Fast Twitch Tri-FULL (Page 29)

I hope you and your mom are on the mend quick!

A couple reasons why I think I stuck with sprints this past year. Since I was getting back into triathlons, it was an ideal way to ease my way back into things... I was nurturing an injury and I wanted to take my time (among other reasons.)  The other thing may be impatience!! I feel it's easier to see improvements through sprints since the recovery time is less than longer distances and you can do them more often.  I like to see progress, and I like to see it quickly!!  So much time involved in training and improving in the longer distances.   And it's not like you can realistically do a ton of HIMs per year (not to mention cost...)  If I were to do another HIM, I probably would only plan for one in the year, and what if I blow it?!  I need to wait a whole 'nother year to redeem myself?!  Well, I never have redeemed myself from 2010... lol. 

The bike is truly my limiter.  And since it's the longest duration of the 3, I think I'll need to really commit to improving on the bike before going for another HIM (or longer)... Right now I'd say I'm truly committed to improving swimming and running.

Knees are doing OK...some days really good and some days so-so, but I'm almost halfway through the "couch-to-5K" program which I'm using to ease back into it.

I actually started running again back in August and tweaked something in my calf/shin area because I got back into it too quickly (who, me???  ) and had to shut it down for a couple of weeks.  At that point I decided to start the C25K and take my time...I'm not racing until at least May for goodness' sakes.

My "A" race this year is a 750M swim, 19.5 mile bike, and 3.3 mile run, which accentuates my strengths (I'm just an OK swimmer, good cyclist, and was a decent runner).  It's like a sprint on steroids, without jumping up to Oly.  I find that those distances are kind of a sweet spot for me.

Yo!  Gang!

If my flight is timely tomorrow, well, in 24 hours I should be maybe over Utah.  If all continues to go well, I will get into JFK around 5:30, then it's on up to Syracuse where I'll stay for the day and maybe the evening, and then drive back home.  Should get in Sunday evening or wee hours of Monday morning, and I'll be back here in force by Monday night.

I'm looking forward to getting all yakkity with you all; see you soon!

What's up gang!

I started my training today, kicked it off with a 1 mile run and a 5MP test on the trainer.  Wasn't planning on it but last night I had a weird/bad dream, woke up at 4:40am because of it. I was doing a tri and everyone is passing me on the bike then I was running and my legs felt like lead and were barely shuffling along and I was sucking wind big time, felt like there was no end in sight.  Before I fell back asleep I formulated in my head on doing BarryP starting with 10 mi/week & the BT cycle plan then I'll add swimming in January with the 700-1650 in 8 weeks program.  Weird right?  Maybe it had to do with the fact my wife made Christmas cookies yesterday and I couldn't help my self to having more than one of each kind!

Oh Twitchy Ones!

Back home now, and before too long I will start working my way back through the posts that haver happened in the past coupla weeks.  Ack!

Nothing strenuous at all during the trip, excepting maybe hiking up through bristlecones pine groves at 10,000 feet elevation ---- and "hiking" might be a bit too grandiose of a term.  That is, no packs were involved, and the effort took not much longer than an hour. 

I seemed to eat lots, and my gut seemd to have extended some, but this morning I was at 174.6, which is a relief, i guess.  Swam today, and that seemed like an overdue thing today.  I'm weary, but that'll go away before too long.

Onwards!

DONTO -

Hey!  Stop stealing my dreams!

Are you familir with the very old "Little Nemo" comics, done by Winsor McCay maybe about 1910 or so?  The repeating motif was that L.N. would have wild, wild dreams whnever he ate Welsh rarebit before going to bed.  It seems your wife's cookies maybe have the same efect on you that Welsh rarebit had on our little friend!  (I hope not!!)

Odd dream, to be sure, but at least it ended up with the essence of a training plan moving forward.  Not bad for a few REM-induced seconds of tri-angst!

PATTI -

First, congrats on the letter from USAT!  Is it true that they will be in Milwaukee next year?  I think it was SAMANTHA who mentioned that about six weeks ago, but i haven't gone to the USAT website to find out for myself.

As for the plans here, yes, I think they are worth it.  I believe they have all been designed by Mike Ricci of D3 Multisport, and I cannot ever say enough about mike and D3.  When I had a (on-line) coach from '03-'07, it was D3 person, and that was the best move I ever made.  That's just to say that if Mike has had a hand in the plans, they gotta be well thought out.

That said, "canned" plans don't work for everyone -- but that's where "interchangeable" and "interactive" can come into play.  One of the things that Coach Erik told me over and over was that constructing training plans is more of an art than a science, and it's true that if you asked 20 coaches to, say, prepare you for that 10-mile run in march, you would get 20 very different plans.   I say that just to let you know that if you need to switch things up from time to time in whatever plan you choose, feel free to do so.

That said, though, it is best to stick with the integrity of a plan as much as is Patti-possible.  Any given plan has to work for the user, and if it is a constant tug-of-war to fit in scheduled workouts.....then it is maybe best to move on to a different plan.  Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does then just try to accept it without beating up on yourself too much.

As for levels, well, the Gold gives you access to the user and coaches' forum, I believe, where you can ask the D3 coaches questions specific to what you are trying to take from their plans; I don't think it is designed to be a forum like this one, or even the general tri forum here.  Silver gives you many more plans, but without the direct open-ended interactive aspects, I think.  And Bronze'll give you a bunch of plans, but not near as many as Silver.  

A final thought is to email Mike Ricci, tell him your needs and your budget, and ask him for advice on what program might work best for you.  And I'm not sure it is Mike directly who runs the BT plans, but I'm sure it is one (or more) of his coaches.

And good news on the obedient Achilles.  If only all injuries and niggles and wonks could be solved so easily!

PATTI -

About those injury questions..........

Yes, increased cycling could well lead to hammy issues.  Triathletes in general are quite susceptible to hamstring problems, as all the running and cycling will serve to tighten them and result in inflexibility.  Moreover, for many of us our hammies are relatively weak compared to the quads and the lateral hip flexors; I'm sure that's the case for me.

One of my books says that hamstring tendonitis (but don't necessarily assume that's what is ailing you) can result from "inflexible hamstrings, high saddle, misaligned cleat, and poor hamstring strength".  So, with two of those four being fit-related, it might be worth the time and money to get a comprehensive fitting for your bike -- especially if you see a pretty clear cause-and-effect between the bike and the hammies.

As for the Achilles, well, given that you are already dealing with that, the increased cycling could definitely exacerbate the problem.  But this could be complex, dependent on your fit (both seat height and position fore-and-aft with respect to the pedals) and also your mechanics as to how you foot is aligned  from 6 to 12 on each pedal revolution.  That is, if you allow your heel to drop down as you are finishing each pedal stroke (that is, from the bottom back up to the top), then that will pull on ther Achilles in ways it won't like.

Again, a good bike fitter would see that almost immediately, and can either adjust your position to reduce or eliminate the problem, or if it's your mechanics, then advice will be offered as to how you should alter your technique to kessen the strain on your Achilles.

AND!!!!!  With that nice, sweet, superb, Kestrel --- it's the perfect time to make sure you are fit properly.  So here's my advice:  make big ol' cow eyes at the obvioulsy generous and supportive Coach Booger, and request a bike fitting to be given as a stocking-stuffer.  Sounds like a plan??

DAVE -

I'm okay with that -- "athletic schizophrenia" -- and I can certainly relate to what you said.

For me it is all about "pacing" vs "racing", and  for various reasons i have found more happiness and contentment in the latter.  Part of this is that a couple of injuries/conditions have kept me from long(er)-distance training, but I think it just got to the point that after so many years of so many half-irons I got tired of those fairly long days.  It was all brought home to me a few years ago when I did Tupper Lake "sprint" (weird hybrid thing --- 600m swim, 19-mile bike, 19km run), run the same day as the half-iron.  I was looking at the half-iron crowd (and that is the far more prestigious of the two races), and just feeling thankful that my day would be done soooo much sooner than theirs would be.  Whew!

That said, I hope my half-iron days aren't over for good.  I DID work hard over the years to get decent at half-iron pacing, and succeeded to varying variable degrees, and that distance is a wonderful challenge (and far more forgiving than full irons!!!).......so i hope to knock off a few more before I hang up my tri gear for good.  But while I still have good speed on the bike and the run, I should probably work at maximizing that.  Yes?

Sorry to hear of your health issues, and especially those of your mom.  It is heartening to see the word 'recovery" used in connection with "spinal surgery", and I hope it is going well for her and that she will be able to enjoy the next couple of weeks of festivity-type stuff.

DOUG -

Nifty revelation about your vertical jump history; I'm not sure you mentioned that before, either here or at Mojo.

I agree that it suggests you are a hybrid........and I agree that 5km is very much a sweet spot for you........and I agree that your swimming chops would serve you really well in an oly.  I think you would rock an oly swim, keeping form and speed after most wannabe fishies have run out of speed-steam at about 1000-1200m.

As for half-irons, I am sure you have done the swim-math for that -- just an extra 600m over the oly swim, but massive increases in both the bike and run distances.  that is one of the reasons I did pretty well at half-irons, cuz they capitalized on my strengths, while nicley downplaying my weakness.  Win-win!  (However, H have grown to love the oly distance best of all.)

I will honor and support your secret desire to move to FL and excel at this stuff after most other oldsters have blown out their knees --- just as long as I'm not one of them!   I ahve my own cross to bear with my labrum, thank you very much, and I fear knee problems -- not that I have any, but I believe (in my own case) that all potential injuries are lurking, just around the next corner or two.   Ack.

MIKE -

There are some weird hybrid races out there, and I will try to think up one that comes closest to the specs you mentioned on the last page.  I mentioned an oddball in my post to DAVE, a couple above this one, but that sure doesn't help you much, what with the 10km run attached to a short swim and bike, huh?

Have you thought about doing an Aquabike event?  There are several that come along with a regular half-iron, and even if not -- you can just bail after the bike.  Lots of peole train for an upcoming iron this way, by doing the first two parts of a half-iron a week or two before their iron, and then stopping before the run. 

I became a good race-dfay cyclist in '06, when I suffered from a torn meniscus and couldn't run from April through September.  So, i did a slew of aquabikes, and it was then that I learned how to push it on the bike really hard -- which is esasy to do when you don't need to worry about running after your get off the bike!  My coach had extolled me for a few years to train hard on the bike......and I did.....but i found that nothing can push one as much as performing in a race.  So, druing those aqbks, i just gotyt as close as i could to the red zone and stayed there, and at the end of the season I knew what it felt like to ride hard.

Of course, then the trick became one of learning how to run well off the bike after a hard ride, and that requiuired a significant toning-down of my bike effort.  Since then it is constantly working at striking the balnace between riding as hard as I can and still running well afterwards, and playing this kind of cat-and-mouse game has been a blast.

What exactly are you knee problems?  (And I apologize if you have said and I have forgotten!)

MATT -

I've spent no small amount of time over the years thinking about how it might be possible to manipulate distances so as to eliminate the "it all comes down to the run" aspect of the conventional distances, more often than not.  And, i have gotten nowhere (which i guess explains why there are those who design races, and those like myslef who just scratch their heads about them).

I will say that most age-groupers do not face the down-to-the-run aspect as seriously as elite and pro athletes do, and that's almost certainly that our races are not draft-legal for the bike.  As you know, for great runners on the ITU circuit it is all about getting out of the water clse to the lead pack, and actching on with a strong bike group, and then pulling waway on the run.  It's gotta make the fishies and wheelies absolutely nuts to lose their strengths due to the bike being draft-legal!

As for "losing" on the swim, well, that's what separates me from the top tier of my age group nationally.  When I look at the race-swim times of most of the guys who rank higher than I do, they are significantly faster than I am -- and hey then back it up with strong bikes and runs.  But for me, it is all about getting out of the water in a mediocrely acceptable time.....and then trying to catch the true three-skill studs when I'm on terra firma.  And, nationally, I cannot do that.  Grrr!

I mentioned aquabikes to MIKE, and that really is a format that favors those who either cannot run (due to injuries) or dislike it intensely -- or who don't run well enough to be competitive, yet want to be competitive, and find their shining spot in aqbks where there's just a swim and bike.  Perfect?  For them, yes!!

The irony for me is that I absolutely love swimming, especially OWS, and so even when I do duathlons in which I utilize my strengths fully.............they are never as satisfying as a pure triathlon.  Waaaahhhhh!

Aagghhh!  The triathlon nightmares!  I'm glad I'm not the only one who has them   Mine is almost always that I missed the start.

And I'm also glad I'm not the only type A who wakes up in the middle of the night and starts thinking about training strategies.

And YES, the refined sugar/saturated fat combo over-indulgences give me nightmares also!

pugpenny - 2012-12-15 7:25 AM Hello all and safe travels Steve! Things have been crazy but I got my qualifying email from USATRI for Nationals and so I am starting to really build my 2013 schedule. I have a question for everyone - are the training programs on here really worth it? I am scheduled to run a 10 mile race in March, I would like to get a "practice" Oly distance tri in before Nationals and I have several sprint tris of varying degrees of "importance" sprinkled throughout. The programs advertise that they are very interchangeable and interactive - is this true and is there a level that is a better value? Thank you in advance for your 2 cents!!!! Patti in NJ p.s. ~ the Achilles is behaving nicely. I am sticking to my stability shoes and only dabbling in tempo speeds for the moment.

Penny, I can't answer your question because I've never used the programs here.......I just wanted to say that I love the new pic!  You manage to look fierce and pretty at the same time, nice! 

AMY -

And here you are!  Woo-hoo!

I gotta say, though, that I'm hurt that you used the words "fierce and pretty" to describe Patti's photo here --- and haven't said the same about me and my photo.  Harumph!

Training going well?  Okay?  Even happening??  Mine is coming out of a Rip VanWinkle-type of sleep, and I plan to crawl up on the bike on the trainer shortly.  that'll be my first trainer ride of the off-season, and my first time period on the bike in over two months.  Again i say -- The Horror!

I even have a couple of probably-cruddy movies to watch, which is about the only time I ever watch movies -- when I cycle.  Or is it that the only time I ever indoor-cycle is when I'm watching movies??  Hmmm.

I'm a girl of word Steve   As for your photo, I just didn't want to state the obvious--that it portrays you as studly yet thoughtful!

Good luck on the first trainer ride of the season, I promise it will be less painful than what you're imagining.  Please fill us in on which cruddy movies you chose and whether or not you recommend them for those long, butt bruising trainer workouts.

My training is going well though I'm struggling to find a good coach in the area with whom I can train live.  I bought a month from a super awesome coach on the other side of town but her sessions are all a 45 minute to an hour drive so I'm looking for someone local.  Until then, I'm on a self made "off season" program that just has me doing:

one trainer ride 50 min/outdoor run 30 min, base building moderate intensity 

one 5-6 mile run, base building moderate intensity

one indoor cycle class (that I teach), one hour, varied intensity

one swim, one hour of various drills, some base building, tiny bit of speed work

one 75 minute bootcamp style class (that I teach)

two days of heavy weight training

I'd love to hear what everyone else is doing also.  My main goal is to bring the intensity down a notch for off season so I can finally feel rested.  So far...I *think* it's working.......

So what's everyone else's off season schedule?  Sorry if I missed it in an earlier post....I wasn't checking the thread for a few weeks 

Let's see… A few things.

Tri-nightmares, check.  Had one a week or so ago.  Was not holding a line on the swim, then found my bike but my bag was in a locker in a building up a few flights of stairs, got the bag and back on the bike and decided to finish the dang race even though I was waaaaay in the back (and likely DFL).  Odd - started as an anxiety dream, I'm sure, but ended with me just gutting it out (though not being happy about it).  Dr. Frued, line three...

As for off season, I'm still trying to figure out how to do that.  Rode on Sunday and almost lost all my fingers it was sooooo dang cold.  Had to have my wife take off my gloves when I got home (for the record, the weather turned while I was out there - from just cold to ice/snow/freezing rain/wind - I wasn't intentionally reckless, just caught a few miles from home and forced to return slowly and carefully - and COLDLY!).  Rode today, and it was like early Spring - awesome out!  

But, not sure about really an off season.  I'm 2 weeks without swimming, and 2 more until I can again.  My lesson in swimming pretty lead to bursitis from a very mildly arthritic L shoulder (bursa rubbing on a tiny spur caused pain).  Cortisone shot Monday, 2 more weeks off swimming, then 4 weeks to build back up to 2000m or so and THEN I can add intensity back in.  Arrrgghh!

So, my off season might be decreased biking 2/2 weather and not loving riding indoors, a February HM (or so I'm thinking - nice one in late Feb on the Cape) and then get back into tri training rather than tri maintenance and run training.  Haven't had a season to be off from until now, so I guess I'll see if I regret not just hanging it up for a month...

Still having fun with the s/b/r, even without the s, the bike limited by weather and the r happening more and more on the dreadmill, though, so that's a positive!

OK, back to work...

Matt

AMY -

Studly and thoughtful..........studly and thoughtful...........well, if I can't be "fierce and pretty", I guess "studly and thoughtful" will just have to do!

I gotta say, your off-season is going great.  You have admirable variety there, and I can't see any risk of burning out with SBRSBRSBRSBRetcetcetcetc.  At the very least, the boot camp and the lifting will work to keep your mind far, far from any thoughts of swimming or cycling or running.  Great plan!!!

The trainer ride was good enough.  there was no purpose to it beyond just doing it -- "junk miles", goin' nowhere.  I have never gone this far into an off-season before dredging up the trainer, and most years would've found Dec 19 to mark maybe my 15th-20th inside ride of the off-season.  (And I still haven't even unfolded the rollers yet!)

So, i am no model to follow right now for anyone, except maybe those who dearly feel they need some deep downtime.  I am in suspect terrain, though, with seemingly much-needed rest threatening to be consumed by abject loss of motivation; it's become a tricky balancing act.  I've set Jan 1 as my serious return to activity; we'll see how that works!

I'm still comtemplating returning to the gym for 2-3x a week strength sessions, but the gym I prefer is further from me than I would like.  I still haven't repalced my car from last months's deer-colision, although that'll probably happen early in January.  But it pretty much comes down to Yoga vs gym, and due to volunteer work I do at my preferred Yoga studio, I have unlimited classes.  So, it would seem a no-brainer to do Yoga, seeing as how it costs nothing........but I do so miss the mental discipline and focus thaat comes with lifting! 

Anyhow, stay tuned for more info on my off-season regimen, as it takes serious form once January is upon us.  Or........I could wait until my b-day on the 13th, figuring that THAT would be a good starting time.  (Or maybe Valentine's Day?  Groundhog Day?)

KATE -

Secure the kids gainful "employment" at the last aid station on the run, where they can stay excited at the prospect of dear old dad romping past them!

Which are you -- swim or bike?  Whichever, you can join the kiddos once you get all freshened up from your own exertions.  Or not!

Hey folks! Been away from the thread/group for a while... Still training. Still running and riding.

Updates:

* I got the Surly Cross Check build completed, and tomorrow morning should be the maiden voyage. I'm not quite happy with the brake set-up (have some liner pull brakes set up with drop bar levers, so there's not quite enough cable pull to get the brakes actuated right), so I may be swapping them out for proper canti's soon.

* The colitis is for the most part under control. Prednisone is a wonderful thing. Now it's time to start the long taper OFF the prednisone.

* My shoulder pain is cropping up a bit again. Dammit.

PATTI -

Another thought about the hamstring is to find an A.R.T. person.  Hamstrings are right in their wheelhouse of expertise, so if it continues to plague you too much longer, see if there's an A.R.T. person near you.  (They used to have a list of all certified practioners at www.activereleasetechnique.com).

Ah, I remember well those days of priming a new bike, getting it all strutted-out and ready to go.  Bliss!

Really good news about the pool!  If there is really only usually one other person there, well, it doesn't get much better than that.  And if you're lucky, he'll be a fish who is expansive with suggestions; could be a gold mine for you!

In a sense, it is killing me to take this extending period of "rest".  As I wrote to Amy, i think it was, it now runs the risk of becoming chronic lack of motivation --- a condition I have never experienced before.  That is compounded by thinking that this coming season might be a well-needed slack season -- something else I have never experienced before!  So, ergo-ipos, if I am not going to race much at all..........why push myself too hard throughout the winter?

Happy shopping and happy baking!

DAVE -

Sorry to hear of the shoulder probs returning.  What do you think is the root of the problem?  I can talk shoulder woes quite well, having been there myself a couple of times!

As for the colitis, it's good to hear that's under control.  My sis-in-law has had quite serious Crohn's issues forever, and she too ahs been the prednisone route.  However, i don't think it has worked well for her at all.  Best of luck with tapering off it!

As for Surly Cross Check ---- I know nothing.  Gotta go google that!!