Fred D and Queen Zipp's SWIM, BIKE RUN consistency thread.... CLOSED (Page 14)

Before I hit the "I cannot think about anything except continuing" part of my workout today, I thought a bit about this.  Of course, especially on the run, a lot of times if you have 30 minutes the best thing is just to run easy for 30 minutes.

Bike and swim are a bit different, and I think one could use 30 minutes pretty effectively.  IME (others may of course have a different experience), warm-up is overrated in workouts (not in races!), so I'd keep that part of it very short 3-5 minutes.  Then I'd tend to do intensity on both the bike and the run.  The trick, I think, is to mix it up and make it interesting.  (That's what I like about the broken 5K workout.)

For swim, I'd want to minimize the time spent at the wall.  An obvious but not terribly interesting thing to do would be

WU: 200, 50 kick

MS: 10x100 on 5-10s rest (adjust number to suit available time and speed)

CD: Take a shower.

For a more interesting workout, I'd consider something like a ladder and I'd let the first 2 rungs of the ladder be my warm-up.  The goal would be to maintain pace throughout the main workout.  Exactly what ladder one could do would depend again on available time and speed, but something like this would work for me, for 30 minutes:  50-100-200-400-400-200-100-50 with about 10-15s between intervals.

There's a swim workout that I actually love doing, but it takes longer than 30 minutes.  But here's a shorter version of it that would fit in 30 minutes if the send-off was every 60 seconds.

12x50 every 4th HARD

9x50 every third HARD

6x50 every other HARD

3x50 all hard!

This (and its longer cousin, which goes 16,12,8,4) is a tough one.

Oops, gotta go.  Maybe I'll share some bike ideas later.

No, shifters weren't stuck...just my brain. I know, conceptually, how to shift and what I need to do, I'm just not very comfortable on a bike yet. With the exception of a short one mile ride while setting up my bike, before today I haven't been on a bike since I was about 10. I just gave up on trying to figure out shifting today to focus on staying upright and moving forward (albeit slowly).

Depending on individual pace it may take a little over 30 minutes, but I really like the very simple ladder of 1 length, 2 lengths, 3 lengths etc. If you take it up to 11 lengths it's a mile without really noticing.  You don't have to do it fast, but it's a nice endurance set.  I usually do 10s rest intervals.

Got in a really nice 3 miler today.  Beautiful sunny 37*F.  Really enjoyed it. 

And THANK YOU to all in this group, because without the accountability and encouragement of being in this mentor group, I would have blown off my run today.

Ann-Marie,

I took your quote for my signature if that is okay with you!   I sure need the reminder! 

I didn't get outside, but I did do 80 minutes inside on the bike tonight.

Last night's swim session was interesting.  I usually swim in lane 2 (of 4), but I sit somewhere just between there and lane 1 (the fish).  Last night, because of relative numbers in the various lanes I got bumped with another guy into lane 1.  It was a real eye opener.  They basically do the same set as lane 2, but just more times with less recovery in between.  The two of us were hanging on the back making the most of the draft to try to keep up.  It was a fun session, but very challenging.

Today was an easy (and very slow) 5 mile run.  I can feel the fatigue building in my legs, so I'm trying not to overdo it.  I've also been doing some pilates, which I'm finding quite energising.

I have a question for the group about strength training.  I really want to add some effective strength training in, but I struggle knowing what's the best thing to do.  I'm not a member of a gym because I do most of my training outside.  The council recently closed most of the gyms in our town, and so the only options left are really expensive with minimum 12 month contracts etc.  What I'm looking for is something I can do at home.  I don't mind buying some equipment if needed.  Does anyone have any suggestions of what is the best thing to be doing?

How'd the swim go?

Sometimes my kids bike along while I run.  Sometimes I take them to the pool, but they aren't at all serious.  And I do run with them, but they're in the 9-11 minute mile territory, so not really hard training for me, but probably it does me some good.

Rachel,

I second this.  Body weight resistance for most beginning strength training is a great place to start.  Focus on movements that use multiple muscle groups as Judi suggested.  If you're interested in equipment, I think several of us use a TRX suspension trainer.  If you have the space, its a great tool.

Welcome back to classes (for all those who started back today--like me)!

It is COLD here (9F) and we had some sleet last night, so workouts were indoors only today.  I got in 48 minutes on the stationary and 24 in the pool right afterwards.  My legs were dead in the water.  Back to teaching tomorrow, so back to early am workouts--I can't wait!