Manatee Mentors 2014 CLOSED Thread 2 (Page 4)

CONGRATEJASLATIONS!!!

Kitty kisses from me and mine.

Right!

Way to HOP TO IT, KATIEFROG!!!

Swim Meet

Long Version

Short Version

Friday
1000 Free: 13:37.92

Saturday
100 Fly: 1:14.21
200 Free: 2:19.57

Sunday
500 Free: 6:29.63
Mixed 200 Free Relay: 28.93
50 Fly: 32.38
100 Free: 1:02.45
Men 200 Medley Relay (Free): 28.03

YEAH!!!!  Way to nail it, Jonathan!  LOVE that pic of you, your boys and your bike by the beach.   Excellent job with the race, can't wait to hear all about it!

F A S T !!!!  That pretty much sums it up.

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!  Lotsa great manatee results this weekend!  Congrats!

Congratulations to Kate and Jonathan on their PRs this weekend!  Way to go, Racers!

Congratulations Ben!

Way to go, Ben!  Great job powering through all those events!

Wow!

Great job on that!

Awesome job, JJ! Love to see improvements being made!

Ben, amazing job as well. I should probably know this but I assume you are in a swim focus right now.

How do you manage your training blocks? And how much do the other sports drop down from "normal" (maybe percentage?) Maybe that depends on the sport?

And when you do focus blocks, do you continue a focus into your "race plan" (say, a 24 week OLY plan or something. I'm making numbers up) or will you ramp right into an "A" race with a single sport focus.

Sorry, lots of questions. Maybe that's not clear but really what I am asking is how you manage focus blocks within an overall plan. 

Thanks. I'll try explaining here, but it might be a bit to do. It might help to know that I tend to do more of the activity that I like to do. Like the bike. I bike so much not because I think that's what I need to work on the most, but because most of the time is training and I want to enjoy that too. My enjoyment of the events has also been more heavily influenced by how the bike leg went. Then within each of the sports, I'll still be doing a variety of workouts to stress across all aspects of the aerobic system as I think they're needed. The amount of time I put towards each is a blend of how much I want to do there and what I think I need to do well at the upcoming events. I also select events in the first place with this in mind.

So more directly to your questions, this isn't really a specific block for a more single sport focus but more of a longer training regimen that reflects my current interests. I'm still doing quite a bit of biking and working on the balance between the two so that I can push as much as possible with them. And also getting in some running. The events I'm looking at more are later in the year and depend much more so on the swim & bike. I'm currently building in some more running for some earlier season triathlons, but the biggest there is an Oly. The run will be tough with a steep hill that has to be done several times, but the bike is a real beast. So that will have to be very strong. My brother went from 1:07 on a flat course, improved over the winter, but only managed 1:18 there. A coupe local pros could only get 1:05-1:06.

And in general, i don't really have builds towards specific events that are as distinctive as others may do. At least I don't think I do. Like with your running, I'll do a lot of training year round, hitting the various aspects needed to keep on developing. There will be some more race specific things in there with the differences in events, but a lot of what's necessary to do well isn't really *that* different between them. Not as much as some would like to think as all of these are in "endurance". I have to build up my running some from where it right now (for one example), but that's usually not the case. Normally I'd just have maybe a few sessions of making sure to work on race pace. And for an HIM in the past couple years I might try extending out the long run some.

So if anything it's the running that's being "built" into for the early season races. The swimming and biking are both going to stay strong through the season to build my fitness in each of those. Adjustments to them will be based off progress and what I can come up with for scheduling. There won't be a distinct block for them, just continuous adding and adjusting as I determine what is working and what is not. Does this make any sense? Not as concise as I'd like, but not everything going through my mind is.

Yes, that makes sense Ben. Thanks for your answer!

It actually surprised me. In a good way. Not because of the way it all fits into the plan in your head (of course it does) but because of your focus on enjoyment.

I find it fascinating to observe those around me. There is an excellent mix of talent, work ethic and passion, and everyone seems to have different proportions. It's always very interesting to see how it plays out on race day. 

Good news about my cat:  blood work came back showing no infection and excellent kidney function.  She's also eating well and acting fairly normally, so I think she's going to come through just fine.  Still, I'll be very glad when it's all over!

Yay!!  That's great!

Tough news for an awesome lady, but she is taking it with grace and optimism. So much to learn...

http://www.karagoucher.com/a-surprise-new-accessory-and-a-change-of-plans/

Field Trip!

OK, TJ and Mary, you need to check this out for us and report back

17,000 square foot running store!!!

http://running.competitor.com/2014/04/news/new-running-stores-breaks-mold_98673

Great news!

OUCH!

I'm glad you think "WHAT THE F&*^" is grace and optimism.

It blows my mind how often this happens. I'm almost not surprised if my favorite runner announces a few weeks (or days) before a marathon that they won't be making it to the line. 

We are 13 days out and nothing from Ryan Hall yet (he's still in Ethiopia) I am really hoping he makes it to the start. If so, I think the US of A has a good chance (along with Shalane and maybe Desi...)

That is SO rad.

When I was in Austin I checked out Rogue 

It's not quite as robust in terms of all the offerings but similar conceptually ... It's got my wheels turning anyhoo...

It actually was her statements at the end of the blog that gave me the optimism thoughts. Her first reactions were on point. I can't imagine being at that level, putting in that much work and then having that happen. My reaction might would be a bit stronger.