Bob Stocks' Group - Full for now! (Page 20)

Hey Jeff! Nice to see you got some new toys!! When you use them only use the finger strap. When you start your pull, if your elbow drops when you start your pull the paddle will want to fall off. This will tell you that you need to "catch" the water with a high elbow and reach around that barrell.

The other parts of the stroke that will benefit from the paddles are the entry and finish. If you are not entering the water with a good hand position, the paddle will let you know. If you pull your hand out too early (no comments about early pullout!) the paddle will literally come off your hand.

I would limit the use of the paddles to just a few hundred yards in the first few weeks. I'll look forward to hearing how things go with them. Patience is the key!

On the set you mentioned, it might have been better to try to hold 2:02's instead of under 2:00. The times will come down as you work more speed work into your workouts. Pacing will get you to feel what different paces feel like and the effort it takes to get to those paces. Try some sets like 5 x 100 @ 2:15 holding 2:10's. This will give you a shorter rest but you should be swimming at an easier effort to hold the times. Make sense?

Happy Friday everyone!!! Anyone racing this weekend? I have a painful spin scheduled for today:

5' Stand z4, followed immediately by a 12" sprint
2' rec
4' stand, 24" sprint
2' rec
3' stand, 36" sprint
2' rec
2' stand, 48" sprint
2' rec
1' stand, 1' sprint

On all stands, keep rpms' below 65 :-)

On tap for tomorrow:

Main set: 2 x 20' z4 (this is just below your Time Trial effort… 10' recovery between sets.
Do this with nutrition. Follow up with a 30' brick (15' fast / 15' easy)

Anyone care to join me?

Team Aquaphor is forming for 2009 if anyone might be interested. I was on the team this year and they give you product samples to hand out and use as well as about $300 in clothing to train and race in. Speed is not a factor in their consideration, just that you live a healthy and active lifestyle and do 6 races throughout the year! Here's the link!

http://amgteams.activecm.net/Page101.aspx

Pacing and speed, clearly something I have overlooked in a big way. It seems I have been so focused on technique and distance that I have sacrificed speed. I need to set a goal for my sets and start keeping track better, so obvious on my last time trial!

Can I get help Bob with this, a good goal time for my 50,100,200,500 sets? My sprint 100 is 1:17, normally I struggle but can get a good number of sets in 1:25-1:30. My workouts are already on our board when we jump in, I guess I have been guilty of just trying to get through the workout instead of having a goal of speed or pacing, although suggested times are written along with rest intervals most of the time they are too easy or hard.

You're getting some great pool time Stuart, nice job! If your sprint 100 is a 1:17 I would suggest a goal time for hard 50's would be :36 with around 20 sec rest. So if the team is doing 10 x 50 @ 1:00 that would be perfect. If they are doing 10 x 50 @ :50 try to make it a pace set and hold :42's or :43's at an easier effort. Same with the 100's, if you are getting a good :40 to 1:00 rest make them a hard set and try to hold sub 1:20's. If they are doing sets on 1:45 or so back off on the speed and pace them at different speeds to get 10 or 15 sec rest.

200's and 500's are different animals. Pick a pace that you can hold steady for for the entire swim. Try to keep an eye on the clock to hold a constant pace.  I hope this answers your question.

Yes, also thanks for raising the topic ! I wish I could swim more, my masters coach says a minimum of three days to maintain fitness, 3+ to make improvements. I love to swim but it can be frustrating, thanks for the help! I have my stroke videos that I am trying to link so you can have a peek at, however, having trouble because of the format and memory size.

Don't be afraid to direct questions about video format and other computer geeky stuff to marmadaddy. He's the site support guru.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/contact.asp

Thanks for the 411 on the paddles, I did a set of 4x 100 (alt 50 catch drill/50 paddles)

No races this weekend, just lots of workin' out.

I'm doing an off road winter triathlon this weekend.  A good friend of mine has been putting this race on for the last 5 or 6 years.  The course starts off with an off-road 7 mile run, followed by a 6 mile kayak, and finishes with a 10 mile mountain bike.  I haven't been in a kayak in 2 years, so I don't plan to set any speed records.  I hope everyone has a great weekend. 

http://www.winterchallenge.com/wc_index.htm

I will be in a gym all day tomorrow for a youth wrestling tournament in Tioga, PA.  I hope to get a longer run outside on Sunday.

I'll stand by cheer you on - while I sip on a nice Guinness!

Actually I like the looks of that set, I'll work that in next week.

I'm getting my car inspected tomorrow morning, and luckily my gym is pretty close to the garage.  So I'll drop it off, and head to the gym.  Hopefully I'll get in a swim and a run, but if it's too packed, I'll hit the pavement for a nice long run.

OK Bob, I tried the pacing tonight with 7-100s on 2:15.  The good news is that I was able to keep a pretty consistent pace.  What was a little strange was that I had a hard time slowing down to finish at 2:00.  The first 100 was 1:45.  I tried to slow down and came up with 1:45 again.  Tried again to slow down and ended up at 1:50 which is pretty much where I remained (1-100 was at 1:52).

I think that next time I do this, I will do the 100's on 2:00 and attempt to keep the pace at 1:50.  Does that make sense?

It does make sense George and I think you were feeling how easy it is to swim more efficiently. When you try to swim easier, you go faster. Strange concept eh? Keep up the good work, it will definitely pay off!!

Today was a do as I say not as I do day as far as mentoring goes. I was supposed to have a 75 min run with 45 min at a medium fast pace. I decided on a route that was about 10 miles figuring I'd get in an extra 15 minutes or so. When I got to the turnaround point I realized that I still had about 7 miles to go, uh oh!! I went a little over the 10% rule, about 40% over the 10% rule. I had  a few potty breaks and I stopped to refuel at a convenient store. Thank heavens I brought some cash, that Gatorade was just what the legs needed.

Stick to the 10% rule, it's safer that way. No more than a 10% increase in the length of your long run and total weekly running volume.

Wow--sounds like a minor miscalculation!!  You might want to rename that route so you know the length next time!  Nice run though...

I got in a 30 min swim this morning.  I didn't want to go any longer as my knee started hurting from bending to make turns.  I wasn't pushing off, just the bend hurt.  Biking hurt the other night when I tried that, so I think I am left with upper body weight training and core training.  None of the pain was significant this week, just enough that I am afraid to do more damage to whatever is wrong.  I see the knee doctor tomorrow morning and I am hoping he gives me an idea of what is okay to push through and what pain means stop.

And, of course, I got injured right when the weather turns warmer.  It is so nice outside!!

Good luck at the doctor tomorrow.  I hope you get good news!

Sorry to hear about the news, hopefully the MRI will show him to be wrong. (Think positive! ) The good thing is that it's still early in the year and plenty of time to recover. Keep doing what you can without pain to keep the cardio up!