Fast Twitch Tri-FULL (Page 14)

(Sorry to jump in, but not sure where else to ask)

Dave, have you had a chance to try the Superiors? Something that surprised me was the feel of the drop. I have 200+ miles on the Instinct and 700+ (treadmill) miles on the Saucony Hattoris, but still felt like my heels were low, and noticed calf & achilles being stretched out a touch more. Similar to when I first started wearing Kinvaras a coupe years ago. Is this my imagination or could something be off?

Haven't gotten a chance to try them on yet -- it's a bit of a drive to get to anywhere that would have them. But... I wonder if it's the removable rock plate? Just conjecturing, as I haven't seen them, but is that rock plate part of the insole? If so, it may actually make a slight negative drop. In the Merrell Trail Gloves I get a similar feeling, and when I looked at the stack-up of the sole and midsole, it looked like the 1mm rock plate they add in the forefoot is in addition to the flat midsole. So it would seem that the Merrell's actually DO have a negative drop (of only 1mm, but it's enough to feel). Maybe try them on again without the rock plate and see if that changes the feel.

AFA the not swimming in the off season, the Endurance Nation outseason plans are no-swim. They are big on not "wasting" time on the swim until closer to race day. I was forced into this as I was not even cleared into the pool until June (IM was September). It actually worked great and my bike and run on short course improved dramatically. I am not making any claims, but it was an interesting "forced" experiment. I definitely am going to do a swim focus, but not until after the first of the year. I don't think it's worth sweating at this point. 

I also gave up on HR. RPE for me too. I'd try to figure out my HR training zones again but it would have to be under strict supervision. I am pretty sure I've never gotten the right numbers. 

For the whole group: As a follow on to the idea that "I just thrash myself enough in training that race pace isn't a big deal." What are your preferred methods of adding intensity to your workouts?  Do you do speed work on a track? Tempo portions of an otherwise aerobic run? We've talked a little about the bike. Just curious what your intensity looks like? For me I add tempo portions to every run except the weekly long run and for this season I'll probably do some in the long run as well. I have done 1/2 and 1 mile repeats as well and this year looking to get to the track once a week, I think. Not sure about the bike and the swim at this point.

Nutrition/diet question for the group - I know there are no 'silver' bullets when it comes to losing fat (don't really care what the scale says, just want to lose the spare tire around the waist) but I sometimes find a good idea when discussing with others.  Other than getting healthy and in shape my vanity goal of triathlons is to finally lose the 'spare tire', it is something that I am pre-disposed to based on family genetics but I know I can lose it.  I have dropped from a size 36 waist pant to 34 in the last year so I am losing it rather slowly.  I know it boils down to burn more calories than you take in, my problem lies in the evening after working out when I get very hungry and eat more than I should.  What do others eat in the evenings or tricks they use NOT to eat in the evenings after a healthy dinner?

What are your preferred methods of adding intensity to your workouts? 

For the swim, once per week I add 50 meter sprints to my workout.  I usually do 8-10 at 95% or all out speed with about 20 seconds rest in between

For the bike, I teach spin class so I do drills based on both adding load and adding speed.  The nice thing about cycle is that we have the endurance format which is more of a steady state mid level intensity class; then we have a hills format, a speedplay format and an anaerobic threshold intervals format.  For those three, it's all drill based for the whole hour based around increases in load, speed and hitting zone 4 above AT.

For the run, once per week I do speed work: after the warm up, I alternate two minutes each between 90% effort and active recovery which is a slow jog to catch my breath.  I do that 8-10 times, then cool down.

What do you drink during a sprint race?

I have a Speedfil system on my bike so drinking is no problem and I'll take as many sips as I feel I need at the time depending on thirst.  I generally use G2.  On the run I may or may not carry my handheld water bottle with G2.  If I don't, I won't stop at aid stations.  I can drink from my bottle without slowing down at all so I don't use aid stations at any race (except for one refill halfway through a marathon).

I have a little post dinner routine I do daily.  I chew a piece of my very favorite gum, Orbit sweet mint after dinner.  I makes me feel like dining for the day is officially over 

I also don't do any starches in the evening.  The only carbs I get in the evening with dinner come from veggies or beans, so no bread/rice/pasta/cereal/etc.  I found years ago that this helps me personally with staying lean.

For running, I usually do 1 tempo run per week.  I also try to do intervals on the treadmill once a week.  I should get to the track, but the treadmill is just too convenient.

For biking, When I'm outside I ride hard all the time.  Now that trainer season is here, I am using trainerroad and like it so far.  I enjoy not having to think about what I am doing next.  I just follow the program...

For sprint and olympic, I carry 1 BTA bottle with 1/2 gatorade and 1/2 water.  I usually take just a couple of sips during a sprint.  I drank the whole bottle during the olympic that I did last summer. 

Dangit!!! My first off-season OWS swim practice was cancelled this morning!!! 

Fluids for Sprints:  I have a 28oz aero bottle hanging between the aerobars and I'll sip it as needed, it's usually only 3/4 full and is more for the wetness than for thirst. I'll end up consuming 10-16 oz depending on the heat & humidity over the local 15-16 mile courses.  Apparently it's costing me some drag/time so next year it's being replaced with a small torpedo bottle!

For the run I usually only take sips of water and most of it ends up being dumped on my head.  If I feel I need mental carb bump I'll take a cup of Gatoraide and take a few sips to trick the mind.

Hadn't thought of the rock plate! Turns out it's separate from the insole, but is big enough to be a 2nd insole. I'll have to experiment with combinations to figure it out as there wasn't anything obvious when looking at them, but it's somewhere to go for now.

My morning swim got cancelled too.  Just pool repairs for me though.

Fluids on a Sprint

I carry a 24oz bottle with Gatorade G2.  Same as when I bike 1-1.5 hrs.  Yeah, water is probably enough, but I figure sugars and carbs can always help.  If I go to 2+ hrs I bring a 2nd bottle, but more to have it than need it.  Although, I've weighed myself after a training ride and even with all of that water I have always weighed less, so I was sweating it out.

I drink whatever I feel like from that bottle in a race, more when it's hotter.  I haven't emptied it in the two Sprints so far.  I can't run and drink, I have to walk to drink, so I want to be hydrated when I get to the run portion.

Donto - 2012-10-30 11:44 AM

jmhpsu93 - 2012-10-29 6:57 PM

Dangit!!! My first off-season OWS swim practice was cancelled this morning!!! 

Looks like great body surfing water!

The swim out was a little slow, but we ROCKED the return leg!  (said the guy still waiting for power to come back on for more than 20' at a time...)

Beginning of season on the bike: getting better times on various Strava segments (sad but true - and it works!).  When peaking for our end of season races (and the only races this year - just started back and all), we used the Time Crunched 6 week program.  I actually quite liked the drills, but they are nothing special.  Set our FTP Wattages and did Over/Unders, etc. and different lengths (3x8', 2x10', at appropriate power per the TCT program).  Then almost always ran off the bike for all 6 weeks.  I'll likely keep some of that in any training program as it was hard as heck and really pushed me!

Running, I've gone from occassional fartleks, to the Higdon HM advanced program with 1 track workout and one tempo run amidst the rest per week.  Only had time to do the last 6 weeks of this, with the final two weeks (last and this) before the race being almost exclusively running.  I really like the track (it's well defined), fartleks (they're NOT) and hills (they hurt so good!) for intensity, and this is what I did back 20 years ago when I last trained for racing specifically (so happy to be back to it now!).  I'll likely keep a mix of this through the winter.

What I'm trying to figure out is how to train over the winter and manage intensity without a specific race to target!  I suspect too much intensity is not good (higher risk of injury, etc.), but I'm getting to really like the feeling of RUNNING instead of the last 15 years of jogging...  Runs counter to the run lots, mostly slow, sometimes fast philosophy I've seen a lot on BT.

Every year is an experiment, I suppose. 

Fluid during a sprint tri:

Only what I choke on during the swim.  Then one big/20 oz bottle with one NUUN tab in it on the bike (try to get it mostly down in the first 2/3 of the bike - I sweat a LOT), with one gel at 10-15 minutes into the bike.  Then run until I sweat my hematocrit up to a TdF early 2000's level (as in, no fluid on the run).

Then cross the line, puke and get a bottle or three of water.

The first bike race started when the third and fourth wheels (ever) were built

EDIT: said another way, Strava ruined the recovery ride.  Too true... too true...

I just loaded Strava onto my Droid last week. I haven't used it yet (weather has been nasty to the point that I've only done one outdoor ride in almost 2 weeks). I'm almost scared to turn it on...

I've been meaning to respond to this one.  In my second (and last for this season) sprint this year, I had a similar experience.  I got smashed in the face at the swim start (by some very aggressive folks sprinting into the water to then swim v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y) - cut face, bloody nose, goggles akimbo... the whole deal.  I got 1/2 through the ~500m swim (out and back) and got breathless, too.  Not out of breath - just a weird breathless feeling - and had to do a couple strokes of side-stroke.  Rolled back to FS and around the last buoy, headed to shore but still had trouble controlling my breath.

I'd passed the slow swimmers and had a good time - FOP for my AG - but felt like my tri-suit under my wetsuit was quite constrictive.  Felt the same thing at the start of the run, and just shucked the top half down (quite the site) and felt waaay better.

So, now I'm wondering if it was more nerves on the swim (it was certainly an unnerving feeling even though I didn't think I was unsettled at the time) and a delayed reaction to the face-smash (stuff happens, and it was better than ANY rugby match, but still) - or if my top was actually too tight.

Can a tight top (really tight top half of a one piece - as in I pop out of it if the zipper goes down an inch from the top limit) make it tough to breath, or was it more likely a head-thing? 

Didn't think of it that way until now, but maybe I can think my way out of buying a new goofy-suit!  Or maybe races are just breathtaking. 

GANG!

I've been off for a while now, as high winds have affecetd our power.  NOTHING AT ALL LIKE OTHER PLACES, but we've had a bunch of small outages, as in no more than 10 minutes for any of them .  It's all winds on a rural grid that isn't all that secure, and when things die down in the next day or two, all will be well again.  No rain here, no flooding no nuthin' except for pesky little outages -- just ebough to make me leery of starting a post and then losing it toan outage.  So, I hope to be back soon, as things are piling up here.

MATT - I still owe you a response to your bio!!!

SHELLY - I still owe you a response to your bio!!!

GREG - I still owe you a response to your bio!!!

MATT -

I'd say that odds are good it was the top.  Constriction can be insidious, and I have felt in wetsuits before -- but not to an uncomfortable point until too late.  So, I wouldn't attribute it just to a "head thing", and if it wasn't the top's fault......

.......then I'd give a good bit of credence to the whomp you took upside the head.  I could really see where there would be a lag-effect to that, wherein once the shock wore off your breathing might start to elevate.

Or, it was just one of those unaccountable situations, which is still how I tend to view mine.  One of my former coach's biggest pieces of pas-it-along advice to me before my first IM was "Expect the unexpected", and while that actually came to pass twice at that race, I have also had it happen in smaller races --- and I think it was just One Of Those Things when i went breathless at Giant Acorn.  (And you're right -- races can be breathtaking!)

Are you going to try that top in the more controlled environment of the pool, just to see if there is a repeat effect?