JeepFleeb's mentor group - FULL (Page 14)

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Welcome Jonathan, looks like you have some great goals! Aaron your bike looks very fast!! It's hard to post mine and follow that mean machine! Just kidding I love my bike. It is a good place for me to start for a old lady learning to ride! Aaron good luck in your race!

Hey Aaron! I'm concerned that I've had 2 pretty crappy weeks so far in The Plan, now that I'm mid-plan worried that if I don't hit the volumes for the remaining half (minus taper) that I'll not survive the race happily.

Would you take a look & share your experience please? 

Thank you. 

Edited by AdaBug 2009-06-13 8:25 PM

Monday check in.  Looks like another busy week. training plan is moving into more technique than volume except for the bike. Not sure how I'm going to fit in a 4.5 hour bike.  I haven't been able to get one of these in yet. Three hours was hard enough to do.  Any suggestions on how to warp time to make this possible?

Well I survived Boise it was really rough for me and for a lot of people, it was cold and rainy with high winds. my race report is up.

Great bike pictures! I'll take one of my baby tonight if I remember. He desperately needs a bath, so maybe he'll have a bit of a pampering tonight Oh and last night at my multisport club meeting, I won a free bike fitting, so I am very excited about that!

Last week's training was only so-so. I am hugely embarrassed to say that blister put me out of the run and swim for a full week. This thing took on a life of it's own and I could barely stand the first few days. I broke down and went to the doctor on Thursday and his first reaction was "EW - that's huge!" then he apologized becasue doctor's aren't supposed to say Ew to their patients It's finally almost better, so hopefully tomororw I can start running again. I managed to do all of my runs in the water except my planned 30 minute aqua jog. Somewhat ironic that was the one I missed...I did however manage to simulate my track workout and worked up a huge sweat in the pool, so that was a very exciting discovery. I did what I could on the swim but it wasn't what I wanted.

My rides were decent during the week but Saturday I just melted, it is way too hot here lately, and I normally love the heat. I'm hoping for the unlikely chance that we get some rain and cool off a bit before this weekend hits. I was hoping to ride 65-70 this weekend but my group is only going 45. So, I have to motivate myself to ride before/after and the after won't be as likely if it is as hot as it was this weekend.

Happy Training!

Scott ~ when you get the answer to that PLEASE fill the rest of us in on the secret!!

Gary ~ It may have been tough but YOU DID IT!!!!  How's the knee?

Erin ~ Sounds like things are getting a bit better for you...it's nice to see you in here again.  (It gets kind of lonely talking to oneself)

As for me...this week is a bit higher in volume than what I've been doing the last month or so.  I'm having probs getting all my swim time in since I have to work around my hubby's schedule but at least I'm doing what I can.  I met up with another BTer last week for a ride and that was great since it's the first time that I've had the chance to actually ride with someone else.  He about killed me but what's funny is that he said he was just trying to keep up with me...I don't know if he's just saying that to make me feel good or what but still....Hope you all have a great week!!

Thanks so much for letting me hang out here with you all!! Far as homework goes, though -- my bike got yoinked (read: stolen!) when I was in IC. It was a road bike, though, not a tri bike. For now, I'm just doing stationaries and the gym. So no pics just yet.

My training was supposed to start in earnest yesterday, but my trainer had to take the day off, rescheduled for today, and then cancelled today as well. So I'm doing an easy swim tomorrow, and then starting in earnest (if he bails again, I'm finding a different trainer!) on Thursday. These first days are killin' me; I'll be doing a lot of weight training, too (not looking to stick with it long term -- working mostly on endurance work with low weight/high reps). Since last time I did weight training I ended up with fairly severe tendonitis, I'll be looking at injury avoidance as priority one for a few weeks/couple months.

I don't have time to read through all 17 pages of posts from this thread tonight, but I will. I'll hold my questions until then.      

Thanks again, and happy trails!


-Jonathan

I hadn't planned on adding much until I got through all that's been written -- but you guys have been BUSY!! I'm still working on page 2 of 17, hoping now to finish and be caught up to present day by the end of the weekend.

This little bit, though, I took note of, because as a relatively weak runner in the Marines (7:20 miles in a 5k put me MOP) I struggled a lot. And after much experimentation, I learned that (for me, at least) it was much easier to push it a little harder at first -- yes, the first 5-6 minutes I felt like my lungs were on fire, my legs were lead, and my heart was about to explode; after those 5 minutes of pain, though, everything managed to find a rhythm, and I felt very comfortable for the remainder of my run. When I started off a race by jogging slowly, and working up to pace, it took much longer to find that rhythm, and in the meantime I wasted a lot of energy and time.

Several months late, I know, but hopefully it helps someone out a bit. 

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Ada, glad to hear things are looking more positive than they were. I'm *just* now starting out, so when I start getting down, remind me that it got better for you, k? 

And Aaron, sorry to hear things didn't work out as well as hoped; but like you said, you took a risk -- it's something that's gotta be done sometimes. Sounds like you aren't too torn up about it, though, which is good.

Congrats on your race Aaron!

I finally took some pictures of my bike. However, he didn't get a bath so that will hopefully happen Saturday. And, I took them at night so the pictures are a bit dark.

This is my Felix:



And here are his new race wheels.

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Just got my results from Sunday's race.  Still digesting the results.  I did ok I guess, though I didn't really hit my goal times (especially in the swim...?). Not really sure what I would do differently.  (11 out of 24 in age group and 36 of 120 overall)
Felt like I was really flying through a lot of the course, though the times and rank don't show it.  Guess I will have to do this race again next year and see how things compare.  Next race is in three weeks.  Hope to improve in the swim and see if a flatter course makes a difference on the bike. Training for the HIM continues.....


Edited by gobluedds 2009-06-22 7:46 PM

Last couple of weeks at work have been ridiculous. But this week everything seems to be settling down. I have a few short days leading up to a increase in volume this weekend. Have a race coming up in 2 weeks and I think it is gonna hurt a bit, but it is just a "B" race.

Very much looking forward to getting back on my bike tomorrow morning. I already have my stuff laid out!!

Well my knee is still a little sore but it shoud'nt bother me to much for my marathon on saturday.
 I'm searching for more HIMs to do this year I seem to be hooked,it's funny how a week ago I was sure I would never do that again but now im feeling ready to go again. Although the marathons may change my mind again.

Sounds like everyone's been doing well, and plugging away! Glad to hear it, and keep it up!

It's a little tough reading about all of you reaping the benfits of your training by doing races, since I've *just* begun the process, but it's extremely encouraging as well, so thanks a ton. For the first time ever, I'm actually enjoying strength training, and I'm quickly learning to hear my body and figure out if the next day will bring soreness or slight injury.

Being back in the pool is fantastic, as well -- I've missed it. I've only done 5 sessions (I think?) in the water, starting off with just 50s -- yesterday, after strength training, I hopped in and started doing 100s. Not only that, there were a couple moments that I really FELT the water (if that makes any sense). I might get back up to decent workouts in the pool even sooner than I had hoped!

Still have too much weight to do much on foot, though. I'm hoping to start alternating 1/4 miles walk/jog at the school track down the street. Running's. . . well, it's got me running scared for now. I'm tempted to put it off until I start shedding weight, since running just doesn't feel natural right now. Then again, when I joined the Marines, it also never felt natural. Until I started doing 6 miles or more a day.

So wish me luck plugging away at that -- that's the one thing that will take a VERY long time before I'm comfortable with it again. Everything, else, though, is going much better than I could have dared!

-Jonathan

Arron - Got some swimming questions for you. Over the past few months I've been working on breathing on both sides. Been doing this by breathing every third stroke on opposite sides. Now it has slowly occurred to me that breathing on opposite sides every third stroke pretty much defeats the purpose of being able to breath on both sides. Seeing as how the sun / waves are not going to just cooperate with my breathing pattern. Having realized this, I am not sure what I should be doing. Is it better to breath every stroke on the same side or, every other stroke on the same side. In my pool work-outs, would you recommend 100's breathing on the right, followed by 100's breathing on the left? etc. OK that is it for breathing....

Now for paddles and fins, what is the benefit of training with these. I don't use any right now, but have seem many people swimming with them and I am curious as to how these help. Do they help with form, do they help build strength? I don't have much of a swimming background so any info is gonna help me out.

Thanks!

As a former swimmer, I'll go ahead and jump in here, with the caveat that all my training was obviously not for open-water swimming. So this is all speculative, and I too would like to hear what Aaron (and others) have to say.

That said, as far as the breathing goes, I highly recommend you continue to work on breathing every third (or fifth/seventh) stroke. The issue here is form -- you lose form whenever you breathe, because it disrupts your natural stroke. The downside to breathing on only one side is that your form will compensate, and you'll become lopsided, for lack of a better word. When you breath on both sides, your stroke stays symmetrical, and you stay balanced. Which means that practicing by doing a 100 breathing on one side, followed by 100 breathing on the other, isn't going to help out much. Every third stroke is ideal, and gives you a much better chance of developing a smooth, balanced, easy stroke.

That said, if during an open water swim, the water's just not cooperating, breath on whichever side is easier. Your form will come from your training. . . switching to breathing every stroke on the same side for one race won't disrupt your hard-earned muscle memory, but it will keep you from accidentally inhaling as much water.


As far as paddles go, there's mixed feelings about them, particularly for swimmers with slightly weaker technique. Yes, they do help build strength; yes, they can help improve stroke technique. (Note that I said they "can", and not that they "do"!) The problem with paddles is that they are designed to make swimming harder -- they increase the amount of resistance with every stroke. This can help, because it allows you to more easily feel where your stroke is efficient, and where it isn't. However, most novices who use them compensate for it by changing up their stroke to make it easier to swim -- which means they are learning to use a much LESS efficient stroke.

If you want to use paddles, if at all possible find a good swimming coach to help you out. I realize that's not possible for a lot (most) of us, so barring that, just be careful. Use the paddles for well under half your time in the water, and not at all when you're really fatigued. If you're using them, concentrate on how it feels as you push the water -- disregard speed entirely, and think only about how your body is responding to the increased resistance. A good way to test your stroke (with or without paddles) is to try out different strokes at a nice, easy, maintainable, pace and see how many strokes it takes for each length of the pool. The fewer it takes, the better. Once you find an efficient stroke, practice it, practice it. Efficiency here is the key -- you want the energy you expend in the water to move you as far as possible with each stroke.

One good test is to bring someone along, or to videotape yourself doing swimming drills -- whenever your hand enters the water, it should come out farther ahead. I looked up a bunch of videos on freestyle form on YouTube, and was appalled at how bad some of them were. Here's a decent one, though it doesn't have any coaching. Do, however, watch where his hand enters the water, and then comes back out. (It's easiest to check it against the lanelines.) Every time, his hand comes out farther ahead in the pool than when it entered. If you can manage this, you're doing well! If you haven't gotten to this point yet, keep working at it -- you can!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ieteTZ2rk&feature=PlayList&p=C43BB5B46BEAF1DB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=9

-Jonathan

Edited by NumberSuperFreak 2009-06-24 3:19 PM

Jonathan - Thanks for the advice. Looks like I am on the right track with the breathing. Gonna steer clear of the paddles for now.

I was off to the pool...forgot to hit Submit...now I am back from the pool.