kenaxford's Group - Closed and kickin' tale !!! (Page 2)

Hey Ken,

 I have been having a lot of trouble with my running. My endurance is fine on long swims and bike rides, but I really struggle with the run. I get really bad shin splints about 5 minutes into the run and try my best to run through them. I am not really out of breath when I run, but I have a very odd (duck like run) and I think I am using more energy then I should. Do you have any tips of drills I should be doing or technique I should try to incorporate to make my stride more efficient.

Thanks,
Mike

hey Mike,  I hate being a "negative Nancy", but unfortunately, shin splints are hard to get rid of once you have them.  The best solution I have seen is time off from running.  How much time will be dependent on your body and the severity of damage/pain.  Shin splints are an inflammation of tissue on the Tibia (shin bone) due to excessive stress or strain.  Sounds like too much too soon.  If it continues to hurt and you keep running on it, this could lead to worse pain or even a stress fracture.  Once you return to running, keep it very short and then gradually progress no more than 10% week over week. 

As for exercises and drills, there a lot out there, but none that I can describe efficiently online to you.  I have some professional resources that I use with my clients, but if a coach is not something you want to consider right now, many running books will have pictures and descriptions that could help you out with technique.  I'm glad you are paying attention to that as many people just go out and run and don't think there is much technique involved in running.  good for you for being heads up.

I hope that helps and let me know how the shin splints progress.  Your going to have to back off the running.  You can still swim and bike a as much as you want.  (figuratively speaking of course

hey Paul,  I'm assuming you are referring to what is commonly called the 4th sport of triathlon...   transitions.  During your workouts, don't worry about making a speedy transition.  Take your time showering, changing and getting out to the treadmill.  The only time I would recommend rushing from one workout to the next, is when you are specifically practicing a transition workout.  Those typically won't come until later in your program and perhaps a few weeks out from your first race of the season.  Those workouts are commonly called "brick" or "transition" and most often done from bike to run to get your legs used to running on tired legs.  Transition workouts and they are commonly done about once per week.  Even then, I tell my athletes to keep it under 5 minutes.  (ie: not rushing too much)  You will still gain the benefits of running on tired legs without having to race through a transition.

However, you may want to practice the actual transition adn you can do that at home as much as you want. 

In regards to your timing of workouts and which days to do what:   It depends on the athlete.  I know that is pretty vague, but this is where you get into the science and art of training.  Some elite's will do all 3 sports each day along with some strength training a couple times per week.  Some beginners will do 1 sport per day with no strength training.  Most middle of the road triathletes (age groupers) will do some "2 a day" workouts with some single workout days.  This is where you have to put trust into the program you select and pay attention to your body to see how it's working out as you progress.   Most of my athletes will do 2 workouts on their swim days (such as a swim and a bike or a swim and a run) alternating biking and running from one day to the next.

I hope that helped.

you guys put some pictures up so i can see your ugly mugs !!!  We only have 4 people with profile photo's.  One of which is a lobster.  (however that is appropriate being that your name is Mainer22)

Also, for those of you that have e-mail addresses listed, I'm going to add each of you to my e-mail list.  Every few months (no more than once per month) I send out a newsletter with the latest events from Fast-Tri Sports.   (The name of my coaching business)  It has good articles and information along with various updates about us and the sport of triathlon.  If you don't want me to, no big deal.  Just shoot me a PM (private message) or you can unsubscribe at anytime.

I'm doing the "Sprint - 3x Balanced - 20 week program" right now.  It's pretty much what you described, as I have 9 workouts in 6 days with 1 day of recovery.  I've been swimming in the mornings and running in the afternoons on the same day, and then biking only on the opposite days.

I biked today and it felt like I had to work harder to maintain the same level (indoor bike).  This is the 3rd or 4th day that I was fatigued/tired throughout the workout.  What are your thoughts about volume vs intensity?  Is it more important for me to getting the volume in right now or more important to make the workouts intense?  I'm not regularly checking HR throughout my workouts, but when I spot check them I usually know what range I'm working at.

80 Days until my first Sprint Tri !

I think for a sprint athlete, it is important to focus on getting volume first and then focus on speed.  particularly since you have almost 3 months until your first race.  it won't hurt to throw in a minute or two of high intensity work now, just don't make that your focus until you have a good base first.  I know are an experienced athlete in general, however, focusing on volume first will typically insure you avoid injury.

side note:  indoor trainer most often has a higher perceived effort when compared to outdoors for the same given heart rate or power data.  so take that into account.  (did that make sense?)

Hey Ken,

After I posted my question, I did a little research on my running technique. I got a lot of good pointers about landing under your body and pushing up with your quad and knee, which I was not doing before. I did a short 1 mile run during lunch. It took about 10 minutes, but my legs felt really good and I can't wait to go for a little bit of a longer run on Friday.


Thanks,
Mike

yvette: good to SEE you !!! Stick with that program and you should be fine. Just keep finding whatever information you can and make sure to take each with a grain of salt to find what works for you. (10 sources can say 10 different things)

Susan: motivation abounds in this group !!! You should give a shout to my sister Terry in this group. She lives south of A-town. She's not doing a race until August, but I think the irongirl race was her first as well. (amd I right Ter'?) she can give you some great advice.

Kevin: Sounds like a good plan. Make sure that once you get outside on that course, you don't time trail every day. It's easy to fall into that trap. I often fall victim to watching my bike computer trying to better my last time. I have a hard time checking my ego at the curb.  Let us know how it goes once you get into the great outdoors.

Mike: glad the run felt good today. Remember don't ramp up too much on your next one. It can take years to make good technique automatic, so think about it every time you strap on your running shoes.

I think is going to be a really good group !!! lot's of excitement here !!!

Mike,

I'm surfing on BT tonight and found this article about shin splints.  Wondering if you've read it.  Just curious... do they bother you when you are walking?

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1011

Terry

Paul,

I found one for you too.  This is actually and article and video on transitions.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1488 

Terry

Hi Susan! 

Ken's right about the Iron Girl Atlanta.  That was my first triathlon (2007).  It was great!!!  You will love it.  It's a very well run event and everyone is so encouraging!  It's a great first timer race.

A few tips for the race... if the course is like it was two years ago, there is a very steep hill coming up from the swim into the transition area.  It kicked my tail   Just expect it to be there.  Also, I clocked the bike course at 19 miles.  That's about 6 more miles than the "normal" sprint.  It's a nice ride, just longer than normal.  Towards the end of the ride (coming back into the resort area), as people were driving their boats to the lake for the day, the traffic was a little bit of a challenge.  So, just know that might play into the bike segment as well.

I also really enjoyed the Acworth Women's sprint (August).  I plan to do that one this year.  Any plans to do that one?

Do you live in North Atlanta?  Where are your favorite training spots?  Last year we moved from Woodstock to Griffin.  There are many more biking options (and with a lot less traffic), but not nearly the number of pool options.

Terry

great question:

my take is: if in doubt...   time to replace them.  The most common suggestion from shoe manufacturers is every 300 - 500 miles.

Terry-

I had heard the Iron Girl Bike ride was long and very hilly, it is going to be the toughest part for me, I need to get working on those hills. So far my biking experience has been in spin classes and on a trainer in my living room on a road bike I borrowed from a friend. I have yet to go on out the road and I confess I am somewhat nervous about it, the falling over part due to being new to the clipless pedals. These past few weeks have been very busy for me, but on Sunday I am going to get out and give it a try. I live near Athens Georgia, so I am way North of Atlanta. There are several bike clubs, but only one that is good for real newbies, so I need to make an effort to join up with them.

Swimming options for me are limited to 2- and both are about a 30 minute drive from my home, so I do spend a good deal of time driving to my workouts. I chose the YWCO, it is an older facility, but far less people use it so you don't ever need to wait for a lane. Also the bike clubs are located in Athens as well, so that will be another drive, wish things were a bit closer.

The Acworth sprint sounds good, I will have to check it out since I do need to plan some additional races for this season.

Thanks for the tips on the Iron Girl-

Susan

That's a great animation.  I like it.

Hey Ken,

 I did a short run yesterday of a little over 1 mile. It took about 10 minutes and my legs felt really good. My shins were getting a little sore at the very end, but nothing like the pain I was experiencing before. I did some research on form and technique at it really helped. I really tried to focus on using my quads and knee to bring my leg forward and land underneath my body. I can't wait to run a little further tomorrow.

trinity - 2009-04-23 2:31 PM

Kurtie - 2009-04-23 12:11 PM So does it make a big difference if I don't track the distance I swim when in the pool? 

I try to do a 500 warmup but lost track after three laps (six lengths).  Do speed workouts, again, lost track.  Instead I have been basing everything on time:  e.g. 8-10 minute warmup, sprints 2 x 2 1/2 minutes, 1 x 5 minutes.  that kind of thing.

workouts are minimum 30 minutes, average 45 minutes.

Personally I don't think distance in swim training is all that important at first but it does help to track your progress if you know your time for a given distance.  If you know your time for a given distance you can swim that distance again later to see if you are improving.

I wasn't able to keep track of my distance at first either.  No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I would always lose track.  So I bought one of these:

http://www.sportcount.com/productsNew.php?category=SportCount

now all I have to do is push a button every lap.  I wish I could say it made me a faster swimmer, but at least I know just how slow I'm going now.

Tim and Kurt,

I'm so glad you guys have trouble counting, I thought I was the only one that was numerically challenged when I swim.

Tim,

Thanks for posting that link, I had not idea they made a tiny lapcounter like that. Now when I have trouble counting to 8 while I am doing a 200, I can just look at my trusty clicker and know where I am.

thanks- Susan

PS I previewed my post and it is centering everything, at least that is what I am seeing. Any ideas? It does not look that way when I type it.

mike, glad your shins are feeling better.  Be easy with them until you don't feel them at all then gradually progress.

I agree with everyone on the swim distance / time issue.  As long as you have the distance of your race covered, I don't think it really matters.  However, it is good to time trial every couple weeks to track your progress.  For that you would need to track distance.