Chaderbox and aquagirl's group ! CLOSED (Page 17)

Thanks.  That was the plan.  I think I can park my bike in the lobby of the YMCA that I swim at and head out from there.  I'm pretty sure they would watch it while I swim and run. I may try it next Sunday.  That way I'll have three weeks before my race.  Thanks again.

I agree I've been waiting for forever it seems to actually get outdoors on the bike. 

Finally got to ride to work this morning and it was nice.  Although, I feel like I wasn't moving very fast at all.  The first major hill, felt not nice.  I guess you cannot really create the uphill feeling on a trainer or at the gym. 

Looking forward to the ride home!

I hope everyone gets well soon.  I know what you're going through.  My kids are both getting over double ear infections and pink eye.  It definitely hampers training and always makes you susceptible to illness too.

With trainer riding, you can't totally get the same feeling as climbing, but you can get very similar ones.

You need to go into your trainer rides with a plan, just like you would with any other workout.  If you're trying to simulate hill work, be sure the resistance on your trainer (if it has adjustable resistance settings) is at least in the medium or harder.  As you shift into bigger gears on the trainer, you'll have to work harder to keep your cadence up, obviously.  This is your hill work.  When you're on the road, you drop into small gears on the hills to so your cadence doesn't drop, but on the trainer, think more that your bike only has 1 gear.  This way, as you have to pedal harder, it's because you're going uphill.  Make sure your trainer is bolted in well, and go ahead get out of the saddle if you want.  You can also put a goodly number of books under your front wheel to get your bike feeling like it's going uphill.

A good resource on BT, is to do a search for Jorge's Winter Cycling Program.  When you find the right thread, FOLLOW THE WORKOUT.  Jorge is a mentor here, and a professional tri coach.  He's been kind enough to lend his expert guidance to BTers for free in the form of a trainer program.  If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, you can also purchase some Spinerval DVDs, or another series called Sufferfest.  These are different workouts that will destroy you, and make you a better cyclist by giving you trainer workouts.  For instance, one of my Spinervals is called "Big Gear Strength" and you do nearly all of your interval sessions in your biggest gear, a rest in a smaller gear, then right back to the big gear again.  Then in the middle, you're off the bike for 3x10 of lunges with each leg, and then back on for more big gear work.  Lots of fun, I swear.

So again, while you can't be actually climbing while on the trainer, you can get used to keeping the cadence high while in a difficult resistance.

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Also, everyone wish Corey good luck on her first half-marathon on Sunday.  She's already started her pre-race nutrition by having Reese's Peanut Butter Pancakes for breakfast today.

You can do it Corey!  All the cool people are doing it.

She's most excited about the beer you get when you finish.

No, wait, I'm most excited about getting both my finishing beer AND her finishing beer.  Older brother's right of beer taking and all that jazz.

there is beer at the end of half marathons????

Nobody tells me anything

Yep, but at the end of my last half it was like some pale "light" 64 calorie something or other.  I mean, if you are going to have beer, make it a real beer. 

Good Luck to both of you!!

There was beer at the end of this race, and not light 64 calorie garbage.

And Corey ran well, in a race that I consider not a great setup for me, because I hate running downhill.

Well, today was the day -- my first race.  The Run from Winter 10K.

I met up with two people from work, one (who's run many 5Ks), and another who runs the NYC marathon each year -- I was in good company.  We finished exactly as I figured (but not necessarily hoped).  Shari, came in about 30 second before me, and George came in a few minutes after. 

There wasn't as much fanfare as I expected on the start.  I ran the first 1/2 mile with George, and the second with Shari, but then stamina and pace took over.  I never felt that I had "my" pace -- which was good because I was running faster than ever!!!  But, it would have been nice to find a pace a stick to it.  It was my first time running with others, so I guess I just ended up mimicking (sp?) all of the other paces around me.  Again to great results.

I finished in under just under 58 minutes, and was quite ecstatic because the only other time I ran this distance (last weekend) I finished in 64 minutes. 

Overall it was a great experience --such energy in the air -- and having a "goal" race to get my running on track immensely helped.  Now I just need swim and cycling "goal" races to help me in those departments.

Any suggestion?  Do they even offer swim only, or cycle only races?  I haven't done the research, so these are kind-of hypethetical questions, but any input would be appreciated.

Great job on the 10K.  Race atmosphere can definately help your time due to the excitement.  But also the course can impact it a lot too.

There are stand alone bike races, but generally you'd better be a stud even in a Cat 5 race.  There are also all sorts of charity and century rides you can do.

As for swimming, your really only bet is to check out US Master's Swimming (USMS.org (I think)) for information on their meets.

Hey Gang

The last couple of weeks have been very busy & I wanted to get to the pool a couple of times before i weighed back in on the thumbs up, thumbs down, palm down discussion.  I had developed a bad habit of karate chopping my stroke pinky first and slicing through the water instead of pulling. The instructors quick answer was to come in thumbs down and do a turn with my wrist.   This allowed the pull I needed.   I have since developed a palm down stroke with the thumb turned slightly down during extension.   This seems to help with my elbow being high.   I can really feel the pull now and it is easy to repeat over and over.    I'm actually starting to glide. 

I'm getting out 3 times a week to run & swim and hopefully longer bikes rides with better weather.  My next focus will be on the cycling part. 

Allen

I could not agree more.  That is one the major reasons I make my own beer!

Maybe I'll start bringing my own for the end of triathlons.  Hopefully I wont get in any trouble with the cops.

Oh in training related news I made it out to a bike trail this past Sunday finally.  Old paved over railway that runs for over 50miles.  I only got in a 19 mile ride but it felt great.  Starting to get comfortable on the clip on aerobars I picked up.  Only bad news, I broke a spoke on my bike so now I a bike with only one wheel for a week.    Guess I'm headed back to the pool

I'm enjoying the training and physical part of this quest, but i'm also enjoying how many new things I am learning.   I hope to turn my focus to cycling now.   I've had my bike since October, it is a Gary Fisher fast city bike.  (after this tri if I really like it I will invest in a road bike)

I'm currently tooling around the neighborhood on a 2.5 mile loop for around 11:00 minutes and doing the loop 3 times.   The loop is mostly flat with some elavation but no real hills.  

On weekends I can get out to the bike trail Doug referenced and go as far and fast as I can.   What are the top 5 things I should be doing to increase speed and endurace. 

Note:  I have not made the switch to clip on pedals yet.  Hopefully in the next 2 weeks.   

Thanks in advance

Allen    

The top 5 list of ways to get faster on the bike is not really going to be all that surprising.

1) Ride more

2) Ride even more

3) Ride a little more, and push yourself harder

4) Take a day to recover

5) Start again at step 1.

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Seriously though, the only way to get better on the bike is to put the miles in.  Get 50-100 miles per week, consistantly and see what happens to your speed.

Things that can help, but won't necessarily "give" you speed are going to clipless pedals, aerobars/clip ons, and being fit to your bike/more aggressive fit.  Also losing weight and doing plenty of stretching can help.  Being more lean, and being able to get lower in the front with a flat back (drop) can also make you more aerodynamic.  But you have to be able to hold the position and still get power.  You can even go so far as to get an aero helmet, lighter shoes, carbon bottle cages, and such just to get your overall setup lighter...but really nothing will get you faster like riding every day.  Especially if you're riding hard most days.

Ok everyone.  Helen has been having a bit of a rough time with her knee, and she may not be around quite so much for a bit.  So be sure to think good thoughts for her, and if you have spare knee joints, be sure to share.

In the mean time, get out there and bike and run, and go to the pool for another swim.

Ok, how is training going for everyone? 

Most specifically, how is everyone doing with their swimming?  The biking and the running are a little more user friendly, and as long as your shoes are good for the run, and your fit is good for the bike, mechanical issues work themselves out with volume...

Swimming is quite different, obviously.

So, how's it going?  Anything you want to brag about in your own swimming progession?  Any little questions, or big questions?  Anyone manage to get someone to take a video of their stroke?

Funny that you should ask...

I've been taking swim lessons for the past 3 weeks and my technique has come along nicely, as has my speed.  I've been working out with a pull buoy -- 2 laps with, 2 without... 4 laps with, 4 without... 6, 8 and then 10.  Comes out to be 60 laps = 1500 meters.  It works out great and I can get the whole workout in during lunch (it takes less than 40 minutes including rests). 

At yesterday's session, I brought my waterproof video camera (Kodak, for anyone interested). I'm a very visual creature, so I found the video to be extremely helpful to "re-live" the good and bad laps.  And she made sure to capture both!!!