ADollar79's Group--closed and in the base building phase! (Page 22)

OK - three weeks to my first tri - no let up - need to hammer down now.  You all need to keep me focused.  Here is what goes on this week.

Monday - Swim 2000 - 400 WU, 6x50 on 15" rest, 10x100 on 15" rest, 300 East.  Run - 45'.

Tuesday - Bike 75' - Z2 ride.

Wednesday - Swim 1800 - 300 WU, "swim golf" 6x50 on 15" rest - three using more strokes and three using less strokes.  Which gives better score? 8x100 moderate using best result from swim golf, 4x50 moderate kick, 1x200 alternating 50 pull drill, 50 swim. - Run - 1 hour fartleks - 6x30" pick-ups.

Thursday - Bike 1 hour 5 Minutes - 15' WU - 8X2' uphill with 65-70 cadence, recover on the downhill.  15' Cool down spin.  Swim - 200 WU, 10x50 sprints on 30" rest, 1x200 mixed drills.  4 x 25 super sprint on 15" rest.  1x100 CD.

Friday - Off Day

Saturday - 45 minute very easy recovery spin, no heart rate monitor - but very easy in small ring.  Run - 1hour 10 min LSD run.  Concentrate on mainaining a comfortable pace.

Sunday - Bike - Raising Lactate Threshold - Start in Big ring 23 and pedal 3'.  climb a gear every 3' until highest gear is reached.  Big gear/smallest ring 10' TT, drop to small ring/middle and spin for 5', Jump back to Big/small and do 10' TT.  Work down each gear by 1'.

I finally purchased a Garmin 305 Edge for cadence and heart rate, so I will start tracking heart rate to make sure I am training in the correct area. 

I think this is supposed to be a quasi recovery/taper week for me. Looking at this workout routine, I am not so sure this is 'easy'

Seeing as I am leaving next week I am going to spend some more time on the bike. Today an hour, Thursday I am cycling home from work...Friday spin class and Saturday a little time again. I don't intend to overdo it however, just nice slow bike rides.

Tomorrow short, slow swim and a short run.

Sound too much?    Let me know.  I will be doing nothing but eating all next week.  

Great job.  I am sure everyone is starting to feel the pinch of race season being upon us!  Things are starting to be a bit more realistic now.  

Yip. I have a whole different perspective of races now.I burnt myself out last year. This year I'm doing a lot of different things, more runs and swims. If I could I'd do the Seattle to Portland bike ride but it ties in with my 1 mile swim race.

I want to move somewhere warmer so I can race all year round...and train in better weather than here. Blech.   I'd also love to try an Aquathlon too but they don't have any here

Has anyone ever done one? 

To the group.....

How much longer until your first race?  And how prepared do you think you are?  Could you just 'finish' it or do you think you could race it.

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4 days to ING half marathon--I am ready for it

18 days until Powerman Alabama--I need to be on the bike more. 

22 days until Mullet Man Sprint.  I can finish it, but I don't think I can race it.  I know I can complete each section without problem.  I am not worrried about anything until T2, and then I am concerned that I can complete the 4 mile run after doing everything else in a reasonable time.  My running is still lacking. 

36 days to the Souixperman Sprint.  I can finish, I hope to race it.

That is SO true. When I think of Ironman Florida in November, I can't conceive how close that is. But when you tell me 220 days (gulp) I get a little anxious.

That is also the point of this exercise.  Races are a LOT closer than some of realize.   

Sorry I've been a bit quiet the last few days.  I twisted my ankle a couple of days ago and have been kind of holed up.  It's feeling better, so I'm going to give my long run a shot tomorrow.

Drew - I think Triathlete Mag had an article about this either this month or last.  Let me take a look at my back issues and I will let you know.

For those of you out there that run longer distances....how do you manage carrying your nutrition, water, keys, cell phone, etc.

For the winter, I've been shoving everything into my jacket pocket, but now that it's warming up, I'm holding all of it since I'm pocket-less.  I feel like an idiot running down the street with my hands full.  Not to mention that there's got to be a better solution.

I'm off for a 16-miler...I should be back by mid-afternoon.  hahaha

I have this little wrist pouch called a Sprig that fits over your wrist and has a zipper pouch in it. I can fit my car key, a gel, money and my license.  My friend Leslie bought me this water bottle that straps onto your hand. It's really quite comfy for running, the only problem is, is that here none of the fountains are on yet....... 

Just an option maybe. I bought my Sprig in Fred Meyer but I'm sure there are other variations out there. It works very well for me.  

Playing some catchup....

Drew---did you get your nutrition questions answered in the other forum?  The key is to figure out what works for you.  The practice starts now and definitely on rides of 2 hours and more.  I do much like Jeepfleeb said.  I start around 200 calories and build.  Last year I had an infamous ride until I puke 100 miles.  I stuffed myself to see what was my max.  It was about 350 calories/hour.  I was bloated and full.  I knew that was too much.  Feel free to read my old race reports for my nutrition plans.  I always detail that stuff for people to use. 

I own a fuel belt similar to the one posted.  It definitely isn't without its flaws (it bounces).  However as it begins to warm it becomes vital to long runs of 120 minutes.  I carry a bottle with me on ALL runs over 60 minutes regardless of temperature.  During the warmer months I run loops near my house so that I can constantly refuel without having to carry two bottles. 

OK - advice time.  I am having trouble with pacing now that I am running outdoors.  When I was on a treadmill inside, I would set the treadmill for the pace I wanted to run and then run.  Simple enough.  If I had to slow down, I would, but I generally would keep the pace, mostly because I didn't want to end up on Americas Funniest Videos being propelled into a wall by the treadmill. 

I switched to running outside and slowed down by almost a full minute on my pace (not on purpose).  I stopped running with headphones on (because I don't think it is safe to do that outside) and maybe the beat of the music helped me with pacing, but I always "feel" like I am running where I should be, yet I end up much slower.  This is not satisfactory to me.  I was reading some threads on the site and a lot of people said that they needed to increase the incline to 1% to assimilate wind and rolling hills in oudoor conditions.  OK, I did that last night and set a personal record on a 5K, smashing my old time by 3'15".  So, I know I can do it, and it makes me feel better about my race coming up, but I can't seem to keep up the pace when I run outside.  Someone help me with this?  How do you keep the pace you want?  Are you just constantly looking at your watch and noting if you are going slower or faster, is it a heart rate thing?

Most of my training runs are solo, so I can't base it off of what someone else is doing, is that the key?  Run to run in what would seem like zone 2 and then when the race comes about, latch on to someone that runs the same pace as me and keep up?  When I was a Marine we used to run in groups at a pace set by the leader.  I never once fell out of a run, but that was because I wasn't going to be embarrassed by not being able to keep up.  We would run 3 miles for time and a score as part of your testing.  I would start and focus on the next guy ahead of me, attaching a "bullseye" on him until I passed him, then I would find the next guy and do the same thing until I couldn't catch anyone else.  Should that be my strategy?  Seriously, need some help on this.

In other news, I did my main swim set last night with drills and all of that good thing (I still suck at swim golf) and then I swam a race pace for the 400 Yd swim that is in my race.  Last time I did this I finished in 13:40 (times are not exact because I am running the stopwatch myself in a very un-scientific manner), which I was quite concerned about.  Last night, after swimming 1400 yards at a moderate pace, I did 400 in 11:29.  Taking more than two minutes off after already swimming 1400 made me happy. 

Anyway - help on the run thing -  go!!

John---

A number of things going on.  Personally, I HATE treadmills because I don't feel like they actually simulate running.  Mentally I can beat a treadmill at its own game.  I have learned to swing my legs from the hips.  This isn't running...it is gliding.  You may subconsciously be doing this too.   The very FEW times I have run on a treadmill in the past few years always throws off my mechanics for my next few runs. 

Pacing is something that comes with practice.  Run, run, run and run.  Part of your difficulty is probably because you are accustom to pacing indoors in the air condition or heat set at about 70 degrees.  Outside is completely different.  The body reacts differently to the conditions and mechanical changes.  As with all things...it takes time.     

One piece of advice is to mark off a course in your neighborhood.  Know exactly where 1/2 mile and 1 mile is.  Begin to take splits.   And monitor how you FEEL when you are running.  Also visit a local track.  I am always shocked how deadon my splits are on a track.  This is the best place to develop pace.  I will give a shameless plug for a heartrate monitor (not necessary but helpful).  IMO, it is less about how fast you are going and more about how your feel.  

Great job with your swim.  I promise that your run will get there too.   

Just a general question (be honest and not embarrassed).  Who does NOT know how to change a tire? 

I flatted and it got me thinking about this thread.  This is a VERY important skill to learn.  And with time it becomes easier and easier.