jsiegs and slornow's Train Hard and Have Fun group - CLOSED for Training (Page 2)

Hmmm something did not work quite right, half my post is missing.

^^^^^^This is the plan I will be starting at the end of May. I plan on attending two, one hour long, master swim classes a week, swimming between 4500-6500M depending on the workouts scheduled. I will also do some OWS as the training progresses.

Is this enough swim training for a HIM race? I plan on skipping all the swim workouts ini the plan and just using these classes, plus OWS, for my swim workouts.

Hello : )

If there is still room in this group I would like to join in the fun.  I am signed up to do the HIM in Orlando on May 15th, with the desire to do a full IM in October.  I have been training with my dad/twin brother/sister-in-law who will all be doing the Florida HIM with me.

With the race less than three weeks away, I'm starting to get a little nervous.  I have done the 20 week beginner HIM training plan on BT and I feel good and strong. 

Let me know if there is still room in your group.

Rob Avola

Hour-long bike ride on the trainer tonight, hopefully while catching up on some DVR'd TV.

I was going to complain about the length of this ride (still not used to the 'stepping it up' part of going from Sprint to Oly distance) but then I saw that you are doing that AND swimming today. Kind of puts it in perspective. 

Feeling super super tired and cranky nearing the end of two straight build weeks. Plus all the Chicago sports hoopla has been keeping me up late, and work has been killer lately. Need to get some good sleep tonight. Gonna try to be in bed at 10:30. Until then, coffee is my friend.

I have a couple thoughts for you:

I took a look at your run volume and am a little concerned you might over extend yourself because you've metioned running injuries have plagued you in the past.  How will your effort in the 5K be?  Are you racing it hard, or will it be same effort as a training run?  if you'll be going hard, I'd probably recommend waiting until Sunday to do another run.  If you are going at your training pace, can you just keep running another few miles at the end?  If not, I like doing double runs in a day to get good milage in while reducing the overall stress on your body.  However, just know that 2 3 mile runs isn't the same as 1 six mile in terms of your body's physiological gains.  perhaps the long run can wait a day or two and you can do all 6 at once?

Re: Recovery.  I don't like recovery weeks.  But that's me.  Recovery week for an individual sport while maintaining/building the other two I do like though.  That's personal preference more than science, and unfortunately I don't know if the science backs up that approach, but I had a coach and friend build a custom plan for me and it incorporates that principle.  I went crazy big on the bike one week with normal run/swim.  The next week, the bike was tapered back, but my run was higher.  It keeps overall volume consistent (not fluctuating really high or low which causes disruptions to life) but lets you get those "Big" weeks in.  IMHO, you shouldn't need a full recovery week while building like this.  I generally don't schedule recovery weeks either, but only do them if my body is telling me I need one.

What are your thoughts about it? Does anyone else have any thoughts on running and recovery weeks?

Welcome Glenn! Glad to have you.  Thanks for sharing your training.  It will help the group if we can all see each other's logs, make "inspires" and see how each other is doing. 

Cool.  Thanks

Here are some of my races in the last year:

• Naples Tri (short one) 5K run, 10 mile bike and .25 swim in June 2010, 1:07:30
• Turkey Trot, 4 miler run, 33:57 in Nov. 2010
• River Ruts and Roots 1/2 Marathon (sprained my ankle on a root, ouch, kept me out a while) 2:17:35 in Jan. 2011
• Hooters to Hooters 1/2 Marathon 1:51:47 in March 2011
• Naples Phil 10K, 49:07 in April 2011
• NEC 5K, 23:50 in April 2011

Future races are

• Orlando HIM, May 2011
• Naples Tri, June 2011
• Clearmount IM, Oct. 2011

Past races in last 5 years include:

• Chicago Marathon 2007 and 2008
• Naples Half Marathon, a bunch
• Various Half Marathons
• Three or four Metric Century Bike Rides

OK - This is my thrid try at a response...dang computer is on the fritz.

Q1 - can you try setting it for Z1/2/3 then just remembering your LT HR?  Z4 will be just below or at LT and Z5 above.

Q2 - You certainly can.  Some people even prefer it.  It's all about using that HR data to know what's going on with your body and "calibrating" your RPE (rate of perceived exertion).  Try it out on a training run - aim for your workout target without looking at HR then go back afterwards to see how close you were.  HR can be off for a number of reasons - fatigue, dehydration, hot/cold, so knowing that correlation to RPE is very imported regardless of whether you race with HR or not.

Q3 - It's well established at intervals and hard efforts lead to big gains with less time.  A good training plan will balance hard and easy efforts, especially on the run.  Swim and bike are relatively low impact and hard intervals are pretty safe, even for new athletes or with reduced volume.  Running is a different beast however.  Have you heard the mantra "run lots, mostly easy sometimes fast" around here?  They are really words to live by.  Running too hard without being ready for it is a surefire way to get injured.  I did that, and while I didn't get injured, I was constantly nagged with soreness and teetering on that injured point.  If a workout the next day is compromised by a run that leaves you too sore, that is a very bad thing.  I have noticed with my own training that have a strong base of easy running (Z1/2) left me MUCH more prepared to add speed safely.

The running debate on slow/fast, how much and when is one that rages on.  That is MY opinion on the matter and one that has been successful for ME.  what have other people found?

Room for one more?  I saw you were from Baltimore and figured this had to be the best group to join

NAME: Christy

STORY:  I did my first tri 8 years ago.  I stopped for a few years and got back into it last year.

FAMILY STATUS:  I'm married with a 21 month old and a 4 year old.

CURRENT TRAINING:  I'm using BT half ironman plan. So far, so good.  I've had a few set backs with sick kids and other family stuff but I'm training a lot more than I did last year.  I'm really trying to get faster on my bike.  It's a real struggle.

THIS YEAR'S RACES:

Columbia Triathlon - 5/22

Baltimore 10 miler 6/18

Mountaineer HIM 6/26

Half full (swim portion of relay) 10/2

That's all I've signed up for.  Like to do another one or two.

Welcome Rob!

Good to have a fellow MDer.  Whereabouts in Baltimore?  I'm currently in Canton, but moving in June.  Haven't made the final decision with my fiancee yet, but we'll either be in Canton again or in the White Marsh, Parkville, Perry Hall suburbs region.

I'm in Parkville.  I'd stay in Canton as long as you can .  I miss the city.  But, not the place I want to be with 2 little ones.

Haha,"addicted to triathlons"...aren't we all?

I've biked through Utah twice and will honestly say is is my favorite/most beautiful place I've ever biked.  Nevada....not so much .  I biked into Vegas one year though, and that was nice because it's all downhill.  That sounds like a really fun bike trip and it's really nice you're helping out those around you.

I did an easy 4 mile run/walk this morning. I don't get 'good' running in during the week because I'm usually pushing a stroller.

I'm hoping to get some riding in this evening.

I've been in the city for 10 years...I'm ready to leave.  I work in Edgewood, so I want to shorten the commute a bit too.  My fiancee is new to city living so she wants to stay another year.  "Happy wife, happy life" means I'm probably gonna end up here for another year though!

Today's my off day!!!

Geez, thanks... this was an awesome answer! 

Re: my running. I am kind of scared about overextending too, to be honest, given that every time I've tried to increase my running distance in past year's I've gotten injured.  I want the 5K to be a pretty hard effort; I'd like to PR. That said, I have 2 other options to fit the 6-miler in:

• I do the 5K on Sat, then do the 6 mile on Tuesday (my regular run day which was supposed to be a 3 mile run). I'll have to rearrange some things at work but I think I can get it in. My "long run" the following Saturday is only 4 miles so I think this might work.
• If that doesn't work out, the other option is to do the 6 mile NEXT Saturday instead of the planned 4-mile --- but then I have consistent build weeks all the way up to the 10-miler and I don't know how susceptible that makes me to overuse issues. 

If this is confusing, here's the Hal Higdon plan I'm following http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/15Knovsch.htm --- I'm in week 6 right now.  

re: recovery. Glad that you like the idea of mixing build weeks and step-back weeks for various sports. It's the only way I'm going to get in the 10-miler AND Oly tri training on top of each other! I've never tried this approach before but it seems like it makes sense --- I'm just concerned that I'm not physically and mentally strong enough to keep the volume consistent without the break every now and again. Mentally I find a lot of value in recovery weeks. I start feeling very fatigued and the prospect of a 2-mile Tuesday run instead of a 4-mile Tuesday run seems to make it much easier to deal with. 

Couple Questions:

1. Is there any need to taper or carb load before this race? I don't consider my training ridiculous and difficult that if I stick to my regular routine next week I would collapse on race day. The only thing I'm cutting out next week is Friday's training because we do a sprint tri, and it's usually a 2-day recovery for me.

Typical week: spin tue/thurs, run/walk wed/fri, tri training fri

Race: 2 mile swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run

2. Race day check in is at 5:30. What or when do you typically eat before your race? If I eat breakfast before I get there, it would be 4 a.m. when I eat... then not again until after the race?? Or should I eat on the way, then have a zone bar once transition is set up?