Todd's Tri Turtles 4 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10K) CLOSED (Page 19)

Originally posted by Suzie471

Felt like I had a good week. Still trying to fit workouts in with my work and husband. Managed to make it to the pool twice, ran 3 days and biked 3 days and got strength training in for 4 days. The weather just hasn't been cooperating, I just can't bring myself to run in this bitter cold weather. If it wasn't for my running group, I wouldn't be running at all outside. I'm getting tired of the treadmill and getting more tired of my bike trainer. I'm starting to wonder if we will be seeing warmer weather any time soon?

Food wise I have been doing good. Logging everything on MFP and haven't been cheating on any logs or meals. Down 1.5lbs this week and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm a great meal planner and I have everything cooked and ready in portions for my upcoming week. Althought I've been doing well, I still feel like I'm not doing enough and that I will not be ready for my first Sprint Tri in Alpirl. I'm staring to feel discourage. Not sure if it's the weather or lack of sleep on my part. I just feel tired and wondering what I should be doing different? I just want to feel more confident.

Originally posted by Lizfuze

Nicole,

You brought up a lot of good points. I thought It was important to go from bike to run as fast as I can without resting between because that will be what we are doing during our event, but, if I take more time to rest and recover between maybe I will have a better workout for each

So, thought. Are you working out multiple times a day? Swim in the morning. Bike or run in the evening? I have been doing whatever workouts that are scheduled at the same time and always after my long work days.

Honestly until it warms up I don't think I can get up any earlier and especially get in a cold pool. Maybe run and bike when it is warm out.

Sounds like people are really doing great. I have been asking around at my Y. Master swim starts next Sunday I am going to try that for any pointers, and I talked with a local bike guy that will help fit me with a bike that should work well for me.

I registered for a 5K next month and put a bike tour on my planner for May. I saw where my sprint has opened registration now. I'm a little nervous yet so didn't register

Everyone have a great week of training. You are all very inspiring

Originally posted by Suzie471

Felt like I had a good week. Still trying to fit workouts in with my work and husband. Managed to make it to the pool twice, ran 3 days and biked 3 days and got strength training in for 4 days. The weather just hasn't been cooperating, I just can't bring myself to run in this bitter cold weather. If it wasn't for my running group, I wouldn't be running at all outside. I'm getting tired of the treadmill and getting more tired of my bike trainer. I'm starting to wonder if we will be seeing warmer weather any time soon?

Food wise I have been doing good. Logging everything on MFP and haven't been cheating on any logs or meals. Down 1.5lbs this week and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm a great meal planner and I have everything cooked and ready in portions for my upcoming week. Althought I've been doing well, I still feel like I'm not doing enough and that I will not be ready for my first Sprint Tri in Alpirl. I'm staring to feel discourage. Not sure if it's the weather or lack of sleep on my part. I just feel tired and wondering what I should be doing different? I just want to feel more confident.

Originally posted by Smiley9188

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so very much for your condolences. I'm doing really well. Last week I gave myself a pass. this week i'm back at it. I'm signing up for a 5k with my husband in a few weeks so I'm working on my running speed and biking endurance. I'm putting swimming on a back burner until my mom heads back to florida after the funeral services in a few weeks. (I was a competitive swimmer all childhood.) on my treadmill workouts I feel weak, man really weak. I don't expect to 'place' in my races but I don't want to just 'do' it. I want to kick butt. How can I do that? any ideas?

i need to figure out how to 'train' on my bike trainer. any suggestions without spending any more money?

I'm really inspired by what everyone is doing. It's a really awesome group to have stumbled upon. i'm in awe of you all!

Originally posted by Gabby'smom

Todd, (or other experienced Turtles)

I am using the zero to 1650 swim program as my swim training. Spend two weeks getting up to par to start the program and will start the second week of the program this week. Is this sufficient training for my first tri or should I be doing a more focused training? I felt like I needed a good base prior to doing anything more specific, but don't want d-day to arrive and not have trained sufficiently. I am just plugging in the days of zero to 1650 into the swim days of my training. Using a sprint plan from "Your First Triathlon" by Joe Friel.

Michelle

Originally posted by Smiley9188

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so very much for your condolences. I'm doing really well. Last week I gave myself a pass. this week i'm back at it. I'm signing up for a 5k with my husband in a few weeks so I'm working on my running speed and biking endurance. I'm putting swimming on a back burner until my mom heads back to florida after the funeral services in a few weeks. (I was a competitive swimmer all childhood.) on my treadmill workouts I feel weak, man really weak. I don't expect to 'place' in my races but I don't want to just 'do' it. I want to kick butt. How can I do that? any ideas?

i need to figure out how to 'train' on my bike trainer. any suggestions without spending any more money?

I'm really inspired by what everyone is doing. It's a really awesome group to have stumbled upon. i'm in awe of you all!

Originally posted by Suzie471

Thanks Michelle, Liz & Colleen

I think I am just feeling a little stressed knowing that I only really have the month of March left for training and the weather has just been awful here for me to get my bike out and also to run. I know that I never will be fast in my swimming and I have been working on that, but I wish I could be more confident in my swimming. I have done a Sprint Tri last year and I am only competitive with myself and what goes on in my head, LOL! . I would just like to see a little improvement. I am ok with bringing up the rear, I just want to stay in the right frame of mind and keep a "Happy Heart" while I do it. I think I would feel so much better if I could just get outside and ride and run some.

You guys are so right about eating enough to fuel your body. I do watch what I eat and I think I am doing a pretty good job at getting enough in. Some days are always better than others of course Part of my problem I think is just that I work strange hours, 3p-5a and with working out sometimes I don't make sleep a priority. My husband gets on me all the time about not getting enough sleep. I need to work on that.

Thanks for all you encouraging words! It really does help keep me motivated and I Love reading how all of you are doing to!!

Originally posted by Smiley9188

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so very much for your condolences. I'm doing really well. Last week I gave myself a pass. this week i'm back at it. I'm signing up for a 5k with my husband in a few weeks so I'm working on my running speed and biking endurance. I'm putting swimming on a back burner until my mom heads back to florida after the funeral services in a few weeks. (I was a competitive swimmer all childhood.) on my treadmill workouts I feel weak, man really weak. I don't expect to 'place' in my races but I don't want to just 'do' it. I want to kick butt. How can I do that? any ideas?

i need to figure out how to 'train' on my bike trainer. any suggestions without spending any more money?

I'm really inspired by what everyone is doing. It's a really awesome group to have stumbled upon. i'm in awe of you all!

Originally posted by allan_c

Well, I am plodding away on my 12 week training plan and generally doing OK. I am still worried about my swim. Yikes! I feel like progress is mm at a time. I have been primarily working on my freestyle, and I really can't do more than 50 yards continuous freestyle. Yesterday I decided to try a different strategy, and I did 4 x 100, alternating freestyle and breast stroke every 25, but making myself keep going. Then I did 100 with the pull buoy, another 2 x100 alternating freestyle and breast, and finished with 100 breast. I am hoping this will help build my endurance and that I can alternate with work-outs where I really work on technique and drills. My hope is that I'll get to the point where those alternating strokes go away and it's all freestyle...is this a crazy approach? I really need to get on the ball and sign up for some lessons.

Any advice welcome...
Catherine

Originally posted by Team-S

Hi Todd and everybody, I have some questions about GPS watches. I have never worn one, I use my phone for music, intervals and time. I have a fitness wearable to track calories, steps, sleep, etc. So, what do the GPS watches do for you? Whats good, whats bad?

Originally posted by Smiley9188


You are inspiring too! Whoever you are! can you make yourself a signature so we can see who you are? Good luck at the masters swim. that's awesome. And the 5k! whoo hoo! And just register for teh sprint! do it'. you'll feel exhilarated!

Ok I have attempted to make a signature. Set a goal. Reach it. Repeat. Liz. Fort Wayne indiana

Originally posted by 2NewKnees



Catherine....what you described above makes a lot of sense and it seemed to work well for you. Now, I'm still a newbie at swimming as well. Spent most of last year just trying to improve and still trying to improve. So you can certainly take anything I might say with a grain of salt.....I looked through some of my old practices and came across this one. Perhaps you could use some or all of it; modify it in anyway you'd like. But, it did give me some structure and organization to my time in the pool.

So here goes....(some terms-"drill" was just making sure having my head down, to keep my butt from dropping, high elbows,breathing technique etc, drill is unique to what anyone needs to concentrate on; "best stroke" is just that, whatever my best stroke looks like; "ri" is rest intervals.) Oh, and on my warm up, the early lengths I'd walk a portion and swim a portion just to get loose. Consider that as well.

200 warm up; Warm up set - 8x25 drill @15 sec ri; 8x25 best stroke @15 sec ri; Main Set - 300 pull buoy in a little over 8:00; 2x75 swim @20 sec ri; 4x25 swim @15 sec ri; 2x25 very easy-ok to walk some here. Rest then repeat the Main set. Cool down - 100 ok to walk some here too.

I think that's around 1900 yards; try at least some of it; time can be an issue as well I'm sure. Other practices can have longer sets without the pull buoy; I'm backing off kick board sets since the bike trainer gives my legs a tiring workout.

I hope this helps.

Originally posted by nekomidori

Hello everyone, ( this is long)
This is the new drills I am working on plus what I have already learned.
Warm up150yd kick board( I feel like I'm crawling with this but I feel it will work out in the end.) yes my quads feel heavy after a previous day on the bike.
50 yd each side side stroke( one arm out on a kick board the other on my thigh while I flutter kick)
150yd Freestyle
50 fist drill (hand like loose fist). This is to work on the power in my forearms.
50yd zipper drill( arm comes over then down to side, once it gets to my thigh I run my hand up my body(zip it up)and then reach and pull again. Both arms
50 yd new drill 6 in front
On my side one arm out the other on my leg. Flutter kick 6 times roll onto stomach face into the water blowing out( when you roll the arm on the leg comes over and both hands are out straight like superman). Flutter kick 3 times then roll to the opposite side. This is to help get the head and arms positioned right for the breathing.
50ydNew drill- I think it is called out in front you do freestyle but when you bring your arms to the front you put your hand into the water with more purpose and pull. This is to work on the power in the pulling hand/arm. Alternate as you swim with both hands.
Cool down
100 yd freestyle
I hope I wrote that so it is easy to understand.
As far as the bike goes. There are drills too. I will talk to my husband as to what they are.
I have been doing a warm up on an easier gear for 5 minutes then change to a harder gear. I keep my cadence between 75-88. I also watch my heart rate and try to keep it at a a good burn. This has been hard with my cold and my other workouts.
Yesterday, I added in a strength program of upper, lower and core workout. My trainer helped me to put together something that worked more than one muscle group at a time. This is good because she wants me to do this 2x a week.
Someone asked if I do my workouts back to back to be like a brick training. I do them like that only because of time in my schedule. When I have time I notice I can get a stronger workout in with a few hours between sessions.

I have to say I was feeling tired last night and feeling like I didn't want to workout today. . I got my bag set up last night and set out dishes for breakfast and my water bottle and tea cup. I got up this morning and my brain went into autopilot. There weren't any negative thoughts in my head. It was just my rhythm. I was a bit tired in the pool but I felt my body getting it. Slowly slowly, I have actually made it across the 25 yd (pool length) without stopping. That is my goal. I normally stop 1-2 times. I also rest after each lap 30-60 seconds.
I got an adjustment with the chiropractor today and I'm so excited I have an hour and a half massage today!! I can't wait.
I was showing my muscles to my children. My youngest told me to do like this ( gun show, show off my arms). I laughed then I looked down and realized some muscles from cooking were beginning to come back. I can see my quads starting to show through my "winter coat" (layer of extra fat).
I have dropped 1.8% body fat, when I checked in with my trainer. The scale is not my friend anymore but I love my tape measure. Tomorrow is my rest day. Keep up your hard work everyone!

Originally posted by allan_c

Small Victory today! I did a run-swim work-out this AM. The run felt great...first one in a while where I wasn't counting the seconds until I reached my time. I went to the pool feeling like Iw wasn't up for a hard swim, but decided to push myself. I did and easy 50 breast w/o then started my 4x100 set with 30sri (down from 45s ri at my last work-out). I alternated 25 mfree/25 m breast. Then I did 100 with the pull buoy. My plan was to do another 4x100 with alternating breast/free, but I decided to push myself. The first 100 I did free/free/breast/free and felt pretty good, so the next 100 I did all free. This is the first time I have ever been able to do 100 free without stopping. I feel like my consistency with the swim work-outs over the last several weeks is paying off. I even feel like the free might be getting easier than the breast, as I think I am getting into a better rhythm with it. I finished off the last 2 of the 4x100 with free/free/breast/free and then free/free/breast/breast. It felt great!

Here's my question for folks. My training plan has me doing a light week 1 in 4 weeks. When I looked at the schedule for next week it seemed ridiculously light, and since I am only up to 25 min run, 900 y swim, 35 min bike (not all together), wouldn't cutting back right now be too soon? Should I really do a light week already? My major hurdle is building an aerobic base, and I am afraid I will lose ground in that realm if I cutback to the degree my training plan suggests (for instance, back to 10 min run).

I would love to hear your advice on this one!

Originally posted by allan_c Small Victory today! I did a run-swim work-out this AM. The run felt great...first one in a while where I wasn't counting the seconds until I reached my time. I went to the pool feeling like Iw wasn't up for a hard swim, but decided to push myself. I did and easy 50 breast w/o then started my 4x100 set with 30sri (down from 45s ri at my last work-out). I alternated 25 mfree/25 m breast. Then I did 100 with the pull buoy. My plan was to do another 4x100 with alternating breast/free, but I decided to push myself. The first 100 I did free/free/breast/free and felt pretty good, so the next 100 I did all free. This is the first time I have ever been able to do 100 free without stopping. I feel like my consistency with the swim work-outs over the last several weeks is paying off. I even feel like the free might be getting easier than the breast, as I think I am getting into a better rhythm with it. I finished off the last 2 of the 4x100 with free/free/breast/free and then free/free/breast/breast. It felt great! Here's my question for folks. My training plan has me doing a light week 1 in 4 weeks. When I looked at the schedule for next week it seemed ridiculously light, and since I am only up to 25 min run, 900 y swim, 35 min bike (not all together), wouldn't cutting back right now be too soon? Should I really do a light week already? My major hurdle is building an aerobic base, and I am afraid I will lose ground in that realm if I cutback to the degree my training plan suggests (for instance, back to 10 min run). I would love to hear your advice on this one!