RE-OPENED Birkierunner's 2013 mentor group - RE-OPENED!!! (Page 21)

I swam, ran, and rode with it today!  Doesn't happen too often, but I got in the triple workout.  The quick release kit increases the height of the 910 once it's on the new strap, and when I initially put it on, I thought it felt more clunky.  But running and swimming with it today I didn't notice any difference at all.

Hey Jim.  If you've still got space, I'd like to join the group.  Here's more info than you probably wanted . . .

My name is Tom and my history with fitness hasn't been the best as until I turned 51. I really did not engage in any sweat producing physical activity on a regular basis except for a year-long love affair with the bike. Some family illnesses turned on the light bulb and I decided at that point things had to change. Started out by joining a gym, engaging a personal trainer, starting to run and ended up doing 3 marathons and 10 half marathons in a year. As you would expect, this drove lots of changes to my body and my health, most of the good. However, I did find all the miles running were taking their toll and I was always dealing with or on the verge of injury, with the result that I took almost a year off of racing (not fitness!) to let the body recover. I decided to add biking and swimming as a way to maintain aerobic fitness for running, and that morphed into a desire to enter the world of Tri last year. I did two 'Tri for Fun' events designed for first-timers/beginners, then set my sights on a fall Oly in Pacific Grove. I set my goal at finishing with a sub-3 hour time and managed to come in at 2:54:42 and was inordinately pleased with myself. Pleased enough that I decided to pursue the next step, a HIM, and thus I find myself here with you getting ready for the Vineman 70.3!

Last week marked the beginning of my (first) training program for the race. I say 'first' because I've also signed up for the 12 week program offered by the organizers. Why? Since this is my first HIM (and only 3rd Tri), my kickoff plan is a fairly benign one that I picked up off of the TriNewbie site primarily because it was 1) fairly benign and 2) I could more easily work it into my life schedule than any other plan I reviewed. That being said, I started my base-building back in January and found myself ahead of my kickoff plan in the swim and bike categories before I even got to the official plan start. The run, that was a different story as I managed to break a toe the last week of January and have been healing ever since with NO running, just using the elliptical to maintain running fitness as closely as possible. Good news is that last week I got back to running and have been able to step into the mileage of the kickoff plan without missing a beat. I'll judge my fitness as time progresses and decide whether I want to migrate to the 12-week organizer plan after I have a chance to really review it (I did get a 4-week prelude training plan and it looks pretty good . . .)

This week was 7150 swim, 84 miles on the bike, 17 mile run and 2 hours of Pilates for strength/stretch.

The swim: I have never been a real swimmer and only got in the pool for the first time in 40 years last summer as I trained up for my races last year. During the winter, I unfortunately let my swim fitness drain away, so had to build up distance again and did using the zero to one mile program here (http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html). It worked for me last summer and again like a charm starting in January. I'm finding I'm not a big fan of swim drills, so have recently used a combo of 2x/week intervals (21x100) and continuous swims (2100). I'll use this pattern to get up to 2500 or 3000, but will have to find a way to mix it up and keep it interesting after that. There is likely to be some coaching in my future.

The bike: A relative newbie here too. Back in the early 90's I would ride 15-20 miles at lunch every day, but then the company moved to a location that was completely bike-unfriendly. The bike went into the shed and stayed there for 20 years. When I pulled it out to start training last summer, I was surprised at what great condition it was still in. Some new tires and cleaning and it was good to go. Unfortunately, it was a 37-pound hybrid, so not really a racing bike. I used it for the first couple of months but knew a new bike was going to be required. I started looking around and after I'd seen a couple of models that appealed to me, I approached a friend of mine who is a competitive cyclist and asked him to help me on my quest. We discussed the various options and he presented me with yet another. Turns out he had recently bought a new bike for himself (Cervelo) and had his previous bike sitting forlornly in his garage. I took it for a few test rides and it was a no brainer. The bike was a carbon Trek Project One with Dura-ace components, etc., and a total weight of 17 lbs. Night and day compared to the hybrid. Needless to say, I bought it from him and am loving it. Over the past 2 months have ramped up the miles slowly getting to 80-100+ for each of the past 4 weeks. All of these miles have been on flat to modest rollers until 2 weeks ago when that same friend invited me to ride with him and he introduced me to his 'easy hill rides':

Now I know that to experienced riders this does not look like much, but to someone still new to the bike, it was an adventure.  I loved it. Now I'm riding with him at least once a week and seeking out routes with more hills I can ride on my own. That being said, the course at Vineman does not look that hilly, but hill training can't be bad. Just have to do sufficient training on the flats to get aero position training done.

The run: I think I'll be OK here now that I'm able to run again. I've got enough running experience that I'm comfortable I'll be able to get back on track here completely and be ready come race day. Right now, the legs are more tired than I would have expected, but it is a good tired feeling. The decision I'm facing now is whether to cut back on the bike for a few weeks as the legs acclimate to running again, or keep working on the bike to maintain the fitness I've acheived there.

We're still open Tony and you're welcome to join. I know how it feels to break a toe...I broke the outer 3 toes of my right foot back in the 80s when I dropped a huge piece of metal on them.  Two of them are still crooked.  Look forward to hearing about your journey to Vineman 70.3

Take it slow with the tendonitis Katie and keep up that icing.  Congrats on the new bike.  I've always had Speedplay pedals and I really like them.  I haven't tried other systems so can't really comment on how they compare to other brands.  Maybe others can comment if they have compared.

For some basic tips, take a look at "Swim Smooth" (swimsmooth.com) -- they have some helpful videos and articles that will give you some good basic pointers on efficient freestyle technique.  But, being a beginning swimmer myself, I found there is just no substitute for some swim lessons or a live coach -- someone who can watch you swim and give you tips and pointers on the spot.  After flailing along on my own for several months ("coached by You Tube," I used to say), I ponied up for some lessons, and I have noticed a significant improvement after only three weeks (one lesson per week).  It's worth the investment.

Good luck!

Gary

It's looking a lot like spring in Oregon!  Clear skies (a rarity for us, this time of year) and mild temps.  Got a nice, hilly 25-mile bike ride in today.  First triathlon every coming up in only two weeks -- the aptly named "Beaver Freezer" sprint in Corvallis, Oregon.  Been struggling with a sore left quad, which has been hampering the running, but doesn't seem to cause much grief on the bike.  Really stoked to compete for the first time.  I've done some duathlons, but this will be my first tri.  Fortunately, it starts with a very manageable 500-yard pool swim.

Gary

Jim, thanks for letting me in!  Today was another ride with my cycling buddy.  Ended up doing a 2h42m ride with 2500 feet of climb.  This was a route I'd never ridden before so an adventure all the way.  Was happy to see HR never exceeded 167 which to me (hopefully correctly) says I'm making progress on the aerobic fitness.  Legs are comfortably tired and tomorrow's ride will be treated as a recovery ride as this is the most hill climbing I've ever done.

I'm suspicious I may have some plantar faciitis starting on my right foot as there is some tightness and pain in the heel region.  I've started with the rolling of the foot, Strassburg sock at night, Motrin, streching out of the achilles tendon, etc., and hope I can nip this in the bud.  Had it once before and ended up having to do 6 weeks of elliptical prepping for a marathon as it went away.  Any other home treatment approaches welcome.  If it worsens, it'll be off to my sports podiatrist in short order.

On a fun note, my 30 year old daughter is training for her first tri.  She, like me, has a running background and felt tri's were the next progression.  Yesterday I went with her to do a wetsuit rental and she got to experience the fun of a first-timer trying on wetsuits.  The person helping us actually had to get her a bottle of water between the first and second suits as she had worked up quite a sweat.  Everything worked out fine and she walked out with a wetsuit that seemed to fit her like a glove.

Hi Dave.  Yes, I'm currently letting people in so your'e welcome to join.

For another persepective, I've only ever ridden on the Look platform (old and newer Keo), and have no issues.  Wish I could compare to others, but I'm afraid I can't help.

Great news!  Which indoor trainer did you get?

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well.  I attended the Tri-Mania Expo at MIT in Boston this weekend.  It was a very good experience and I learned a lot.  There were seminars all day that were well worth the time.  Dave McGillivary (endurance athlete and Boston Marathon race director) gave an inspiration talk on defining moments.  He started to run his age on his 13^th birthday and just recently completed 58 miles on his last birthday—truly amazing.  I was glad I attended.

Mirinda Carfrae, 2010 Kona winner, was the keynote speaker and she had a Q and A session with the audience.  She was very gracious and very approachable.  She ran in the morning with a group of fans, swam on a relay team in the early afternoon and then took part in a group Compu-trainer session to end the day.  I was able to get my picture taken with her as well!!  She stated that she works out about 30-35 hours per week and has three key workouts per week in each discipline.  As unbelievable as it sounds, she stated that she has never missed a workout due to injury.  That is amazing.

I keep plugging along, just starting to feel a bit better in the swim and building up the distance between stopping.  I appreciate this forum and find all of your comments helpful.  All for now, Dave.

Dave McGillivray's quote during his presentation is now one of my favorites "my greatest accomplishment, is my next one."

Nice to hear that you enjoyed the expo Dave.  Very cool meeting Rinny - her Ironman run is incredible.

Had my first swim tonight since...hmmm...I don't know when....maybe since my Ironman in August??  Will have to check my logs.  Felt better than I expected it would but I took it easy to get my shoulders used to the pool.  Hope everyone is having a great week.

The indoor trainer Igot is a RAV X TX3. I used it today. Rode for 30 min. I like it but it could be a little quieter! I also ran 4 miles today and was in the pool for 3000 yards yesterday. Still icing that foot like crazy!

How do you suggest to split up the swim? So far I'm doing a 500 yard warm up, then intervals (some with fins and some with paddles) and a 500 yard cool down.

Katie

Just checking in.  Sounds like everyone is having fun and training quite nicely, even birkie for once!!

did a hard workout this morning alternating 15 mins hard segments on the bike (spin bike at gym) and 5 minute all out segments on the treadmill.  4 rotations thru.  Couple that with a rare evening swim last night of 1500 meters and you have me sitting here ready to eat this dam computer screen im so hungered!!!!

Celebrated Good Triday by doing just that, a mock Triathlon:

800 meter swim, 1 hour 15 min spin bike ride, and a 5K.  averaged 1:50 per for the swim, paced out to 24.8 miles an hour on the bike and capped off with an 18:18 on the 5K.  wiped at the end but that was the plan.  Tomorrow and Sunday will be a 20+ mile trail run on one day and a 2 hour trainer ride the other. 

Finally feels like Spring here today but will be back in the low to mid 30s on Monday. 

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself to the group as a I am a new member.  My name is Dave and I'm new to triathlons. I am 27 with a wife and 2 kids. I work and go to school full time, so time management during training is key for me to be successful. I have ran 1 sprint triathlon and several other running races (all half marathon and under). I am now training for two more sprints and two Olympic distances coming up this spring and summer. I will also be running the Marine Corps Marathon this fall so I've got that in the mix as well.

Out of all of the sports, running is my strongest. My goal is to achieve 6:30 a mile during the Olympic triathlons as right now I am running about 7:20 a mile for that distance. 

For the bike, that is the area I seem to struggle most. I have a Bianchi Impulso which I enjoy very much, but I can't seem to really make any major improvements. My goal is to get my average speed up to 20 mph but as of right now I'm stuck in the 17 range.  

Does anyone have any suggestions on how much of my week should be spent on the bike.  Right now I've got it split so I do each sport three times, but recently found a training plan that would have me biking 4 times.  Any help is appreciated!

For the swim, I have just started swimming with a masters team once a week and seem to be making improvements there. I would like to improve my technique and speed as well in this area.