Ryan and Mike's beginner group - CLOSED (Page 4)

haha, I'm bad with names too.  No worries.

What an awesome goal to accomplish together! When I ran the Portland Marathon there was a mom running with her teenage daughters in my pace group. I really hope that in 10 years my kids will want to do some races with me too.



I'd say that counts! And I'm going to count the 30 minutes I spent playing big game hunter with my family tonight too!

I like your style!

I have a mac and I just used Fireworks.

so psyched to finally get in the gym...never thought i'd be so psyched to get to abs class, lol, but man did i need it. actually heard the first encouraging comment to date about sprained ankles, from a guy at the gym who said that air casts/splints are amazing. nice to hear something positive for a change, instead of the 100th repetition of "man, sprains are so much worse than breaks, good luck with that."

hope y'all are having a swell day.....
marla

Goals:

Here are my thoughts on goals.  This is just my point of view and there really isn't a right or wrong answer.  I would love to hear everyones thoughts on goals.

Goals should be reasonable and achievable, but push you at the same time.  It's also good to have short term and longer term goals.

Reasonable - Given your talent and fitness level the goal is achievable.  An example of an unreasonable goal is me becoming an NFL football player at 44 years old and being 5' 7".

Achievable - Through planning and executing on your plan, you should be able to accomplish your goal. 

Modifiable - Once you embark on achieving your goals, don't be afraid of modifying them.  Like many of you here, my goal a couple years ago was to complete a sprint tri.  I started in April of 2009 after completing my first half marathon and my goal was to complete a sprint tri later that season.  After learning to swim for several months, it was obvious I was not going to achieve that goal in 2009 because swimming came very slowly to me.  I modified the goal to completing a Sprint tri early in 2010 and continued on.  It was a set back, but I kept it in perspective, didn't get down on myself, continued on and achieved my goal in May 2010.

Tiers - I like to set up tiers or levels of achievement for certain goals.  For triathlons the first tier goal for me is to have fun.  The second is to finish feeling good about my race.  The third is usually a reasonable time goal for me and the fourth is usually a stretch time goal. 

Within your control - The goal should be under your control.  While typing the paragraph on tiers, it dawned on me that I also have age group and overall placement goals, but they really aren't under my control.  If faster racers show up, my placement is greatly affected even though I may have raced just as fast at this race as my last one.

What are your views on goals?  Do you have a plan to achieve your goals this year?

That is really good Mike.

For me I need to be specific with my goals.

And it really helps if they are visible. I am getting better at planning ahead, but when I trained for my first marathon I printed out my training chart and stuck it by the calendar... that way when I got up in the morning I saw exactly what needed to be done that day as far as exercise goes.

I had to have faith in that plan too, because in the beginning I didn't believe that I would be able to run the distances prescribed for the plan since I had never done it before. After doing it for a month I figured out, well, if the chart says to do it, then I can and I will complete that run.


I am so excited, b/c I just found out that there is a local church that does Crossfit in the am for free! I've wanted to do this for a while, but I haven't been able to pay for it. So tomorrow I get to go with my neighbor!!! Yay. I hope it's as good of a workout as everyone says it is.

S.M.A.R.T goals have helped me. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.html

Great idea with having your workouts printed and visible.  Good point about having faith in the plan too.  A lot of training is mental.  If you tell yourself I'm going to do it because the plan says so, you are likely to do it.  If you tell yourself you can't do it for whatever reason, you are likely not to do it.

That is cool you get to do Crossfit for free.  I've never done it, but the price is definitely right :-).

How much sleep do I really need?

I work 11 hour days(start at 5:30am) at a desk but I can't seem to get to bed until 9:30pm or later.  I got up this morning to do my 26 min bike ride at 4:10am and I am thinking I will have to get up at 3:30am just to get my morning workouts in.  Any suggestions or ideas?? 

Thanks for the link.  That is a nice concise page on the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting method.  It's a good method to develop meaningful goals.

I am a stay at home mom of three, I hope you don't think I am being sarcastic when I say that I also work long hours... because it's true. LOL

Anyway, my opportunity to work out is also super stinkin' early, especially since it's so cold and snowy now. The nice thing is that in the spring time I have more flexibility as I can run outside with the kids in the stroller. Biking and swimming I will still have to find time for.

I get up about 4am (and also at 12am and 2am to take care of kids) and I try to go to bed anywhere from 9pm to 10 at the latest. What helps the absolute most is having a consistent bedtime and wake up time.

I know some people can't do this, but another thing that really helps me is a short power nap in the afternoon. I seriously lay my head down on the table for 15 minutes while the baby is asleep and the other two are enjoying some quiet time. (I used to 'sleep' in my car for a power nap b.k. (before kids) when I was working.)

Also, be sure to take all the breaks alotted to you by law... I got a some flack for that when I was working in health care, but it's necessary to take care of yourself so that you can take care of others. I feel really strongly about that.

If this early morning schedule doesn't work well for you, you could switch your workouts to night time. For me that is much harder than getting up early.

Edited by Brightbow 2011-01-10 7:22 AM

Sleep is important for repairing muscle damage caused by working out.  Everyone is different as far as how much sleep you need.  Workout intensity and age also play factors.  You can experiment with it and your body will let you know how much is enough.

The older I get, the more sleep I seem to need to feel rested in the morning.  Couple that with early morning workouts and I can't keep it up for many days in a row before I get tired and grumpy.  So I shoot for 7-8 hours per night but will occasionally do 6.

For the group of us that are not lucky enough to work 9-5, as well as having kids, dogs, houses, etc, it seems like getting work outs in  can be tough.  Even though I'm pretty much gone from 6-6 everyday, I try to get creative somedays.  If I know I can't get anything done for the day, I've measured the distance from one side of my office to the other(78 down and backs = mile)  Again, i'm lucky to be able to get a swim in over lunch, and I could bring my bike to work.

Getting good sleep has been one of my biggest challenges - so hard to stay healthy, focused, and strong on too little sleep (BTDT).

RE goals, inasmuch as I agree with the PRO's of having them, and having them as concrete & visible as possible, also good to have back-up plans, as I'm learning now the hard way......

Thanks for the input everyone.  I think since my bike training on Wed. and Fri. are going to get longer and longer and I choose to do them in the morning I will have to go to bed early on Tuesday and Thursday.  That means everyone else will have to go to bed too.  I will let you know how that works out!

I did my very first swimming training today.  What a geek!  I had to put a hat thing on and bought some googles, finely figured them out and went down and back.  Thought I was going to die then did the kickboard down and back and rested.  I wore myself out and ended up doing the last few sets down-stop and rest-back stop and rest.  I couldn't believe how hard it was.  

I am doing the 20 wk sprint balanced and thought I might throw in swimming on Saturday too.  That would give me 4 days swimming, 3 days cycling and 3 days running, also doing 3 days core exercise (15 min max) and some strength training (couple days of 10-15 minute weights).  And Sundays off.  
 
Should I add an extra day of light swimming on Saturday?

Everything I have done so far has not given me sore muscles or felt like I have over done anything.  Even after swimming I felt great.
 

4 days/week of swimming should yield some pretty obvious improvements -that's great. And what a plus that you're not hurting. I like how you're getting in a lot in little increments, like small chunks of core & strength training a few days a week..I've thought about that, but have a hard time doing that....that is, I tend to either do all or nothing, and lately has been more of the "nothing."

Good luck with that getting to bed thing, too - you could become my role model in multiple ways!

I agree if you would do 4 swim's a week, you will really see a change.  I did almost the same plan as you last year, doing only 3 swims a week, sure made gains week after week.   Either way just don't get frustrated and you'll do great.   Its funny how last year, down and back a few times was crazy, now this year a mile is fun haha. 

My opinoin is focusing on breathing is the most important.  Just get comfy in the water, the rest will come together.

Like Ryan and Marla said.  The more small workouts the better in my opinion.  And don't worry about the swim.  I was dying after a lap when I started too.  Perservance and accepting being humbled were key for me.

GREAT!! 
I will put a light swim in on Saturdays!!
I did practice my breathing even when I was kicking with the board.  That alone needed a skill I have not yet developed.  I am working on it though.  I am doing the 3x then take a breath and breathing out in the water.  It sounds simple but it does not come naturally.  I will keep working on breathing 


Doing laps is a lot harder then slashing around the pool

Thanks again everyone, you all have been a HUGE help!!!!
Tanya

Tanya,

One thing you can try to assist with your breathing rhythm is to try doing some stoke drills.  A good drill to try is "Catch-up". Keep your legs kicking, but your arms alternate.  So with your left arm out in front, start a stroke with your right arm and touch your left hand, once you touch, your right arm stays in front and you do a stroke with your left arm.  Your one arm must "Catch-Up" before you start the next arm.  This is a drill stoke so it is slow. 

Take your time and make sure that you are breathing out when your face is in the water, so that when you come up to breathe all you need to do is inhale.  This is key for getting a smooth rythm you need to make sure that when you take a breath all you need to do is inhale.  Many people try and exhale and inhale during that moment when their face is out of the water.  You don't have time to fully empty your lungs and fill them again before you need to continue your stroke.  Blowing bubbles during your stroke is key. 

Take your time in figuring out your breathing rhythm, obviously if you can't breathe you won't be performing to the best of your ability.

I hope this helps!

I agree with Adam, the catch up drill is a good one.  There are a couple others I'll add during the swim topic, hopefully Adam can add some more.  I did a quick youtube search for a video of the catch up drill.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fszey7mJSb4&NR=1  . 

Mike

Sorry I havent put in any feedback recently.  Its been very busy for me.  Ive tried to catch up on the posts and here is my quick input.  
For me sleep is very important.  It is a necessity for recovering from strenuous workouts, and I need the rest going in to my next work day.  I have done a complete overhaul of my diet, and now that I am eating much better, I have found that I have extra energy to push me through the day. 
I appreciate the goal idea.  I have never thought about so many different ways to set a goal for one race.  As it gets closer to April 17th, I will need to start putting together my personal goals.  I completed my first complete pool mile yesterday in about 31 minutes.  I know its not a real mile, but I am happy with the accomplishment.  Its cold here in Mobile right now, so I have to ride the trainer or do spinning classes for my biking.  I could be a little ahead of where I am now, but the plan is in place. 
Im currently in the market for a wetsuit and I was wondering if any of you have one you like the most?

Last question (please hold your applause)-  what are your favorite songs to listen to while working out?
my top 5:  waka waka- shakira
                dog days are over- florence and the machine
                no love- eminem
                like glue- sean paul
                start me up- rolling stones

Cliff good job on the 31 min mile, I would be happy with that(since my fastest is 34:58)  I'm sure in the next few months you'll shave some time off it.  Since your leading up to NOLA, like a few of us, it will be interesting to see the different goals everyone sets.

As far as wetsuits go, I bought a used Quintana Roo Ultra Full last year, worked great.   I did just pass on the savings and sold it to a newer BT member.  I'm pretty sure Mike has been using the Xterra, as well as my Tri team, for the price there pretty nice and people seem to like them.  Ive been looking into 2XU, blue seventy, Sailfish suits, haven't picked anything yet.  Everyone says you should try one on first, but thats not always easy.