Super Cats Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 22)

Nice workout!

Ummm... some of us are just very wordy... I could break stuff down into multiple posts... but youd still have to read it all as well

5ks are the purrfect distance... that means sprint distance triathlons!!!

Good luck finding a good doctor... my physio when I was having knee and feet trouble told me that for a normal person he would jsut tell them to do sports that didnt involve running... but he appreicated that wouldnt work for me

D001 - 2009-05-07 1:34 PM Interesting running article. (At least, I thought so.) Run Softly, Naturally Can a Gait Makeover Improve Your Running? http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=15751

Hi Dee - if you are into reading about different thoughts on running (remember they are all personal thoughts that have helped others rather than the cut and dried rules) you might like to look up 'Pose Running'. 'Chi Running' and 'Barefoot Running'

Just remember what works for ONE person may not work for another. There have been articles about this stuff on BT too so have a look!

Flaco, I have no advice on the training plan. But I have to say that you've always been an inspiration to me, so I'm sure you'll find something that will do the job.

Aw! That just made my morning. I have never set out to inspire anybody but thank you very much.

Hiya All,

Sorry about dropping off of the radar a bit.  Work has REALLY started to kick my lately because they are finally passing down the pressure of inadequate funding on to the fundraisers here.  Add in some swirling rumors about layoffs and everything knifing each other to keep their own job and it is not good times…

This isn’t even going into the whole turmoil of my scheduled trip to Mexico suddenly being affected by swine flu and becoming a not good time in Aruba.  While I was sooooo happy to get away for just a couple of days (and it was relatively cheap due to JetBlue’s crazy offer of picking up the stepped up fare if you flew somewhere other than Cancun), Aruba was a total bust.  They get a total rainfall of 15 inches each year, according to our bus driver.  Well, I think we got nearly a 1/5^th of that during our three day stay.  We took solace in the fact that we were on the beach and under our little hut relaxing.  I got lots of reading done, we took several beach walks (one of which was in a driving rain storm) and I even got some time in on the treadmill, though sand in between my toes caused a huge blister.

I should have swam but it was just too darn chilly (yes, I know I was being a sissy).  It did make me feel good to float so much more easily in the ocean water though.

So, I enter the final three weeks before my race having just taken the equivalent of a week off from training.  My legs are tight, my arches are cranky and, if I am being completely honest, even though I was doing well in my training, I have no confidence what-so-ever about my ability to complete the race.  I thought I had put all of this behind me with the “just finish and have fun” but too many years of competitive sports have made me sensitive to embarrassing myself. 

I’m sure I’ll feel better once I start training again but I’m really fighting with myself at the moment.

Shawn

PS  Congrats to:

Dee on the AWESOME races

Cat for feeling better and giving out her usual great advice

El Flaco for being his usual crazy training self and finding a training plan he likes

MadKat for her half marathon and preparations for her century coming up

RudeDogg for chugging along and inspiring other big men – not to mention insuring the we get to see Cat’s behind when the boys win the challenge

Losta for her consistent training and for getting her knee looked at when it bothered her

Crews for getting to enjoy the Mayan Riviera

Peach for her consistency and march forward towards her goal

D2lock for juggling work, family and exercise during a crazy time

Dogwood girl for reappearing just like me

Cinnamon for leading JoeBWan to third place in their very successful race 

D001 - 2009-05-08 8:53 AM Welcome back to everyone who showed up today! I worked until 5 AM yesterday. That means no workout yesterday. And I'm exhausted today.... But I really need to do *something.* So I will. (I just haven't figured out what yet.) But I need a peach box on my training calendar.

Hi Dee,

Hope you catch up on some sleep over the weekend... naps are GOOD!

In terms of peaches on no training days... things than can be good are: stretching, walking and core work (you dont have to do ALL of them though!)

Hi patch,

I see us wordy people are slowly rubbing off on you!

Let me address your questions:

1) Training loads. The idea with difference intensities of workout is it try and makes sure that when you need to go HARD you go HARD and when you need to recover you do that too.

Let me deal with cycling/running first as swimming is a little different. For cycling and running the cornerstone of any endurance training (even a sprint triathlon is an endurance event) is the long run or ride. This is not done full out but at a steady pace and if your longer workouts of the week. If you are just starting out yuor long ride might be 1-1.5 hours maximum and your long run maybe 40-60 minutes at most. (Ive pulled these numbers out of the air so with some more info we can workout what might work for you). These longer sessions can be over mixed terrain (depending on what you have availble) and you can throw in some TT (time trial) efforts too if that works for you. Generally when starting out you just go out and do these sessions... then you can move on to being more structured with it using plans/HRMs (Heart Rate Monitors)/ Powermeters and picking courses that closely match where you want to race.

The other workoout for cycling/running would then be shorter and probably at a higher intensity. This could be a ride with Time Trial efforts or hill repeats for the cycle. For the run (unless you are a really strong runner) this would just be a slightly shorter run at a slightly quicker pace... if you are just starting out with running... go out there and just run! (with a proper warm up of course)

The reason why swimming is a little different is you can fit all of these aspects into the one workout. Generally how you structure a swim workout (I promise to write this in a seperate post properly) is a warm up (continuous swim) followed by drills/efficienct work, then some working sets (depending on where you are at in your training this could be a negative split swim or sets, a pyramid or skipped altogether) and a cool down.

Other things to consider... try not to do two of your long sessions on consecutive days. If you are doing interval sessions try not to do those on consecutive days either! Swim can act as good recovery after a hard session because of the mixture of cool water and different muscles used so it can be beneficial to schedule your swim the day after your toughest sessions.

If you want to write out when and what you are thinking of training and how - post it up here and will see if I an help you work out the balance!

Which moves me onto:

2) Weight training

If you do two sessions back to back such as strength training and a swim whatever session you do second is going to suffer a little. Assuming that you want to improve at the triathlon sports and yet still get the benefit of your weight training I would do the triathlon sport FIRST and then do the strength session.

This helps with burning fat while building muscle as your heart rate is still elevated from the cardio and will stay elevated from the swim (or bike or run) session.

Splitting up the sessions (morning/afternoon) can be great but only if you have the time to do so... will you realistically get up and train in the morning? Do you have time to do it or are you more likely to make your workouts if you do it together?

Also you need to make sure you recover well between the sessions with good nutrition AND that if you are getting up earlier to get the morning sessions in, you also need to be going to bed earlier to ensure you do NOT sacrifice sleep.

The most underated aspect of training is recovery... but recovery is when your body makes the adaptations to the hard work you are putting in allowing you to get fitter, stronger etc. So dont sacrifice that to get your workout in. And always try to have at least one rest day per week (on average minimum)

As I said if you are having trouble working out the scheduling feel free to post up what you are thinking and we can help you out!

Cat

Hi Shawn,

Welcome back!!! Im sure the week relaxing has done you AND your training more good than harm so dont worry about it!

In the next 2 weeks focusing on just practicing running, swimming and cycling a bit to make the distances and you will be then good for a light week before racing!

1 week off is not damaging...its good recovery as long as you dont do it too often!

So just get back into the swing of things this week and after a couple of days you will feel it come back.. its all good

Cat

hmmm you have a point on the pages... when i get a chance I will write a summary of the topics covered on each page or something so there is a reference if you want to go back and find something.

I was trying to find out bike buying discussion the other days to share the tips with someone and it took forever to find the page so I will see what I can do in that regard!!!

Dont worry about the training log if yuo cant do it.. its just nice to have a record somewhere of what you are doing so yuo can see your own progress or what you were doing in the past. Something as simple as a notebook can be just as good - just a bit harder to share with others!

Im going to answer your questions one by one so here we go!

Placing yourself in the swim/Pacing yourself in the swim and Swim race prep

Stronger swimmers will go in the middle and up the front in the water. Depending on how big the group is it can get a bit aggressive in there and you may decide this isnt the spot for you. I like placing myself near the front but a little out to one side of the pack - I get a bit more clear water to swim in and find my own tempo which works well.

If you are a weaker swimmer I always suggest placing yourself out to the side and near the back. No need to get caught up in the people fighting to get in the front if you are just going to get swim into! Better to pick people off during the swim than the reverse situation. When they sound the go signal you can even wait a couple of seconds for the people in front of you to get moving then just ease into it.

Another consideration is that a lot of people get caught up in the race day adrenaline and take off in the swim like its 50m sprint then start to slow an struggle. Start at a pace just a touch below your training pace and slowly increase your speed throughout the duration of the swim... this is a MUCH better position to be in!!! Or just hold a steady tempo... you will find yourself over taking people doing this - especially if you are a stronger swimmer!

One thing I practice in the pool is negative splitting, especially over 500ms. So start slow and each 100m increase the pace a touch until Im swimming the last 100m a bit faster and finish a little breathless (not GASPING for air) just breathing hard. Its a really good race prep drill and can be done for longer distances too. For a 1000m test I would swim the first 500m at a steady pace then slowly increase the pace to negatice split the second 500m finishing on a quick last 100m (as above.)

If you can sight ok and breathe on both sides you will be absolutely fine... you might want to practice getting out of the water and jogging 50ms. Why? Because some people find the transition from the water to get into transition can throw them a bit off balance... I know it does me!

The Bike

If this is what you are most nervous about try not to let the nerves get you! As with the swim ride your own pace... it should be challenging but not unmanageable.

When you come to a hill make sure you shift down to an appropriate gear early and then focus on maintaining a steady pace up the hills - just KEEP the legs moving ok? It doesnt matter how slow you are going as long as yuo just keep it going. I like to sing a song in my head nad keep the legs ticking over to the beat (I may also be a little strange but this keeps my mind off the burning in my legs). If you are someone who can stand up to climb... dont do it until you are nearing the top of the climb and use it to give you the final kick over the top!

Dont forget that there is a drafting rule... so you have to be a distance of 3 bike lengths behind the cyclist in front which makes crashing VERY unlikely because the only time you are all close is when you are passing. So dont worry about it!!!

Run

Sounds like you are going really really well with this! Congratulations. Running is mainly a consistency thing to start out with so stick with it... and just run at your own pace and keep going. If you do need a walk break during the race do a deal with yourself...such as "Im going to walk for the next 1 minute" or "Im going to walk the next 5 cones" so you dont trick yourself into walking more than yuo need.

Oh... and its perfectly acceptable to pick up the pace when you see the finish line!!! Dont forget to smile for the cameras!

Finally... The BIG QUESTION: What am I going to wear?

Well what do you have?

Here are some ideas:

1 - Wear your sportsbra under your swimsuit or race suit (practice this before race day to see what it feels like to swim in and then run in it for a bit - there is NOWHERE to change so if you need one you have to have it on at the beginning of the race)

2 - For the swim wear EITHER: A swimsuit or if you have it a tri suit or trishorts and top

3 - For the bike: You can put on a shirt over your swimsuit if you are a little selfconscious (I always throw a top on!). If you swum in a swimsuit you may also want to put on some shorts. The thing to remember with the shirt and shorts is you will be wet from the swim when you put them of so they have to be something you can get on while your body is damp from the swim.

4 - Dont forget sunglasses

5 - For the run... you can usually run in what you were wearing already. Dont forget socks if you are prone to blisters or have no experience running without them! And you might want to add a cap as well!

For my first race a wore a swim suit (with a sports bra underneath) then put on some loose cotton shorts and singlet top on over the top for the rest of the race.

For my most recent race I wore a pair of tri shorts with a Speedo Swym top (basically a long fitted swim top - a swimsuit that would be a two piece I guess but its nice and long so no skin is showing) (and sports bra) in the swim then put a singlet made of moisture wicking material on over the top for the rest of the race.

If you can - try out your outfit BEFORE the race!

D001 - 2009-05-08 10:48 AM

kaqphin - 2009-05-07 8:19 PM If you can - try out your outfit BEFORE the race!

Like you said to me before my 5K, Cat ---> Nothing new on race day! Doing this really helped. I wore clothing that I knew I could run in, which meant I didn't have to deal with something that became itchy or would shift, etc. It actually helped mentally, since I knew I was wearing something that would be comfortable the entire time I was out there.

Something perhaps I should remember for myself on Sunday!!!

D001 - 2009-05-08 10:40 AM

kaqphin - 2009-05-07 7:15 PM

D001 - 2009-05-08 8:53 AM Welcome back to everyone who showed up today! I worked until 5 AM yesterday. That means no workout yesterday. And I'm exhausted today.... But I really need to do *something.* So I will. (I just haven't figured out what yet.) But I need a peach box on my training calendar.

Hi Dee,

Hope you catch up on some sleep over the weekend... naps are GOOD!

In terms of peaches on no training days... things than can be good are: stretching, walking and core work (you dont have to do ALL of them though!)

Well, it wasn't supposed to be a "no training day." I'd hoped to get a swim in. But work was so crazy that I didn't finish until 5 AM. So there's nothing but a blank white wall in yesterday's calendar. BUT I got outside and slogged a little today. (It wasn't even fast enough to be called a walkog. LOL) Have you found a suitably pink outfit for this weekend's race?

Nope... all I have so far is:

A Hot pink headband/sweatband to go with the pigtails I will be wearing in my hair and the work team racing singlet...

I tried on some pipnk cotton shorts at all the sports shops but they all dont stay put when running and Im used to wearing tights/lycra for running so Im not sure whether to just get them wearing lycra underneath or what...

I know where to get knee high socks or I have pink running socks... also I know where to get some pink and silver pom poms!

But long story short... nope.... no idea!

Well....since we are giving options i work on a 6 day a week schedule so for me it would be more like this:

Monday: Cycling (ride with some hill repeats or TT efforts)  / Strength (All Body - Major muscle groups Legs and Upper Body - lots of compoud exercises)

Tuesday:  Swim (Warm up, drills, short sets on time, cool down)

Wednesday: Run (Long steady run)

Thursday:  Off

Friday:  Swim (Warm up, drills, negative split set or pyramid set, cool down)

Saturday: Cycle (long steady distance) /Strength (as above)

Sunday: Run (tempo or pick ups)

Options:

1 - Switch thursday and Friday to make Friday your REST DAY

2 - Then make strength on Thursdays (away from the weekend!)

3 - Change strength sessions to post runs so they are away from your run sessions or post swim sessions if you are at the same location (ie if your gym has a weight room and a pool yuo might want to do it all together)

Possibilities are endless... yuo NEED to look at what time and WHEN you have training time available then any plan can be tweaked as needed!

D001 - 2009-05-08 11:03 AM

kaqphin - 2009-05-07 8:56 PM all I have so far is:

A Hot pink headband/sweatband to go with the pigtails I will be wearing in my hair and the work team racing singlet...

I tried on some pipnk cotton shorts at all the sports shops but they all dont stay put when running and Im used to wearing tights/lycra for running so Im not sure whether to just get them wearing lycra underneath or what...

I know where to get knee high socks or I have pink running socks... also I know where to get some pink and silver pom poms!

But long story short... nope.... no idea!

You could get some temporary hair color and turn your hair pink.

haha not with my hair... last time I tried that i had to see the hairdresser as not all the colour would come out!