TitanIV Group FULL (Page 3)

Last Week:

Completed my second week of the 20 week program.  Feeling much more energetic throughout the day.  I'm now exercisizing regularly, but my diet has changed  ---yet.

Registered and paid for my first Tri!  --> Canandaigua, NY FingerLakes Sprint Tri in September.  No turning back now! 

This Week

Follow week #3 of my 20 week training program.  Intrigued with the idea of getting a heart rate monitor from last week's discussion.  Any suggested brands on a basic model? Thinking about some diet changes - not yet ready to give up my 'comfort' foods.    

LAST WEEK:

Feeling good about the running.  Still working on balancing the "job" with the training.  This is challenging.  Played around with the nutrition a little bit and really focused on eating 30 minutes after training (I had been using 45 minutes as a guideline but the 30 seems to work better for me) and basically have adopted the notion that there are three phases of eating... eating to prepare for the next workout, eating to get through the current, lengthy workout and eating to recover from the workout.  Does that about cover it?? 

THIS WEEK:

Three runs and six rides planned.  I'm going to try to use some of the rides as "recovery" rides and see how that works.  If possible timewise at some point this week, I'll add a short fourth run to do a brick.  Planning to immerse myself in Total Immersion.

Thanks for the yoga tips. I have looked for yoga classes but around here it always seems to be like 7PM near work and not near home. I can't justify taking more time away from the family. Maybe I will try a DVD but then I worry about doing it right with no one to correct you.

Welcome back! What cert did you go for? I have done and taught a number of computer certs in the past. Sounds like you went to one of the bootcamps.

Yes, having enough food at work is key. I always have extra Clif bars, Kashi bars, Kashi cereal, almonds etc stocks in my office. Another key for me is if I miss an afternoon meal, no matter how much I eat for dinner, I am starving the rest of the night and will usually snack.

The HRM is helpful. Actually, your low resting HR is probably due to being active. For instance, mine right now is probably in the 50's, but my Max HR is 198. The key is to find your Lactate Threshold and train off of that HR. But you probably are over doing your easy workouts. I remember when I first started running a few years ago and got up to 3 mile runs. I would try to beat my last time every run :-) Talking about over training and I got to the point where I was skipping runs because I wasn't mentally ready for another all out run 2 days later! This is when I started researching and was quite happy to see that easy runs were good!

Good job with finishing your second week! One thing to be careful of when starting heavier training loads and dieting is to eat enough. Basically you want to try to shoot for 500 cals less per day than what you are burning. I know that my body will stop dropping weight if I am training heavy and not eating enough! It is quite frustrating to being exercising and dieting and not lose. Usually I will take a week to eat less strict and the body will let go.

I use the Polar HRM and have no complaints. They have models from $50 to about $400. A couple deatures I recommend are lap times, average HR, average HR per lap. The computer download is cool for a while, but I probably haven't used it in two years now :-) The avg HR per lap is good for when doing intervals or tempo runs you can see you HR for the hard parts of the run. An example would be my scheduled run this morning that I missed :-) had me running intervals with 5' @ my LT with 3' recovery. Well my avg HR for the run with a warmup mile and cool down mile would be low, but I would want to be able to see my avg HR during the 5' hard runs.

Glad to hear about the running! Not sure what to tell you how to arrange all the spin classes. Too bad you could have some base training classes that are easier :-) The eating 30' after workout are most important for first workout when having two in a day or if a workout in the evening and a hard or long workout the next morning. This is to quickly replenish your glycogen stores and give your body food to help with the recovery.

I started with the Total Immersion book and it does help. I would say that I did more regulr swimming than what he says. You do need to also build up endurance and doing nothing but drills for weeks doesn't help with that. I basically would do the drills at the start of the workout and then some free style trying to focus on what the drills were focusing on.

Last Week:

I completed my second full week of my Oly plan after doing a winter run focus.  Got my long run back up to 10 miles and had a great run! I did miss one bike as I was whooped and had a hard long bike Sat as it was firgid (well 50's is frigid on the bike for us FL boys :-) ) and windy. I started doing a run after my swims for a time saver. So far this has really worked well. I will have to see what happens when my swims get longer.  I swim at an outdoor pool that has a nice park with a running trail. Overall a good week.

This Week

This week is about the same as last week as far as volume. Will increase swim distances and try to get long bike up to 50m.  Swimming feels like I am starting to get my endurance back. I will worry about speed later when I feel less sore!

Last Week:

Continued spinning using HRM.  Bumped swim workouts up to 1500 yds, but made sure to continue to incorporate some swim drills (catch-up and fist).  BTW, TI is what got me more comfortable and streamlined in the water.  It was pretty exciting this week to complete a swim workout where all of my sets (up to 400 yds) were faster than 2 min/100 yds.  Continued brick (bike/run) workouts, and HRM runs.  Last long run (10 miles) before next Saturday's half marathon.

This Week

More bricks planned, although this morning was a mess.  Hopped on the stationary at work, and the resistance was off.  Couldn't get the resistance low enough to maintain a low HR (120).  Didn't matter anyway, because although I brought my HRM chest band, I forgot my HRM watch .  Hope to get an hour run in after work.  Dropping swims to 1400 and 1000 yds this week to taper for half marathon (Saturday).

Last Week - Last week was ok.  I didn't skip any workouts, but I did have to cut one bike short because it was just not happening.  I felt good most of the week.  The run on the dreadmill sucked, but I don't live in Southern Fl so I'm going to have to deal with that every now and then.

This Week -  I'm not starting out so great.  I couldn't get my workout in on Monday because of work.  I'm using Monday as an off day and doing Monday's workout Tuesday.  That will make two days of bike and run.  I'll have to see how that goes.  I also skipped my non-scheduled swim workout on Saturday last week.  I'm going to try to make that up this Saturday.

OK, yes, yes, so we all know I might be slightly biased , but FWIW...

I would highly recommend a spin class once a week provided that you are definitely getting in bike time on the road, too.  If you are using a trainer regularly, you could drop one of your trainer rides and hit a spin class instead.  IMHO, taking a spin class is a more effective workout than using one of the stationary bikes on the fitness floor because spin bikes are slightly different as they are intended to more closely  resemble a road bike.  Plus, it's motivating & fun... and can be great for networking with other athletes.

With that said, not all spin classes are created equal.  You might have to try out a few different classes to find an instructor whose style suits you.  You want to find one that is closely simulating an outdoor ride... you know, someone that has actually ridden a bike outside as an adult and maybe even owns a bike .   I'm not so certain that you need to take a specific base building class, though.  I think any spin class is going to accomplish the goal of building your base provided you listen to your body's cues/use a HRM.  However, without knowing how spin classes are structured at your gym, it's tough to tell.  If there's a link that shows the various classes offered, I could help you wade through it.

As far as your mtb background, if you're not too familiar with road riding, you might want to get some direction on drills.  Again, a strong spin instructor will model this in every class.  Whereas on your mtb you are focusing on your technical skills, on the road you are balancing speed, strength and endurance in order to ensure a good ride with smooth transitions.  If you use a spin class as a practice, you can then put the skills into play on the road.  Be sure to bring lots of water, a towel and, if you've decided to get one, a heart rate monitor. 

About the leg pain when you ride... have you had your bike fitted? 

Good job last week! Good luck in the race Sat. Bundle up :-)

Good job taking the run along slowly and not injuring yourself! Good job on the diet too! Yes, we tend to eat too large of portions!

Yeah, I don't like to swim in the ocean alone, but will sometimes. I like to have my wife drop me off a mile from where we are going and swim there. Or just do an out and back. We also swim in the river when it gets warmer. It's good practice for races.

Wow, made all your workouts! Some days you will not have it! No biggie, just move on :-)

Be careful with making up workouts. Can lead to overtraining and/or injuries. Try to focus on getting you key workouts in. This is usually a hard workout and a long workout. These are the workouts you want to get in and skip others if you have to.

Congrats on your cert! For your bike, take a look at how you are riding and how your bike is fit.

A spinning class would be helpful. Even take one hard one if you are doing 2 a day like some people :-)

This is some good advice from the spin expert! One of my training buddies does spin classes twice a week and a long ride outside.

Good for you for listening to your body and responding appropriately by cutting the ride short rather than continuing on just to finish/stick to the plan.  You'll be better for it in the long run .

So how is everyone doing this week so far? During my long run I had a few rambling running thoughts to share.

The long run should be slower than your other runs. IF have a HRM, keep in Zone 2 as much as possible. The long run not only helps build up your endurance and muscles, but also your ligaments and tendons. IT helps them to get stronger so you don't get injured. It also causes your legs to develop extra capillary (I think right kind)  veins in your legs to bring more oxygent to your muscles.

When you are new or coming back from injury, be sure not to go too hard. You will get faster just from going out and doing easy runs and being consistent. I good tip for when to start speed work was  when you have a base of over 20m per week for a year. Otherwise you will get faster just from running with less chance of injury. I can attest to this.

For the bike. If you have not done so, it is very helpful to get a fitting. I am not talking about the bike shop guy getting you on it and saying that looks pretty good :-) An actuall fitting that you have to pay for. A big factor for me was comfort. I felt a huge difference in comfort after my first fitting. This is also to help prevent injuries if legs a repedalling in an incorrect way. A good site for some very detailed information is http://www.slowtwitch.com/

Also, if looking for a bike, get the bike that fits the best over the one you want. Some bikes fit different people better than others due to torso, leg, arm lengths.

jhanton - 2007-01-25 6:43 PM For Tri races, what are your recomendations for a road bike purchase? I'll be sure to be fitted on the new one I've heard buy a good frame and then get your own tires... buy used... buy new. So, from a group of experienced Tri bikers what are the recomendations??? I don't need top of the line racing, but something that wouldn't be considered beginner only either (know what I mean?)

If you're planning to use the bike exclusively for training and participation in tris, then I'd recommend focusing your search on a tri bike instead of a road bike.  If you are a recreational cyclist and/or participate in group rides or cycling only events and tris are one part of the bigger biking picture, you might appreciate the versatility of a road bike.  I know you were looking for more specific information about particular bikes, but I think you first need to decide which type of bike will best meet your needs. 

jhanton - 2007-01-25 6:43 PM For Tri races, what are your recomendations for a road bike purchase? I'll be sure to be fitted on the new one I've heard buy a good frame and then get your own tires... buy used... buy new. So, from a group of experienced Tri bikers what are the recomendations??? I don't need top of the line racing, but something that wouldn't be considered beginner only either (know what I mean?)

There are lots of different opinions on this, but a common one is this: If you are new to tris, buy a road bike first. Don't buy a high end one but something you can comfortably afford. Put some aero bars on it for tris. If you really get the bug and stick with it for a few years, then buy a good tri bike. Now you still have a road bike for group rides and centuries, training, etc. and a racing bike. Some groups and centuries will not allow tri bikes.

At this point, do not worry about aero racing wheels. Buy a decent bike. It is generally more expensive to buy a frame and then buy the components. This is generally done by people who have the components from another bike for find a special deal and put them on a better frame.

There are tons of good road bikes and probably would be best to find what fits you the best. For tri bikes, the Cervelo Dual and P2 are good, the Felt S22 is a great bike, QR and others also have good bikes. You can also Google for bike sales.

Some good reviews on some bikes are at

http://www.slowtwitch.com and http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/

First thing to do is come up with how much to spend. Keep in mind, that depending on how much gear you have, you may need to spend another $200-$400 for shorts, jerseys, helmet, pedals, bike computer, etc. Then you can see what is in your price range and see what is available.