Matt Gilmartin's Group- CLOSED~ we're swimming! (Page 21)

Sheryl,

Totally~ the thing I love about them is that they work your calves and your quads equally.  They will also improve your running in addition to making you have nice legs  

Matt,

Not sure if I am an expert 'cause haven't had any kids, but shot I up to 5'6 when I was 11 years old, I also keloid scar.  Anywho, doctors have recommended the use of Bio Oil (which is a Vit. A and Vit. E oil) for my scarring.  You massage it into the scar three times a day for a minimum of 3 months.  I did this for a melanoma scar on my chest and you can hardly tell it is there.  The scar is not raised and is the same colour as the rest of the skin around it.  If you can get it in the US give it a try.  It is an over the counter Pharmacy product here that isn't expensive at all.

So it is less than a week until my tri.  I'm not sure how I should be training?  Do I go hard and all out, or do I take it easy?  (It is Monday night here, so I have 5 days left to get in training).

I am getting super excited now and can't wait for this week to just hurry up already!

Catie, you definitely want to taper this week.  Nice easy workouts, and nothing that's going to stress your joints.  I'd suggest light exercise today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, then do nothing the 2 days before the race.  Stretching is OK, but don't go running or anything.

When I read the bolded part I realized Iam well tapered all the time.

Here's a nice, concise article I found on tapering.  I just Googled "sprint tri taper"... pretty good information

https://sites.google.com/site/mikerace/taperingfortriathlon

The coach of the base tri-team that I am on was thinking of ways that we could generate funds in order to pay for some of the events we are doing. He suggested we host a triathlon for base members. I'm doing the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon next month and thought we could do something along those lines. I suggested that we do it since we would need fewer volunteers and wouldn't have to shut down the roads on base. It would also give participants an opportunity to do a triathlon without having to purchase a lot of gear.

The coach responded that he liked the idea and has made me the lead POC (point of contact) for the inagural Base Indoor Tri. I now have to coordinate with the base fitness director, the gym director and the Health and Wellness director to iron out all the logistics and make this happen...

I think that from now on, I will keep my ideas to myself and my fingers off of the keyboard (the last time I sent him an e-mail for the team regarding something, he made me the POC for that too)!

Any suggestions from anyone that has ever participated in an Indoor Triathlon? I'll take all the help I can get!

LOL Mariah- I think you're some sort of natural athlete or something.  Next thing you know you're going to be coaching the Armed Forces National Triathlon team or something

As far as the indoor tri, I've never organized one, but I wouldn't think it would be too logistically challenging. Securing facilities and getting the headcount would be the place to start?

Matt-thanks for the info about the swim golf score! I'm on it, come Wednesday 

***( "Totally~ the thing I love about them is that they work your calves and your quads equally.  They will also improve your running in addition to making you have nice legs" )****

              I did check out the website for the zoomers, and was contemplating, but after this statement, I'LL BE ORDERING THEM ASAP. lol!  Maybe the reason I don't have "shapely"   legs is because I have to concentrate to make myself KICK while swimming.  I seriously could swim with my feet tied together.  Weird, I know.  I might have an issue there, seeing how I don't like to kick (?!)                                                

CRAMPS!!!

Swimming today, what I thought would be a nice easy 600m or so when at about 150m my foot started to cramp up.  I even had to stop and rest on the lane rope to stop myself from drowning.  Any ideas how I can stop this from happening again?  Is it a matter of stretching properly (or at all... I know, I know... I need to stretch more than I do)?

ps. I got to about 300m before I gave up on the idea of swimming today.  I rode home and my foot was fine during the ride.

Catie, cramps are usually a sign of a lack of electrolyte.  Make sure you are fueled up properly before training.  Foot cramps in swimming are common- definitely stretch those feet out before swimming.  Ankle rotations will help you too- do ten on both feet and go both left and right.

Catie---make sure you're getting enough potassium and sodium.  Also, try rolling a frozen water bottle firmly under your foot, especially through the arch---it can really help to stretch things out and bring relief if you're starting to experience plantar fasciitis from the running.  A PT friend also recommended, while sitting, trying to pick up marbles with your toes and dropping them into a container in order to strengthen the muscles in your feet.  Hope this was just an isolated incident for you.

Robin, great points!  Catie, I also recall rolling a golf ball or a lacrosse ball under your feet will loosen them up and make them nice, strong, and limber.  I think your issue is likely more fatigue or form than a lack of electrolytes.

YAY for your first brick! Sounds like you killed that run even if you were feeling like you were pulling concrete! I did a swim one morning before work and then a bike class after work. After the bike class, the coach suggested we go for a short run. I was dead, however, like you, it was faster than I normally run! When I got home I was thinking that even though I did all three events on the same day, when it comes time to do my tri I'm going to have to do all 3 back-to-back-to-back and I'm just wondering how long it will be during the race before I blow up!!

What kind of computer did you get? I ordered one from Amazon a few weeks ago and even though it was fairly daunting to hook it all up, I plowed right in and haven't had any problems so far! I'm sure you can manage better than you think!

Enjoy your new-found confidence because now that you know you can do a brick, you know you can do a Tri!!!

Robin- congratulations!  You'll find they get easier as you do them more.

I'm also planning on running Chicago in October!!!  We'll definitely plan a BT meetup, I know a lot of people are going to be here for it!!!  

I won't be registering anytime soon though, I want to make sure I stay healthy for a while before I commit.  A little secret about Marathons- they rarely, if ever, sell out until a month before.  Most people wait to register until their training would indicate that they can indeed do 26.2.  I will probably sign up in May assuming I stay healthy and my kids let me train

Hmmmm, I don't know if I'd wait, Matt.  Last year, the Marine Corps Marathon sold out within 24 hours of opening (probably because they have the option of letting you defer to the next year if you're not ready).  I read somewhere that Chicago sold out last year within 45 days of opening registration---which would be mid-March if the trend is the same.  After that, the only way to get a spot in these popular races is to raise money for a charity which can really add an extra layer of stress to training.  My best friend ran NYC last year for a charity and found the fundraising requirements to be daunting.  Totally hear you about staying injury free---at this age, I have definitely adopted the "less is more" approach, especially with running.  Would be fabulous to meet you---the man; the legend---in October.

Hi Catie,

I have had issues with foot cramps in the past myself, especially if I wear Zoomers/fins while training.  I agree with Matt about the electrolytes.  I take a packet of Emergen-C, which not only has Vitamin C, but also has the desired balance of sodium and potassium, every morning as soon as I get up before I workout.

I'm a massage therapist and have also found that if I massage my feet, pressing in with my thumbs where I would usually gets the cramps, it prevented the problem. 

Sheryl

would be fabulous to meet you---the man; the legend---in October. 

Haha~ I hope to not disappoint LOL

wendy109 - 2012-01-31 3:58 PM the hubby is doint the mini sprint, i'm doing the full one . he's in for a HUGE surprise. i think he thinks it's gonna be a cake walk he may change his mind after his first set of bricks. Did those again today. ran UNDER a 10 min mile ( a first for this chica!!) twice! Indeed, they do get easier, something I had serious doubts about, LOL!

Congrats on the pace, Mrs. Speed Demon.  If this were Facebook it'd be a "like".  When your hubby gets on BT he can join our group, we're full but I make exceptions for family members :D

Thanks for all the cramp advice.  Possibly it was electrolytes as I haven't been eating much lately in an attempt to lose a few kg's before the race.  Stopped that today though 'cause I have been lacking the energy to even ride home (oh, I started riding my bike to and from work last week - friggen awesome riding past all the cars stuck in peak hour!).

I am booked in for a massage on Friday after work and planed to have my calves and feet massaged on Friday afternoon just before I leave work.  I might get him to give my left foot an extra go over incase that helps.

I also have one of those massage ball things from physiotherapy that has the hard spikes coming out all over it.  I'm supposed to sit on it to loosen up my bum (I'm a tight arse) so I might roll my foot over it while I am studying and doing my exam tonight (wish me luck... I am hating Chemistry right now - would so rather be out running, swimming or riding!).

My boss suggested I add a magnesium supplement every day as well, he said that works for him when he gets cramps.

Wish me luck that all these remedies fix the cramps!

Is your training by RPE or HR zones?  You have me a little confused.

I'm not expert, but I've got a half marathon in March coming up.  During my training, I've just run on RPE, Relative Perceived Exerttion  AKA I've just run by feel.  One day I feel good, run at a pace I feel I can maintain; if I feel bad, I run at a pace I can maintain.  My good day runs are faster than my bad day runs, but I always feel like I put in my best effort.  My runs are usually a 13-14 on the Borg RPE scale, with my race pace being a 17 (http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/measuring/exertion.html).

That is for mid-week runs, on the weekend I do long slow runs, usually with the wife, at about a Heart Rate Zone 1 (Borg RPE 11), which is a conversational pace I can maintain for hours.

I don't know if this helps, but I hope it does.