LaurenSU02's group - CLOSED! (Page 4)

Sorry you're still not feeling great. Don't push it, but just going EZ in the pool for a bit could do wonders. I learned a few weeks ago when I was sick to just take it EZ and listen to your body. Once you get a little fatigued, stop. You'll be back to your old self soon enough...it'll just take a few workouts. Feel better .

I hope the podiatrist meeting goes well. Keep us posted. I just got custom orthotics a little over a month ago, so I'm not a stranger to all this...

Take care !

That's a good idea, to start a plan. It should help with the consistency issues if you have a workout that you are "supposed" to do on a certain day, rather than just winging it. Good luck.

Swim Question...

How do you time your swim? 

I have been running my stop watch continuously for my scheduled workouts and have been around 2:30/100.  Today I stopped the watch at each break and my time went down to 2:15/100.  Is there a right or wrong way?

i love having the bronze membership.  i wrote my own plan (cuz i'm an analytical nerd like that) and imported it into BT.  and i just started having BT email me my planned workouts, to layer on the guilt.  today:  1:20 bike ride and 0:50 swim.  it's sitting in my inbox, telling me to DO IT.  

There are a few different ways to do it.  The easiest is to have a pace clock and just to work off that.  It takes some getting used to, but after a while you can actually take a look at your pace while you are swimming.  Beyond that it gets a bit harder and I think you are doing about what you should.  If you want to act like a pace clock, then leave your stopwatch running and leave at a specific time, like 00, 15, 30, 45 so you can know exactly what your end time was.  Timing and pace is a very complicated thing to do with swimming but once you get used to it you can become much better.

x2. I use a pace clock, and you can actually just use your stopwatch in that capacity, as dl mentioned above. I only really focus on time for specific sets/intervals, etc. And don't worry about overall time. If you're using a stopwatch, I would stop and start it at the beginning of each set; it'll give you a much better judge of your paces than just running it the entire time.

If you want to post a sample of your workout, we can suggest ways to best use time for it. When you start doing intervals (e.g., 10 x 100 on 2:00), you'll really need to use a watch or pace clock. That will mean you start the clock at 0 and head off on your first 100. You start your second 100 at 2:00 (or just 0 again, basically if you're just going off the seconds, which you'll have to do when the intervals descend or end on something other than 00 and :30, etc.). So, if you did the first 100 in 1:50, you get 10 secs rest; if it took you 1:48, you get 12 secs rest.

Like I said, feel free to post your workouts if you have any questions about how to "time" them .

x3. Definitely get a plan. I've never used BT plans, but I hear they're great. When you have a plan, you have no excuses. If you aren't going off a plan, it's too easy to just say, "Well, I was going to run tonight, but I think I'll skip it and just move it tomorrow, and then move tomorrow's bike to the next day..."

Congrats. We're gonna stay on top of you !

Thanks for the offer.  Today was the first real time I tried to do any sort of sets.  I have just been swimming to get my endurance up.  Now that I can actual swim for an extended period of time, I am looking to do the drills.  I figured I would start with the standard "X"x100 and work from there.  I also am going to work in the TI drills.  I will post as I do them. 

Stupid follow up question is if you are using the pace clock, how are you remembering all your splits?  

Good morning cool kids!

I'll though my 0.02 in.  (maybe by the end of the summer mentor program, we can buy some donuts with all my 2 cents!)

THE PLAN: 

GET ONE!!!!!!  Years back, I would train without one, and just did what I wanted to do that day.  It was KIND of fun not being tied down to anything, but my training really went nowhere.  I was not doing enough in areas, too much in others, not building correctly....  Really, I didn't feel like I was accomplishing anything significant.

A plan is a WONDERFUL thing, (and one from a coach?  Even better, but I have not done that yet - just stick to the "canned" plans on BT or my books, but modify them cuz I know ME a little better now).  The plan keeps you focused AND, one of the best things, tells you to REST!  Something I used to not do as often as I should, OR, I would go so hard on a Sun., then take the next 4 days off.  Not a good strategy.....

THE SWIM:

I used to stop the watch during breaks so I could find my actual average swim pace but I found that to be too much trouble.  So now I just let it run or use the pace clock, unless something comes up (like a pool side conversation!) that makes me stop it.  It bothered me that when I put my total time in the logs and figured pace (I'm anal that way), it looked like I was doing 2:30/100's, but I soon realized that I knew better, and anyone who was a swimmer who looked at my logs would know better.  Plus I list split times on occasion to get a feel of my progress.

THEN I stole a little trick from Lauren about a month ago - ha!  I don't hit the "auto calc" button in the logs!  Then it doesn't even put a pace down (which is wrong anyway) and I can sleep easier now!

Have a good day all.....

Well, if you are a mental giant like me, it's not a problem!

JUST KIDDING!, It's tough - I can't remember someone's name for the life of me.  HOWEVER, like anything else in life, the more you do it, the better you get.  I can now walk into my workout with it all in my head, and remember total time and about a dozen splits.  Do I remember them prefectly?  I'm sure I don't sometimes, but a second or two doesn't matter that much.

I wish I could tell you a memorization trick, but I can't think of one.  Maybe you just develop a nack after doing it for a while?  However, I sill use my Timex watch a lot too!  No shame in that.  As far as I'm concerned, if you are in the pool turning laps, and working at a good intensity - THAT's the important part.  But, it's hard to shake the craving for number crunching (at least for this engineer) so it's a constant internal battle!

Haha, same here. I walk out of the pool with so many numbers in my head, it's ridiculous. I forget them all within an hour or two...

This is my "problem" as well.   I am a numbers guy and the more data I have on my workouts the better.  I know it's a mental thing, but I need to know that I didn't have a worse workout(by the numbers) than last time.

I KNOW!  I have to kind of repeat them over and over in my head on the way home and rush up to the computer to get them in.  If I sit down and watch a second of TV or something, a joke on Sienfeld will push it all out of my head.....

I hear ya.  However, after doing this for a while, you are going to have some set backs.  That's part of training - and it's ok.  My swim has gone backwards the last month for some reason.  Lost probably 5 seconds per 100 somewhere (a reward to someone who can find them). 

I have learned to not get so hung up on numbers (it's been TOUGH though!) and only focus on the numbers that MATTER.  (for me, second fastest out of the water for my AG, AND the best bike split I have ever done in a HIM - it's still slow, but faster than last time!)  And even THOSE numbers don't matter that much.  They could be impacted by course, how you feel, weather.....  My most important numbers?  pounds and body fat!!!  WooHoo!!!!!   (and maybe the number of years I hopefully add to my life by training, huh?!?!?!)

Yeah, it is a mental thing. It really doesn't matter, so long as I am hitting the intervals, but I like to see how much I slow down across them, etc. And then, when I start hitting the intervals with a little more ease, it's time to make them a little tougher. (I'm always hesitant to tell my coach that...haha ).

You really should make some note of what you're doing and strive to make things a little tougher on yourself as you improve. For example, if you're doing your 100s on the 2:00, after a few swims, you might be able to drop it to 100s on the 1:50, etc. It's good to keep tabs on that.

If you don't do that workout, your training plan, and your inbox, will be very, VERY unhappy with you. Just roll with it!

Hi guys!!!  I got my butt wet today!!!  Woo hoo!!!    Good thing since yall have been talking swimming this morning!

As for me, I wear my watch in the pool.  Sometimes I time the whole thing with rest breaks included.  Sometimes I hit the split button so I know what my pace is during a set.  It really depends on the workout and what I am trying to accomplish during that particular workout.

Lauren

How do you find a coach?  How much do they cost?  Do you meet face to face or do you email and call each other?

so I decided to actually start using the Nutrition part of the log... <sigh> so not a good thing. lol.  my lunch alone was around 1000 calories.

 I was thinking about moving to a 6 or 5 meal a day schedule with like 400 calories each.  I will try to start that next week and see how that goes.

That, my friend, is the secret......  It will take a couple weeks to get used to it, but it's the way to go....

Well, I have a unique situation in that I knew my coach before he went into the coaching business. I was one of his first clients. I like him, because his education background is in exercise phys. He reads several research articles a week/month and can really talk to the physiology behind everything he does, says, believes, etc.

I had a good idea of what I wanted, his price was right for me, and I liked the idea of going with someone I trusted and wouldn't have any problems challenging, etc. I am also good friends in "real" life with amiine from BT, so through him I had learned a lot about what makes a good coach (or a coach I would want).

Prices and the relationship you have with a coach really varies. I talk to my coach almost everyday, but that's because of our personal relationship mostly. You can get a coach with whom you have weekly email contact and monthly phone contact, up to daily email and/or phone contact. YOu'll pay a lot more for more frequent communication. My coach also gives me my training plan each week or every two weeks. The frequency in which you receive your plan will also affect price. If you want your coach to review any files (HR, power, etc.), the price will probably be even higher.

I think the best way to find a coach is through word of mouth. You can also try google, and USAT's website. I just want to caution you that just because someone has a USAT certification, it doesn't mean they're going to be a good coach. Also, just because someone is fast doesn't mean they're a great coach. You really need to visit their web site and talk with them to get a feel for what they really know and what type of interest they have in you acheiving your goals. Before talking to a coach, you should have an idea of what you want to pay, and some idea as to what you think will work for you - frequent/infrequent communication, weekly, monthly, season plans, etc.

Also, I don't think face to face contact is necessary. I hardly ever see my coach in person for things related to coaching.

Here are Web site of a few coaches I like, just so you can get an idea. Please note that I do have a personal affiliation with each (not a business interest or anything, though, just know the guys involved):

www.etacoach.com <-- my coach's site

www.physfarm.com

www.pbmcoaching.com

I hope that helps a little bit.

I have been using this feature since Jan 1st this year. I'm not aiming to lose weight, but this really keeps things in check. I used to go on a long bike ride or run and eat everything in sight for the rest of the day! Now that I keep track it really keeps me honest. I've even lost about 5-10 pounds by accident over 3 months or so. I think the worst I ever logged here was a 3000+ calorie day, but that was superbowl sunday.