ASPHALT JUNKIES Summer Bronzing Crew - CLOSED (Page 16)

I am so glad you posted that link!!  I am going to discuss it with Lis because the event goes right through Zanesville, Ohio, where my extended family lives and where Lis and I met.  I would really love to do this event!  The only issue is that it's on a Tuesday, late in the afternoon but that really is less of an ordeal than even mentioning it.  I would have to take a couple of days off work to complete it.

I just started to follow @onerunforboston on twitter to keep up with the relay.

BTW, do you see any telephones on that pole?  Me either.  That's not a telephone pole.  It's a utility pole with electric and cable TV.

Congrats on your race, DEREK!   I'll look forward to reading the RR.  How'd it go for you, JEFF?  Sure hope no issues like last race.

Sorry you had problems on your swim, TONY.  The fact that you kept at it shows how determined you were and that's commendable.  Yay on the new wetsuit feeling awesome!  Chalk it up as a good learning experience.  Getting in 70 miles on the bike has got to be a good boost to your confidence.  You're doing great! 

I'm impressed with you being able to run and snap pictures at the same time, JEN.   Do you wear running skirts a lot?   You
look adorable, unlike DEREK who looks awful in his face shot.

Isn't volunteering a blast, TRACY?!   I'm sure the RD and kids appreciated your help.  Hope your baby boy is feeling better.

Although I'm late, I'll join in the game of "Monthly May Distances":

               Swim - 5 hrs 33 min - 14100 yds

               Bike - 8 hrs 21 min - 314 miles

               Run - 6 hrs 12 min - 37 miles

A couple comments before you get on my case:                (1) Even if I spend 20 hrs in the pool I'll still average 2:20ish per 100 yds.  I've not improved in the last 4 years of trying, so I'm throwing up my hands and just going to be content that that's what I'll always swim. Of course, compared to WARREN, I'm doing great on the yardage.                (2) In April I ran 94 miles so I purposely backed down May and did slower than normal recover runs.    

So DIRK goes on a long bike ride, gets his legs "trashed" then goes home, does all this yard work as "rest" and then goes on a run.   Slacker.  

Can someone (DINA seems good at this stuff) give me a quick lesson on how to put a picture in your post?   I can't figure it out.  Don't make fun of me...I'm old.    

Sounds like everyone got in some great rides and or runs this weekend! I took it kind of easy and will probably take most of this week as a recovery week. I know what your thinking, recovery from what ha ha ha .

Quick question, the bike shop was not happy with my lube job on the tri bike. They said I had too much wet lube (I put a drop on each link then wiped with a cloth) and it will make a mess of things. I probably lubed up the road bike that I sold to my friend the same way so can she just run the chain through a cloth to get any excess lube off or does it need to be totally cleaned and relubed? I don't think she has had it on the road yet. She knows nothing about how to care for this bike. I don't even think she has a bike pump to put air in the tires. I would want to go do it for her since it is my mistake. 

Jenn a couple of thoughts about the swim, I had an expert swimmer in our area look at my stroke last winter and one of the things he noticed was that my arm was stiff and rigid when it was out of the water during the recovery phase of my stroke. He said I was wasting energy and should keep my arm relaxed. He coaches the kids local public pool and Y swim teams and for the kids he uses the analogy of drawing a rainbow with the arm during recovery, the whole time keeping the arm relaxed until beginning the power phase of the stroke.

Some things I notice when watching others swim is a lot of different hand positions. My training friend had me watch her stroke the other day. I noticed she dives her hand, not arm, just her hand bent at the wrist upon entry and then her pull is coming from a cupped hand with her elbow dropped during the power phase of her stroke. A lot of people give an extra flick or turn of the wrist or turn their hand out to the side before hand entry that they are not even aware of.

Just some things off the top of my head. Is there anyone who can watch your stroke and give you some feedback? Or maybe you can have someone take a video and post it to the group.

It's been awhile, but I might get the hubby to walk alongside the pool and get a quick video of my current stroke. I do wonder if I am tensing up my arms as I get to the later portion of my workout. I will think about drawing a rainbow the next time I swim. I have seen another gal in the pool who flicks her wrist out of the water all the time. She is super fast and I kinda thought it was her thing that made her even faster.  

Karl - Glad to know I'm not alone.  

It is likely that you are trying to hold your hand in a particular position for the entire work out and you are feeling the result of fatigue.  I suggest you focus on relaxing your hands through your work outs.  If you are focused on keeping all of your fingers aligned and straight to add more power or a sort of paddle you're really just wasting energy.  Allow your hand and fingers to fall where they may, so to speak, and you should see a positive result.  Try it for the next few swims and report your findings so we know if that was the issue.  If not we can look at something else.

I suggest you not take any time off this week and allow the hammering to take place all this week.  If next week is going to be a recovery week or if you're going to be restricted to lower volume you can allow the recovery to occur then.  It will teach your body it can build and rebuild over and over.

My strategy during build phases is to tax my body until I hurt and beat it down more, then relax and recover, heal and rest for the recovery week.  If you try to recover to frequently your body won't see the fitness gains as quickly and you'll suffer from that later.

I really need to get someone to the pool with me too.  I tried to get some underwater video with my phone a while ago but it was horribly unsuccessful.  I actually think I can have someone get some video from high enough above the water that I can learn a lot from that.