apw0397's group - CLOSED (Page 4)

TriPainter - 2008-01-03 11:52 AM I knew this would come back to bite me - You guys are right - Where else can you talk about this .

We're all friends now. Nobody will laugh at you for shaving.

Well, unless you don't go up high enough. If you have "hair pants" you will be publicly ridiculed.

I have a swim question while we are on the subject.  What is a relatively good stroke count for a 25 yard pool.  I avg about 20-24 strokes per length of the pool.  I am counting one arm as one stroke (is that the way you should count them?)  Is that a relatively good number or is that alot?  I realize that the fewer strokes you take the less energy you use, so I would like to know a good number to shoot for.   20? 18? 15?  Let me know what you think.  Thanks

Josh

Lower is better. But not so low that you completely stop! I'm usually around 19 for 25 meters, and my coach wants me around 17. Of course then when I'm at 17 he'll want me at 15.

For 25 yards, shoot for 20. Once you get to where you can hit 20 comfortably, try for 19.  You really want to find the best combination of speed and stroke count. I'll talk about that later.

There are a few good drills to improve your stroke count. The Catch Up drill and 6 Kicks Per stroke will do this.

The Catch Up drill has you hold your extended arm as you rotate and extend your other arm. Right about the time your other arm hits the water, bring your extended arm back.

The 6 Kicks Per Stroke is exactly what it sounds like - hold your arm extended until you have kicked 6 times. You could also do 4 KPS.

It helps when you are getting started on these to use fins. That way you can focus more on the drill and not on propulsion.

Another thing, not exactly a drill, is Free Golf. Do 6x50 with 15 seconds rest in between. Count your strokes and take down your time. Add the two together to get your "score." Experiment with different stroke lengths and speeds to figure out which combination give you the lowest score. You'll see how tricky it is to subtract strokes without losing speed or how to add speed without adding strokes. Then try to swim your main set with the same stroke count as your lowest score's stroke count.

Typically you would want to do this after you have warmed up, but before you have done your main set. So you would do warm up, Free Golf, drills, main set, cool down. However, sometimes I will do warm up, Free Golf, drills, main set, Free Golf again, and cool down. You might be suprised at how much you have to focus to get the same scores at the end of the set. It's good practice for race day, to help you maintain your form at the end of the set.

OK folks, it's Friday. What are your weekend plans?

I have a bike LT test and a date with my wife on Saturday, then an hour run and ride on Sunday.

Friday-- 3 mile run and Swimming

Saturday 3 mile (pace run) and 15-30 minute spin while getting fitted on my new bike!!!

Sunday 12 mile run (last long run before my half) 

Are you doing the half as an A race or just running it for fun? I ask because the 12 mile run 7 days before is setting off warning bells. I would go about half of that distance, 8 miles at the most. Not sure if you have heard of tapering or not. Basically as you get a week or two from a race, you want to reduce the volume to allow your body to recover and get ready to rock (so to speak).

Have you practiced with clipless pedals yet on the trainer? If not, you probably want to play with them on the trainer tonight before going out tomorrow. Practice clipping in and (more importantly) clipping out. Figure out which foot you will unclip when you hit a stop sign or red light. Practice unclipping that foot, putting it down to simulate stopping, and clipping it back in. Keep your other foot clipped in. Very rarely, save bathroom breaks, will you want to unclip both feet.

Be prepared to fall. Everyone falls. It's like you're in slow motion. You can feel yourself falling over but your foot won't go to the ground because it's stuck on something. Your mind will say "Unclip dang it!" but your foot won't cooperate or you will unclip the wrong foot. You'll hit the ground right on your hip and be sore the next day. Cars will honk and people will laugh. Just shake it off, laugh at yourself, and keep moving.

As far as running goes, there are some drills you can do but I don't really think they do much for you. Running is very different from swimming. Swimming is very technical, with a zillion little things to think about. With running you just go. Obviously you don't want to do anything crazy like running on your tip toes or have your arms flailing about like Phoebe on Friends.

It's just a slow and steady process. Don't do any kind of speed work for now. Just work on your base. Follow the 10% rule - each week add 10% to your volume for 3 weeks, then the 4th week have a recovery week where you reduce all your volume by 40%. Then the 5th week you repeat the 3rd week and add 10% again the next two. Then taper.

To improve on running, other than adding volume, you need good frequency. 3 per week is a good number to shoot for if time allows. Make sure one of them is your "long" run. That is where you really see some gains.

Are you running nonstop or using a run-walk method?

No shame in QT with the drainer. I think it's harder to do that than it is to go outside. Unless you have a good movie or show to watch, it's downright dull.

Sounds like you have a lot planned workout wise. Looks good.

Movies...I remember movies. Those are the things we did before we had kids. We're actually going to a comedy club on our date. Should be fun.

Being sick sucks. I had a bad sinus infection over the holidays and even lost my voice for a few days. It can take a while to get back into it. Listen to your body and don't try to do too much too fast.

Where did you get your training plan?

Great idea. Slow and steady. You actually burn a higher percentage of fat at lower heartrates. I don't think you have a heart rate monitor yet, so just use your breathing to determine if you are going too hard. If you can't speak in 5-10 word sentences while running, you're going too hard.

Mix in walking whenever you need to. People run marathons using a 4:1 plan, running 4 minutes and walking 1. You might start by running 2 and walking 2, or whatever you feel comfortable with. Don't run until you get too tired to run and then start walking. You want to start walking BEFORE you get too tired to run. That makes it a lot more repeatable of a process.

Try the 10% build plan for a month, then after your taper week, see about going farther on just one of the runs. Maybe a mile. See how your body reacts.

Good. Let me know if you need any specific workouts. I believe most of those are just timed workouts with no real specifics on what to do.

Glad to hear that TI is working for you. I remember when we first started in a 20 yard pool in 2004. I could barely swim the length of the pool without having to stop and tread water. Sounds like you are making good progress.

Just put in the time on the bike and run and you'll be fine. Once you get that heart rate monitor and ensure you are in the proper zones, that'll just be a plus.

If you just want a generic heart rate monitor, the Polar F6 is decent for a starter. It measures time and heart rate. It's not going to be the easiest thing in the world to use, but it would probably work for you. You can get it for 100 bucks at the BT store since you are a Performance Member.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=4097

Another option, a little lower priced (and probably not as easy to configure and use) is the Polar FS2. You can get it for 70 bucks at trisports. And there's a 15% discount on Trisports for performance members - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=17030&posts=1#s

http://www.trisports.com/fs2.html

Those are basically just watches that can measure heartrate. If you want something that does a little more, I highly recommend a Garmin 305. It's a GPS watch and HRM. I did a quick check on pricegrabber and they are going for 200 bucks. It's very easy to configure and use. And the features are amazing. Other than not being able to swim in it I have zero complaints about it. It's going for 225 in the BT store now - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/shop/shop/item.asp?itemid=3605

If money's not too tight, I would go with the Garmin. Polar's are decent, but I'm a huge Garmin fan.

There is such a difference in the speed on trainers/rollers and outdoors I wouldn't focus on that. It's all about time and heart rate. If you are getting your HR in zone 2 and staying around there you should be fine.

What you are doing is good. Warming up, going a little faster, then pushing a bit. Just make sure you cool down after that.

You can also focus on cadence if your cycling computer has a cadence sensor. A good short workout that I do is:

• 15 minute WU
• 5 minutes at 90 RPM
• 5 minutes at 100 RPM
• 5 minutes at 110 RPM
• 15 minute CD

You can adjust the time depending on how much time you have (10, 4, 3, 3, 10 for 30 minutes for example).

Here's another good one for the trainer that lasts about an hour:

WU: 10'
MS: These are with your shoes clipped in, and the idea is to focus on one leg at a time.
90" right leg, then 90" left leg.
45" right, 45" left, vice versa 2x.
30" left, 30" right increase cadence each 5" to maximum.
20" right, 20" left for 2'
15" right, 15" left for 1'
10" right, 10" left, for 40"
5"right, 5" left for 20"
3-4 x 1' at max cadence, RI 1'
3-4 x 15" at max cadence to spinout, RI 45"
CD: 10'

Another good one for the trainer is to warm up 10-15 minutes, then do a repeating set of x minutes hard, y minutes easy for a few times, then a 10-15 minute cooldown.

Some pitfalls to look for in trainer/roller to road are:

• Speed not matching up with what you saw indoors. I'm typically slower on the trainer. Some folks I know who have Computrainers find they are faster on the trainer. Same rule applies inside and outside when you are training. Focus on time, cadence, and HR in training. Don't worry about speed unless it's an LT test or race.
• Wind. There is no way to simulate the feeling of a headwind or tailwind hitting you in the face (or rear). About the only thing you can do is adjust the resistance of the trainer.
• Hills. Again, adjusting the resistance works. You can also use a riser block if you have a trainer. That gets your bike at a slight angle which can work your climbing muscles. A good way to simulate hills (which I did this morning actually) is to shift to a gear that pushes your heart rate into no higher than Zone 4 and keeps your cadence around 65-70. Take caution here. Remember to simulate downhills too. Today I did 3 minutes of simulated climbing, then shifted to a low gear and just did 2 minutes of easy spinning. Don't stay in Zone 4 very long. If you don't have a HR monitor, go uphill until you can feel your legs hurting and ease back. Then repeat.