tcovert's Winter 2009 Mentor Group - FULL (Page 32)

Is my name enough?  Scott Richardson.  Listed in Champaign-Urbana, Il., network.   I'm becoming addicted too.

Off to strength training and then a run.

Hooked up with you and our mentor.  Anyone else on FB?

Update on swimming:

Bilateral breathing really is a plus.  I feel like my hips are higher and therefore I'm moving more on top of the water (maybe keeping my head down better?).  Whatever the reason, I think this is something I need to work on until I get it. 

My swimming coach is on board with it. He thinks it's a great idea.  Naturally, he even has workouts for it.  Instead of breathing every three times, he had me breath every 3 on a 25, every 5 on the next 25, then 5 on the next and then 3 on the next.  Instead of feeling like forever to get that third stroke breath in, it felt like a treat and easy.  I kept at it and I felt improvement.

Also, pull buoy drills really help at first too.  But as I said, and this was weird, I felt like I was still using the pull buoys when I went back to swimming.  High on top of the water, legs up, hips rolling, shoulders out of the water.  My main problem is a little lateness on pulling the breath, according to what he sees.  I put my hand in the water and begin to pull before I breath.  Should be simultaneous.  I'll get it. 

I went back to 3 swim workouts this week for more practice.

I think the bi-lateral breathing thing just takes spending some time in the water. I agree using the pull buoy helps, too. It takes the leg equation out of it. You might try on your own sometime using the pull and breathing every 3 and then 5 and then 7 and 9 if you can and just see how far you can go. Sometimes when I do a long pull set ( I love pulling) it can help break up the monotony. In any case--- great!

I've got to get back in some open water to practice soon, but the water is still under 60 and that's just sooooo cold. I'm such a cold wx wimp. 

On another note, newspaper related, saw where the Rocky Mt. News has folded. Really a shame. An old acquaintance worked for them.

And, not on Facebook . I have a MySpace but hardly ever go there. 

Yeah, loss of the newspaper sucks big time.  Others are declaring bankruptcy.  Our corp. has renegotiated loans from when they bought us and some they inherited so we may be seeing some light.  We are finishing four days of forced unpaid furlough by mid April, no raises and no 401K match.  They announced it the week after I agreed to buy an Orbea Ordu frame and ordered the parts for the bike.  Ouch. But, Kathy said to go ahead so I am.  We are hopeful the renegotiated loans will stem the need for more furloughs.   But, all that is temporary fixes.  Papers have to learn how to make money online soon.  The shift away from print to electronic is happening too fast.  They haven't figured how to charge for news so as revenues fall, they will have to let go of more and more folks.  In so doing, they lose their competitive advantage over other media, like TV and radios. 

This weekend;  meet with the cycling coach today; ride, swim and run Saturday, ride on Sunday.  Play a lot. 

Traveling this weekend ... in Austin already, actually.  Tried to use the gym, but I'm just not motivated right now and the machines here kinda suck   I'll be able to get a nice run in the morning though ... traveling truly screws with schedules and consistency ... yuck!

And Lynn, if you're racing this weekend, good luck!

Todd, I saw that you're doing the LA River Ride.  Thinking about it myself and I see you've done it before ... would you recommend it as a first century ride?  Anyone else thinking about it?

Hi all -- Yes, I am "racing" this weekend. It's a bike race. Never have done one of these. It's on Camp Pendleton and with my Velo Bellas. Maybe I'll get some photos to share. It's a 25 mile race and apparently a mile long hill in the first 1/4 of the race or so. I've been advised to start out strong, stay with the pack for as long as possible and just hold on. Maybe some of those cyclists' vibes from the the tour will have rubbed off on me. Let's hope. Sounds like a flippin' 25 mile sprint. OMG! I'll give you an update afterwards.

 Happy training to all this weekend. :-)

Todd,

Timing is right and I want to get a century in this year, so I think I might be in.  And ... I'd be fine with taking it somewhat easy for more than 25 miles

Lynn,

You've ridden on base before, you can handle the hill.  You've probably done it before, and I'm sure you'll do great!

Todd, as we say at WW, .2 is a sip of water or expelling all the air out of your lungs. Now, if that .2 turns to 5.....that's another issue.

I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath about my dazzling performance in the bike race yesterday...I was 8 out of 11th in my age group, firmly middle of the pack overall and averaged 18 miles per hour for the 27.56 mile course through the hills of Camp Pendleton. I learned a lot about bike racing--drafting is key. Staying with the lead group for as long as you can (I did for 1/2 the race) and then pedaling your a-- and legs off. I am posting a race report, but awaiting some photos from our group organizer. I must say the group of Velo Bellas kicked some serious hiney -- 2nd and 3rd overall women, and I think 8 of 13 got age group or Athena awards -- if I were only a few pounds heavier and a couple of years older..(NOT).  Up for this week -- r/b/s and ready myself for next Sunday's first tri (the Desert Tri, Todd).

Hope all of you are doing great!

Oh, I took my bike in for new tires and a tune up--we'll see if she rides any differently come Tuesday. 

Anyone else's blog stuck on Feb 1st this morning??????

Sounds like you had a great race! Good job!!!

Hi everyone, sorry I haven't been around. I've had the flu this week along with all 3 of my kids. Nothing you can do about it, but it's kept me from workouts.

Glad to see you're back Paul, and keeping your normal positive outlook! Good job in the race Lynn! And everyone seems to be making great progress into  warmer months.

 Next month, April, is when I will start my official Ironman training. This month will be ramping up to comfortably (clears throat) be able to handle training volume.

Off season is now over for me, I just hope my knee injury is totally healed, and doesn't re-surface. I love training, so I'm stoked!

Jake

Lynn - great job. 

Good luck to you guys on your upcoming triathlon. 

This week I swim 3X, run 2X, bike five times (hoping for outdoors, temp is coming up) and meeting with my beginner tri club and the running class.   There is a race this weekend, 5K, waiting to see how it fits with the schedule. 

Looks like we're all on board for training this week. Glad you're feeling better Jake. My son was sick all last week with the flu.

Todd, you'll get back down there on the wt. It does seem to take longer as we get older and closer to our preferred goal, I agree. I used to be so hard on myself (before the 30# loss) and my husband would say, "Give yourself a break and you'll lose 10 lbs.). I used to think he was just being snooty, but I realize I was beating myself up over it. FWIW.

Good luck on your taper, Todd. My new coach doesn't want me to taper much at all this week. The sprint is kind of another training day with food/water stations and lots of other people, and uh, oh yeah, I'm paying for it. That said, I'll be going all out. How about you? Are you hoping for a podium finish and some hardware for your trophy wall?

I'm going to get out this morning before work for an easy swim. I need to get in the water. Gills are drying out. 

Happy training!