jsnowash's training group - FULL!! (Page 14)

We went to Blue Marsh lake. I'm not that good at estimating temperatures (since I'm a rookie at this). I know it was not as cold as I expected. Water temp was probably low to mid 60s. I have a full sleeve wetsuit, and it performed great (first time I use it). Had freedom to move arms without a problem, and it really protected me from the cold. I recently read an article about choosing wetsuits. Boiled down to what the average temps would be where you plan to race the most. For the mid atlantic area I figured I would go full sleeve/legs. I think my suit would be to warm for temps in mid high 70s. I also like the extra bouyancy you get with more rubber around you! 
PS: You can always get the separate sleeves. You would only use them on extra cold days. Might add a few seconds on T1, but who cares. Comfort is my priority! 

I was doing bilateral alternating breathing, which actually helped me go straight. I would check the buoys with every other breath. I would also look straight ahead every few strokes. This was  much easier with the wetsuit since I floated much better. I'm sure I was still zigzagging a bit, but it was super choppy, so I'm happy. 
I knew you would love the book. It would be great to meet those guys!.



Edited by guticur 2010-05-09 2:08 PM

Hey gang!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mamas in our group! Hope you're enjoying your day!!

I got my traditional Mother's Day breakfast in bed, which the kids really enjoy preparing. The only trouble is, I'm always the first one up in the house, so I got up, had my coffee, poked around on the internet for a while, then the kids got up and sent me back to bed so I could have breakfast in bed. Pretty cute, actually.... I've just been kind of taking it easy today. I did get a nice run in earlier. It's a little cooler than it has been, so that made for pretty pleasant running.

Went for a nice bike yesterday with some friends. We got off to a bad start, loosing one of our riders when he stopped to fix something on his bike without letting the rest of us knowing, then took a wrong turn. Then one of our group broke her deraileur hanger, so we waited around for her for her husband to come pick her up. Dark storm clouds were gathering, and it looked like we were going to get poured on. But soon, the skies cleared, and aside from a few minor wrong turns (riding a new route without a very good map), the rest of the ride turned out great.

Hope everybody's having a great weekend! Looking forward to hearing how our racers did!!

That's great! I'm glad you got a chance to get out and practice in open water before your first tri! I don't think I was able to do that before my first race.... I'm sure it will give you a good confidence boost for your race knowing you've done it before!

Lovey,

I'm pretty sure all of the BT plans are time based. But you can look at the plan details by clicking on "Programs" at the top of the page. Then select "Bronze" and whatever distance race plan you're interested in checking out. Under each plan, you can click on "Plan Details" for a description, and "First 2 Week Detail" will show you how the first two weeks are laid out.

Amy,

You can absolutely stop during the swim. You can stop and tread water, flip over on your back, whatever you need to do to catch your breath. If you plan to wear a wetsuit, it will give you a lot of bouyancy. This was a HUGE security blanket for me when I first started. Felt like I was wearing a giant life preserver. There's no way you're going to sink in a wetsuit!! So, if you have a wetsuit on, it is very easy to stop and catch your breath.

Most open water courses are marked with large inflatable bouys anchored to the bottom by a rope. It's okay to stop and hang onto the bouy or the rope anchoring the bouy. There are lifeguards in kayaks or on surfboards. It's okay to stop and hold onto one of the boats, as long as the boat is not providing forward progress (the kayaker can't allow you to hang on and move your forward on the swim course). Believe me, if you stop and rest, chances are very good you will not be the only one doing so!

oops.... double post.....

Edited by jsnowash 2010-05-09 3:26 PM

I can try to describe what I do.... When I need to sight, I take my normal breath to the side. Say for example I am breathing to the right. I tip my head to the side as normal to take the breath. As my right arm is swinging forward over the water, I rotate my head up and forward at the same time, almost like my head is tracking my shoulder/upper arm. I take a a brief gimpse forward just before my right hand enters the water, and drop my head back into the water. It's a pretty smooth, fluid movement. I'm not stopping or slowing down to look forward. (I hope that makes sense.... I'm not sure I'm describing it very well...). In a tri, I typically sight something like every 10 strokes or so.

As for bilateral breathing, I think you just need to start doing it. Most people have a dominant side where breathing feels more natural. It really is a good idea to learn to breath to both sides. In a race, there may be reasons why it's better to breath to one side than the other (the sun may be in your eyes, chop may be coming from one direction, etc.). When I'm swimming laps, I usually breath to one side on the way down, and the other side on the way back, that way I'm working both sides equally during a swim workout. In a race, I'll often switch sides a few times if there's no reason to keep breathing to one side.

Thanks Straydog. I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes that why I wanted to know others times in there first tri. I guess I over analyze everything.

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend (especially all the MOM'S out there).

I'm planning on beginning to incorporate some drills into my run training. I found a good article on running drills I thought I would share with you all: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=15738&PageNum=3

Keep up the good work, everyone!

Hey all-
Glad see so many posts and a lively discussion on this group!   It was a great weekend between my race on Saturday and Mother's Day.  The race went fine, though perhaps calling it a race is too strong a word.  For me, it sort of serves as a training run.  I am pretty non-competitive in terms of other people, I generally just like to improve my last time.  That didn't happen, but I felt very strong toward the end, and did actually pass a number of people which is very new to me.  I can feel the improvements in my running, despite the fact that my focus has really been on swimming.  That's the best feeling.

And Mothers' Day was just a family food fest.  It's fun once in a while, but I don't miss that over-full feeling.  So sluggish after that! 

This week is looking good, too.  I get my bike back today (still at the LBS) and then I head up to Vermont on Weds with my parents.  I won't have the opportunity to swim while I am away, but there is ample opportunity to run and ride, so that's my plan.  It's a great vacation too, because I am actually the "kid" not the mom.  My hubby and kids stay home, and mom gets to recharge. 

How was everyone else's weekend - races or otherwise? 

I did a 14 milebike ride yesterday morning and a 1.75 run in the afternoon while the kids were in swim practice.

I got to the pool early this morning for my swim program. I struggled on the first two 100s but it got better after that. Instead of trying to power thru the water, I slowed down to the point I felt I was going in slow motion. Going that slow allowed me to do the rest without gasping for dear life at the end. Just like running, slow my pace and I can go longer. I am going to work on the distance according to the program and as I get better my speed will improve, I hope. If I finish the program ahead of schedule (not likely at my level), I will work on some sprint drills. I feel good about how I did in the pool today though. I didn’t forget everything after not swimming for 3 weeks.

Warm-up:
1 x 50 swim

WEEK one / DAY one of Swim Zero To One Mile in 6 weeks (ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html ):
4 x 100 yards...rest for 12 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 8 breaths between 50s
4 x 25 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 25s
total: 700 yards

Total yardage: 750 yards

(ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html )

Lovey

Under the Bronze membership, I think there are a few more training plans but they are all in time but that's how you want to train anyway.  I think the big selling point with Bronze (at least with me) was that you can import the training plan into your training log and then adjust the workouts on to days you want.  For the price, it's not a bad deal.

If you're looking for specific exercises to do during your training then you have to upgrade to Silver. Hope that helps. 

Caleb

Don't feel bad at all.  It took me 2 months to start feeling comfortable too.  I couldn't string together more than about 2 laps of freestyle till about 3-4 weeks before my sprint.   My sprint tri was a 400m pool swim.  I did it in about 9:30 which put me around middle of the pack.  I didn't want to stop and rest but there was a bit of a traffic jam in the pool so I didn't have much of a choice.  I know when I get tired during my training, I'll do a lap of breaststroke to catch my breath.  Seems to help me.  Just an idea.

Did 1.5 around bike course of my upcoming tri. Didn't feel with it today. I figure, there are good training days, and not so good days...today was the later. I shouldn't be so Type A anyways. I think I should finish the race without a problem. Even though my target is to come in under 1:45, my primary goal is to have fun and learn from my first experience!
Still waiting for some race reports right..... 

Fernando-
I am the same way - a preparer!  I like to know what's coming.  =)  I totally get it.
And yeah, training days definitely run the spectrum. I guess you have to have the sucky ones to really appreciate those days when ou want nothing more than to keep on biking, running, or swimming.  Those days ROCK. Keep on keeping on.

Ohhh, people, I finally got my bike back.  Now, to set the stage, I haven't ridden a road bike since I was about 17 and got my driver's license.  I have been riding my MTB for years on and off and I love her, but she is heavy and is in need of a good service visit.  So, my parents had an older Schwinn Prelude that my dad won from a bike shop.  It didn't have many miles on it, but a lot of years.  So I took it to my local bike shop (Bicycle Pro in Bordentown, NJ - highly recommend) and they fixed her up with new tires, new cables, handle bar padding (don't know the real name), new stem, and a nice fitting for me. 

I got home too late last night for a real ride but I HAD to take her out for a little spin around the neighborhood.  OH WOW, she is FAST!  I couldn't believe the difference from the MTB!  I cannot wait to go for a real ride.  Ever have days when you really FEEL it?  Whoo hoo! And my boys named her "Ruby."  I have no idea why, since she's black and white with just a smidge of red.  Whatever.  It fits. 

Anybody else have a "joy in my journey" story for today?

Keiren-
I am in Yardville (Hamilton), but could throw a rock and hit both Burlington and Ocean counties. 

The bike shop has been so great and very patient with all my newbie questions. =)

I guess we are the Jersey girls of the group! Are you going to do any of the NJ Triathlons? I am using Keswick Cycle in Cherry Hill. They seem to be very good. Also like Danziesen & Quigley (although they are pricey). I've got to get there soon as I just broke my favorite googles last night.

Hey folks. I got kicked out of the pool today. Yea! Yeah, uh...see I started this training plan and I need to be in the pool today. Soo....you show up late, I take yer lane. I got right out as soon as the party showed up. The guy even offered an extra five minutes, but I felt guilty so I went into exit mode. I didn't get to finish the work out but I learned  I can reserve 2 days prior. It's tough because there is only a two lane lap pool here. A ton of damn lakes, but it's too durn cold still.

Also, I had a breakthrough. During the pull drill I alternated arms and I was bilateral breathing. Yeah me! I was all over that dam lane, but hey I was bilateral breathing.

Jenny, question: What does this mean- "S(wim): Main: 1X1500 (alternate1X1000)? I don't understand what is meant by the alternate 1X1000. Alernate breathing from one side to the other? This info is off of the HIM 20 week training program.

Edited by StrayDog 2010-05-12 12:39 AM

YAY for getting your bike back!! Biking is definitely my favorite part of triathlons. Enjoy your new steed!!!

Keiren,

What a small world! I got my tri bike at Keswick (I actually saw them in both stores - Cherry Hill and their PA store, since it's about the same distance to either from where I live). I REALLY liked those guys. Excellent customer service.... And you probably also know that DQ puts on a bunch of tri's in NJ. They're some of my favorite races!

Jeff -

That just means that if you choose, you can swim 1000 instead of 1500 (swim 1000 is the "alternate" workout...).

Hi,
I have a training question. I have been following the 20 week sprint tri program on BT. I am at the end of the 20 week training program but I have 5 weeks until my first sprint tri. Any suggestions as to what my plan should be for the next 5 weeks? Thanks in advance!