IronSteves Group Now FULL (Page 4)

Hi Zipp
I hav been quite busy and completely overlooked your first post. My deepest appologies for that. I see from your intoriduction you are quite on track with your fitness and triathlon will be a natrual progression for you. You also are doing some of the "other stuff" Pilates Core etc, that may not show up on a workout log but after my experience in 05 (with core) 06 (w/o and being lazy) and returning this year IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. Just an FYI, Lisa Bently has the 5degree C rule (I beleive it translates to 40degrees F) that she will not ride outdoors. A good indoor trainer is key. Layers should consist of an outer layer of Gortex material as the wind will go through about anything. Keep posting and sorry for the delay.

Steve

Start with some just doing the time. This will build your fitness. Once you get to a "good, happy" place, drills will help. There are some articles on types of drills for swimmng. For the bike I throu in 1 leg pedaling (great for the trainer) where I unclip one leg and pedal full circles with the other. Do this for a minute and swithc legs build in to a couple of sets. Other stuff can include sprinting 10 to 20 ses in large gear with a full recovery. For the run, I believe the November issue of Triathlete has some good run drill in it that goes through the A-B-C's that will help.

Steve

Welcome to the group Braedon,
You have a great goal of Kona. Have you tri'd before? I used TI swimming early on and my best advice is to STICK with it. It will be easy to go back to old stroke habits. It feels wierd but it works.What TI does is make us more efficient in the water. I struggled with it immensly and between Nov 02- Feb 03 I would not allow myself to do anythin but the TI drills NO swimming only drills. Then during the season in prep for my 1st Half Iron, 2 months out I spend 1 month on just doing TI Drills. I worked and I felt great after that swim. DId the same the next 2 years and It has helped.

In close ask any question, there is no bounraries or leagues in here.


Steve

Thor & Matt,

Cheers guys, definately right about taking your time on your stroke. Went swimming again today. 500m breaststroke & about 200ish freestyle (stopped alot doing the freestyle) got alot of work to do on my breathing.

Will also check out the link for that book.

May not need the speed boat engine after all, ha.

Mike.

Thanks for the motivating words and the insight into TI.

For clarification, Kona is not a goal of mine! Heaven's no. What I had said was that my close friend is doing Kona next year (qualified in Madison last fall), and that I'm not even close to being in the league of that group of friends. As you can see from my goals below, Kona isn't even a twinkle in my eye

1) Complete a sprint Tri
2) Get through the season virtually unscathed (knees aren't so good, hence the switch to tris)
3) Lose 25 lbs.
4) Motivate the fam, got some couch potatoes at the in-laws.


Thanks again Steve, looking forward to your forum.

Braedon

Braedon,
Your goals are great. Kona CAN be in your future if that's where you want to take tri. I recall starting this stuff and saying outloud that I would never ever do Ironman...A few years later ....Ironman Arizona. You goal of completing Sprint is well with in reach.

Steve

Hey Braedon,
The Ihaca tri club is doing their 5th Cayuga Lake Tri Aug 5. I grew up near Albany so I'm headed north for this one (live south of Richmond, VA now) The short course is 750 meter swim, 20 K bike, 5 K run. Intermediate is double all distances. Any takers for this one? Check out their site www.ithacatriathalonclub.org. I've had a hard time getting directly to the site so I've used www.visitithaca.com and followed the links from the events page
Judi

a strong woman knows she has strengthenough for the journey, but a woman of srength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong

Steve,
Thanks for the in put. I'm probably doing too much but I end to be overly compulsive (hence the pit bull ER RN...the only difference between an ER RN and a pit bull? the lip gloss!)

Am I doing to much too often? Here's the general routine

One of my days off from work is a bike/run brick followed by weights
Tues/Thurs morning 0545-0745 swim practice
Wed PM Pilates (when I'm not scheduled to be at work until 7 PM)
fit in another day of bike/run around work schedule If I go to spinning class I keep the run short, if I use the other bikes for a "zone training" or hill ride I run longer and have added intervals to my workout agenda at least once a week
On my weekends off I try to do something both days, when it's decent out I have a 7 mile loop in the area to run but there aren't any shoulders so it can be life threatening! Otherwise I'm at the gym fitting in what ever I feel I need more time in

When I started training seriously last fall I was doing 30 min each swim/bike/run followed by wts once a week but since the last 20 lbs came off I don't have the stamina for the monster workout day (Then I would fit in the other work outs around my work schedule)

I haven't figured out how to use the logs on the site, I just keep a notebook at home and keep track of any particular "issues" with the workout (knee pain after the last 7 mile run, needing rescue inhaler to get through the swim even though the peak flow was in an acceptable range...)


Judi

a strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she becomes strong

Hi all,

Have a question for anyone - what is best to wear for a tri????

I realise its better to keep transitions to a minimum, so i was thinking of wearing bathers and bike shorts for the whole thing, but.......

1. is it hard to swim in bike shorts, does the chamois bit fill up with water?
2. is it hard to run in no socks?
3. are elastic laces a good idea?

Kathy

Hi Renee,
Best summary is that 3 weeks after doing my ITB I ran a marathon wearing the Patt Strap. For me it does work but it does need to be pretty tight and you will need to get it in the right spot. I found that it was fine running straight line but not so great when I take a corner! For a pretty cheap product I thought it was worthwhile.

Just a big note that it does not "cure" ITB, it just enables you to keep running. You still need to do all those things to get it right (stretch and strengthen). For that reason I dont like to rely on it- I would rather get things sorted out and wear it only when I have to (ie when racing)

Cheers
Matt

Thanks Matt! That was great input regarding the Patt Strap. I think I'll forget going out to buy one and keep doing all the other stuf to prevent it from coming back.

Happy training!
Renee

Kathy
Good questions! Check out some online tri-specialtiy shops for their close outs and get a pair of tri specific shorts as they dissipate water. Ebay also has some in their acutions as well. With socks, use your judgement. If you are comfortable wearing socks, take the extra 5 to 10 seconds to put them on. But make sure you wipe feet off before putting them on. I am partial to lace locks for shoes because it eliminates the guesswork on shoes and tightness as well as you don't get untied shoes during your event.

SOme of my thoughts for youo

Steve

Zipp1,
Living with a nurse growing up I realize how difficult the job is and my hats off to you. It looks like your routine is well within training for an OLY distance tri (1.5k, 49k, 10k). Just adding some additional time and distance on long bike and run will help with endurance. One thing about strength, keep doing your core work and pilaties it will come in time. ALso, do you vary your intensities? That is another means to increase fitness levels. Do you do recovery weeks? Sometimes doing the same thing at the same intensities over and over can move you into a gray zone where no losses or no real gains. So some weeks it is nice to take it at a lower intensity and times.

Just some thought for now!
Steve

Steve,
I'm not sure I follow the varying intensity thing or recovery week right...Can you clarify that for me? There are weeks I will run or bike harder than others, sometimes based on time or breathing issues...For the most part when I strength train I do 3 sets 15 reps for all the muscle groups. I've been adding wt slowly and when I do add wt to the set I drop back to 1 0r 2 sets 15 reps to get accostomed to the new wt. I also will take a st training class from time to time since they hit the muscles in different areas and free wts are harder to 'cheat" the move than machines.
My swim coach uses a multitude of drills for form as well as speed so I just do what he says. In the 2 hours I swim, I may do a 300 m warmup, some kicking drills, shoulder tap drills, and a couple other that are trying to correct arm drop and such. The folks that I swim with in the first hour are all OLY/Iron accomplished triatheletes so they do 2400 m in that hour, it takes me 2 hours to get the distance but that's inclusive of all the drills. In the second hour there are people who are learning to get comfortable in water (still at the blowing bubbles stage) and one who just want to improve her technique for fun so it's interesting to see how he challenges me to higher ground with them.
I struggle with the bike because I just want to ride around and "enjoy the view" so I have to work and stay focused on riding hard. It's also hard to ride for training aound here since there are limited areas with bike lanes. My husband wanted to join an area bike club a while back but since he's back in school he doesn't have time to ride and we never joined.
As it warms up around here I'll probably increase my long run/ride time and cut back swimming a little (maybe only do 2 hours on one of the days) cause I know I need to pick up more time in those areas. I've just been swim focused because I knew I was pathetic in that area.
Hey, I tried to fill in the log the other night. Can't figure out how to do the st training part and add each exercise in. Any suggestions to make it more 'user friendly'?

J

Zipp
No problem. IF you were to rate the intensity of your workouts, lets say on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) scale. Would you say you shoot for a 4 to 5 all of the time for most workouts? Whne I say varying intensities is doing some interval work during a work out or even doing a "1" workout (The hardest for me to do!!!!). BTW_- There is nothing wrong with enjoying the view on the bike because in due time you will only catch glimpses of that view. Do you own an indoor trainer?

Steve

Hi Steve:

I'm interested in joining your team, if you still have spots available.

I'm 43 y/o and single ... it's just me and the dog and that is good for me.
I'm 5'11.5" and weigh around 222 pounds.

I registered at this site, I believe about a year and a half ago, but then came the hurricane, and so it's been a while since I've been back or since doing any training whatsoever. :-(

I'm an ex-smoker, have only been a non-smoker now for a couple of weeks, but without a doubt, I think I finally figured it out. I've been in much denial for many years about smoking and what it has done to my body.

I started doing very light training a year and a half ago, but I was training with a buddy, and he soon fell out of the program. Like most of us, I was working full time when I first started training and also attending the University of New Orleans, full time! Didn't really leave much time for too much more and once my buddy dropped out of the training program, well it wasn't too long before I followed. Since then I've only been a sporadic gym visitor at best, so I'm a true beginner, but my goals are just as real.

It's hard for me to be able to put those into terms right now, though I know that I want to start easy and slow and shoot for something that will be reachable, as to not overwhelm myself. I believe that I did that in the beginning and I'm trying a different approach this time. I don't know what events will be available to me around here or close by that I can attend, so have to do some research on that.

I really have a lot of reading/catching up to do to get up to speed with training sessions and or programs, but I didn't want the chance to get onto your team to go by and have someone else take it.

Right now, for about the last two weeks, I have been going to the gym everyday ... and doing Elipticall fitness for minimum of 33 minutes, usually some weights, and about 10 minutes in the pool, and I've been doing this pretty much every day.

Biking has been almost non-existent in my workout routine, though I'm hoping to start incorporating that into a workout program once I choose a training regimen.

Unfortunately, I have some sort of issue with my right arm/elbow that will be looked at tomorrow, and though it's somewhat painful, I've continued attending the gym.

I do own a bike, but it's not a Triathlon bike by any means, and so I hope it's OK that I will do most if not all my biking indoors ... at least for now.

So, my main goal right now is trying to figure out where to begin!

Thanks for the oportunity ... I hope you still have the spot open.

Hi Judi,

I would love to do the Cayuga Lake Tri, but it falls on the date of the Cleveland Tri. My friend Andrea won it last year, so they'll all do it again this year. I'm following suit (but trying not to finish last!). Thanks for the heads up on it though.

Steve,
No, I don't have an indoor trainer. I got the shoes and pedals for Christmas and told my kids they could get me a trainer next year (maybe I should ask for it for my birthday instead) Then of course I'd have to get some of those training programs...Man between the smaller clothes and gear this is getting pricey
Judi

Zipp
Check out ebay. Got most of my cycling component upgrades there. I purchased Dura-Ace components for under $1k...(pedals, crank, cassettes, sti's, rear and front deraileurs). They have trainers there as well, Just look at feedback of seller! Also, Performancebike.com and Nashbar.com have a variety of trainers too. Even during the summer I do at least one trainer ride per week where I can focus on form, cadence, not worry about traffic.

Steve

Braedon,

What do you call the last person who finishes a race in which you swim, bike and run? A triathlete!

Steve

DFL is better than DNS!!!!!

DFL is a hell of a lot better than DNF! (DNF- Great Floridian Iron "06)

Hi Steve,

I would love to join your group. I am a newbie but I am looking for a challenge. I have completed a marathon but it has been 3 years since I finished. I need to lose some weight. My plan is to run a spring triathlon in Austin, Tx. My biggest fear is the swim as I have never really swam for any distance or for exercise. I look forward to any suggestions and I plan to utilize the wealth of information found in this group and the website. I plan on using the swim focused 16 week program.

Touche Steve, Touche.

On a side note, how do I easily access your forum? I take a crazy route to get to it, usually searching through all the forums until I find yours. I absolutely love this site, but it does take some getting used to. Isn't there some way I can use a quick link?

Braedon,
I am not sure how I did it but I get an email notification when there is a post.

Steve