Greg Shotts' Mentor Group - Full (Page 2)

Charlie:  Thank you for the advice.  I will look for a tri club.  I live in a rural area with the nearest club probably 50 miles away - but I think it would be worth the drive to participate in a group swim.  That is a big part of my fears - all the thrashing around, plus the feeling like my wet suit is too tight to breath.  I plan on doing more wetsuit open water swims prior to any races. 

Bill

I think I've made up my mind to do the Honolulu Olympic Triathlon on May 16th. I went ahead and imported an Oly 12 week plan into my log. The swims seem pretty long at times but from what I've read the BT plans tend to be heavy in the swim training.

I prefer to do my swimming in the ocean. I live in Hawaii so I have that luxury. I've never followed a training program in regards to swimming, ie. drills. I've pretty much just swam for distance while focusing on form. Sometimes I'll throw in some finger-tip drags or fist strokes to try and correct some of the problems I have with my form. My problem is that most of the other drills I'm not even sure if I'm doing them correctly as I don't have (nor do I ever plan on having) a swim coach.

There is a masters swim club in a nearby community pool that I attended a few times when I was training a few years ago. The experience was completely discouraging. I can never keep track of my laps. I could not keep up with the pace outlined on the day's workout but the distances were also more than I could handle. At that time I had already swam a practice 2.4 mile OWS just to see if I could finish the distance so I know I can make it to T1.

I guess my question is what do you guys think about swim training/drills for someone who is only looking to "complete" an Oly with a sense of accomplishment? I've never considered the swim portion of any triathlon to be so important that it warranted so much attention above finishing the required distance somewhere in the MOP. I'm not looking to place in my AG... I just want to participate and finish.

I know swim drills would "help" me if I wanted to dedicate a few months of training to focus on my swim... but I really don't want to beat myself up over not doing them either. Comments?

WooHoo. My wetsuit came in today!  Can’t wait to try it out.  I was saddened to see that swimming in chlorinated pools would void the warranty.  Had there not been a restrction, I would have tried it out this evening. 

My question is this:  How cold is too cold?  I used to surf many years ago and would regularly get into the water during the spring and fall when the H2O temps were in the 60’s.  Right now a few of the lakes I can swim in are in the 50’s.   The Y has me spoiled / ruined because the h2o temps are in the 80’s .  They use the pool for low impact water aerobics and physical therapy thus the high temps.  Thoughts from any you fellow group members.  What are the water temps for you all that live north of the Mason Dixon line?

Does anyone train with a wetsuit in a pool? 

Art- you are one lucky guy.  You live in one of the nicest places on earth. What is the job market like out there?

Charlie- I don't own one of these yet but I've been doing research on them for a while. 

http://www.polarusa.com/us-en/products/maximize_performance/cycling/RS800CX_PTE

I have not yet pulled the trigger simply because I have several of the functions in separate devices I already own.  For example I have a simple HRM, a nice cyclocomputer with cadence that can be switched between multiple bikes with different  wheel/tire sizes, and recently the GPS features on smart phones works well for tracking my runs and rides on the roads and on the trails.  The one disadvantage I have is cannot track swim distances but the majority of my swimming, so far, is in the pool. 

If I did not already have most of my necessities and I wanted an all-in-one device the Polar would be my pick.  One of my buddies has one and it is pretty slick.  The watch is sleek enough you can wear it to the office.  Some fashionistas may call you out on if you wear it with a suit but who cares.

Dee,

I say "Go for it" too.  Just sign up for a sprint and do it with the equipment you have. Use your old bike or borrow a friend's bike. 

On the drive to the tri you'll feel awkward and self-conscious, but once you get there you'll see all shapes and sizes and ages of people, on all shapes and sizes and ages of bikes, in all kinds of crazy outfits. You won't feel self-conscious any more. And I think you'll have a blast! 

You've covered the distances easily in training, so you know you can do this physically! Go for it! Then you'll really get hooked.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Joann

 

I'm kind of in the same boat regarding registration apprehension. I've only recently come back to training after a 2 year layoff. I have a bunch of weight to lose and an equal amount of fitness to regain. I optimistically decided to shoot for the Honolulu Triathlon (Oly) on 5/16. However, given my current weight and fitness I don't feel I'll be where I want to be come race day. I'm sure I could trudge through to the finish line but I want to do better than just trudge through. There is a sprint distance for that race... I've done a couple of sprints (2 years ago)... just not real excited to do a sprint. I don't know... just thinking out loud.

I am back in the saddle after being ill for a few days – I think the training I was doing helped me get over the crud faster than others at work.   

I have not yet pulled the trigger either.  My goal was to do one sprint and 2 Olympics this year – but there is a local HIM late in the year (9/11) that has a fairly flat bike and run with a lake swim in warm water.  I do not know if I can be ready for the HIM.

What training plans have any of you used from the BT site?  Did you like it? 

I have been using my simple HR monitor watch for training, but it does not track and I pretty much have to stop running or biking to take a reading.  I have been looking at the new Garmin and use it to replace my bike computer. 

I am confused about the whole heart rate guidelines.  I know about website where you put in age, etc and it calculates the various percentages.  That seems a bit canned though.  Since I have been training I have dropped my resting HR from about 60 to 48 – my doc said it is a bit low now.  How do you determine your 70% effort, 80% etc?

Go for it Dee!  You too Ed! You both can do it.  Like Chris said, sign up!  For me, once I’ve signed up and paid the money for the event the looming deadline motivates me to get out and swim, ride, or run.  You can’t fake a tri like you can a 5k run or a charity ride.  It holds you accountable.

 It is hard to get out the door when it is cold out or if you’ve had a particularly long day work  or if you were supposed to ride but life does what it does and the plan does not materialize.  Scratch the ride for the day and get in a run instead or put the bike on a trainer or whatever.  Once I’m out doing what ever it is I’m doing I enjoy myself and feel much better when I’m done. 

 Also, as we say here in Texas, Y’all don’t forget to wish our mentor, Greg, good luck in the Houston Marathon on the 17^th of this month.