Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 3)

Jamie-good question! This will be my third post in response. I'm at the inlaws and my internet connection dropped and my long responses did not post!

There are tons of good resources online. www.swimsmooth.com, Total Immersion, swim videos/drills on youtube....Jason just went to a swim clinic put on by Sheila Taormina. She put out a book about 6 months ago and it is very good. She is focused mostly on the "pull" part of the stroke. Something I need to improve.

In my opinion the most important first/early step in being a competent/efficient swimmer is esatablishing good balance in the water. Next time you are at the pool take an underwater view of a good swimmer and compare it to someone slower. The good swimmer will be horizontal, or very close to horizontal, in the water. The slower swimmer will likely have their legs and hips lower in the water and be swimming uphill. The lower legs and hips cause drap which slow the person down and as a result much more froce/effort is required to move forward. Total Immersion is very focused on balance and they have many good drills to help with balance. Many triathletes have become more competent and comfortable swimmers utilizing Total Immersion. I did one of their clinics early on and it was helpful. I think balance has to be addressed before some of the more technical aspects of the stroke can be tweaked.

Some one on one instruction or participation in a quality masters program would be the best way to really work on swimming. The sooner the better as over time we establish muscle memory and starting off with good technique and habits is so much easier than trying to fix them down the road.

For me consistency is hugely important. In Fall 2011 I took about 6 weeks off from swimming and boy was I a mess when I got back in the pool. This year I have stuck with swimming and Nov/Dec are 2 of my biggest swim volume months. The added volume plus more intensity in my workouts has resulted in a better feel in the pool and I think some small improvements. There is no quick fix for swimming....it takes time and persistence.

Randy  

Jamie I have not done these yet but I will try to attach a file of the plan I will be using for 2013.  As a former HS & Collegiate swimmer I liked two things in particular.  There are three skill levels to choose from and each is fairly detailed.  Too many of the plans I saw said 'Swim 1000 yards'. 

Jamie the file was too large to attach.  Here is a link:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=triathlon%20geek%20training%20plan%20pdf&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CEkQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.njoytriathlon.it%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F12%2Folympic_distance_triathlon_training_plan.pdf&ei=KzzXUMf1MuXDigL-_YGYAw&usg=AFQjCNGGFX3LHWhftsZh4q4wCbPKtXhfzQ&bvm=bv.1355534169,d.cGE

I wanted to post a few things here that I took to heart last time around in this group and added it to a Word Document. This is all about consistency and was written by Experior/Michael. This document helped me tremendously in my training last season. I know Michael is busy and probably would have posted it himself at some point ...

Hey everyone!

I don't want to throw too many subjects out at once but does anyone have any advice for IT band tightness? I initially took some time off and a couple of weeks ago I bought a foam roller which is the best thing I've tried so far but it really tightend up a few hours after my 4 miler today. This is the longest I've run since September and it's really frustrating. I've been only running a couple of times a week and very low mileage even for me(usually is lower than most anyhow due to my extreme slowness and time constraints). I also do accupuncture (not because of the IT band just general health) but nothing is really fixing it completely.

Also, I already feel like my training time is at the limit of what I can do. How does everyone balance life and training? I feel like I could do more if I just was a bit more efficient (or needed less sleep).

I just want to add I'm so glad to be a part of this group!!

I dealt with some bad I-T band issues in September. Number one thing that helped me was the foam roller. I really had to roll the heck out of my I-T Band. Do it before a run, do it after a run, do it before you go to sleep, do it when you wake up. Your muscles will be sore from the rolling, but they should be good for running. (Not a doctor, all I can say is that this is what I felt worked for me) .

Another thing my physical therapist told me to do was to make sure when my foot struck pavement, that my knee did not stray to the inside of my foot. Knee should be aligned over the foot, not to the left or the right of it.

A shameless attempt to match the other mentor groups' post count...   I admire the competitive streak!

I've been slacking the last few days -- combination of work, and Christmas gift assembly.  Somebody keep me honest -- gotta run tonight!    All these tips on running and swimming are great, but I'll probably do better at the treadmill than the computer...

Also a shameful humble brag...*ahem* using an iPad everyone! 

Got my first real Triathlon Bike yesterday ....

Michael, congratulations! That looks like a really sweet ride; I just got my first real tri bike not long ago, haven't even used it in a race yet. Let us know how the first ride goes!

Also, this reminds me that Nate needs to post his bike pron on here, as well!

Nicole -  My wife had some IT band issues and has had lots of success with the foam roller to stretch it out.  Then, when it was not a problem anymore her PT had her strengthening by doing clam shells (among some other exercises i'm pretty sure). video link here

I personally am just back to running after a fun run-in with chondromalacia in both knees.  My PT has me moving from being a big time heel striker to a fore foot striker.  I have adjusted pretty well so far.  I'm quite a bit slower than i was before due to such a big change.  I have no pain in my knees now, but have developed very tight muscles in the bottom of my foot.  PT says it is normal and will go away with time and stretching.  It seems the forefoot striking causes the muscles in the bottom of the foot to shorten up slightly.  She even mentioned a study where patients experienced a drop in shoe size when changing the stride like this. 

Has anyone else ever dealt with this.  I trust my PT, but the pain in the foot when I'm not running is starting to get annoying.  It goes away after a couple of days.  I guess I just need to stretch it more.

To be honest, I don't know if I was looking for advice or just opening a dialog because I  was curious as to how others fit it in. Maybe I was hoping someone would mention an idea I could try. Part of it is I am an 8 hours of sleep kind of person. I have learned from experience that things go badly pretty fast for me if I try to skimp on sleep. I do like the idea of keeping workout gear in the car for when an opportunity arises. That might be worth a try. I actually do get most of my workout that I have scheduled in even if I have to shuffle things around a lot but when I think of possibly trying to add an extra swim, bike or run workout in a week-I just don't know where I could cram it. I also know that if I could fit those extra workouts in I would improve and I really need to improve.

Thanks for the IT band tips. I had been using the roller daily and skipped the 2 days before today (not run days but still). I've also been trying to incorporate some yoga again which I hadn't done since last spring. I'll start trying some of the stretches.

Michael-Congrats on the Tri bike!!

Oh, yeah, I forgot to post my new christmas present! (I need to figure out a way to get used to those S-Bend Bar Extensions, they are really uncomfortable on my wrists. Any Tips?)

Behold!