Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 29)

 That is so great! Fun way to start the new year

Hello All!

I have a confession to make...  I'm really sorry... but I've been seeing someone else!

Our incredible group leader put me in touch with the equally incredible Hooslisa, who is local to me...  I've had some PM correspondence which I will share later with the group in case it might be helpful to anyone else.

Today I met hooslisa and her husband for coffee, learned LOTS, and have signed up for a local tri group, Team FeXY... if they let me in... their new catch phrase will be "Some really fast hardcore men and women... and one sloth!".

Just a quick note so you didn't think I'd disappeared!  Been a bit busy, as this training stuff eats up the spare time!

Will catch up on the 5 new pages of posts tomorrow. 
Hope everyone is having a great week!
Cheers All,
Bob

BOB -

Great news, Mr. Not-So-Sloth! I mean, I know the M.O. of a few of the FeXYs and I don't think you're at their level (few are), but as far as "sloth" goes -- i don't think so!

Anyhow, I hope that group works for you! As I said before, the ones I have met are very impressive, and I can't imagine what it's like when a majority of the 120 get together. Mercy!

Nice people, Lisa and Ryan, eh? They have both enjoyed an enormous surge of skill in the past two years. At the Reston Triathlon in Sept. '09, they both had better swim times than I did, but I managed to post the best bike and run of the three of us. Well, that was then.....and by the time Columbia Triathlon came around in May '10, both of them bested me on the swim AND the bike AND the run -- and that's the way it will be, like forever. There is not a single race anywhere, anymore, that I could do better than either of them in any of the three disciplines. Their rise to a high level of performance as really something to see!

Anyhow, i'm glad you're in touch with them,as they are salt-of-the-earth types who would give you the shirts off their backs.

And you're a FeXY! You studmuffin, you!!

LAURA -

My money says you could find the episode somewhere on YouTube. I'm just guessing.

GENE -

Yeah, mighty tough to get too motivational after THAT! (Recall how the second half went?)

DANIEL -

I'm on it! I have printed soem of the five parts, and I will study them a bit and then get back to you. My initial feeling is that it is best geared to sprint, or what is sometimes call "super-sprint" (which is a distance shorter than sprint).

I shall return!

ADAM -

THAT'S huge!!! Are you now about where you want to be, or are you still carving away? What is your height, may I ask?

And, yup -- time to go shopping!

To all owners of smallish humanoids.......

Oh, enjoy them while they're still small enough to toss eight feet up in the air. These days will not return, and while your urchins and rugrats may well grow into stunningly fine adolescents, and beyond, the sweetest (and bittersweetest....) memories are the ones that are forging themselves even as I type.

Sigh.........

I don't think it is designed for a sprint just looking at the end of the 5th month distances.  I greatly appreciate the help.

LORI -

Here goes! the current contents of my swim bag ( the one that squats on the deck at the end of my lane, and has all the toys):

--pull buoy (Tyr, shaped like a kidney)
--Finis "Freestyler" paddles
--Finis Forearm Fulcrums
--Finis sculling paddles
--Finis Tempo Trainer (let's talk about this soon, okay?)
--four swim caps
--one pair of Tyr Jammer swim bottoms (How did they get here? Should be in the OTHER bag!)
--two thingies of BodyGlide
--Zoomers (added since this topoic came up)
--Finis Swim Snorkel (ditto)
--nose clips (for use with swim snorkel; I can't use it without them!)
--ttwo plastic boxes with a total of seven silicone earplugs -- just in case (haven't used them in years; can probably remove?)
--three goggles
--two tennis balls
--one fist glove (where might its partner be?)
--an old inner tube, cut down and tied, to be used as a suffer-device in lieu of a pull-buoy (arrests the legs, while providing sub-zero buoyancy!

The bag itself is a blue mesh one from Zoggs, the company that makes the best goggles for my dopey-shaped face!

Next up: The OTHER swim bag -- the one that REALLY needs cleaning! Feng shui might not even be able to do the task fully!



Editing note: The last three items were discovered under and/or within the out-of-place swim bottoms, showing that it pays to explore!

















Edited by stevebradley 2011-01-07 5:55 PM

LAURA -

By "rotary" breathing, do you mean "bilateral" -- alternating laft-right-left-right-left-right........?

If so, kudos to managing it effortlessly for a length! Today's length will turn into newt week's or month's 200 yards, or 500 yards, or.........

It's unpredictable who "gets" it and who doesn't. One of the women in my last year's group gave a try at bilateral.....and it just immediately sink in. She (and you!!) are among the Chosen Few, it seems!

Steve & the group -- thanks for all the encouraging words.

I'm 5'7" and my goal is to get to 160 lbs. Honestly the actually weight is not as important as being fit and not flabby, but 160 would get me pretty close to my high school weight I believe (155?), so it seems a reasonable goal.

I looked back in my calendar and I got down to 160 way back in mid-November 2003. I've tracked my weight on and off over the years but this is as far back as I have a record of.

I noticed a funny thing too as I've been looking at my weight over the years. My birthday is November 11th, and it appears that I tend to either be at my ideal weight around this time of the year, or if I'm not where I want to be, that this is the time I decide to so something about it.

I guess I get kind of reflective around my birthday. Never realized it before, but I guess it's something to be mindful of.

ADAM -

So you work better with birthday resolutions, as opposed to new year's resoultions! Although maybe your use of "reflective" is far more accurate than "resolutions".

It's good, too, that you have been tracking your weight for so long. I too have a record that extemds back that far (and a bit beyond), but that's just becasue it is one of the things I record in my training log. Weight and waking pulse are the two things I do as religioulsy as poosible.

As winter mercifully morphs into spring/summer and the training hours outside become both possible and palatable, you'll find that the weight sloughs off quite readily. Or, at least for me, my winter weight, which can hover between 175 and 180, will start dropping to my best racing weight, which is around 170. So, along about May who begin the dip, and usually by mid-July I'm down where I want/need to be.

Right now I'm at 171-174, and I'm wondering if I will hit even 176 or 177. So, maybe i will be at racing weight by June......or possibly my racing weight for '11 will be in the high 160s. Time will tell, I guess!

DANIEL -

Are you thinking that it's for longer than a sprint?

What I'm focusing on is not the workout totals (that is, Week #18, Workout #2 is 1700 total), but rather what is the closest the workouts come to a CONTINUOUS swim.

Using 18/2 as an example, the 1700 is 300 as warm-up, then 1200 as drilss, then 200 as cool-down.

However, for 18/3 there is the 400 swim after the warm-up, and that is the nugget that tells me that at that point you are capable of doing ---- 400 straight. She also has that one as "turn at the T", which as you know means that you can't get that "cheat" breath at the wall. So, it's 400 pure!

After that 400 swim there is a 400 pull, and then she has you doing another 400 stright, only this time as a "negative split" ( second half faster than first half).

So, you have two 400s as straight swims, separated by a 400 pull, and each of those with a 90" rest between. Juggle those around, and it equates to a very decent replication of a sprint swim -- which of course won't have those rest periods.

Another key block is 20/2. After the w-u is 300 pull, THEN 400 straight, then 400 pull, THEN 300 straight with the T-turn. The rest intervals are pretty generous, at 90", 2', 2', 90" (shorthand: " is for seconds, ' is for minutes). It looks like 1400 in that main set alone, but if you "take away" some of it due to rest, and some more for the pull parts, then the overall effort and distance of straignt swimming should be close to what you will do in a sprint. At least, that's my interpretation of it!

The overall sequence of the plan is brilliant; this is a real goldmine, i think! you are lucky you are in this, and I hope it proves challenging for you. the drills may seem tedious at times, but try to stick with them -- the good habits they instill are musch more desirable than the bad habits that might develop if you just swam as you saw fit.

Let me know what you think of my interpretation of those distances for individual workouts, okay?

We just weren't enough for you! Haha!

You'll have to keep us posted on how working with a club works out. I think there are so many benefits to working with a group 'in person'. I've looked into some local clubs but I haven't decided if I want to go that route.  

Have a great weekend!
Johanne 

Laura,

I am a bilateral breather but after reading some comments on this thread, I tried just breathing on one side and I have to say, breathing on just one side really threw me off.  It felt like my breaths were coming too fast and I couldn't concentrate on my stroke as much.  I think each person is different and you just have to do what's most comfortable for you. 

I did something different last night. 

As a surprise, my wife took me to a hot yoga class last night.  This was a complete surprise.  She told me that I needed to be home from work before 5pm and that the a babysitter would be there watching the kids.  That was all she would say.  My birthday was early this week but at my age, birthday's don't count unless you are changing age groups, right? 

Well, she took me to this hot yoga class that completed kicked my butt.  I recommend it to anyone needing to stretch.  I started sweating just walking into the room.  It's 17degrees out and I walk into a room that was 85.  It was an awesome class though and just seeing my wife sweating there beside me was worth it.

I've done hot yoga a couple of times and I felt so great afterwards. Didn't you just feel like a noodle?

Hey Adam!  Congratulations!  That's just great, and the fact that you've taken it off steadily shows it will stay off once it's gone.  Weight is such a huge issue for pretty much everyone, including those that don't like to talk about it... You're an excellent example of persistence, patience, and planning... and what it can achieve. 
I'll use you as my inspiration if you don't mind.  I'm almost in your exact spot.  I'm 5' 7", at 194 which is as heavy as I've ever been, and I need to be at 150.  I'll see if I can follow in your footsteps!

Steve,
I wanted your opinion on a couple of training plans here on BT. There are 2-20 week HIM plans. One is a RPE plan. I was leaning towards the other one. It has more volume and less days off (which I'm not as much of a fan of) and I'm already able to do the 'minimum' time/distance for the beginning of the plan. I'm a numbers person and like when the plan is written out in more specifics. What would be the advantages/disadvantages of either plan?
Thanks,
Johanne 

Hey Johanne and ALL!

As previously posted, I'm Sharing my a little about me other "relationship"! (Left out a lot that was about "me" redundant to things I've already posted here in this thread)

I got SO much information that I don't want to post it all at once and overwhelm anyone.  I'll put a bit in at a time for your reading pleasure.

There are 2 things that were important to me...
1) Getting some coaching advice either in person or on this site.
2) Having a group or partner to work out with at least some portion of the time.


I'll start with item 2 first... relative to joining a team or looking into groups to train and workout with.

I am a research fanatic, and like to look at all my options, study them, and analyze the heck out of them.  When I first relocated I checked on local tri groups, clubs, people just getting together, etc.  I actually looked at the specific Tri Team and ruled it out because it looked way too "above my level". 

Rule #1 - Looks can be deceiving.  Turns out that the team had been formed only about a year before I looked at it, and it was started by some guys that were top notch athletes in the triathlon world.  The posts and info I'd been reviewing were older and coincided with the start of the club, versus the "current" reality.  The club is pretty balanced and anyone who is at least committed to giving it a try (no pun intended), would fit in great.

Rule #2 - Don't limit yourself to a particular discipline.  There are running clubs, biking clubs, and swimming clubs.  Likely in that order relative to availability.  If you want to get some extra focus on one versus the other then do that, or do all three, or balance them the way you would your workouts. 

Rule #3 - Don't be afraid, regardless of your level.  If it's a good club, and good people, you're going to feel SOOOOO welcomed, supported, and motivated, that you would be doing yourself a huge disservice to not look into it...

Rule #4 - If you want to be successful at something, surround (or immerse) yourself by other people who share that same desire.

Rule #5 - Fringe Benefits - Make friends, and join in activities with people who have similar goals and interests.  When all your friends are doing lavish dinner parties and drinking heavily it's hard to train.  When your friends are active, outgoing, and drinking and eating, but reasonably in view of getting up early the next morning for a workout, it's much better. This is a quote from our conversation.  "If we aren't going out every night of the week to do something social, it's because we choose not to".    They indicated that when they moved here and went from knowing hardly anyone, to having all kinds of friends and activities.

I'll leave it at that for now... and I'll keep you posted on my experience which is just great so far!

Sharon,

The Strength Training Forum has a thread on Crossfit WOD.  You might just discover a few people who are doing crossfit and triathlon training concurrently.  The February issue of Triathlete Magazine also has a lengthy article on crossfit.  I know of one user on BT who is an awesome athlete, a cross fit devotee, and and multiple time Ironman.  His user name is "Q".  Viewing his blog may give you some ideas on how he fits everything together.  I also think there was a thread at one time about using only Crossfit to train for triathlon.  You can use the Search feature to find it.  I will take a look and see if I can find it.

Sharon,

I found the thread.  http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=180746&posts=15&mid=2415708&highlight=Crossfit+Triathlon+Training&highlightmode=1&action=search#M2415708

The thread addresses HIM/IM using crossfit and crossfit endurance training.  The thread also has a link to some blogs of athletes.

Hope this helps!

JOHN and JOANNE -

Small world! Lynn just this morning did her first "hot" class, although it was a Power Yoga class in a modified-hot room -- that is, not quite as hot as Bikram, or certifiably hot classes where the room is hovering around 100F.

I did several Bikram hot classes way back in '00 and loved them. I am terrible at Yoga (vastly inflexible), but working in the heat took my mind off being such a pathetically inept Yoga student. We each have a two-weeek, all-you-can-do package at a studio in ottawa, and Lynn began her two weeks today. She is quite excited.

Me? Well, if I was inflexible in '00, where am I now? Ack!

Bob --A couple of things that have helped me along the way as I have been trying to lose weight. I have not followed all of them religiously, but I think each has some merit:

- Morning vs. Evening workout: I find that if i work out in the morning, I have more motivation to stick to my food "plan" throughout the day

- Alcohol: Stopped drinking in September as I started thinking about tri training. Besides not taking in the calories from the drinks themselves, I have more control over what I eat especially when dining out. Lastly, lack of drinks has made staying to the early morning workout plan much easier. Have not had a drink in 4 months and have realized that I haven't missed it at all.

- Location: Was advised in a food counseling program to only eat in one location within the home. This helps to limit eating in front of tv or computer (both scientifically shown to increase amount of food consumed). It also made me decide how important it was to eat by myself in the kitchen vs. sitting down to watch tv with my wife, for example.

- Snacking: saw some info from Human Performance Institute that recommended never going longer than 4 hours during the day without eating, but that snacks between meals should be only 100 calories. So I usually eat half of a Kind bar a few hours before and after lunch. Feels a little weird eating only half of a bar which are pretty small to begin with, but it does tide me over.

- Thirst: was also advised that your brain has a hard time discerning between hunger and thirst, so that when you feel hungry, you should always drink something first wait 10-15 minutes and then eat only if you are truly hungry.

- Dining out: pretty tough to manage overall, but for casual dining I have looked up nutrition info online and have "go to" choices selected in advance for the places I usually wind up with the family (Starbucks, Panera, even McDonalds). All three have great options, but the difference between a good choice and a bad choice is not always obvious and can really wreck your plan.

Lots of other things to keep in mind (whole vs. processed foods, etc), but these tricks have helped me keep on track over a decent amount of time.

Best of luck with your plan. I know you can get to your goal, Adam.

Edited by akaye 2011-01-08 3:03 PM