left.right.repeat group -closed - Full of a bunch of winners...YEAH! (Page 182)

Hello everyone. Seems like we have a lively couple of discussion going on.

Swimming- It is funny. Even though I am by no means a first class swimmer (whatever that means) I have found more and more that swimming has become my favorite discipline. There are some very good thoughts being said on the last few pages. The one thought I would like to express is swimming is not something that comes easily. It has been said that the most difficult motion to perfect in sports is the golf swing. But that is not true. The most difficult motion, by far, to perfect in all of sports is the perfect swim stroke. Pro's literally work on it their entire lives. 

So don't get frustrated with where ever you are at. We've all been there. If you work at it, the improvement will happen.

When they talk about training your lungs, what that has always meant to me is teaching your body that unlike running or biking, it can only breathe at certain times. When you first start swimming your body is not used to that fact. It wants to breathe now. When it doesn't get to breathe now, you body sends out alarms that it is starving for breath and thats what gives you that panic feeling in your gut. In reality it isn't, but your body does not know this. The more you swim the more you will train your body that yes it needs oxygen, but it isn;t starving and a breathe is coming. When it learns that it won't send out that alarm. It just take a bit of time. Stick with it.

Oh and by the way. Ran 11 mile today. My longest run ever. WOOT! for me. I also learned a new word today. "Chaffing" OUCH! I am raw in my.....private parts....ouch.

Jeff - how long to work up to an Ironman - this question is asked every year by many people.  Here is my opinion after a few years, a few tris, a marathon or two and a bunch of other events in between - also you should know I am a pretty Type A personality - I may go around the wall, over the wall, under the wall or through the wall but I am going past that wall.  So here goes - from the couch of 25+ years, first sprint after 5 months, half marathon after 8 months, Olympic after 13 months, half Ironman after 17 months, full marathon after 19 months and full Ironman after 30 months, all measured from my FIRST workout.  Could I have done it faster?  I honestly don't know for sure but I think I could have - maybe with severe injury - maybe with a hatred for the sport instead of love.  I think you have to look inside you - I will tell you don't rush it but you may do it anyway - I will never tell you there is no way you can do something - but I will point out the reality of the situation.  Most conventional wisdom says your third year of triathlon is a good time to move to a full....this gives you a chance to put in a base of fitness that you call on all day on Ironman day.  I think everyone here who has done one will tell you that you will see your soul on that day....you will go places you have never been....you will see parts of yourself you have never seen....I dreamed about my finish line every day for a year....I have a picture of the IMAZ finish line at 16:59:59 that I looked at every day for a year at least 5 times a day.  Preparation is the key - the base is the key - this is BIG - arguably the BIGGEST thing ANY human will ever attempt.  There is another side I want you to consider - if you are unsuccessful, how will that affect you?  Many early attempters find injury and other items keep them from their goal - most return, some quit - I don't think you fit in the quitter category but you need to really look at how that would affect you.  Billy mentioned that he and I had several conversations - I would encourage you to get his number and give him a call - his experience at Louisville could help you here.  Now, if you want to do it - go for it - we will support you - we will back you - and we will do all we can to get you through it.  Billy said it, you gotta do the work, put in the time, get the support of the family (they will be sacrificing too), and get your a$$ in gear.  Also, there are those whose first triathlon is an Ironman so it can be done.  There are also non-finishers at every event - if you ever get the chance, volunteer or go to the finish line of an Ironman about 9pm and watch for three hours.....it is an UNBELIEVEABLE three hours...and then it is OVER....the music dies, Mike Reilly thanks the crowd and the breakdown begins - the emotion of the last three hours disappears like a fully inflated balloon being released - it just deflates and falls to the ground, spent.  You will actually hurt for those still on the course.....The first IM I was at, AZ in 2008 to sign up, I saw a lady finish 33 seconds late - Mike Reilly said "Susie Smith (not her real name) in our hearts you'll always be an ironman."  No official finish, no medal, no hat, no t-shirt.....Debbie looked at me crying and said "I cannot even imagine what she is feeling" - I have thought of this lady many times since....I imagine she went back and finished her business but it was emotional.

OK, so I chased a couple of rabbits up there but here it is....can you do it....yes.....is it the smartest thing you have ever done.....probably not......I do think 8 months to a HIM is better than 8 months to a full....BUT....you have a lot of work to do, you must get base built in the next three months and then 20 weeks of a training plan.  Expect injuries along the way - this is my biggest concern.  If you can stay injury free or even manage them, I think you can finish, but realize it may not be pretty - that doesn't seem to be an issue.  The 70.3 in Austin was my first HIM....bring your hill game for the bike....but, hey, if it was easy - anybody could do it....Be realistic about the amount of training time you can invest, if it is there, well....it's up to you.....

Swimmers - go back in the posts - YOU ARE READING THE HISTORICAL POSTS AREN"T YOU???? - to every January and you will read the same swimdilemmas year afer year....yes that is swim and dilemma as one word...I just made it up.  Listen and Hear - I could swim and I could breathe, I just could not do them at the same time - technique, practice, balance, relaxation all are required - relaxation is the key.  Your breathing difficulty is the result of a very simple survival instinct, it is called drowning - your mind is in a place where is cannot get oxygen exactly when it wants it....relax....roll to air, get it and swim on...the MAGIC KEY you refer to....is when your brain figures out you are going to get it oxygen and you keep on swimming...IT WILL HAPPEN....I PROMISE....YES I AM YELLING....TRUST ME.  OK, here is what I want you to do, when you get to the end of the pool and you want to stop, DON'T, touch they wall, push off and take one more stroke - YOU WILL NOT DIE.  You WILL amaze yourself that you were able to do it....then after you do that for a few laps, touch the wall, take that one more stroke and instead of standing up, TAKE ONE MORE STROKE.....see the trend here....it will work....I promise....

Swimming is in your head....I know it seems wacky but if your form is decent, you can already swim a LOT further than you think you can.....that IS the problem....you don't THINK you can.  Try the one more stroke technique, before you know it you will say "screw it, I am not stopping - forget one more stroke I am going to the wall....BITE ME, BRYAN!!!"  When it happens, please post BITE ME BRYAN with nothing else in your post....I will smile and you will be a swimmer.

A word about breathing - always a good thing - in the water, our brain tells us to get all the air we can - I will tell you I think this leads to OVER BREATHING, you get a lot of air in your lungs, you can't get it all out, you gulp more air in, can't get it all out and you stress over this.....what I am about to suggest is going to convince you that I am absolutely the stupidest person you have ever met - take smaller breaths...just a bite of air and put your face back down..begin exhaling immediately...NO holding your breath, ever.....blow bubbles out slowly and roll back to air on the next stroke....at this point breathe on the comfortable side, every stroke.....no worries, relax....it will work....let me know if this helps.

Relax - if you are STRUGGLING in the pool, you gotta get a lesson...balance is the key - you can fly MAV in for a consult, since she is not training right now, she can come for a visit....or fly to Texas and I will help you --- or just get a lesson locally....most swim struggle is a balance issue to begin with.

A word about distance - I had a mental block about distance.  I got really freaked out by having to swim 500 or 1000 meters when that was further than I had ever swam.  So I just decided to swim time, mark my laps on the swim tiles, focus on my form and swim, when the time was up, I counted how far I went...it worked for me so here is how it goes.  If you swim 50 yards or meters in one minute, then 500 m/yds would take you 10 minutes.  So if I need to swim a 500 and I have never swam that far continuously (or even if I have), I tell myself to swim 10 minutes.  After each lap, I move my water bottle over one tile from a marker tile.  At the end of 10 minutes, the bottle is over 10 tiles, my 500 is done and I haven't counted a lap or worried about distance.  Then I swam 12 minutes continuous, 15 minutes continuous, etc....it worked for me - maybe it will work for you.....

I am waiting to see...................BITE ME, BRYAN!!!

Mark - two words two times....so four words....BodyGlide and BandAids....BodyGlide for the areas one would not like to chafe and the band aids are for your nipples....trust me here....the further you go, the more the shower will hurt when that water hits your raw nipples....at every marathon I have ever been to, there is at least one T-shirt that has two telltale red circles in the area of the breastage....don't let that be you.  I am a fan of the NexCare Heavy Duty bandaids...they stay in place through an entire Ironman (although I had spares in my T1, T2 and special needs bags.  Chafing - your skin will toughen over time but in the interim, Body Glide.  Good stuff.  ONe other consideration, some people prefer running in compression shorts (tri shorts) with or without shorts over them instead of tradition running shorts with the banana hammock installed as they think the internal package holder causes some of the chafing.....

Rick - I saved yours for last....I am about to go deep here so some of you will have something to say I am sure.  Rick, you will always be improving as long as you are trying.  There I said it.  As long as you are moving forward, you are improving.  People, this is not about a finishing time - okay, not totally.  There is a LOT to be said for PRs, I know all my best times and I strive to beat them EVERY time I toe the line.  BUT, that is NOT the ONLY measure of improvement or success.  One of the things Billy talked about in his post was to listen and apply what he heard.  What he is saying (if he really got it), is there is sometimes a required adaptation that must be made. A goal that must be altered.  I doubt there are many people alive who set goals more than me but they must be movable as necessary.  The achievement itself is the journey, it is the improvement of oneself, the race - PR or not is the evidence of that improvement but folks, some days it is not meant to PR.  My PR in a half marathon is still the first one I ran three years ago - I am more fit now BUT it is my best time, it is not because I am 3 years older because I am more fit - I have run a better time in training but not in a race - that is OK with me.  I don't care what hallucinogenic drug you have ever experimented with, there is NO high like an Ironman finish line.....there just isn't.  And the second one is different than the first.  FBP asked me if it was better or not....I still can't answer that....they are different.  I am better today than I was when I finished my first sprint in August of 2007 and I will be better still tomorrow.  If it takes me a little more time to be better, well, so be it.  I am the first to admit - I am not a podium guy - usually the awards are given out before I finish - but I finish....and improve with every race.....

I am now climbing off my soap box....you all know I have a few of them....I am sure you will see another one at some point....have a great weekend....

MAV - I don't know about Boston math but in Texas, that's a TRIPLE post.... Still on drugs I see....

Bryan you touched on something that has helped me tremendously when I started getting into longer distance swims. For me it wasn't a confidence thing, it was more of a mental game I was playing trying to keep track of how many laps (distance) I was going. I have done many things to work on this. Everything from the bottle trick you mentioned to buying this little lap counter I would put on my finger. What I finally figured out is how many laps you swim DOESN'T matter. What really matters is how long you can swim continuously.

I never count laps anymore. I haven't done it in years. All I care about is the time I swim. If you try it you will be amazed by how much of a mental relief it is. You can relax, focus on your stroke. Once you get used to it, it literally turns swimming into running. You can let you mind wander and think about whatever you want to think about.

If you want to estimate how far you are going, its easy. All you need to do is figure out what your 100 split is. Then all you need to do is divide the 100 time into whatever your total workout is and it'll give it to you.

For example; Say you swim a 100m in 2 minutes. If your set is 20 minutes, divide 2 into 20 and you get 10. 10x100 is 1,000 meters. Easy. Even if in reality your total laps are off by 1 it doesn't matter. Before you are done with your training you will be swimming way over you time anyway.

Truer words were never spoken. I think I will be moving my BG stick into my car. Can't forget it then. Other than that I like how the run went. My mussels are sore but I never felt any pain.

It's gonna be nice out tomorrow so I'll get my 50 mile bike ride in...

Bryan how was Austin? did you do a race report?

Whereabouts in Texas are you? My wife and I were visiting friends in the Plano area a few weeks back (they are trying to get us to move to that area). Part of my reason for choosing Austin was our friends living in Texas (4 hours from Austin but hey, close enough).

-Jeff

PS the LBS ordered the wrong size (52 instead of 54) so I dont get to pick it up until Wed....I also just read some of the older posts, these are great....reminded me I need to name my bike.

ideas?

I tear up a bit when I read y'alls posts and see stuff in there I said....man, they really listen....I gotta be more careful what I say...