Chaderbox and aquagirl's group ! CLOSED (Page 15)

Is freestyle the only stroke you are doing?  Are you in a 25 meter pool?  If you are in a 25 meter pool and your gassed after 100 meters I would suggest that you swim breast stroke for one of your lengths every 100 meters.  Breast stroke....or even side stroke would give you a recovery lap and probably enable you to "keep swimming" instead of gasping for air on the deck every four lengths.  If that's too much then swim every other lap for awhile...or if you can't keep going that way swim three breast or side and then one freestyle.  In my opinion there is no shame in using an alternate stroke.  The reality is you probably need to get your breast stroke down as I've found it pretty dang helpful in an open water swim setting. 

Like you I spent a couple of months languishing in the pool.  For awhile the best I could do was about 100 meters without resting.  Then one day it just clicked and I decided I could do another 100....and then another hundred....finished that day having swam 1600 meters without stopping.  A lot of it was breast stroke but it was cool being able to do the distance.  After that I swam a mile every time I hit the pool and gradually did more freestyle and less breast stroke. 

Today I don't use the breast stroke unless I need to catch my bearings in open water or get a little extra air after getting kicked in the junk by the human washing machine that hit the water right before I did. 

Swimming is all about hitting your groove.  Once it "clicks" you'll be amazed at what you can do once you can do the distance you can start refining already good technique and pick up some speed.

Every 6th stroke for breathing could be part of the problem.  You just may not be getting enough air.  If you only breathe to one side, that's fine, but try breathing on your 4th stroke.  If you can breathe to either side equally as comfortably, you may want to try every 3rd stroke.  I think you'll have an easier time because you'll have more air coming in. 

Not watching you swim, my gut is to say that you are swimming slowly enough to not be gassed, BUT that you're just not breathing enough.  There is no point to taking a long time between breaths.  Unless I'm specifically working on something that I want to see with my stroke, I breathe every other stroke.  So I always breathe to my left side, every time I can.  When my face is in the water, it's a continual blowing out of air, so I'm ready to need a breath when I can sneak it. 

I can go longer, I just don't like it, as I get....out of breath going that long.  You wouldn't take that long between breathing when you're running, would you?

Friday, I survived my "Hey your 50"  colonoscopy procedure.  I did not think it would take this long to get my energy back and my body re-fueled.  

Good news is that i'm good for the next 5 years.  The procedure is not bad, drinking the stuff the night before is awfull.  I did have a new low in weight loss for at least one day

I hope to run this afternoon.   nice and easy. 


Allen

I would second Chad's observation about your breathing.  Every sixth stroke is great, in a pool, by yourself, but could get dicey in open water or in a pool full of people.  I say that because there have been times I've gone for a breath and due to waves, or the human washing machine next to me I couldn't take one.  If I was on my six stroke and absolutely had to have a breath I would have been in trouble.

Allen, you may also find it helpful to try and reduce the number of strokes you're taking per length.  If you normally take 26, try to get it down to 24, and just keep trying to creep it down.  A good way to work on this is by playing "swim golf".

Swim golf-
Take the time in seconds it takes you to complete 1 whatever (length, lap, 100y, etc) and the number of strokes it takes you to swim the same distance.  Add those two numbers together.  Now the fun comes in.  The goal is to now reduce 1 number without increasing the other, thus reducing your "total" number.  What this can help you do is to swim faster, with less energy expended because you are taking less strokes and going the same speed.  Really, it's a game to boost your efficiency and your ability to glide between strokes.  Oh, don't cheat by pushing off the wall hard and dolphin kicking underwater until you're halfway down the lane.  Eventually you'll find your tipping point where you can't get faster without adding strokes, OR you can find that adding strokes DOESN'T make you faster.  When the latter is the case, it really is showing that your stroke needs a lot of work, because you're not moving quickly, you're just burning energy.

I'm finally over my cold and now my big toe is bothering me.  Hopefully a few days of rest, ice and ibuprofen will cure it.  At least I can bike and swim.

What did you do to your toe?

Not sure.  I ran Saturday, just 3 miles, and it started hurting about an hour later.  It's feeling better today, but is there a problem that it clicks when I move it.  

Just found this website - pretty cool - its mostly done with animations. 

http://swimsmooth.com/

I discovered yesterday that running on a threadmill, while boring as shi@@, is easier on the knee then running outside.While I was having a problem running outside without feeling the knee, I went yesterday and did a half hour run on the threadmill with the biggest problem being bored. In fact, I'd say that this was my easiest run in the past 15 odd years, and ir felt GREAT. Even the muscles protesting today is no problem, since I know it is the result of a good run.

So [perhaps you should try the threadmill for a bit, and see how it is?

I plan to do this until I build up my running, and then switch to outside.

By the way, nice tat.

Mr Smooth is a very helpful tool to check out.  Also, notice that he swims at a 'modified catch-up drill' to stay long up front.  By that, I mean that he is just starting his pull when his recover hand is about to enter the water.  Contrast this to 'windmilling' where the pulling arm is almost ready to come out of the water when the recovery arm is just about to enter the water, so each arm is essentially at opposite parts of the stroke cycle.  This shortens your length, and creates more drag.  'Catch up drill' is where you don't start your pull until your recovery arm gets back into the water and both hands are next to each other.  This keeps you very long in the water and always in the front quadrant.  The downside is that it can lead to a little too slow of a stroke rate, and you never pick up speed.

I have made it under 160 pounds!!  159.8, only 5 pounds to go until I switch from trying to lose weight to trying to maintain my weight.  I've lost 40 since June, I'm starting to see some muscle definition, and I feel a whole lot better most of the time.

Just a couple of days left until the indoor tri, I can't wait!

Next up, how do I prepare myself for an open water swim?  What should I be swimming in for my sprint tri this summer...do I just change out of my regular swimsuit and into my cycling/running stuff or what?

Corey, the best way to train for OWS is to do OWS.  You might want to post in the New York forum here on BT and see if there are any people local that are doing any Open Water Swims as the weather warms up.  Otherwise, it's just take it easy, and sight often.  Usually the easiest way to sight while in Open Water is every 6th stroke or so, and when it's your breath stroke.  You'll want to, at the same time, lift your head to look AND kick extra hard to help keep your hips up.  It's something you can practice in the pool.  Pick a landmark and try to look for it frequently.

As far as what to wear.....there isn't a place to change clothes in transition, excepting the porta potty...

When I have a little more time I'll get into some of the more popular options for non-one piece tri suit wearers.

Ok, some racing clothing talk now.

If you're doing a short course (Olympic/Sprint) you will almost never have a changing tent between disciplines, so at the least, your base layer will be worn for the whole race.

If you're doing a long course (HIM/IM distance) you will have the ability to change clothes in a changing tent.  This isn't always the case for HIM, so be sure to know what you're going to be able to do before you register, if it's a concern.

Ok, I'll stick with the no changing route here.

First, the most simple option is a 1 piece trisuit (men - women).  You wear this for the whole race, and don't need to worry about changing at all.  These are generally a little more expensive, and for some people, they just don't fit well.  Take our very own aquagirl for example.  She's a tall dame, and she finds that they are just too short in the torso to be comfortable.  Some taller women have had luck wearing a men's version though.

Next, we go to the two piece look.  This will usually include tri shorts and a tri top (also found in men's and women's styles.)  The advantage of the two piece is that you can pick what's most comfortable for you, across brands and models.  It also can give you some more options if you're concerned about what colour you want your stuff to be.  Just be aware that white is NOT a good colour for your tri clothes unless you enjoy letting everyone see what you have going on under that spandex.

Most tri tops will have a pocket or two on the back for holding food during the bike and run, and some tri shorts will have pockets as well.  If that's important to you, be sure to look for it, and see how easy it is to reach when wearing it.  As a general rule, tri shorts ride high...like at your belly button high, for both genders.  If that's something you don't like, there are some "low cut" styles out there.  I personally like the DeSoto low rise tri short more than any other that I've worn, and they are my go to shorts for a race.

Now for the women, you can wear anything really to swim in.  I've seen girls swim in a bikini, then throw on a pair of shorts, and a tech-t to wear for the bike and run.  Guys, you can do the whole race in a pair of swimming briefs (speedo (really not a real description because it's a brand, not a style)) and go without a shirt for the bike and run (if the rules allow, and some races will require a shirt to be worn for the bike and/or run) if that's your thing.

Girls, if you're a bit chesty, WEAR YOUR SPORTS BRA under your base layer.  You'll thank me on the run, I promise.  I'm not going to pretend that I can really offer great bra advice other than that.  If you're interested in that, you can ask in Tri Talk, or on the Clyde/Athena forum, or do a search for it via the search function at the top of the page.

Now, all that being said, when I race on a short course I wear tri shorts and an UnderArmor compression top to swim.  When I get out of the water, I have a tech shirt that I put on in T1 to wear on the bike and run.  Most people will tell you that it's a pain to put on wet clothes in transition, and it is.  BUT if you are already wearing clothes, it's not as hard.  The compression shirt helps the tech shirt to slide on easier, plus it eliminates nipple chafing (guys, you know what I'm talking about, girls you wear bras, so you don't have to deal with this so much) which can really be a drag at the end of a run.

Some other things that make a race go more smoothly are race belts and quick tie shoelaces.  The race belt is something you put your race number on before the race starts, and then when you get to T2, you just have to grab it and put it on while you're moving, and you don't have to worry about pinning your number on something, or fighting with any nonsense like that.  Quick-tie laces are just that.  They are generally an elastic lace that is already tied, and you can just pull your shoe on quick as can be.

Well Done!

I was being held hostage in paradise for a few days.

It was awful. I was forced to swim in the turquoise ocean. Really quite unpleasant. With all that pesky hot sunshine. And then I was made to cruise around for hours on a bike. And you KNOW how I despise that.

 

I see Chad has been mentor extraordinaire whilst I was suffering greatly.....thank you.

 

Edited by aquagirl 2011-03-08 1:34 PM

Great job.  Way to bring home the AG victory.

Edited by nmroach 2011-03-08 2:09 PM

Sorry for the double post.

Edited by nmroach 2011-03-08 2:10 PM