Beer Drinker Appreciation Society 2 - Closed (Page 19)

Okay everyone...HELP!!!

Having problems here. Went for my only my second swim today in far too many years. First one was last week. Struggled terribly last week but had a much better time today. Still a long way to go if I'm going to compete August 10. Cant go very far without having to take a break. I feel like this will come with consistent training. Here's my problem...my left shoulder got angry at me today during my pool session. Got really tight behind my left shoulder. I did 1-100, 6-50's, and 6-25's today. First felt the tightness after the 5th 25, did one more and knew I needed to quit. I've iced it twice today and it's still a little sore and tight. What's your advice? I'm thinking about skipping my Thursday swim and spending the week on a shoulder strengthening regimine and try again next Monday.

On another note, there is no way at this point that I can do the swim play that my training plan created. I'm just not in good enough swim shape. What kind of benchmarks should I shoot for for my August tri? 1/3 mile swim is all I have to do. Thanks!


Bill

The first few swims will be terrible. Heck, my first few swims after taking a month off (due to lack of pool membership) were rough. Stick with it , it will come.

Take some iburprofen for the shoulder, run through a series of shoulder stretches as time permits, and hope it feels better.

Swim S L O W. Slower than that. Slower still. Initially, a pull buoy is your friend - it will let you concentrate on catch, pull, and body rotation. Also, you can ignore kicking with it, which means you'll be using significantly less oxygen since the legs aren't really doing anything, so you can learn a nice bilateral breathing pattern.

I started swimming in November 2012, and I was right there with you - I know how much it sucks initially. Today I did 4,200 yards. It will come. Focus on technique (there are tons of youtube videos out there) and keep building cardiovascular base for the swim.

And, of course, spend as much time in the water as you can. That was my mistake initially - once or twice per week just isn't enough to develop the technique and muscle memory.

Here's my thoughts. You injured yourself swimming. You need to rest that area before moving forward. If you keep swimming, a wise man on this board once told me that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Slow down, relax, work on form without over working, which leads to injury. If it were me, I'd focus on r/b for a few, give your injury some time. Next time in the pool, go super light, just to test, then go from there.

That is great advice... It's best to take the time to take care of it now. Since shoulder injuries can often be a result of bad form, really focus of your stroke. Don't try to hard - swimming at this point isn't about endurance - it's about getting things right so that when you add distance, your body will be able to handle it. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

As for your August tri - trust me - you will finish. That's your benchmark. If you can build up to 1/2 a mile by then - that's icing on the cake. All you need to do - is take care of yourself so you can get to the starting line.

Finally resolved my issue at work. After much thought, I have decided to go on sabbatical next year... I'm not getting paid, but I am going to be a lot happier.

Went for a ride tonight... it really felt good! Swim and hopefully a run... I'm feeling a little sore so we shall see.

Couldn't tell for sure from your post, but if you're new to swimming then I agree, you need to be in the water as much as possible.

However, f you've done it before and can do the strokes, just out of shape (that's my situation), then I'd suggest laying off for a while. You've got a lot of time until August, and the swim endurance will come with b/r fitness to some extent. I know a pretty competitive triathlete who doesn't swim at all in training (no pool access) but does just fine - he's a former lifeguard so he's comfortable with the technique and relies on his overall fitness to carry him on the swim. Rest, IB, and stretching/strengthening sound good, just don't end up hurting yourself even more by lifting weights

To your second question, I'm certainly not the expert here but simply for confidence I've been shooting for at least the race distance in my training, not using any formal training plan. Sprint I entered last fall was 1/4 mile so I made sure I could swim 4-500 comfortably by the time I got to it. Swim was canceled due to rough seas so I never got to test my plan, i.e. take that advice with a grain of salt. Curious what other people say?

Thanks for the input guys! I'm sure my form is pretty ugly at this point. I've done a lot of reading the past couple of days and hope to put everything together soon. What I tried today seemed to help my overall swim. My legs and butt didn't sink as much and I was a little more relaxed in the water. Just have to keep conditioning. I'm going to rest the shoulder for now, get the soreness out, and then rehab it. I've had lots of experience in that! Three previous reconstructions on my other shoulder. Just hate the "good" one is acting up. Hopefully I can give it a try sometime next week. Slow and steady. I appreciate the advice and words of encouragement!

Bill

Alex, let us know what you think about that float - I've been eyeballing it, want to do more OWS this summer and it seems like a nice thing to have along.

Edited by Ajokisch 2013-06-03 9:16 PM

YES!

I would not be running nearly as much today if I hadn't started taking our first one out for runs and letting my wife get a little breather. Patience is a function of personality, that one would start getting antsy after about an hour, but my middle one became my long run buddy, have had him out as much as 2 hours and he was completely content to sit back and enjoy. Little one is much the same.

I've had some great conversations with the kids on those runs, makes for good bonding time. Another benefit: kids all thought it looked cool, and when they were old enough they all wanted to wear their little running shoes and hop out on quiet streets to run next to me for a bit. Great example to set for your kids. Here's one more bonus: you can pack a whole lot of stuff with you - think you might want extra water? Maybe take a hat or jacket "just in case"? Far easier to throw in the stroller than find places to stash/tie it on your body. People always assume it's hard to push, but any decent jogger (i.e. large, non-steerable wheels) is a breeze once it gets rolling.

We don't have a trailer, but I have heard the same advice - get a double even if you don't think you'll need it, good for hauling extra entertainment, even a cousin/friend to amuse your kid.

Morning All - Thanks for posting your goals. If you can think of a way to do it better next week, please let me know. Now, take some time each day to support one another either through the forum or by "liking" a workout that one of our members did thaty day. I don't know how to get it on the forum but check my log - I have a list of everyone with links to their BT pages. Can't tell you how insiring a like can be after a tough workout.

As I mentioned yesterday - I made the decision not to return to the school where I work next year. I haven't been truly happy since I've been there but thanks to them I know that what I want to do now is teach. So, yesterday afternoon, I decided to go for a ride to make peace with that decision and I crushed that ride. I track my rides on Map My Ride and I got a text this morning that let me know that I set personal records on the three sections (or courses they may be called) that I rode on... I guess my body and bike are happy with my decision. I will now have the time next spring to focus on training for an IM in 2014. Who's with me? (Kevin - I know you will be there is spirit. I'll have your name on my hand ala Bobby

Have a great day!

DQ

Congrats on the new pr's! It's always good to make a decision and know what you are going for, good luck with the IM training!

Wow what a day yesterday! Had to get up at 400 to make it to a meeting in Santa Fe 170 miles from here then drive back in the afternoon and get our son ready for his baseball tournament in Clovis 85 miles away from here! 500 total miles of driving for the day! We didn't get home until 0100 this morning! Of course with all that driving my eating suffered, especially when I decided I needed Mountain Dew and Junk food to keep me awake for the drive home I did log everything though so I could see how terrible the calorie intake was. Oh well today is a new day going to go for a jog, then head to the pool for a swim. More baseball games tonight. Have a good day everyone!

Okay...more questions. What's your recommendation. A tri suit or pant and shirt separates? Got a couple of suits I'm looking at currently. A Pearl Izumi and a Sugoi. I dont know anything about Sugoi. Already have a few Peal things so I know it's pretty good stuff. Also, what do ya'll swim in at the pool? I'm sure I look real stylish in my beachwear, but it just doesn't seem right! And one more thing, I'm going tomorrow to get aero bars on my bike. What other addition/upgrades would you recommend? I' m sure I can't do it all now but want to plan for when I can. Thanks!

Bill

I'm in the same situation kind of learning to swim again. Just be patient and work into it slowly. There are lots of good videos on youtube that show technique and give suggestions on using pull buoys and kick boards to help you improve. I agree that the best thing to do is to get in the water as much as possible and go slow until you get used to it again. Good luck to you!

I would start out with separates. Try them on and figure out what feels best.
Get some swim jammers for the pool, although I always said my board shorts were a training aid with all the drag...
Not sure about your bike but I would definitely go with clipin shoes/pedals. Look, shimano, whatever works for you!
Also for your bike, if you haven't already get it fitted, especially if you are getting tri bars.
Now that being said, do you need all of that? No. If you have the money and the want than go to town otherwise go with the necessary.

Second that, glad to hear you got to a resolution and are happy with it. Good luck on that IM training, it's a loose goal of mine, so I'm looking forward to hearing about how you work towards it.

I race in a one piece tri suit - a Sugoi actually. It fits like a glove and doesn't hinder mobility at all. It isn't very modest at all though, but my wife thinks it is sexy, which is more than enough for me. My wife wears a trisuit too, and some of the panels are rather transparent.

So long as they fit, the only real difference is how hard it is to pee - separates will be easier. Personally, I find the trisuits to be more awesome.

In the pool, I started with a pair of knee-length speedo jammers (polyester). I just bought a second swimsuit, a pair of square-leg shorts. I wasn't entirely happy with the jammers, since there is just a tiny bit of restriction for frog-kick in breast stroke. My new square legs are not at all modest - not one bit. Speedos are 95% confidence and 5% physique .

Clip-in pedals (if you don't have them already) and aero-bars are solid additions. I would go with pedals before aerobars. Other "upgrades" I would recommend are a good training watch, like the Garmin 910xt or its ilk. I love my 910xt. A bike trainer and trainer road, if you don't already have it. Other than that, don't let your checkbook write checks your quads can't cash.


Edited by mirthfuldragon 2013-06-04 8:53 PM

Adrienne: "Your Goal Here"

Alex : "Your Goal Here"

Andres : "Your Goal Here"

Bill : "Your Goal Here"

Bobby : "Your Goal Here"

Charles : "Your Goal Here"

Cynthia : "Your Goal Here"

David : "Your Goal Here"

George : "Your Goal Here"

Jared : "Your Goal Here"

Jen : "Your Goal Here"

Kevin : "Your Goal Here"

Lenny : "Your Goal Here"

Thor : "Your Goal Here"

Podemma : "Your Goal Here"

Moonrocket:"Your Goal Here"

ockeme3 : "Your Goal Here"


So, as pretty as the new BT interface is, the lack of table features and its limited HTML capability is a major step backwards. As David asked, I've hand-coded the above in HTML. All you have to do is replace the text by your name in the "Your Goal Here" quotes. The quotes aren't necessary, but streamline the process a bit.

Great ride captain!
Which IM are you doing? My plans are still to hit IMFL in Nov this year as a volunteer to sign up for '14.

Just got off the "exercise bike" in the hotel fitness center (if you can call 2 treadmills and a bike a center). I had no idea how to run the bike so I just focused on keeping my cadence up for 30 min at various intensity levels, as I found those buttons. The bike said I went 8.4 mile but I'm not so sure that is accurate. Guess all that matters is I got my heart rate up for 30 solid minutes. Gonna brave the streets in the morning for a nice run.

I decided to go the separate route. I still have a pretty nice gut on me and just do not feel I had the confidence to pull off a 1 piece.
I picked up a pair of Sugoi short and have worn them for a few swims, rides, and runs. They are comfortable and seem well constructed. I can't comment on durability since I have only had them for a few months.

Travel is tough, although I've had some of my best runs while traveling - some obvious ones like the Lakeshore trail in Chicago, others in the oddest places. Who knew downtown Omaha, NE had some great running? Just Google "running [insert city name]" and see what comes up.

Hotels vary, I know what you mean. I've had some like what you describe, others with nice gyms, even free weights. Good luck.

Bill,

Having just completed my first triathlon, I am no expert, but I went with a suit. Since I wear bibs for cycling, a single piece suit was easy to go with. Mine is a Sugio and it worked quite well. Didn't have to worry about the shorts or shirt moving - which I hate! The padding was enough for the bike ride to be noticeable (in a good way) and didn't get in the way for the run.

I have this model:

http://www.sugoi.com/usa/tri/men/suits-1/rs-tri-suit.html

As for what to wear at the pool...I use Speedo Jammers:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053ZK7LO/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=...

After I got over the fact that I don't look like the person modeling them, I have really grown to like them. If nothing else, I love not having my bathing suit hold 10 gallons of water when I get out. :-)

Best of luck.

George