apw0397's group - Closed (Page 3)

OK. Robert Earl Keen, Terri Hendrix, Scott Miller, Bruce Robison, Kelly Willis, Max Stalling, Phil Pritchett, Charlie Robison, and Fred Eaglesmith. How's that for starters?

Yes, do a separate test for your bike LT. It would be unlikely that you have the same LT HR for the run and bike. For example, my run LT is 180. My bike LT is 172. For the most part, it's harder to elevate your HR on the bike due to the additional work you have to do when running (moving legs, arms, and core around when running compared with just your legs on the bike). I would expect the same when you test, but you never know.

I’m thinking about restructuring my training and I wanted to get some opinions.  My main goal for this summer is an Oly in Chattanooga on July 12^th.  I have a 16 week Oly distance training plan that has a sprint tri built into on week 12 (this works perfectly b/c I have a sprint on my schedule for that weekend already).  My plan is to start the Oly training plan on 3/23 and use the duathlon in April and the short sprint in May as just workouts and test runs for transitions.  Then I can do the sprint that is built into the training plan on June 13^th.  I feel pretty good about the time between when I start the training plan and when I race the tri on 7/12.  Now with that being said, where I’m a little lost is between now and 3/23.  I have a half mary on Feb 15^th.  The training for this one has gotten pushed aside the past couple of months, so my main goal is to go out there and have fun and just finish it in a decent time (TBD) without pushing myself too far.  I was thinking of following a sprint training plan for the next ten weeks to try and help build a good base. 

Is this a good idea or am I way off?

Sounds like a good idea to me. For now, you just want to focus on building your base - Zone 2 training. Keep it easy and fun and don't burn yourself out.

Take a look at the volume for the first week of your plan. The week before your plan starts, do about 40-60% of that volume (distance or time-wise, doesn't really matter). The week before that, you want to have your peak volume for your maintenance plan to be about 90% of what your first week of your Oly plan would be. Take off 10% per week except the 4th week is your taper week (40% drop).

So it might look something like this with some arbitrary numbers:

Week 1 of Oly plan : 7 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 1 week : 3-4 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 2 weeks : 6 - 6.5 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 3 weeks : 6 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 4 weeks : 5.5 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 5 weeks : 3 - 3.5 hours total

Week 1 of Oly plan - 6 weeks : 5.5 hours total

etc.

Use this maintenance time to focus on your run up through your half mary. After that, take it easy on the run for a couple of weeks and focus on the swim and bike.

Yep, still here.  Just watching some football tonight.  I didn't get my run in today.  I've got my first day of masters swimming in the morning.  I've got some goggles but no pull buoy.  Surely they will have some extras laying around.  I'll let you know how it goes.  I ordered my indoor trainer today.  It should get here sometime next week.  I hope everyone has a great evening. 

HERE!  It's been a busy week... good news!  I picked up a swim coach!  He's actually just a buddy of mine who is an x-varsity swimmer who's been in a masters program for a few years.  All I have to do is pay his way at the pool and throw him a few beers every now and then! .

Where does everyone live?  Anyone in the northern part of the US?  I'm having a hard time staying focused on the treadmill and can't wait to get outside!  I picked out my first road bike...

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/1_series/12/

I can't wait!  I've been reffing hockey games on top of coaching and playing to get some cash together.  I figure the cost of the bike, plus the shoes, plus the add-ons will take me up to about $900.  It's quite a drop in the bucket but I hope this kind of purchase helps me improve my times and maintain feeling in my ars and hands while riding. 

One more question, it has to do with feet.  I have caveman feet, very wide and flat.  I have to buy ugly running shoes (not the really cool looking ones like everyone else can wear) and usually have to pay more for the wideness of the shoe.  Are bike shoes the same way?  

Have a good week!

Didn't anyone ever teach you to have unrelated questions and sentences in a separate paragraph? Sheesh!

They make an anti-fog spray for goggles. Some people use it and say it works pretty well. You can probably find some online if you don't have a swim shop nearby.

I'll say it again...learn to love freestyle. It is by far the fastest stroke. Not only that, it will save your legs for the bike and run. A lot less kicking than breaststroke uses.

I listened to that playlist while I was riding the trainer and studying for a certification exam yesterday. Figured if I was going to study for an hour, I might as well get some kind of workout in.

Stick with Zone 2. It's more fun to go fast, but if you are patient with it, you will see amazing results. I did 11 miles on Wednesday. It was one of my slower runs in a while and even with an easy warmup and cooldown I was at 8:04 per mile. Usually I'm around 7:55. This time last year my runs were around 8:45 per mile (without the warmup and cooldown).  When I first started HR training 2 years ago I was around 9:30 per mile. Stay the course and you will be flying before you know it!

My half is Feb 28th. 2 build weeks, a recovery week, 3 build weeks, and then race week.

If it says Mag Trek trainer, more than likely it is a magnetic trainer. Major differences are mag trainers use magnets for resistance, fluid trainers use .... you guessed it ... fluid. Mag trainers work just as well, but they are significantly louder.

You will probably want to get some fins and paddles if you don't have any. Be patient with masters. If your coach is anything like mine he will have you doing mainly drills and kicking on your side.

Congrats on picking up a coach. That's cheaper than what I pay mine.

Nice looking bike, but it's a slow color. Do they make it in a fast color?

I've never seen wide sizes in bike shoes before. They might make them, but I'm not aware of them. Do you have a bike shop nearby?

As for where everyone is from...I am a Texan. Live 30 miles north of Dallas in McKinney.

Masters Swimming rocked. I’m definitely going to be there every M/W/F.  One thing is for sure, I’m not as fish-like as I once thought I was.  The coach had me doing mainly drills.  I was trying to focus more on rolling from side to side with each stroke.  I did the side kicking like you were saying Andy. The pool was about 2” shallower after I got done swimming b/c I swallowed so much water.  I’m going tomorrow to get fins, paddles, and a pull buoy.

Dan-It is a little tough for me too.  I live in Alabama.  This winter has been one of the wettest ones I can remember.  It kinda puts a damper on riding or running outside.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  If the rain holds off tomorrow, hopefully I can get a ride in…if not, off to the dreadmill I go.

Zone 2 should comprise the bulk of your training. Long runs and easy runs should all be in Zone 2. Now it's OK for your HR to spike if you go up a hill, but you want to get it back down there as fast as you can. If you do speed work, tempo runs, stuff more advanced later on...that's when you go by pace and not HR.

BT using your Blackberry? I just learned how to text last month. I'm way behind.

Glad you enjoyed it. Your coach probably already told you this, but on your drills, focus on doing the drill correctly.  Don't try to do it quickly. Take your time and think about what the drill is teaching you.

Side rotation is really going to help your swimming. Rotate from your hips, not your shoulders. A good drill for this is to put your fins on, arms down by your side and just kick to the end of the pool. Rotate to your right side, rotate to your left, breathe, repeat. That should help you learn to rotate with your hips and not your shoulders.

rained most of the day today.  Went and logged some time on the treadmill.  Tried to focus more on the HR zones not so much the distance covered. 

Bike fitting-apparently the bike I have is the wrong size.  It's a 56 and I need a 58 or 60 (depending on the make).  Any thoughts on a good bike for the money?  Can't exactly run out and buy one this week, but I'd like to do my research.  Have a great evening!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

This was the second full week of workouts and I can kinda see some results.  I had a hockey game last night and I felt very comfortable and strong on the ice.  And the best part, I lost 4 pounds this week!  WOOHOO!  I've been taking weekly pictures to track my progress (I really want this to be a life changing moment) and I only have a few months until I get married so this is definitely good news.  I am posting a recipe that I cooked up today (Organic Oatmeal Cookies) that have proven to be great filler and provides a ton of nutrients.  Once I post it on the nutrition blog, I'll pass over the link.  The total cost of the batch is something like $10 and it makes 4 dozen cookies.  Think of how many Cliff bars that is!

I have a question for you  Andy.  I've been really looking at the benefits of a good bike and I'm realizing that the frame is the most important part of the mix.  I'm comtemplating going to the local bike shop and getting professionally fitted and once I have my measurements, I can go shopping for either a whole bike or for the pieces.  What are your opinions on this?  Anyone built their own bike? 

Have a good week!

A lot of it just depends on finding one that fits. If you have a local bike shop nearby, that can probably take laser measurements of you to figure out exactly what size bike you need. Keep in mind that due to the differences in geometry, your road bike size is probably going to be 2 cm more than a tri bike.

You can find some decent entry level road bikes at Nashbar and Performance if you can't find anything reasonable at your local shop.

The most important thing when picking out a bike is that it fits. If it doesn't fit, don't even think about it.

I've never built my own bike. I have, however, started with a bike and built it up a bit. Here are the advantages and disadvantages as I see them: 

Advantages:

• fully customized for color, size, and components
• cheaper if you are a smart shopper

Disadvantages

• time - takes a while to find all the pieces
• technical expertise - gotta know what you are doing when you put everything together

If you watch Nashbar and Performance, they will have lots of good deals on components throughout the year and you can save lots of money. It's just a question of patience. I don't have the patience for it. If you can sit tight, you'll save some big money and get a bike you are pleased with.

That's the kicker.  I'm kind of pressed for time this year.  I want to get a bike as soon as possible so I can get some time in the saddle to get as comfortable as possible - as I develop the skills on the first iteration of a road bike, I can pick and choose what I want on my next bike. 

Thanks for the info!

When I was at the bike shop last week, the guy told me that he would give me a good fitting when I decided to buy a new bike.  My birthday is in March so I might try to see if I can sweet talk the wife into letting me get an early birthday gift.

I'm going to try to upload my planned training from now until March 23rd so that I can have a solid actual vs. planned progress chart.  (Has anyone ever uploaded their own training plan before?)  Starting on the 23rd, I'll follow the BT 16 week Oly plan.  I worked backwards (taking off 10% every week and 40% every 4th week) like you said Andy.  Hopefully, I can work a little more running time into the schedule for the ½ mary.