Ontherun and gearing up-CLOSED (Page 4)

I started out with a Jamis "street performance". It's sort of a flat bar road bike...great for commuting. Then, I scoured  Craigs list for a few months until I found my current bike. I got a great deal on her, and still am in love. I'd say, go to some bike shops and try some brands/styles out. Like running shoes, every one has different needs and comforts.

Not much training for me in these past 2 days. There's been a lot going on here that has affected my kids in the past few days. I've spent all my energy on getting the healthy balance back into their lives.

Tomorrow morning, I have a workout planned before I go to work.

Spinning/ Bicycles

We have mirrors in our spinning room so if you can get a seat close to that you can check your postion/posture during class.  I got my bike in my divorce (he got my fishing pole   ) lol  But if you scope out the bike shops, you might able to land a deal on a bike that gets traded in and will fit you. If you are near a college town, see if they have a bicycle resale shop.  Some of the college kids abandon their bikes when they go home. At the U of I- grounds keepers pick them up, do needed repairs and sells them at a fraction of the price.  You would be AMAZED at what some kids leave!!! 

Cadence and watts

I don't have a computer for the bike and can only really track this on the gym cycles but was wondering what others are shooting for... 

I warm up low and shoot for a higher cadence once  I get rolling. I usually settle in about 95 and try to make sure my watts are pushing 250, some areas tip over 400 but not for too long. I will vary it for my rides over 45 minutes, dipping to 70 for some recovery or working through "gears" and "hills".

Hmmm. Maybe that's why I can never run when I get off the bike. No matter what I tell myself, my legs just give out underneath me. I'll try a higher cadence with less mashing.

another tip to running off the bike is back off the intensity about the last few minutes before transition. Keep up the cadence but back even further off the intensity. The idea is to restore the blood flow in your legs and stretch out the mussels for running.

I tried out the aqua class at my new gym today, and I have to say it was a great workout.  I want to start taking a few classes a week when I can fit them in but I don't think I am ready for some of the boot camp type classes yet with my toe, so I decided to try it out.  I may just keep taking it on Saturday mornings it is great.

They are actually having a little indoor triathlon at my gym tomorrow.  I wish I was further along in my training to do it!  Hopefully they will have another one soon!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Good morning!

Wow! What a busy weekend. Saturday, I got a cardio workout in, then headed out with the family for an afternoon of iceskating, sleigh riding and snow boarding. Tweaked my foot on the last snowboard ride of the day, so rested and iced on Sunday.

It's feeling much better today, so I'll get a workout in tonight.

How was everyone's weekend?

Is anyone doing Jorge's winter cycling program? It looks a like it's a little more hard core than I need or want. Joe- Do you have other suggestions for bike programs?

Glad to see I'm not the only one without a bike; I was worried! I'll look on craigslist, that's a great idea. I also really don't want to spend a ton on something I've never done before.

Good luck with the drawing, though!

Joe,

Here's the link that describes the plan:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=2332

I really don't want to be on the trainer for 3 hour sessions.

Heidi, I took a quick look at the link. Let me start by saying, I have met Jorge personally, and he is a very good man. At last check he was also a professional cyclist and USAT certified coach. I do not intend to question anything he has in his article.

What I will say is this. What he has is great information on how to get faster. For most of us in this group, I think finishing is the most important thing right now. My first training plan was the couch to sprint by Ron. It was very simple. Just how long and which sports on which days. It got me to the starting line, and through the race without a problem.

What you will all find in this sport is things are only as hard as you make them. A reasonable amount of knowledge and fitness will get you to the start and finish line. To be competitive, even against yourself, things get much harder. More important than anything else I have said is that constancy of workouts. You can have a great plan, and even better workouts, but when you miss a bunch of them (like I have as of late) improvement comes very slowly.

For at least the next 3 months, I would recommend KISS, Keep it Simple Silly. After that, we can start to push harder as we will have a solid base to build on.

great advise. Thanks Joe.

A couple of random thoughts today about equipment. First, a bunch of you are looking for a bike to ride. If you have not already done so, you will also need a bike helmet. ALL USAT RACES REQUIRE A HELMET. The helmet is supposed to be on your head, and fastened from the time you touch your bike to ride, to the time you put it back in transition. Feel free to run with it on if you want (yes, I left transition with my helmet on once, but threw it back at my bike). A cheep helmet from Walmart will do as long as it has a CSPC sticker on the inside.

On the swim, make sure you have and have trained with a pair of goggles. It sounds like a no brainier, but you want to know where the feet of the swimmer in front of you is before you swim into them.

On the run. We have discussed good running shoes. When you are at the store, consider picking up a race belt. I prefer the type with an elastic thread and a sliding clip as opposed to buttons. The race belt is so you can put your running number on it. If you do not have one, you need to pin it to your cloths. This can be a pain in the butt. I so like my race belts that I think I own about 5 now. I just keep collecting them.

I have included a few links below. They are part of a 2 part article I wrote on race day prep. You may be months away from racing, but it helps to think about these things as you train so you are ready on race day.

part 1 of 2 http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=568

part 2 of 2 http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=603

Feel free to read them now, but keep them in mind as the race day nears.

FUN!!!

This may be an odd goal for the first Tri- but I want to have fun!  I know I will be freaked out about the transitions (lol- thats just how I am).

I can't hit the pool until February so right now I feel like I am in a holding pattern.

Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. I fell kind of bad that some groups have pages of chatter in them, and we do not. Let me know if you have any questions or comments, they all count

Today's random thought after my workout. My back, arms and thighs are quite sore from bumping up my mileage and the amount of hills I was climbing. It allowed me to remember the 10% rule. If you have not heard it, here it is. It is strongly recommended not to increase your workout by more than 10% in any category. This can include time, distance and if applicable, weight if you are lifting. The worst thing we can do is get hurt trying to get into shape. This just pushes us backwards and can be frustrating.

I hope all of you are getting into a little grove and enjoying your training.

Joe

I screwed up my diet this morning.  This was the first day back in the pool for at least a year and severely underestimated how hungry I am after a swim.  I had my breakfast, but by the time I got to work, I was ravenous.  Because I was in a different building for work today, I didn't have any snacks or anything and ended up eating 6 donut holes.  I had a normal lunch and two sugar free mini Reese's peanut butter cups.  I drank 8 glasses of water which never happens so at least that's something.  Dinner was a salad with a chicken breast but then I ate a piece of low-carb cheesecake even after I was full.  I think if I can manage some good low-carb snacks throughout the day, I will be fine.  I just need to take the time to plan.

Laurie, good question! I am trying to figure that out as well. Today I'm trying to do two workouts (bike/swim), and I've never done that before.

I think I'm going to bike first, then swim as soon as I can get changed. I don't know how else to do it without going to the gym twice and showering a lot! And I don't fancy going on the bike with wet hair until it gets a bit warmer

Any other suggestions?