Todd's Tri Turtles 2 (Beginner, Sprint, 5K, 10 K) - Closed (Page 27)

Free race and cake afterwards, you hit the mother load. On a serious note, great run!

Hi Turtles

Mixing up the training again. I rode 40 kms on my MTB yesterday along the Bass Coast Rail Trail. It took me 4 hours including time out for some photos and a couple of drink breaks. Generally the track is pretty flat but the last 5 kms took almost an hour with some pretty steep climbs. The quads felt like they were ready to explode by the end of the ride.

(Darcie, this is near Phillip Island)



Edited by AussieTurtle 2014-03-29 10:17 PM






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Luck you, what am awesome place to ride!!!

Well I now have less then one week left to my 2nd Half Ironman. I finished my last weekend with a 35.5 mile ride Saturday, followed by a 4.4 mile Run today. I will Swim 1.2 on Monday and Wednesday (in wetsuit), Ride probably 20 Tuesday and 10 on Friday, Run 1 or 2 for very short distance and then it is race day. Right now the weather is high of 69, WInd @ 10, and 40% chance of rain.

I did a 50 miler on my bike today. This is the longest I have ever gone. I wanted to do it outside but it was freezing and rained all day long. I did my newest Sufferfest video and then added another one on for longer time. I was excited about my heart rate that it stayed at 134'almost the entire time! The ride had climbs and attacks and was a great workout. About mile 39 I was getting more bored then anything. My legs felt a little tired but I was happy with my performance! My Duathlon is coming up fast April 12th and I am excited! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Rod,
I am super jealous!!! Way to go on your ride! I wish that is where I was training right now! Great job!

Darcie

I do the same as you! My favorite Tri suits and gear seem to always be 2XU and Izumi and I used to wear Brooks and now wear Newtons. I love Under armour gear and LOVE Headsweats visors! I could really care less about brands..... Just give me something that will not rub/cause friction/blisters and I will wear it!

Cassowary~
A great place to find Tri gear is EBay. I have bought tons of stuff for me and hubby for a fraction of the price. People will list items they ran out and paid full price for only to decide Triathlon is not for them. I have got to also try out all the different brands this way as well without paying out the nose! Just my two cents :-)


Darcie

Thanks for the advice Darcie, and nice job cruising 50 miles! At this rate, it sounds like you'll be well prepared for your duathlon.

Things have gotten kind of quite in here again.

Well it is starting to get close to race day. Bib number 688 with a swim wave time of 7:30 A. Glad to be in the middle of the swim waves, more people to chase and run with.

I'm off to the Y for a 1200 yard swim workout. This will my biggest swim challenge to date... I'll report back soon.

And honestly, I would much rather go for an easy 3-mile jog today. But this group helps to keep me honest. After each workout I'm so thankful I pushed myself.

I am excited too for next weekend! They are letting the Duathlon racers start our first segment after the last swim wave hits the water from the racers doing the half iron race. I wish they would let us go during the first swim wave...we are only doing two miles then we have to do the same amount as the half iron 56 bike and 13.1 run....this is setting us up to race pretty much alone because last I checked we only had FOUR people in the Du and 200-300 in the half. I enjoy being around others and going down roads with people cheering. The way they have it now it will be empty and pretty much all cleared out with only my bike and the three others in the transition area. Maybe they will let us go earlier..... I really hope so!


Good luck Todd in your race! I am sure you will do amazing!!


Cassowary- 1200 swim is HUGE! I can't go that far yet but I am working on it! Have a great swim!

I was so tired, I did an extra 50 yards by accident! So 1250, is my new swim workout record. It went very well, I used a combination of freestyle and breaststroke, plus a couple of back floats when I choked on water, and got through the whole thing. Definitely tired now. This was the Week-3 workout from the Zero-1650 program.

Darcie, I bet the race will go great. The last swim wave will probably need about 50 minutes on average to complete the 1.2 mile swim, right? So you'll probably be right in there in mix by the time you start your bicycle ride.

Todd, looking forward to hearing more about the lead up to your race. Good luck!

Can't wait to hear more details Todd and Darcie!

I just started week 4 last night Cassowary(1500 w a 600 start). I've found myself much more relaxed. Without a doubt there is effort but I'm able to refine as well as keep calm. Previous to last week I think I had topped off at 1000 yards once or twice with a max continuous distance of 300.

Great Freaking Job and way to push through and knock it out. I know it wasn't your plan to do the other strokes but something like that lets you know that you can always change it up if you have to. Before my half in July, I was more then comfortable swimming the 1.2 miles Freestyle and had no thoughts of knocking it out with little struggle. Race day came and I found myself in large waves and cold water, which my body did not respond well to. At about 3/10 of a mile I was really struggling and even thought I would not make it through. I then got wide, rolled onto my back, and did the backstroke until I had composed myself, got use to the water, and got my breathing under control. I rolled back over and it was business as usually with not problems for the remaining 8/10 or so that was left. I enjoy swimming and by no means fear the water, but I always struggle to some extent at the start (oddly enough more so when I've worn a wetsuit). I don't know if it's nerves, excitement, or what, but I always have to calm myself down at the start and think, just swim.

As far as the lead up, mine is pretty simple for the rest of the week.

Tuesday Evening - BIke 10 - 15

Wed. Morning Swim w/ Wetsuit 1.2 miles
Wed. Evening Run approx. 2 miles (both of these will be done in race shorts to make sure they are good to go because I realized that I have only been biking in them)

Thursday - Nothing other than Stretch
Drive to Galveston and Check in to Hotel

Friday Morning - Bike 5 - 10 (Sign in and Attend Mandatory Meeting)
Friday Evening - Eat lots of Pasta and then go to the dog races with the Family

Sat. Morning - 10 A. do the Iron Kids Fun Run with my Daughter
Sat. Afternoon - Set up T1 and Rack my Bike
Sat. Evening - Diner at a Nice Seafood place with Family

Sunday around 4:45 a.m. get up, eat a little something, use the bathroom twenty times, go to T1 and make sure everything is good, use the bathroom twenty more times, line up and jump in the water right before 7:30 A.m (RACE TIME)

Well, just got an email from Ironman and the Swim is still going to take place. Will be colder then I hoped for, but WOOHOO

So... I am struggling with improving my swimming. I can do the distance for a 1/2 mile swim but I need to do a large portion doing a backstroke. I want to get up to doing the distance all freestyle. I can do 2 to 4 lengths straight but I get completely out of breath (or feel that way). I am looking for suggestions.

I know that this is not the answer you want to hear, but "swim, swim more". Besides working on technique issues and breathing, it is all about just swimming. Endurance is gained through repeated and increased workouts. I've said something similar before, but "why is it that we don't get off the couch and expect to run a marathon with little training, but we get in the water and expect to swim a mile". This is not a slash at you but instead intended to have you look at it a little different. Trust me, if you continue to put in the time and workouts you will see your distance and time improve. Everyone's improvements will naturally be different but you will improve. Do not get frustrated, and take each improvement however small as just that, an improvement. For example when I started after 16+ years of smoking and having grown up swimming I could barely go 100 yards without stopping. Now I swim 2000 + on a regular bases and think very little about it. I did my own thing to get my distance up, which basically consisted of me pushing to go a little farther at least once a week, with two other swims each week of repeats. I know that a lot here are using the 0 to 1650 program and are seeing improvement and like it. I know that they will chime in about their experiences. Again, stick with it and you will see improvement.

Hey anttam11,
That mile in 6 week program suggests alternatives to straight freestyle such as every 4th lap do an alternate like breast stroke or do an alternate when needed. It seems geared towards mashing your way to endurance. I've found I've been able to improve technique while doing it as I've nothing to think about except where the issues are. Biggest has been relaxing. I couldn't do 200 without doing a 2 stroke breath and breathing(gasping). In 2 weeks of this(now on week 5)of program, my last practice was extremely relaxed. Breath every 3 strokes alternating sides. No gasping. The first 2 sessions were tough, a bit if a struggle and even a little disorienting. I've smoked a pack/day for 20+ years. I'm surprised as heck that it's possible for me to do this. See where your tension is and relax into the swim, let the water support you and see where you're fighting/struggling and make corrections along the way. Please take this with a grain of salt as I'm a novice at best. So far, as Todd said, just putting in the time/distance and being a bit analytical about my approach has made a world of difference and vastly improved my confidence.

Woops, meant week 4

Yes, I agree, swim swim swim seems to be the most honest approach. And like 2gs said, it's OK to mix other strokes in because it gives you a chance to recover and regain confidence while also building more strength and increasing your swim distance. I think the breaststroke is a great alternative to catch your breath, because the pulling motion is similar to the freestyle pull (elbows high and palms down) and the frog kick uses different leg muscles. I imagine the breaststroke will also be very useful in the open water to sight your destination.

I find watching youtube videos on technique very helpful too. Usually, I'll try to improve on at least one technique I saw in a video during each swim.

One if my goals this year is proper biomechanics in the each sport. I came a across an iphone/pad app that seems like it will be helpful. It allows slow motion and frame by frame video as well as the option(on my iphone 5) to record at 60 frames per second(if you don't know, that's 2x as many fps as you see on soap opera or news show). You can draw lines on the frames, measure angles and determine proper form. There are some tutorials for different sports as well at the basic level. My first use will be this weekend to help me fit my bike. Oh, and it's free!http://www.ubersense.comhttp://blog.ubersense.com/2012/08/09/triathlon-bike-fit-introduction/

Edited by 2gs 2014-04-03 11:42 AM