Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 4)

Thanks Curt!!

Name: Suzielea/Suzanne

My Story:
I had a heart transplant in 1995 at the age of 11 and hated P.E during school. I think it may have been more the teachers and the fact that it was mostly team sports and I wasn't really as fit as the other kids although I did tend have a try at most of the individual stuff (athletics, swimming, gymnastics, etc) even if I was way behind everyone else (walking the 1500 and 3k cross country.) I also gained a bit after the transplant so when I was 15 I decided to do something about it and joined a local gym which I got bored of quickly. I also used to walk and/or ride to school (3.2k/2M) but I wasn't consistent and it wasn't at the same time I was going to the gym.

Anyway fast forward a few years and I joined another gym in 2007 which I couldn't really motivate myself to go to because it was a little out of my way and if I walked there I felt I'd already worked out enough. So joined another one less than a mile away that opened up in 2008 which I've just dropped out of because I can't afford it and wasn't going as much as I should. So I'm going to work out a way to workout at home. I also decided to start walking in October 2009 and got up to 4.6M as my longest distance at the end of August  which was followed by an illness/lack of motivation layoff of about 2 months (mid September - late November) after which I started walking again using the Hal Higdon 5k walkers program which I had to repeat a couple of times due to illness (cold which aggravated my asthma.)

My current training consists of:

Hal Higdon 5k plan (week 3 right now) -
http://www.halhigdon.com/5K%20Training/5-Kwalk.htm - which actually means it week 6 going on the way he counts it as he does count downs and I do count ups and some bike riding. I'm hoping to make that 1-3 with the same or simalar lengths as the walking. I'm also considering turning my 4th walk (Sunday) in to a recovery walk of the same distance as the weekly ones along with a long bike ride of the length specified

I am looking to finish this up to week 6 as I have a 4k that week and then start the Agressive C25K program from this site. I would also like to bring my riding and swimming up to at least sprint distance.

My races for this year are
Mother's Day classic 4k on May 9 (walking) and a5.7k on October 9 which accompanies the melbourne marathon (run or run/walk). I am also aiming to swim and bike sprint distances as I've been looking at some of the tri's available in Me,bourne this summer

Weight loss:
I'm currently around 114.3 kg (18 stone - 18.1 stone) and am looking to get down to around 90kgs by the end of this year. Ultimate goal is at least 59kgs as that's what the websites I've visited say is the upper end of my ideal weight range.

I believe I would make a goood mentee because I'm eager to learn and want to improve myself to get fitter for both myself and my job so I can keep up with or assist the students as needed.

Thank you for starting the group

Suzanne

I'll get back to you with the answers to the questions you posted on the last page soon, but right now I have to go visit social services so they'll give me my money tomorrow. To give you an idea of time difference it is 11:24 am on the 11th of April as I'm typing this

Tracie- I recommend learning the drills from Total Immersion.  We swam them all throughout club team, high school and college.  It's SUPER important to learn how to balance in the water (believe it or not) and the drills help with that. 

I'm not convinced that their breathing technique is the best for a beginner.  They teach to you bury your head and that's because many beginners have trouble keeping their feet on the surface to kick.  Kicking on the surface is important for reducing drag because drag slows you down.  By pushing your head under water your hips will pop up. 

The alternative is to press your sternum towards the bottom of the pool, but keep your eyebrows at the surface of the water.  As you pull with your right hand, for example, turn your head to breathe, but keep one eye underwater-it's super weird to get used to, but it let's the water support your head instead of the muscles in your neck/back.

Thanks, Curt!

Sorry, it looks like I didn't give you all my name...oops.

My name is Kate.--Now that thats out of the way, the important stuff!

1. When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance?  The Auburn "World's Toughest", Mini Sprint Distance--400m swim, 8 Mi. bike, 2.5 Mi. run; May 22, Auburn, CA
   
2. What is the farthest you have swam?  I have only swam in a pool, but continuously--300m (once...and I was WINDED!!!)
   
3. What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim? I don't know, I have never gotten timed...I think I will this week...
   
4. Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke? Yes, just not very well, and slowly...
   
5. How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long? 3-4 times--up to an hour each session
   
6. Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard? Yes--Didn't like the pull buoy--but I'm cool with the kickboard.
   
7. Do you know any swim drills? Yes--I like doing them except for 'catch-up' drills--I always lose focus and swim like normal...
   
8. Do you have a wetsuit? I am getting one at the end of the month--hopefully--I hate being poor!

List updated with Kate's name included:

Hi Suzanne, thanks for posting your bio!  It's great that even when you haven't been able to consistently go to the gym in the past for one reason or another, you look for another option. 

Getting sick often is tough-it definitely makes it harder to work out.  When you DO start getting into a swimming groove, go super easy. 

I posted a swim workout last month that I can send you if you'd like.  It's a basic beginner's workout that you can work on for several weeks until you get comfortable.  It focuses a lot on legs since most people beginning swimming don't realize how important it is to build endurance in those core muscles/hip/butt muscles to a) keep your legs kicking and b) keep your body from sinking.  SO, I think if you work on getting used to kicking first, then you can let your heart/lungs build endurance without too much trouble breathing.

Thanks to those who've starting answering the bunch of questions I posted.  It helps me figure out who knows what. 

To explain about some of them...

I wondered about distance to see if your current swim fitness is inline for your first tri.

I ask about 100yd/100m pace because pacing is VERY important for triathletes!  It's important to learn how to control your rhythm so that you feel fresh and strong throughout your swim AND when you exit the water.

I ask about the different strokes because it's very important to work your muscle groups differently.  I encourage everyone to do some backstroke each time you swim to help loosen up your chest.  Breaststroke is great for hip strength only if you do not have knee problems.

I believe my goal for everyone in the group is to swim at least twice/week, so that's specifically what I'm going to look for in everyone's training log.

An important thing to know about swimming is that speed = hand speed and distance per stroke.  How far can you go each time you pull one arm?  It depends on a lot!  Hand speed is best to work on closer to a race so that you get those fast twitch muscle fibers working.  But for now, we all should work on distance per stroke.

The next time you go for a swim, count how many times your right hand enters the water for 25yd/m (or 50m if you are at a longer pool).  Remember that number and try different ways of decreasing it (through your kick/pull).  I have seem many triathletes take 30+ individual pulls for one length of the pool, but it's better to get closer to 20.

Thanks Curt!  Will enter everyone as friends now.

Good night everybody! 

WittyCityGirl - 2011-04-10 2:10 PM

50andgettingfit - 2011-04-10 12:19 AMIgnore my last post! I was trying to post a picture and it was too big

Bummer! Do you know how to resize it?  I'm having trouble with BT eating my responses to you all. I know have to copy everything before I send it "just in case" ugh.

No, I'm not sure how to resize pictures. Any of the pictures I take with my good camera are always too big. Someone explained it once but I still couldn't figure it out

• When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance? July Not sure of distance yet, but its a sprint and doable.
• What is the farthest you have swam? 1000 yards
• What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim? Really slow.
• Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke? All-none well.
• How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long? 2 times/week until June. Then 3-4 times/week
• Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard?  briefly
• Do you know any swim drills? none.
• Do you have a wetsuit?  Nope.  You have your work cut out for you with me.

1. When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance? My first tri will be on May 7, the Rio Salado Olympic in Tempe AZ. My daughter graduates from ASU the following weekend so I'm going early for the tri and then staying for some girl time before the rest of the family comes for the festivities.
2. What is the farthest you have swam?  3000 yds 
3. What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim? My master coach just timed us last week. My fastest was 2:13.
4. Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke? Yes but my breast stroke is pretty awkward!
5. How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long? I try to swim 3 days a week for 1-1 1/2 hrs depending on what else is going on that day.
6. Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard? Yes, both.
7. Do you know any swim drills? Yes, just the ones my masters coach has us do.
8. Do you have a wetsuit? Yes.
9. Just for backround, I started swimming in February 2010. I spent the first month at a community pool just trying to to keep my head in the water and breath. Then I started going to a masters workout. It's a great group but I continue to be one of the slowest people there. My endurance has grown tremendously but I am just sooooooo slow. I know a lot is technique so I'm going to love learning from you
10. Johanne

1. When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance? May 21st - 5K, June 18th - My First Tri, 200yd, 8mile, 2.5 mile, Sept 10th - Beach Blast Olympic
2. What is the farthest you have swam? 800-900 yards last summer, but lost all my swim fitness over the winter.
3. What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim? Haven't tested recently
4. Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke? Freestyle and backstroke
5. How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long? 3-4
6. Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard? yes, but only a couple of times. Pull buoy was a better experience than kickboard, my kick sucks.
7. Do you know any swim drills? not well
8. Do you have a wetsuit? No, haven't needed one with swimming in the Gulf of Mexico.

1. When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance?
2. May 8, Geelong, Victoria, 4k walk
3. What is the farthest you have swam?
4. About 100m with bereaks - 25-50 metres without - I normally have to stop and breath before turning around. I can't remember if I made it the full length of the 50m pool we have here, hence the 25-50
5. What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim?
6. No idea I've only done it once that I can remember
7. Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke?
8. Yes but I keep forgetting the technique for breast stroke as I haven't really had any instruction in swimming for about 12 years
9. How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long?
10. Not sure - I'll work that out after I buy a pair of goggles
11. Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard?
12. Pull buoy - no - had to look up on the site what it was, kick board - yes but not since my last official lesson with school - from what I can remember anyway
13. Do you know any swim drills?
14. No - I just do laps to see how far I can get, sometimes changing strokes
15. Do you have a wetsuit?
16. No

Thanks - I need to buy a pair of goggles before I even think about the pool again right now - the chlorine hurts my eyes badly - but once I do I'll have a look at your program. I was originally looking at doing the 400 version of this one http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=528 but based on the last swim I did a couple of months ago - I need to become more consistent in the swimming - I'll struggle even with the warm up so I probably need an easier workout that will help me build up to it. I'll probably look at doing the beginner swim workout once I've got the required distances to start though.

I'm also hoping that getting fitter helps me not to get sick as often but it's kind of the price I pay for still being alive as the anti-rejection drugs mean I have next to no immune system. It's also part and parcel of the industry I want to work in (schools/childcare with special needs children) so I guess I'll just have to get used to it.

Dumb question -

How do I add the rest of you as friends? I did it when I was in a mentor group before but can't remember how

Sorry for being late to the party, but its been a long weekend, and being online was not part of it. Glad to be here, and looking forward to having some fun and learning a few thing through this group.

NAME: Mike

STORY:  I’m 44 years old, and still new to the whole tri scene. My “tri birthday” is July 5^th, as I started training for my first tri on 7/5/2010. My story starts back in March of last year when, after seeing just how shockingly high my weight had become, I decided I needed to get moving or be a pile of problems later in life.  I enrolled in a ‘fitness boot camp’ class at the local Y, and also started going to the gym every M-F to do either weight training or cardio workouts (elliptical, etc).  Had zero thoughts about anything tri related, as I couldn’t run, had never swam, and biking was infrequent and hardly race worthy.

Come June of last year, I was asked to ride the bike portion of the local sprint tri as part of a relay. My qualifications came down to actually owning a bike, and knowing the other folks on the team. Come race day, I had a total blast, and decided then and there I had to do this myself. Turns out the next town over had a sprint set for 3 months out. I went on line, found BT, found some plans and was off! Did the race on 9/18/10, and crossing the finish line was a feeling unlike anything, and I was hooked!!

FAMILY STATUS:  I’m married and have two kids, girls, ages 11 & 8.

CURRENT TRAINING: Right now, I’m battling a case of plantar fasciitis in my right foot which has thrown my whole season into question. Up until this flare up in late February, I had been training for a ½ marathon on 3/20 (DNS), and my running volume was up to 20+ mpw.  So my focus now is swimming & biking. Nearly all the biking is happening on the trainer in my basement, but I’m praying for warm weather so I can ride out side. Swimming has been OK, but can always get better. My stroke has been erratic the past several weeks, so I’m going back to take a few lessons, and get the groove back.

GOALS: Up until the PF injury, my sights were set on a half ironman in September, but that is unlikely to happen. Right now, its my goal to have my foot get well, and then race in my local tri in late June. Beyond that, maybe an Oly in August, and a couple other sprints. I hope I’m ready (foot wise – swim & bike should be fine). Assuming my foot gets better this summer, I’m looking for a HIM early/mid next season, and if all goes well, a full IM in 2013.

WEIGHTLOSS:  Between my ‘get off the couch’ moment back in March of ’10, and the end of 2010, I lost 60 pounds, and have kept it all off – and I *never* plan on letting it back on. EVER. Too much hard work to get here, and I feel so da*n good now, I couldn’t think of not staying fit.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:  I am very enthusiastic and supportive, and hopefully have some good insights and ideas to share with the group. I’m also looking to learn as much from the others here as well.

Question & Answer time!

1. When is your first race this year? Where is it and what distance?  -- TBD. Assuming I’m well, it will be a sprint (440/13/5k) on June 26th
2. What is the farthest you have swam? – 2500 yards continuously
3. What is your time for a 100yd/100m swim? – low 1:40’s
4. Can you swim front crawl, backstroke, and breast stroke? – crawl only
5. How many times each week can you realistically commit to swimming? For how long? – at least 3x/week for up to an hour each session
6. Have you ever used a pull buoy or kickboard? – yes, but I hate kickboards
7. Do you know any swim drills? – yes, there are a number I use as part of my workouts
8. Do you have a wetsuit? – yes

Dave and I went on a training ride yesterday to get ready for next weeks Tierra Bella 100K. We hadn't done some of the climbs so we wanted to make sure we could do them We could and we did! We did most of the course and ended up with a 58 mile ride. We went to bed at 9:00!

One of my biking problems are the downhills, especially the first time I do them when I don't know which way the road is going to turn and how steep the next curve is going to be. I land up pumping my brakes all the way down and really tense up my legs. Any advice on how to relax and pick up a little speed? I know next week is going to be better and it's just going to take more experience on my part.

Todays a rest day for me. I'm going to ride my horse and go on a short hike with a friend but no swim/bike/run for me

Johanne 

Good morning everyone

Went to the pool today before work. I counted my strokes and the best I could come up with 24. Also Sara it is supposed to be in the 80's by this weekend and already most of the snow has melted. Thats what I like about the desert. If you don't like the weather, just wait an hour.

Hope everyone had a great week end.

Oh and Johanne, I'm not sure if you got an answer to your pic resize question but I found this site that has helped me www.picresize.com I'm not the most computer literate person but hopefully it will help.