robin314159's Group - CLOSED (Page 2)

Hello gang,

NAME: Sharon aka zeefraugtries

STORY: My first season of triathlons was in 2006 where I completed 4 sprint triathlons. I kept it going in 2007 with 2 sprint triathlons. I have a bit of a tendency to push myself too much and I do well as a newbie, but once I get a bit of experience, I start to put a little undue pressure on myself and I got too competitive and a bit discouraged with myself and so ended up taking a break after 2007. I decided to work on my weakest skill set - running, by joining a local USAFit marathon training group in 2008. Everything went well until 6 weeks before the marathon when I got injured and had to withdraw from the marathon and training. That plunged me into a bit of a depression and I had a hard time coming back to training because I was so disappointed with not being able to fulfill my dream of running a marathon. Then in late 2009 I decided to try CrossFit and I've been CrossFitting ever since. A fellow CrossFitter who also is a triathlete and I started talking about triathlons again and so here I am. There has been some talk of doing longer distances like HIM and perhaps even an IM using non-traditional training techniques.  

FAMILY STATUS: Partnered. We have one 17 year old cat, 12 year old shetland sheepdog, 6 year old poodle-mix and waiting to hear about a new puppy!

CURRENT TRAINING: For the moment I'm just keeping up with my CrossFit workouts because I recently decided to CrossFit on my own and also following CrossFit Endurance. I don't have a gym membership anymore, so no pool access.

2011 RACES: Still TBD. I plan on some 5Ks to test my non-traditional training methods, still considering vary distances for triathlons.

WEIGHT LOSS: Would definitely like to see some weightloss!!

WHY AM I HERE?  Thought I would toss this one in here. I need some accountability and I really chose to join Robin's mentor group because she has such extensive experience with triathlons, adventure sports and is also CrossFitting. I want to learn from everyone's experiences and would love to part of a group for accountability for general fitness. I would love to get back to some triathlons this year, but the focus is not on triathlons, but on continuing to train and improve and perhaps find my love for triathlon again. I hope this is okay with everyone.

@ Sharon: Yeah I'm loving the Netherlands as well. Though adding some Arizona weather to it wouldn't be the worst idea.

@ Robin: I'm still working on the schedule. This is what I have so far:

Running:
Sun: track training at the gym. Low intensity with focus on technique
Tue and Thu: Treadmill training. Focussed on extending duration. For that I Created a 12 step plan on the computer that I can download to the threadmill. All workouts have 4 minute warm up walk at 3.7 mph and a active recovery cool down of 5 minutes. The core of each workout is 40 minutes. All intervals set up by different sections of 6.2 mph divided with 2 min intervals at 3.7 mph. The steps are:
1. 3 x 2 min, 1 x 4 min, 1 x 2 min, 2 x 6 min
2. 2 x 2 min, 2 x 4 min, 1 x 6 min, 1 x 8 min
3. 2 x 2 min, 1 x 4 min, 1 x 2 min, 1 x 6 min, 1 x 10 min
4. 2 x 2 min, 1 x 4 min, 2 x 10 min
5. 2 x 4 min, 1 x 10 min, 1 x 12 min
6. 1 x 4 min, 1 x 2 min, 2 x 12 min
7. 1 x 4 min, 2 x 14 min
8. 1 x 4 min, 1 x 12 min, 1 x 16 min
9. 1 x 2 min, 1 x 12 min, 1 x 18 min
10. 1 x 14 min, 1 x 20 min
11. 1 x 10 min, 1 x 24 min
12. 1 x 4 min, 1 x 30 min
I'm looking to advance to the next step each week.

As of February the American Football season will start over here meaning I won't be able to do the group training on sundays. I was my plan to start running outside by then and make it an easy constant jog.

Biking:
Haven't set up anything yetn really. Looking to continue to do spinning every mon, wed and fri having my friday on a lower intensity. By February I'm looking to have my bike serviced so I can start doing some laps outside. Already started to create some routes on the internet. Have no clue yet on how to set up the training for that.

Swimming:
Also no fixed plan. Currently doing the following set: 200m breaststroke, 10 x (20m frontstroke, 20m breastroke), 200m breaststroke, 10 x (20m frontstroke, 20m breastroke), 200m breasstroke. I do this twice a week plus I do a session of 1000 - 2000m breaststroke only. Have no real fixed days for these. Mostly on wed and sun though mixing the 3rd day between mon and fri

Strength:
Did my first abs workout in ages last wednesday. With skipping today (as I still feel my abs a bit) I plan to do the abs workout after each spinning session. The schedule at the gym is set up perfect for that where one starts directly after the spinning session.
for the rest I have no workout. Though I am considering to put in bodypump classes for this.

Other:
By next month a friend of mine will join the same gym. This will probably lead to some squash during the week as well.

My goal:
On July 10th being able to do my first 1/8 tri. Though I will not focus on the time I do want to be able to do all without breaks meaning: No breaststroke during the swim, No walking during the run and no "touring" on the bike (ie < 20kph).
On August 27th I want to compete in the second tri being a sprint. For that I want to set a time goal.
In getting there I want to emphasize on the fun during training and preventing injuries. With fun I mean I like relative isolated sessions. So I don't look to do a complete strength workout after another lesson. Also I kinda starting to dislike strength training after overdoing that during my AF career (so that will be some sort of a challange).
Also I would like to add some races on the road to the big day. Like a 5K run and maybe a Swim - Run combination.

My questions:
- I read something on a 10% rule (not to lengthen the training by more than 10% a week). Not sure how this reflects to my current plan. The length is fixed to 40 min core though there are some jumps in lengthning the intervals. What are your views
- What are good aiming dates for a 5K races and a swim - run combination? (There is a swim run on March 27th nearby which is a 500m swim with a 5k run.
- I have a total of 29 weeks before the first tri and 36 weeks till the second one. I'm not sure in how to divide these in blocks. My initial thought was to take 12 to 16 weeks to get to a level where I can complete each section individual. (ie being able to front stroke for 500m, run 5k and bike 20k in about 40 min). And than take the rest to work on some speed, combing different sections, Training transistion and leaving some slack for some low intensity weeks if needed. Maybe like spreading a 12 week programm over 16 weeks: 4 times 3 weeks of increasing and then stablize for a week.
- Some basic rules in looking to plan the bike and swim training.
- In regard to equipment I want to go and look for a good watch/ heartrate/ bike computer. Any thoughts

@ everyone: I welcome all feedback

Hello @ everyone. OK - I get it. Consolidate messages to multiple people in one thread. Definitely much cleaner/ easier to read.

@Sharon (but @ zee fraughtries sounds like a cool name, and I love your avatar!) - That is quite an impressive story. Did your pre-marathon injury remove the possibility of being able to ever do a marathon? Is marathoning off the table? I look forward to sharing Crossfit challenges with you. I'll be excited to see how Crossfit Endurance works out for you.

@Stijn, I have some ideas, of course, but would like to hear how other people who have done 1 tri before structure their training plans. What kinda of bike do you currently have (that's getting repaired)?

@everyone Do you all use periodized training plans? A BT plan? Create your own plan based off your schedule?

Also, what do the rest of you guys have going for gear (bike, shoes, wetsuit)?



Edited by robin314159 2011-01-07 1:33 PM

Hi All;
@Zeefraugtries:  Thanks, but we do get some outdoor crosstraining up here (I call it shoveling snow). And you should try SCUBA, there's nothing like breathing underwater and up here we call it Search & Recovery Diving cuz unfortunately by the time we get there its a recovery effort.

@Robin: I use a BT training plan and just switch the days around to fit my schedule.
As for equipment: I have a Motobecane Nemesis Tri bike (I have two mtn bikes but this is my 1st road bike and I have a little over 1000 miles on it and love it), shoes are Nike Tri D (very comfortable); no wetsuit but would love one (water here is friggin cold all year long)

KV

Remember: Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional (my old track coach said that all the time to us)

Hi Robin & Group. I was hoping to join the group if its not to late.

Name: Christal

Story: I am a newby! I hope to complete my first sprint in Aug. I am not ready for a tri but I am in pretty good shape now. I work out every morning @3:30am. Me and my husband are currently in the middle of a round of P90X and am realy enjoying it. Plyometrix is my fav! I think I'm an extreamist and tri's are just right up my lane. I am 25 from Amarillo,TX.

Family: I am married (5yr) with a 2yr old and 3yr old. I am a full time student finishing my Mechanical Engineering degree. I will be in school untill June; then full time at a nuclear plant for 7 months ( they are going to pay me to blow things up, and this is why I decided on Engineering).  Then back to school for 2 more years. So, my schedule is crazy(just the way I like it)

Current Training: I plan to finish P90X before spring break. After spring break I plan to start a 22 week plan I found on BT. I also want to run a 5K in June/July.

Goal/Weightloss: I want to work on endurance. I dont need to loose weight and am happy with my diet. I am hoping to get guidence on what gear to buy. I am on a strict budget (we have one income, two kids, & me full time in school). I need help on a wetsuit and bike (& anything else I dont know about, lol). I am already scanning craigslist for a bike(b/c I will need it by March).

And I will take ANY advice. I dont know a single person in the tri business!

As for gear: I have shoes and need help with everything else!

Edited by numberlock 2011-01-07 4:49 PM

@Sharon - That is funny, I was just in downtown Davis for the first time yesterday. It is really nice area. I wanted to go look at some bikes. They are so tempting, but I am trying to convince myself that after I complete my first tri that will be my reward. 

@Christal - Welcome to the group. Good work on p90, that is not easy. I did about 2 months modified a while ago and liked the results. People who finish it get amazing results. I am no expert on gear, but I have have a lower entry road bike (Trek 1000) that is 8 years old and everyone I have talked to says to stick with that until I am convinced I want to keep after doing triathlons. I think you can pick one up for $200-$300 on craigslist.

Tomorrow I am doing a little duathlon 2mi run, 7 mi bike, 2 mi run.  It is free and I signed up a month ago. I figure it will be good practice to see how things are run, make transitions, and a comparison to when I do it next year after a year of training :)

Edited by BMiller71 2011-01-07 5:07 PM

The bike I have is a 15 year old race bike (giant peleton) which I bought new back then. It doesn't need repair by the way. It will just go for an anual service. I may go buy a new bike though. Depends if I get some friends to climb the Mont Ventoux and or Alpe d'Huez. Or even do the "La Marmotte" (A yearly race with 4 climbs in the French Alps)

But in that case the bike will still be a general purpose racing bike. I do not think I would go for a specialized bike for tri's or time trials until I'm confident of going for a tri carreer after this season.

Cheers.

Hi everyone! Room for one more?! Below is my info:

Name: Kecia (key- shuh)

Story: I am 33 yr old teacher living in Syracuse, NY. I am not a natural athlete in any way, shape or form! I was involved in some sports during high school but I enjoyed the social aspect way more than the competition. I have had my fair share of struggles, but then again, haven't we all?! I battled w/ a drinking problem for about 10 years before getting help and I am glad to say I have been sober for almost 5 yrs!! (This May will be 5 yrs.) If someone told me ten yrs ago, that I would be able to live w/o alcohol, I wouldn't have believed them. As the past few yrs have past I realized that I really am capable of change- although it is hard and, sometimes, painfully slow. I am continuing to push the boundaries of what I think I am capable of doing. Last spring, I joined a beginner running program and at the end of summer completed my first 5K! I did another one in fall (where I learned that outdoor running and freezing CNY temps are not a good mix for me and my asthma!) Over the summer I also did a 30K charity bike ride w/ a student and it was great! I just registered for the Irongirl (sprint) this summer!

Family Status: Enagaged to my bf of the past 6 yrs~ wedding set for 09/30/11!

Current training: Starting a Beginner Swim Clinic 1/18

Goal: Finish the Irongirl this summer in the allotted time

Weight: Currently @ 170 at 5'4"(I have been upwards of 200 in my drinking days; feel my best @ 150...We will see!)

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories and inspiration and allowing me to share mine with you!!   ~Kecia

Hi Robin!

I read your information, and you sound like just the support I need!
This semester, I will be training for and completing my first ever triathlon. 

Can I still join?

Thanks!!

Kecia, welcome!!

First, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Very exciting and I'm sure you'll be busy planning while you're training for triathlons!

Thanks for sharing your personal story with us. I, too, enjoy the social aspects of sports and with triathlons, there is plenty of it especially if you join a training group. Whoo hoo on completing your first 5k and that 30k bike ride! I would love to get back to doing some bike tours again and you're inspiring me to get myself back on the bike to train for one.

I see you're signed up for the IronGirl triathlon. I did the IronGirl triathlon in my first year of triathlons in 2006 and I loved it! It was one of my fondest tris because I actually ran the entire run portion of that race and actually came in 2nd in Athena division...very special memories!

Totally indentify with your weightloss journey! I'm also around 5'4" (actually 5'3 1/2"!! Hey, every bit counts!!) and I'm around 170 lbs right now and I got down to about 145 lbs at my lightest and that was the best I've ever felt, but it was not a healthy weightloss (came at a time when I was going through a breakup). I've never been thin and my body seems to love being around the weight that I am right now.

Looking forward to a great season and hearing about all your successes!

Robin,

Don't feel pressured to answer posts a certain way. I just consolidated my reply that way because I felt like it!! You can call me "zeefraug" anytime...it's a bit of a nickname for me! Your Murph workout today was inspirational!!! Amazing! How is your ankle, btw? Is it all better now and are you able to bear full-weight on it or do you still have restrictions? My partner had a traumatic fracture of her right ankle several years ago and it has limited her ability to dorsiflex her ankle which makes it hard for her to swim and even run. She does have 2 plates and 8 metal screws holding her ankle together though and hates winter/cold weather because her ankle hurts from all the metal in there.

Anyhow, the marathon injury was never really diagnosed. I started having ITB problems in my right leg, with some sciatica and after one of the long runs (over 15 miles), I could hardly walk for a week and just couldn't go back to the mileage and we were ramping up the miles as we closed in on the last few weeks of marathon training, so I was forced to withdraw. I haven't run more than 3 miles since that time and I still suffer from tight ITB symptoms even today with CrossFit workouts, so I'll have to figure out a way to rehab that if I think about a marathon again. I would love to do a marathon and that is not entirely out of the question yet.

As for a training plan...I don't have a formal one right now. I'm focused on keeping up with my CrossFit WODs through the mainsite and throwing in CFE workouts a couple of times a week. Next week I plan to start Olympic Lifting "classes" with a friend who is getting certified this weekend. I am planning a run/bike training plan, just haven't figured out what I'll do yet...for now it's just intervals.

Oh btw...I lived in Phoenix for 3 years! Went to the Arizona School of Health Sciences (it's in Mesa now), when it used to the housed at Grand Canyon University. Got my masters in physical therapy.


Christal,

P90x!!!! Cool!! I would love to try it, thought about it when I went solo with my CrossFit, but I live in an old house that is on pier and beams and I'm afraid of jumping up and down in the living room! I keep thinking I'll end up falling through the floor!!! And I can't believe you get to blow things up for a living! That sounds like fun!

As for equipment: I don't know that you need a wetsuit, depending on what distance you plan to do triathlons in. Certainly not with a sprint. I'm assuming that Amarillo is warm in the spring and summer (triathlon season)? If so, I suggest that you get a pair of tri shorts and tri top, that way you can swim/bike/run in it and never have to worry about changing...makes transitions very easy! I would also get elastic laces for your running shoes, again, wonderful for transitions. As for a bike, I second Brian with getting either a used bike off Craigslist or if you really want a new bike, you can get one on www.bikesdirect.com   I got my bike from them and got the Windsor road bike and it was only $350 brand new....I only got the average bike components. You can get real fancy, but since I was just starting out with triathlons, I felt like I didn't deserve a $1000 road bike and my bike has served me well. In fact, several others thought I had a fancy bike because my bike came in a cool mint color and it looked like an expensive road bike.


Brian,

I always want to type, "Brain"..... LOL!!!   Isn't Davis cool? I so miss that little town and that downtown was cool, a coffeeshop on every corner! I hope that hasn't changed. I named my dog, "Mishka" after Mishka's Cafe...hope it's still there!! Funny thing, I had no idea that Davis was such a great bike town until I got into triathlons in 2006 and that was over 10 years after I left!

Isn't it so tempting to buy a brand new bike? Look at the link I gave Christal, they have pretty decent bikes. I still drool over new bikes...have you seen the bike porn here on BT?


Stign,

Funny you mentioned Arizona...I used to live there! Although it's pretty darn hot here in Louisiana, well very humid AND hot. Although we are supposed to get some wintry mix on Sunday.

@ Christal - Welcome to the group! 3:30am geesh. That's hardcore. I've been proud of myself for making a commitment to 6am. You definitely have me beat! I have family in Amarillo. There's a good Texas town for ya. Must be hard to get hill training around there though...

So until March, your focus is on P90X and finding gear for tri training? You won't be doing any tri sports? Sounds like you might be in sorta the same camp as me -- strength focus. Are you doing the Paleo diet that goes along with P90X?

@Brian -- Good luck tomorrow at the duo!

@Stijn -- I'll start addressing some of your specific questions tomorrow, and hopefully some others can still chime in. (That was a long list!) I have a friend doing Alpe d'Huez triathlon this year -- that sounds fun!

I have found it makes sense to stick with road bikes too instead of tri bikes since I often find myself tackling challenging hilly courses. I like having a bike that is most versatile.

@Kecia -- welcome too! What an inspirational story you have! Congrats on all you have accomplished in the last 5 years! And yes, keep pushing the boundaries! We're here to help.

@amybanaszek -- Yes come on in.

I am planning on taking 12 (so 1 more after amy), and then close the group. I haven't heard from some of the earlier posters again yet, so I don't think it will be too crowded.

@zee -- I don't have full range of motion in my ankle again yet, and can't do any squatting (hence replacing air squats with kettle ball swings today). But I've come from being on crutches, to getting along quite well relatively quickly (injured my ankle on Thanksgiving), so I'm just thrilled to be able to do as much as I can!

With your background in physical therapy, are you able to work on your ITB symptoms yourself? I dealt with iTBS on both sides when I was just a runner... Ugh!

My crossfit gym specializes in Olympic weightlifting. Can't wait til I get into some of that stuff as well.





Edited by robin314159 2011-01-07 11:26 PM

Hi everyone,

Here is the list of everyone in the group (so far - we'll take one more):

kikadika1
Niezels
BMiller71
numberlock
kvenier
zeefraughtries
stephig
kimboreeser
jamesjong
DKusaywa
amybanaszek
robin314159

Add us to your friends list (Settings - Training Blog Customization - Friends), and especially if you keep up your training progress in your training blog - expect to get personal inspires (and more) on a fairly regular basis.

The training blog on this site is really a useful tool, so I would highly recommend tracking progress there. (I've been using this site 5 years, and can generate a graph of 5 years of training progress. ) The training blog can become a motivator in itself -- you may become driven to increase your weekly / monthly / yearly totals. And well -- it allows us to more easily cheer you on.

And if you haven't filled out an introduction yet, better get on it!

Last, if there's anything I can do to make this group more useful for you, let me know.

Robin -

Awesome, thanks for accepting me! Here's my info:

*Name: Amy Banaszek
* Story: I am a sophomore in college, and really miss being on a team.  I've played almost every single sport that exists, with emphasis on basketball, volleyball, figure skating, and track in my life so far, and I feel like a triathlon would be an awesome challenge for me.  I run on my own, bike all over campus every day, and swim occasionally.  I've worked as a lifeguard in the past also.  I'm PSYCHED to get back to school and start training with our club team!
* Family status: Single, dating
* Current training: Starting January 17, I will be training with the team, and I believe we alternate between swimming running and biking every day. 
* Goal(s) / Race(s) for 2011: I am not certain how the racing works, but I believe there is at least one in April.  I will probably run a few 5k's in between because I love those. 
* Weight Loss: I was always overweight in high school - anywhere between 160 and 170.  During my freshman year, I went down to about 127 with the 'help' of a bad boyfriend.  After I broke up with him, I gained some weight back, and to be honest I'm afraid to weigh myself but I think I'm around 145.  I hope to get back down to around 130 at some point, and I know training will help.  All I need is some personal will power.  Sort of a constant battle, ya know?

Also, I've started doing Crossfit too! My friend is in the Marine Reserves and he's been kicking my butt with it recently.  When I get back to school I hope to integrate practice with Crossfit. 

Thanks again!

Well lesson one learned. After doing a short ride yesterday, this morning I go out to get my bike for the race and have a flat tire. I think no worries I have a spare. Get the spare out and it is flat, so no race for me. I guess it is just a regular training day. I can't imagine how pissed I would be if this was the tri I had been training for several months.

Howdy, Amy,

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like with your biking, running, swimming past, that triathlon is the sport is for you! What town do you live in? Is your tri team through school?

Brian - Was it a spare tube that was flat, or whole other tire?

If this ever happened prior to an important race day, you might be able to borrow a spare tube off of someone at the race...

Edited by robin314159 2011-01-08 1:15 PM

Spare tube was flat. Who knows how long its been around, but I didn't expect that. I told my wife the same thing, if it was an important race I just would have went and bummed one from someone. Well still a good day. Got my run and swim in before the football games started.

Hi Amy! Another CrossFitter! Yay!! I think it's great that you have a club to workout with. It does help with accountability, I trained my first season with a local tri club and it was very helpful.

Brian, what a bummer with your two flats today! But good attitude and glad you were still able to workout despite it. What teams are you watching today? LSU won the Cotton Bowl yesterday and Saints play against SeaHawks today....Geaux Saints!

Robin, are you doing Paleo? I'm contemplating going back to it.

Hi everyone! My name is Amber Bonarrigo, I'm 17 years old and a senior in high school and I would very much like to be the final member to join your group.

Story: I am a dedicated athlete who is always looking for new challenges. I work at a bike shop and one day the subject of tri's came up and I thought, "I'd like to try that." So now I'm miraculously fitting in triathlon training between work, school, judo, family, and other random events that seem to consistently pop up in my life.

Goal: I plan on competing in my first tri in April and if I like it doing more throughout the summer.

Training: I'm not following a specific training plan, because my schedule is too sporadic to allow for it. I got a membership at my local gym and I typically train on the weekends which usually includes a spin class, weightlifting and core workout, home time on my rollers, and at least two dips in the pool, I haven't started consistently running but I'm working on it and of the three, running is the event I'm least worried about. Swimming really is my weakness, I have no prior experience, and because I'm under 18 they won't let me enter the Master's Class. Using BT and other resources I have been able to work my way up to a consecutive 150m swim.

Races: I competed in my first mountain bike race, rather spontaneously, in October and won first place. New Years Day I ran my first 5k and won 2nd place for my division! This year I'm hoping to do one, possibly more tri's, do a cycling road race, and run some more 5k's maybe larger distances.

Weightloss: I became a vegetarian about 4 months ago and lost about 15 lbs. I've never considered myself overweight, I've always been really active, but I certainly feel much more comfortable at the weight I'm at now. Now I fluctuate between 115-120 lbs. typically and I'm about 5'3'' in height.

Thank you all for sharing your stories. You've all been a great inspiration. I wanted to join your group specifically, Robin, because I would like to consider myself an aspiring adventurer, so I think it's really cool you're so active. This summer I'm hoping to plan my own bike tour from where I live in Illinois to Milwaukee, WI. It will be 240 mi. round trip and if I can get a good group of people to go with me and work out some of the mechanics it should be doable. On top of that, I love camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, and I'm hoping to get into skydiving, and really whatever opportunities come my way! Happy training to you all!

Amber

Welcome Amber! Glad to have another adventurer along! Yup, we can give pointers on your swim. I suppose they usually make 17 year olds join competitive swim teams? Huh! Is the swim for your first race in April a 800m lake swim? What town are you from?

Oh - and skydiving is expensive. Do you live close to a good drop zone?

@zee -- yeah - paleo all the way. I'm doing this challenge: http://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/

There's a link to my food log so far on top of my training blog. I'm learning to support the life and times of the vegetable.

@Brian -- dude! Stock up on some tubes, yo! <-- gangsta tri talk

Edited by robin314159 2011-01-08 4:28 PM

Amy - No dairy because the high number of people who have slight allergies to lactose. The paleo people say you get all your nutrients (calcium, etc) through veggies. They point to, for instance, the Japanese diet that includes no dairy, but the folks have nice long life spans. But being on paleo, I am definitely sad to see dairy go.

Stijn -

I'm trying to avoid being too advicey (i think i was too advicey earlier with Brian), but you asked for it, so here is your essay:

Your run plan is a good one. One thing to consider: treadmill running is not the same as road running. On the road, you have to use your hamstrings to create acceleration. Also, the obvious differences in hardness of surface, and lack of obstacles on the treadmill. I know plenty of people transition quite well from treadmill to road, but just to say: there are differences; be aware of them.

Also, I've seen recommendations to always set the treadmill at 1% incline to more accurately reflect how the road feels.

Your spin class plan is good for building some base cycling fitness. Keep it up. It sounds like if you have owned your bike for so long you must have reasonable bike handling skills. February is a good time to start taking your bike out for some longer rides on the weekend.

On your swim, I take it you are slowly transitioning from breastroke to front stroke (crawl)? How's your form? Now is the time to work on form through lotsa drills. Form is everything on the swim.

Now, at the beginning of your season, is also the best time to do strength training. One coach of mine recommended to always do these lifts 2x/wk to hit the major muscle groups: lat pull-down, cable row, squat, walking lunges, bench press. He recommended, daily a 15 min ab routine. I never did all that, and I also don't think doing the exact same moves in the gym is the most effective way to build strength. But point is: strength training is good to do at this point.

Squats and walking lunges (and variations of each) are also good at building up the muscle groups you need to support your joints for biking/running. I would almost always recommend taht someone getting into running do some form of squatting as well.

And don't forget the last major factor: stretching. Besides yoga, I rarely do any cold stretching, but be highly aware of what your body is telling you - what's tight. If you have anything tight, do some dynamic stretching, leg swings, knee ups, and the like to loosen things. Once warm, do stop and stretch.

Your Q's:
- 10% rule. True. What counts is the amount of increased time *running* per week. You should not increase your run distance/time by more than 10% week to week. And occasionally, if you are feeling overly-worked, scale back a week to let yourself recuperate.

- 5k run/swim time. It's rather up to you, but I think Mar 27 would be a good time to try a 5k / run combination. As in: go try it, see what you think of it. Do try to get in a road run or 2 before the race. It will give you a good taste of multi-sport racing. Is the swim in a lake/ocean or a pool?

- I'm not sure I follow exactly what you're thinking to do to divide your 29 weeks. My favorite training methodology is based off of Joe Friel: http://www.joefrielsblog.com/

The basic tenets are:
- plan in 4 week blocks. every 4th week is a rest week (rest meaning, shorter workouts, IF you need a bit of a break).
- early season blocks are low intensity, skill-building, base-building, strength-building blocks.
- as you approach the race, your blocks gain in intensity & speed, and begin to simulate the race conditions more accurately
- aim your season at your "A" priority race, and use "B" priority races to help train.

But this is all good and well for super distance racing. For sprint racing, there is a lot more flexibility.

But really to keep it simple, a good option would be to find a 12 week winter maintenance plan (perhaps on BT?) to follow for your first 9 weeks -- then follow it with a 20 week sprint training plan.

Edited by robin314159 2011-01-08 5:29 PM

@zee - just a football fan and in a playoff fantasy football pool where I have Brees and Colston so I am a Saints fan today, but I am a Bears fan. 

@Robin - haha already done! And I am here for advise so let me have it when ever you want. 

@Amber - Welcome to the group. Sounds like you are really active which is a good thing. I am from the far south burbs of Chicago. 

So sad, my Saints lost today!

Robin,

Terrible news coming out of Tucson today.

Thanks to the link to Whole9Life, I'll have to take a look at it. I also follow Mark's Daily Apple and the Primal Blueprint. As a physical therapist, I do have some knowledge to deal with sports injuries, but I am not an orthopedic PT, rather, I work in geriatrics and neurology. So I turn to my peers and other athletes sometimes for specific help with injuries. I would definitely do a lot better if I did more mobility work and stretching and my biggest challenge right now crossfitting by myself is doing a proper warmup before hitting the WODs.


Amy,

The Primal Blueprint that was started by Mark Sisson of www.marksdailyapple.com allows dairy. It is paleo as well, but a little more relaxed with certain things. I've also heard of "moo paleo"...basically those who follow paleo but eat dairy. I am most definitely more relaxed when it comes to the paleo diet (whenever I'm following it), I don't know that I could go strict paleo for very long. This is an interesting website to read through as it outlines all the different aspects of the Paleo Diet and all the different variations: http://paleodiet.com/definition.htm 


Hi Amber!

Welcome to the group. Congrats on all the recent success for your athletic endeavors. Way to go! Gosh, I'm feeling old (soon to be 38 years old!), but it is exciting to be in the prescence of young 'uns like you! LOL! Not sure I could go strict vegetarian, but I think that eating less meat is definitely a good healthy option.




Edited by zeefraugtries 2011-01-08 7:45 PM