Gray Guy/Girls Tri--Masters Sprint/Olympic Mentor Group CLOSED (Page 3)

i would like to join this mentor group. i am 55 - soon to be 56.  i did my first sprint triathlon about 5 years ago.  i have completed 2 or 3 olympic triathlons.  i am wanting to complete 3 sprint and 2 olympic triathlons between june 2013 and october 2013.

if accepted, i will post more . thanks.

Great stuff Stu.  Thanks for posting.  2013--this is your year!  Consistency in training, maybe focus on the calorie burn long efforts on the weekends....12 pounds should be no problem.

Okay.  MY plan got screwed up.  I was supposed to hit the gym for a weight workout and then hit the bike.  Unfortunately, I got hung up at work and lost too much time.  So the weight workout went away and it was just the indoor bike trainer.

Here's the stats:  Total time, one hour twenty minutes.  20 minute warm up followed by 4 X 8 minute lower cadence overgear intervals efforts with a seven minute recover on each interval.  Average HR increased on each effort, so that's good.  A decent workout despite the lost time.

Try again tomorrow.

My only input is Gels can make you nauseous if you don't take water with them.  At first, I started with the Hammer Gels, they are thinner in consistency and water taste good with them.  Also try the sport beans and chomps, they are very similar to gels but again require water.

I have a road bike with aero bars and have used an aero water bottle set up before, but I had to practice using it.  Whatever you get, practice using it...set your watch for every 10 minutes and take a drink during training rides on the 10 minute mark (or pretend to drink).  

Goodluck,   Kay

Anybody have anything good planned for the day?  For me it's a swimming at noon then a workout on the track after work for intervals.  Have a great day.

For the swim I'll be working on trying to hold a slightly stronger pace but with longer intervals.  So, I think my swim workout will look like this:

400 warm up, 500 on 9:00, 400 on 7:00, 300 on 6:00, 200 on 4:00, 2 X 100 on 1:45, 50 on :45, 200 cool down alternative stroke.  

So the idea is I swim the 500 at any pace I want under 9:00.  The faster I swim the interval the longer the rest period; the slower I go, the shorter the rest.  Regardless, 9:00 after starting the 500, I start the 400, which I then have 7:00 minutes to complete prior to starting the 300 and so on.  Total = 2250 yards.

I'm still working out my appropriate pacing since swimming is still my newest sport, so this is a bit of a work in progress.  My challenge has been trying to dial in the interval speed and rest periods to get an optimal workout. 

The track intervals tonight will be somewhat determined by the heat...it's pretty hot here and I'm not acclimated yet, so I don't what to push too hard in 90 degree heat.  My current 10K race pace is about 6:45/mile, so I'll probably be working a series of 800's varying +/- a 6:15 pace to total about 7 miles of warm up, interval and cool down.

Have a great day!

So my p.t informed me that it would be a good idea if i stopped swimming for a while. She felt like my rotator cuff was getting too irritated. Its related to an old injury i think. I swam this morning and it was in fact pretty irritated after 30 min.

I signed up for a splash n dash June 18th. 750m lake swim , 3 mi. run. My only other swim race this year is a tri end of July and that swim is a really easy 500m.  

I guess i will just take this one day at a time. 

Sat. did "hill of life" trail run on Barton creek greenbelt. Sunday did a bike/run brick out at the lake was I watched the rain clouds miss me. I do almost exclusively trail running with periodic track work thrown in.

Did a 3.1 mile run at 6:00 am (I am not a morning person) and a 45 minute spin class at 8:30.  That's it for today!

Hi Stu! 

Looking forward to learning from this group.  I have enjoyed triathlon so far but am so slow.  I know it's because I don't focus enough on just the swim, bike, run.  I don't think I mentioned it, but I am 53.

Hi Linda:

Sorry to hear about your shoulder injury.  That sounds like good advice from your PT. I've heard shoulder issues can turn chronic in a hurry.  Better to take time to heal properly and to keep aggravating a problem.  When you get the OK to get back in the pool, start up slowly!

STU,

Read your race report for REV3 - good job in hard conditions.  I did the race in 2011 with the water temperature 63.  I can't imagine swimming in water any colder and then the rain.  wow.

Steve, I had every intention of easing back into training today with a short swim, but we had thunder and lightning this evening and the pool was closed, so I will have to delay until tomorrow.  Basically, the same storms that hit us in Knoxville are up here now :-(  I'm tired of rain!  On the plus side, it does give my right calf another day to rest.  Not sure what's up with that, but it was sorer today than yesterday.  Don't like the trend.

Kay, how was the race when the weather was good?  Seemed like it could be a pretty cool event, but the weather really was a mess this weekend.  I actually had expected the water to feel worse.  It was not pleasant and it took probably 10 minutes before I could focus on the swimming rather than the cold, but I did get there eventually.  Strange thing is that I grew up swimming in a spring fed pool up in New England that every now and then got up to 70 degrees.  I distinctly remember one club meet at the end the summer where the water was 51 degrees (I think maybe the pool had a leak that summer).  Of course, all we had were Speedos, but we were just swimming 50s too :-)  Good motivation to get out fast!

Norma, sounds like you're in great shape with all the other stuff you do.  Sounds like you have a great balance in your training.  Taking up running later in life gives you some extra years on the knees.  My FIL started when he was about 50 and he turns 80 this year and is still running 10Ks.  Good inspiration!  I've come to the point where I don't worry so much about fast and slow, but more about consistency and avoiding injury.  The consistency has been a challenge for the last year or so cause of work related stuff.  I did some more strength work this winter, and I think it may have helped me with my endurance this past weekend.  Been trying to figure out why the run was fast (by my standards... slow by most).  Was it the winter weights?  Was it not pushing the bike?  Was it the cool temps?  Was it the fueling?  Probably some of each.  Need a few more data points :-)

See you in the pool tomorrow!

Stu

Stu--You nailed it right there for us Gray tris...consistency is the key!

Any swim experts out there?

I'm fine with running and my biking is developing but my swimming is going nowhere.  I just started swimming last summer and have swum throughout the winter 2 x per week.  I've even taken a masters class and got some help with technique.  I feel like my technique has improved over the winter but my times don't get any better.  What's going on?  I swim at a 25 metre pool and do a fast 3 x 50 metres each swim and can't seem to average more than 60 seconds for the three.  I hasn't changed with seven months of swimming.  My upper body has never been strong and I'm wondering if that's the problem.  Maybe I need to forget about working on technique and do some upper body exercises.  Any suggestions?

Hey there.  Swimming is a challenge for me as well, so I'm far from an expert.  That said, here are my conclusions on swimming:

1) Anything I'm weak at I have to really emphasize in training to show any improvement at all.  For me, 2X per week at best would allow me to maintain, but I wouldn't get any faster without a minimum of 3 workouts per week, preferably four.  For me that meant giving up bike/run workouts to get to the pool.

2) Technique is everything and not easily acquired.  I'm working with a swim coach on private lessons twice a week for 30 minutes....and my technique is finally getting better. But I still have a tendency to revert.   For us old guys, bad form habits are very hard to break because the tendency is for form to break down as soon as fatigue begins to set in.

3) Doesn't matter whether it's swim, bike or run, to be fast I have to practice fast.  That means setting up workouts on a consistent basis to continually push the paces.  This requires constant vigilance because as fitness improves the workout from last month/last year that was really hard is not all that taxing today.  So if I'm not careful, it's pretty easy to just go out and cruise through a workout without really getting cardiovascular benefit that I need. 

4) I guess you have to do the math and calculate the potential benefit of getting faster at swimming.  If you have to give up some run/bike workouts (and lose 30 seconds in those legs in a race) to dedicate instead to swimming workouts,  can you make time up in the water or at least exit the water in better shape to be stronger out of T1 & T2?

My two cents worth.

Sitting at starbucks. no computer at home. pardon me for not getting each name and bio matched up. 

I really benefit from reading everyone's posts and seeing the w/o 's we r doing each day.

consistency is king, yes!

Red devil I am curious what the temperature was during those hr monitored runs ? I hv noticed that being even a little dehydrated can kick up both my RHR and W/o HR.

Ran sprints last night with my dog. 

Hey Gray Guys/Girls--What's your plan for today?  

For me, morning it was a swim lesson where I was basically humbled and left panting at the edge of the pool.  It's ugly but in a good way.  Evening....I'll be back on the bike trainer for 60-75 minutes.

Thursday will be off for me.  My oldest son graduates from grad school at Virginia Commonwealth U. on Saturday so my wife and I are flying from Washington State to Washington DC which pretty much destroys the whole day.  Hopefully I'll get in a run on Friday...

Quote of the day--"Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still."
Chinese Proverb

Be safe everyone!

Did  a 3000m swim workout this morning with the Adult Swim club.  The city  pool will be  set-up for long course this afternoon, think I go over and see how far I get in a two hour swim.

Went  to social  for TNT last night met some  of my  fellow training mates for  the Nations Triathlon.  They are starting  this weekend, I join  the group in two weeks.  Had my knee diagnosed  with Patella Tendentious, recommended treatment  is rest, ice, and  a few stretching type exercises.   They said swimming is OK as well as biking and maybe easy running.   I think I give it another  week before starting running again.

B2RUN -  Swimming  is all technique and it takes practice.  I swam some in high school, but did not  pick it up again  until about 3 years ago.  At that time I was swimming mostly breaststroke (up to 1000m workouts averaging 3:30/100m) Spent first year  working on my freestyle  and increasing the distance.  Once I finally mastered freestyle  my time improved to 2:30/100m.  I was able to knock another 15 seconds off by pace time over the next year. Started  with a formal coach and workout that  include some speed work  in January and am  now am pushing a  pace of  2:00/100M.  The trick  to efficient swimming  is the slower the faster you go, count your strokes, for distance swimming speeds comes from  the pull  not the turn over rate.  There are guys that I swim with  that are bigger, stronger and younger than me,  I take 24 strokes per length  they are at 28+, I'm faster.

They is where I falter!  If I could swim and bike more, I'd get faster.  So, this sport will always be just a fun activity to do unless I give up teaching my fitness classes or start waking up early which is hard to do especially since I don't get home until 9:00 most nights.  Sleep is just as important as the workouts.

Tsvi--Nice post.  This is exactly right...you sound like my swim coach!  Being a runner, I immediately think speed is about turnover.  I've discovered in swimming that when my technique is correct my turnover rate is lower, my speed is slightly faster, but I'm LESS fatigued.  It's totally counter intuitive.

Thanks for all the advice.  I'll see if I can figure out a way to make a video.  It's hard for me to access a pool more than 2 x per week but the lakes are warming up so I might be able to get in some more swimming.

Todays workout was a tempo workout of 48 k on the bike - felt good afterwards - trying to find the right cadence and gear so heart and legs arent screaming at me - averaged 29 kph for the ride so my bike is slowly starting to improve. Just need more long rides to build my endurance.

then saturday is a sprint du - 2.5 k  36 k  bike 5k run so I will see if I'm ready - I did a practise du the same distance last week to test myself  - 

Today is just my hybrid fitness class. 

Just finished up an 1800m swim.  Wow, the water was so warm ;-)

So, just one thing to add on the swim stroke.  I agree with all that has been said, but I think turnover is a tricky thing.  What often happens to people is that they think high turnover and they shorten up (change) their stroke in addition to turning over faster.  On top of that, they also lose the good water position (wag and such with more effort).  A higher turnover is faster IF you keep the same stroke, including a relaxed recovery, and you are in good enough shape to handle the extra resistance that comes with a faster turnover.  So, in my opinion, you don't do higher turnover UNLESS you're able to maintain your good technique and you're in really good swimming shape.  Generally, in longer races, it is really hard to maintain good technique and not get tired especially on 2-3 workouts / week.  Furthermore, for triathlon, you don't want to spend it all on the swim anyway.  So the advice is excellent, especially for triathlons, just not sure I totally buy the physics.

Calf was better today.  Will do some run and or bike tomorrow, especially if the weather cooperates.

Stu