Experior's Group, Take Two -- CLOSED (Page 14)

Phil,  sorry about the sore.  Easing into bike is a good idea.  Have you tried any of the chamois 'creams'?  They might help you out.

As for working out outdoors, a couple of comments.

First, it often just feels easier outdoors, so don't ignore that difference.

Second, it is far easier to 'soft pedal' or coast outdoors.  ("Coasting' on a trainer is just sitting there doing nothing!  But coasting outdoors you're still moving.)

Third, those are mainly psychological differences between outdoors and indoors, but it is true that outdoor workouts just are different from indoor workouts.  In the spin class, you are doing a prescribed workout that includes intervals of various sorts.  Outdoors, you are 'just riding'.  In general (but see below), indoor training is best suited to hard and short.  I generally keep my trainer sessions to less than 1 hour, but apart from warm-up and cool-down I spend the whole time doing hard intervals of some sort.  On the other hand, outdoor training is best suited for long sustained efforts.  I love doing a 3-4 hour sustained hard effort outdoors on the bike, but indoors on the trainer that would be just about the worst possible training experience I could imagine.

So I have a few concrete suggestions for you. 

Telephone pole intervals.  Go ahead and incorporate some shorter harder stuff into your outdoor ride.  It can be difficult, because of traffic etc., to do formal intervals outdoors, but it is possible (and more fun!) to do impromptu intervals.  On a stretch of clear road, pick a distant object (perhaps a telephone pole in the distance, or an intersection that you know is coming up) and go as hard as you can to it.  The go easy and as soon as (or maybe a little before ) you feel ready, do it again.  Do this 10 times and you will feel it at the end!

Hill repeats.  Find a big hill.  Go up it as hard as you can.  Coast back down.  Repeat until you can't take it any more.

Time Trial.  Make a time trial course -- a stretch of road (could be as short as a few miles or as long as you can find) where you are unlikely to have to stop or slow down for traffic.  Try to ride it as fast as possible, but with a totally steady effort.  This is really good practice for longer races, where you want to even out your effort as much as possible.  This means that you will pedal just about as hard on the downhills as you do going uphill.  Stop or slow down only for safety reasons (i.e., hopefully not at all).

Progression ride.  This is great for a long ride.  Suppose you are going to do a 3 hour ride, your go easy (z1/z2) for the first 30-60 minutes, then harder (z3) for 45 minutes, then really hard (z4) for 45 minutes (or as long as you can stand it), then easy cool-down for 30 minutes.  If you do this ride I promise you will feel the pain (a good pain!) at the end.

Group ride.  I am a loner when it comes to training, so I resisted group rides for a long time.  Well, it turns out that what people say is true -- they are one of the best workouts you'll get.  Be prepared for periods of easy draft and periods where you're not sure you can hang on to the back of the pack, and periods where you are pushing out the front.  These periods often come in rapid succession.

Phil, yeah, what Michael said.  That's what I meant...

Edited by Stone Cutter 2010-05-12 8:28 AM

Oh, what you said is also very important.  And you are also much more succinct than I am!

I was going to start this post with 'talk me down', but I think I'm a hopeless case. 

I think I'm going to cash in some pink tickets and sign up for B2B -- the full IM!  In fact, at this point the only obstacle is my schedule (well, that and the fact that currently I cannot run...) -- I have to check that I can be gone that weekend.

Those IMs are like peanuts. You do one and you just have to do another...

First swim will be later today.  I'm looking forward to it!

Mike, that's right, what Michael said. No, your post was very helpful. Michael just provided the detail. That's kinda what I figured it will take some time to figure out the gears and when I realize I need to hit it hard, hit it hard and use downhill to recover.

Michael, thanks for the tips. As usual you have the answers.  Boy, BT is great. I don't know how I could put all this training stuff together without the help from people on BT.

Regarding the saddle sore, it is not a pleasant thing to deal with, but I did find a creative solution that is somewhat embarassing. Don't laugh or ridicule me, but it worked so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone to share it in order to help others.

I took one of my wife's "feminine" pads and put it my bike shorts and applied a generous amount of A&D ointment. Pull up the shorts and hit the saddle. I was amazed how much more comfortable the ride was and my shorts did not get all greased up. Remember I am helping humanity so don't laugh.

Phil

Anything that works is fine by me!  Your secret is safe with us....

I thought the possibility of changing  triathlon training as we know it was worth any possible risk of embarrassment. We can refer to it everywhere as the StlPhil Technique.

Phil

Phil, that's actually an ingenious solution. I think you ought to broadcast that technique to the larger tri and cycling community.  Heck, maybe you can just re-package said items with some innocuous name ...perhaps Dr. Phil's Saddle Sore Solution.  There's always room for one more tri-specific product (I can see it sharing shelf space with body glide and chamois butter).

Michael, seeing as the hip injury was not due to over training, and as long as it's healed and you have your Dr's blessing, then go for it.  Christian Vande Velde broke five vertebrae, a rib and his pelvis last May in the Giro d'Italia.  Two months later he finished 8th in the Tour de France.  Go for it!






 

I love you.  My wife hates you, but I love you.

Just kidding...sort of.  She is actually very supportive, provided that I do turn in the requisite number of pink tickets....

I swam this afternoon, and did a little pool running.  I see a lot of that in my future.  Can't wait to get back to cycling, but that's next week at the earliest.

LOL! Personally I've always been a DIY guy. Why spend $10 on some product that has gone through the research and development process when I can get the same outcome for 37 cents!

Phil

Whatever works is fine by me!!!  I was going to share this TIP with my wife, but decided against it due to my son always being in ear shot of our conversations.  He'd be asking WAY TOO MANY questions. 

Took the "Black Beauty" out in traffic for the first time today. A nice 21.5 mile loop by my house. Still getting use to a road bike, but I did get a nice workout by keeping it in the higher gears as much as possible. Only a few short hills, but steep hills. I learned the wind can be you friend when it's at your back, but a devil when it's in your face. I was beat at the end of the ride. However, I had a freakin blast!

Phil

Great!  Biking really is a blast.

Michael- my sincere apologies to Mrs. Experior for any role I may have played in her becoming a tri widow this summer/fall.

Phil, glad you are enjoying your new roadie, and nice to see you've named your bike.  Indeed, biking is a blast.

No apologies required!  She is off for job training for 6 weeks this summer. So I'll be doing IM training (again...) by running around my block and biking on the rollers.  (I have three young kids -- they play in the yard while I run around the block.  We have a system: "Wave your hand if you need Daddy, but only if it is really important!"  Their definition of 'important' and mine differ, but hey, they're kids....)

So, the short version is:  I earn many pink tickets during the summer and then spend them doing an IM in the fall.  Works for me. Works for her.,  Everybody is happy.  So that's settled.  Now if I could just figure out how to do pool running without becoming a zombie everything would be grand.  Any tips Heidi???

Nothing quite like the real think Phil.  I find the more I go the more I enjoy the rides.  Even the tough ones with the wind at  your face.  Yoiu learn real fast to get aero.

Went for a bike ride this afternoon in 70 degree weather.  It was beautiful!!!  I went ahead and tested my ability to maintain my speed over the distance for an Oly.  Went about 25 miles, usual route, Averaged 22.+++ miles per hour over the 25 miles.  Had some head wind on the way out and more at the back on the way in.  Not sure this is the pace I want to set at the June 6th Oly as my legs were somewhat wobbly, but it felt good to know I could turn in a good time; again not sure how my run would have been at that bike pace. 

Also, went to the Running Clinic and they analyzed everyones running form which was nice.  I got some good compliments on my running form, however he mentioned I need to work on my arms ...a little tight in the shoulders and too much movement in the arms using too much energy.  The theme of the evening seem to be that on some of the runners during their return of their right leg it seem to fishtail out and around rather than straight ahead.  They also showed everyone some Plyometic exercises to do.  Many of them made my knee hurt but she showed me how to do them anyway.

Off to an OWS tomorrow evening.  We'll see how long we can last in the cold water.

Great training everyone and be safe.

Sounds like a good ride, Brian.

Plyometrics (but not if they hurt your knees!) and a few drill are the best things to help with running form, IMO.  Consciously changing your form is usually a recipe for injury.

x2 for me, I learned it the hard way this winter. My foot still bothers me, not as bad anymore. I feel it the most when my legs get tight from sitting too long (desk jobs are killers for your legs )

Anyway, didn't have as good a week as last week (busy working) but got out Monday - swim, Tuesday - run, and today brick Bike-run. I just did a brick so I could get two workouts done. Hoping to do 90 min bike on Sunday.

Yes, that is one reason I was glad the person analyzing my form through it was good as I didn't want to start messing with it at this point.  It would have had to been a winter thing.  I'll try to incorporate and try to sstay more relaxed in the shoulder area.  I have a long run tomorrow 1:40 run that will take me to the 10 mile distance.  That will be a first for me.

Long run this morning.  Ended up being 11.18 miles at a 8:43 pace.  I think I am taking my training to another level; it kind of feels that way anyway.  I brought some shot bloks and an extra Gu along.  I think I was a little late in taking the shot bloks I should have taken them about four mile point instead of half way.  I felt a little decrease in my pace for a little bit after the halfway point but then I felt better after about 10 minutes or so and was able to pick it back up.  I then took a GU with about 3 miles to go just in case.  I didn't want to bonk at the end was able to maintain until end and actually except for a slight rubbing under my left arch I felt good at the end of the run.

Off to purchase a couple of new suits for a couple of upcoming job interviews.  Have a great day everyone.  I enjoy reading your blogs (of what ever you want to call them).   

Hey everybody,

Back from my driving tour of the mid-west.  Not exactly what you want to embark on after a long race, but there you are.  Good to be home again.  I was looking forward to a nice long ride this afternoon after finishing up some chores, but managed to slice up my heel this morning, so I guess a couple more days off.  Doesn't hurt too badly, but bleeds like the dickens... grrrrrr.

Brian, great ride and run... you sound like you are more than ready for the OLY - you're gonna rock that one!  Good luck with the job interviews... hope that's a good thing :-)

Michael, back to swimming this week?  Hope so!

Anyone doing any races this weekend?  I need to live vicariously through your race reports... hehehe.

Have a great weekend...
-Stu

Weather has been crappy here in St. Louis this week rainy off and on and cool. Feels like March. Wanted to get on the bike today and the weather just did not permit it. Got a 5 mile run out of the way at the Y .......... indoor track. Arrrgghh. Was suppose to do 8 and I mentally could not get it done. Jumped on a spinning bike after the 5 just for a change of pace.

I have to get the running back on track. I'v been distracted by a new mistress.............my road bike. I need to find a balance between my new found love and running.

Stu, welcome back. Brian it sounds like you've turned into a BEAST!

Phil 

Edited by StlPhil 2010-05-15 6:45 PM

Stu where at in the Mid-west.  The Mid-west is my old stomping grounds.  How did you slice into your heel?  Sounds painful.

Interviews aren't the funnest thing to be doing, but I guess you have to go through them to have the chance at the job.