bigDH's accountability training a.k.a Beer Drinker's Appreciation Society (Page 35)

Out here in Massachusetts - it's gonna be 67 on Wednesday... It gives me hope that spring is just around the corner - at least for us.  It's been cold around here recently and we have actually had snow for the last couple of days. When does it usually thaw out there?  

I look forward to spring when I no longer have to ride my bike in a storage closet.  The upside for you is that you are able to get outside.  I totally love running in the winter - the snow gives you an excuse to slow down...

Alright..thanks...I have to recall that there was a time, years ago, when it took me half an hour to walk a mile.  And Rudy is right, thank you and Rudy for the reminder.

That workout sounds good to me.  With my kids (and what my coach made us do in college), the season starts out with drills and technique work.  Then we start adding a base to it.  Every 4-6 weeks I'll throw in a practice or that is technique specific (so not worrying about yardage as much as drills).  So eventually you will want to have your main workouts all about speed or endurance, while throwing in practices dedicated to technique.  But what I suggested and what you did in that practice are prefect right now.

Bad habits are so hard to break.  I've recently started coaching a team and I have this boy who's hand breaks the surface after it enters the water.  No one has ever told him this, and he's been swimming like that for years.  It'll probably take me 6 months to break him of that habit.

I swam yesterday (well sort of, only got in 1900 yds, mostly kick), but here's what my kids did (evil laugh): 
300 choice
200 kick

3x:
4x50 drill on 1:10
200 pull 3:15

12x100 on 1:40
200 kick
5x200 on 3:00

200 cool down

This is in short course meters. I haven't decided on today's workout... mostly likely working on sprinting.

Here's another workout especially for beginners.  You can adjust the number of time you go through the distance for a yardage you feel comfortable with.  This set is 2200 yards as written:

8x150 (75 kick, 50 drill, 25 swim)

8x75 (50 drill, 25 swim)

16x25 (swim)

Add a warm-up and cool down.

Thanks for the advice Mindy.

I got a 1hr spin workout followed by sprint training in this morning.  I'm going on my weekly intermediate 9.5 miler tomorrow, followed by swim and light 5.5 miler Friday. 

We're already halfway through the 2nd week of March people.  Keep up the good work.

On a lighter note, I got 4 penalties, and had to hit the showers early in my recreational hockey league game on Monday night.  Shameful.

Nice workout and good luck on your run today!

As for the penalties - it all depends on what you did and why you did it.

Off to the beer store this weekend with your list!

Mel:  Thanks for posting these workouts.  Unfortunately, I know as much about swimming as I do about nuclear physics.  Would you mind breaking the workout down and explain the steps, how their done, and what they're for?  For example - what is the difference between drill and swim?  What speed are you looking for in each exercise?  How do I improve my kick when it seems like it takes me an hours to make it across the pool?  Also, what kind of stretching should I be doing.  I know it's a lot to ask but I would love to get your advice!  Pretty please and Thanks!

I'm embarrassed to be part of this accountability group... I haven't worked out in days !!  I have so many lame excuses lately it's just sad.

Yesterday my gym locked the doors and closed.  I knew it was coming, just a matter of time.  Last week all of the group class instructors quit.  So I am officially gymless/poolless, so I'm dropping the swimming (which I've been considering for a while anyway, even though I really like it).  The pool is about a 35 - 40 minutes drive one way depending on traffic which means an hour swim is a 2 1/2 hour + session and with the cost of the membership plus the gas to drive there (its $1.30/L today) it really is not worth it for me, especially since I haven't actually done a race since Sept. 2008 (even though I still think I'm a triathlete.)

So in an attempt to get back on track the rest of this month the focus will be on running, with a goal of at least 4 days week, preferably more but that will depend on my periformis muscle behaving.  I am a total fair weather rider when it comes to biking outside so that will probably not start for another month but I'll try to get on the trainer a few times this month.

You all look to be doing a much better job then I at your training so keep at it everyone.

Great run! Looks like spring is arriving in Alberta...probably only a couple of snow storms left...

When is your next race?

good news: had a great little run this morning. Felt pretty good. 

Bad news: training has been poor this week. 1 run and 1 bike....Thursday.

Worse, i am taking my bike in for a tuneup tomorrow. Probably won`t get it back until Sunday.

Luckily my son`s hockey will be over as of March 18, so that will free up some time. Of course lacrosse starts about 3 weeks later which I coach as well.

I have got ot buckle down on A)my training and B)weight loss.

I would really like to improve my times by 10% and be 190 by the time of my `A` race this year.

Tsk, tsk, Kevin, shame on you! :-) Probably had the cooler full of beer half done by the time the rest of the team was done the game!

CathyD: Hey, stay on the board and we will make sure you get your workouts in. When everything else around you is going to hell in a handbasket, at least you can control your workouts! It is a great escape!

Melinda: bad habits remind me of when I was in the swim club( A loooonng time ago). I had a bad habit of not getting my one arm out of the water. My coach made me do 2 things. 1)bilateral breathing and 2) he tied a rope around my wrist and  walked along the side of the pool lifting my arm  higher...at the time I thought he was crazy at the time but I think it was more for me to think about it all the time. It worked in the end!

May do an 8k April 1.

Still waiting to see if they are running my first triathlon I did last year middle of June. If so that will be my next race for sure.

So I went to the Dr. yesterday and nothing good came out of that appt.  I have some class of infection both my Blood sugar and pressure were up and I feel yucky...always exhausted. I am only slightly concerned with the BP because I had just come from swimming and running two flights of stairs.

My diet has not changed, oh and I weighed a pound more which is really bothering me because I have really been watching what I eat. But on the other hand I could tell I had not loss any weight.

We went over everything and cannot figure out what is going on with me.  So now I have to monitor every little thing and how I feel and what I am doing.  I just want to feel good.

I have what's known as "little man's syndrome" due to my short stature.  On a good day, I stand 5'6" off the ground.  Sometimes, when players whine about the physical nature of the game, or take a schwack at the back of your legs as the puck's left the zone, my little man's syndrome kicks in.

I made sure I left a few in the cooler for the guys as they got off the ice.  Next week is the last week.  I'm looking forward to the freed up time to rest and train.

Sorry for the bad report.  Good to see you making the best of the situation and pressing on.  A well placed compliment goes a long way to helping us feel good about things.

It's funny, I was just thinking about Cathyd on my run this morning, and sending encouragement your way.  stay in the loop Cathy, we'll do our best to help kick you in gear.

Running today went well.  I took another 1:20 off of the 9.6 miler.  This is a particularly hilly run with some good ups and downs.  I ran in 1:15:11.  finally broke 8:00/mi pace with a 7:55/mi pace on this distance.  Next week I'm going to make my intermediate run the 11 miler. 

I swim tomorrow.  Looking forward to continuing the work in the pool.  That does NOT come easy.  I'm going to dream about "pressing my bouy" tonight.  Follow it up with a 5.5 mile recovery run.

After my run, I weighed 179!  I usually weigh before run, but that's hope for the future.

Hope all are doing well.  Keep hitting the workouts.