tri_sport19's Group - FULL (for now) (Page 3)

Hi Matt

My name is Andres, I'm living in Miami from the last 8 years and the last year was wake up time !!! I was planning to be more involved with the sport and learn more about it and see in this web site and great comunity place to grow up like a triathlete.I'm a 34 years old and I got married last October after be living with my now wife for 10 years.We have a beautyfull boy 8 years old (BOTH ARE MY PRINCIPAL SUPPORT AND THE BIGGEST FANS). I'm sport man from always ( I played soccer,basquetball,tennis... I do mountain bike for a couple years) and on the last August I traded my mountain bike for a road bike (I did some updates on it) and started to train. I saw some tris here in Miami and was anscious to be in one. On november 2008 I sign up for my first triathlon,it was a sprint on Coconut creek Fl (400m - 10 miles - 3 miles) on January 4 2009. The swimming part was hard for me (cold water and no wetsuit) but after that I did a good race I guess!!! I finish 24 overall and 3rd in my age group. After that I realized This is my SPORT !!!! I want to keep going and I found today in BT this mentor plan I want to be part of this group!!!! I can learn a lot from you guys.

Thanks and see you soon

Ok friends, it looks like this is going to be our group for the season. There's 12 people (not including myself), so we'll have plenty of opportunities for inspiration and information.

 Happy training, and start insipring each other in the training logs!

I have a question for Matt and any of the other swim gurus in the group! 

What are some of the drills that you use during your swim training for balance and technique that have helped you the most?

I was able to get in a 45 minute swim this morning and I usually throw in some TI drills for balance.  Just curious what drills have been most beneficial for you.  Have a good one.

I would definitely do a lot of 25's for the 100 yds swim.

Pull is pulling with your arms only, usually with a pull bouy in between your legs.

Kick is on a kick board or if you don't have one, with your arms locked in a stream line position.

Yes that is 15 seconds rest in between every 50 (every repeat).  The set would be the 12x50's.

Hope that helps a bit more....

Here are 5 Swim Drills for freestyle I use often:

Finger drag - start at your hip and follow along right on your body, dragging your fingers just on the top of the water.  This creates high elbow concentration.

Head UP - Water polo position.  You pick your head up high above the water and keep it straight ahead.  This uses fast twitch muscles great for gaining speed.

Catch Up - Keep one arm straight out in front of you.  Bring the other arm up to the first which is still out ahead of you and touch it or catch it up to the other arm.  At one point you should have both arms out in front of you for a touch.

Fist Drill - put your hands in a fist and swim free.  Promotes a better feeling for the water.

Dog Paddle - paddle in a circular motion with your head above the water, sort of like a dog.  Helps you feel the water better.

 I hope that helps and is enough explanation of the drills...

 Jen

 Absolutely, thanks for the clarification.  You did mention multiply for various levels of fitness, I am going to have to DIVIDE for a little while.  I will try to get up to the whole thing though.

I got out on the bike today, not as fast as I would like but felt pretty good.  It is WINDY here today, not Chicago-windy, but windy for us.

When it is windy, rainy, etc do you guys get out there?  I always debate, but usually go for it and just consider the wind more resistance to build me for next time.  Fortunately we do not get much rain here, with ~320 sunny days per year we are pretty lucky with that.

Ha!  I hear ya.. I think i'll have to take the square root!  Majority of my swimming in the past 10 years has been to the swim up bar to get a margarita... maybe i should put a glass on either end of the pool when i swim laps for motivation

Well I'm biting the bullet and doing a swim workout tomorrow.  I was supposed to drive up to PA this weekend for a bridal shower but they cancelled due to a forecast of snow.  So, I've written it down, SWIM ON SATURDAY, you can all hold me accountable.  Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Matt -Thanks for the tip!

I'll definitely look at Bob's profile as I'd love a few more suggestions for the days I'm working out alone.  I've really been concentrating this year on improving my freestyle and longer swims on free.  I'm working on breaking the 5 min mark in the 400m race by April.  

And then would like to get in gear for outdoor lake swimming this summer. I'm more of a 25m technical racer.

Seeing that I hate freestyle as much as most triathlete hate any stroke but freestyle, this is a big change for me....

I just put the slicks on my MTB, I could not imagine getting in the rain with those on there.  I have two MTB (Trek 3900 hardtail and Specialized FSR XC comp full suspension).  I go with the slicks and front shock tightened all the way down on the hardtail for riding on the road.  I would like to get a road bike at some point.  Spent a couple bucks on my FS MTB and broke the collar bone only 50 miles in on it and can't ride it for another couple months.  Sucks.

What bikes do you guys ride?

Open water swim practices are going to be very important for you. Mass starts and open water swimming is very different from racing in the pool (as I'm sure you can guess). Sharing a pool lane with a lot of people will help you get used to hands and feet in your face, you can usually find this at a crowded masters class. Once it gets warm enough I strongly encourage you to swim open water as much as you can, work on sighting buoys and navigating every week if you can.

Bad timing with the collar bone (although, is there ever a good time to break a bone?!?!) A MTB with slicks will work perfectly fine for triathlons. Many of us got our start on mountain bikes, hybrids, my sister's road bike...whatever gets the job done.

It wasn't until I knew I was serious about pursuing triathlon that I upgraded and made the investment in a tri specific bike. Now that I'm hooked I own three bikes...an entry leve road bike (Specialized Allez Elite) a Cannondale F5 hardtail mountain bike and an Cervelo P2C triathlon bike. They all serve their purpose and get their fair share of ride time throughout the year!

What bikes do you guys ride?

I ride a hand me down Quintana Roo Tequilo Tri Bike that is probably way too small for me.  My sister just got a P2C and I took her old one just to see if I would like the sport.  Well I like the sport and now I just need $2500 to come from the sky so I can get a new one.. although I am very grateful for what I have.

They tell me its not the bike, its the engine...so that is what I am working on!!

Hi Matt & everyone in the group:

I hope you enjoy the weekend & your workouts.

I need some help with my swimming training. It's my weakest part and don't know how to reinforce it. I was checking some of your logs guys but I don't know from where can start.

THANK YOU  Andres

Hi everyone!

So tomorrow is my first official day of training, with a swim. I've been looking at all the swim tips being offered, thanks so much! Very helpful. thats the most intimidating part for me, so its going to be hard to train. Esp at this point when i can really only swim a lap without either freaking out because of my breathing or just getting tired in general....we'll see how it goes.

 
The triathlon that I am doing with my dad is in April, so only 12 weeks away.  When I signed up for it, there seemed to be so much time but now I'm slightly worried...but I'm sure everything will be fine.  Just need to be sure to stay on schedule.  I'm doing the sprint distance Vineman in California so it should be fun

 
Good luck with training!

 

jess11 - 12 weeks is plenty of time to get ready for a sprint tri, just have faith in yourself and trust your training plan. A lot can be learned about swimming from watching good swimmers, again I'll defer to Bob Stock's profile - rstocks3

Also, don't be afraid to ask the good swimmers in your pool for tips! You'll be surprised at how willing people are to help you out.

Good luck tomorrow!!!