybe I'll set up a tent at some arts and crafts festivals, drink a few beers, play some tunes, talk with some people, and see if anyone would buy a print or two.  I'm also at the age where a lot of my friends are starting to have kids, so it might be fun to do some portrait stuff for them.  If that turned out well enough, maybe I could get some people to pay me for some stuff like that.  It would really only be to finance some more cool camera equipment, though.  I really want a 600-800mm telephoto lens so I can get some good shots of gators during the summer without invading their personal space.  Those things are freaking expensive, though. 

As for your swim question... in general, less is better.  And for where you are, that holds pretty true.  Really, really, really good swimmers might experiment with an extra arm turnover or something during a short 50m sprint or something, but ideally you want the fewest strokes without sacrificing speed.  It's not something that happens over night either.  I think in two years of swim training for triathlons (probably more like 18 months total of swimming and about 400k yards) I think I went from around 18 strokes to about 15.  I could do 13 but it was really uncomfortable and just felt awkward and slow. 

So, it's a great thing for you to be conscious of and work on lowering, but don't expect to drop from 23 to 18 before the season starts or anything.  And really, it's something that will come as other areas of your stroke improve.  As long as you keep putting the time in at the pool, your stroke count is going to come down, and your speed will as well.

Question for the board.

How long realistically, would it take me to be prepared for my first Ironman? 
A little background....   

In one month will live less than 1/2 a mile from the gym.  This also puts me along all the local cycle and running routes.  I've been running for a little over two years.  What few injuries I've had have all been caused by the same issue, which has been discovered and is being corrected in pt right now.  I've got a couple of weeks left there, but will probably continue as long as insurance is paying.  I will be released to begin running again next week.  I'm willing to train 7-9 sessions a week and up to as many hours as I can conceivably get in.  I start with the swim coach in the next week or so.   I've been training on a spin bike, but I get my bike next month.  This has become not only a hobby, but my main focus. 
I'm single, not into the "going out" scene anymore, and really not looking to date anytime soon, because lets be honest, theres just not a lot here.  I work about 45  hours a week, but fairly flexible.  The swim coach is actually a tri coach, so as this season progresses, i'll probably work with him more on the other disciplines.  My schedule for this year is a sprint in June, Olympic in July and a 1/2 IM on September 26. 
What do you think?

Question for the board.

How long realistically, would it take me to be prepared for my first Ironman? 
A little background....   

In one month will live less than 1/2 a mile from the gym.  This also puts me along all the local cycle and running routes.  I've been running for a little over two years.  What few injuries I've had have all been caused by the same issue, which has been discovered and is being corrected in pt right now.  I've got a couple of weeks left there, but will probably continue as long as insurance is paying.  I will be released to begin running again next week.  I'm willing to train 7-9 sessions a week and up to as many hours as I can conceivably get in.  I start with the swim coach in the next week or so.   I've been training on a spin bike, but I get my bike next month.  This has become not only a hobby, but my main focus. 
I'm single, not into the "going out" scene anymore, and really not looking to date anytime soon, because lets be honest, theres just not a lot here.  I work about 45  hours a week, but fairly flexible.  The swim coach is actually a tri coach, so as this season progresses, i'll probably work with him more on the other disciplines.  My schedule for this year is a sprint in June, Olympic in July and a 1/2 IM on September 26. 
What do you think?

vickaiser - 2010-02-19 8:54 AM I wiped out on my bike last night.  TORE-UP my back wheel.  Now the funny part...I was on a TRAINER.  Yes, I wrecked on a trainer.  Must not have been in securely.  The bike just fell out while I was going ~18 mph and a full 90+ cadence. Fortunately, I was spinning next to a wall which broke my fall.

Only me!!!

The way I heard it was that you were on rollers, doing one leg drills with no hands, when a stray kitten got spooked by a rabid pit bull and darted toward you.  In an effort to save an animals life, you did an endo to put your bike in between the kitten and the pit bull, pacified the rabid dog, reintroduced him to the kitten, and now they are renting an apartment downtown together, getting into all kinds of crazy comic strip type adventures.

Heroic with a good family comedy ending.  Something everyone can enjoy, even the kids.