Funked Up Triathletes - Season 2 - Olympic/Sprint Focus - Closed (Page 3)

1150 yard swim this morning. Really trying to work on form and concentrate less on speed, but it's definitely somewhat frustrating.
As for keeping track of laps, lately I've been making sure to hit the lap button on my garmin every 100 yards (or 200 yards). I know how long 100 yards should be taking so it's easy to check to see if I lost count of laps. I do wish my pool was longer though (25 yards).

One thing I made more of an effort today with was flip turns- disaster. Basically I keep misjudging the distance and missing the wall and then feeling like I'm going to drown. I saw others doing them so gracefully and I got jealous, lol. I ended up with a nose full of water, goggles askew and out of breath. After this summer, definitely need to consider joining a local gym that has a pool- that way I can get more than 1 day a week in the water.

I have the exact same problem- flip turns are a disaster that leave me with a nose full of water. Since my first tri is an open water swim, I decided not to worry about it for now, maybe later in the summer I'll try to work on that. I'm taking a vacation mid-July and one of the other family we're going with is a very good swimmer who has done some coaching so hopefully she can straighten me out.

When you flip turn, you need to blow out (exhale) your nose and mouth. This is something I leaned as a kid. If you want to flip turn, it helps to just practice doing somersaults in the pool. If you take your kids to the pool for fun (not working out) you can work on this with them. The ability to tumble over while blowing out will help with the problem of inhaling water. After that it's just sort of a matter of timing and practice. I can see how inhaling water would ruin the entire thing.

11/28 today with a brick
6.2 mile run
1800 yd swim after
Broken down:
1000 free continuous
100 kick
100 free
100 pull
100 free
6 x 50 sprints
100 free

Felt great after finishing and tonight, just hungry.
Someone had suggested to practice breathing on the opposite side every fourth lap to help keep count - worked well today ( though while I can flip turn with the best of them I never really practiced opposite side breathing!). It takes some getting used to - I never used it when swim racing but I'm always game to learn a new and valuable skill! Certainly drank a little water today...
Cheers,
Jenn

13/28 with a brick today.

20.08 mile (32.32km) bike in 1:16 - slower on the way out than usual but tore it up on the way back. 15.8 mi/hr

3.05 mile (4.91km) run right after bike in 26:29 for 8:40 min/mile - way too fast. First mile felt slow due to coming off the bike - felt like cement bricks on my feet. But I ran it better than it felt apparently. I felt fine after - just hungry!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and single moms out there! It's our anniversary to boot! #12!

A happy note - my older son's (9) baseball team (Red Sox this year) won their championship 1-0 off my son's RBI single! For a kid who didn't get too many hits this season, I was so happy for him. I don't think he even realizes what he did! hahaha

Have a great day everyone!
Jenn

Busy weekend- 9-13 of the 28. Yesterday ran a little over a 5k, then today did a Brick of a 16 mile ride at a relatively hard effort with a 2 mile run afterwards. Then swam today during the mandatory top of the hour break the kids have at the pool, and since a snack occupied them for a little longer I was able to crank out about 500 yards.

2 more weeks until my first race. Sort of an accidental taper coming up- travelling next weekend so I'll be able to get some runs in but probably no cycling. I need more work on running anyway.

Happy Father's Day to the other dads out there!

Happy Monday all;
Saturday got in my longest bike ride ever- just under 22 miles with 550 feet of climbing. My prior long ride was 18 miles so I spent the rest of the day pretty exhausted. I'm definilty glad to know I can handle the distance because my longest race this year is 22.5 miles (flat). Took yesterday off because we had a wedding in New York City (in central park) last night. Got home at 12;15 so also took this morning off- I'm exhausted!
Tomorrow the plan is for a run in the AM, maybe running again on Wednesday.

Had a little wrench thrown into my training plans for July and would definitely love people's opinions. I have a flat olympic distance race on Sunday, July 20th. Because of an extremely busy year with weddings, a niece or nephew being born in November and other stuff, we couldn't find time for vacation. So, we last minute booked a 7 day cruse for the week of July 6-13. Basically it would be the start of tapering, but really the last week of training before my race. I figure running won't be a problem as I can run on a treadmill a few days. Cycling though is likely to be tough, and swimming almost impossible. I was thinking I could do a spin class one of the days on board (if timing works out) and maybe do a few hundred yards in the ocean (at least I'll be moving). Jesse, what is your opinion?

Not Jesse but....

..your problem is not going to be the training. You should be able to get plenty of run miles in and have time to do plenty of biking. The swim will likely be short but....

..the hard part will be not gaining 12 pounds the week before your race with all the food!!! That's what you need to worry about!

HAHAHA. Surprisingly, that's the one area I can be good. We went on a cruise in December and we insisted on walking everywhere and only took the elevator twice (one with bags, and once because we were too drunk to walk, lol). Both my wife and I stayed exactly the same weightwise. We're really good all day and then enjoy dinner. I'm not a fan of buffets so it isn't that hard. I just remember the food is NEVER as good as it looks.

Edited by sethjk 2014-06-16 12:20 PM

It sounds like wedding season might be more dangerous than a week long cruise.

Like several others, I'm a bit of a tech geek. I love the "measurables" of the sport. I've learned to temper this a over the past year.

For Christmas I received a footpod that I was hoping to use to help assess and improve my run. Just this past weekend I got around to putting it on and calibrating it. I'm not getting run cadence data on my runs.

Last year, Jesse gave some instruction on improving run efficiency, form and cadence. Jesse, could you address this topic again?

Most people get an idea of run cadence by counting steps...I've always been terrible at doing this. So, the foot pod will be a big help to me.

I'll second David's request. When I bought a new HRM a few weeks ago I got a Wahoo Tickr Run, which also measures cadence and other things like ground impact time, vertical oscillation and the like. It also gives you a sort of "running smoothness" score based on those things. Unfortunately the cadence info doesn't make it to Strava right now, but it seems to make it to Training Peaks.

Any tips on how to improve running form and efficiency would be very helpful. Thanks!

Good morning. Yesterday was a 55 minute run, with HRM problems. Had to change the battery and wash strap. I think the salt build up was really problematic.
This morning went for a bike ride. Unfortunately somewhere between miles 9 and 10, I was coming to the top of a hill in the aero position and somehow I lost control and crashed. Fortunately I'm fine, just some scraped knees and a little sore. I think the bike is ok too but I'm going to get it checked out because the right brake hood appears to be bent inward. I'm no bike mechanic but from what I read online, this is an easy fix as the brake hood is designed to do this. Any bike experts with any thoughts? Here's a pic





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Certainly a good idea to get it checked out- if it seems to be functioning fine than it's probably ok. The main thing is to make sure the brake cable and hing mechanism aren't bent to where they might bind up every once in a while. With any luck they'll be able to just straighten it out. If not, you might be stuck getting a new lever.

Seth,

Get that bike brake checked out for sure, but personally I've had something similar happen and I just manuevered it back into place myself with no problems - try just pushing it back over to begin with - if that doesn't work get the LBS to look at it.

Regarding run mechanics you all can certainly check out the basic run advice video I did last year here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CfrdBoA2xs

The gist of it is basically maintaining a 90+rpm cadence at all times, long runs, racing, workouts, etc. etc. This has to do with efficiency of power output versus turnover. Additionally, at 90+ rpms it is just about impossible to heel strike - midfoot is the desired position. Your planting foot should be underneath your body (i.e. under your center of gravity) on touchdown. If it is in front of you then you get a braking effect, both increasing the amount of effort you need to continue forward as well as placing larger strain on your muscles (shin splints abound).

Body position is a slight lean forward. This actually comes from the ankles, NOT the waist. This is where a strong core section is majorly important. If you haven't had a nice straight line from your ankles through your head and then do the controlled lean forward before then your abs will be screaming at you or burning by the end of your run. Fortunately you know that you're doing it right if this happens. It actually still happens to me time to time depending on my fatigue level.

Running is often described as "a controlled fall." You should actually be getting help from gravity while running because of your slight forward lean - see the video for the little drill to get you to feel that position.

If anyone is interested, like last year I can do a run analysis for you and give you specific suggestions on what to work on. It would be preferable if you're okay to make your run video "public" within the group (I'd post it private on Youtube so random people aren't watching it) so we can all see different run styles and begin to analyze what we're looking for

We can also do swim analysis videos and I can post examples of video shot of me that I sent to my coach about 18 months ago when I was working with her remotely.

Good morning all.
1100 yards swimming this morning. Did 100, 200, 300, 500 yards. Felt great the entire time.
Just found out that the gym I was considering joining after the summer actually allows you to use the affiliated gyms at no extra cost. This is great because there are locations 5 minutes from home and office, and all have pools. These are hospital affiliated gyms, not big chains. Definitley joining after the summer as I'll be able to squeeze in lunchtime workouts multiple times per week (including swims- who needs to shower after a swim in a saltwater pool )

Not sure what kind of training I'll be getting done this weekend, maybe a run on the boardwalk on Sunday- hopefully.
Feeling pretty good post bike-crash. Just have some scraped knees.

Have a great weekend all.

Seth that's actually really cool. Co-op style gym membership. I don't think anyone offers something like that around here.

How's training going with everyone else? Any difficulties keeping up with your SBR routines through daily life?

Happy Monday!
Took Saturday off, though I did practice flip turns in my mom's pool. It's only about 30 feet long so that's all it was really good for. Knocked out a 15 mile ride this morning. felt one of my harder gears slipping so I may have to take the bike back again this week to get it checked out. Yesterday I did in fact get in a 5K run on the boardwalk. The boardwalk is .8 miles each way. I use it as kind of a recovery run as I have to limit my pace due to (1) people; and (2), I'm pushing my son in a jogging stroller. The goal is for him to take his nap during that time. yesterday he decided he wouldn't nap and just enjoyed the sites for 45 minutes.
Have a great day all!

The last two weeks were my peak weeks for my current training plan and I was pretty pleased with the way the plan closed out. I was able to increase my run frequency quite a bit. This week I'm tapering which is hard for me. I feel lazy. I need to make sure that I keep my eating right. My plan calls for Sunday and Monday (today) off before I resume some light workouts on Tuesday.

I'm curious as to other's take on my training plan going forward. Basically, here's my race schedule for the remainder of the year:
6/29 - olympic
7/20 - olympic (important race)
8/24 - olympic (fun race)
9/14 - olympic (fun race)
10/5 - 70.3

On one hand, every race is important to me. I want to get better each race.

My tentative plan is to start up another 70.3 plan the week of 7/8 with basically a 2 week build, 1 week descend (in terms of total volume) to lead me up to the 70.3 in October. This plan will have to be tweaked to accommodate the races I am doing each week, but I plan to basically just adjust the weekly volume accordingly to include the race data as part of the training plan.

Any other thoughts about this? In hindsight, I probably have signed up for too many races. Oh well.

Seth - running with the stroller is good work! Think of it as extra resistance training!

I just arrived home again after a weekend at my parents' house in the DC area. I did manage to get in a couple of runs, one about 3 miles with my wife at a pretty relaxed pace (she's just starting to run again after a couple of months off) and a 6 mile run myself. The humidity there is always rough, but I guess that's good to get used to it.

Sunday is my first race! I'll probably take it a bit easier for the next few days.

Good luck on your race coming up! Looking forward to reading your write-up!

I'm just coming back onto the grid - I've been camping since last Thursday which is great to recharge the batteries but less conducive to training. I'm at about 17/28 on my goal for the month with a double today (short 15.12 mile ride in 45 minutes and a 3 mile run) so it looks like I'll have to pull a couple more doubles this week to get there..... we'll see how it goes. Last week prior to camping it was very tough to train with the kids out of school and husband traveling for work. I even tried to do laps at the public pool during adult swim but there were so few people they didn't bother with adult swim and also didn't set up a lap lane. Multiple times the few folks walked in front of me as I came into the wall - i gave up after 300 yds and swam at the club the next day.

Wet suit came today! I haven't tried it on yet but open water swimming is on the docket for the weekend!!
Stupid question as I'm new - when you all ows and if your distance is unknown, do you just swim for a certain period of time? Do you map out a distance and go so you know distance? I don't have a gps for water so I'm just curious as to how others do this.

Best,
Jenn

Andrew - good luck on the upcoming race. Let us know how it goes. Write-ups of races are always fun to read through. Maybe that will encourage me to finally get around to mine.... ha.

Jenn - I'll be out doing my first OWS practice in a long time this evening with a friend. She's got a planned workout from our kind of shared coach (her full time coach, my part-time coach/advisor). I'll have a little more insight on how to productively use that OWS time after this evening.

David - One race a month isn't too many in my opinion. I know guys who will race 2 or 3 times a month some months - although they're in really good shape and use most of them as training.

I'm not sure about starting that 70.3 plan when you're talking about having what looks like your A race in July? I was thinking you said the ITU Chicago race coming up was going to be your A for the season? Personally I'd probably stick to jumping on the 70.3 work until after whatever your A race is, whether that actually is Chicago or if its your July race (don't recall where you're going off the top of my head, sorry).

Hello Funked Up Triathletes!
No workout today because, and how's this for irony: Back in March/April, three weeks before a half marathon, broke the pinky toe on my left foot climbing out of a tub-healed fine and was actually able to run on it. Sunday evening, stubbed same toe on son's jogging stroller. Hurt but ignored it until last night when I noticed very dark bruising. SO, surprise, less than 4 weeks until the NJ State Olympic Distance Triathlon, broken pinky toe on left foot. I have it taped up but right now it's a lot more painful than last time. I scrapped the idea of a run today and don't think I'll be able to run before the weekend. Really hoping it heals soon though because I need to do some speed work soon.

An issue I'd love everybody's comments on relates to race nutrition, especially for an olympic distance race. Usually, my pre-race breakfast is an english muffin with cashew butter and a banana. Being that I expect my race to go about 3ish hours, what type of nutrition should I be taking during the race? I bought some Nuun tablets, but I'm not 100% sure how to use them. I think liquid nutrition will be best for me, especially on the bike, and I don't love gu's. I have two bottles on my bike and an aero bottle (which still has to be set up). What are everybody's thoughts for those who've raced this distance? In my 1/2 marathon in April, I completely bonked around mile 9 due to heat and lack of nutrition.

As an aside, Jesse, can you explain what the sponge is for in the aero bottle? I bought mine pre-owned. Thanks

Jesse, to be honest, I don't have an "A" race this year. That sounds weird I guess but I don't think there are any that I have place higher priority on. Chicago- I would like to have a great race, but it's a multi-lap course and it's such a huge event (# of participants) that I am prepared for alot of things that could happen. July is the KS 5150. I guess that would be the race I'm looking to peak at, because there is more at stake as it's a bigger race than the others in terms of competition. Since I'll have about 3 weeks of solid training before 5150, I guess I should try to figure out a short booster program to lead up to that race?

Seth- that sucks about the toe, you're having a bad run of luck lately. I hope it heals quickly.

I'll be sure to post a write-up on the race when it's over. I do like reading what others have posted in the race reports here.

The people putting on the race are having a new athlete walk through on Thursday to go through all the logistics of the race, so I'll probably go to that. It's nice in that I'll also be able to pick up the packet there too, and I'll probably feel a bit more confident in the whole process of setting up my transition and running the race.

I'll take today off and maybe try to get in an easy bike ride tomorrow. My plan is to try to hit the race feeling fresh. No way I'll hit the 28 workout goal though. That's tough!