Give it a Tri - CLOSED (Page 2)

Hi everybody,

Just a few words about myself:

Name: Lars

Age: 43

Location: Andorra (Europe)

Story: I have always practised sport: athletics, handball, soccer, volleyball. Then I focused more on running and ran some marathons and HMs. One day I saw a summary of the Frankfurt Ironman and I knew that some day I wanted to do (something like) that. So I started preparing for the Barcelona Tri Olympic distance. However, one week before (!), my apendix decided to explode and then gangrene... quite a mess, making swimming impossible for some months. But as I am living in the mountains I decided to take up trail running and last july I did a 83K 5000m +/- race. Fantastic experience. Then I went on to prepare for the NYC marathon the entry ticket to which my bosses had given me. Well, you know the story... Two months later I simply needed another goal and it was rather obvious: The Wild Wolf tri series by Polar also take place right here in Andorra. Therefore: Objective: sprint tri 21 July. 

Family: have been with Maria for 16 years now and we live together with her mother (and 9 cats and 2 dogs by the way). Maria's 3 kids are grown-ups and left home years ago. Actually I'm a step-grandad.

Job: language teacher, an on and off secretary job as well, dabbling in history (MA in history, mainly historical criminology), and studying law at open university.

Current training: Nothing structured yet. I will try to train 3-4 times a week. I run/bike to the sports centre (3K), swim a little, then back. I start slow but will hopefully soon be able to increase time and distance. Yesterday I swam 1200 m alternating breaststroke and freestyle - 1000m in 28 minutes. For me that's good but the time obviously has to be improved. I'm taking it easy though; there's a lot to work on but I want it to be fun.

Last years races: I have never done any triathlons. Last year I did the before-mentioned trail race and was all ready to run in NYC hoping for 3:30. I'm not fast but I consider that I have endurance, also mentally.

2013 races: I hope to do a sprint tri in July. No other plans (yet).

Weight loss: After NYC I didn't exercise for 2 months but happily ate and drank as usual. So, yes, I ought to get rid of some 6 kg. 

Take care

Lars

Hey All, 

Can I be a newbie too?

Name:  Julie May (31)

Location: Chicago

Story: I'm recently divorced and while packing up my things, I found a list of "Things to Do Before I Die" and Triathlon was very near the top.  So I said, what better time than now!   I've done a few 5k runs in the past but, running is my biggest challenge.   I've always been into sports including competitive swimming while in school.  I love to take my mountain bike to the trails in the 'burbs or along the lake front.  

Family Status:  Divorced, no kids.

Job:  Accountant

Current Training:  I normally go to the gym 3-4 days a week, mostly cardio with one day of weights and one day of yoga.

Last Year's Races:  A 5k that I completed without stopping...big deal for me that year since I was so out of shape.

2013 Races:  I'm looking to register for a Sprint Tri in July and start a strict training program by mid Feb.

Weight Loss: I've lost ~25 lbs over the past year mostly due to eating a healthier diet (my ex was a bad influence) and going to the gym more often since I have more time.  I would love to get into better shape, but I am sure that will be a nice side effect of the try training.

What will make me a good mentee: I'm a very determined person.  When I make up my mind about something, it will happen.  So this is it; I am going to do it!  I just need to figure out what I am getting myself into... it looks like there is plenty of info on this site to help, but I am feeling a little information overload.  I guess I know what I will be reading at nights.

I would love to be a part of this group to discuss training and prepping for the triathlon season this summer, it will be my first as a multisport athlete!

Name: Jason Showers (18) 

Location: Minnetonka, MN

Story: 18 year old college student, originally enrolled at St. Olaf college but transferring to the University of Minnesota. I was a football and baseball guy in high school, but ran track the spring of my senior year and had a great summer of training and walked on to the cross country team at St. Olaf in the fall. I am now looking at getting into triathlon, hence my desire to be a part of this group!

Family Status:  Son to two great parents, one sister

Job:  Student

Current Training: Run approx 4 days a week, bike 3, swim 2. 

Last Year's Races:  5k in 17:16, 8k in 28:30, Half Marathon in 1:27, 2 short indoor triathlons

2013 Races:  I'm looking to register for a couple sprint tris and maybe an olympic distance at the end of the season.

Weight Loss: 6 feet tall, racing weight around 155, currently 165 due to a couple months of injury/sickness/sporadic training combined with the great food around the holiday season. Getting re-focused on nutrition and training so the weight should come off fairly easily.  

What will make me a good mentee: I am dedicated and intense about my passions, and endurance sport is becoming a big one for me! I have a fairly solid running base, and am a pretty natural swimmer, but need to improve power and aerobic strength for biking. I love any information on triathlon as well as the sense of community and drive that it provides. 

I'm not quite sure I understand how this whole forum is supposed to work, but I understand it is a place for us to bounce questions off of each other. If I'm supposed to do this a different way, someone tell me.....otherwise, here goes.

I'm very new to swimming. I learned to swim as a youngster at the YMCA, and from that time forward swimming was for hot summer days and involved mostly horseplay. Now that I'm working toward my first sprint, I'm starting to lap swim with some modest success. While swimming earlier this week I worked relatively hard for about 20 minutes. Almost immediately afterward my neck got very stiff, to the point I'm having a hard time looking straight up. It is now a few days later and I'm still sore, but can feel I'm recovering. So the question is, should this be expected, or am I doing something wrong?

Anne, Steve, Julie and Jason,

 Welcome and congrats on taking a big step into Triathlons.  

All,

We are getting a good gang together here, I'll keep it open another day or two to see if we get any more members.  After that it'll just be us helping each other out.

r/

Mike

Steve,

 This is exactly how this group is supposed to work.  You ask questions and I do my best to answer, as well as get input from the rest of the group.  We are getting a good mix of experiences with the people we are assembling.

As for your swimming question:  Sounds like natural muscle soreness stemming from using muscles you may have not used in a while.  First caveat:  I am not a doctor, if the pain lasts more than a couple of days or you have numbness then forget anything I say and see a real professional.  That being said, swimming is one of the few "total body" workouts.  You will end up using trapeizius and latissimus muscles which don't get much attention in other disciplines.  After long breaks, I do find my neck, back, triceps and hip flexors will be sore following a strenuous workout.  Perhaps dial your intensity back a bit for the next swim workout and see how that treats you.

All, one of the greatest challenges in training for a scheduled race is feeling you have to get up to distance and speed right away.  Starting out with only a 5-10 minute workout and slowly build up to 20-30 will serve you better than push yourself into a workout you aren't ready to survive and then injure yourself.  An injury will derail all of your training plans far more than just being slightly behind in mileage or time because you are taking it slow prior to a race. 

r/

Mike

I'd love to join a supportive group with an awesome mentor to learn and motivate me to reach my goals.

Name:  Jasmine, 31, female

Location:  will be moving to  St. Louis, MO next week

Story:  I decided to learn how to swim last year and made a goal of it to do a sprint triathlon, which I did.  I have had foot problems since training for a half marathon in 2008, which I never accomplished.  The foot problem that reemerged last December and is making it difficult to train.  The so-called diagnosis is a "pre"stress fracture at the lateral side of my foot (I have worn orthotics since 2008, but not sure if it's working now).  I find training for triathlons much more fun than running, in fact I don't like running.  

Family Status:  in a relationship, no kids

Job:  newly registered nurse

Current Training:  trying to rehab my foot.  I am currently doing cycling class and some swimming. I am confused as to how to train for a triathlon without furthering my injury (would LOVE some advice).  I'd like to incorporate boot camp classes, but again my foot and unknown work schedule is conflicting. 

Last Year's Races: 10K race giants race in San Francisco,  Mermaid sprint triathlon in Alameda, CA

2013 Races:  would like to do a sprint triathlon (March through May), olympic triathlon towards end of year  is what I really want to do, but I am very scared about the run portion  

Weight Loss: I am 5'2" and my current weight is 128lbs, but my goal is to lose 10 lbs or even better, lose fat.  I have a humongous sweet tooth and not very good with portion control.  

Hi everybody,

As it's not possible to get outside on the real bike these days - winter doesn't allow for it and more snowfalls have been announced for the weekend - many of us have to resort to the static bike at home or in the gym.

Basically, I'm just stomping along on the more sophisticated ones in the gym and likewise on the granny-type one we have at home.

However, I was thinking that there ought to be some "techniques" to be used in order to make my stomping more profitable, i.e. resistance, time, standing, sprinting, repeats (in some way) etc.

Any experiences or ideas on that?

Regards,

Lars

Great questions Steve and response from Mike too.  Mike you are very thorough with you responses which is greatly appreciated.  Just to add in.  Could it be also that you need to stretch pre and post swim? You didn't specifically state that you do. Since I haven't been swimming in a long time what type of stretches are best pre and post swim?

Best of luck Steve as you work out the soreness.  Ibuprofen and stretching helps me after I lift weights for the first time after a long break.  Next week I will be starting my swim training, so I am sure I will feel some of your pain.

Chris

G'Day all!

Glad to have this forum. I have a question that all of you might be able to answer. I am sorry to say, but sometimes I hit these lows and find it incredibly difficult to stick to my training. I have just hit such a low. It started when the rain started. After many months of drought and warm mornings, we have had torrential rain and the days are getting shorter. Autumn is on its way. Getting out of bed at 5am is a struggle, even our sheep are not bleating at 5:15am anymore. I have changed my work out, probably not a good idea, 2 weeks before an event, considering the gym (which I hate with a passion) and I give in to my inner little voice of "oh I'm so stiff from previous workouts..."

What is your strategy to get back on track?

Have a great day!

LSBerlin - when I find my motivation is lagging I write down my goals and read them out loud to myself. I then tell myself that I can make the choice, I have the power to achieve those or not, it just depends on how much I want it. That usually gets me going because it makes me think that if I skip a workout there is no excuse, I am just choosing to be lazy. But then again, if you are really fatigued and lacking motivation to train is it possible you have been overtraining? Focus on more sleep, good nutrition, and maybe taking a lighter volume week to see if that gets you mentally ready to get back at it.

I have two questions of my own:

I am planning on doing about 4 bike workouts a week for a while, 1 easy spin recovery of 60 min, 2 threshold/interval workouts of 60-90 min, and 1 one long ride of 2-3.5 hours on the weekend with a mix of hard/easy bouts thrown in. On those long rides, at what point do I want to take in some calories? I figure 2 hours to be about as long as I would want to go with just water, but am not sure about bike nutrition.

Also, swimming is my weakest of the 3 sports. My muscular endurance in the pool is not great, I can manage 2-2.5k at most in a workout before my triceps, chest, and lats are just burning. Any advice on how to up the muscular endurance? Is strength training necessary? Or will it just come with more swimming?

Thanks

Hi,

Regarding your question about nutrition and biking, I found when I was training for century rides in the past it was figuring out the answer to your question that helped me get to the next level.  I found that I'd start to "bonk" (run out of gas) at around 2 hours.  However if I waited until that time to start to get some food in me it was too late.  After some experimenting, I found that when I knew I was going on a ride longer than 2 hours, that I should start nibbling on something or drinking some sports drink after about 45 minutes, and then continue to do so every 30 minutes or so.  On really long rides (3+ hours), I would usually stop at a convenience store at about 3 hours and get something more, like peanut butter crackers, peanuts, gatorade or a powerbar.  I'm sure it is different for everyone, but that was my experience.

As to your swimming question....I'm no help there.

Cheers!

Ok gang, we are now closed.  I think we have 12.  Thats a good number.

Oops, I was just about to write the message to end all messages, the single greatest triathlon tip ever, and life has interrupted and I need to go handle a little drama...(nothing bad).  Will come back on later and see if I remember what my sage advice was going to be... 

Cheers JCS, I guess I sometimes forget my motivation... Will have a good session thinking tonight

Training week 1 of 25

Taking into account that my goal is a sprint tri in July, this week's training has been (should anyone be interested):

Monday: Run: 5K / Swim: 1000m alternating 25m breaststroke/freestyle in 28 mins

Tuesday: Bike: 30 mins on our granny static bike at home

Wednesday: -

Thursday: Bike: 15 K on static bike in gym in 32 mins (I noticed I hadn't sat on any kind of bike for quite some time; you probably know the feeling) + upper body weights

Friday: -

Saturday: Run 5K / Swim: 1600m (15x100m + 100 splashing easily)

Sunday: -

Comments: 

Weights: As I have been doing mostly running for many years, my upper body has to be strengthened. Low resistance and 20-25 repeats. I also have a rubber band at home, which I use at least once a week.

Swimming: In general I try to alternate technique, speed and continuous swimming. There's still a lot to work on, but doing for example 15x100 as yesterday allows me to control technique, leg movement, and breathing (bilateral every 3). Still, I noticed that my left arm too often goes straight down or waves out to the left. I'm slooooow and the 100s take 2:15 - 2:40. On a really good day I can do 50m in 60 secs.

Any comments welcome.

Regards,

Lars

Mike, 

When you get back on to make your "epic" post,  I'm hoping you could address one other thing for me. As I plan out my Feb-March-April base building phase, I was wondering when to schedule in the long ride and long run? This week I rode 2 hours on Saturday and ran 12 miles (90 min) on Sunday. On Friday I had done an easy 5 mile run and 1.5k swim, so I felt fresh and had a good ride Saturday. On Sunday, I was a bit fatigued and got through the run okay, but it felt harder than it should have. I know there are some different schools of thought on this issue, most notably:

1. Ride long saturday, run long sunday to get better at running while slightly fatigued from the bike

2. Run long saturday to be fresh, ride long sunday because it is less taxing than running

3. Split them up. Run long mid-week and ride long saturday or sunday with a easy/moderate brick or swim the other weekend day

What do you think would be best for me at this time? I am willing to try out some different strategies to see what works best

Hey gang,

  Completely lost the epic post topic.  Guess we'll just have to muddle through it.  Let me see if I can try and sort through some of the questions in just one post though.

1.  Welcome to Jasmine.  I know what that "pre-stress fracture" thing is about as I've had that.  The only thing to do is stay off of it.  "soft" injuries like this are actually worse that a full break, as they take longer to heal.  To get a little running work in without agrivating your foot would be try running in the pool.  It is ridiculous looking, but put on the swim belt to keep you upright and go run in the water. (Do it in deep water so you don't touch the bottom until the foot is pain free).  This will give you some resistance and work the leg muscles.  It isn't completely the same as going for a run, but does simulate better than anything else you could do.  But you absolutely have to rest it or it will never stop hurting.

2. Motivation.  Motivation will come and go over a training season.  Especially in the winter.  For me, having a scheduled race is one of the best ways to stay on training, as you can set a count down.  Its harder to make deals with yourself about postponing training when you only have a set number of days until show time.  This is where Tri shows itself as a better sport than just running or biking.  If you don't have the motivation to go out and run, then go bike or swim instead.  Go ski, spin, P90X or yoga...almost anything you do will provide you some sort of benefit for your upcoming Triathlon.  Mix it up to keep it interesting.

3.  Swimming endurance.  The only way to get better and swimming is to swim.  Muscle pain and endurance will increase as you add distance and speed sets to your workout.  If you are already in the thousands of yards in a training session, then you are quite ready for a sprint or olympic race.  Keep in mind that as you train, this is true with any event, you will make great progress for a while and then plateau where you don't see any gains.  With a little more effort, you will then hit another gain period followed by another plateau.  This is normal.   Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.   For technique issues, recommend isolating which ever part is not behaving.  If you've got an arm not moving correctly, then do some single arm drills.   Swimming is all about technique and muscle memory.  You need to program your body to perform the motion without you having to concentrate on it.  The only way to do that is to do it over and over again correctly.

4.  Long runs.  There are as many theories as there are people for when/how to do training, especially when to fit in long days.  This will sound like a cop-out, but "it depends on the individual".  Only you know your body and your schedule.  The vast majority of people do their long runs and bikes on the weekend simply because thats when they have the time to do it.  I personally like to bike on saturday and run sunday for the reason of having slightly tired legs which is what I'd have for a race.  However, if I am going to make a big increase in distance for that run or plan to do something with intervals or sprints, then I flip that to have fresh legs.  Tired legs can lead to injury if you are pushing the envelope.

5.  Stationary bikes.  Riding an electric bike in the gym is better than nothing, but depending on the type machine the difference between it and nothing may be very small.  1. No recumbent bike!  2. If you can, find one with toe clips so you can try to secure your foot to the pedal.   I've seen some great machines out there that do give a good workout.  It doesn't beat being on your own bike but you can do some good rides.  Anything you do will benefit you, it just may vary how beneficial.  But, nothing you do (in any discipline) will cause your training to go backward.

6.  Strength training.  Plenty of opinions and theories on this too.  I stick with my line from #5 and say nothing you do will cause your training to go backward.  For me, strength training is something I do in the off-season when I either don't have races scheduled or just don't have motivation to get on bike or swim.  Its also a good way to add a work-out or two to the week without risking overuse injuries by swimming/biking or running too many times a week.  When getting ready for a race, I would just do a full-body, toning type weight workout twice a week.  Recommend not doing a power-lifter type workout.  You are training to move your body over long distances,  increasing its overall weight by adding muscle is going to make it harder to move said mass over distance.

7. Bike fueling.  30 minutes is a good rule-of-thumb for when to replenish on the bike.  Don't forget you need to have fuel for the run and its harder to replenish running than biking.  If you are working hard, recommend starting water at 15 minutes.  You have to stay ahead of your fuel and water requirements.  If you feel hungry, thirsty or start bonking, you are already too late.

Thats all for this morning.  Talk to you all later.

Cheers

Mike

Hi Mike,

I read your post about stationery bikes. I want to join a gym to get me over the the dark and cold season ahead (yes it does get cold in Australia). The gym has all the usual stuff plus a pool, so I can run, cycle and swim.

What do you think of spinning classes? Are they good to keep you fit?

How do you rate these running machines? I always feel weird on machines, as I rather train outside, but guess it is better than nothing.

I have a sprint tri in 2 weeks and another one mid May. How much gym and outdoor training do you recommend?

Thanks and all the best, Leila

Leila,

 Spin classes and stationary bikes can give great workouts and are good for bike endurance and leg strength.  Just realize it isn't a complete substitution for being on the road with your bike.

A couple of major differences between road and stationary:

1. Stationary bikes are rarely able to support the aero body position you would be in on a road/tri bike.  This means you are working your muscles in a slightly different way.  You are also not training your body to hold your bike-specific position.  You find that your neck, shoulders, back hurt after being on your real bike because you haven't gotten used to holding the position.

2. You won't learn bike control and balance on a stationary bike.  Its a little thing, but being able to successfully turn a bike, at speed on skinny little tires does take some getting used to.  You also use more core muscles holding yourself on a bike.  Balance is maintained by tiny little muscle firings that do fatigue over time.  Again, you'll be more tired/sore after being on a real bike than on stationary.

3.  You won't learn nuances of your bike without being on it.  For example, how well do the handlebars absorb shock from rough pavement?  How long does it take to change a flat tire?  Where is the best place to put water bottles and can you reach them without crashing?

4.  Stationary bikes may give you a better endurance workout because you can change the level of work, whereas your bike is limited to the conditions around where you ride.  For example, I had Zero hills where I lived at one point and so all of my road training was flat and fast.  I then had the brilliant idea to enter an xterra race (which is nothing but mountain bike hills).  Needless to say I got crushed and pushed my bike most of the way.  I could've/should've at least gone on stationary bikes and increased the tension/incline to simulate hill riding.

Remember that there are two components to what you are trying to change/improve in your body when you train.  A bad analogy would be that your body can: 1. Produce fuel, 2. Consume fuel.  When you do any sort of endurance training you are teaching your body how to produce fuel more efficiently. (oxygen transfer, carb and fat burning, lactate threshold, etc).  When you do tri-specific workouts using the muscles exactly as you'd race, or when you do weight training of those muscle groups then you are teaching those muscles how to more efficiently use the available fuel.  You need to do both things to make you the best you can be but in absence of swim, bike, run, any endurance training can benefit you.  I hope that makes sense, I made that analogy up on the fly...

Leila,

 If my notes are correct, you've got 1 week until your big event.  Here's a couple of suggestions for things to think about.

1.  Should stop training around tues-wed.  You don't want tired legs prior to a race.  Let your body rest and start to stock up some extra energy.

2. Make an inventory list for when you pack your gear.  I've seen countless athletes show up on race day and not have goggles, or have two left-shoes.  Recommend timing this with an actual training session.  Make a list of everything you are wearing/used AFTER you are done training.  Then use that list to pack the evening before the race as well as spot-check the morning of.

3.  Bring a bottle of water and a small towel for use in T1 (between swim/bike).  When you exit the water from an open-water swim you'll have to run through sand/dirt to get to your bike.  Your wet feet will accumulate junk.  You don't want this sand and grit between you and your socks on the bike/run.  Use this water bottle and towel to wash your feet off prior to socks/shoes.

4.  I'll be blunt:  If your swim is in salt-water, also use this freshwater bottle to do a quick rinse of your crotch area.  When saltwater dries it leaves behind micro-crystals of salt and other things that will contribute to chaffing.  Chaffing = bad and is a gift that keeps on giving for 2-3 days after the event.  A fresh water rinse has made a world of difference in my experience.

5. Transition area etiquette:  You are allowed to spread your stuff around or on your bike, rule of thumb being about a foot around the bike.  Don't expand over into other athletes personal space.  They are as stress out as you and don't need to be tripping over your stuff.  Take the extra second to put your goggles and empty bottle back in a bag.  If you kick off bike shoes for running shoes, keep them together or put them in bag as well.  It'll be less stress for you and others around you and makes it easier to find after the race.  Shoes have been known to get kicked around a transition area when not secured.

6.  Prior to the race, walk from the swim exit to where you've racked your bike.  Look for key landmarks.  This is the view you'll have when you are racing and stressed, so find something you can recognize from this angle to find your bike.  This happens quite a lot with new racers:  they bring their bike in prior to race and try to remember it based on their entry into the transition area but they are looking at it from the wrong direction.  You probably rolled your bike in via the bike exit, so your angle is from the bike/run point of view.  You need to look from the swim/bike point of view.

Standing by for any final questions.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks for all the advise Mike,

I would never have thought about the saltwater... the tri-a-tri was in fresh water. What about vaseline? Does that still help when in saltwater?

Think I am getting nervous now. Today was the Sydney color run, which was heaps of fun (and very little running).

Cheerio, Leila