zia_cyclist's Group - FULL (Page 2)

Happy New Year!

With the start of the 2007 season only a few months away, it's time to think about your goals.  We can list our goals here and also post them in our blogs.  Your blog has space for short term and long term goals.  Setting goals for your season is one of the most important aspects of your training plan.  Your goals should be SMART goals:

1. Specific - the why, when, how, what, etc. of your goal.
2. Measurable - put a number on your goal so you can measure your progress.
3. Accountable - your goal must be something that you have control over and are accountable for.
4. Realistic - your goal must be achievable and within your capabilities (this doesn't mean easy!).
5. Time-bound - your goal must have a date for completion.

Using this framework, I'll start and list my goals for the 2007 season.  I have three primary goals for 2007:

1. Improve my running pace to 8:30 pace in a 13.1 mile runing race by 6/24/07.  This goal will help me achieve my next goal.
2. Finish Buffalo Springs 70.3 on 6/24/07 in 5 hours 15 minutes or less.
3. Finish Redman Triathlon on 9/22/07 in less than 11 hours.

My training plan and workouts will be focused on achieving these goals.  Intermediate or short term goals can also be set to help achieve the longer term, primary goals.

TJ

Jim,

Happy New Year.  You are correct....all zeros....a new year.  And my planned training graph now has a big spike where my 07 plan takes off! 

I'm really looking forward to 07.  Should be a good year.

TJ

>>>Your head shouldn't really rotate.  It's more of a rotation of your whole body so that your body is at about a 45 degree angle (or more) in the water.  Then a slight movement of your head and you breath.   

Swimming is so much about technique and form.  I suggest joining a master's swim group.  I swam with a master's group this year.  The master's group really helped me improve my form and my speed.  If you can swim 3200 yards, you are doing very well.  What's your pace like?  Improving speed doesn't come from more power or from a faster arm turnover.  Speed comes from improved technique and form.

OWS is very different than the pool.  The only way to become better at the OWS is to practice.  Navigation, swimming in a straight line, is key.  I sight about every 10 stokes or so.  Try to find some feet and draft; you can save a huge amount of energy. 

The swim start.  I used to start in the middle trying to 'seed' myself where I thought I needed to be.  This usually meant I was fighting it out with a bunch of other swimmers.  Then, a tri coach suggested this: start in the front and to the side opposite the side you breath on.  If you breath on the left, then start all the way to the right.  I tried this.  It works great in wave starts (not sure I'd try this in a 2000 person mass start).  Starting in front and to the side means you don't have to fight it out with a bunch of other swimmers.  Starting to the side opposite your breathing side means with every breath you can sight off the pack.  breath every 2nd stroke and you just follow the pack.  It works.  Once out of the start (about 200 meters) then you'll sight as normal and find some feet.

Another strategy is to just start all the way in the back.  Then you don't have to fight the crowds and really you'll only loose a couple minutes of time. 

Jamie,

I wanted to do CapTex, but our 20th wedding anniversary is the next weekend and we are going out of town.  So, I think it's best if I don't go to Austin.  I did CapTex last year and loved that race.  I had a my best swim ever there. 

That's an agressive goal time.  But looking at your logs and your run pace, you should be able achieve a 2:22:00

I've got to improve my run speed this year.

TJ

Jim,

I'm a breakfast eater.  So, about 3 hours before the race I eat a 500 - 600 calorie breakfast - oatmeal pancakes, milk, Ensure, OJ.  For a HIM or IM I bump that up to 700- 1000 calories.

During the run I relied on Gatorade Endurance (GE) and Hammer Gel.  I train with GE  and GU during my runs.  The Whiterock Marathon had GE and Hammer Gel at the aid stations (along with pretzels, oranges, etc.).  I took a chance that Hammer Gel would sit well with my stomach.  It did.  I had GE at ever other aid station and Hammer Gel every 45 minutes or so with plain water (no GE with the gel).  Pretty simple.  This probably gave me about 150 - 200 calories per hour. 

I would expect that Houston will have well stocked aid stations.  Have you checked the website?  Sometimes the aid station supplies are listed.