TriAya's Group: SHUT like dog on steak, sorry! (Page 30)

You will be fine - just really really stick to the training plan!

have you considered hiring a coach?

Thanks Beth!  I'll give it my best shot, that's for sure!

As for a coach . . . not in the budget . . . heck a BIKE isn't in the budget yet LOL!  Just kidding . . . kinda

Renee

I understand totally about the coach and the bike! 

maybe we can hook up before I leave for PA - also, I will be back on weekends - let me know

Thanks Shawn, good point . . . how can any of us go wrong, being in this group? 

I've still got a ways to go before a run isn't worth it to me unless it hits 5k+ LOL!  Hopefully in time . . .

That would be fun Beth, but it sure sounds like you have a full plate as it is!!  I don't want to add any more stress for you . . .  So if it works, I'd love to hookup before you leave or on a weekend . . . and if not, no worries!

I'm sooo glad I got the chance to meet you before you moved and I really appreciate your help so early on!  That made a huge difference in how I felt about my swims and made it much easier for me to stick with the workouts, and in turn see improvements (in endurance, if not speed LOL!)  I think it really would have been fun to be able to do some training together . . . but the timing just wasn't right . . . anyhow, I REALLY am happy that things worked out well for you with the job/etc! (even though you're leaving Omaha)   :P  Best of Luck to you in PA!!

Renee

It was nice chatting with you all tonight!  I've gotta sign off and get some sleep though!!  Have a great nite!

TriAya - 2008-01-18 12:41 AM Holy sea cows, you have been a bunch of mouthy Manatees! I *heart* this fantastic group and the constant support and enthusiasm. Time for me to unwind, rewind, and run my own mouth off in a bunch of sequential posts . 

LOL!  Have at it!!  I can't wait to see what great fun/info is waiting for us in the AM

Have a GREAT Nite!

Terri and Renee on CLIPPING IN & OUT, CADENCE

If you're on a trainer, there's resistance. And if you're not bouncing in the saddle, you're fine. 

Saddle bruising? Oh no! I know you have a good seat and bike shorts, so please tell me you are also diligently applying chamois butter. You could even slap a gel seat on TOP of your saddle until the tuckus toughens up (and it will, I promise).

Upping the resistance a bit is fine, as long as you don't dip much below 80 RPM (for now). You don't want to do that to your knees just yet (that's climbing, btw). You could also, every few minutes, just slow your legs down to a stop, lift your butt up out of the saddle, wiggle a bit (I'm sure people are really amused when they see me do this), settle back. It's like taking a walk break for your butt. I wouldn't recommend pedaling standing up just yet.

Clip in and out a couple hundred times before you get out on the road (although not all at once, of course!!!). I'm not kidding. On the trainer, practice braking, feel the bike slow down, and clip both feet out at the same time, plant them down (and slide off the saddle, if that's how your bike is fit. I doubt that the seat's high enough that you can't touch your toes to the floor, but if it is, then make sliding off the saddle part of your clipping-out practice). Do the second one-hundred (again, not all at once!) with your eyes shut. We'll deal with the road when you get to it.

It's harder to clip in and out on stationaries. I plunk just above the ball of my foot on the pedal, point my toe down, and push down hard on the pedal while sliding my foot forward. Clipping out is all about flicking the heel laterally outward quickly, like snapping a dish towel on a friend's butt. Snap that heel out!

Renee on SWIM SPEED

Good for you on getting into those lessons! Queen TinkerBeth is right--keep workin' on form, then endurance, and the speed will come. Great job on the endurance--and btw, 1.2 miles of endurance is worth infinitely more than a hundred yards of speed.

In running and biking, I seem to get incrementally better, whereas with swimming--including the six years I swam competitively--it's more like swim-swim-swim-seems-like-forever then BAM! (The times drop). Then months of swim-swim-swim, finally BAM! I'm not sure if others have had the same experience.

Renee on HIM training

First of all, SUPER CONGRATS on signing up for Kansas, and I agree with Shawn--you are a fantastic MANATEE and you are going to ROCK.

Five months is plenty to build a good base in the three sports. And you sort-of get a coach with a gold membership--use every resource you can to the fullest. And this is just my random thought (although the great coaches agree with me ha, ha, ha) ... people in their first few years of endurance sports really don't need to do a lot of speedwork, if any, before getting to the race. You're better off building a super aerobic engine.

For doing a half-iron, The Perfect Distance by Tom Rodgers is essential, and I don't mean when-you-have-time, I mean now, reading. Skim-read the whole thing through, then refer back to and re-read parts carefully as needed. The Triathlete's Training Bible (Joe Friel) you can peruse at your leisure. It's best digested chunks at a time.

Good luck finding an Oly nearby at the right time. There must be something! Trifind, active.com, post furiously in the Midwest forums here and maybe even post in THAT FORUM WHICH SHALL NOT BE NAMED ... heck, if all else fails and you're willing to go as far as Texas--then you may as well come and crash at my place, we have a gazillion tris all the time here. (That goes for the rest of you, too.)

What a wonderful journey you have ahead. I am so excited for you!!!

SHAWN (and Leslie) on running more than the plan

Shawn, go for it. It's not like you're an inexperienced runner. (I have a saying where it's not worth getting out of bed for less than ten miles, but then again, I am sick, you know. And I do--if grudgingly--get out of bed for less.) And you do already know what you need to do--look ahead at the week's workouts, and just make sure if you're adding more running in, that you're not putting a long bike session and run session on back-to-back days, stuff like that. Space things out. Ask here if you need help!

And like Leslie, if there's a ridiculously "short" run on the plan, feel free to safely bump the pace up a notch. This does necessitate a longer warmup and cooldown, though ... oh, look, a nice long brisk walk for warmup, 14 min. of slightly harder running, and another nice long cooldown--hmmm, it's just SAFELY become a 34-minute workout ... now THAT'S worth doing!

Also remember that if you do speedwork or some tougher intervals, don't do that in your next workout of the same discipline.

I'm pretty sure I posted this before, but I did make the mistake of just dumping marathon training on top of a pretty heavy Oly plan last year. If you're going to bump up any aspect of a plan, either in distance or intensity, yeah, definitely take the time to rearrange the week in advance, and look at where that particular week falls into the training month or even whole training plan.

Super! Glad you had a great swim. BTW--hot/fast guys in the pool are "pool piglets." Hot/fast girls in the pool are "swim sprites."

You will still be fit enough when you feel better...don't sweat it.  Maybe just take a walk or something to get your blood flowing, or tell yourself just do to five or ten minutes of whatever and see what happens.  I have sort of the same feeling today, but I forced myself into the pool and ended up having a really good swim. Then I rewarded myself with a steam.  Ah!  Time for some caffeine now.  I am a total coffee addict, I admit it!  This weekend just ease into it--depending on where you are in your plan, maybe you can make this your recovery week and start building again next week.

Erin on sickness, fatigue

x2. (All of you will need to remind me of this at least once this year ...) I'm sorry you are feeling icky, Erin. Believe me ... I feel ya!

Glad you had a lovely swim, Leslie!

Ok, this makes a LOT of sense . . . I've been unclipping one foot at a time . . . DUHHH that's not going to work on the road   Ohhh I'm sure the veterans in class are chuckling at me . . . haha

Thanks!

Not at all. Eventually, you can unclip just one--it's just my opinion that starting out, it's a heck of a lot easier to get used to unclipping both out at one--1. it's always easier to do the same thing on both sides of your body, and 2. even if one "sticks," you have a backup and are less likely to splat.

Oh, and my recovery's going fantastic, thanks for asking. Three weeks out and I'm nearly back to normal. Much better than I'd hoped for.

Yanti, I've got a question on my long runs, where I'm supposed to be building my base . . . My next long run will be approx 7 miles and I'm just wondering the best way to go about it . . .

So far on my long runs I have been aiming (based on an article you posted) to hit a target HR and then try to stay there.  I usually do this by starting my workout at a speed that takes me right up to that HR (after a warmup of course) . . . inevitably over time my HR climbs and I end up bringing my speed down to keep my HR somewhat level.

I noticed yesterday, that in a short warmup jog, I was able to keep my HR below that usual target for almost a mile, at a speed just a tad lower than where I normally start.  I am wondering if I should start a little easier the first couple miles (thus below the target HR), then add speed if needed in the middle to bring the HR up?

Hopefully this question makes sense to you . . .?

Thanks!

Definately want to avoid the SPLAT

 WONDERFUL to hear your recovery is going better than hoped for . . . WOOOHOOO!!