TriAya's Group: SHUT like dog on steak, sorry! (Page 40)

You all have no idea how cheap I am. Seriously. Nobody can get tri gear for cheaper. I live like a monk. (Monkette?)

Shawn, you are doing awesome in the pool. The beautiful thing about baby steps there is that a little makes such a big difference, and we are seeing it in you!

Ditto Leslie on the tri shorts/top in the pool. In fact, practice with them BEFORE the tri--definitely rinse them VERY THOROUGHLY with LOTS of cold water (then and after the tri).

My first tri was a pool swim, too. In fact, I will be doing that very same tri again in a few weeks! Yay!

FLUFFY LOVE WEIGHT! I like it. Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't weigh more ... I've just gotten, well, fluffier. You're right, I'll re-proportion as I re-condition. I also forgot how much I used to walk--like, 4-5 miles/day--and I was doing a lot less of that while sick/rehabbing/holidays.

I'm sharing the delish desserts--getting Southern California high the happy way. [Seriously, those desserts get people high ...]

As I said before (or something like it) ... Tim is the finest piglet on this earth and if I get a few more lifetimes, maybe I will become someone like him ... .

He is so very right--tri is about the process, not the product.

And of course he is also right about all of you ... I am not sure how I came upon the privilege of being part of a group as amazing as this one, where each individual is delightful, enthusiastic, and generous ... I am continually humbled and inspired by your efforts and wisdom.

Big kisses for everybody! MWAH!

Hi everyone!

A quick update, then I have to scoot again.

I had a great week!  It is so nice to feel smart and valued at work again

The workouts have really suffered though, I need to get into a routine, I guess it's not unexpected given the circumstances.  I did get some leads on a gym that sounds like it is close to where I'm living, so I'm going to check it out next week.

I'm headed home tomorrow and will get to see my DD's last regular season BB game - wow, that is weird - where did the time go? how can she be a senior, sorry I digress..............

I hope everyone is doing well - Since I'll probably be waking up at the crack of stupid after being on eastern time for a week, I'll try and pop in and catch up

Never fails, I start the kissing and Bethie shows up

So wonderful to hear from you, and thanks for checking in. I'm sure everyone else will chime in--no worries about the workouts! Sure, they make you feel better and whatnot, but life is life, for one thing, and for another, a hiatus can do surprising things.

(This goes for all of you )

Just a couple of my own experiences--I needed to take an extended trip to Indonesia at the very peak of my Oly training, and I had scattered workout opps there, none very long. I came back just in time to "taper" (duh, I'd been doing THAT for weeks! ) ... and blew out the best tri of the season.

Recently, I hadn't been swimming for about six weeks--and while I'm not high on the endurance end, my times haven't suffered one bit.

We will all have skipped workouts, or even periods of time (life in progress) where we're not able to train. Sometimes it gives our bodies the perfect opportunity to assimilate all that wonderful training that went before, and we come back even stronger ...

Going aero on a Spinner(R) bike

Woo hoo indeed ... yay for new tri gear ... MUST POST PICS!!! BTW, love the new avatar. You have such a beautiful, open face, and the grin screams mischief, joy, and all that is fun.

Okay, aero on an indoor cycling bike ... don't do it. Seriously. I don't throw a lot of black and white stuff out there, and I will certainly explain why so you can reach your own conclusions, but for the love of all that is beautiful, stable, and functional in your body, don't do it.

I'm invoking a god here, Joe Friel (Cyclist's Training Bible, Triathlete's Training Bible, etc.): "I certainly would not recommend a rider try to assume an aero position on a bike that is not a custom fit, especially if the bike does not have the geometry necessary for this position." He was referring specifically to Spinner(R) bikes and their knockoffs. This makes perfect sense. Spinner(R) bikes are not made for aero, and it's not a good idea to go aero on any bike that is not fit specifically for you anyway.

The reason you're knocking into your chest is that indoor bikes have a less steep seat tube angle--in English, that creates a smaller angle between your legs and your chest = knock, knock, knock. Even if you didn't have a feminine figure, this reduced angle cramps your midsection up more and makes it harder for the chest to expand and diaphragm to drop.

In a proper aero position (again, not possible to get into one on an indoor bike), the neck is fairly extended. In an improper aero position, it's overly extended.

Aero on this type of bike puts you in excessive posterior pelvic tilt, which places excessive tension on your hammies and glutes--all of this literally pulls the natural curve out of your lower back, which is then not properly stabilized. This has a ripple effect upward--the overflexion forward of the trunk puts strain on your shoulders, neck and arms--and downward--external rotation of the femurs tends to cause the knees to point outward, and the hips to rock more--which actually causes your lower spine to twist. 

As for aero on a road or tri bike--it should be custom fit to you (can't emphasize this enough--Beth, BETHIE!!! Back me up here!), and because all the angles will be optimized for your body and bike, you should have far less (if any) problem with your knees hitting your chest.

I don't want to sound like a nagging, scolding b!tch ... it's just that in these matters, I am the horse's mouth, and we get the stories and statistics in droves about strains, pains, and injuries from inappropriate use of Spinner(R) and other indoor cycling bikes. It's heartbreaking, and I couldn't bear to see any of it happen to any of you, that's all.

Renee--no worries, it's just wonderful to hear from you and have you quickly check in! All of us have been insanely busy--yep, holiday buzz is officially GONE and it's back to the grindstone. Even Beth and I have been quiet lately .

Training plans have wiggle room. Just be sensible--don't double up if you miss workouts; don't resume into a high-intensity workout if you've skipped a few. Remember: you're an accomplished human being who deserves a pat on the back for putting so much into every area of your life.

Yes, you need sleep ... I go back and forth on this. Being short on sleep, especially chronically, does horrifying things to you and makes you gain weight. It also renders more of your workouts as "junk miles" where it's just taxing your body, since you don't have the time to rest (where the REAL benefit of working out happens!)

However, sometimes sleep deficit is unavoidable, and LIGHT aerobic exercise (not, "I will do what's on my plan no matter what) can help gently stimulate the body and give us an energy boost.

Not nagging OR scolding!  That is why I asked the question.  It makes total sense, and I have also read the recent threads on spinning vs trainer vs roller vs outdoor riding so I  am familiar with the debate about that.  Sometimes it is just fun to be with other people and have loud music to up one's motivation in the dark, wet and dreary days of winter!  As soon as it gets nicer I will be doing mostly outdoor riding.  In the meantime, it will be a combo of outdoor/spinning/trainer.  I am glad to know that in the event I decide to upgrade my own bike to aero, I won't be thump thump thumping my chest the whole time!  I already quit doing the jumps on the spinner bikes, so now will cease the aero and just spin when I do that class.

I 'may' post wetsuit pix.  We shall see.  Gotta up my confidence a wee bit wearing skin tight neoprene!!!  I am just psyched to have it!

I'm actually a fan of Spinning(R) classes. I definitely get the group and musical T.I.T.S. thing. I'd be a bigger fan if I could find any where they didn't endanger students, but whatever. I mean, I teach them once in a while here at the World Headquarters, but ... I'd rather GO to one, 'cause I'm kind of lazy!

You are welcome to post a pic of the wetsuit without you in it, but actually, that cuts out the best part and the one we want to celebrate!

Here's pics of me in a wetsuit (last Sunday's half mary)--believe me, you have no idea (other than color and cut) how much like a wetsuit it turned out to be ...

Hey Erin, my swim cap goes through phases where it comes off a lot, too.  No idea why. Oh well!  I will let the swim pros answer your swim questions, as I think they are really good!!

Do you guys feel like having a laugh today?  I posted pix of me in my new wetsuit! You will see, I am seriously insane.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=7860&useralbum=62741

Hi everyone!

I'm headed back to PA in a couple of hours, so unfortunately I don't have time to catch up on questions and posts. 

Good news is, I'm getting a laptop next week!!!!  So, I should be able to be online a bit more again

have a great day

Echo-echo-echo-echo!!!........!!

 Hope you had safe travels, Beth. We are looking forward to your laptop as much as you are, I think!

 In case you wanted to wish me a happy birthday, I am accepting inspires from now, thru Monday, for those of you who weren't online this weekend.    I had a happy weekend, did a lot of fun stuff even though the kids have been conspiring against me.  I did miss my scheduled long bike ride, but I am not going to sweat it.  It's not like I have my birthday every Sunday......so back on plan now.

Leslie,

You are a joy and a gift to our entire team. I hope you had a wonderful birthday and you look SMOKIN' RED HOT in that wetsuit!!! I think the guitar one should be your next avatar!

(happy_birthday_card.gif)

SWIM QUESTIONS and SWIM DRILLS

One word: shoulder. (Or biceps tendonitis, but whatever).

If you're swimming 3min/100yd (I know you're not--I've seen your log swims, but even so), you should still focus mostly on form. Putting a lot of yardage on a stroke that still needs work isn't going to improve your swimming.

However, feel free to total your swimming at 30-45 min.; if you're doing drills, don't count the rest time in between.

The longest distance you might do in the near future is an Oly, and for a pool swim, you only need to work up to about 2000yd continuous (and only do that distance a very few times) to be well-prepped. And you've got three months to get there.

Don't worry about speedwork. Relax in the water. Stretch out. Have fun. Think of drills less in terms of military repetitions than of feeling the breathtaking beauty of effortless movement in the water.

Yes.

Rotation is a part of catch-up. Rotation is the fundamental movement in swimming. If you're having problems with rotating in catch-up, go back to Superman (SuperChick?) to get rotation down.

Superman 1: lead arm extended forward, other arm extended down by thigh. Kick in this position on your side (rotated inward just a bit, like you're looking at the black line of the lane next to yours). Do a full length per side, then switch.

Superman 2: Do six kicks on one side, then bring lag arm up to lead arm, and switch sides.

You can see how Superman 2 leads into doing catch-up. 

Dudette. We're nearly on our 1000th post. Yeah, we got old school!

Hmmm ... I already won the big feet contest--want to compare forehead sizes? Just try to make sure the cap is pulled tightly over your forehead, ears, and back of neck. Latex is better than silicone for grip.