Shane's/gsmacleod's Group - FULL (Page 2)

gsmacleod - 2007-05-30 6:23 AM Mike, welcome to the group! Goals look good - let me know how I can help Shane

 Hey Shane...mostly right now, I'm hoping to work on speed.  I want to WIN the Try-a-Tri (or something close to winning...but the goal is winning), which means I'm going to have to come in sometime around 45 minutes .  Right now, although I haven't been in a pool for about a month and a half or more, my 300m time should be about 6 minutes, maybe down as low as 5:30 if I really push it.  My 15km bike time should probably be somewhere around 28 minutes on a flat course like the one I'll be on, and my run time is probably sitting at about 14 minutes for 3km.  Not counting transition, that adds up to about 48 minutes...so probably 52 with transitions...same race last year took me 1:07.  I need to get faster, because I really want to win!  I was really disappointed in my performance last year (had bike issues and a TERRIBLE swim) and came well short of my projected goal of 1 hour.  This is how I want to make up for it.

 I'm thinking that I'll start with working on speedwork twice a week with my running and long distances on the third day of running.  I'll also work on just swimming...I just need to get in the water and SWIM.  The bike I'm not too worried about, I can speed that up with a bit of work, I'm sure.

Hey Shane,

Yeah, it's been a busy few weeks.  I finished university (probably forever) and took a big road trip and just started PLTC (the required bar exam course in BC).  Just getting settled into that right now. 

Thanks for the advice on speed.  I'll try to get more workouts in.  It seems to be hard to do when there are so many other workouts/activities to do (3x Swim, 3x Bike, 4x Run,  2x Lift, at least 1x Golf, usually 1x Something Else like badminton or something).  I just need to stop being so lazy and just get out and do it!

 Cameron, what's your stretching scheme like?  Does that impact on your running at all?  I know stretching affects my running pain a lot...my pain is completely different than yours, but thought I'd throw it out there.

And good luck Elizabeth! Kick !

gsmacleod - 2007-06-02 4:24 PM Congrats on finishing university (although never say never ) and best of luck with the PLTC. One of the ways you can easily add another run is to do a short transition run off the bike - even 15'-20' will get the legs moving and help you get used to the feeling of running off the bike. Don't try to go fast, just a nice easy run off the bike is all you need to get benefit from the extra run. Shane

 Hey Shane...you're right, I should never say never...but the odds are very, very slim.  We'll see though!

Thanks for the tip re the short brick idea...hadn't thought of it.  Now I just have to get out on the bike, hah.  It's been one of those weekends where a variety of other stuff has got in the way and right now it's about damage control more than anything else.  Going for a nice long trail run tomorrow though...that'll be fun and hard.   Looking forward to it.  Maybe I'll swim tonight, although I'm REALLY tired. 

And yeah, Tyler, I've watched the video and glanced through the book.  I definitely found it helpful.  It's an excellent method, particularly if you're not a strong swimmer already, but it takes a good amount of practice to be able to implement the ideas...but when you get it, it really makes a big difference.  Or at least that was my experience.

Y'know, some days I find it really hard to stay motivated.  As you probably know, we get some rainy weather here in Vancouver.  That means I can either drone away in front of the tv on the trainer (I prefer not to ride outside in the rain for safety reasons...drivers suck here), run in the rain, or sit around and be lazy.

I usually choose the latter.

A year ago, I had pure motivation.  In February of 06 I was about 260 lbs and determined to lose weight.  By this time last year I had lost nearly 40 lbs and was on a strict diet and at the gym at least 4 times a week and doing cardio - usually working out 6 - 10 times a week.  Since I started tri training and needed to eat more (I was on a serious calorie deficit before), I've put on weight and have lost some of my workout motivation.  I don't blame tri training by any means...I just associate the two timeframes.

I personally think that the solution is just for me to regain focus, develop a concrete plan that covers more than just what workouts to do, but rather which food to eat when and in what quantities (very hard to do as the bar course leads to a very erratic schedule at times), which workouts to do on what day (and at what time), a sleep schedule, etc.  The problem with all of that is that I'm not a very organized guy and NOT very good at following a schedule.  This is probably evidenced by the way I've been (not) following along with my training plan.  

I'm just not sure what I'll be able to figure out that will also work for me.

Thanks for all of that Shane. I'm starting to get back into the training at least (too bad the eating is the hardest part for me!)

On the plus side, since that post, I've managed to get out to the pool a couple of times (can swim a mile still, so that's something) and even lifted weights. I even threw the bike back on the trainer tonight for a short 35 minute workout.

A real plus for me is that I don't watch much in the way of TV. I only watch very specific shows unless I get distracted by my gf watching something inane (happens a lot).

Time to hit the sack so I can get a full night of rest and workout twice tomorrow!

gsmacleod - 2007-06-09 12:35 PM I hear ya - there are days that I eat crap even though I know I shouldn't and days that I don't feel like getting outside (or going to the basement for trainer/treadmill) or going to the pool. Congratulations on the progress so far; those are some huge gains and show, despite your claims, that you are able to follow a plan and get where you want to go! The big thing for me is just limiting these days as much as possible - I try to avoid eating crap as much as possible and will always ask myself why am I putting this into my body. Sometimes it's just because I feel like ice cream or a chocolate bar and I'm okay with that - everything in moderation If you can get out and work out more days than you sit on the couch every week, you are ahead of the majority of the population. If you want to be super competitive at triathlon, then you are going to require a detailed plan where you workout twice most days. However, if you are using this as part of a healthy, active lifestyle and are interested in crossing the line, then it doesn't need to be complicated. For example, someone who is interested in finishing sprint triathlons could easily have a training plan that looks something like this: Swim - 2x week Bike - 2x week (one shorter and quicker, one longer and slower) Run - 3x week (two 20-30' runs and one 45'-1 hour) Another thing that can help is watching TV unless there is something on that you really want to watch - this has reduced my TV time dramatically as I've realized there are very few programs that I actually want to watch; most of my TV watching was just sitting there when the next program came on. Shane