Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Veteran

976

New Hampshire

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

I had to bring my snowblower in to the shop the other day because it wasn't throwing that well (and the snow was super light) and the second I got home and started thinking about what it could be I think I figured it out so I called the place and told them what I thought. They haven't had a chance to look at it yet but we'll see what they say. I was checking out new blowers while I was there (mine is 15 years old) and if mine does bite it this year the model I was looking at had heated handles! Now in the spring if I can find a riding mower with A/C I'll be golden!

I'm trying to hit my workouts lately. I'm terrible at uploading them every night though so I usually do 3-4 days at a time. Think I'm going to sign up for my Olympic distance race today. Seems like a good day to commit to it. I've only done sprints so far but last October I did a HM, I've done plenty of 40+ mile bike rides and my super slow swim speeds hold up for a good distance.

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990

Collierville, Tennessee

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

A cold morning here! It was 9 degrees when I got to school this morning; the kids are on a 2-hour delay, so it's nice being able to ease into the day.

I went to my normal Master's class last night; I'm really loving it. Swimming with others really pushes me in a way that just doing laps alone can't. We did our normal sets, and then finished off with 4x100 fast; I managed to get the first 100 at 1:26, which meant that I had to try and keep that pace for the next three, which I managed to do, even though my arms felt like lead. I'd normally go for a run this evening, but I think I'll work in a trainer ride instead! It's cold outside!!!

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51

Calgary, Alberta

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jonD81

I had to bring my snowblower in to the shop the other day because it wasn't throwing that well (and the snow was super light) and the second I got home and started thinking about what it could be I think I figured it out so I called the place and told them what I thought. They haven't had a chance to look at it yet but we'll see what they say. I was checking out new blowers while I was there (mine is 15 years old) and if mine does bite it this year the model I was looking at had heated handles! Now in the spring if I can find a riding mower with A/C I'll be golden!

I'm trying to hit my workouts lately. I'm terrible at uploading them every night though so I usually do 3-4 days at a time. Think I'm going to sign up for my Olympic distance race today. Seems like a good day to commit to it. I've only done sprints so far but last October I did a HM, I've done plenty of 40+ mile bike rides and my super slow swim speeds hold up for a good distance.

By looking at your training log and paces, I'd say your on the right track. I suspect you will really like the olympic distance - you will need to employ a strategy, whereas a sprint you can kind of just go balls to wall and see what happens!

Edited by ndechant 2014-01-07 8:32 AM

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4954

Middle River, Maryland

Silver member

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

0 degrees with -20 wind chill this morning, so it was a 4 mile tready run with some strides, plus my lower body ST routine. Yesterday was Bikram Yoga in the morning and a 30 minute trainer ride. Over to the pool at lunchtime...it's all the way up to 5 degrees so that should be fun.

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4954

Middle River, Maryland

Silver member

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jonD81 I'm trying to hit my workouts lately. I'm terrible at uploading them every night though so I usually do 3-4 days at a time. .

Between my logging on BT, TP, and Strava (oh, and TrainerRoad, too), it's a wonder I have time to train. If I didn't keep up daily it would take me like an hour to catch up.

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4954

Middle River, Maryland

Silver member

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by WoodrowCall A cold morning here! It was 9 degrees when I got to school this morning; the kids are on a 2-hour delay, so it's nice being able to ease into the day. I went to my normal Master's class last night; I'm really loving it. Swimming with others really pushes me in a way that just doing laps alone can't. We did our normal sets, and then finished off with 4x100 fast; I managed to get the first 100 at 1:26, which meant that I had to try and keep that pace for the next three, which I managed to do, even though my arms felt like lead. I'd normally go for a run this evening, but I think I'll work in a trainer ride instead! It's cold outside!!!

Agreed, and it also keeps it from being as boring. I was getting some pretty good gains at my Masters sessions even with my crappy form just by swimming hard, a lot.

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Master

3058

South Alabama

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by SSMinnow

A local coach is holding a USAT certified indoor/outdoor tri in February. 750m swim, 20K CT bike, 5K outdoor run. I was told it was a qualifier for Nationals. Does that make sense even if it is a shorter distance? I plan to give it a go. I've never done a pool tri. How should I think about that swim? As most of you know, I'm not fast, I have one speed, but I really want to win my AG badly. What should I do between now and then to be ready for that swim? I feel as if I can gut out the bike and run pretty well.

Suzy-I believe that as long as a race is USAT sanctioned it is a qualifier for AG Nats regardless of distance. No help from me on the pool swim in a race...never done it. If you have to provide a "seed" time for the swim I would be really optimistic .

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142

, Georgia

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Hit the treadmill for another walk/run about 45 minutes ago, but didn't last long. About 10 minutes in, the foot arch pain came back. It was mild initially, but it literally felt like the inside arch was a a pile of mush in my shoe and was beginning to get numb. Once I pulled it out of my shoe, there was some relief, but I think it was relief from the compression since the pain kept on going. I did some brief massage on the area, rolled it out lightly with a hand weight, and came back to my apartment.

Now, as I sit here typing this, there is a sharp (but not very painful), throbbing pain every 10 seconds or so where the arch meets the heel and occasionally towards the the central part of the inside arch.

My main thing is trying to figure out what's going on right now, mainly because depending on what the injury is, riding a bike may not help matters any; I definitely don't want to make things worse. Coming from couch, any injury benching me for more than a couple weeks could send the April triathlon packing. To complicate matters, I don't have health insurance right now, so seeing a doctor is an expense I'd rather avoid if I absolutely can.

Any ideas as to what's going on?

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1190

Silicon Valley

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

I took the dogs for a walk today! First time in 7 months I could do that. No crutches, no cane and just a slight limp. I was never so excited to take the dogs for a 1.5 mile walk in my life.

As for the cold, I did have to put on a light jacket over my short sleeve shirt. Sorry everyone.

Glad to see everyone is surviving the cold. This too shall pass.

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4954

Middle River, Maryland

Silver member

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by slornow

Originally posted by SSMinnow

A local coach is holding a USAT certified indoor/outdoor tri in February. 750m swim, 20K CT bike, 5K outdoor run. I was told it was a qualifier for Nationals. Does that make sense even if it is a shorter distance? I plan to give it a go. I've never done a pool tri. How should I think about that swim? As most of you know, I'm not fast, I have one speed, but I really want to win my AG badly. What should I do between now and then to be ready for that swim? I feel as if I can gut out the bike and run pretty well.

Suzy-I believe that as long as a race is USAT sanctioned it is a qualifier for AG Nats regardless of distance. No help from me on the pool swim in a race...never done it. If you have to provide a "seed" time for the swim I would be really optimistic .

I agree with Randy on this one...my only pool tri I seeded myself spot on and wound up passing 5 people in only 300 yards. Practice your flip turns and get all of that "free" propulsion you can on the turns. The CT bike portion sounds fun.

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4954

Middle River, Maryland

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Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jmhpsu93

0 degrees with -20 wind chill this morning, so it was a 4 mile tready run with some strides, plus my lower body ST routine. Yesterday was Bikram Yoga in the morning and a 30 minute trainer ride. Over to the pool at lunchtime...it's all the way up to 5 degrees so that should be fun.

So this was an adventure. My main pool is an outdoor facility that they convert to indoor at the end of September, and then back to outdoors in early May. It has a permanent steel skeleton, and they wrap it with heavy duty tarps plus add some hard features like fire doors, etc. It can get a little scary in there when the wind is howling...it's like flags beating.

Anyway, as you know it's cold out, about zero here last night and around 10 when I went over there today. Normally we get a little condensation on the inside of the roof and it drips down harmlessly back into the pool or onto the deck; how much depends on humidity, outside air temp, etc. Well today the condensation was actually FREEZING to the steel skeleton, then being shaken off by the wind and falling onto the pool deck and into the pool. Nothing like having a chunk of slush fall on your bare shoulders during your recovery on the wall...

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Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

My first race this season will be a pool tri too. Do you think flip turns are really a ton faster than touch and go turns? If so, does anyone have any tips for how to learn and perfect them? I've tried them (not knowing what the heck I was doing, but thinking "how hard can they be?") and I feel much slower, clumsy, and typically either get water up my nose, come up gasping for air, or lose my swim cap. Any pointers would be very welcome!

Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

I can't really tell you how to do a flip turn but if you go on YouTube there are dozens of videos with tutorials on how to do them. Watching a video and getting an explanation should do wonders to help make this happen. I was a devout non-flip-turner for my first five years of swimming but since learning how about two years ago, I would never go back.

Yes, it is faster. It will take a couple weeks of doing flip turns for it to feel natural so stick to it. It will feel harder at first but you will adjust. That breathless feeling eventually goes away. I had the incentive of having the swim coach tell me that she wouldn't work with me if I didn't learn to flip turn

For me today: a swim with a 200 time trial (2:46, my best to date) and a trainer ride. I feel rested from the last week of relative inactivity and ready to get back to it.

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Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

With all of that being said, there will be a lot of people at your pool Tri NOT doing flip turns so if you aren't ready, don't stress about it. There was even an ex college swimmer on here awhile back who said that he no longer did flip turns, "because he didn't feel like it any more."

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Extreme Veteran

990

Collierville, Tennessee

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by goricky

My first race this season will be a pool tri too. Do you think flip turns are really a ton faster than touch and go turns? If so, does anyone have any tips for how to learn and perfect them? I've tried them (not knowing what the heck I was doing, but thinking "how hard can they be?") and I feel much slower, clumsy, and typically either get water up my nose, come up gasping for air, or lose my swim cap. Any pointers would be very welcome!

I can't do flip turns at all; I get dizzy. I have some type of inner-ear thing, so whenever I get an earful of water, I get dizzy pretty quickly. I will say, however, that I'm rarely the slowest person in the pool, and my turns at the wall are rarely significantly slower than that of people near my pace. Faster swimmers have fast turns, naturally, but they're also faster than me anyways, so I don't worry about it. I've done a few pool tri's, and my advice, regardless of distance, is to err on the faster side of your swim estimate. Passing people is next to impossible in a pool tri, so give an optimistic, not unrealistic, estimate and just swim your swim.

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Champion

7163

Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by PhoenixM Hit the treadmill for another walk/run about 45 minutes ago, but didn't last long. About 10 minutes in, the foot arch pain came back. It was mild initially, but it literally felt like the inside arch was a a pile of mush in my shoe and was beginning to get numb. Once I pulled it out of my shoe, there was some relief, but I think it was relief from the compression since the pain kept on going. I did some brief massage on the area, rolled it out lightly with a hand weight, and came back to my apartment. Now, as I sit here typing this, there is a sharp (but not very painful), throbbing pain every 10 seconds or so where the arch meets the heel and occasionally towards the the central part of the inside arch. My main thing is trying to figure out what's going on right now, mainly because depending on what the injury is, riding a bike may not help matters any; I definitely don't want to make things worse. Coming from couch, any injury benching me for more than a couple weeks could send the April triathlon packing. To complicate matters, I don't have health insurance right now, so seeing a doctor is an expense I'd rather avoid if I absolutely can. Any ideas as to what's going on?

I do have an idea of what is going on, the beginning of PF. It is not something to mess around with or it could be a lengthy injury. I've had it and made the mistake of running through it and it lengthened the healing process.

How does your calf feel? is the soleus tight? This connects right to the plantar and is what can cause soreness in that area. If these areas are tight, it is important to work to loosen the area quite a bit. I use my PT massage equipment, but you can use your thumb or super ball to do it. I would recommend a trip to an ART or Graston specialist, but I know you don't have insurance. Cost for a single session in these parts in roughly $45/treatment.

Jason is the doc in the group, but this is speaking from personal experience.

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Champion

7163

Verona WI--Ironman Bike Country!

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by wannabefaster With all of that being said, there will be a lot of people at your pool Tri NOT doing flip turns so if you aren't ready, don't stress about it. There was even an ex college swimmer on here awhile back who said that he no longer did flip turns, "because he didn't feel like it any more."

Flip turns? God, I never even thought about that! I don't do flip turns and I do know that it hurts me. I can be "minnowing" along next to someone in the next lane and they do a flip turn, I do an open turn and they're gone. Gulp! I think I need to work on faster open turns starting tomorrow!

Edited by SSMinnow 2014-01-07 8:05 PM

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Member

142

, Georgia

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by SSMinnow

Originally posted by PhoenixM Hit the treadmill for another walk/run about 45 minutes ago, but didn't last long. About 10 minutes in, the foot arch pain came back. It was mild initially, but it literally felt like the inside arch was a a pile of mush in my shoe and was beginning to get numb. Once I pulled it out of my shoe, there was some relief, but I think it was relief from the compression since the pain kept on going. I did some brief massage on the area, rolled it out lightly with a hand weight, and came back to my apartment. Now, as I sit here typing this, there is a sharp (but not very painful), throbbing pain every 10 seconds or so where the arch meets the heel and occasionally towards the the central part of the inside arch. My main thing is trying to figure out what's going on right now, mainly because depending on what the injury is, riding a bike may not help matters any; I definitely don't want to make things worse. Coming from couch, any injury benching me for more than a couple weeks could send the April triathlon packing. To complicate matters, I don't have health insurance right now, so seeing a doctor is an expense I'd rather avoid if I absolutely can. Any ideas as to what's going on?

I do have an idea of what is going on, the beginning of PF. It is not something to mess around with or it could be a lengthy injury. I've had it and made the mistake of running through it and it lengthened the healing process.

How does your calf feel? is the soleus tight? This connects right to the plantar and is what can cause soreness in that area. If these areas are tight, it is important to work to loosen the area quite a bit. I use my PT massage equipment, but you can use your thumb or super ball to do it. I would recommend a trip to an ART or Graston specialist, but I know you don't have insurance. Cost for a single session in these parts in roughly $45/treatment.

Jason is the doc in the group, but this is speaking from personal experience.

For right now, the pain is exclusive to the foot arch. I did wonder briefly if it was a sign of a stress fracture, but there's a lack of swelling.

The pain has continued to a small degree in the last few hours. It's become intermittent and a small amount of throbbing has taking place as well Putting pressure around various areas of the arch isn't escalating the intensity of that pain, which is good news because I'm sure a tendon tear or a stress fracture would've had me reeling if I did that.

New user

410

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by Stuartap

I took the dogs for a walk today! First time in 7 months I could do that. No crutches, no cane and just a slight limp. I was never so excited to take the dogs for a 1.5 mile walk in my life.

Happy happy! It is gonna be fun seeing you race again Stuart!

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Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by SSMinnow

Originally posted by PhoenixM Hit the treadmill for another walk/run about 45 minutes ago, but didn't last long. About 10 minutes in, the foot arch pain came back. It was mild initially, but it literally felt like the inside arch was a a pile of mush in my shoe and was beginning to get numb. Once I pulled it out of my shoe, there was some relief, but I think it was relief from the compression since the pain kept on going. I did some brief massage on the area, rolled it out lightly with a hand weight, and came back to my apartment. Now, as I sit here typing this, there is a sharp (but not very painful), throbbing pain every 10 seconds or so where the arch meets the heel and occasionally towards the the central part of the inside arch. My main thing is trying to figure out what's going on right now, mainly because depending on what the injury is, riding a bike may not help matters any; I definitely don't want to make things worse. Coming from couch, any injury benching me for more than a couple weeks could send the April triathlon packing. To complicate matters, I don't have health insurance right now, so seeing a doctor is an expense I'd rather avoid if I absolutely can. Any ideas as to what's going on?

I do have an idea of what is going on, the beginning of PF. It is not something to mess around with or it could be a lengthy injury. I've had it and made the mistake of running through it and it lengthened the healing process.

How does your calf feel? is the soleus tight? This connects right to the plantar and is what can cause soreness in that area. If these areas are tight, it is important to work to loosen the area quite a bit. I use my PT massage equipment, but you can use your thumb or super ball to do it. I would recommend a trip to an ART or Graston specialist, but I know you don't have insurance. Cost for a single session in these parts in roughly $45/treatment.

Jason is the doc in the group, but this is speaking from personal experience.

I'm with Suzy. This sounds a lot like the beginnings of Plantar Fasciitis. I would be googling this and figuring out the most conservative way to treat it so it doesn't become a full-blown case. I had the beginnings of this years ago when I switched to a pair of shoes that didn't agree with my feet. Got rid of the shoes and did a lot of work on stretching of the calves and rolling the arches with golf balls and tennis balls and fortunately dodged that bullet.

I don't think you need to go to a doctor but rather use "doctor internet" to help you to create a short-term therapeutic plan.

saveyourself.ca/tutorials/plantar-fasciitis.php

looks pretty good to me

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Master

3058

South Alabama

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Jason-2:46 for the 200 swim....NICE JOB!

I don't do flip turns. Messed with trying to do them a couple of times but I get a little dizzy/disoriented when I do them.

Warming up a bit here today getting into the 40's. Yeah! Swim at lunch then strength and run this evening. Have a good day everyone.

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Veteran

976

New Hampshire

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

I have a swim question as well, maybe more of an opinion. I started swimming 1/1 2013. Literally started, as in 25 yards killed me. No clue how I made it through my ocean swim Tri in 2012. I did roughly 100,000 yards last year (97,540) which was huge for me just in terms of never actually swimming before. My summer swimming took a major hit because we moved and life was just crazy. I never took a lesson because I kept saying I would take one/some once I was more comfortable in the water. I felt that if I couldn't even make it 100 yards what was the point.

Now I can swim around 1:50/100 for pretty much as long as I need to. Recently did a 20 minute indoor tri and came to 1:48. Longest I've done to date is 1 mile straight, just in the pool, but I feel that at that pace I can just go. My workout 100's are anywhere from 1:35-1:50 depending on how tired I am and all that. I've more or less done away with longer sets and focus more on hard effort 100's starting on the 2 minute mark, so roughly 10-15 seconds of rest after each set. I have seen a good improvement where if I need to push it I can get at/under 1:40. I haven't implemented ANY drills at all and I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to start doing some. My swims are typically limited to 30-45 minutes at lunch since the YMCA is 2 minutes down the road, but I could possibly sneak out 3 to a max of 4 times per week. Where would I start for drills? Kick board? The float between the legs? I feel like I also may be at that point where lessons would be quite beneficial to address any major issues I have and get to them before I totally ingrain all things bad into my head, it's just the matter of sacking up the $$ towards yet another tri expense. Thanks!

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Extreme Veteran

990

Collierville, Tennessee

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jonD81

I have a swim question as well, maybe more of an opinion. I started swimming 1/1 2013. Literally started, as in 25 yards killed me. No clue how I made it through my ocean swim Tri in 2012. I did roughly 100,000 yards last year (97,540) which was huge for me just in terms of never actually swimming before. My summer swimming took a major hit because we moved and life was just crazy. I never took a lesson because I kept saying I would take one/some once I was more comfortable in the water. I felt that if I couldn't even make it 100 yards what was the point.

Now I can swim around 1:50/100 for pretty much as long as I need to. Recently did a 20 minute indoor tri and came to 1:48. Longest I've done to date is 1 mile straight, just in the pool, but I feel that at that pace I can just go. My workout 100's are anywhere from 1:35-1:50 depending on how tired I am and all that. I've more or less done away with longer sets and focus more on hard effort 100's starting on the 2 minute mark, so roughly 10-15 seconds of rest after each set. I have seen a good improvement where if I need to push it I can get at/under 1:40. I haven't implemented ANY drills at all and I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to start doing some. My swims are typically limited to 30-45 minutes at lunch since the YMCA is 2 minutes down the road, but I could possibly sneak out 3 to a max of 4 times per week. Where would I start for drills? Kick board? The float between the legs? I feel like I also may be at that point where lessons would be quite beneficial to address any major issues I have and get to them before I totally ingrain all things bad into my head, it's just the matter of sacking up the $$ towards yet another tri expense. Thanks!

I think there are a few drills that might help you speed up (DISCLAIMER: I'm not super-fast in the water):
Hypoxic breathing: Do you breathe on the same side? If so, alternating breathing will help. Then, with hypoxic breathing, try going longer without breath. For instance, if you breathe every 3, then try going every 5, of 7, or 9 strokes.
Fist Drill: instead of using your hands, keep your hands balled into fists. This will help you focus on using your forearm during your catch.
Pull Buoy: This can help, as it lets you focus on your hands and arms, without worrying about your legs sinking. You can also use hand paddles during a pull buoy set.
Those are just a few that might help.

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Master

3058

South Alabama

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jonD81 I have a swim question as well, maybe more of an opinion. I started swimming 1/1 2013. Literally started, as in 25 yards killed me. No clue how I made it through my ocean swim Tri in 2012. I did roughly 100,000 yards last year (97,540) which was huge for me just in terms of never actually swimming before. My summer swimming took a major hit because we moved and life was just crazy. I never took a lesson because I kept saying I would take one/some once I was more comfortable in the water. I felt that if I couldn't even make it 100 yards what was the point. Now I can swim around 1:50/100 for pretty much as long as I need to. Recently did a 20 minute indoor tri and came to 1:48. Longest I've done to date is 1 mile straight, just in the pool, but I feel that at that pace I can just go. My workout 100's are anywhere from 1:35-1:50 depending on how tired I am and all that. I've more or less done away with longer sets and focus more on hard effort 100's starting on the 2 minute mark, so roughly 10-15 seconds of rest after each set. I have seen a good improvement where if I need to push it I can get at/under 1:40. I haven't implemented ANY drills at all and I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to start doing some. My swims are typically limited to 30-45 minutes at lunch since the YMCA is 2 minutes down the road, but I could possibly sneak out 3 to a max of 4 times per week. Where would I start for drills? Kick board? The float between the legs? I feel like I also may be at that point where lessons would be quite beneficial to address any major issues I have and get to them before I totally ingrain all things bad into my head, it's just the matter of sacking up the $$ towards yet another tri expense. Thanks!

Here is a link to a post I did on swimming on my blog last year (one of my few posts last year). It also has links to a series of videos by Gerry Rodrigues who is a well respected swim coach that works with many of the top triathletes. The video quality sucks but they were very informative. I basically summarized the main things I got out of the videos and tried to apply to my swimming.

http://thesagetriathlete.blogspot.com/2013/01/swimming-will-it-ever-get-better.html

I think swimming with an ankle band is one of the best all around things you can do to help your technique. It enforces engaging the core, good pull, quick turnover and balance. Hard to beat. Definitely not easy at first but a great tool.

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Master

3205

ann arbor, michigan

Subject: RE: Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED

Originally posted by jonD81

I have a swim question as well, maybe more of an opinion. I started swimming 1/1 2013. Literally started, as in 25 yards killed me. No clue how I made it through my ocean swim Tri in 2012. I did roughly 100,000 yards last year (97,540) which was huge for me just in terms of never actually swimming before. My summer swimming took a major hit because we moved and life was just crazy. I never took a lesson because I kept saying I would take one/some once I was more comfortable in the water. I felt that if I couldn't even make it 100 yards what was the point.

Now I can swim around 1:50/100 for pretty much as long as I need to. Recently did a 20 minute indoor tri and came to 1:48. Longest I've done to date is 1 mile straight, just in the pool, but I feel that at that pace I can just go. My workout 100's are anywhere from 1:35-1:50 depending on how tired I am and all that. I've more or less done away with longer sets and focus more on hard effort 100's starting on the 2 minute mark, so roughly 10-15 seconds of rest after each set. I have seen a good improvement where if I need to push it I can get at/under 1:40. I haven't implemented ANY drills at all and I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to start doing some. My swims are typically limited to 30-45 minutes at lunch since the YMCA is 2 minutes down the road, but I could possibly sneak out 3 to a max of 4 times per week. Where would I start for drills? Kick board? The float between the legs? I feel like I also may be at that point where lessons would be quite beneficial to address any major issues I have and get to them before I totally ingrain all things bad into my head, it's just the matter of sacking up the $$ towards yet another tri expense. Thanks!

Congratulations. You are killing it just by swimming a bunch.

I am a huge fan of lessons. You don't really need to take a bunch of lessons and spend a lot of money, just a couple so someone can objectively look at your stroke and make corrections. With the paces you are swimming I would think that you have a pretty good looking stroke already but it is probably time to have a swim coach look at it and make subtle improvements.

Drills:

I do one-arm drills (usually with fins so I go somewhere)-with these I really concentrate on having my forearm vertical for the whole catch and pull.

Catch up drill.

Kick drills on my side and on my back.

I do a fairly good amount of my swimming with paddles and a pull-buoy. Again I really concentrate on the early vertical forearm and keeping the arm vertical for the entire pull. I have two sets of hand paddles and one set really gives me a lot of feedback on when my stroke isn't right so I like (and hate) using them.

ETA. I know Randy's reference doesn't advocate using paddles but I like them. Maybe a crutch......

Edited by wannabefaster 2014-01-08 9:08 AM

My Race Log

Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Group version 3-CLOSED (Page 16)

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