swbkrun's group- CLOSED (Page 19)

Being a lefty, breathing left is my 'strong' side.  I'll notice soreness in my right shoulder start to develop if I'm starting my pull too early while breathing left.  I believe this is because my pull goes too deep because I haven't rebalanced from my roll to breathe.  When I notice the soreness, I focus on holding my right arm extended a fraction longer, allowing me to come back to center and then executing a pull with torso parallel to the bottom and high elbow - the twinge immediately goes away, giving me instant feedback on what is a proper stroke.

Hey guys!  Busy day at work today.  Probably will be all week too - I work for a college and with our classes starting next week, our offices are open late most of this week.  Hopefully I'll find time to get at least some of my workouts in.  I'll have to skip the group run with the LRS tomorrow, but next week I should be good to go on that. 

Have a good week!

Janet

Well hey everyone..back from Denver!! I love that city....Running along the river was stellar.

Went out to Winter Park...on thursday- went skiing for a couple hrs, then snowmobiling for 3 hrs, and then an hour of tubing.(It was business,honest) Called my wife and told her how tired i was..didn't get alot of sympathy.

My pool has been closed for 2 weeksfor some repairs.Its supposed to open this week sometime. It's the only pool open at 5:30 in the morning to get my swim in. But i have a question for you all.....

I picked up the Total Immersion Book when i was down there, and have been reading it. What do you guys think that swim style/program?

And another for you regarding max heart rate. Im 35 years old....so from what i've read = 220-35=185max HR....maximum train in the 85-95% area. When when I run I hit 182 sometimes....Is that too high or should that drop once i get more conditioned to the run? Or am I going to keel over shortly?

Got 8 miles in at Disney today.

Picked a cockpit yesterday Vision with extensions, shifters, brakes and cables/housing.

Also picked up a Powtertap SL laced to a Mavic open pro wheel.

Now all I need are Derailleur's and cassette.

Steve, I still owe pic's I know, I know...

How long have you been running? Are you really pushing at 182?

I agree that performing an LT test in a lab or using the one Mike recommends is a good idea.  That way you can establish appropriate training zones.  While I am not religious to it, I do use this table to make sure my daily work out is within range.  That has helped me make sure my easy days are easy and my hard days are hard!! I focus on Pfitz, but I know others who work with Hadd.

Suzy

Here is the link to one alternate method.

Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition- a large association of places to do LT/VO2 Testing

Search for a group:

http://www.scandpg.org/

Well, I guess I should do this...

Hello,

My name is Tony and I use 220-age to determine my HR zones...

Do I need to go to A-220-A?

I just haven't gotten around to getting or doing my own test.  I am pretty sure though what I am using is pretty close based upon many hours of training, when I get in my A-220 Z4 I can feel it.

My wife got her V02 testing done and was exactly Age-220 so it is possible for using those numbers to be correct. 

I went to a little seminar with a local pro and she asked who was using age-220 and I was the only person that raised my hand... She said that it was better than doing nothing at all but I should at least do my own test (should make it a goal this year I guess...)

To answer all those questions, I really only started to run a few months ago, so I am a newb runner for sure. . When i hit 182 beats/min, it is very short term. My Garmin just shows it as the max heart rate...Average is around 160, so thats around 85%...which I assume isn't too crazy. My perceived exertion is definitely high at certain points, so I guess it doesn't seem too far out there. I a, curious as being a former fatboy(205 now vs 250), if my heart rate would be wonky as my body is adjusting to its new structure.

Anyone else have some TI swimmming feedback as well?

I would use, the classifieds here, slowtwitch, or craigslist!!!!   Those are your best bets...

Trevor-  I have no experience w/ TI, so I am of no use to you....

and to all about HR... I am a big fan of percieved exertion.  I think starting out it is a good idea to use some sort of HR monitoring (220-Age is very GENERAL and inaccurate, but DOABLE) until you REALLY understand your body, your abilities, and where you need to be....

Not necessary, but it would be nice to see your changes....

IMO TI is good if you don't have any real swimming experience.  I went to a 2 day class, got some good advice, there were some things I think they left out, i.e proper breathing technique.  One issue is to make sure that you can find someone in your area to keep teaching you that is TI oriented.  It will be somewhat different than others teach.

I guess the perceived exertion explanations make sense. I was worried that yes, there have been times that I have been winded. And when I see max HR at 185(which is essentially 100% for me), I was worried that I could drop dead at that moment.

On the quick topic of lactate - has anyone else read the Triathlete Magazine (Feb 2009) article about lactate?

The article basically states that recent research proves that lactate actually helps muscular contraction rather than previously thought that it decreases muscular function.  The article states that since the 1920's 'lactic acid' (which our body does not produce - we actually produce lactate [there is actually a single proton difference between the two]) we've thought about it backwards.

Anyway - read the article and I won't retype the whole thing.  I was just curious if anyone else read it and has an opinion as we have mentioned Lactate Threshold testing.

Edited for this:

I found this article on BT about finding optimal HR Zones:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633

If I am running and my HR shows 185 and I don't feel like I am working that hard I don't blame it on being out of shape.... I just say my HR monitor is stupid, and I need to replace the battery.... I never blame my fitness... 

Just teasing.  From what I know (which is very little and I may be totally wrong) the Heart is like a muscle and it can be trained.... If you train at I high HR you can "learn" to sustain a higher HR (this doesn't mean that is does the rest of the body any good- so it may not be the right thing).  I think for anything from a Sprint to Oly you can work off either REDLINING IT (going all out for as long as you can) and anything over this you really need pay attention to your pacing effort.....

Note:  Not sure if this makes too much sense.  The goal is to finish so pacing is important throughout ANY race, but I just feel like it may be "easier" to get through the shorter distance races with less......  I give up!!!   I don't know what I am trying to say....

Re: TI, I attended a two day workshop last year after buying the DVD and trying to do those drills on my own with limited success.  I was a total greenie and thought I would leave that seminar knowing how to swim the way the supposed beginners did in the DVD. Ha!  Not the case for  me.  In fact, I think I was too much of a beginner to benefit from it, especially since everyone else was a triathlete already (some IM!).  I felt like it was a complete waste.  For me, I need to one on one of a coach who can watch me swim, tell me what I am doing right and wrong.

Having said all that, I think if you have the basics of swimmming and the comfort in the water (I did not), TI can have a postiive impact.  It teaches balance more than anything which most of us struggle with or compensate for in some way.  I would try the drills see if you feel they improve the areas you are struggling with.  If not, I would find a good coach for a few lessons to get you over that hurdle.

Devil's advocate.  Training and racing is two different things to me.  In training, I have different types of work outs and my HR should be within an appropriate zone for those workouts. The goal is to train your body to work hard at lower and lower HRs OR to to be able to work hard at a higher HR during race conditions without blowing up. 

In running I spend the vast majority of my time in Z1-3, but once a week I might work in a Tempo with a pac that keeps me just below LT or intervals above my anaerobic threshold to encourage my body to be able to work harder during races.  The pace I run a marathon is 5-10 beats below LT (unless it is hotter than hell!) and as the race progresses in the last 10K it may start rising, but my training has prepared me for that.  It is the combo of low HR and high HR training that is the key IMO.

I am not experienced enough in tris to make a judgement. So far in sprints, I pretty much redline the whole way and since it lasts about 1:30 I can handle it. I won't have the same plan for an Olympic or Half.  I am quite positive I would die on the run with that strategy .