COURAGE'S GROUP- CLOSED... (Page 2)

Hey Eric,

Thanks for letting me in.  I haven't heard of Pose running but I did buy the Chi Running book and try to use the principles there and they really seem to work.  I downloaded the Silver "12-week Basic Sprint" plan from the BT website and started it yesterday.  It looks like it has 3 weeks that are hard and the 4th is less intense.  Of course right now some of my times on my log look longer, like the run today was supposed to be shorter than what I did but most of it was walking.  My time in the pool was longer too but I only did 600 yds.  I'm just getting my legs used to the bike again so I'll slowly work up to 1-hour rides.

We have a local bike group that I'll try to ride with once I can do the distance.  They do about 45+ miles on Tuesdays, 30 some on Thursdays and Saturday are some mixed groups.  They're good about having someone drop back with you when you poop out.  I have a wonderful Trek 5000 that I love.  I don't have a light and I work a lot so it's hard for me to ride with the group right now.  I bought a trainer that I can use even though it's boring and my computer seems to eat batteries so I don't really know how far I've gone or the other readings it gives me.

I swim at an outdoor pool which is always 82 degress even when the air is cold so it's great.  I use the TI drills and I like them.  For now I'm just getting used to the water again, doing my drills and trying to decrease my stroke count.  I'm down to 17 but notice that I can only keep that count for a lap or two and then they go higher, I guess due to fatigue.

Once I get back into the groove, I'm going to be more diligent in my eating/drinking and intend to lose about 12 pounds.  I hope to be able to do the Crystal River Sprint Tri #1 in May.  I'd like to do the entire series and think I could take 1st or 2nd overall in the series in my AG if I put my mind (and body) to it.

Thanks again and I'm open to any pointers you can give me.

Tara

Tara hi- Couple things. At least for the month of January I would suggest you make distance a secondary issue where running and cycling are concerned. Record your distance when you have it but don't use that to measure or set your w/o's. Time should be your tool eg; 30 minute easy run or 60 minute easy bike etc...

Chi Running shares some principles with Pose but I believe its an easier transition to Chi. Pose can take a while to master.

The 12 week plan is great but that will have you peak way too early for a May Sprint. You may want to use a winter prep plan first then download the 12 week plan when the appropriate time comes to lead you into the event...

Eric J

Thanks Eric.  I wondered about finishing the plan too soon - what do I do then and, have I missed some basic stuff I should be doing?  I looked at the BT plans for Silver people and there are some that are 20-weeks which would be just perfect for the timing of my first race.  Many of them have a "focus" on one of the 3 events.  Would one of those be good to use?  Also, is it best to "focus" on my weakest thing which is running?

I'm pretty sure you can just import a new plan to take the place of the old one. A 20 week plan would suit you better. Taking a Run focused plan would be a good move as well as that seems to be your "Limiter". While plans should always be structured we need to be flexible with them as well. Trust in the plan but keep an eye on your progress in regards to each discipline. If Running becomes your strong suit you change focus...

 Eric J

Eric, You lost me at "Zone", Ok, lots of bike time I assume....  what's zone 1/2 work.  Should I be riding the cushy "sit down" style bikes or the ones that look a bit more like a bike?  How long, how far and how many days should I be biking?  I put in 10miles in 30min yesterday...felt good!  As for the bike race it's a local Mtn bike race, maybe 15-20 miles long.  The "Chain Drive" I think it's called.  Thanks again for your time...Happy new year! 

Gofish hi- I think I missed your initial post. Welcome aboard! Anything specific I can answer for you? Are you following any plan? Have you been using the training log here on BT? If so I'll check them out...

Eric J

Jason- Z1/2 refers to Heart Rate Taining Zones. Many, well most plans use Lactate Threshold and/or HR zones as a guide to working out. Otherwise its all guess work.

You can use 3, 5 or 7 zones. My rec is at least 5 but I set my clients up with 7.

Z1, 2, 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 5c.

They are based on your Lactate Threshold which is your max heart rate before you go Anaerobic which is Z5 generally.

I'll go into this in more detail tomorrow afternoon as I'm about to head home to a good bottle of wine and a steak with the Wife to ring in the New Year...

Eric J

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S GUYS...

Eric J

Happy New years! Do some thing fun tomorrow to burn off all those party calories. (Unless you are like me and just use tonight as an excuse to go to bed early during the week so you can get up early and go for a nice hike.)

Tracy- I took a look at your log. My sympathies on the loss of your dog. I lost one of my cats 2 years ago after 17 years. It hits hard...

I would say that one motivational issue you may have is not having any kind of structure. When you set up a plan and can log against it you begin to see real and measured progress. WHen you hit a plateau or tough streak you can look back and perhaps see what went wrong.

BT has maintenance plans with the Gold membership but I'm not sure if they're available  with the Bronze. Take a look, they go for 20 weeks if I remember right. I'm no longer a premier member so can't see the plans as I use Training Peaks for my clients so economically it pays to use that for myself as well.

As far as the bike trainer; I use one as do my clients and they are a great tool. As with anything though you need to vary it up to keep interested. Each session should have a purpose, ie; Speed/muscular endurance or Aerobic Endurance etc..

You should be doing intervals in addition to long sessions of static riding. I don't know of any meters to give you speed and distance stats but you can have your cycle computer hooked up to your rear wheel. But more than that I would suggest a Heart Rate monitor as the priority.

Using your heart rate and Lactate Threshold (LT) you can work within measurable parameters. Most workouts will in fact assign the work to certain "ZONES" that are based off what is called your Lactate Threshold. This is the rate at which your heart beats just before going Anaerobic.

Here's a Zone chart based on an LT of 165:

Z1= 115-133, Z2= 134-137, Z3= 148-154, Z4= 155-164, Z5a= 165-168, Z5b=169-174, Z5c= 175+

A workout to help increase your aerobic capacity would be 45 minutes in Z1/2 for example as opposed to a workout to increase power which would have you doing say, multiple intervals taking you to Z5 while you're pushing hard w/ a cadence of 70-80 then recovering between.

Without the monitor you have no way of gauging your work load, efficiency, recovery etc... This also helps when you race as you can monitor your HR and know when you are redlining...

Hope that helps...

Eric J

Thanks Eric -

I have a heart rate monitor but haven't used it in a while.  I'll have to revisit the user manual!  I agree that I need more of a structured plan and will see what I can find here on BT for the next few months.  A local tri shop is also offering a tri training program and I might look into that for more structure.  Never really being an athlete and now being a slow and old one, I always hesitate to join any group things for fear of holding others back and have done it on my own.  I may have to give it a try!

Thanks again.

Theresa- How are you doing? Haven't heard from you since your initial post. Anything we can help you with to get you started?

Eric J

The weather had us cancelling our New Year's Day ride so we did a spin session in my studio... Just as well since I polished off a bottle of red New Year's Eve....

Eric J

That sounds like a fun new years. Our hike went well. We started off below the snowline in wet/muddy conditions but quickly rose above the snow line for wet, cold, windy, icy trails. We saw many downed trees throughout the area but luckily none on the trails. It was a great 6-7 miles hike up to a waterfall and circling back to the Trailhead. My 9 year old dog enjoyed it more than My wife or I due to the pain killers she was on from an oral surgery earlier in the week, they made her arthritis not hurt so she acted like a puppy again and that made everything perfect. anyway Happy new year - off for a swim this evening!

 So being the geek I am I was just looking at the different plans for memberships. The silver seems just about right with all of the training plans available, the online (and I hope you can print it) system for the calendar and all the other little bonuses...my questions is how useful are the other perks...do the articles on nutrition seem helpful? Have you used the vendor discounts much? how good and helpful are the videos? Just something I am considering at this point.

 Justin

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone! ... and best wishes for a good training and racing year!

Justin, I'm a newbie and started with the Bronze and upgraded midway into my first year of training to Silver.  I love the plan... I can honestly say that if it wasn't for the mentor group, the articles and the write-ups on nutrition and especially injuries, I would have hung it up early.  Every person is different but there is so much information that you'll find the right combo for your particular goals.  I've found the info on this website so good that the magazines and stuff about tri's and biking and running just look like expensive ads with some articles thrown in that really never apply - not so here!  If you go "Silver" you won't regret it, or, start with Bronze and you can always upgrade.  For what it's worth...

Tara

Well, my plan to get back into training tomorrow might be put on hold a bit.  I was at my husband's holiday party for work and twisted my knee on the dance floor.  UUgghh!  I think I'll head to the doctor tomorrow instead.  I can barely walk today.  I'm pretty bummed. 

However, I hope the rest of you are getting in some good and productive work outs!

Let us know how you make out. Good luck...

Eric J

First, a happy, healthy, and satisfying 2009 to all!

Been a little offline the last week or so -- unbelievable year-end crunch at work!  Anyway, in 1985 and again in 2004, I had surgery on my right knee -- lateral meniscus tears.  Now and then my right knee will get a little swollen, so I ice it after every run.  Ok, not the greatest, but ok.  Anyway, last week, my left knee got sore and a little swollen.  :-(  I am virtually certain this was due to (a) having the seat on the spinning bike at the gym one notch too high, and (b) doing step jumps -- I set up a step aerobics bench with 2 risers on each end -- about 8 inches high, stood in front of it, and jumped up onto it and back down off it, 10 reps/set, 3 sets.  BAD IDEA.  The swelling and soreness is mostly gone, but if it comes back, well, then it's back to my knee guru . . . .  I'm taking the running slower and focusing on heel/toe technique and working on my own bike/trainer, rather than the spinning cycles at the gym. 

Back to the gym tomorrow for a double swim (yeah!!)

Hi Eric,

     I was curious if you knew of good resources online (videos/articles etc) to improve arm/shoulder/back coordination in swimming. I have taken lessons recently (though that session is over) but I find that my stroke is still feeling disjointed so I have a hard time maintaining an even pace and good breathing technique. Other than that my swim felt great last night though . I even got my wife to swim with me (is it sad that she is faster/a better swimmer than I am?) Thanks!

Justin

ps. I will be upgrading my membership here shortly so if that info is on BT I will be happy! Also thanks for the responses on peoples opinions of different plans, very persuasive!

Justin- Here are a few links:

 http://www.ehow.com/how_5048_swim-freestyle-stroke.html  

 http://www.totalimmersion.net/ (TI is pretty amazing)

 Take a look at these two. TI can really help...

 Swimming, not unlike other disciplines simply needs lots of time. You can be shown the right way but you need to teach your body to accept the motion. The only way to do that is to swim lots, drilling the form and technique home with simple repetition.

 That's the big secret, time and repetition...

 Eric J

Justin- Congrats on your Silver membership. Have you looked at the plans? Have you checked out those swim links? Check out PoseTech.com as well, some great stuff.

Eric J