Todd's Tri Turtles 2 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10 K) - Closed (Page 22)

Welcome back 2qs!

Keep carving out time for training. It may seem counter intuitive, but I believe when times get busy it's even MORE important to take time off for training. Even a short burst workout (20 min run) can make a big difference both mentally and physically.

Welcome back, keep at it and you will find a routine and schedule that works for you.

Wetsuit: A lot of full or sleeveless is going to have to do largely with how you feel about cold water. I bought a sleeveless being from Texas and knowing that most of my races here would just barely be wetsuit legal and did not want to feel totally restricted (covered up). I then went to Racine, WI for my Half and kind of wished that I had the Full because the extra exposed flesh to that cold water drove me nuts, but I made it through. With you being from a colder region I would say that you would likely be happier with a Full. You are get a little extra benefit from the full. I would suggest that you try both a full and sleeveless before purchasing either if that is an option. Make sure you try on what ever you buy and ensure proper fit.

Heart rate: I'm a little stumped by this one but know that a spin class is going to show a decreased heart rate to that of outdoor cycling and certainly running. I can tell you that for me with the same perceived output on the bike and run my heart rate can be right at 30 bpm different. I would make sure of strap placement and use the same method for everything and see where you are at. 126 seems pretty low if you are really killing it and going hard.

My take on the wetsuit issue is that you need to do what your comfortable in. I have a full sleeve wetsuit with works great for being in Iowa and doing fall triathlons. However when I did Racine I quickly felt overheated and wished I had the sleeveless. What is the temp of the water you will be swimming in and how quickly do you get hot or cold? Also I think it all comes down to personal preference.

As far as the heart rate I can't help you there. I don't wear a heart rate monitor of any kind and I train going off my rate of execution.

With yet another day of school closing, I slept in before heading to the pool. Last week, I swam 2125 yards total. Today I swam 1500 yards in one workout! I am definitely on my way for the swim portion of my challenge.

Swim Zero to One Mile in 6 weeks

WEEK four:
600 yards...rest for 10 breaths
300 yards...rest for 8 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 6 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
total: 1500 yards

This was exhausting! I will be repeating this workout until its comfortable before moving on. Week five starts with a 1000 yard swim.
I was under 4:00min/100 yard pace (about 3:45) until I hit about 550 yards. I had to slow down to keep going. This wasn't about speed but endurance.
I did push thru the 50s not for a speed workout per se but because I just wanted to be done by then, I was tired. I was STARVING when I got home.




Edited by Lovey 2014-03-04 12:55 PM

This is inspiring, great work! I need to start stringing my laps together. For the last few weeks I've been stopping after every 50 yards to catch my breath for about 10-15 seconds. This has been good for focusing on my form, but I think it's time that I start kicking my butt to work on swim endurance.

2gs, I'm the same way. I clam up when I'm not meeting my goals. That's part of the reason why I now try to get on here daily. My posting and workouts seem to go hand in hand.

I got back from vacation Sunday night. Put 1900 miles on my car between Wednesday after work and Sunday when I got home. I didn't do anything even close to a workout. It was freezing in St. Louis, and I spent the time with my family indoors instead of dealing with the weather. We cut our visit short by a day to avoid the huge storm that came in. We left St. Louis late Saturday night and missed the snow/ice by a few hours. I then did the same leaving Arkansas... left my mom's house Sunday afternoon and not 2 hours later she called saying it was sleeting and everything was covered in ice. I was thrilled I got out of there in time. Although it looks like I brought the cold back with me. When I talked to my boyfriend Saturday afternoon it was almost 80 degrees in Houston, when I got back Sunday night it was freezing =/

I did come back with a new addition ^_^ I've attached a picture of my new bike! I currently have a Wal-Mart hybrid bike, and was planning to invest in a better bike after my first race. My grandpa is 87 years old, and although he insisted he would ride it again, my grandma refused to let him. It's a nice bike, old (it's been sitting in the basement for probably 10 years) but it's nice.

I know one of the previous posts talked about the bad attitude of the bike shop employees. I don't know much about bikes, but this is my grandpa's bike, and I want to fix it up. It's been well taken care of, it's just not been used in years. I went to take it to the Tri shop up the street, but I shot past the entrance and on the way back I saw a bike shop so I stopped there with the bike. The guy that looked at the bike was really dismissive. Told me I shouldn't put much money in the bike, and it was probably too big for me anyways. I took the bike out of there and went back to the Tri shop. I was feeling pretty discouraged b/c I want to use this bike, but he acted like it was basically trash. When the guy at the Tri shop looked at it he lit up "Oh! That's a cool old Chicago Schwinn!" He pointed out some things that had been modified for my grandpa, and what was standard for that type bike. That's the attitude I was looking for!

I left the bike with the Tri shop to fix up. They said it just needs new tires and a tune up. I'm excited! It won't be the fastest thing out there (these guys said it's going to be heavier than a new bike) but my grandpa loved it and put so many miles on it, so I'm happy to put it back to use... and for my first tri!

I'll be sure to post pictures when I get it back. This picture is a bit difficult to see... I didn't think to take one until I was in the bike shop, so it's a bit cluttered.







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Bike - before.jpg (1697KB - 4 downloads)

Let me say congrats on the bike and finding a tri shop that gave customer service. I have been where you are. I have a performance hybrid aka flat bar road bike now from Cannondale.
However, my first bike was a no name mountain bike from the parking lot. I was looking for something cheap because I didn't even know how to ride. At a local shop, a customer was donating this really old bike tot he shop to fix and ship oversees. We started talking in the parking lot, a bike worker came over to take the bike and I said can I but it cheap. the owner and bike worker just gave it to me, I left it with them to put on new tires and tune it up. That's the bike I learned to ride on.
Your grandpa is a lucky man to have such a caring person who wants to use and take of something he also cherished. That Tri shop will have a loyal customer just for doing what they suppose to, giving good customer service. As you do more tris, you may want to upgrade but for now you are off to a good start. Even when you eventually you upgrade, you can still use the bike for easy rides. Having that tie to the bike will make your first tri even more meaningful.

That's a cool looking bike!!! And those old Schwinn bikes are built to last. Yeah it will be heavy but the history it has makes it worth it.

Nice ride tweets! Do you know what year it is? I have a Bianchi that's definitely heavier than the bikes they make now, but I will never trade it in!

I'm glad you found a good mechanic. You should also ask him for a fit test, where he'll measure all your dimensions and then adjust your seat and handle bar heights. Once you get fitted to the bike, you (or the mechanic) should mark off those heights with a little scratch on the metal so you always know what fits you best.

Sounds like a super win, win, win, in my book. You got a new bike, get to use a bike with family history, and found what sounds like one of the most incredible Tri-Shops around. Also, glad to hear that you made it back safe and skirted the bad weather along the way.

I'm pretty excited about the bike. I don't think I've ever even ridden a road bike, so I won't know if it's heavy or not ^_^

I went to a spin class last night as a tribute to the bike... ouch. I've never done a spin class. I learned to ride a bike as a kid, but never done anything more that just ride for fun like that. I've been waddling around the office all morning. It was an enjoyable class, but it was tough! I guess that's the point. I aim to make it again on Thursday, assuming I can sit on the bike by then.

I appreciate the enthusiasm about the bike! It makes it so much more fun to share something like this with other people who get it.

Cassowary, I'm not sure what year it is, but I know he used to ride it when I was little, so it's at least from the early 80's.



Edited by tweets_4611 2014-03-05 9:56 AM

Tweets~
That bike is awesome!! I love it!!! So cool you got it from your grandpa!!


I have come down with a nasty cold and have been idle for three days straight now......Of course my Sprint this Saturday is the only thing on my mind as I lay here in a Nyquil trance. My hubs said REST don't even think about anything till you get better. It is too late to get a refund and I hate to see money go down the drain for nothing...I am hoping I feel better by Saturday....but right now I feel horrible....tired, worn out... good luck everyone on continuing your training and the new challenge....I am going back to bed....

If you're interested, I found a serial # lookup site to find out the age of your Paramount:

http://waterfordbikes.com/w/culture/paramount/paramount-dating/

On a more general note, I had no idea Schwinn has been around since the late 1800s!

Get better Pixie - I hope you make it to (and through) your sprint this weekend.

Sorry to hear that you are feeling bad. To answer you question, it is very unlikely that you can get a refund. Very few events allow refunds or transfers and the majority of the ones that do make you do so a month or so out. Get better fast!!!

Aw, now I want to go get the bike from the shop just so I can get the serial number! They said it should be done Friday, so I guess I'll have to wait until then. Thanks for the awesome website.

Started working out again after getting a minor neck injury while skiing, plus a little (or a lot) of being lazy. I can't believe I didn't work out in all of February. I started taking a gym bag to work and have managed to go both times that I brought it. Hopefully I can keep this up because I practically had a panic attack realizing that it is only 13 wks until my first tri! Congrats everyone one on your progress. I wish I had kept up with you. On another note I got my life beam helmet finally and am super excited to try it out when the weather gets nicer. I'll let you guys know how well it works. Keep up the amazing work everyone!

Rach, sorry about the accident, but glad to here you have recovered. Don't worry now about what you didn't do last month, just work on this month and don't be a stranger to the group. The more times you pop in the more likely you are to work out and feel accountable. Glad you are back at it.

Taking my gym bag to work is a huge help for me... then I have no excuses to not go! If I have to go home to get my stuff, 99% of the time I don't make it back out the door. Once I'm home I'm pretty much done for the day.

You've got time to get where you want to be. I'm pretty well in the same boat as you, only my panicked moment came when a coworker said something about their race next month.... the day before my tri. *Next month!* Granted it's towards the end of April, but still. It sounds way to close... Good luck getting back in a routine. Glad you popped back in on the site ^_^

Thanks Cassowary and Todd for your well wishes...I feel better today but not at 100% not working out for four
days makes me feel like all my training is gone....this happens to me whenever I taper for any of the marathons
that I have entered....I know it's not totally gone....but it gives me a lot of self doubt. I am glad I have you guys to always
cheer me on with good thoughts!! My husband is having surgery today so today is going to be long and tiring. Just hoping he does
good and isn't in horrible pain. They gave him a surgery time of noon!!!! I couldn't believe it! he is so cranky and thirsty!!

My swimming goal today was to go for distance, instead of stopping and resting after each lap. Last time I tried this, I was completely drained after the attempt. Today I felt great!

I did 600 yards at a 2:08/100 yard pace. I alternated between freestyle and breaststroke. I imagine in a few more weeks I should be within a more comfortable striking distance to complete 800 yards (the approximate sprint distance).

I highly recommend the breaststroke as an alternate to freestyle because it's great for catching your breath and I imagine (but haven't tested) that it'll be good for spotting the buoys in open water during a race.

Breaststroke is a resting stroke. When get tired, I breaststroke half to a full length to help recover before switching back to breaststroke.
In a triathlon, to keep my intervals steady, I swim freestyle but breaststroke the length of every buoy to recover and sight. It worked on my last two triathlons. We practice it in the pool as well using orange cones around the pool.

Last night was swim night. I wanted to do 1500 yards like I did the day before but after 1000 yards, I was so tired and my shoulders sore.
My swimming the last 100 yards was so off balance, I stopped before I hurt myself .

I ended up doing:
1 x600 swim easy
6 x50 Really a 300 as I took no breaks but each 25 was a drill. Zipper arm, one arm swim, fist swim, catch up drill, etc.
1 x100 easy swim

The 600, I maintained 3:55 per 100 yards. That was faster than yesterday for that distance because yesterday after 500 yards I slowed significantly.
Short swim in the morning with my coach.

Edited by Lovey 2014-03-06 1:04 PM

Glad to hear that you're coming around. I will say a prayer for your Hubby in search of a speedy recovery.

Both of ya'll are starting to see some of the fruits from you labor.

Cass I can also tell you that if you keep going, you will breatstroke less and you time will likely be in the 2 flat range per hundred at 800.

I don't know why but I am weird in the way that I get a swimmer high so to speak but never get a runners high. I can be swimming and next them I know I'm swimming lap after lap without really put much into it and even lose track of the number of laps I've swam. The cool thing for me is that I can feel and coming on and now know when I've hit that cruise control point.