Baowolf's Mentor Group - Sorry Closed. (Page 22)

Samantha, Mike, Ken, Stu, etc.  - what is this thing you call pool?  Seriously, you guys are doing great on the swimming!

Ken, happy new training plan to you.  Sounds like you are ready to take on the more intense training.

Mike, nice 5 miler, and bounce back from the stomach bug!

Steve, sounds like the bike is the best thing going for you right now.  Know you have the perseverance to keep doing what you can, and praying for an extra measure of wisdom and patience to help you keep it smart too.

Brian, nice workouts for you.  Those longest ever runs will set you up nicely for that HIM.

Anthony and Stu, hope you two get to meet in person.

Kate, you OK after your bike incident?

Pam, should be a pretty low volume week for you pending the marathon.  Hope you are embracing it!

Run this morning just proved I'm not recovered from the weekend.  Between the HM and moving boxes/furniture, I think I'm just worn down.  Trained a bunch of folks at church and did housecleaning stuff after moving furniture yesterday, so my day of rest was none too restful this week.  Hubby is home sick today, and I'm really hoping to not catch the bug. 

Crunch challenge update.  How's everyone doing?  Cut, paste and add your name and results when you can.  Yes, we jump to 60/day starting this Friday!

Carol - 27/27

Pool talk - cool! Steve nice and to the point comments. For the Tri you want efficiency with speed (depending on your goals). My daughter's coach tosses me a few things to chew over once and a while. One drill is to count the number of strokes to cross 25yards. Although I have also read that a good stroke rate is similar to the run/bike cadence. Never calculated my stroke rate but I can cross the pool in about 11 strokes. The number of stroke to cross the pool is something you might want to benchmark and check every month or so. As you get stronger and more efficient or learn to glide that number should come down.

Carol - I have not maintained any regularity to the crunches but have added some to my strength trainning when I do it. Not ready to join the challenge but definitely glad the are working their way into my training. Keep up the good work and rest. Just saying that sound funny but maybe there should be a Triathlete saying to "Keep up the good recovery".

The weather is puting a big damper on me. 5 degrees in the morning. I am staying inside thank you, and I an not a gym rat. No treadmill, or trainer at home. The company has a gym area that they just made available for free, so I am spending some time there especially until daylight returns. Will be swimming tonight and Wed. Hope to do some spinning with my wife Friday. Funny stories about  the spouse training. My wife started some walking last year, and still looks to get into better shape. I started joking that she would be in a 5K soon... nothing too anoying and I did stop before going too far. A couple weeks later she flat out said no way she would be running a 5K. I kind of laughed to myself that she might be taking it a bit serious to even mention it. See what some nice weather brings this year. I think she actally prefers the gym.

People have been talking stroke rate lately. My swimming knowledge is limited, but I read about the golf game in the Total Immersion book. To play swim 50 yds (or any distance) and add the number of strokes it takes to the time it took you. (i.e. 50 yds took 60 seconds and 36 strokes so the score is 96) The lower the number the more efficient your swim stroke. I don't know if anyone else heard of this or if it is a beneficial way to quantify efficiency. But I thought I would mention it and find out what more knowledgeable people think.

Swim Golf! Fun times -- I use it as well (if you have a Garmin 910xt watch, it will calculate it automatically for you). I'm usually around 78/9, with an all time best of 71. I sometimes think this is good, then I realize an Olympic swimmer would be about 45-50. Now that is crazy.

Added mine above.  Going to try to get a quick workout in before the family comes in and then I'm going to try to catch up on the posts later tonight.

Increasing my stroke rate seemed very counter-intuitive to me as well based on what I had been taught. Turns out I have an amazing glide and a very smooth efficient stroke (or so I've been told) but at 20-22/25yards I was missing out on an ability to respond quicker. Plus the coach told me I would be using a significant amount more of my lat muscles to even try to move faster through the water bceause I would have to push so much water. I have to say, training my arms/legs/whatever to move at a faster rate is a difficult thing to do. Plus I dont' think I fully understand what steve is saying about "double your stroke rate and half your stroke distance you go the same pace". Good thing I have a coach who knows more than I do.

Steve - i'm sorry your healing process is taking so long this time around. I hope someday you get to talk to the farmer who decided to park on the road and explain why parking in the road in the middle of nowhere might be hazardous to someone's helath Your ability to count while swimming is mind boggling - breaths really?? you are ridiculous in a good way.

Carol - Congrats on your HM! Your mary is less than a month away now and you are so spot on with your training. Can't wait to see how you do. So, yeah, the pool thing. Is your pool sending you threatening letters because it is jealous of your running shoes?

Joe - brrr...

Anthony - The golf game always seemed like too much work to count. haha. And every time I read your Ricky Bobby quote is makes me laugh.

This week is recovery week for me. Long ride tonight and long run tomorrow.

Mike - I've been doing 20-22 strokes/25 yards (counting both arms entering the water) and my coach is telling me I need more. And based on what Steve said I'm curious to know why your coach is telling you to stretch out more. Maybe it is like Steve was saying - we are being coached to improve our individual weaknesses.

So glad that everyone is talking swimming - strokes vs distance.  I must admit that when Samantha mentioned increasing her strokes last week, I didn't understand.  Hubby and I talked about it and he explained it by relating it back to Steve's explanation of running and the need for fast twitch and slow twitch.  So I started understanding and then Steve's explanation today further clarified for me.  Now some of the other swimming talk....well I'm lost.  But I'm gonna get my butt back in the pool and will start analyzing it all.  I'm so wierd, I know.  Swimming is something that I did for years for general exercise and for relaxation.  But I've never worked on technique/form/efficiency.  I didn't care about distance; I just played.  I have so much to learn.

Steve, I don't even know what to say.  I know that things are frustrating for you as you recover.  But you are just amazing to me.  Recover smart and then you'll come back even stronger and better.

Carol, be careful and rest if you need to.  I've had times when I did my training correctly but then messed up on the other stuff.  For example, I put in the miles for a training plan but then all the work needed on a rental house left me tired and my body just died because I wasn't rested enough to be continuing with some of the planned training days.  Take care Girl.

Yes, I'm tapering and I'm loving it!!  I've messed up races before because of incorrect tapers (too hard, too soft, not resting enough, not taking care of the right things) so I'm truly trying to do this one right.  Going to bed early, doing other stretches, massage scheduled for tomorrow, following the taper mileage plan, ez xt, purchased my gels.  Son's baseball schedule is throwing some wrenches into it but I'm going to keep focusing on the fact that I've got to eat correctly this week (Thurs night dinner with the team and ALL day Saturday at the ballfield plus prep of my turkey chili beforehand for a pary right after the race.)  A few potential landmines but I've just got to focus.  Tapering is a highly selfish time, isn't it?

So at 20-22 strokes (each arm counts 1) you either have a killer kick or a really nice smooth stroke.  So given that yes increasing stroke rate while holding form will get you what you want.  Pam if you are short and choppy your coach would move you in the other direction, a little longer reach to take full advantage of the good swim fitness that lets you have a higher turnover rate.  So form vs strength.  Both of you are moving in oposite directions with stroke rate to prefect your stroke... as far as I understand it from what you have said. 

So ya run is at 6:00 walk/ 1:00 run for 2.5 miles, bike is at 15 miles swim is at 1500 yards continuous breasstroke at around 2:00/100 yards.  And well ya got some lung crud going on with a very busy week.  Sooo hard to not just keep going after a 1 min jog or open it up a bit ... holdin the reighns in.  Bike was at 20 mph though, still watching the top of the right knee and doing limited time in aero position (puts more stress on that muscle/tendon group).   

Carol a comfortable 2:04 half trail is pretty clos to your 4:00:00 hard mary.  I don't think you will hit it this go because you just started the speedwork in the last month, but you do have a lot of miles in, so definitaly possible.  I would think more 4:10:00 ish assuming that blood glocuse stays where it should and you get enough fuilds/calories in, nail the pacing...

Hi group, very busy schedule right now, and a lot of catch-up to do on the posts. 

Carol, update on the crunch challenge

Carol - 27/27

Pam - 28/28 (1250 total)  

Fred - 21/27 

 Stu, very solid distance on the 1h swim. I pushed it too much and had to stop at 1500...Many good posts on swim. I had a revelation a few weeks ago: http://www.swimsmooth.com/catch_adv.html. Funny how I joined a master class last year but it took one year for this concept to finally sink in (pun intended).

Steve. Thanks for the feeback on my plan. Get the idea on how to calculate max distance for long run. Thanks for the reality check, makes me think again priorities for the end of the season. All the best for your recovery and training.

I will probably lurk more and post less his week, lots of work on the radar and build hours are increasing. Wish each and every of you a great week!

Fred

Carol, update on the crunch challenge

Carol - 27/27

Pam - 28/28 (1250 total)  

Fred - 21/27 

Anthony - 15/28   I'm gonna pick it up again next month.

Mike, Steve - Thanks for the explanations on the Swim Golf. I have been focusing more on my form lately so I haven't played in a while. Too much to think of at one time. I can barely keep track of the laps right now (it was easy when the count never got above two )

Samantha - Ricky Bobby is always good for a laugh. That is the quote I always think of when I bike. It just keeps repeating in my head over and over and over.... Luckily I'm easily entertained so i don't get annoyed with myself. Will Farrel is one of our favorites except for the movie Casa de Mi Padre. That is 40 minutes I unfortunately won't get back. I did not finish the movie so maybe it got better. I hope it did.

Keep up the strong training everyone. For me swimming is getting easier. Hope you all are making progress towards your goals as well.

Good to see everyone keep on keeping on!  As I figured last week with a busy work schedule and unexpected death of my Godfather....training and diet went in the toilet.  I decided to not even bother weighing myself this week as it would just serve to frustrate me even more than I already am!

A positive to the time off is that my shoulder seems to have recovered almost completely now.  I have made the decision to move from a strength program to a full body circuit training using all BW exercises.  My shoulder was iffy on the push ups but that's better than wrecking it pushing 225+ on the bench.  It took me about 20 minutes to finish with very little rest....then I went to the pool for session 2 of week 3 0-1650.  It went pretty well considering I haven't been in the water for almost a week.  I know I was slower than I was in my prior session but I did notice my legs weren't as tired.  Maybe that's because I made an effort to swim without them at times.....either way, it was positive!

Hope everyone has a good day at work and/or training!

Carol - 27/27

Pam - 28/28 (1250 total)  

Fred - 21/27 

Anthony - 15/28   I'm gonna pick it up again next month.

Ken - 29/29 - Getting tough.  

Great going everyone on the crunch challenge! 

Couple days of feeling wiped out and a couple runs cut short, but doing my best to keep the bigger picture view.  I totally agree Steve....4:00 is not doable this go-round.  Goal that has been rolling around in my head is 4:15 with flex to 4:30 if the blood sugar does not play nice or weather is sub par, etc.  4:00 is goal a few yrs down the road when I turn 50.

Anthony - thanks for the swim golf suggestion. I had not heard of that one and it sounds like fun.

Mike - Anywhere in the 70's for a swim golf score sounds very good. I have counted strokes and watched time but never put the two together. You mentioned olympic swimmers which jogged my memory because I actually got to meet Cullen Jones this year. He was a former Jersey Gator where my daughter swims and came to visit them. Tall guy, otherwise not very imposing, and was very generous of his time, answering question, taking picutures and signing autographs. Very cool!

Carol - My daughter swims 5-6 days a week for a couple hours at a time. There must be times it gets very monotinous and she can put pressure on herself at the wrong times. During those times and some other time too, I remind her to remember her joy. She always seems to want to go back to the pool. So whatever get you going out there--- Remember your joy.

Swim night last night, off night tonight and back to the pool Wednesday. Talk about weather changes, 50 degrees today. not expected to last long and won't be able to take advantage as I am working. I figure I am already a month or two ahead of where I was this time last year. My kids are my joy and to brag for a moment, my daughter swam a PB 2:33 on her 200M backstroke.

Wow, that is quite a time, that is probably closer to my 100m backstroke aside from crashing into things.

Carol, I think you have enough base to hold a slightly faster pace than you think you do and then a better ability to just hold on for the last 5 miles.  If you run the first half at the pace of your recent HM and then just hang there for the rest of the race that puts you around 4:10:00.  But, knowing how I run I would hedge that pace by 7 ish seconds to buffer your last 5 miles. Negative splitting a martahon is tough, so I usualy count on just giving up 2-3 minutes in that last 6 miles. 

3 miles today walk 6:00 jog 1:20, things felt OK... chomping at the bit to do more.. must... resist.....

Carol - You are an inspiration. Not too many to be 50's are setting goals for a 4hr Mary. I hope you regain some umph to get you through the next couple weeks, and I'm glad you are getting rest as you keep that big picture in mind.

Joe - you couldn't be more right about 'remembering your joy'. Joy comes from a deeper place than just being happy. It is a feeling of rest/contentment that give strength to get back at it because everything is working together. Great advice for a daughter and the rest of us. Sounds like her hard work is paying off and reminding you of joy. Grats to her!

Steve - I'm virtually holding you back from doing what you ought not to do...hang in there. Glad you were able to get a 1:20 in jogging; isn't that a 20 sec improvement? (silver lining)

Pam - I know what you mean about not getting things the first mmhhmm, several times. We are all at such different places with such different experiences. I was thinking about the swimming thing today while I was swimming and trying to make more sense out of it, and I hope it will click with a few more coaching sessions.

Fred - Glad you could drop in for a bit. I have to drop off once in a while too. Great job on your crunches.

Anthony - I might have to try that line in my head too. I'm also ridiculously easily entertained. I often catch myself laughing out loud while I'm cruising down the road because something came to mind that cracked me up. Wish I could listen to the thoughts of any one watching me.

Jay - so sorry to hear about your Godfather. Deaths are hard and life changing...glad you are walking past the scale this week. One week just doesn't matter in the grand scheme! I hope training change has the benefits you want. Great news on your shoulder!

Great job to all the crunchers!

Had a decent indoor ride last night. Some days they aren't too bad and other days I want to shoot myself. Yesterday was a shoot myself day..but I made it through. Today I spent too much money getting work done on my car, then did a run and swim. Both went well. Don't know if my run speed increase will continue as I get into higher miles, but for now I'm enjoying seeing myself pull 11mpm consistently on longer runs and under that on some shorter runs. Swim went well today. I was able to keep my strokes aroudn 25-26/length as long as I stayed focused. I easily drop back in my slow, smooth, steady and 20/length mode. Come on my little fast twitch muscles! Tomorrow is another ride and swim class.

Great work to all y'all!

Hey everyone!

Seems that someone we know is running a marathon this weekend.  Pam, hope you have a great time and soak in the experience!  When things get tough, remember we are all cheering you on and waiting to hear how it goes.

And a birthday too!  Mike, happy 46th!  Nice gift you received.

Samantha, ugh car repairs.  Yes, always more than you think they are going to be.  Nice runs!  Cheers for your fast twitch muscle fibers!

Joe, nice feeling to be ahead of last year.  Your daughter is a fish, and a fast one at that!  Your advice on remembering the joy was spot on.  Did that today with a "just run" run. 

Pam, thanks for your advice as well re: not cooking myself on other things.  Handed the keys to my FIL's house off to the estate sale lady last night, so no more moving stuff.

Jay, glad your shoulder is doing better.  Diet derailments happen to all of us, and know you will jump back on the tracks.

Anthony & Fred, glad to hear that the swimming is going well.

Steve, thanks for the vote of confidence!  I'm definitely counting on some fade in the last 6.  As for you, stay strong and resist the "too much too soon" pull!!!

10 miles easy today to try to get my head/body back on straight.  Was rewarded with a couple of wildlife encounters.  A pretty healthy looking coyote saw me, and then hopped on the path and started to lope along behind me.  Not real keen on that, so turned around and clapped and waved my arms until he ran off in the woods.  Also got really close to a large blue heronm, so graceful and elegant.  Moving long run to Friday so I can work a packet pickup on Saturday.  Will score a free full or half mary entry for later on outta that deal .

Sam and Carol: Thanks for the encouragement on the diet.  True to your words, I'm back with avengence!

Mike: Nice B-Day gift; color me green!

Today was a good day.  I was hoping for more basketball but had to settle for a little shooting around followed by raquetball.  It was fun and I got a sweat on but when you play basketball...you're always running so it feels more like a running day than raquetball.

There is all sorts of good news going on in life right now.  My wife has officially dropped 50lbs as of today; she's been doing an awesome job on her diet.  Very proud!  I picked up my Team Owen t-shirt to get ready for my half mary in March.  Team Owen helps raise money to cure SMA...which my nephew has.  There are usually 80-100 of us who run on the course...and considering its a small race, we make quite an impact.  The T-shirts are nice...made with wicking fabric, etc.  If anyone maybe interested, I can post a picture of the t-shirt....not my style to solicit much so you won't hear about this again!  Final thing, we refinanced our mortgage today.  It will save us about 500 bucks a month and thats huge as we live paycheck to paycheck like many people these days.

Mike - you have cool toys! I think the HR monitor I bought from someone on craigslist doesn't work. Oh well. I have fun hearing about other people's HR zones and such...hahahah.

Carol - Awesome deal on the race entry fee!

So I am doing much better getting my stroke rate up, which is exciting. Tonight I learned that my left side is retarded. Coach had us practicing isolation drills: only kick with the right leg for 25yrds, then the left. Now the right arm; now the left arm, etc. I did pretty good when I was using my right side, but when I tried to use my left side I literally felt like my arm and/or leg was handicapped. It felt very odd. So coach talked to me about having a weaker side and how to start building it up. Plus I realized I struggle with soreness in my left shoulder off and on, so it may be related to using too much shoulder on the left and not enough lats (the weaker side). He said it will take time and work...awesome!

That's all for tonight. Keep up the good work, and PAM, HERE'S TO YOU (3 CHEERS), HAVE AN AWESOME RACE! Can't wait for the details.

Go Pam.  I am sure you will do great.  

Had a pretty good run yesterday, followed by spending some time with my trainer last night.  I was really frustrated with my odometer/cadence sensor. I rode for an hour and it only registered 30 minutes.  Distance was totally off.  What to do? I was so angry with it.  

Had a good swim this morning.  Will run again today at lunch.