swbkrun's group- CLOSED (Page 5)

Suzy

Thanks for the 2cents!  I am going to give it a try in the morning.  I think my legs are going to be a little tired after my bike today, but I am going to try to get in 6 miles in the morning.  May have to walk a couple of the tough hills, but should extend my time out. 

holy crap people, I stay off BT for a few days and our group exploded!!  This is awesome!  There are so many posts, where to begin......

Soccermom - I totally hear you about not training early morning in the dark or in the cold.  I am the same way.  The group tries hard to guilt me out of bed in the morning but............

Concerning the previous post about running (sorry I don't know everyone's name yet) I found it took me a while to enjoy running and the speed only increased after about 8 months of training. I had to build the base of being able to run before I could focus on different speeds. Up until recently I only had one pace, slow!  I've finally gotten to a point where I have a 5K, 10K and longer pace. Not that any of them are particularly fast, just different stages of slow.  Keep going and it will come.

My biggest piece of advise to the group members that are moving into their second session or ramping up a previous level, BEWARE OF BUY TOO MANY TOYS!!! That is one of the things I've noticed as I look back on this past season.  When I started  I had a good set of gear to see me through, and now I am buying new toys because they are exactly that, TOYS!  Because once you have cool bike shoes you have to have cool tires, handlebars, helmets, computers, trainers,  different types of riding shorts and jerseys,  then running shoes, YANKS, fuel belts, Under Armour, and of course swim paddles, pull bouys, clear goggles, amber goggles, blue goggles, (all depending on the water conditions)........    And if you are STEVE, he'll tell you a bike for each type of ride is a complete necessity (wait until you see a photo of his garage), every type of GPS devise, trail shoes, road shoes, mtn bike shoes, etc   

But isn't that the reason we train, for all the toys?   I say this as I just bought a new riding/running jacket.  Very good deal, $100 OFF!!!!!   Gotta love sales.  Now maybe my shirts will stop riding up as I run.  I know you Canadians are tough in the cold, but personally I don't like running with a bare belly in 45 degree weather! 

 Here is a photo of me from my Olympic last year, and if you can't tell, I have a slight thing for pink.  I train with mostly men and I need a visual reminder that I am FEMALE!!!!

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Barry- Here is an interesting article for you!! I still use it when I am ramping my miles up!  It is the safest way to run... You can do it, you just need to believe in yourself, and not pysch yourself out!  Think of all the miles you have run.  What is that one more mile when you are hurting! A mile is easy for you!  You have to have these talks with yourself when you are really pushing yourself (both in speed and distance!).  Triathlon's are ALMOST AS MUCH (if not more) MENTAL than they are physical, and it is VERY IMPORTANT to train mentally as well!

Trevor- Congrats on the brick!  Those legs are yelling at you in every which way.... WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!!!

Tracy- I agree on the name thing, and I actually made a "MASTER SHEET" with everyone's first names until I learn them.

Everyone else- Tracy is right.... YOU NEED TOYS, and you need multiple bikes (no you don't she is just kidding!) I will throw the pictures on there if I can find them!   Story behind what Tracy was referring to... I built this bike in September after Ironman Canada (not sure why I waited, maybe too busy training) but no one noticed my new bike, everyone was giving me a hard time about the bikes all around the shoe's thrown on the floor, etc!!

Oh yeah, I type this with a jack and coke in my hand... SUPRISE SUPRISE !!

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How do you know?  Yep, that is my question.  How do you know if you are ready to jump up to that next distance or even the one beyond in triathlon?

I've done three sprints, tolerating the swim and always happy to get out of the water victorious.  I want to go farther.  I am surrounded by IM  and long distance endurance athletes every single flipin' day.  They are constantly supporting me, telling me I can do it, egging me on to something more. They always say if you can run Boston I can do a 1/2IM.  Totally different.  I can breathe on the run, I can walk if I am tired (as humiliating as that is).....they say I train enough to be doing so much more.  But how you do you know that you ready? 

Seriously, what do I need to be capable of related to swimming in order to feel ready?

Glass of wine in hand waiting for a response.

Thanks for the great article.  I too loathe the run.  I just don't feel comfortable.  It's gotten better as I've lost weight, but it's still my weakness.  Tomorrow is my long run day, and they are getting better, it just seems to take so much longer to improve my run time and distances.

Oh, and I'll match your Jack and Coke with my Captain Morgan and Seven.  It's always there for me.

Suzy,

You don't ever know.  That is the beauty behind the sport.  You just have to put faith in your training and all the hard work you have done!  It can be done!  I bet you never thought a marathon was possible when you 1st started running.  You progressed to it, you trained for it, and you succeeded.  JUST DO IT!  If you have that desire.  Some people have no desire to go the next distance.  THAT IS FINE TOO! 

I agree with Steve and Rob's comments, but I offer my 2 cents of advise.  I think you marathon training has given you the self discipline and fitness level, but if the swimming still makes you un-nerved, then I would focus on getting that under control first.  Steve is totally right that it is a mental commitment, but race day is not the time to freak out in the open water.  Were your sprints in the pool?  Have you ever swam open water before?  I think you need to be able to swim for an hour comfortably and be comfortable in the open water.   Secondly, do you like riding?  You will be on the bike for about 3 hours and if that is after a difficult swim, you will be TIRED!    I hope I am not sounding like a kill joy, just realistic.  If you enjoy the challenge and are eager to improve in all three areas, then go for it.  It is okay to not be jazzed about the swim, just make sure you will be OKAY out there.  Besides, think of the bragging rights you will have with your training group when you complete the HIM. They should be a great support group with lots of advise for you.  Good luck!

Technically I can't play with my toys until after x-mas.  There is also a repair stand under the tree so trust me on the 25th you will see a pic  if my new bike on the stand. LoL, the cranks might be on before lunch.

Put in your values here.

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/0,7148,s6-238-277-278-0-0-0-0-0,00.html

It will give you 3 runs a week based upon your past performances at certain distances.

1st run will be a nice easy run

2nd run will be either a tempo or speed run

3rd run will be a long run

They will get gradually faster and longer, at a rate that is safe so you won't injure yourself.  A lot of running injuries come from people trying to do to much too soon.

I used to hate running also, was just not any fun.  Now I run music free and really look forward to my long runs and that is all in 1 year.

The upside to global warming is we don't seem to get as much snow as we used to here in DC anymore, I don't miss it.

Also on the running post do the plan for a few months then sign up for a pure running race.  I did that last year and best I had run in a tri was 9:45/mile then I did a 4 mile race on 4th of july and ran it in 8:45, I was shocked.  Also it really showed me that what I was doing was working and motivated me to keep at it.

My rule is that I need to feel comfortable doing each piece of the distance seperately before considering doing a longer distance tri.  Of course I've only done shorter races, so take this with a grain of salt.  I also tend to be pretty conservative about what I try, because I want to feel good about my performance in a race. 

When I did my first tri I was really freaked out about the swim.  I was actually a decent swimmer but doing a long swim in a lake where I couldn't touch the bottom if I got tired was still creepy to me.  So I went to the pool multiple times leading up to the race and swam that distance plus a little more for good measure, so that I knew without a doubt that I could do it.  Now i've been working towards an oly and doing the same thing.  The 10k that I ran last year was the final step to feeling confident with each distance, so now I know I can do the race.  Of course it will require some training to get to the point that I can do all 3 things together.  So I would say, really focus on swimming and feeling confident with the swim until you KNOW without a doubt you can cover the distance.  Then think about signing up for a longer distance race.  I think you'll know when you're ready.   

I've had some really good masters experiences and one pretty bad one.  My suggestion would be to check out what groups are available in your area, maybe go by and visit, and get a feel for what the pace is.  The bad experience came from wanting to join the team at the pool I usually went to.  They were WAY faster than me at the time and I couldn't even come close to keeping up with the workouts.  It ended after a few workouts with the coach nicely asking that I not come back.  It was a blessing in disguise though because I ended up finding a different team at a different pool that was much more my pace and turned out to be a much more fun group of people.  Oh and the cool part....I was back at that first pool for a workout and the masters group needed an extra lane.  They asked to use my lane and allow me to join in their workout.  Well after having already swam an hour on my own I did their hour long workout and kept up through the whole darn thing.  Woohoo!

Anyway...back to your question.   I think if you find the right group of people it can be a really great experience.  If possible try to find a team that has a tri-focus, because some workouts are definitely based more for ppl that want to do in the pool swim races.  For example not long ago I went to a workout where we spent half of it doing short sprints and practicing flip turns.  I guess not a bad skill to know but doesn't do much of anything for tri swimming.  I do enjoy having someone write workouts for me though, and there's definitely something to be said for having a coach watch your swimming and help you with what you need to work on. 

Ok here's my question for everyone:

So far this winter running and biking thing is just not workin' out.  I'm working on getting a trainer but i haven't yet.  I'm really just a big wuss about the cold.  I'm thinking of joining a gym so I can have a treadmill and an indoor bike to use, but the downside is that I don't think I can afford a 2nd gym membership.  I LOVE my crossfit gym that I belong to now.  The people there are amazing and feel like close friends.  I actually look forward to going to workout with them, even though it's early morning.  But if my goals are tri-focused, do I need to drop that membership (or lessen that membership) in order to join a gym where I can do tri stuff?  (For ppl unfamiliar with crossfit....crossfit workouts are group workouts involving a variety of exercises.  Every workout is done w/a personal trainer and the trainer writes out the workout for that day.  It's not the kind of gym where you show up and work out on a machine or do your own thing).

Ok as I write this i'm realizing that I can't drop crossfit because, if nothing else, the ppl at the gym there are pretty much my only friends here since i've just moved to town.  Beyond that it's my one regular workout, I love it, and I can definitely see myself getting stronger.  So I think I've just answered my own question.  But without a gym....how am I going to make it through this winter?  Do I need to just suck it up and get a membership to somewhere with a treadmill?  Or suck it up and run outside?  I know lots of ppl do run in the cold, but it's in the single digits here and I just can't get excited about that at all.  The rare times i've tried....even with lots of stuff on i've come back freezing.  Plus I feel like I run out of breath almost instantly due to the cold air in my lungs.  Ok maybe I need to just stop making excuses and get on with it.  Hmph. 

Here are my 2 current bikes and a picture of what my Tri-bike will look like when I get done

Lacey,

My gym offer a class similar to cross-fit, they call it Sport Circuit, but I log it as crossfit because that's the most similar pre-loaded workout.  You could look for a gym w/ a similar class and access to treadmill/spin class.

Another option would be to pick up a used TM and/or trainer off craigslist or something so you can work out at home and keep the crossfit membership

Option three would be to suck it up and run outside.  I've found that with proper layering I stay plenty warm and a face mask helps to warm the air intake so that my lungs don't hurt a bad.  I have asthma, so I know what you mean about being short of breath and the mask really helps.

We got dumped on over night and are getting more snow now.  Our Christmas travel plans went out the window w/ the current storm and forecast for the rest of the week.  That's ok though, it will be nice to have a mellow Christmas at home.

Tomorrow I'm going to take full advantage of the fresh snow and go skiing.   

Shawn

On the masters swim...I must say that I love mine.  I started in October and the coach literally had to show me how to actually swim.  The coaches and members have been very helpful.  I also picked up a copy of Total Immersion DVD which really helped with my technique...although there is still a long way to go.  

I know many have had both good and bad experiences, but the group has my my swim my most fun workout.  Partially because it was such a challenge and I have been able to see quick improvement.  My group actually wanted me to swim for a couple weeks before they would let me pay...they wanted me to be comfortable and know that I wanted to join.

Anybody   How do you put a section of a quote up from someone elses response that you want to respond to?  Stupid question, but I have NOT been able to figure it out.

You have to hit the quote button in the upper right hand corner and then erase the part of the message you don't want to keep.

I used to be one of those "run outside at all costs" kind of people.  -35F WC, no problem.  I was tough .  In '08 all of that changed.  Madison had 104" of snow and it was flippin' cold and icy every day.  I upgraded my TM and never looked back.  Now if the weather is crummy, you will find me in our basement.  I guess what I am trying to say is if you don't like to run in cold weather then don't.  No apologies or excuses necessary. 

If you can afford it, I would opt for buying your own TM.  That way you can do it completely on your schedule.  I would check out the local fitness stores right after the holiday which is when the deals are the greatest or talk to some of the people you know.  Someone is bound to have one gathering dust bunnies.

PS I just had one other thought.  Some gyms have a 3 month trial membership starting on Jan 1 for all the people that are trying to get fit (mind does).  Maybe you could think about that as an alternative.