Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 23)

ALEX -

I think it was you, from about a week ago, that I was mentioning some swim stuff to, and said I had more.

If it was you, the topic I had in mind was something I just mentioned to Juan, and that is the idea of "swimming downhill", and "pressing the buoy" Have a look at what I wrote to him, and let me know whjat you think about "downhill" and "buoy".

And if it wasn't you...........

GANG!

It's 11:30 -- time for bed! Lynn is working tomorrow and I'm not going into the city until later in the morning, so I'm hoping to do some quantity time (hopefully "quality", too!) here. Thanks for bearing with me, as I scramble mightily to get abreast of things here!

G'night!

Jac thanks for this post I just started my training plan with a lot of drills for tomorrow. I'm going to try this. Melinda

For those who are having trouble relaxing your breathing, try this:

WU:
1 X 200 Swim (or whatever distance you are comfortable swimming continuously but do 200)
BOB Drill:
5 X (next to the edge of the pool, go under water and slowly expel all your air -- as much as you can tolerate. Come back up. Get your breath. Take a deep breath and repeat 4 more times. Swim 50 yards after each set of 5 BOBs).

You will find that your breathing will relax after doing the BOB drill.  My stroke count even went down.  I will also second going with a natural breathing pattern.  Really helped me start swimming further when I wasn't concerned about breathing every 2 or 3 strokes. 

Speaking of swimming, I will be going tomorrow.  Any suggestions on how to start back at swimming?  I was thinking of about doing 200 of kicking, 200 of single arm, 100 of catch up, and then some 50s and 100s.  Total yardage about 1500?

Speaking of swimming,

I came down this morning to log on to BT and read some news before heading off to the gym and my wonderful wife had my birthday present waiting on the kitchen table.  A new tri bathing suit and swim goggles.  I can't wait to try them out tomorrow. 

Nothing is more motivating than getting new equipment. 

Happy Birthday, John! You've got a great wife who knows how to make you happy.

LORI -

That sounds like a fine workout to me! Of course, I'm from the school that thinks there is always about 73 things that can be focused on with swimming, so choosing any few of them for any given session just has to be helpful!

BOB is a good one; having the 50 after each five BOBs is smart. My advice is usually simlper -- just get to the shallow end, stand in slighlt-deeper-than-waist-deep water, bned forward at the waist so your upper body is in the swimming position, submerge your face, and exhale fully. The concentrartion is on "fully", and then it's a quick turn of the head and repeat. The focus in on the full exhale....but it doesn't have the add-on challenge/reward of the BOB 50s. Thank you for that one!

Happy Birthday John (^)

JOHN -

I have a few thoughts about pull buoys. I use mine extensively, even though many people would say it (1) does not help my balance, (2) does not help a kick, and (3) overall is a crutch.

BUT, I continue to use it extensively because, as ROGER suggested to Juan, the kick isn't a big part of triathlon, and my game plan does not involve much kicking at all. I have a fairly poor kick anyhow, and it is not likely to get better any time soon; hasn't in 11+ years of swimming seriously, so I'm not counting on it at all!

Also, I do races thta allow wetsuits, and I feel that the floatation of a wetsuit is about the same as the floatation that comes from a pull buoy, so I am actually replicating my tri swims better by using the p.b., rather than by going without.

Finally, I am convinced that I have strong rides and runs in my races because I exit the water with very fresh legs. While it never ceases to frustrate me* to have oly swims that are 28 (rare) to 31 minutes, it sure helps to gobble up so many "fish" on the bike and then run a 45-47 minute 10km. I KNOW that were I to kick my brains out, I still would find 28-minute oly swims rare.....and I sure wouldn't be able to do 21-22mph on the bike, or run as well off the bike as I do.

Someday I should do the math on this. I would assume the beauty of a 27-minute swim, but then figure out what my bike time would be if I did 19mph instead of 21mph (due to tired legs from kicking), and what my run time would be if I did 8:20 miles instead of 7:30 or so miles (due to still-tired legs). I am SURE that the 2-4 minutes saved on the swim would not be equal to what would be lost on the bike and run. On the run alone it would be maybe four minutes, going from 47 to 51, and then for the bike? Another 5-10 minutes? Nope! I'm going to continue saving my legs for the land-based activities!

I am just never going to be a fish.....unless I improve what happens at the front end. So, that's what I focus on really heavily in my pool sessions, spending minimal time on the kick (note: a big problem for the kick is that I am not very flexible, so I can't get my foot in plantar flexion to any decent extent). That's where the p.b. enters the picture, just eliminating my legs from the equation and allowing my to concentrate on reach, elbows, pull, recovery --- all that front-end stuff!

And nice gifts those were, awaiting you! I think it's safe to say your family is behind you in all of this!



* My frustartion gets exacerbated by knowing that the very best guys in my age group nationally have powerhouse swims to go with great bikes and runs. That is ultimately what separates me from them, and until they lose their land-legs with increasing age (and I manage to maintain mine!), I won't beat them head-to-head.

Year in and year out, the best guy in my age group is Steven Smith, from Granger, IN. He is a good runner, a grat cyclist......and an off-the-charts swimmer. He will be 64 next season, and at Syracuse70.3 he swam the 1.2 miles in 27 minutes -- and it was not measured short, at least judging from looking at the results for other guys I know. Most of his HIM swims are comfortably sub-30, and most of his HIM finishes are sub-five; the guy is a freak! The fastest HIM swim I have ever done is 38, and that just once. So were Smith and I to be in a race togethe, he would exit the water with AT LEAST 11 minutes on me!! I mean, he is the best swimmer out there at 60-64, but there are many who can do 1.2 miles in around 30, or 1500m in about 21 or 22......and I just will never-ever be there. So it goes......


(Thanks for letting me vent! I didn't start out that way,. but get me going on swimming, and kicking....and it just happens sometimes! )

Ok... I agree with "BOB is a good one" and "having the 50 after each five BOBs is smart" I'm not sure about... Really 5 Bob's?  Most people think 1 of me is too much!
But "doesn't have the add-on challenge/reward of the BOB 50s" where are you going with that?!?
This has something to do with my upcoming 50th doesn't it?!?!
  Guess I better go find Lori's post

LAURA -

What a great way to start 2011! If the rest of the year is even half as good as the Packers experience was for you, it'll be an awesomaceous year!

A woman from one of my other groups is a big Vikings fan; can you feel her pain this year? I don't imagine you have any love lost for the Vikings, but ya gotta feel for those poor fans. Another woman is a hard-core Giants fan; Sunday left her far less happy than it left you!

My love is with the Patriots and the Browns. The Pats are speaking for themselves, but the poor Browns? Oh me, oh my. Well, at least they fired that neanderthal, Eric Mangini. That has to be a very positive step!

Thanks everyone for the swimming advice. Will incorporate these next time head into the pool.

Steve,  that was me... swimming is just so much of a challenge right now.  50-75 yds is about what I can do continuously.  I can push to 100 but am winded afterward.  
I will try the downhill visual...

Alex 

BOB -

You've seen right through to my subtext! As my mother might've said, "No flies on him!"

ALEX -

Oh, I'm so glad it was you! I hate it when I forget to whom I really should be directing something; right church, wrong pew!

The downhill/buoy approach should work to some degree after a while; maybe even right off! But it really is more of a proprioeceptor thing, meaning that it just helps you "feel" what your position should be. Some people can do it just with the "downhill" cue, others need to focus on "pressing the buoy". I was one of the latter, and so when I "leaned" on my chest, that helped. And for me it turned out to be more functional than just kind of illusional, so that my position in the water is actually very good -- it's just that it STILL isn't enough to allow me to swim as fast as I want to!

That's the body position part. Being winded is likely tied to your breathing, so there have been a few things here recently:
--ROGER had the post on breathing being determined by the exhale, and the necessity to exhale FULLY before turning your head to grab some air. This was about 3-4 days ago.
--LORI had the post on the BOB+50 drill. This is in the last two pages.
--I mentioned the "blowing bubbles" exercise; this is on this page or the one before.

The key point to work on is fully exhaling while your head is underwater, so that when you turn for the quick inhale you are not also finishing the exhale -- can't do both at once! You don't have to "explode" the air out of you; steady and controlled and complete are the goals.

If you feel you really do completely exhale, then something you might want to try is a more exaggerated body roll as you turn to breathe. This would have your face out of the water for longer, and also with it more pointed to the ceiling, with your line of vision towards the middle or even upper part of the building's walls. This way you want have to "gulp", but rather just have time to grab the air. Ultimately you will want to get back to minimal head movement when you breathe (ask me later about "one-goggle breathing"!), but for now, as you work at mastering breathing and not feeling winded and combining these for increased endurance, and exaggerated body roll might help.

One mor thought is to pretend you're Popeye when you're breathing (in the pool -- not real life! ). Can you picture Popeye's mouth in general, and especially when he is pouring spinach into it? One side is open really wide, right? Well, when youi turn to breathe, make the up-side of your mouth just like Popeye's! This works really well for me, and serves to do two functionally beneficial things: (1) focus my breath-intake on a small area, thus reduces any "desperation" that might come with a whole mouth, wide-open and gasping, and (2) provide a much smaller space for water to enter my mouth, not to mention the fact tat that space is the part of my mouth furthest from the water. Thanks, Popeye, old pal!

Let me know if any of the above is confusing, okay?

Glub, glub!

MANNY -

That's a nice start to the season, something to aim for before the season REALLY gets going. Does SLC have a pretty vibrant tri scene, with lots to choose from?

What is the distance of your St.G race in May? And, is it impossible to do any race around St. George without having heavy-duty climbs? As you probably know, last year's inaugural Ironman St.George absilutely demolished scores of particpipants on the run. Even though the elevation charts sure looked daunting to me, I guess many people either didn't read them accurately, or didn't even read them at all.

But the photos from it were drop-dead gorgeous; what a beautiful region!

As it turns out, I have been in every one of the contiguous States -- except Utah. I've been around it to the south and to the north, but never set foot in it. I'd like that to change someday.....but I'm not getting any younger!

I just got back from swim and I focused on some of the suggestions from yesterdays posts. Used my core, kept my head down, etc. It actually made it a bit more fun to have something else to think about other then the sets my masters coach was giving us! I shared a lane with Dave, my niece and another friend and I actually led for most of the practice so something was working right
Johanne 

DANIEL -

Is the swim plan one that's here at BT? If so, i can try to help you scale it down to your needs.

What I will say is that if you at 450 now, you are in great shape for whatever sprint you are looking at several months from now. And even if you lose a lung or two in the next short while, that'll give you lots of time to grow 'em back again!

Another way to work the scale-down is to look at whole sprint and olympic plans and compare the swim components. You then might be able to cross-reference it to the plan you have now, and come up with something more workable for you.

Don't feel bad about the current plan not working perfectly! Remember, these are not individualized, and really have to play to the broad middle-ground. Allthough I wasn't one of them , and still aren't , there are some people who enter learn-to-swim programs and are aces almost right away. So part of your program will be there to address their piscine needs, and that leaves you and the rest of the majority maybe feeling behind at times.

But again - 450 now is great, it really is! The 450 is hurting you some, so even subtracting 100 from that to better keep you in your comfort zone (that is, no lost lungs), is still good for the early days of January. For a nomal sprint you just need to get to 500-750, and you're already more than halfway there. Ta-da!

One final **IMPORTANT** thought is to NOT push yourself to get maximum yardage. Swimming faults are very unforgiving, almsot impossible to lose short of a frontal lobotomy. If you are feeling really gassed in doing 450, then it is highly likely that your form is falling apart with each half-length of the pool. I speak about this from painful experience, as I pushed the bigger distances as soon as I felt able to, but it was at a huge sacrifice to form. Once a bad habit gets planted, it is very difficult to rectify it later on. Some of those bad faults I developed back at the beginning? Still there! (oh noooooooooooo.........)

A really good rule of thumb to follow is that when you feel your form falling apart, it's time to stop what you are doing -- either quit the session entirely, or go to different strokes, or sculling, or kicking. And as I said before, i'm sure that once your breathing gets strained, your form is being compromised, too.

Do you count strokes per length? If not, try to do that. Get a good sample of your stroke count when you're feeling you are swimming your best. Let's say it's 22, then you have that as a base and, if your stroke count creeps up (23....24...25....) as your swim progresses, that that's a good indication that your form is getting sloppy. So -- out of the pool with you, or get thee to different strokes (breast or back, and especially sculling)!

GENE -

I kinda miss your photo there, but in its place is the big "I" with "Vandals" over it, which stirs my curious mind.

So, may I ask..........

GENE again -

Never mind! (Maybe?)

Are you a U. Idaho alum, by any chance? Or if not that, affiliated with U.I. in some way? (Or do you just like the logo?)

Once again, a simple google search seems to point the way!

BOB -

You're a wizard at the computer! I'm amazed that JOHANNE can mention a cool and minty drink.....and within hours you post a photo of one. I hope we can meet someday, but I'lll have to frisk you first to make sure you don't have any photographic equipment on you. Otherwise, there's no telling where my mug might end up!

As a lifelong teetotaller, I make for a boring drinking partner. However, i FULLY support any efforts you or Johanne or anyone else wants to make to develop and market Mojoistas. In fact, i'm going to go off right now and patent that name as it pertains to celebratory drinks........but I will share proceeds from this windfall-bound enterprise equally with everyone in the group. It's just another something I offer in my role as Full Service Mentor!

Contacted FeXY yet??

JAC -

Did you get my PM a couple nights ago, and did you see the post about Jane's location? Just checking, as I'm never sure I do the right thing with the PMs!

CRAIG -

Going back a few days....

I am so envious of -- and the rest of the left-coasters -- who can do outside rides in January. Early January, no less! When I did my summer ('73!!!) at Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, in Charleston....I knew I should've stayed there!

How long have you and Kathy been working with foster kids? That is a truly remarkable thing to be doing, but I guess you know that full well, don't you? She must've been incredibly excited to be on a bike with gears and brakes!

As an OIMB guy, its affiliation with U of O make me a Ducks person, so I'm hoping they take it to Auburn!