Jeff Y's Group - CLOSED (Page 23)

Yeah, with our "team".  For some reason we are calling it a team because we have "sponsors" but don't get the idea that I'm getting free crap or anything. :-)

I'm actually not sure how many people are going.  I'm thinking 5-8 or so.  I don't plan on doing an IM for the next couple years.  I have a lot of work to do first and to tell you the truth, I'm in no rush and hate the idea of walking 26 miles....so we'll just hold off for now.

Today was another great lesson.  Some of the best advice I've gotten is that no matter how you feel (short of a real injury) always get out there and give it at least 10-15 minute to see how it goes.  If you’re low energy, sore, something is a bit tweaked, whatever; just give it a go.  If you still really feel like it’s not going to happen after 10-15 minutes, think about packing it in and fighting another day.

Well today I was just really dragging all morning after the bike intervals this morning.  No energy at all, with a tempo run scheduled for lunchtime.  Main set was 22 minutes at 10k pace.  I was thinking there was no way I would be able to pull that off today, but I went out and at least figured I’d get in a short jog to keep things loose. 

Well, after the 10 minute warm up I felt great and just hammered the entire 22 minutes, in fact going a bit faster than my 10k pace, and felt smooth and strong the whole time.  Who would have thought?

This sounds like a really great weekend.  I am with you on the IM thing though.  I am not making any plans at all for doing an IM ever but I would like to do one.  I will see how the HIM goes for a couple of seasons before making that type of commitment.  Those 2 years will allow my 2 girls to be "out of the house" and will possibly allow more time for training.

Either way this weekend would be a cool weekend.

Lotta bad luck all at once.  I think that run was 4 weeks of weather misery manifesting itself!  Hopefully you still feel fine today.  That’s a nice pace.

Ongoing training question for the group.  Just finished my first sprint tri last Sunday and am going to do another in the June/July time frame with another in September.  What do you think the best training program for me to follow would be?  I am thinking of following one of the Oly training programs from this site and figure doing those distances during training should have me ready for the sprint tri's.  I would like to improve my time in all 3 legs in my upcoming tri's so would following an Oly training program that is focusing on building up the distances also be the best approach to improve my times?

Short answer: Yes!

focusing on building up distances will almost always be the best approach to improving your times.

This^^^^^ with a slight change.  And this is the key to anyone's training/racing

I am basically doing the same thing with the HIM training plan I am almost finished using.  My plan is to keep my distances higher for a year to allow me to be a little more competitive in my AG when I do a HIM nexy year some time.  I will plan on keeping my volume in a similar range throughout the winter (if possible) to keep me more ready to knock something fast down.

????

Yeah, I second what Dirk said above.  Definitely listen to how you are feeling.  Make sure you are aware of the difference between sore and fatigued and in pain.  There's a slight difference and once the sore goes to pain, that's when  you need to really back off and watch what you're doing.

Got a nice OWS in today.  Water really wasn't that cold.  I am really shocked to tell you the truth.  I wore my neoprene swim cap and I'm not sure I needed to.  I followed that by a nice 16 mile ride right around 20 mph.  My legs feel a bit sloppy, but I'm just not getting enough sleep.

Had my bike fit for my new bike this morning.  Very excited to see the changes once it's all built up.  He said I should see a big difference in hills because I was sitting too far back on the saddle and too low.  So I guess we shall see.

can someone explain interval running to me please? or basically what are they and how to do them.

I want (obviously) to build up speed, I am running about 10 to 10.5 minute miles pretty consistently and want to get that down a bit. Not overnight but gradually.

Also what does the term "DH" mean? I see it in the forums here but no idea what it means...

My 2 cents - I would say forget about intervals for a while.  If your logs are accurate, you are only running once or twice a week for a few miles.  Just start by running more.  Up the frequency if at all possible.  Build up slowly though, avoiding injuries as stated above is job #1, and the best way to avoid injuries is to build up slowly.  Add a mile a week or something like that.  It's amazing how much faster you get just running more - even if all your running isn't very fast.  As many wise runners on here say - run lots, mostly easy.

As far as DH - I'm not web guru, but I think that's dear hubby, or other words starting with "d" depending on context.

I'm not familiar with DH...

The term 'intervals' refers technically to an interval of time between efforts during which you are recovering.  But in common parlance, it's often used to describe one of the efforts (implied to be intense) from which you need to recover.

So it means running a certain distance at a certain pace that you can't maintain very long and then resting for a while and repeating.

The goal of this type of running is to stress your cardiovascular system in a way that aerobic training doesn't.  It's sometimes at race pace, but usually faster.

It's an advanced form of training.  It's only valuable to athletes that are already very well trained and for whom regular improvements through strict endurance training has begun to taper off.  It's like icing on the cake if you will.

Slow and steady, slow and steady... I need to write that on the board 1000 times so I will remember it dang it.

I am still only 51 days back running from my stress fracture and here I go wanting to up my speed. Sometimes I can be a real moron. Been out of the pool for about a week and a half due to it being closed and am getting antsy.

Slow and steady, slow and steady...

OK, I think I'm better now...

That's an awesome run dude!  Congrats on a PR!  What did you get for an AVG HR?

That is indeed a very nice run Ryan!  It took me a while to hit 21:00 at a 5k race, actually my PR is 21:00.  I did that last year in April before the marathon training so I might be able to go a little faster now but I haven't done a 5k for quite some time.

As far as in a tri, you might not be able to run as fast if you hammer the swim and bike before the run.  Obviously the other 2 disciplines will drain you some.  I say this with no experience completing a Sprint.  I have only done Oly's and 1 relay that involved the swim for me. 

I think you should definitely be able to run a fast run leg but it might not be just below the 7:00 pace.  Depending on how big you race is, you could certainly be in the top finishers in your AG if you can run that kind of pace.  You will definitely have a good race.

That's a smoking pace Ryan.

I can't find the link, but I have a chart that supposedly compares open run times with predicted tri times.  I know there's a ton of subjectivity due to swim/bike pacing and such, in order to run a 21:40 5k in a sprint (7 m/m), that would translate to an open 5k time of around 21, so you're well within reach of hitting that time I would think.

I don't have a sweet watch like that, only a 25$ steal on bonktown.com with a hr monitor and basic watch. It tells me when I'm too high or too low but no averages. As for my first race of the year, I'm doing an olympic with a 22 mile bike ride on a pretty flat course and the run is flat except for an over pass, simple out and back so I'm going to set a relatively low HR goal on the bike (hopefully keep it around an hour to 1:05 and 145 bpm) so I can meet my run goal.

On another note I do have a question, in my budget I get to spend 150 a month on whatever I want, this month I am having a hard time deciding between an aero helmet or triathlon shoes to run in. I've never run without socks and it will probably take some time to get used to it so it probably wouldn't help for this triathlon. I'm thinking of sticking with socks and using my current shoes. Does anybody have advice on my perdicament? I'm already leaning one way so unless somebody swears that tri shoes make them fast I think I'll go with a helmet. I'm thinking about the LAZER Tardiz, or an Louis Garneau, any tips?

Go with the helmet as long as it doesn't look like this one.

Honestly I think the helmet would provide a better return.  Most running shoes have a "sock" liner in them that you could use for your tri's.  I started to begin to use my normal running shoes sockless last season but the shoes had already been broken in and caused a blister after only 2 miles of a 5k run.  I think all you need to do is train in them and allow your feet to adapt to the change of running without socks.  Your feet will probably need to get a few callus's  on them in the right spots to keep from getting blisters.  I would just use them for some short runs for a while.  I am actually thinking about doing this myself BUT my cycling shoes are the cheapest shoes ever and they don't have a sock liner and are CERTAIN to cause blisters if I don't wear socks, so right now it won't do me any good to run sockless.

Also, I don't know what kind of bike you have but if you don't at least have a roadie with clip-ons there are probably other things that would be better to purchase than an aero helmet.

(Lazer helmet.jpg)

Well I already have aero bars and triathlon bike shoes. I'll probably just go without socks on the bike and then sock up for the run this year. It will probably take me too much time this year to adapt to a sockless run anyway so I might as well push the purchase back to the off season when there are some deals out there.

As far as that helmet goes, its pretty sweet if your about the Danskins. On the other hand I seem to find all of my triathlon gear on sale in bright blues. In order of heavily discounted purchases: Bright blue triathlon shorts (see picture), blue and white tri top, baby blue bike shoes, blue bike with blue rims. Needless to say, I could accessorize a baby boys room easily. Its too bright to ignore on the course, I've had a few comments. I'm glad to say I was passing them .

I tend to be a bit of an overzealous idiot sometimes, but I just run barefoot in sprints and live with blisters....At the moment I've got a pair of adidas racing flats that I've had for a few  years and 5k barefoot in them doesn't usually cause me any problems.

I don't want you to chew your feet up badly, but how bad do you think it would be to just race barefoot?  Can you go out for a 1 mile run sockless as a test?  (or carry your socks in your hand and put them on if needed).

But I've also bled like a pig as a result.  Stained a brand new pair of shoes red once.

Great job in your 5k btw!  That's studly.

ps. I vote for the tri running shoes.  I just use racing flats and do fine...but I admit to being all interested in Zoot racers.

Hi everyone - just thought I would check in! I know I've been MIA for a lot of reasons (sick, busy, and it's been raining here non-stop!) but I did my 100K ride today anyway. I hadn't been on my bike in 3 weeks before this ride, and I feel like I totally killed it. I kept up with the fastest racers and finished over an hour ahead of my friends who talked me into doing this with them.

So now my next focus is an OLY in July, and hopefully I will be able to be a bit more consistent in my training for that. I still haven't even thought about OWS - it is freezing cold here still. I remember practicing OWS in April a couple years ago! Not this year, that's for sure...

Sounds like a pretty decent weekend Jonathon.  I am hoping to wind my long weekend up with a ride this afternoon/evening or maybe a swim.  With the heat I may go for the swim instead.  As of this post it is 84 with a heat index of 88 and it's only going to get hotter.  I realize it's not  really that hot but with no chance to acclimate myself to these higher temps it feels pretty ridiculous.

So far for my weekend I have 3500 yards swimming, 66 miles riding and 23 mile running.  I hope to add either 3k swimming or another 25 miles riding.  We'll see hoe that goes though.  I just found out we are going to the movies with some friends in a couple hours.

Happy Memorial day to all of you and remember all of those who lost their lives in the service of our country and if anyone in the group is a veteran thanks for serving!