New Year New You...reopened for late comers (Page 3)

Good luck on the eye surgery.

1 small correction my username is SIGSBY.

Should I be logging other activities or just my traning sessions? I'll be spending a fair amount of time skiing and walking that I typically have never logged on this site.

Thanks,

Don

Hi Folks

Well firstly the good news from me is the eye surgery was very routine involved lasers and all seems well, I can see!! I had a couple of cataract operations last year and one of them required some additional attention hence the lasers yesterday. The better news is after 48 hours I am ok to start training/rehab training again. I have managed a couple of very short runs over the Christmas holidays and my back feels pretty ok so long as I stretch very well afterwards (massive part of training, make sure you hear me on this one)! Thanks for your best wishes.

Hello to the new members of the team, welcome to the group. I have been through everyone's introduction messages and produced a picture of what 2014 looks like for us all. Please review and make sure this is correct, from there we can start to work out specific topics and things to work on.

Neil
2014 Goals – To recover from injury and build fitness. Work on swim technique over the winter
2014 Season – To be determined in line with season goals, hoping to take part in a local 10k in May and then move onto a sprint triathlon

Brian
2014 Goals - work on swimming form, increase run performance.
2014 Season - 65 mile Tour de Cure ride and a Sprint Tri during the same weekend. My winter training is to prepare to survive that. Hope to do my first open water swim race in Sept.
Weight Loss: I am 6'4" and currently 215. Goal to lose 5 pounds after Christmas

Matt
2014 Season - Tri-It Sprint Triathlon in Delaware in June (Very flat, fast and short: 440 swim/10mi ride/2mi run). Then if not injured hoping to do two or three more Sprint events in July/August.

Marshall
2014 Season - complete in a local sprint or two (May and June), improve distance and make a good showing
Weight Loss: lose 20-25 to be fitter and help take some weight off of my knees.

Joy
2014 Goals- learn how to build distance properly as well as nutrition and hydration.
2014 Season – half marathon, Olympic distance and maybe end of the year 70.3

Virginia
2014 Goals - Losing weight and getting in shape are my main motivators for competing in a triathlon. To lose weight and truly love my self/body.
2014 Season- A triathlon in late spring or summer some 5K's and 10K's prior to this
Weight Loss - aiming for a healthy weight somewhere between 135-150.

Jennyfer
2014 Season - a 10K and a 1/2 marathon so far for March and April and by the end of the year, hoping for August?
Weight Loss - As of October 2013 20 lbs lost, aim is to lose 20 more, give or take.

Marc
2014 Goals - Looking for some accountability some good old fashioned discipline, of exercise and eating right. Build up running
2014 Season - Goals to complete 2 sprints this year

Don.
2014 Goals - Lose 50 pounds, increase average training runs from 5K to 10K distance, create and stick to a training plan that includes all three triathlon events
2014 Season - Complete an Olympic distance triathlon and complete a half marathon in the fall

Simon
2014 Goals - Ironman UK and improve previous time of 16 hr 33 min from 2012/. Main goals for the next 12 month are improving bike performance
2014 Season – Ironman UK

Rob
2014 Goals - Between now and April get familiar with the bike and swim elements
2014 Season - Waterloo Half marathon in April and then moving into local triathlons in the summer months. Long range goal of ironman 70.3 in the fall of 2015.

Mark
2014 Goals – Learn about triathlon training and apply structure.
2014 Season - Run some Half marathons, and get started on the swimming and cycling (2015 might be my goal for a Triathlon).

Jennifer
2014 Goals – increase running distance to take part in triathlon and half marathon and to become a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor (group fitness)
2014 Season - to complete at least 1 tri (North Bay Triathlon) and 1 half marathon.

David
2014 Goals – Set up a tri exercise plan with limited time.

Kim
2014 Goals – Get back into triathlon.

David
2014 Goals - Get to 7 minute miles for the 5K run, complete first century ride
2014 Season – Century ride and local sprint triathlons with sons
Weight Loss- Lose 40 lbs by end of year 2014 and 25 lbs by April 27th (date of century)

Danijel
2014 Goals - work on the cycling form. Improve running speed.
2014 Season - New York marathon and Disney’s Wine and Dine. Madrid half and perhaps 1-2 more in spring. Aiming for short distance triathlon in in late spring and perhaps go Olympic in July
Weight Loss - Currently 98 kg (215 pounds), goal to go down to 90-92 kg (195-200 pounds).

I hope training is starting to take shape already.

Neil

Great to hear that surgery went well and that you can get back into your routines right away. =)

That is a great summary of everybody's direction/goals.

I'm looking forward to a welcoming 2014.

Hi Everyone,

on the point of stretching correctly I found this very good video on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5BuC-bZ9WQrelated to swimming stretches and warm up.

I have been an awful stretcher over the years and this, in my view, is the main reason why I've had 2 failed attempts at training for a half marathon. I am now very strict on my self with regard to proper warm up and cool down/stretch.

The swim training scares me because of the huge risk of injury to the shoulder joints so I will be devoting January to shoulder strengthening, correct stretching and correct bi lateral breathing technique. From messages I've received so far the swim distance builds up pretty quickly when you get going so there is no rush to get the the 750m distance yet as far as I can see. I'm a swim novice of course so any pearls of wisdom are gratefully received from the stronger swimmers in the group.

You know you're not a good swimmer when the lifeguard stands and watches you in the 'ready' position!!! lol

Probably going to hit the pool on Sunday. Weather is so crappy for anything outside with such cold temps. Going to be rough, I've been out of the pool for 6 weeks now.

Spot on Rob stretching (and good posture) is absolutely vital, I know from experience as the reason I have been out of action since August is due to a very tight back through lack of stretching. Depending on what you read there are those who are in the stretch before and after exercise and those who just go for afterwards. The key here is the difference in type of stretching, dynamic before, static afterwards. If anyone wants a quick introduction to either then let me know and I will post on here, let me know.

I will post a separate note on bilateral breathing shortly, it is advantageous to do so but equally single sided is effective too, personal choice and whatever you feel most comfortable with.

Let us know how you go Rob and equally check on your body position in the water as this is key to an efficient stroke.

Edited by Wumba41 2014-01-05 10:49 AM

Good luck, the swim group I coach are back in the pool tomorrow night for the first time in 3 weeks, I wonder how that will be......!

Good luck, the swim group I coach are back in the pool tomorrow night for the first time in 3 weeks, I wonder how that will be......!

Cheers David, even managed a bit of running and indoor cycling this weekend....things are on the up!

Bilateral Breathing.

For those of you who are trying to perfect bilateral breathing I have detailed a couple of drills to help below, best done using swimming fins.

Swim on One Side
Lie on your side with a rotation of around 45 degrees from a flat position and your bottom shoulder and arm fully extended. Your ear should be tight to your shoulder with your head in neutral swimming position (neck aligned with spine and eyes to the bottom of the pool). The extended arm should be 3-5cm (1-2 inches) under the surface of the water. Fingertips should be slightly pointing down as in the initiation of the catch and your arm should be parallel to the bottom of the pool. The upper hand and arm should be relaxed and resting on your thigh. Move yourself through the water using a flutter kick making sure that your toes and feet are pointing straight back behind you. To breathe, roll the head to the side just sufficient for the mouth and nose to be exposed. As a guideline have one goggle in the water and one goggle out of the water when you breathe. The movement is a roll – there is no lifting of the head! Count 6-10 kicks then roll on to the other side recovering with the upper arm and taking a stroke with the bottom arm. Switch sides in this way every 6-10 kicks.

Single Arm Swimming
Swim with one arm performing a stroke while the other remains fully extended to the front throughout the drill. As the stroke is taken, the body should rotate correctly and then return to flat as the swimming arm comes alongside the extended arm. Take a breath when you need to, by rotating your head in line with your body as you rotate during a stroke. You should do this drill very slowly and wait until you are completely balanced in a flat position before taking the next stroke with the same arm. Swap arms to get used to breathing on both sides.

There are pros and cons with bilateral and single side swimming, it's personal choice and what you are most comfortable with that counts. One of the main advantages of bilateral breathing is helping to keep the stroke symmetrical. Here's a good article from swim smooth that explains it http://www.swimsmooth.com/bilateral.html



Edited by Wumba41 2014-01-05 11:20 AM

Simple answer is I would log any physical activity, in your case Don definitely the skiing and walking

Ok folks, the holiday season is over, 2014 is in full swing, if you are like me you may have been lazy for the past few weeks so we need may a kick-start to get us moving! So let's all post our goals for January and support each other in nailing them, I will get things moving.

1 - rebook in my physio sessions to work on my back
2 - start to build my running back up and aim to be doing 6 mile training runs by the end of the month
3 - increase my indoor cycle sessions to one hour by the end of the month
4 - 2 x strengths sessions a week
5 - swim once a week.

Ok that's me...let's be hearing yours now folks!

Neil

Hey Neil,
yes please send the piece on pre work out stretches. I've blown calf muscles twice over the last few years and I believe in both cases I tried to stretch a cold muscle before a run. 15 mins into the run its all over and a painful hobble home. I am paranoid about it now so I walk 10 mins on the treadmill with compression socks before I run, I don't pre stretch but I stretch religiously afterwards.

1. Lose 50 pounds
2. Increase average training runs from 5K to 10K distance
3. Complete an Olympic distance triathlon
4. Complete a half marathon in the fall
5. Create and stick to a training plan that includes all three triathlon events

Hey Don that's an impressive list of goals for January, or have you misread my post!?! ;-)

Hi Rob. Walking or jogging gently prior to starting your training run is a good thing to do and will help to avoid injury, good one. When I was doing my British Triathlon qualifications I learnt this very simple set of warm up/stretches which I use with the club athletes here. The video clip shows a session being held which includes the dynamic stretching after about 3.30. See what you think and give them a try!

Start with a two minute jog at a really easy pace.
Heel walks for 30 seconds.
?Shoulder and arm rolls for 30 seconds.
Side Bends.
Hip swivels.
Hula-hoop hips.
?Lunges.
Hamstring step-overs.
?Knee hugs.
?Butt kicks.
?Hamstring Kick outs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AutN2fDYOwI&feature=youtu.be

Neil

Hey Neil,
Glad surgery went smoothly. Here are my January goals.

1. 3x weekly pool work outs (every other week coached sessions starting next week)
2. 3x weekly strength work with focus on core
3. Stretch daily
4. Lose 3 pounds

So far so good for week one. My knee injury was diagnosed as due to muscle imbalance by the local surgeon, probably leftover from a torn hamstring last summer. Should be good to go by end of February. Won't have much bike/run base but need to work on the swimming anyway.

Hope you and everyone else in the group had a great Holiday.

Best,

Matt

Goals for January

1. DON'T GET INJURED! slowly build the base for running and cycling, otherwise on track right now
2. Aim to swim 100m (using bi lateral breathing technique) without stopping, drowning or any other impingement!

January Goals

1. 3x week on indoor bike trainer - work on both distance and speed improvements
2. 2x week in the pool - Specifically work on breathing
3. Run 1 mile everyday for 30 days (a 2014 Spartan workout challenge)
4. Drop 4 pounds

Too bad there isn't a "Like" button. If there is, please show me where.

2. Aim to swim 100m (using bi lateral breathing technique) without stopping, drowning or any other impingement!

Really good article about bilateral breathing.

A small point that I want to give. I believe that it is very important to learn bilateral breathing especially when you get into open water swims. Definitely practice in the pool during workout sessions and get comfortable. =)

1) Waves might cause problems breathing on your "natural" side
2) Other competitors preventing easy breathing on your "natural" side
3) Oxygen intake needed (Allows for rhythm breathing and opportunity for more air intake)
a) I do a breath right 2 times
b) With a 1 stroke (not 3rd stroke) I immediately go to my left side
c) I breath 2 more times on left
d) With a 1 stroke I breath right side again
e) Repeat

I have so many things going on for goals in January.

1) Get into the pool (long over due)
2) Ride 30-50 miles on single day weekend rides
3) Lose 8 lbs (already dropped 2.5 lbs in one week)
4) Get better sleep habits
5) Work on understanding and doing stretching to increase range of motion
6) Be cautious of my food intake (meal proportions)
7) Run at least once a week
8) Make sure my rides home from work 8.88 miles have meaning (different training objectives)
9) There are actually quite a bit more, but not quite Beginner Triathlete related

January goals:

1. Swim 1000m at a relaxed pace (I used to swim long-distance, so this is reasonable for me)
2. Bike 5 miles with moderate effort
3. Run/jog for an hour straight without dying!
4. Not get injured/maintain a regular stretching schedule
5. Eat healthy meals at normal times

by #5 I'm really trying to stop just eating when i feel like it - this turns into really late breakfast, a big lunch/dinner at like 4:30, and usually a dinner at 9ish. I know this is horrible, it's really an issue of being too lazy to cook meals and weird college cafeteria hours.

I want to focus this month on biking, since it is my weakest sport. For now I'm only doing indoor cycling, is this bad? I'm going to rent a bike at some point this week, and I'll buy a good bike at some point. I have no idea what type of bike to get, but I'm not too worried about that now. How often should I be on a real bike versus indoor cycling? When I'm cycling, should I be more focused on the distance I go or the time I spend on the bike? Time and distance are both important of course, but I am unsure how I should best measure these types of sessions.

Also, I have some questions about different training plans. Most plans are between 12 and 20 weeks (at least the ones I've seen so far). At the end of April I will be taking all my final exams for college, and that means I will be chained to my books all night and day for about 10 days. I'm taking 18 hours of classes so I know now that April is going to be a really difficult month for me. If I started one of the training plans today I would be ready for the Triathlon (supposedly) around April, and I know that I won't be able to spend much, if any, time exercising during finals week. I don't want to start a plan and then take a week off right before the end! I'm pretty unsure about what to do, so for now I am trying to go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week and get in better shape, thinking I might start a training schedule in 4-6 weeks? If anyone has a better idea I'm very open to suggestions.

Virginia

Edited by virginia_BT 2014-01-06 9:37 PM

Virginia,
I'm a Tri-newbie so can't speak to your Tri-specific questions but did have a thought on the last paragraph of your post. I remember what 18 hours worth of course work feels like......wow, good luck! But in terms of your training plan around finals week........many people, myself included find that exercise improves focus. In other words, while you may not be able to hit a hard-core, two hour workout, maintenance of your triathlon training plan, minus perhaps the longest of workouts, should actually improve your studying efficiency. I found I was much more effective when I hit the books after an hour run. Just a thought. Best of luck.
Matt