Swbkrun mentor group - Closed (Page 34)

kt65 - 2013-02-03 9:00 PM

Terps421 - 2013-02-03 7:45 PM

congrats, Linda!  what a nail biter, we will be looking to get back next year.  

Yes, congrats to the Ravens fans!

And Kim, you 49'ers will have to get past us Seahawks next year... I can tell you, we are all chomping at the bit already!!

I just want to let everyone know how far Cheryl has come.... she started out only doing a version of the breast stroke with out putting her head in the water.  She now has advanced to swimming the breast stroke (correctly) face down!!!  This is a huge step and accomplishment, especially since it only took you four lessons (one lesson per week).

For everyone out there....

      If you could help with some advice on how to improve or what someone should be doing to make the breathing part of swimming better and easier.  Is there a certain way to do this?  Do you take a quick breath in and slowly breath out?

Cheryl,

    Just an FYI we are NOT rocking it!! we are chocking down chlorine water as we are struggling to breath, but as James would say "it will come with practice and patience"  (his way of saying he will kick our butts to the point it will seem easy soon. lol).  I know that we will all eventually get used to the breathing and find a pace that works for each one of us individually. 

AND YOU ROCK!! your running has gotten nothing but better your swimming IS improving and your biking was already awsome to begin with. and with your PT on your knee you have come so far. If you feel down always remember the first run we did. lol.

I'm one of those people who couldn't get from one end of the pool to the other two years ago.  I didn't have any swim training, coaching, etc.  But I decided I wanted to learn how to swim.  I had seen people swimming and it seemed so graceful and fluid.  They made it look easy.  So, at 44 years old, I bought a pair of goggles and went to the pool   It makes me laugh out loud to think about how little I knew.  I got in a lane and luckily there was a woman in the lane next to me that took pity on me.  She described a couple things to me about breathing, and turning my head, and I thought "ok, sounds good" and off I went.  I pushed off the side of the pool and glided along just long enough to need to breathe.  Then, I inhaled the pool water and came up coughing....and laughing. 

She, on the other hand, didn't laugh at me.  She recommended I grab a kick board and practice kicking  with my face in the water to get used to the feeling.  Then when I got used to that, she had me try to keep my head down and just turn it to breathe.  This was not so good because I was going too slow to create any kind of trough to breathe in.  So I kicked with fins and practiced breathing. 

I think I next turned to using a pull buoy and focusing on the arm movement and breathing at the same time.  I was one of those people Kyla mentioned that was kicking like crazy and going nowhere.  I needed to take my legs out of the equation for the time being.  I think I held the kick board in front, and took a stroke with one arm, and then the other, using the kick board to keep me from drowning. Holy smokes, I drank a lot of pool water that winter. 

Swimming is one of those things that is really hard, and seems slow to learn, but then gradually it will all come together and you will be thinking about the next refinement in your stroke.  Stay the course and do TONS of drills!!

Well, I got an appointment for tomorrow morning.  Sounds like they really cater to athletes.  I asked about getting an assessment of my running form at some point and they said they do that.  Super stoked!.  My knee feels a bit better than last week but not nearly good enough.  lol  I think my new motto will be if something hurts, go swim!  No reason to push on the run or bike when things hurt.

Hey Suzy, thanks for the offer of help. Sorry, guess I should pull my big girl panties up on this, but not really sure where my problem is. I swim 20M and my heartrate shoots through the roof. I feel like I take in more water than air. So, I try to visualize myself swimming correctly with form and technique (I'm big on visualization), but it isn't helping.

Maybe I just need more time in the pool or maybe I am not relaxing enough in the water. Candice says I need to find a rhythm. I think that may be part of it. AAAARRRGGGHHH!!

Thanks

Cheryl

I don't have a bunch of advice for you just words of encouragement.  Last July I couldn't swim across the pool unless you count doggie paddle.  Friday, I swam like 2400 yards in an hour.  No, I am not fast but I can swim now.  You are doing it right by taking lessons.  I did that too.  My instructor had me use fins and a snorkel in the beginning.  I would NOT advise that.  Made it really hard to transition out of.  You will get the hang of it.  Stick with it.  It just takes time.

I have to disagree here.  I think fins, paddles, pull bouys, etc. can be very effective if used for the right reasons.  You need to use them for specific drills with a specific purpose, and not let them become a crutch.  If you use them as a crutch, they are hard to transition out of.  Use them for a drill and then take them off or put them down. 

I would agree with Jayne.  One of the coach's I worked with introduced me to a snorkel because she didn't like my body position or pull pattern and wanted to take breathing out of it until I had refined those two things  It built muscle memory.  Is it hard to transition back to add breathing?  Yep, but that's the next step in the process.  I woudln't forgo the tool if it is recommended.

Swimming doesn't come easy for some, but then again running isn't easy for others.  We're all different and have to work at our own pace.  Biggest piece of advice is not to give up, believe that you will eventually get it and relax.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Swimming is the only sport where you're ability to breath is restricted so getting enough air in to keep you comfortable is the first thing to crack. Don't worry about speed, just swim some laps concentrating on blowing bubbles out the whole time your face is in the water so that when you roll over to breathe you can take a full breath. Use a pull buoy if you need to so you can concentrate on one thing at a time. Also, keep your stroke rate fast enough that the time between breaths isn't too long but keep it relaxed and rhythmic. Once you've got breathing sorted do lots of drills every session until your body position is streamlined. Finally work on your catch.

We're not spring chickens, we're seasoned hens!!    I read that somewhere and thought it profound!  lol.

Michelle (48 and just starting this sport...YIKES!)

James has me using fins. No snorkel. I think if I tried that I would truly drown.

But I will use all of the aids I can get my hot little hands on to help me out. I fessed up and told Michelle that I had such a bad experience swimming this last Sunday that I went home and had nightmares about the trialthlon we are all signed up for. Lol!

Thanks everyone for all of your input - I'm gonna put it to work this Wednesday when I am back in the pool.

Cheryl

My first race is in two weeks. Its a short duathlon (2.5K run, 10M bike, 2.5K run) that I signed up for to help prepare me for my first triathlon in April.

On Saturday I simulated the race on a flat country rode that bikers in my area enjoy. My wife and kids are amazing. They dropped me off, drive down the road, set up a makeshift transition area behind the car and cheered me on! Once I took off they load up and drove down the road to create T2.

I'm really glad I decided to do a mock race before the real thing. Here's a quick list of things that I learned:

• Multi-sport mode on my Garmin 310xt. I didn't realize until after I was done that I could still see my current pace time. One of the windows on the watch face read "BIKE" or "RUN" and bumped the pace block off. Two hits of the up arrow would have put me on the right screen. Because I didn't know my pace, I ran my fastest mile ever to start the run, 8:32.
• There's a reason that I've heard everybody talk about elastic laces. It hit me in T2 that I now needed to put on the double-knotted shoes that I slipped off in T1...
• Sunscreen is needed, even in February.
• Switching my watch from my wrist to the bike in T1 is something that I forgot to do.

My results:

I plan on repeating this simulation one more time next weekend to make sure that I've learned my lessons. I can't wait!

Caleb

Great idea!!!  And so awesome to have a family that is supportive of your sport.   It's probably too late to get these for your race, but I use them in all my running shoes. Very easy to take your shoes on and off in the heat of things. And they never come untied.

This is awesome.  My family usually doesn't even realize that I am racing the next day, until I sneak off to bed early on a Friday or Saturday night ...... 

Congrats on your practice.  I will 2nd Minnow's suggestion of elastic Laces, you will never go back once you switch (even when you don't run that much...).  However, make sure you put on some miles with them in your shoes before racing in them.  

Thanks for the recommendation. I just ordered a pair. Hopefully they make arrive in time to break them in.

Wow!  You're doing great!  We're planning a duathlon in April and the idea of practicing transitions is a good one that we will have to do.  Again, great job!!  Oh...and now I want to try the elastic laces.

Michelle

Caleb, great work on the race practice.  Transitions are so important.  It's the 4th discipline in triathlon, and the only one where I can smoke the competition.  You should see me get ready for work in the morning

Suzy,  I really like the look of those laces.  I'm going to try them for my next ultra.  I like the idea that I can adjust different areas of my shoe at different tensions without it slipping.  I'm thinking these might be really good for my ultras.

x2 - my family came out for my first race but haven't been back since... well, I take that back, my wife came down to Galveston when we all met up down there, but she dropped me off the morning of the race and went off to do her own thing...   its all good though, I don't sit through the 4 hour Jane Austen movies either

I will echo the elastic laces - don't cinch them down too tight though, or you will have create an issue across the top of your foot.  Second, for your actual race,  I would strategize a bit - go out at about the same pace as practice for the first 2.5k, get on the bike, get a comfortable hard tempo for the first half and then consciously start dialing it up for the last half of the bike, then for the final run - just go like a mutha' until your cross that finish line...     me speaks from experience on this strategy...  I'm usually the one that goes off like a rabbit and then everyone passes me after I go KABLOOM.....

Gonna stir the pot a bit, although I know someone else is much better at that than me...

Not a fan of any elastic laces here. I've tried several (including Suzy's) and I just never, ever feel like they get adjusted well. I'm hyper-aware of them when running and never as comfy as I am in my basic laces. My shoes feel slippy or too tight or just weird. For triathlons, I just make sure to untie my shoes and open 'em up and I can lace 'em up within about 15 seconds total, probably. I'm never within 15 seconds of any fabulous prize, so the time spent lacing is, for me, worth the comfort!!

Weirdo!  It definitely takes a bit of time to get them to the point where the knots are in the right location, but once they are you can't beat them.  Never have to worry about a shoe coming untied, bending down mid race and cramping!  Plus you can remove them and use them for a very long time.

There has been some talk about little aches and pains around here.....   I found this article interesting.  Especially #7.  

Let the debate begin.  

Oh, & Elastic Laces rule ......... from a recently very-low mileage runner!  

Much of it makes sense to me.  I believe that strengthening you core is working all the muscle groups that stabilize the spine and with that can come less injury and better performance.  I think too often people do some planks or crunches and think they're covered.  That's only a small part of the chain. I also agree that the more you do this crazy sport, the more pain tolerant you become.  Pretty sure when I first started out I wouldn't have walked a full marathon with the pain level I had on IM race day.

Hey all,

Went for a run after work. The weather was perfect 60 or so. Then the run started and before i knew it the first mile was done then the second,third, and the fourth. Here are my times was practing for a 4 mile race on Sun. The goal was sub 40 mins.

Mile 1: 9:09( thought great job! but did you push to hard?)

Mile2: 9:45(ok still under 10 but do can you pace for 2 more miles)

Mile 3: 9:55( ok one more mile and you have a few seconds to spare)

Mile 4 : 10:24(that mile seemed like it took forever!!!!!! but u were sub 40)

Total time 39:27 feels great to see the training is working!! I have been in a lack of motivation slup as of late. I see now to just do the exercises.

I was about 2 miles from where I parked and walked most of mile 5 and decided to finish strong on mile 6 and it was another PR for 6 miles considering walking one mile.

Total time for 6m was 1:04 my best yet.

I was super stoked with both PRs. I had to tell someone who would understand.

I'm totally jealous of your weather, but really glad you had such a great run!

So, now that you've simulated your race and gotten the result you wanted, what will you do differently come Sunday to ensure that result or better?