Mad Manatees Mentor Group - VERY CLOSED!!! Sorry! (Page 24)

bcraht - 2013-01-01 8:43 PM

Got a 6km walk in with the dogs today.  Really foggy out there, but a nice walk on the dykes.

Ok, Manatees, I need a reality check.  After asking about HM or HIM first, I put in a training plan for the HIM in early June.  That puts me at starting a 20 week training plan on Jan 12th!  Eek!  I feel like with my achilles issue, in addition to being sick, I haven't trained in so long, I can't get ready that quickly. 

I am still not running full on, just short (~3km) run walks.  Actually, I did a 5km run 1&1/2 min, walk 2 min on the 23rd with no issues, so suspect I should be good to go, just want to see my PT one more time. 

Can you guys have a look at my logs and tell me what you think?  I just need some objective eyes, rather than looking through my virus-tinted lenses .  Thanks!

crews - 2013-01-02 9:15 AM

HI Manatees!!!  

Just sayin

jobaxas - 2013-01-02 9:10 AM Sometimes willpower is a great thing. I drove to the pool and it wasn't open for another hour so I went to the shops spent up a bit then in the pouring rain back to the pool and I swam 3km so pleased I could easily have done another km or two. Happy

jobaxas - 2013-01-02 1:01 AM ha too busy checking out the legs - oh yes nice tattoo!!

crews - 2013-01-02 9:47 AM

It's good to be back on BT!  Had to come visit my manatees

Been remodeling a 1920's rent house that we have, so there's been no time for training...Boo

Put 7 lbs of my 45 lost back on...Boo

BUT - I'm getting back in the swing of things

JJ- - 2013-01-02 5:31 AM Well did everybody get some type of swim/bike/run in for the first day of the new year? I had planned a nice 2 hour ride with a 30 minute run but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. I ended up with an easy 45 minutes on the trainer and then went out for a very successful "first brick of the season" run. Anyone swim with paddles. I ordered some over the holidays. I'm going to try them this week hopefully Friday. Swimming is a big area of needs improvement for me. I'm also going to try and video my swim today for my coach to analyses. I'll post it here also and welcome any comments.

bcraht - 2013-01-01 6:43 PM

Got a 6km walk in with the dogs today.  Really foggy out there, but a nice walk on the dykes.

Ok, Manatees, I need a reality check.  After asking about HM or HIM first, I put in a training plan for the HIM in early June.  That puts me at starting a 20 week training plan on Jan 12th!  Eek!  I feel like with my achilles issue, in addition to being sick, I haven't trained in so long, I can't get ready that quickly. 

I am still not running full on, just short (~3km) run walks.  Actually, I did a 5km run 1&1/2 min, walk 2 min on the 23rd with no issues, so suspect I should be good to go, just want to see my PT one more time. 

Can you guys have a look at my logs and tell me what you think?  I just need some objective eyes, rather than looking through my virus-tinted lenses .  Thanks!

JJ- - 2013-01-02 3:31 AM Well did everybody get some type of swim/bike/run in for the first day of the new year? I had planned a nice 2 hour ride with a 30 minute run but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. I ended up with an easy 45 minutes on the trainer and then went out for a very successful "first brick of the season" run. Anyone swim with paddles. I ordered some over the holidays. I'm going to try them this week hopefully Friday. Swimming is a big area of needs improvement for me. I'm also going to try and video my swim today for my coach to analyses. I'll post it here also and welcome any comments.

Asalzwed - 2013-01-02 10:47 AM

Phhhhhheeeewwwww. We survived Canada. I am not sure if Canada survived us. I can't even tell like 99% of what went on due to a "What Happens in Whistler" policy but it was awesome.

Looking forward to what 2013 will bring. 2012 was pretty rough all around. Experienced more loss than I ever have. BUT with the struggles came some truly bright spots and I am looking to build on those things.

I'm not one for a stereotypical "resolution" but I have always love the idea of evaluating things, making some goals and some revisions and moving forward. 

I am  have a small spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social goal. I'm looking to 2013 to be my year to focus on the spiritual/emotional goals.

Anyway, glad to be spending at least a portion of 2013 with the Manatees. Here are some pics I CAN share from my trip:

 

(above is our hot toddy spread in the parking lot after we were done cross country skiing)

crews - 2013-01-02 10:47 AM

It's good to be back on BT!  Had to come visit my manatees

Been remodeling a 1920's rent house that we have, so there's been no time for training...Boo

Put 7 lbs of my 45 lost back on...Boo

BUT - I'm getting back in the swing of things

jogo - 2013-01-01 1:53 PM

The Commitment Day 5k turned out to be a "fun" run, so bibs but no timing.  The energy and enthusiasm was infectious.  There were about 1000 people (lots of families and people doing their 1st 5k) or so on Ford Field, which is where our Detroit Lions lose play.  I arrived way too early but the start was inside the field so it was warm and toasty.  They took our pictures and we had to sign a big sign with what healthy lifestyle change we were committing to.  Lots of great warm up music and dancing.  I need to download some of those songs and use them as a warm up.  It was a great fun. 

My commitment is: To make my health a priority and consistency/follow through.

The run was sort of a run/walk for the 1st 2 miles and then I warmed up.  It is really weird that I now "feel" it when I am not warm.  When I am warmed up, I am the energizer bunny and can go and go.  It usually takes me 2-2.5 miles and then my body remembers how to run.  The last part of the run was GREAT!!!  Warm, fast, strong, flowing, etc...

The run was long.  It was a 3.9 mile 5k, according to my running buddy's Strata.  I know it was longer than 3.1 so I am calling it 3.5 miles for my logs.  I can't convince myself it was 3.9 but I know 3.1 and that was definitely longer.   For my time 44:49, 3.5 miles is probably about right. 

I am excited to see where this Big Sur training takes me.  I looked down and saw my cellulite jiggling on my thighs (gross, I know).  I know that the past 6 months of hell have taken their toll on my fitness.  I have gained 15lbs since April.  Time to recommit to ME!   I spent a lot of time in 2012 trying to get and keep my family healthy, now it is my turn.   And so it begins....As of today, I have run every day in 2013 and that momentum will continue!! 

4agoodlife - 2013-01-01 8:19 AM

Goodbye, old year. Hello, twenty-TRIteen!

Just finished last ride of the 2012. Cold and windy, and I'm happy to log another 15 miles

 

 

JJ- - 2013-01-02 11:43 AM

SWIM ANALYSIS VIDEO

I took a video of my form today at the pool to send to my coach for analysis and thought I would post here also. I learned to swim 6 months ago using the Total Immersion book/dvds and watching youtube videos. I've never had any training or critique so please feel free to comment/critique on anything you see that will help. I have no idea if I'm doing anything at all right or wrong but I know this has been enough to get me through my sprint distance triathlon. With my HIM coming up I want to make sure I'm using the right form.

Swim Form Check Video

Muskrat37 - 2013-01-02 2:24 PM

1st - You taught yourself to swim only 6 months ago via books/ dvds / youtube videos?  That's awesome. You have done a great job.  I'm impressed.  

Couple of things that stand out - your kick.  Looks like you are kicking from the knee a bit - and your toes are pointing down, not back.  It should look like you have fins on - your toes should be pointing to the wall you are swimming away from.  The kick is generated from the hip, not the knee.  If you do any kicking with a kick board - focus on a straight leg kick, keeping your hips out of the water...when doing this properly, you will feel it in your abs big time.  

With the pull - looks like you are not getting a good "catch" and "pull".  When your hand enters the water - your elbow should bend almost immediately (See Yanti's new avatar).  You are trying to catch as much water as you possibly can and pull it to the back.  When you pull - you should pull "hard".  When you do it properly - you will really feel it in your triceps at first.  

Imagine you are laying on the pool deck on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you. Your hands are hanging over the edge of the pool just enough that you can bend your wrists and grab the wall.  You need to pull yourself into the water from this position.  The only way you can do it is to initiate a "pull" from your hands.  Your elbows will bend and you will engage your triceps and pull yourself into the water.  The harder you pull, the faster you slide into the water.   You can't do it very easily if your hands cross over center, You can't drop your arm then pull, you must bend your elbow and pull yourself forward.  Most of your propulsion is going to come from the front to about the middle of the pull.  By the time your belly button is at the edge of the pool, your hands will be almost behind you and you are no longer getting a huge benefit from "pushing"...  Think "Catch and pull" or "Grab and pull".  

Hope that makes sense and isn't too confusing.  

TriAya - 2013-01-02 2:53 PM

Skrat, you've become a very fine swim coach and that is good advice ...

I echo that fundamentally, you have a nice streamlined body position and both your form and speed are excellent as an adult-onset swimmer.

I encourage everyone to watch their videos frame-by-frame. You will self-observe many points of both achievement and for improvement.

Here's what I saw to work on. (see attached pics for reference)

1. When you breathe, you over-rotate your head AND lift it up out of the water. Your body has to compensate somehow for the de-balancing (your head should be nicely in line with your body rotation to breathe; the head moves by itself very little or not at all) ... we tend to see this either in the opposite arm pushing water down (instead of back) in order to support or make the head pop up OR ---> what you do, which is take a bigger kick with the leg. If you look at shot 1 carefully, you can make out that your legs are quite far apart. There are many ways to try to achieve imprinting this. If I were you, I'd carefully read and try to implement everything in the Beginner and Intermediate KICK sections of swimsmooth.com. I would FIRST try to keep your head in rotation with your body (and try to be mindful of what your legs are doing when you breathe); secondarily I'd work on the kick, especially keeping in mind two things: extend your feet (like a point, but relaxed--comes from the ankle, not by pointing toes, but that is the effect) and turn your big toes slightly inward, and pretend you are holding a coin in between your butt cheeks. For some reason those images sometimes help people to originate the kick from the hips.

***2. most important is what your arm is doing UNDER the water. The analogy of being on the edge of the pool helps; I also think of folding my arm in a 90-degreeish angle over the top of a square package, then pulling that package straight backward. Think of breaststroke (the beginning of the pull there and in freestyle are nearly identical): you can't do it if your arms are straight. You have to bend them to pull. Same in freestyle: having the arm straight-ish in the water is not an efficient/effective pull for distance swimming.

3/4. Your R arm tends to cross over the midline, and this seems to lead more to the straight-arm pulling as above. Try to think of your hands entering the water at 10am and 2pm on a clock; that’s an overexaggeration, but will probably effect just the right angle for entry.

paddles--did you ask about paddles? What kind did you get? Use them VERY sparingly at first, and definitely without the wrist loop--just looped onto your middle finger. If your pull is good, solid and well-formed, the paddles will stay on.

Asalzwed - 2013-01-03 4:58 AM

Ohhh yeeeerrr alive! More than alive, damn, so thorough too! Screen shots even? Pssssshh! 

TriAya - 2013-01-02 3:01 PM

Hot piglet swimming ALWAYS gets my attention, as opposed to pictures that, while truly breathtakingly beautiful, especially their subject, are so cold they're making my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth.

Maybe that's the pistachio nuts.

Only one hour 'til McD's pancakes ...