Beth and Yanti's New Manatees - FULL! :-) (Page 5)

TRIATHLON TRAINING GEAR--CHEAP SITES

All you need right now is something you're comfy swimming in (probably get used to swimming in jammers, which look like knee-length bike shorts without a pad, rather than floppy trunks--better for developing your swim stroke), something you're comfy biking in, and something you're comfy running in.

I highly recommend wicking material (like Coolmax or DriFit, it will say something to that effect on the tag). For winter months, you'll probably need to wear something longer over--sweatshirts and or sweatpants, but if the layer closest to your skin is wicking material, that is fine.

You might want to invest in long cycling shorts since it'll still be cool for a while, and a decent windbreaker (you probably already own one, since it's cold up there!)

You can worry about what to wear on race day when it's closer to the date--but depending on which sprint you choose, you'll likely need a wetsuit if it's in a lake or ocean in CA in March.

But for now, keep it simple. Anything you're comfy swimming in, biking in, running in.

You can get great deals on gear (especially closeouts) at the following websites:

http://www.sierratradingpost.com

http://www.sportsbasement.com

http://www.swimoutlet.com

http://www.trisports.com

There are a couple of different options,

if it's question you're comfortable posting on the thread, then we can answer and everyone can benefit - also often times other people in the group will have input, experience, insights that are very valuable - Yanti and I both value the input of everyone in the group a lot

if you're not comfortable posting on the thread you can send a private message to either of us and we will be sure to reply

one thing that is really helpful for us is if you log your workouts in the BT blog - let us know if you need any help getting that set up

I would say that for the most part, it's best to post in the thread so we can all share and learn together

hope that makes sense

I am sooooo glad I don't need any help doing that geeky kind of stuff....

BTW.....Ms. Beth...I cut/pasted the HTML version of the Manatee Table (the 2nd one) into my blog...and the link to this thread does not work for me.  All of the others do....I am SURE it is my error and I screwed something up...but you know me and this "interweb puter thingie" don't get along too well.

Steve

:/

that is very odd - the link to the table works for me from my blog, but not from anyone elses - *sigh*

now I'm on a mission to figure out what's up with that

Wooo Hooo....it'NOT JUST ME.  And I trust you will solve the situation....after all...you are a giver like that.

G'night

Steve

YANTI'S FIRST TRI RACE REPORT

It was very inspiring last time when Bethie Love posted her first race report, so I'm going to put mine up and hope she does the same

I AM TRI-ATHENA!!!
		posted 04/10/05
		Many thanks to my well-wishers (and by the way, I've enabled non-member comments again).  I am tremendously pleased to report that I am indeed alive, moreover, having as much skin as I entered the triathlon with, and if any other racers don't, at least it wasn't on account of me. And, since I am making the world a better place simply because people laugh a lot when they see me (not sure why ... must ponder ... ) I tootled my turtle-squeaky-horn with vigor every time I passed a race volunteer. By the third lap some of them were chanting, "Squeak that cute horn!" I hope they were talking about the turtle. I didn't come in dead last, either, which really surprised me.  Triathletes are a pretty dedicated bunch--I mean, THEY didn't have squeaky horns or streamers on their bikes--but I finished in the top five in my division (okay, okay, there were only five in my division).   I wasn't last in the run (the first leg), but I was by far the last cyclist in--even the runners behind me had overtaken me.  However, I passed several people in the transition between bike/swim and then charged ahead of several more during the swim.  And now I really am going to tootle my own horn (I deserve it, dammit!)--I'm a great swimmer.  I clocked a faster swim time than some of the top finishers, despite that on the last 150m both my legs were completely cramped up and I was windmilling ahead on arms only, pulling dead leg weight behind me. Not bad for a little girl who just learned how to ride a bicycle. A final note: technically, this was a 'sprint' triathlon--4mi run, 10mi bike, 400m swim. All I can say is, no bloody event lasting more than ten minutes should ever be called a sprint.  Ever.

Huh! Amen to that sprint comment! And now ... just 'cause I'm a picture whor3 (as those of you who dropped by my log noticed), and have no shame in my game ... here's my finisher's pic (I get nostalgic--it warms my heart I didn't know any better than to not swim in a cotton bra and my running shorts) ...

BASE TRAINING

You've probably heard a lot about "base." What exactly is it, why is it so important, and how does it benefit you?

These are the basics and what I’ve found to be areas of consensus in my research, which does mean there are going to be some gross generalizations. As always … grain of salt, dig around for yourself, ask questions about how this fits into your current level of fitness / training plan / life goals / will you get to heaven (re. tri heaven, only if you do base, I assure you ).

Building a Foundation

As the name suggests, this period of training is the foundation of the endurance athlete’s training cycle, and it mainly consists of long, steady aerobic work of increasing distance. This type of training should make up the majority of your cycle, especially as a beginning triathlete (that includes me, as a first-time Ironman trainee, especially since it's all training long). You know how the experienced athletes keep saying, “Just swim bike run, swim bike run …” and that nothing substitutes for time in the disciplines? Absolutely true, for many reasons. Simply, practice makes perfect. You’re training your nervous and muscular systems to respond in the way you want. You’re building strength in the exact ways you need it in order to race tri.

The question is, how exactly does one swim bike run, how much, and when?

The simple answer, as it pertains to base, is that if the most important thing is T.I.T.S. (Time In The … Saddle/Swim/Street), then the way you can SAFELY get the most time in is by doing your workouts at an aerobic level. If you train with heart rate zones of some kind, then you’re looking at approximately 50-75% max, and towards the lower end as you’re just starting out in your training or training season. [Lactate threshold heart rate is a better way to train, but ask me and/or do your own research if you really want details … I don’t want to “zone” out into numbers or areas of intense debate here.] Simply put: do your workouts at a pace where you could carry on a conversation. All your workouts, through the whole workout, during base training.

This is an area of contention. If you PM me (or several of you ask me to post) I will give you my reasons for saying “all workout, each workout.” If you look at the research/information yourself, you will at the very least find that nearly all coaches will say the more of a beginner endurance athlete you are, a) the more of that base should be in aerobic work, and b) the longer of a base period you need.

Let me repeat the most important part: the way you can safely do the most time training is at a lower intensity (aerobic level).

Physical Changes and Benefits

The major effect is that your body learns to use oxygen most efficiently to power your muscles, and the tried-and-true method to doing this is spending a lot of time in aerobic base building. (Cardiovascular fitness is related: basically, your heart—a muscle—has to do a lot less work to deliver oxygen, and aerobic fitness is that your cells, most importantly your muscle cells, can use that oxygen most efficiently). You’ll notice that some of these benefits are similar to those of active-recovery workouts (which are done at the low end of the aerobic zone).

The bottom line is that building a strong aerobic base is the #1 way to increase your athletic performance. If you want to go faster, first, go slower. In base, you gradually becomes faster while you are still putting forth the same amount of effort. Then if you eventually really put a lot of effort in (say, in a race), you will go much faster.

1. Improves fat metabolism. In aerobic training, your body preferentially uses fat as a fuel source, and the more you do, the more you are training your body to prefer fat for fuel. (Important for weight loss—the lower the intensity, the longer you can go, the more fat you will burn. Simplification, but fairly true). The number of enzymes that help convert fat into energy increase.
2. Develops slow twitch muscle fibers. These get bigger. They are the muscle fibers that will contract repeatedly without fatiguing (=> endurance).
3. Increases capillary density. Capillaries are small blood vessels that deliver oxygen to your muscles. The more you have, the longer you can continue to perform (=> endurance). 
4. Reduces risk of injury. You’re putting a manageable amount of stress on your joints, muscles, and connective tissue so they build up. Obviously, this is good in any case. Also, if/when you eventually introduce higher-intensity training, you will be putting a lot of stress on your body, and you’ll need to have your frame built strong.
5. Strengthens immune system. As above—good in any case, and higher-intensity straining also stresses the immune system, so it’s good to have it already strong.
6. More energy.

A) Energy in the sports sense. The number of mitochondria increase: these  structures in the cell produce energy. So => more energy. Important for races!

B) Energy in the layperson sense. You rev your metabolism without taxing your body too much. At most (to borrow a phrase from a friend), the workouts leave you “pleasantly tired.” If you’re getting a lot of training in, it’s important to avoid burnout, and doing the workouts at an aerobic intensity does just that. These workouts give you a sense of well-being instead of “I’m blown out;” they relieve stress and improve your quality of sleep.

C) You recover more easily from these workouts, so you can do more training (or attend to life—pretty important, huh?)

7. Mental improvements. (Will say lots more when I do a significant mental training post. These can’t really be lumped in a separate category, but I wanted this post to make some sense). You can be more relaxed and at ease, practice “meditative” workouts, and the steady rhythm of the workout (as opposed to having to “dig deep” or do intense intervals) lends itself well to mental focus that you’ll need for races. Remember, even “sprint” tris are 1-3 hours long.

Phew! That was a lot. Again, the BOTTOM LINE: building a strong aerobic base is the #1 way to increase your athletic performance, especially for a beginner endurance athlete. In any case, unless you build a strong aerobic base, your body is likely to break down, rather than benefit, from high-intensity training.

Duration of Base Period

The longer, the better. Like, years. Reality check: while the journey is the true reward, we want to do races, too. They motivate us by having something to work toward, something to enjoy, and then something to improve on.

Back to ideal (to help explain why a long base period is so important and makes up so much of the training cycle). This is what Joe Friel (who wrote the BIBLES, after all) has to say about it:

“Endurance implies an aerobic level of exertion … For the novice multisport athlete, endurance is the key to improvement. Emphasize this ability above all others in the first year or two of training … A high level of endurance takes years to mature … Plan on taking months and even years to fully develop endurance, rather than days or weeks.”

If you want to do more intense training, do it. Just build up to it with a proper base (and those in our group who have done a lot of long-distance stuff already have a fairly good base going.) But also know that it will not, in fact, kill you (and may benefit you as a beginner triathlete) to just do base work until it’s time to taper and peak for a race. [Interestingly enough, it’s how nearly every beginning marathon program works.] This way, too, you’re keeping your risk of injury and burnout low.

Many athletes struggle with doing base and staying in it for long periods of time—“I don’t really feel like I’m getting a workout!” What you’re not getting is that intense rush. What you are getting is the most important kind of workout.

I would also say building base is as fun as you want to make it. Remember: run/walk is a type of interval that breaks a workout up, makes it easier, makes it more interesting, lets you work out for longer. Also, as you progress through base, you get fitter, so you can incorporate things like hills or faster swim intervals and still remain aerobic.

Back to the point: so just how many months? If you look at the literature, we’re talking a bare minimum of two months (assuming you’re rebuilding base after having some experience in endurance sports). Again, the longer the better. If you’ve never built a base before or have taken an extended break, three or four months.

I had one additional thought on this, often times Yanti or I will post some information or another memeber of the group may post a question or their insights on a topic that addresses a question you might have as well and maybe didn't even know to ask

so checking the thread for updates on a regular basis is a great way to get as much out of being part of a mentor group

if anyone wants to they can change the setting on the thread so that you receive an email notification when the thread has been updated (someone has posted)

to do this you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the thread - in the lower right corner of the page there is a link that says - 'toggle email notifications' under Actions

Click on that link and check the box next to Receive e-mail notifications for updates to this thread? and then submit the change

then whenever there is an update, you will be notified via email, and the email contains a link to the thread

x2!  I never get tired of reading that report

So here's my first RR (race report) - it was actually an email that I sent to my friends and family after the event - I hope you enjoy it

Dear Friends and Family
I wanted to share my weekend adventure with you.

This will probably be news, but I did my first triathlon this past weekend, on Sunday July 23. The event consisted of a 1000 yd lake swim, a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run (completed in that order). It was a part of the Cornhusker State Games which were conducted between July 14 and July 23 in Lincoln Nebraska.

The games consist of all sorts of competitions, everything from fishing to darts, to volleyball, to you name it, they probably have it.

The triathlon was an amazing event, I still can't quite believe I did it.
The event started at 7:30 am, with the swim. They organize everyone into 4
groups, called waves, there were 376 participants. The waves are set up by
age group and gender. The guys get bright orange swim caps and the women
get bright pink ones.

The race starts with the first wave swimming out into the open water toward the first buoy. They have huge buoys that mark the swim course. There are 3 minutes between each wave. I wonder if it's called a wave because by the 4th group, there are literally waves hitting the shore - the lake starts off very calm.

Oddly for me, the swim was the most overwhelming part. I had no idea what
it would feel like to be in the water with nearly 400 people, you are
literally on top of one another and people are doing their best to move
forward in their position, I can only imagine what it must have looked like from the shore. I ended up doing the majority of the swim in breastroke, with a little sidestroke thrown in. I still finished the swim in a respectable time.

It was so cute, there were several young kids lined up as we were running
up the beach and to the transition area, they had their hands out and were
giving each of us a high five as we ran by. The whole crowd cheered each
person. It gave me goosebumps.

My first memory of the bike was rounding the first corner and seeing a hill that at the time looked like a mountain to me - lol, I had no idea there were hills like that in Lincoln, let alone 3 of them within one 4 mile area. The bike portion was three laps around the park, so each hill was tackled 3 times, as I started my final lap of the bike ride, I saw people on the trail for the run portion and actually found myself wishing that I was running. Wow - I never thought those thoughts would come to my mind.

I took the run portion very easy, I alternated running and walking every 2
minutes, this allowed me to pace myself and finish the race and still be
standing.

It was an awesome feeling coming across the finish line . As the
contestants got close to the finish line, there were a couple of veterans
(and had already finished the race) that had cowbells and were ringing them and cheering each athlete into the finish line. As each person crossed the finish line, the announcer for the event welcomed each contestant back by name with congratulations for completing the race.

It was an incredibly encouraging and supportive environment. I was so
impressed with the organization of the event, the participants and their
willingness to help and encourage a newbie - at all points along the race,
other participants (mostly veterans, I would guess) expressed words of
encouragement and support to keep going and finish it. I can honestly say
I have never experienced anything quite like it.

I achieved my goal in finishing within 2 hours and completing the event. I
have to say I am hooked. I am planning on doing another competition in
Kansas City on September 10. Who knows what next summer will bring. I
know for sure I will try to participate in a triathlon in Minnesota in a
town near where my parents have a cabin.

At this point, since you've already done all you can on your own, it's time to hire a coach to analyze your swim stroke and help you put it all together in the water. This doesn't have to be expensive. Your local U.S. Master's Swimming club can probably recommend a coach, and often there are good ones who teach advanced swimming at YMCAs.

The thing about swimming, as you know, is that it's technique-driven. It's no good to up your swim training if you just keep doing an inefficient stroke thousands of times over.

The info about being able to swim with a pull buoy or a snorkel makes me think that you're probably kicking inconsistently and/or wide (with legs wide apart or not floating on the surface) when you breathe, which makes your stroke go off.

Some people have really good success with the Total Immersion videos and swim clinics, because they really break it down for you. It may seem elementary to start with kicking drills, e.g., the one where you stretch one arm out, breathing on the side, and just kick the whole way down, but it seems like that's where your difficulties may be. If you can't do that drill successfully, for sure it's going to be hard to swim consistently, because that's where you spend the majority of your time swimming--almost always on the side, kicking, with one arm out.

SWIMMING HELP

Thank you Erin--it always helps to know what was useful for someone else who struggled with it.

This is the best thread ever on swimming--it is really, really useful even for those who are already good swimmers, and it's essential reading if you're struggling with it.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=117554&start=1

INDEX pp. 1-5

1. Introductions: Beth, Yanti, Nathalie, Erin, Susan, Steve, Sam, Ronen, John, Peggy, Chad, Suzie
   
   
2. Sprint Programs
   Intro: Amy
   
   
3. HIM Plans
   HIM Book Suggestion
   Motivation
   
   
4. More Motivation
   Team Table & HTML
   Mental Training #1
   Illness/Injury
   
   
5. Cheap Training Gear Sites
   Yanti and Beth's 1st Race Reports
   Base Training
   Swimming Help
   

Erin, great input!  and x2 on the recommended reading Yanti

I couldn't agree more on the drills and technique -

- not sure what your situation is and if a coach is in the cards,

a couple of other options to think about

1.  swim lessons for adults - I know several people that have had great success with this, and it's usually quite affordable (I think this was in Yanti's post as well)

2.  attending a tri clinic - if you can find one that includes swim sessions, ideally one that includes underwater video taping of your swim and evaluation and feedback from a coach it can be really helpful

I agree with Yanti's observation about the kick - I'll post some tips that may help - but I think the biggest help would be for you to find someone that can observe you in the pool and offer targeted drills and recommendations based on their observations

Kick -

The kick is an extremely part of the overall stroke and effeciency.  If your kicking technique isn't quite right it may be impacting your overall effeciency and there is a possiblity that your kick isn't quite even when you breath.  A friend of mine's kick always gets out of rythm when he breaths to one particular side, and I can actually see him slow down during that moment. 

Here are a couple of links that show some nice kick technique - also take note of the position of the swimmer's body in the water

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WDpxZyUYvqU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oac5nUDns94

Hey everyone! I just wanted to stop in and say hello. You guys have some great mentors in Beth and Yanti! Good luck with your season and I hope to see some of you at a race or two somewhere in the country!

There is some great swim advice going on here. Swimming has been the hot topic on our forum as well, feel free to stop on over! The only thing I would like to add to your thread to this point is how important it is to stay relaxed in the water. It's a common problem when I teach adults, they try to take in waaaay to much and apply it all at once and tense up in the water. When doing drills, try 1 or 2 drills for just a few minutes after your warm-up then continue with your workout. I like to think of "relaxed power" when I swim. Relaxed during the recovery and powerful during the pull.

I hope this helps and doesn't cause confusion.