jsnowash's training group - FULL!! (Page 27)

Just came back from a nice easy brick workout. My 13 year got a letter today from Triathlon World Corporation, stating that he qualified (with his finish time at the Ironkids race in NC) for  the National race in Tampa (October). He is psyched...so are we. We plan to go. So he wanted to bike today and we were all for it. When I came back I ran with my wife trying to keep Zone 2 HR.
It's amazing how with cooler weather one can go much faster and keep the HR down. I kept a 10 min/mile pace with HR @ 150!
Anyways, I have to figure out a few things, including how to travel with a bike (it will be a weekend trip so we have to fly). Thought about renting a bike, but it's hard to find his size. If anyone has experience or ideas how to travel with bikes without tapping into the 401K let me know 

Hey guys! We're back from vacation! We had a great week... And the good news is that it appears that my toe is not broken. It's still a tiny bit sore, but nearly back to normal, and I was able to resume running after only a couple days off. Yay! I got in some good biking and a few open water ocean swims during the week as well.

Congrats to Jeff, Kieren, and Marla on your races last weekend!

Lovey - the transition clinic sounds great! It's a good idea to practice those transitions, and I almost never do it....

re: boredom while swimming -- If you can find a Masters group to swim with, that will definitely help, because at least you'll be swimming with other people... When swimming by myself, I find the time passes more quickly for me if I break the swim up into shorter sets. So, a 2,000 yard swim might look something like this:

6 x 50 easy warm up, alternating 50 swimming, 50 using a pull bouy (300 yards total)
400 yards drills (alternating 25 yards drill, 25 yards swim. I might do something like: 2 X 25 yards sharkfin drill/25 yards swim; 2 x 25 yards catch-up drill/25 yards swim; 2 x 25 yards 1-arm drill/25 yard swim; 2 x 25 yards 1-arm drill focusing on the other arm/25 yards swim)
100 yards continuous swim/ moderate pace
6 x 50 fast swimming (for me, it would be something like 6 x 50 on 1'; meaning I would start each successive 50 yard swim at the one minute or 55 second mark. So I I finish the 50 in 50 seconds, I get 10 seconds rest before I start the next 50, if I finish in 55 sec, I only get 5 seconds rest, etc...).
2 x 50 easy recovery
500 continuous, moderate pace
6 x 50 easy cool down


Swim ladders can also help the time pass more quickly, try swimming a ladder of 100, 200, 300, 200, 100, with 15 - 20 seconds rest between each. That's an easy 900 yards right there.


Check out swimplan.com. You can plug in your current swim paces, indicate if you want to include any drills in your swim workout, etc., and it will generate swim workouts for you. The only problem is that it only seems to provide workouts up to 1500 yards in length, so if you want to swim longer than that, you need to either repeat sets, combine workouts, or add in some extra swimming of your own choosing to complete the distance you want.

You can find some more sample swim workouts here: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/swim-cgi/.but the paces presented are pretty fast (for competetive swimmers), but those paces can be adjusted to whatever is appropriate for you.

And one more, you can find more sample swim workouts on the U.S. Master's swimming discussion forum here:http://forums.usms.org/forumdisplay.php?f=95. (You'll have to create an account to access the workouts).

Hope that helps!!

oops - I just realized you have to have a paid membership to access the swim workouts provided by the coaches on the Master's swim site.... if you search through the member posts, you might find a few free workout ideas....

p.s. - forgot to say --Fernando, congrats to your son! Very cool!!!

p.s. - forgot to say --Fernando, congrats to your son! Very cool!!!

Fernando, very cool for your son.

Jenny, welcome back.

How exciting for your son...and your family! Good luck to him! 

So how's everybody doing? Anybody have any races coming up? I'll be doing Steelman Olympic distance tri here in PA this weekend. I'm not really sure what to expect from myself in terms of performance.... I've been so focused on running lately that my bike & swim training have been pretty meager. I know I can cover the distances fine, just not sure how fast I will be overall. I guess I'll find out Sunday!

I did a long run on Sunday (14.5 miles) and my toe was a bit sore and swollen yesterday I guess I still need to baby it a bit..... I did a shorter run this morning, and it's still a little sore, but better than it was.

I did an interesting experiment this morning.... I went for a run early, and when I got home went to finish mowing the lawn (I got most of it done yesterday, but had to stop before I finished due to weather). I realized I still had my Garmin on my wrist from my run, and decided to see how much ground I would cover mowing. In 20 minutes of mowing I covered about 0.6 miles (makes for an interesting map - LOL!). We have a fairly large lawn, and it typically takes about 2 hours to do the whole thing, so I estimate mowing our entire lawn probably results in approximately 3.5 miles of walking. Maybe some day I'll wear the Garmin for the whole thing....

Nice experiment. I didn’t have my Garmin yet but I wore my regular HRM last winter when we went sledding to see how I was doing. Ok downhill but when I walked back up the hill instead of taking the moving climber, it skyrocketed. I burned a lot of calories in 2 hours.

Last Friday, I did the practice swim and run for Iron girl. I completed the 1100 yard open water swim in 1 hour which happens to be the race time limit for the swim. I was glad I hit the mark but hope to improve on race day. Last year, I didn’t do the whole practice swim, only about 900 yards and it took me 1:20. Huge improvement. I had 2 swim buddies as well who stayed with me and looked like they were just floating along. The run was hard because I find I can’t breathe whenever I try to run after swimming. I even tried running a 15 min pace and still couldn’t catch my breath. I did a lot of walking on the course.

I went with a club member to ride the North East Triathlon bike course on Sunday. What the heck was I thinking? That course was really challenging for me. I thought it was even more challenging (at the first half) than Iron Girl’s challenging bike course yet I rode it 1 mile per hour faster than IG. Go fiqure. It could have been that I was with someone faster than when I am riding the IG course.

Two races this month: Iron Girl on 8/22 and I am deciding between a Women’s Distance Festival 5K on 8/14 (week before IG) or on 8/28 (week after IG).

Good luck at Steelman

Tracy

I've been taking advantage of my unemployment status by working out during the day as opposed to in the evening. I have been running in the morning before it gets too hot, also biking early. The pool is completely empty during the day and there is even an hour where all lanes are designated lap lanes--gotta love that!

I am still on the fence about doing the DQ Tri at Kings Grant this Sunday. The "pond" is supposedly fairly funky and that worries me. I will have to make my decision soon.  On the other hand, I had signed up for the Danskin Tri in Sandy Hook, NJ in early September as I was going to do it with my friend. My friend is pulling out. That isn't too bad but then I realize it is an 880 meter swim in the bay. Unsure if I am up to a bay swim. Has anyone done one? Any suggestions? I hate to lose my entry fee.

Good luck this weekend Jen, and anyone else racing! 

Keiren -

I've never done a a bay or ocean swim in a race, but I always swim in the ocean any time we're at the beach. I actually really enjoy it! I would think a bay swim would be pretty calm.... and the salt water provides extra bouyancy, which is always nice! If there is any chop, just be sure to breathe to the opposite side (i.e., if waves/chop are coming from your left, breathe on your right) so you don't get a wave in the face while you're trying to take a breath. Bummer that your friend is bailing on you... I think you'll be fine with a bay swim, though. If you have time, maybe you can head to the shore one day and do swim on the bay side of one of the barrier islands. Find someplace with a guarded swim area, or take a friend! The barrier islands will be a little more protected than Sandy Hook, but it might give you some idea of what to expect.... We went to Lewes Delaware for a beach vacation a couple years ago, and took the kids to swim on the bay side (Delaware Bay). The water was very calm compared to the ocean side, and from the map, Delaware Bay looks less protected than Sandy Hook Bay. I've never been to Sandy Hook, though, so I can't speak from experience...

That all looks pretty good, Jeff. A couple possible tweeks - For T1, I often lay my helmet upside down on my aerobars with the sunglasses inside, buckle unstrapped. I put on the sunglasses, and flip the helmet up onto my head, buckle and go.

Do you have a race number belt for the run? If so, after you get your shoes on, grab the race belt and buckle it on as you're moving toward the run out.

As for the wetsuit, I just drop it. Just try to make sure you don't impede on your neighbor's transition area.... If you haven't done so, practice getting your wetsuit off. Sometimes it gets hung up on wrists or ankles. It's good to know if there are any spots where your wetsuit might tend to get stuck, and work on strategies for getting it off quicker (including, perhaps, using extra lubricant of some sort in that area).

Do you plan to wear socks for bike or run? I do sprint/olympic distance races sockless.... If you're going to wear socks, some people like to put the socks on their feet before the race, and roll them off their feet so they can be rolled on quickly in transition (sorry for the crude analogy, but think condom here....)

That's all I got!

Do you dry your feet at all after the swim?

I personally don't dry my feet. I keep a squirt bottle of water in transition in case the run from swim to T1 is particularly sandy or there is a lot of debris sticking to my feet. If I need to, I will squirt my feet off, and maybe wipe them on my towel (I usually have one laid out on the ground in my transition area) once or twice. I don't do the shoes on the bike thing (though I've been practicing it, and may incorporate it later this season), so after I rinse/wipe my feet, I put my shoes on and I'm off.

I'm just tapering  for the race. Training with my kid which works out perfect for him. Looking forward to the race, although I hope we can use a wetsuit (just for confidence purposes).
I'll be picking up my stuff Saturday afternoon, and spend the night close by. Will hook up with old friends who are also participating.
Hopefully I'll see you there Jenny.
PS: My only salt water experience was years ago when I used to surf. Despite the aid of a board under me, I remember hating currents. 

Yeah, I'm (sort of) in taper mode, too. But I have a house full of 9 year olds for a birthday sleep-over tonight - not exactly the most relaxing way to taper, but fun, none the less!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a wetsuit legal swim, too. With my pathetic swim training of late, I can use all the help I can get!! I think a little cooler weather between now and Sunday will help with the water temp.

If I don't see you, Fernando, Good luck!

Seems like there are several of us tapering! I love that I don't feel guilty not working out during these couple of days. I had a good week training and felt good during my brick last night. I am hoping to redeem myself from my horrible times at NJ State Tri. Good luck all of you racing this weekend! Check in after your races.

So I think that 10lbs less weight will be beneficial to race results. I am going to commit to a diet of high complex carbs to sustain energy. I am almost ready to taper down, However I am going to increase my OWS time with less intensity.

Keiren great job on your OWS training. I am jealous, I wish I had the time to swim as much as you do right now. Keep it up. Tell us, do you have a flotation device or a friend in a boat/ board pacing you along on your swims?

Putting together my final race training for the TinMan in Sept. 4 weeks of trainging left and one week taper.  Read the new article on BT regarding Co2 buildup and proper breathing. It helped a lot. So then on to the race. It is a S:740yds, B: 10mi. road, R: 4.5mi. 1/2trail 1/2 paved. My goal here is a 1:28 overall time for the race not counting transition. Is this too ambitious? I am guessing my swim at 2:30/ 100yds, that's about 18 min. The bike avg about 15-20mph, that's about 45min. ( I am hoping less). I have done this route before and in some places I can manage 23mph and others i manage to putt along at 9mph.  The run I am guessing from my last race and how pooped I was to be in the 10min/ mi range, that's about 45min. That is a total of about 1:48 but I am really hoping I can get it down. Is a 20 min cut in time too ambitious? I know it's a wierd tough question for the net but give it your best shot.

Good luck on your tri tomorrow and anyone else racing.

I did a 10 mile run at an easy slow pace. I haven't run a 10 miler ince May 22nd. My longest since then has been about 7.5 miles. It felt good to out running with my group.

Lovey

Good luck to all the group members racing tomorrow and to Fernando racing on Sunday.

Good luck. Kick butt. Have fun.

Hi Deb,
I wish I had seen this post earlier. I would have loved to have met you today. Are you from the area? I just got home from the Kings Grant Tri. I felt like I did much better than my last tri (NJ Triathlon). The weather was so much nicer and a much smaller group. How did you do? The bottom of the pond was fairly disgusting but I tried not to think about it. I also struggle with the run but felt much better today. This is my first tri "season" and I've done Parvin, NJ TRI and Kings Grant. I am doing the Danskin tri in September. How about you?