mchubri's Crazy Awesome Training Group - CLOSED (Page 18)

Sounds like a fun weekend, Brian.  Have fun with the family and smile pretty! 

I have my first tri Sunday and will definitely report back to you when it's over.  Taper week has been tough.  All I've wanted to do is go go go and I forced myself to rest rest rest. 

Thanks for all your sympathy/empathy/checking-in/ and prayers.  This was a pretty bad cold that I had but amazingly am at about 95%!  Illnesses usually take a good 2 weeks for me to feel "normal" again. 

Have a good weekend guys.  I'll talk to you again when I'm an official "triathlete"!

I need some cycling help!  I have a serious issue with clipless pedals...I'm scared to the point where I don't even really like to ride anymore.  I don't know why my fear has gotten so bad, but I feel so uncomfortable on my bike now that I start shaking when coming to a stop.  I fall ALOT, you know the drill...unclip right...fall left!  I'm just over it and I'm not getting the training in that I need.  Here's my "pedal" history:

My first pedals were speedplays (not counting the spd's on my hybrid I had for two weeks).  I REALLY hated the big cleat on the bottom of the shoe.  I fell even more in those, because I have to kind a jump off my bike, the metal cleat would hit the asphalt and down I would go!  I got rid of those and got some Crank Brothers Candy SL's...which I used to love.  Now the pedal fear has kicked in big time and it's not getting better!  Here are the options I've come up with...what do you think?

1. Go to straight platforms
2. Go to more of a platform on one side/spd on the other pedal and get mountain bike shoes
3. Keep the Candy's and get mountain bike shoes since the slick bottom road shoes are what slide everywhere.  

I'm hoping for whatever I do to be more of a learning tool.  I want to get more comfortable on the bike and eventually get back to the road shoes!

 





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I told the guy at my LBS what I was doing with tris, but that I wanted a shoe that would go from spinning class to my road bike.  I have a shoe that can do both types of cleats (I'm using SPD) and it has a mtn bike bottom for grip which will help with running with my bike through transitions.  When I walk or stop at a sign, I step on shoe-like (but bigger) treads.  No slipping.  They are Mavic Scorpios. 

You should also be able to loosen up the screw on the pedal to adjust the amount of force it takes to "unlock" your cleat from the pedal.  I loosend mine up pretty good!!!!! 

If it makes you feel any better, I'm still deathly afraid of falling (and cars)!

Hope your issues get resolved quickly for peace of mind!

Edited by sungirl919 2010-06-12 10:11 AM

Chrissy, I still fall, all the time!  As a matter of fact, I fell on my last ride this past Tuesday!  Look Keo's have a nice wide platform so you can clip in, or use them as a regular platform.  I think Shimano makes a similar one too.  It takes getting used to, and as with everything on the bike, more t.i.t.s. (Time in the saddle) the easier and better you get.  Great pic by the way!   

Robin, I forgot to wish you gool luck on your tri this weekend.  I know you are going to kill it!  I sense AG podium for you! Good Luck!  

I just realized I left my Garmin at the office and I won't have it for my training this weekend, I don't know what I'm going to do without it?  I'm pi$$ed!     

Thanks guys!  I have to figure this bike stuff out!!!

@Robin - Have a great tri...I'm sooo jealous!

@Brian - I'm so OCD that I would go back to the office and get it!  Once I couldn't find my sensor for my Nike Plus, so I drove 30 miles one way and got lost to get to the running store to buy a new one.  I then drove back 30 miles and did my run!  Pathetic, but my hubby and I were in a challenge and I refused to lose miles!!!!!! 

Robin- Best of luck tomorrow.  I sure you'll do great!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  I've got a big party at my house for my birthday this afternoon.  The weather is going to be glorious and I can't wait.  I don't think I'll eat too bad (veggie burger on a whole wheat bun), but I do know for sure that I am going to drink... a lot.  I'm getting started by heading to the pub to watch the USA v. England world cup game at 11:30 am (local time) and the party at my house doesn't even start until four.  I'm going to have to pace myself!

So, Robin brought up tapering, and I have a question about that.  My two weeks of tapering starts this Sunday.  I plan to follow my training plan pretty much to a 't,' but I'm concerned that its going to be a struggle for me.  I've loved doing something active and/or training just about every day and its going to be hard to let go of some of that, especially since I'm only 8 lbs away from my goal weight.  Any advice or suggestions regarding that?

Have a great weekend everyone!

@ Robin, Good luck tomorrow!  Have fun!

Had a pretty good run tonite...best time ever for that route and I actually stretched out my stride and ran!  Disclaimer:  because I usually jog so slow, I don't have to walk to much, tonite, I took way more walk breaks and the time was still the best ever for me.  In the running intervals, I was actually runnng!  I averaged under a 10 minute/mile pace!  Usually, I'm lucky to be averaging a 12 minute/mile pace...tonite I even had one really nice stretch that while short, only about 4 minutes or so, was a 7:30 minute mile pace!  Course after that one I had to collapse into a walk and remember how to breathe but it was fun while it lasted!  Amazing how far you get in a short interval like that when you actually speed up, that was by far my fastest 1/2 mile ever.

Dear running,

I'm getting closer and closer to loving you...we are moving into serious like territory right now.

XO,
Ronda

@Ronda-  WAY TO GO!!!!!  Be careful what you say to 'running'.  He has a strange way of sucking you in and becoming an addiction!


BTW: 

I AM A TRIATHLETE!!!  I got my official title today.  More information to come tonight.  Right now the kids need lunch and attention...

Congrats Robin , I can't wait to read your race report!  Feels great, doesn't it?   

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=212664

^there's my race report if you're interested. 

I had an unexpected guest to cheer me on--a fellow triathlete who is unable to compete this summer.  She was in town and it was really helpful to hear her advice, input, and exceptionally LOUD voice cheering me on! 

The swim was easier than I thought.  I was going to take it easy, but I was passing people without pushing it.  As it turned out, I was the first female from my wave to come in!  That was a mental boost. 

Transition was a little slow, but I wanted to be careful instead of careless-especially with my first race.  Biking went well (this is my weakest event), but i feel I could have pushed it harder.  I kept counting how many people from my wave passed me... not too many, but I expected it, so i didn't get down from it.

Running was a muddy mess.  So much for my nice white shoes!  Oh well-battlescars, I suppose.  I felt like I wasn't moving, but I carried a pretty good pace!

Everything ran very smoothly.  Every time I came upon a volunteer (especially on the bike) I thanked them for their time.  I was thinking of you, Crisi!!!

Can't wait for you all to experience your first tri if you haven't done it yet!  It's amazing! 

Great job Robin!  That is so amazing!

Yay Robin!!!

I just read your race report too and it sounds like you had a blast!!  I like your warm down..."ate food". 

Thats so awesome that you did your first tri!

Ronda

Great Job Robin!

Great Job Robin!!  Your times for all three were awesome!!!  I would kill to have any one of those time, much less all three in one race!!!

Congrats!  Looks like you had an awesome race, great average on the bike too.

Morning all! How is everyone doing this week?

Robin, still riding that post race high? I wish I could get a deep tissue massage every once in a while, especially after a race! someone should drop the hint to my wife that would be a cool fathers day gift!

So I signed my little brother up for his 1st tri, a Sprint we will be doing together on August 8th. He has a decent running and biking base, but swimming is his limiter. I had him in the pool for the 1st time today, the 1st time he was in a pool for the sole purpose of swimming. So I have a question for our resident fish Ronda, any advice on a basic swim plan I can put him on so he doesn't drown in 8 weeks? Ideally I'm looking for a couch to 400m type plan, starting from scratch. Any thoughts from anyone would be appreciated!

Noel, I drafted out a bridge running plan to get you from your oly to a 1/2 marathon in 6 weeks, I need to get it to you!

Chrissy, how is the leg and the pedals coming along?

What does everyone's week look like?

I swam this morning and am running at lunch today. My knee is officially an anomaly that I will never understand, 100%after my monday run! So odd!

Ps, I compiled this dribble of a post on my blackberry on the bus into work, sorry it reads like crap! Edited when I got to work, better, ahhhh.

Edited by mchubri` 2010-06-16 8:34 AM

Training is going a little better...

Swim - I still can't go too far freestyle, but I did do a 800m straight this morning without stopping.  I feel like I'm cheating though because every couple of laps, I do one length of the elementary backstroke to catch my breath!  I just need to find my pace and get my heart rate under control!

Run - My leg is a little better.  I've only done my group Couch to 5K runs so far, so we'll see how it does when I do my long run on Friday.  It's still cramping up a little when I first start running, but it doesn't seem as bad as it was! 

Bike - As for the pedals, I still don't know what to do...I think I'm just going to HTFU!  We've found a "safer" place to ride.  There's an old two lane road that stretches about 8 miles one way...it's a closed course and I only have to deal with other cyclists, runners and a few gates.  I only have to slow down for the gates and not actually stop.  I figure I'll get more comfortable on the bike overall and then practice the stopping thing A LOT until I'm more comfortable!  

The only bad thing about this course is that it goes straight through a swamp...it used to be a main road before they built a new four lane about a quarter mile to the east.  It's now a "nature" trail.  There are LOTS of signs to watch for bears, rabbits, etc.   This also means my most hated thing in the world....SNAKES (Ronda...think fishies)!!!  I saw a HUGE rattler yesterday while riding...thankfully it was getting off the trail.  Here's my question.  If I go flying down the road at 15+ mph and I come up on a huge snake laying right in front of me...WTF DO I DO???????????

Brian,

So here's a rough kind of draft...I added some drills and kick sets just in case he needs to work on some stroke issues...and they are nice "rest" sets in between longer swims sometimes.

Its not a perfect couch to 5k type of program...the total workouts will actually be 4 x his race distance at the end of the 8 weeks but that should help with endurance and not being too exhausted at the end of the swim.  Plus if you run out of gas running the 5k since that's as far as you've been going, you can always walk, run out of gas swimming and you get panicky and that gets ugly. 

Longest swim is 600 m so that on race day, he'll know he can do the distance and then some straight through...but really if he can put the distances in of the workouts, he should have no problem with the race distance...rarely do I swim over 500 m at a time unless I'm needing the monotony for thinking or warming up, I like to switch it around to keep it interesting. 

Pyramids are some of my favorite sets, you get used to doing longer distances but by breaking them up at first with little rests, they don't seem so hard and you just gradually reduce the rest time until you are just going.  Plus, knowing you get a rest means you can go a little harder and eventually you can build to doing the whole distance stronger since the little 5/10 second rests are more mental than anything else.

I hope this is what you had in mind.


I would do these minimum of 3 x a week, 4-5 would be better.

Week 1
2 x 25 easy and slow...no time limit, think stretch out and get comfortable with a breathing pattern(prolly every other stroke, worry about blb another time)
2 x 25 right arm only 8 strokes, left arm only 8 strokes, if not to the wall, finish with both arms... be thinking about body position...should be tipped, tummy should not face bottom of pool during one armed drills
2 x 25 swim...try to remember the feeling of rotation like when you drilled
2 x 25 kick with a kick board (fins are great if you have them, they really help with strenthening the kick but not totally necessary at this point...also not zoomers, get a longer fin to help flex those ankles...if he runs, they are prolly really stiff) key point...kick without a huge splash, your feet should just "boil" the water...kicking air while it makes an impressive splash, is not uber efficient
2 x 25 cool down swim
total distance 250 m

Week 2
4 x 25 swim warm up...relax, stretchy, establish breathing
2 x 25 one armed drills like week 1
4 x 25 swim...drop your head so the hips lift, keep feet just under the surface, rotate as you stroke but not over exagerrated
2 x 25 kick...get a rhythm, no frantic thrashy kicks...kick from your hips...think long feet, point those toes but not rigid, relaxed, let them dangle behind
2 x 50 cool down swim...bring it all together...long body from fingertips to toes, rhythmic kick (prolly a 4 or 6 beat), roll your body, relax the head and neck
total distance 400 m

Week 3
2 x 50 swim warm up
2 x 25 fist drill...make sure the elbow stays high or you won't go anywhere
2 x 50 swim...focus on the elbows and the pull, smooth with no wasted movement, "feel" the water...find the sweet spot
2 x 25 drill, 1st 25, one arm drill, 2nd 25 fist drill
1 x 100 swim...think high elbow, smooth pull, loonngg body, rhythmic kick, breathe when you need to, head/neck relaxed, hips high
2 x 25 kick
3 x 50 cool down swim
total distance 600 m

Week 4
2 x 75 warm up...1st 25 swim, 2nd 25 drill, 3rd 25 swim
Pyramid Set (400)
25, rest 10 sec, 50, rest 15 sec, 75, rest 20 sec, 100, rest 40 sec, 75, rest 20 sec, 50, rest 15 sec, 25 
2 x 25 kick easy and rhythmic, this is a "rest" set
2 x 75 swim
1 x 100 cooldown swim
total distance 850 m

Week 5
4 x 50 warm up
4 x 75 swim/drill/swim
Pyramid Set (400)
25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25 same rest intervals
1 x 200 swim...as slow as you need to, this is the longest distance so far
2 x 100 cool down swim
total distance 1200 m

Week 6
3 x 100 warm up
1 x 150
2 x 25 kick
1 x 200
2 x 25 drill
1 x 300
2 x 25 kick
1 x 200
150 cooldown
total distance 1450 m

Week 7
2 x 100 warm up
2 x 50 25 swim 25 drill
1 x 300
2 x 25 kick
Pyramid Set (400)
25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25...try for only 5-10 seconds rest between
6 x 25 alternate 25 hard, 25 easy
1 x 300 swim
150 cool down
total distance 1650 m *congrats...total workout is 1 mile!!!*

Week 8
day 1
150 warm up
4 x 100 swim
4 x 25 one arm drill or fist
1 x 400
2 x 25 cool down
total distance 1100 m

day 2
150 warm up
4 x 50 25 moderate, 25 easy
1 x 400
4 x 25 one arm drill or fist
1 x 500
2 x 50 cool down
total distance 1450

day 3
200 warm up
1 x 500
2 x 100 25 easy, 25 hard, 25 easy, 25 hard
1 x 600
3 x 50 cool down
total distance 1650 m

Need to get the Garmin thingamabob...must lose the weight faster to get this thing....I didn't plan my route well and ended up 4/100ths of a mile short of 4 miles....I could throw my dumb runkeeper app except its my phone too and I can't live without a phone.

4 miles was like a milestone and I missed it.  Maybe Friday.

Oh yeah and someone please tell all my hobbies to quit trying to cripple my only set of legs please.  TKD had lots of hopping and jumping kicks on Tues which kinda cramped up my left calf and today while jumping in a lesson, my trainer couldn't figure out why my horse kept drifting slightly to the left.  I obviously was not applying equal pressure with my calves since the left one was slightly sore this morning and lets not even talk about the first mile of the run tonite...felt like it was going to cramp the whole time...got better until I finished and walked into the house...then it really, really wanted to cramp so I was desperately stretching it and every time it felt better and I stopped, it threatened to cramp again...took about 10 minutes to calm it down.  So hobbies, please let's all co-exist peacefully, I need those legs, dammnit, I have a triathlon in less than 6 months!

Ronda

Ps- @ Crissy, I tried trail running at my barn last wednesday and saw 2 rattlesnakes...I am totally done with trail running...I'll stick to sidewalks thanks.  Other than sharing your squickiness of snakes (altho not to the level of fish hatred) I got nothing.

Get it!  I love mine.

Justin,

I've never actually seen them clean and skim the pool I swim at....gross huh?  However, they do dump the chemicals in periodically without closing the pool...its horrible to be swimming when they dump them in, the chalky, nasty, chemically taste coats your mouth and dries it out bad. 

I swim at varied times from 8 am in the morning to as late as 2 am one time...and I have never seen the pool vacuummed.  Ewww.

Ronda

@Ronda - I NEED your expertise 
@ Everyone else - All comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I was planning on doing my first triathlon in September, but today I learned about a sprint about an hour away on July 31st. Here's the pros and cons on doing the earlier race:

PROS
- Less expensive than the one I was contemplating
- Swim is in the sound, little current but salty water vs a river swim of the later one
- Flat bike course
- Flat run course
- Small field of athletes

CONS
- Only a month and a half away and I'm still not a strong swimmer
- It's HOT in July (but it's HOT in September too...)

Here's where I help...knowing that I'm not a strong swimmer, can I be ready in a month and a half?  It's salty water so more buoyancy.  Also, there is little current, so if I needed to roll over and backstroke I wouldn't have to deal with heavy currents and choppy water.  

What can I do to get ready that quickly????

I'm planning on doing the full distance in a "practice tri" at the gym this weekend to see how it goes.  I know it's not quite the same, but I can get an idea of where I'm at.  Any pointers on how to accomplish "transition" at the Y?  I don't think they'll appreciate me dripping water everywhere, so I know I'll have to completely change out of the swimsuit!!!

Here's the link to the tri in July: http://www.fsseries.com/index.php?action=event&event_id=269
 

Edited by crisi13 2010-06-17 7:22 PM

I can swim 800m straight, but I do have to flip over and do the elementary back stroke for a length every few laps.  I haven't really been doing drills because I've been trying to work on getting my breathing under control.  I can swim two laps (100 m) without stopping and have went 200 m once, but I was so out of breath I thought I was going to die!!!  I am starting to do better with the breathing...I've been working on breathing techniques...

As for the wetsuit...I doubt I'll be using once since it'll be July in North Carolina...water temp will probably be mid to high 80's.

As for where I need help...I need to know how to get my breathing under control!!!  I can swim the first 100m when I get int the pool in 3 min (the other day it was 2:58), so I know I'm slow, but I don't care how long it takes...I just want to be able to freestyle the whole way!!!