Scottt's Group - Closed (Page 17)

Sorry folks,

I have been traveling and got away without my tether cable for my Blackberry, so no internet while I was gone!  The horror.

I'm back and will work on it.

Sorry.

Shawn,

Check that the wheel is seated properly in the dropout.  I wouldn't expect a "wobble" from cross-winds.

If it was a chilly cross-wind, maybe you were shivering.  Don't laugh...it has happened!  I thought I was getting speed wobbles on a decent and it was because I was shivering uncontrollably

Good plan to get cables checked on you new bike before your race.

Shawn and others,

Running Technique

I've queried the Active articles and the results of the search are here: http://search.active.com/search?f=articles&v=List&l=everywhere&k=running+technique .  I won't reinvent the wheel when smarter people than me have written a lot about the subject.

Specific to Shawn's issue...heal striking...

Almost 100% when you see someone who is heal striking, they are by definition overstriding.  Remember there are two components to speed...cadence and stride length.  In sprinting you are taught to lengthen your stride to maximize speed.  While this may work for shorter distances (anaerobic), this is a recipe for slower speeds and injury in longer (endurance) running.  When your heal hits frst, your foot is in front of your hip and thus, for the first portion of your stride, is actually acting as a brake until your foot passes under your hip.  From under your hip to the point you lift your foot at the back is the portion of your stride which propels you forward.  If you are working on improving speed via stride length, concentrate on only lengthening the stride on the back end (propulsion phase).  For almost all beginner/intermediate runners, the best issue to concentrate on is cadence.  Much like cycling, a cadence of 85-90 (per side) is generally optimal.  For most of us, this seems fast with very short strides.  As you progress, you increase speed by maintaining this cadence and lengthening the stride (on the back end).

It is interesting that only in modern times was this heal-striking running form even physically possible, since prior to modern running shoes, your foot would have hurt so badly if you had run that way, that you would have quickly stopped due to the pain.

Shawn, shorten your stride (front part) and pick up your cadence to get your form dialed in, then work on legthening the back end of your stride to slowly build speed.

I hope this helps.

Wheels:

If you are talking about truly deep (>50mm) take a look at Flashpoint and Edge.

IMO, this investment is worth approx. 30-50 sec. (about 0.75-1.00%) on an olympic (40K) course.  I would recommend this outlay only for people riding more than 3X per week and at least 4,000 miles/year.  Until that point, (Time In The Saddle) and coaching have much better returns.

A decent pair of std. issue wheels like the Shimano R500s or Mavic Aksyiums that come on many good bikes are quite aero shallow wheels and cost $150-250/set (less used if catching a deal on craigslist/ebay/BT).  Very few wheels that come as OEM wheels on $1,000+ bikes are not relatively aero.

Yes, I read the book over the Christmas holidays.  Surprisingly, it is actually a page-turner, given the subject matter.

Logically, many of the points make a ton of sense.  Practically, I have seen more than a few people have problems (injuries) when trying to do too much adjustment too fast; i.e. barefoot or running in Five Fingers.  Just make sure, if you adopt any of the new techniques outlined in the book to implement them over the course of many months...a little at a time.  Remember, we've morphed to the current running forms over the last 25-30 years.  Don't try to revert in a few months or you will be injured.

Similarly, with any of the challenges, start within your current fitness and work from there.

Well done Shawn!

The diziness thing after the swim is common.  Going from horizontal to vertical while exerting can get you sometimes.

Sounds like a hot one.  Amazing how much hydration your body needs in those conditions.

Congratulations on a sucessful day!

Has anybody heard of or used Nuevation wheels.  They have a nice set of aero wheels and the price can not be beat.  Iam a person that believes that you get what you pay for...but the reviews have looked very promising.  Any thoughts?

It's really not swimming thing as much as a getting out of the water/standing up thing.  Your body is horizontal and exerting for a period of time, setting up a certain distribution of blood flow.  You then stand up and now the blood flow distribution needs to be different to get sufficient blood to your head/brain and at takes a minute for your body to react.

As part of your race specific training (later phase of training right before your race) incorporate drills where you get out of the water and run up the beach (ideal) or across the pool deck.  This will prepare your body for this feeling and it will know how to react.

I am very lucky that I can train at least once a week in open water from March to October and thus have this adaptation covered.