Fred D and Queen Zipp's SWIM, BIKE RUN consistency thread.... CLOSED (Page 22)

I hit the spin bike for an 80min ride. It is too cold to be outside this morning.

In an effort to lose weight, I've been tracking my calorie intake for several months. One thing I've noticed is that I'm rarely eating enough protein (as defined by the Sparkpeople program). I generally eat about 100g a day, but sometimes much less (like 40g). I've done a lot of reading and think that given my size and the intensity of my training, I should probably be consuming about 150-165g of protein a day. I simply can't eat that much! It has already become a joke in our house that triathlon is gonna send us to the poor house, not because of the gear and such, but because of the food bills (and I still losing weight!). Does anyone use protein powders or shakes? If so, do you think they help? What brand(s) do you use/like?

Thanks all! I'm off to make ancient Egyptian board games for my class to play while I'm in Egypt next week. Have a great weekend!

Hi Everyone.  Crazy busy with work and family stuff ever since the holidays ended.  I've enjoyed reading the recent discussions here and have learned a lot.  I can see how being a triathlete is truly a lifestyle.  I had a few newbie questions I would like get advice on.

My open water class was rescheduled so I wanted to ask for tips on sighting so I can begin practicing.   I train in our outdoor pool but plan on dedicating some swim sessions at a local lake. I've heard about following feet or using a landmark. I also got some tips on how to adjust your stroke every so often to take a peek on your direction.

I current use just water/gu/clif bloks for my bike rides. For longer bike rides, what kind of hydration mixtures work well ? I know a few guys that use either carbo pro or cytomax. Also, what about actual food versus gu?

I've drastically cut my strength training after phasing out of crossfit/lifting to tri training a few months back. Is some light strength/core training absolutely necessary? My first sprint tri's are in March so dedicating most of my time in swim and riding while maintaining my run fitness. I am not really following a specific sprint program.  After that, I do plan to start a specific structured program specifically for an oly tri in late May. Would it be a good idea to incorporate some strength training at that point ?

Looking back at your first year of tri training, what are some of the things you would do differently now if you were starting out ?  Sorry for so many questions, it's sometimes hard just to find time to post...but all 4 kids out of the house for a few more minutes  =)

Thanks and hope everyone is enjoying the weekend !

There are mixed opinions on strength training in tri training.  I like it, and feel some strength training can be beneficial if you have the time to do it.  However, most of us barely fit into out agendas the training volume we want/ need for racing at our best.  It can help you if you have an injury rehab to compensate.....However, not everyone feels that it's necessary or beneficial.  

There are some people who primarily do workouts like the crossfit to train for triathlon.  I'm not sure that they are sound, but that "camp" seems to swear by it  

Nutrition is a funny thing for training.  What works best for some people sits like a rock on someone else's belly.  Sprints will be fine on water/ gu.  Oly's are pretty good on that as well, perhaps some electrolytes on the bike.  Longer races need more preparation for nutrition. That comes mostly through trial and error in training days.  Some people can handle real food in small amounts like a half a peanut butter sandwich while others want fig newtons or break up cliff bars prior to the race to nibble on as needed.  Even with practicing the plan in training, it can sit wrong on race day.  That's why it's so important to know your tolerance.  Try a Plan B approach.  I think a few race reports I've seen talk about how ""XXXX didn't work and I had to wait, try the coke or chicken broth available in the aid station"

x2 on what Judi said.  Other thoughts below.

Unless you are very confident about the feet in front of you, don't follow them blindly.  Still sight.  As you grow comfortable with them, you can sight less and less and just follow the feet, but that's got to be a pretty high level of comfort.

Landmarks are the way to go.  Obviously specific situations are going to call for different measures.  Sometimes you're lucky and there is something obvious on shore that you can head for.  More often, at least in the races that I tend to do, the buoys are the best thing.  Problem there is that when they are far away, they can be hard to see.  My usual procedure is to sight quite frequently until I'm confident I've spied the next buoy, and then somewhat less (depending on conditions) until I get there, then try to find the next one.  Obviously you should also familiarize yourself with the course ahead of time.

As for technique, I don't think I can do better than this:

    http://www.swimsmooth.com/triathlon.html

A really important point that they make there is -- do not breathe while sighting;  lift to sight, then turn your head to the side as normal to breathe.  If you try to breathe while looking forward, you will lift your head too high and your hips and legs will drop.  It isn't rocket science.  Practice diligently and you'll get it.

Nutrition is very individual.  Don't believe any cookie-cutter formulas that you see out there.  Practice and experiment and see what works in training.  And if that totally fails in a race (I hope it doesn't!) re-assess and try other things.  I would be very very leery of almost any 'studies' that you see about this issue.  99% of them are funded by companies who have a stake in the outcome.  The one piece of general advice that seems to be true for most people is: keep it simple. 

Strength/core is not essential at all.  If you are going to add anything back in, I'd add core.  And try to make it as relevant as possible.  Don't just do situps.  (That's not one of the disciplines in tri...)  Having said that, lifting is quite good for general health, especially for older folks (I don't recall whether we know your age...sorry).  And I'm also convinced that triathletes who have a very specific and significant weakness could benefit from some strength training.  But as Judi said, most of us barely have time to get in S/B/R, and that's far more important for performance.

I know the feeling.  I've got 5 aged 11 and under.   Lot's of work!  (Good work, though.)  What would I do differently?  I would swim more.  Lots more.

Kristen,

That looks pretty good.  Depending on how hard you go out for Love Rox and how you feel post race you may not need the full week off running.  BUT, I would plan to take off then only add in a couple of easy effort runs only if I felt well enough to do it.

As for trail running, totally different beast.  Yes, get some time on the trails prior to the race.  I think of trail running like hill running....can be pretty humbling but is worth the effort.

Speaking of heat and humidity,  I did my first run on vacation and had the pleasure of experiencing 100F+ temp swing, between our -24F WC in Madison and 82F in Virgin Gorda.  Melted like a popsicle. Ugly.

We then took a  hike to the Baths which are giants boulders made of granite, through a water cave and ended up here, Devils Bay.  

No complaints.  It's bee a great day so far.

JEALOUS.   I'm in the Minnesota Snow and Cold right now!  UGH!

Got my run on this morning, Compliments of the hotel Treadmill.   Snow and Ice last night does not make for good, safe outdoor running conditions.   Temps aren't bad, but it rained before it snowed, and so needless to say, it is icy under the snow.  So -- not going to temp fate.

Nice job getting it done.  I did hear the Midwest had some pretty nasty weather.  I too, got my long run done.  And got chased by some wild goats in the process.  They look so cute behind a fence.

Got in my last workout for January this morning. I did a short run, it is my "rest" week. My run actually felt great, which is a new concept for me! Temp outside at 5:30 was an unseasonable 60F, but the winds were pretty wild. I could actually feel myself slow down when I turned into the wind and speed up when it was at my back...probably all in my head! Anyway, I head to Cairo this afternoon and probably won't be getting any s/b/r in there, but likely plenty of walking. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!