Benihana's Group - CLOSED (Page 4)

Joel/Jason -

I have an excel sheet on my work computer that has formulas in it that you can input your Lactate Threshold for the Bike and Run, and it spits out your HR zones based on your LT.  To answer your question Joel, there are a lot of folks on this board and others (myself included) that will tell you that working out in the zone you are is not a bad thing.  However, in order to get more efficient and faster, one needs to become uncomfortable.  To do that I reccomend working interval training into your workouts.

For example, take my running plan (this assumes that I complete it as scheduled!! )

Tues - Speed workout - 5-7 miles

Thurs - Z2/Z3 run - 4-6 miles

Sat - Long run - 12-15 miles

The speedwork on Tuesdays pushes me to the point of puking everytime I do it, but I KNOW that come race day, my legs will be thanking me because they will be less tired, and a heck of a lot faster.

So, short story long, what oyu are doing is great, but I would reccomend to work in interval work in all of your disciplines...your speed will benefit come race day, TRUST ME!

Good goals Thomas.  I like #3.  I can't even fathom being raising a child.  Maybe one day....

Ben, you mention speedwork.  Do you think that is something that should be done even at the Ironman level?  Or do you think it would be better to use every bit of training on aerobic base?

Sandy, you're doing good.  I think the walk/run combo is a great idea, not that I'm an expert or anything.  But I have heard of several people doing a walk/run combo in marathons, and very fast too!  It would seem that if you train your body to do both, you would become very efficient.

Hope everybody is having a great weekend!

Sandy - The Run/Walk combo has not worked well for me in the past, so I am not a current user of it as a training method.  While I am sure there are benefits, and plenty of people out there to tell you to go that way, I have always been in the camp of running (no matter how fast or slow) the complete milage when training.  When racing, I find that to be a different story, especially in my Half Ironman. 

So, short story long, there is no "correct" way to do it.  If you find that run/walk works better for you, go for it, if running at a slower pace works better then shoot for that.

Clint - I tend to believe that speedwork is a great tool in order to help you get faster at any distance.  Even for some of your shorter runs, I think it would still you a benefit of some speedwork, simply becasue you are getting the milage in, PLUS you are helping your body/legs understand what it feels like to run faster.

jcbolton - 2008-01-29 10:23 AM Thanks Ben.  You'd be happy to know I incorportated some speedwork into this morning's run. Not intentionally however.  Just had to use the bathroom! 

funny...that happens to me all the time too!

I have never done an indoor tri, but the format lends itself to strong bikers, as the final results are normally tallied in miles, since the time is a constant.  So, I would go moderately hard in the swim, pound the bike, and then run as effecient and as fast as you can.

HTH

Ben

Joel - Sorry to hear about your dad, that is tough.  Obviously, it goes with out saying, but make sure you are there with your family.  As far as training goes, since you have a couple months beofre the race I think you will be ok.  It looks like you are geeting plenty of swimming in, and while you may not be as fast as you would like, you most likely can swim the race distance without any issue. 

The way I read your statement, it sounds like you have 1.5 hours per day to break away from eveything?  If that is correct, then I would reccomend the following:

1-2x bike ride - This is the longest portion of the race, and since you have a background in this sport, you are a head of the game

2-3x run (a short, focusing on speed, one long, and if you do a third, then make it a middle distance.

1-2x swim (longer, but mix up the routine)

As far as doubling up the workouts each day, you can certainly do that.  I would do that twice a week with the following:

- Swim/Run - Hard swim (focus on what you anticipate your race pace to be) followed by a comfortable, yet hard run.  Focus on your form, and if you train by heart rate, then keep your HR in z3.

- Bike/Run - This will be the hard one, especially at first.  I would focus on getting a solid hour in for biking, and then jump right on the treadmill (or go out on the road) for a solid 15-20 min+.  With this workout, I would reccomend keeping your HR high in both disciplines.  This will help to teach your legs what it feels like to come off the bike when they are tired and being forced to run.

Let me know if I mis-understood what you had asked, otherwise, try these and let us know how they go.  Keep us posted with the status of your dad as well

Ben

Joel,
Best wishes for your father.

ChiRunning.  Sounds cool.  I'm definitely interested to see how that works out for you, Sandy.  You always hear of people trying to learn how to swim through technique, but you don't hear too much on trying to run better through technique.  Maybe you can offer a few tips along the way. 

I'm in the start of my rest week, and my legs are really enjoying the break.  I had the best ride of my life Saturday, and followed it with a really solid brick on Sunday.  T - 10 weeks to Arizona! 

Hope the weather warms up for you guys up north soon!

If you have not yet signed up for your race, I would check the race website to see when registration opens up.  Some of the races take a while to fill, but there are some that will fill up in a matter of a couple weeks from when the registration opens.  I just took a look at the websites for my races this year and thought I woud reccomend/remind the rest of you to do the same.

Sandy-

At this point, any bike is better than nothing.  With that being said, if you have a choice, I would reccomend riding the stationary bikes as opposed to the recumbent bikes, as they both work different muscle groups.  Obviously with the bike you will be buying, you will want to get your muscles ready to use something as close to what you are buying.

Glad to ehar the Chi Running went well, and it is even better to ehar that there was little exhaustion.