Brett's Group - All Full Up (Page 2)

Thanks for the swim training tips!! I have my first OWS tomorrow....  wish me luck 

Jeremy, welcome to the group.  I'm beat so I'll talk more later, just wanted to let you know that we'd be happy to have you.  Good work to everyone else.

bts 

OWS today.  As I said in my blog, 'Holy Freakin Crap!' .  That was quite an experience.  For the first 150 mt it was as if I hadn't actually been swimming for the past 4 months.  I couldn't get my rhythm to breathe every 3 stroke - - partially because I was nervous, and partially because I would be in warm water and then hit a cool pocket, which would take my breath away. 

OK I think what I need help with - first off- is sighting.  I tried, and it totally messed up any sort of rhythm I had built.   Second, this sounds silly - is it useful to swim with my eyes closed in the pool , to better prepare myself to swimming in murky water?  (really, I missed those pristine white tiles that I usually stare at!!)  It was hard to ignore the darkness!!

Anyway...  I heard that the first OWS is not usually enjoyable.  I am glad I got it over with!!  It's only up from here!!

And, it's nice to have the 'new' people to the group! Welcome!! (although I am a late joiner myself!)

You might want to consider breast stroke to break-up the front crawl.  That way you don't have to keep flipping over to see where you're going and the breast stroke has the built in sighting.  

bts 

J,

It sounds like we come from similar backgrounds.  Actually it sounds like we're built about the same too.  I walked around at just over 6' in the 240s in my heavier lifting days.

It sounds like you've got a good plan and you're working well within yourself.  Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to keep you on track.

bts 

I don't know too many people who hopped in the lake/ocean for the first time and said "oh it's just like the pool".  It sounds like you're keeping a good attitude about it, so you're on the right track.

Once you get used to it, you migth find that you're actually faster in open water (assuming the conditions aren't too rough), that's how it usually is for me.  But there are lots of challenges that you'll overcome with practice.  Not only is there the discomfort and nerves, you also have to deal with sighting, that you can practice easily enough in the pool.  In addition, you might have to alter your stroke to get your hand/elbow up higher so that it doesn't clip the chops.

The two things you can do to deal with the visibility are:

1.  As you mentioned, swim a length here and there with your eyes closed to see if you have a natural pull in one direction or the other.  

2.  Most importantly, practice sighting.  Pop your head up every 8-10 strokes.  This is a bigger deal because no matter how straight you swim, in the open water, you are at the will of the currents.

Overall great job, keep it up.

bts 

Nope (assuming we're talking about just tris).  Too many safety concerns, especially on the bike.  For a complete list of rules, see here:

http://www.usatriathlon.org/Events/Rules.aspx

It has the rules, but also take a look at the "Most Common Violations" section, which is a much easier read than the entire rulebook.

bts 

Once you get used to it, you migth find that you're actually faster in open water (assuming the conditions aren't too rough), that's how it usually is for me. 

Hey Brett- wow, really?!?  is this because there's no turning at the end of lanes in open water?  Or maybe the currents?

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement and tips for my next OWS.  I tried a little bit of swimming wtih my eyes closed and sighting today during cooldown, and noticed that I kept hittng the right side of the lane.  It's a totally different experience to swim when you have no bearings.  I am thankful to have realized that before an official race!!

Have a good day!

Basically, you have to pick your priorities.  Which is more important to you the powerlifters trifecta of 300-400-500?  Or a 2:35 Oly distance tri? 

Another way to think of it is this: back in my martial arts/wrestling days, my coach would say that everything else being equal, the bigger guy wins.  Well in tri's, it's the opposite.  All else being equal, the lighter guy is probably gonna win (this is especially true on a hilly course).

That isn't to say you can't do both, however typically you have to sacrifice one for another.  Don't get me wrong, you can still be really strong and a good triathlete, especially at the sprint distances (and even up to oly to some extent).  However you'll find if you venture much longer that the training and distances required will cut into your strength training (which is part of the reason I've never done longer than an Oly).

Nah, they're talking about mods like shaving it down to make it more aerodynamic and the like.  If anything they should be greatful that you have extra decals for visibility.

And ask all the questions you like, that's what I'm here for.

bts 

I guess if the frog kick will blow out your knee they you probably shouldn't do it, eh   It shouldn't be too difficult to barrel roll from one to the other I imagine.

Hope the allergies ease up on you.

bts 

Mostly the "no turns" thing. It feels fast when you're driving off the wall, but the coming to a complete stop and reseting takes up a lot of time, especially if you don't have a really good flip turn.

Not surprising on the uneven swimming. Lots of folks are right-side dominant, especially if you always breathe to the right (it probably makes your stroke longer). Try bilateral breathing drills if you aren't already.

bts

Ooops, almost missed this one.

Yes, while you'll hear lots of different stats, swimming is probably 75% technique.  If you don't have good technique you could be a world class <insert endurance sport here> and you'll still flail around in the pool like a drunken, one armed orangutang.  Once you get the technique down it gets much, MUCH easier.  If you look at my logs you'll probably notice that I hardly ever swim.  When I first got into tri's I was swimming 3+ hours a week (and I was already a fairly decent swimmer).  After 2 years of that I had the technique down cold and the return on investment wasn't really worth it.  For my last Oly tri I think I had a total of three pool sessions, none more than an hour, and I went under 30 minutes in the swim feeling fine.  It comes, and once it does, you'll wonder what you were worried about in the first place.

Same with the swimming, but I won't lie, at 240, running is always gonna suck a lot.  That's why I typically drop down to 210-220 for racing season.  A lot of it goes back to my other post about your priorities, if it's more important to you to carry around that mass, it's okay, but you just have to know there's a price to be paid.

Focus on interval training as much as possible.  Until you're looking at Oly type distances, LSD runs are overrated.  Do your long workouts on your bike until you're more comfortable and adept at the run.

bts 

I wish there was an easy fix for that, but I'm afraid not.  Once you get the swimming form down, most of the energy is generated in your hips and core.  I suppose if I had to name one to work on your back I'd say you could try high rep/low weight pullovers on the machine.

Good luck with getting the job sorted out and getting back on the horse.  Ya gotta take care of the base needs first, eh.

bts 

So much so that I've resorted to making this face when I hear it:   I mean seriously, if I had a nickel for everytime some had to admit that to me, I'd have... about 30 cents.

bts 

If you do a search of the word "clydesdale" in the forums, you will find a number of spirited debates as to whether or not you should enter the division (or if there should even be one).

Being a 200+ type, I enter in that category if there is one, but I don't actively seek out just events that have the category.  No harm either way, and depending on the race you'll notice in the results that the Clydes winner would have been competitive in their age group.

To answer your question, no, you can't do both at the same time, you gotta go one way or the other.

bts