Trizee's mentor group - CLOSED (Page 3)

Hi Folks,

I have had a rotten couple of weeks so training has been all over the place.
My Dad passed away after a long battle with cancer.

I managed some training, mainly as therapy and time on my own.

Highlight of training was swiming 1 mile front crawl for the first time ever !! Took 48mins but still happy with that.
When I did my first tri last sept (a novice event 300metres/10miles/3miles) I only managed 80metres FC then had to do breast stroke.
Biggest improvement I had with my swiming was to sort the breathing, I sprodicaly go to a 'masters' swim class and the girl there sorted my breathing.

Low point of training was yesterdays bike run, bike almost got thrown over the fence a few times !!

swim class tonight.

Well Done sticking to your plan for the HM !! Its very easy to get pulled along by others and then your plan goes to rats !!

run safe

Adrian

My deepest sympathies, Adbru.  Since reading your post about swimming one mile I feel that my post will seem puny...

I swam 150 yards today without stopping.  I'm rather proud of myself for that.  My legs were terrible.  I need to get stronger legs in the water, but for a beginning serious swimmer, I thought it was pretty good. 

Quick question: Are there any drawbacks to being in the pool everyday of the week.  I feel that perhaps even on off days that drills in the pool will help me.  Will this be counterproductive to my overall training?

ncredsox

ncredsox,

Thanks for your thoughts.

Never apologise for your sport !  If 150yds was a distance pb then shout it from the rooftops !!

Just build on it slowly and it will come, btw I dont use my legs at when doing front crawl.I never have done and seems it may be the 'right' thing for tri as it saves your legs for the next two bits !

Rotten swim class class night, due to petty polotics at the pool the 'coach' was NFI , my mates girl is a swim coach so may get her to do some 1to1 coaching next week....

rest day today, 1 hour bike planned for tomorrow-chain has been well oiled so hopefully it wont be a disaster like monday !

Adbru

Adbru, I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad.  I lost my dad 2 yrs ago to small cell cancer so I can relate.  It's good that you can use your training as therapy... I know when I'm on the bike out on the road or in the pool for those longer distance swims, I can't help but think about all the things going on in my life.  Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's a bad thing (being locked up in my head with MYSELF for any period of time can be challenging ;-)), but ultimately it does give me a good amount of time to let my brain process... something I've gotten away from over the past ten years or so with my kids, work, and my NEXT career, photography . 

Also sorry to hear about the pool politics.  I've dealt w/ a bit of that in my pool w/ a tri-masters swim class that goes on during the morning hours when I swim.  I'm trying to work up to their distances and pace, but it'll be a while yet and there's always the confusion on which lanes are theirs and which lanes are open.  I've been kicked out of lanes more times over the past few weeks than I've *EVER* been in my history of training.  I just try to smile & nod .  They're all great people, there just seems to be some confusion.  I hope you can get past it so you have good experiences during your swim workouts!

ncredsox, I'm no trainer so consider the source... but from everything I've read it seems when you're starting out, it's best to work hard on a sport and then give your body a chance to recover before you hit it again.  How much time you need to recover depends on a lot of things, but a lot of the beginner programs I've seen has me taking a rest day from each sport before going back to it.  I think once my body is acclimated to the training, there might be times when you're doing exercises on back-to-back training days, certainly.  Look at swim teams, track teams, cyclists, etc... most athletes that are dedicated to a single sport do that sport every day... my rule of thumb is to not try to overdo it because I've had a couple of instances in my past where I've overtrained and crushed my training programs, so I try to take it slow.  I'm sure other people in the group have an opinion... you might try checking out the programs they make available on beginnertriathlete.com or look at some of the more popular books on triathlon to help you w/ your regimen.  Matt Fitzgerald and Joel Friel come to mind...

Matt Fitzgerald's blog : http://mattfitzgerald.org/blog/
Complete Triathlon Book (this is the one I'm using right now for my trng program) : http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Complete-Triathlon-Book/Matt-Fitzgerald/e/9780446679282/?tabname=custreview 
Joel Friel's blog : http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/blog.html

I've been having some really terrific workouts lately.  The distances are still building slowly, something that really bothers me but I'm happy that I haven't wildly stacked on extra distance and difficulty which might risk injury or overtraining.  Some of you are probably laughing at me about my distances ;-), but that's okay I'll get there in due time.  Slow n steady for now.

The other nice benefit I'm starting to see again is how great I feel.  Fatigued and sore, certainly; but in my head, I feel really good.  I've lost some of those unwanted lbs, I have more energy, I'm happier day to day... it's that sideline benefit we all get when we get into great shape (at least, *I* get it when I get into decent shape ) and I can feel it coming on.

I hope everybody's having a great week.  Train hard, train smart, and let us know how you're doing!

/s

I have a similar question to Pants's question...  I want to go w/ a heart rate monitor and when I went to buy one, was set on getting a forerunner 305.  Then when I talked to the guy, he said I should consider a Suunto.  I look at them and while most of them didn't really blow me away, the T6 seemed to have a lot that I am looking for. 

http://www.suunto.com/suunto/main/product_short.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673943136&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=9852723697223384&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442490201&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395903526&bmUID=1146720174902 

It's not in production anymore, but I could probably find one on ebay or in a store *somewhere*... It does all the things you'd expect from a watch and heart rate monitor.. but you can also get a foot pod to measure distance and speed for running; a bike pod for speed/distance/heart rate analysis; a gps pod for mapping, speed, distance.  Seemed like a nice device but would be interested in alternatives or better ideas.  Thanks in advance for anything you can offer.

Hi all:

Adrian sorry to hear about your dad. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Just taken a quick peak in before heading off to bed. 

Quick 2-cents worth about the heart rate monitor. For me I would keep my HR monitor seperate from my bike computer. That way, like was mentioned, you don't have to worry about switching back and forth while on the bike. Speed and mostly cadence are important on the bike. As you get going with your training and races you will get to know what you can and can't do, the thing to do is "listen to your body". It will tell you when to back off and when you can push a little bit. Just don't ever ignore what your body is telling you.

Well time for some sleep. Nice to see more questions and more people giving info. I'm interested to hear others thought and findings on good heart rate monitors.

Keep moving forward.

sorry it's been a while since posting...life happens!

suzee...trizee is correct abt keeping your hamstrings happy when it comes to lower back.  i have a rubber band (long cord w/ handles on the end) that i use to stretch my hams.  i also sit on a excercise ball and rotate my hips as well as "superman"...i lay on my stomach, legs straight behind me, and lift my arms and head up.  painful, but helps.  however, nothing helps as much as keeping my hamstrings loose.  i stretch ALL DAY.

happy training everyone... gotta run!

Hi everyone!

Haven't been on in about 1 wk.  Adrian sorry to hear about your dad.  Exercising is good therapy.  That's how I ended up getting into this sport a few years ago because I lost my husband and wanted to stay healthy for my daughter. 

I have a heart monitor separate from my bike computer.  I agree with what Mike says about having them separate.  After a while you'll be able to read your body well.  Listen to the bod. 

Emery thanks for the stretching tips.  I too have an exercise ball even at work and try to take breaks during the day to stretch out my back.

Heading to a meeting in Boston on Wed.  Can't wait - hope the weather holds up.  Nervous about the "puddle jumper" (Cape Air - sounds like Cape Fear to me) I will be taking.  Talk to you all over the weekend.  Have a great week and keep up with the workouts.  It has been helpful for me to read everyone's messages - even if I only get on about once a week.  Take care all 

Sue

I was so happy to get back into the pool last week.  Even though my swimming needs a lot of work it was just nice to get in there and work on it.

 Running has been going well.  I just finished my 2nd 15K of the year and felt very comfortable with the distance.  Next I have another snow shoe race, then a 10 mile race.  I should be very comfortable with the 13.1 miles come my tinman.

 Last year I was riding my bike with cages, and just ordered some clip in pedals.  I wear a size 14 shoe and found out that the cages were never big enough for my feet.  (which explains why my feet would always slip out on the bike)  So the clip in pedals will be a HUGE improvement.

 On the subject of a heart monitor, I too got one separate from my bike computer.  It works out great because it makes it easy to use for any other activity.  (spin classes, elliptical, running, etc)

Hi Guys,

good to see everyone is busy 

Thanks for all your thoughts, life goes on and my Dad had made most of the arrangements himself so we just had to make sure they happened right .

Just did my long bike this morning 17miles in a sloooow 1:17 lol.
must be getting better as I no longer walk like John Wayne after being on the bike !

bike - 75miles/5.5 hours
run - 30 miles/5 hours
swim - 5.6miles/5 hours

reasonably happy with that
Def need to work on the bike more, thinking about either dropping the short run for a third bike or changing the short run into a short brick session...(currently doing 2xswim/bike/run a week)
What do you think ??
Would it better just to do an extra bike rather than a brick this early on .... ?

re the HRM debate, I have worn one once ( and only once !! )
I was doing a normal 5mile plod at work, normal pace, it said I was running at 120% of my max heart rate and should be dead !!  so it went back in the box never to be used again !  lol.
I am planning doing this season in a fairly non-tech manner, The only gismo's will be a speedo on the bike and the stopwatch on my everyday wristwatch..... be interesting to see how it goes

have fun 

Adrian

Hi folks

I've been checking in daily, but haven't posted. Sorry about that. But, I have been keeping my eye on all of you

Rob, great idea to go with clips vs. cages. Wait until you see the gains you will make. You'll have a better pedal to push on and almost as important to pull back up with. Watch your mph jump. Just don't forget to clip out when you stop.

Adrian nice to see you progressing along. Depending on your schedule another bike (brick) would be good.  If you can swim 2x a week and bike and run 3x a week that would be good. They don't have to be real  long 30-45 minutes at Zone 2,  it will help you. It's never to early to do bricks. The more your legs get used to the quick change the better you'll be. After a while you may hardly even notice anything when you start your run or any heaviness will go away quickly.

I  understand what you said about the HR monitor. My first year I used it and I would be in my target HR zone by tying my shoes. My zone 2 was that of a 10 year old! I mostly just listen to my body now and go by the old stand bye - if I can talk normal = Zone 2, take a breath when talking = Zone 3 and of course if I find it difficult or near impossible to talk= Zone 4. It seems to work for me. But, sometimes I do wonder if I am not pushing myself hard enough which leads to me not getting the results that I want. Also, I do most of my training alone. Training with someone else is good, but I get hung up on that I am either 1) slowing them down and they are not getting much out of it or 2) if I am the stonger person they feel that I'm showing off and leaving them in the dust (which is never the case - i enjoy helping others and am not bothered by staying with them; I just work out again later )

Well time for the weekends long ride on sat. and run on sunday. Have to find a good movie to watch during my bike ride.

For those of us in the artic north, this is a difficult time. The excitment of starting is being worn away by the constant cold weather and snow. Treadmills and trainors start to lose their appeal. But, this is part of the mental aspect and we must fight through it and stay focused.

Keep your eye on the prize ahead!   The determination of you all is great. Keep it up.

Mike

Hey y'all, today my gym at work hosted a indoor triathlon. It was a time based competition. Every one got 20 min run, followed by a 20 min bike, and finally a 20 min swim. The winner was the person that went the furthest in the allotted time. We'll of course I did not win, but I did get a fancy t-shirt for my effort. 

The biggest feet for me, this was the first first time I combined all three events together. I am really jazzed about the swim. Swimming is by far my worst discipline and I managed to swim 900 yards in 20 min. I actually swam freestyle for about 800 of them. I feel much more comfortable with the fact that I will not going to drown during my real races this year.

I think I could have given it a little more during the bike but my goal was to keep my h/r at 80% and spin at around 90 rpm. I was pretty close. My run on the other hand is a different story. I can not seem to keep my h/r under 80%. My h/r trends around 85-90%. I hope that just more training will bring it down.

As far as the discussion about h/r monitors go I like having them separate so I can use it during any activity that I am participating in. I use a Timex Iron man h/r watch. I like it because I can use it for my everyday watch as well as a training device.

Adbru, i too send my condolences. I have not had to go through the heart ache of losing a parent but I often worry about them. Eventually we will all have to face the difficult task. Again, I feel for you, don't let it sideline you from your goal. A short life, lived well is far better than a long life without adventure.

Everyone, keep pressing on. You are doing a great job and I would be proud to stand with you at the finnish line.

Mark  

Hey all!

Got back from a meeting in Boston on Friday night was exhausted Sat.  Today did 1 hr on the treadmill.  Was hoping to get some workouts done while away but too chaotic with mtgs and classes.  Hope to have a better week with my workouts.  Hope you all have a great week and will pop on next weekend.  Take care.  Sue

Hello, everyone!

It's been a good two weeks for me.  I continue to make progress in my swimming.  By the end of last week I was swimming 150 yards quite easily.  Today (and for the rest of the week) my workout calls for me to swim for 200 yards.  Once again, I know it's not much but I'm making steady progress without getting discouraged or overtraining.  What are the exact distances for each event in a sprint triathalon?

ncredsox 

I have read the total immersion book and found the information very helpful especially for a non-swimmer like me. I would imagine that the DVDs and the instructional are even more helpful. As for the distances for a sprint, they vary. I have one race that is 900m swim, 11 mile bike, and 5k run. Another is 500yrd swim, 20k bike, and 5k run, and yet another that is .5 mile swim, 13 mile bike and a 4 mile run all off road. 

Hi everybody!  I was on travel most of last week to Naples, FL which was great but it's tough and gets you out of routine.  You've got to be vigilant about getting workouts in.  I had my hotel all lined up, they had a fitness center and a heated lap pool so I thought I was good to go, then when I arrived I found the "fitness center" was more like a closet and the "heated lap pool" was literally a kidney bean shaped 4' deep *maybe* 20' long (at the widest point) pool, of which there was no hope to do "laps" unless I literally was going to swim around the outside of it ;-).  So the hotel paid for me to go to the Y to swim ...  nice trade off I guess.  I ran down to the beach and while I didn't get in a bike workout during those few days, I focused on the run & swim instead.  It was great.

Back in DC and back to the gym.  My swim plan took me from ~1100 to ~1700 yesterday, which felt great.  Still LOTS of work to do there, but the intervals and drill sets are really helping me focus on speed and form. 

Jenn, sorry to hear your husband is headed to Iraq.  I'm sure he's very proud and you're very proud of him, but I know how hard military deployments are for those left behind.  I know there's probably not much we can do here but let me know!  Take care all and happy training!

/s

Hi:

Jenn my thoughts also go out to you and your husband on is upcoming deployment. I would like to say THANK YOU to you both for what you do. I cannot image what you must go through. Nice to see you working so hard. Good for you.

Like Mark said, there is no real set distance for a sprint tri. Most I have done are like Mark described. On average about a .4 to .75 mile swim, 13-18 mile bike and a 3-5 mile run.

I have done the drills in the TI book and have seen the video. I did take a one-day crash course clinic at their swim studio in New Paltz, NY. Two of us had about 5 hours in an endless pool. The instructor was good and gave some good tips. I have continued to do drills whenever I swim. But, I haven't seen as much of a change as I thought I would. I'm not a great swimmer, so it's not like I'm real strong to begin with and improvement will only be minimal, so I expect to see more dramatic drops in time and effort. At times it seems like I'm working harder, but I know it takes time.  It has given me things to focus on, however at the price ($500) plus drive (3 hours each way) I figured I    would be able to beat Michael Phelps in a race (even when he wasn't stoned ). I would like to have some follow-up from TI (took course 8/08) to help make any adjustments. It was a lot of money for what I felt I got out of it. 

I guess what I'm saying is: the swim program makes sense, sounds good but most people can only get so much from a book or DVD. Nothing beats having someone who knows what they are doing watch/help you. A good masters swim class or friend/coach to assist you can get you where you need to be to finish a tri and  not cost you $500.

Well, that's my two-cents worth.

Have a great day and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Mike

Hey Team,

Been awhile but work is absolutely burying me right now. 

Adbru....sorry for your loss.  Jenn.....thank you for your families service.  Prayers for both of you/your families during this trying time.

Sean - you flat out rock.  Thanks for being diligent in your workouts and in posting.  I wanna be like you when I grow up! LOL

Bike work is going well for me over the last 2 weeks.....putting in approximately 15 miles per workout.  We have been blessed in OKC with some really mild, although hellaciously windy, weather.  I am also fortunate to live w/in 3 miles of Lake Hefner which has an outstanding 9 mile loop bike trail that travels around the lake.  The last 2 weeks my rides have been fun as I put the bike throught its paces, but the wind has consistently been around 20 with gusts to 30.  I kept looking for a smaller chain ring when I was riding into it!

 I have been running consistently 3 times per week but keeping my mileage around 3 to 5 miles.  Most of that has been indoors in an effort to save my IT band that has given me problems before.  I have been stretching and killing myself with a foam roller and that has provided much relief.

 First "baby brick" workout last Saturday.....12 miles bike (wind) and then 2 mile run (indoors). 

In the pool for the first time.....really EVER last night......as far a true "swim practice" goes.  Our Team in Training swim coach really helped me alot....since I was a clean slate.  I was very pleasantly surprised at my overall ability and comfort in the water.  Truly, gang.....I was thinking the worst.....because when you have "never ever" swum laps......that 25 yards looks like a LONG way.  Between drills and laps we ended up at 700 yards.....which again.....for me......was awesome.  I left that practice loving the pool instead of loathing and I am looking forward to a swim tomorrow to work on the drills.  Regarding the Total Immersion techniques....I am watching the DVD and reading the book right now......it is outstanding since I have nothing to "unlearn".  I will keep you posted on my progress in that regard.

Saturday will be a 45 minute run and 15 mile bike, in the wind, so it should be interesting......

Anyhoo....best of luck to you all........stay in touch.

Today I am "officially" kicking of my 20 week training plan for my 1/2 ironman.  The end of June sounds sooooo far away, but 20 weeks sounds like such a short time, weird.

 I am very excited to follow a training plan. 

RobbyN210- Good luck on your new endevor. I am sure we all are rooting for you. I want to be able to do a half IM as well as anyone. I just decided that I would do our Mayors 1/2 marathon today. I seems like the group is fading.

 I would just like to say that we are all with you. Good luck and keep us informed.

 To everyone else keep on truckin, to tri is magic but to finish is devine.

Thanks Alaskablue, so when is you 1/2 marathon?

 I finally got my clip in pedals, and I LOVE THEM.  I put off buying them for the longest time because I thought they would be hard to use, but they are easier then any other pedals on a bike. 

 I have a bit of a cold this week, which SUCKS on my first week of training, but luckily the first two weeks are not that difficult.  So even with the cold I am still getinng out there and getting my workout in.

 Hope everyone else is doing well.