Jeff Y's Group - CLOSED (Page 26)

Forecast for race day is high 50's and 50% chance of rain.  Suck it up and enjoy not overheating....or do arm warmers for the bike???

It's a short race right?  I would leave the arm warmers.  If they are just lycra they probably don't help much anyway, maybe even less if it's raining and they're wet.

Oh wait...if the day's high is 50s what will the race time temperature be?  40s?  Yeah, insulate on the bike.  Probably a whole jacket.  Do you have a tight zip up cycling jersey?  You don't want a baggy jacket flapping in the breeze.

Swim training question for you all: when training how do you count time?

For example if I swim 400 meters in 10 minutes and take a 5 minute break and then swim 200 meters in 5 minutes is that 15 minutes or 20?

Good question.  I often wonder the same thing.  I put total time in the pool and total yards, or total time in the lake and total yards.  But I treat swim training like the red headed step child, so I'm probably not the best to comment on this.

Well, I never talk about going x-meters in y-minutes unless it's a stead state (or continuous) swim.

But if you are talking about how do you log it in your training log and your units is minutes rather than meters, I would use the time from beginning to end of the workout even when it includes rest intervals between sets.  So in your case the answer would be 20.

It's fair to do this as long as the recovery is sufficiently short.  It should allow you to be ready for the next effort, but not be long enough to drop below the aerobic training zone.

But I always favor using distance as my workout units of measure.  It's far more indicative of the amount of work done.

Anything under 50 I'd wear the arm warmers at least.  We've been training in 40s pretty consistently up here if you've been riding on the mornings, so at least it should feel "normal".  On training rides I use the knee warmers too, but I doubt I'd add those for a race.

There is a place up here called Kimballs which is our favorite, but it's a little bit of a haul so we don't get there much.  Which is probably a good thing.  It gets pretty ugly pretty fast when I go. 

Though I just found out there is a work group which rides Thursday evenings and they stop at Kimballs to refuel.  Hmm...

I'm heavily leaning towards running the 5k tonight, despite the Achilles pain.  The predicted temps are in the mid-90s with some humidity. 

I've been mostly training in colder weather, like 50 or less, so my experience is dealing with being cold and I'm lost on the heat thing.  Any tips on what I should do during the day today and during the race this evening?

Wow....you really are a glutton for punishment!  I have a 30 min run today and I was thinking of just doing it tomorrow because of the heat.  If I were you I would bring a water bottle to the start line with ice and water and just spray myself as needed.  You probably won't need to drink much water during the actual race, but you've got your ice/water bottle if you do... you won't be pushing a PR on this race because of your achilles anyway, right?....the correct answer here is yes, I will run conservatively!!  haha!  Famous last words.

Thanks, hadn't thought of a water/ice bottle to keep cool.  I'll try to find something since I'm at work and can't make the trek home to get stuff.  I probably should run conservatively on this one, but once I get started I'm sure I'll go all out.  I have very little discipline on those things and figure why show up unless I'm giving my all?

Of course, all out for me is still many minutes slower than the grey hounds on here.  I've actually never run a 5k race, so we'll see how it plays out.

Are you talking about for your logs?  If I swim 2000 meters during a workout and it takes me 50 mins or an hour, I put 50 mins or an hour, regardless of the breaks that I take.  I know your "pace" calculator will be very slow compared to your actual pace when swimming, so I don't even pay attention to that.

makes sense...thanks all.

Last night's race was a blast.  The skies opened up about an hour before the race - it was Biblical.  Thunder and lightning, hail, torrential rain, winds.  Then it all ended, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees, and it was actually fine for the race.  It was still very humid, but only about 75.

I did a nice warmup to get the Achilles loose (about 2.5 miles with some strides), and it worked.  The race itself went fine, the Achilles felt fine the entire race but was pretty sore afterwards.  I finished in 22:11, a huge PR for me.  It was definitely a flat/downhill course, though some others said with the humidity their times were not much faster than they typically run.  I didn't leave a lot on the course as I was seeing stars at the end.  I guess that's about all I have in my run fitness right now.  Overall I'm very pleased with the effort and the Achilles.  Miles were 7:20, 6:53, 6:58.  Race report here.

I got a chance to talk with the winner who came in from Chicago and was hoping to go sub 14 on a bet (his PR is 14:25), and he ran 15:14.  He was disappointed with 4:55 miles!  Oh well, it's all relative.

wow, Warren, that's some serious speed there my friend!!!  I'm seriously impressed....and very jealous!!!  Am I honestly the only 6'-3" 189lb male who runs at 9 min pace!?!??  For the love of God, WTF!?

Same weather here yesterday too...Biblical is the perfect word for it too.  Crazy weather!  And my race on Sunday is now 75% chance of thunderstorms and mid 50's.  Maybe I'll win because nobody shows!

Well run race Warren.  You nailed a nearly perfect pacing yet didn't you say this was your first 5k? 

Anyway, that first mile was slowed by the crowd,  yet your mile 2 and 3 splits compared to your final .1 mile pace show that you didn't run too slow that first mile.

Racing 5ks is a really great way to get in a great threshold workout.  Any HR data from the race?

Glad the achilles was OK with things.  One thing that I find has been very helpful for me is to soak my feet in a very hot sink of water.  I try to do this each morning when I get up.  I think it really helps...and it's not just the heat bringing extra blood flow in there, but the fact that after doing so my morning movements, when it's all stiff and sore otherwise, aren't resulting in further aggravation.  It sort of stops the 'two-steps-forward-one-step-backward' cycle.

And then if at all possible, another HOT soak just before a run is really good too...then your achilles may not have taken as much warm-up to feel good (not suggesting you should have warmed up less, just that the achilles would have felt better off the bat).

Good luck with that.

BTW, my achilles is continuing to improve and I've done some seriously hilly outdoor runs in the last 2 weeks without issues.  Still haven't run off-road, but I do have a race coming up on the 19th off-road.  As things stand now I'd race it.  But I have an on-road triathlon on the 18th and that will really determine if I race the off-road one on the 19th.

Have fun Sunday, and embrace the challenge the weather adds.

Hey, afterwards let us know what the weather conditions were during the race, especially the bike.  Also, I'll be curious to know what you decide to wear and how it turns out...ie lessons learned for the rest of us to use.

Thanks.

Here's a swim thought for you:

http://www.feelforthewater.com/2011/06/actually-there-are-two-ideal-stroke.html

Yeah, that was my first 5k running only race.  I think I paced well since if the race was 3.6 miles that next 1/2 mile would have been a disaster!  Thanks for those Achilles tips, I'll get some hot baths in starting tonight while I watch the Bruins take a lead in the Cup.

That's a great swim link.  I'm finally going to swim this weekend at the lake in prep for my tri next weekend.  Man am I underprepped for the swim part.

Thanks, but remember this was an easy course.  I'm so used to running/biking in hills it seems like cheating if there are no climbs!  And looking at finishers pictures just shows me how NOT like an endurance athlete I look.

Have a great race no matter what comes up.  You'll kill it I'm sure.

Warren my almost 3 year old loved that picture of the dog. We had to keep looking and laughing at for some time.

Jonathan neither me nor my son noticed the grammar error, lol.

Dirk when I was running I kept saying to myself, "I don't want to leaving anything on the field." For the longest time I could not remember why that phrase kept popping in my head and then as I re-read the thread I saw you had posted that, lol.

Then after my warm-up swim I also remembered your advice about getting out and letting the water in the wetsuit to acclimate.

Jeff you are so right about my need to get more biking in. Originally I tried to get at least 30miles in a week, but that never happened.

Question:

What type of weights/free weight exercises do you normally incorporate into your workout routine? Because right now I am missing my gym time.

Side note:

Yesterday before my swim, I was standing in the water looking at my swim cap that had the word, "Triathlete" on it and I got this great feeling thinking, "Man, that's me!" Crazy how one little word can give one a great sense of pride.

Next one 30 July, "Federal Escape Tri"

(Picture 6.png)

I don't do any strength training.  I am going to start soon though. :-) 

I have some stretch cordz that I will start to use as soon as I finish the yearly yard work etc.

Well, I do a 4 day-a-week split.  It's basically just a bodybuilding type of routine.  Each muscle group gets worked only once per week (more than that is not beneficial with the intensity I lift at).

Monday - Upper back (pull-downs, pull-ups of various grips, lawn-mowers, seated rows

Tuesday - Chest (dumbbell presses, flies)

Wednesday - Arms (concentration curls, tricep pullovers, then alternating curls/triceps on cable machine)

Thursday or Friday is shoulders (dumbbell Arnold presses, lateral raises, shrugs)

I would like to be doing legs, but can't tolerate leg workouts with all of the cycling and running right now.  But if you can, you should.

My goals are to be a ripped up muscle guy so I can help cope with my feelings of inferiority.  But your goals are probably more healthy.  As such, I would suggest a simple 1 or 2 times per week routine for functional strength and fitness:

3 sets of each.  First set is an easy warm up.  2nd set is not a challenge, but close.  3rd set is a challenge and you can barely finish 10 reps.

in this order:

squats (can be in a smith rack or a leg press machine...free squats without practice can be dangerous)

- develops glutes and upper quads that are not developed much in triathletes

deadlifts

- strengthens lower back and adds a little more quads/glutes

chest: free weights OK if you are experienced or have a spotter, machine otherwise

- strengthens lats, good for swimming

shoulders: overhead presses

- mostly functional strength, could help with swim

biceps: curls any form

triceps: cable push downs

- helps swim

Doing just 3 sets of each may enable you to get through the whole routine in an hour.  As time goes on, you just increase the weight of the 3 sets to always keep it challenging.  You don't ever need to add more lifting volume.  That is unless your goals are more ambitious than 'fitness'.

But you run those 9 minute miles after a bunch of 1:15/100 swim and a 22 mph bike leg.  I only see 22 on the bike going down a serious hill. 

Tomorrow's race day, I'm excited and feeling well rested. I will do a good warm-up/stretch with the achilles in the morning and hope it plays out alright. I'm going to try and push it HARD on the swim and bike and see how I feel on the run. It is down right exciting not knowing if I'll be able to run. If I push as hard as I can I might not have energy for the run, but maybe I'll press myself into a situation where I surprise myself too. Anyway, if I bonk or get dead legs on the run I won't be upset at all as long as the achilles holds up. Here's hoping for at least two new splits.

I'll give an update after the race.

Jeff! That is a killer full body routine. I am going to c/p and start implementing that asap. Thanks!!