UTTRIMAN's Group - FULL (Page 3)

Fair Question!

A lot of that will depend on the difficulty and distance of the race.  For example, for the average marathoner, they say you should rest post race for about 26 days, meaning reduced efforts.

Last year, on the other hand, I did 3 sprint distance races in 3 weeks, and did relatively well.  But I don't think I'd do that again.  But a race in June and a race in July, shouldn't be a big issue.

Be careful not to overload yourself.  I almost did that last season with 11 races.  I'll probably only do 5 or 6 this year.  Especially, since I want to do more Olympic distance events.

Hi Gang! Glad to see everyone is getting back at it.  Looked like we'd all fallen off the end of the earth there for a couple of days when you figure in little things like ice storms, sickness, etc, etc, etc.

Joyjoy, yes most people swim the open water as they would in a lap pool.  Seems gross, but isn't bad.  USAT races require that the water meet local "cleanliness" standards.  That doesn't mean it has to be "drinkable" though.  One way to help avoid "drinking the lake, or the pool for that matter, is to breath out while the face is in the water.  That way, you are pushing the water out.  You should end up drinking very little of it that way.  Will you still get a mouthful here and there - most likely, but it's manageable.  But remember -- in the US there are no illegal strokes, so if you wanted to do the whole thing backstroke, you could!  

It's really not as bad as it seems.

KrisMarie.  bummer about the suit not fitting.  Happens sometimes.  I know you're in the Minneapolis area but if I recall correctly you're out a ways from the metro.   If you can get to a swim or tri specific shop in the cities, you'll have no problem finding the suit you want.  I'll see if I can find one or two and send the addresses/phone numbers to you in a PM.  Suggestion, get polyester as opposed to lycra.  The fit is very very similar, but a poly suit will last MUCH longer than lycra.

Don't let the pool scare ya!  They have lifeguards there !   haha

Seriously, just get in there and have fun!

Everyone else -- keep up the good work, and yes TY, you are going to do AWESOME at the Aquathon.  You've got a good shot at HARDWARE!  Wouldn't that be great!  Nothing like a little hardware to make someone's day!

Keep it up gang,  YOU ROCK!

FORGIVEN!

Glad to hear you're still at it!  That's great!

Water Depth -- now there's a nebulus question.  A lot will depend if it's in a pool or open water, and then the venue itself.

I've swum races in lakes that average 10-20 feet deep, as well as in venues where the water is significantly deeper.   One venue I was considering recently noted portions of the swim in water 400 feet deep!   This is ONLY a guess, but I would guess that most events are probably in the 20-100 foot range, mainly because of their "general" proximity to the shore line.

January is coming to a close, how are you doing in your individual goals??  Are you making progress, are you "inspiring" each other.  What can we do as a team to help you all along?

Lot's of things happening with Teammates this weekend!  

1.  KCGUY is going to run a 5K race in a Cave -- and beat his last year time (my guess by about 3 minutes)!

2. TYUTAHMAN is scheduled to participate in the LEGACY AQUATHON!  He'll do awesome and will likely place is my prediction (assuming he's feeling better -- He's been a bit under the weather this week)

3. UTTRIMAN is scheduled to play Race Director at the LEGACY AQUATHON!  He's now not only a Triathlete, but a Race Director.  Pretty excited about this new phase of my Triathlon Career!   There won't be any need to shave down before the swim  for him (many triathletes do), because he won't have any hair left from pulling it all out getting things organized!

KrisMarie actually got into the pool,  Hamitks10 won some hockey games and caught all kinds of computer viruses, Nezza has done great with his biking, joyjoy is getting better from being sick.   All in all - you're a great team!

Let's send all kinds of GOOD LUCK Vibes to Tyutahman and KCguy for their events this weekend.

I'll get some new pointers put together and post them next week.

Have a GREAT WEEKEND ALL!!!

CONGRATULATIONS  TY AND KCGUY!

Ty had an awesome race!  You could tell he hadn't been feeling well, but he hunkered down and put in a GREAT performance.  I watched him come out of the pool, get changed and headed off to the run, and then saw him run by several times!  He DID AWESOME!  I don't know if I could have done as well as he did, given the cold he obviously had!    His wife ran the event as well, and she did great also!!  CONGRATS TO THE TY HOUSEHOLD!

KCGUY, wish I could have been there to cheer you on!  But to beat last year by a WHOPPING 5 minutes -- that's HUGE!  CONGRATULATIONS!

Everyone keep it up -- You're doing GREAT!

Happy February TEAM!

Can you believe it?  February in on us already!  We've had a busy January.  How did everyone do in the goal accomplishment department?  Did you make it?  Time to report in.  A common thread the wound through the early stages of our team was that many of us talked about the need for accountability to help keep each other motivated.  

Here's my report. 

Swim yardage -- knocked it out of the water.  Did well, AND set a new PR for a 100 yard swim.  HUGE accomplishment for me.

Running.  Missed my goal here by about .6 miles.  And my pace improved significantle.

Strength -- well started a bit on that.  Need to work harder at it though.  Am doing at least 100 situps a day now.

Weight.  STUCK!  Got to get that coming off again. 

Have fun! -- YOU BET!

New goals are in the works.  I've not got myself registered for a race yet -- I'm slothful I know, but with the new race company, we're still finalizing some event dates.   When those are set, I'll know which races I can do.  I'll likely do the "course" on all of our events, because someone's got to test it out! 

One of my goals this month will be to get my strength training going better.  KCGUY talks about needing some strength training tips.  Not my strong suit, but you definately want to focus on your core.  That's where all the strength comes from.   Some upper body work will do well for swimming, and some leg work for running/biking.  -- SO basically work everywhere, but the focus should really be on your "core".   Focus on ENDURANCE work in the lifting.  Instead of heavier weights and low reps, do lighter weight and high reps.  For example, when I do bench press, I'll do 3 sets of 20 reps, changing the width of my hands on the bar for each set.  Wide, middle, and more narrow.  This will cause the exercise to work the entire muscle more thouroughly.

There is an EXCELLENT book out there that I highly recommend.  You can by it online from several sources, but the source I like is powertri.com.   The book is called "The Triathlete's Training Bible".  It is a EXCELLENT resource on periodization, training strategies, strength training, etc.   If you want a good general resource book for tri training, this is the book for you!

Now, everyone, report in on how you did on your goals this past month, and let us know what your goals for February are.   Time to kick your intensity up just a bit, the main season is getting closer!

You are ALL CHAMPIONS in my book -- Keep up the GREAT work!

Great Job onyour goals work ladies!  You're Awesome!

General rule of thumb on training increase.  You should generally not increase distances, particularly in running, more than about 10% per week.  So if you swim 5000 yards this week, then next week, I wouldn't go more than about 5500.    Run 10 miles this week, probably not more than 11 miles next week.  You can take bigger jumps from time to time, but that should be the general rule.

Bikes -- Everyone needs one.  KrisMarie asks a good question, do I go buy one or make do with what I've got until you decide if you like the sport.   Well, my answer to that is only you can decide, although the fact that you are accomplishing goals, and are still "hanging around" tells me you are probably having fun!  I can pretty much guarantee you won't be a 1 race hero as it were! 

That being said, MANY MANY triathletes do their first races on a mountain bike or something similar.  Not a thing wrong with that.  There is a online bike shop, www.bikesdirect.com that has some decent entry level bikes for as little as about $300 bucks.  One friend of mine, who places in overalls or top of age group at virtually every race we've done together, rides a $350 bike he bought there.   Can you spend more on a bike -- absolutely.  There will be many paying 2500-5000 for their bikes.  I paid about 600 for my bike and it does everything I need it to.  Someday, I may get something a little nicer, but I'm very happy with what I have.

If you can get a road type bike, I'd recommend it.  But is it necessary, no.   Hope that helps with your quandry!   And you're not alone -- virtually every new triathlete, unless they were already a cyclist, goes through the same quandry!  Welcome to the club!!!

Have a great training week everyone!