Evondo's group - CLOSED (Page 5)

'The creeping into Z4 is pretty common when starting out due to cardiac drift what I normally have people do is start off slower or increase their walk:run ratio. When starting out slower you'll probably feel like you're going WAY to slow but over the duration of the run you'll end up where you need to be. As your fitness increases your heart rate difference from the beginning to end of the run will become smaller and as this happens you'll also be getting faster. I know it sounds crazy to say going slower will make you faster but it's been proven time and time again'

O.K. so what happens if I don't go slow? Do I simply not improve? Now get faster? Get faster at a slower rate?
How do you square the HR with RPE - i.e. if it feels easy but my HR is creeping up then is it still O.K.?

Of course you'll still get faster but you're putting yourself at higher risk for injury and probably hurting your ability to be consistent due to fatigue.  Z4 is where you're going above your LT which means you're accumulating lactic acid which makes muscles feel tired/heavy/slow.

The RPE scale is a good approximation of effort but your HR is your body's actual effort level. The mind can make you feel better/worse than your body's actually doing so I would follow HR during training and long distance races.  In a shorter race I'd definitely follow my 'feel' as long as I thought I had enough left to negative split the race.

So I bailed on my swim workout this morning. It was supposed to be 3 x 1000 yards but I only did the first set. This darn cold or whatever I have has me worn down. It has been frustraiting!

I was wondering - I am lucky enough that I get to commute to work just about everyday. Most days I do the 6 miles rails to trails by bike but once a week I will run it. I know the run does me good - it is easy to head the other direction and make it a long run or do it as a tempo or even intervals.

I do the same with the bike but more often than not I just ride the 6 miles to and from work (with a back pack). Do these commuting miles actually add up to any increased fitness. During the Spring, Summer and early Fall I will average about 100 - 125 miles a week just doing my training - the commute will give me an additional 50 or 60 miles.

JAMES

Hey James,

You and Eric are on a much higher level than I but..... my take on it is that it's got to be better than sitting in the car or on the couch.  Hope you kick the cold soon.

Edited by junthank 2009-04-21 6:56 PM

In terms of the commuting I would say that any specific tempo or interval work will increase your fitness and all the rest will maintain it. I know a lot of people add steady and easy runs into their schedule to let their body do active recovery and loosen off the muscles so at the very least you'll be doing this.

Hope you kick that cold!

Those bikes do increase your fitness and are probably good rides for you to loosen up from other workouts.  Since they're short they probably won't increase your aerobic fitness much but you can spend the time working on cycling form that will definitely help.

I was going to post this today anyways but make sure to check out this video if you haven't done so already...
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1714

I felt better yesterday afternoon and I get an ‘A’ for effort. I actually made it back to the gym after work to complete my swim workout. However, there is no lap swim at 5PM on Tuesday and Thursday – SMACK. So I just hopped on the bike and rode home. The effort was a little higher than I would have liked.

I had a nice evening and started to organize morning group activities. I sent the call out – a lot of people are still busy with school being still in session. But Tony was up for a swim. I asked him what the temperature of the lake was and he said that wetsuits were not allowed! I thought to myself – he is a bigger man than me. I gathered all of my gear up prior to bed so that I would not be stumbling around in the dark.

The sun was up by 5:45AM (good times) and I had my coffee and put on my wetsuit. I’m no fool. Got to Tony’s house and he was wearing a wetsuit also – nice joke. When we got in my feet were cold – not freezing – just cold. Tony put in a small beach during the off season – that was nice in the feet. After swimming for just a few minutes the temperature was near perfect. We swam across the lake. Man I wish I could swim straight – I’m working on it. I might be just a little faster than Tony but the zigzagging negates much of that. I started to swim next to Tony and sight off of him. This was much easier. I then decided to draft off of him. It made a big difference! I would swim in his draft and then swim out of his draft. While in the draft I really had to slow my stroke down – I had to add a lot more glide. It was like I was coasting. The next race I think I will really try to get on someone’s feet. Without losing all of the momentum with sighting and the efficiencies of drafting – well – if I can pull this off…

Finished up with the just under a mile swim and it was still early. I was going to drive to work but since I had time I went home and put my gear away and jumped on the bike. A nice 6 mile trip and shower at the gym.

I must say I am so happy that I am a part of this group, the information that is being passed around regarding essential training, HR training, rest and recovery has been GREAT!!!

So, I needed to rest today, after doing 3 straight days of training with plyometrics done yesterday. I had a crazy time crunch yesterday, so decided to follow the beginnertriathlete plyometric video at home instead of going to the gym to lift.   Now in the midst of my soreness, I had some questions for y'all:

• Can plyometrics be a substitute for weight lifting?
• Should I be doing plyometrics right now as a couch to sprint, beginner triathlete?
• In the past, I have jump rope for cardio and variety, and thought it would be a great addition to a plyometric day.  With all the legwork of plyometrics should I add jump rope to the routine?
• My upper body strength is virtually non-existent, so the 100 push up challenge sounded great to me, any other suggestions?
• I didn't realize we should scale back every 4 weeks to recover properly.  How can I tell if I am suffering from overtraining or just having a bad training day/week?
• This week has been challenging for me, packed with quite a few commitments, forcing me to running around the city  before having to do a work out.  And my training has not been what I expect.  I felt I have struggled through the workout, took more time than was allotted and have not been as focused.  Any recommendations?  I try to manage my time properly, but this week I felt stretched too much.

Please let me know.

BG

Edited by BiafraGirl 2009-04-22 2:41 PM

I'm beyond jealous that you're able to bike to work. I only live ~12mi from work so distance isn't a problem but I'd have to cross 2-3 main interstates which isn't really possible here in Houston.

Drafting in swimming makes a huge difference and it's legal You might have to pick your head up more to sight than normal but it's worth the extra pause in the stroke. Only drafting advice is do your best not to constantly tap the feet of the person in front of you,  I know people who got a swift kick to the face because they annoyed the person they were drafting off of...

Glad to hear you're enjoying the group, I'll give my inputs and hopefully some others will chime in if they agree/disagree...

Can plyometrics be a substitute for weight lifting?
Plyometrics aren't a substitute for lifting BUT I would recommend them over lifting for a beginner triathlete.  However, I would also recommend pilates/yoga over plyometrics for a beginner. 

Should I be doing plyometrics right now as a couch to sprint, beginner triathlete?
This depends, is it something you really enjoy doing? If so, drop the intensity down so your legs aren't fried and you're able to complete a bike/run workout the next day. The same rules apply here that we discussed about weight lifting, if plyometrics are getting in the way of your aerobic workouts either reduce the intensity or drop them...

With all the legwork of plyometrics should I add jump rope to the routine?
Jump rope can be considered plyometrics, if you decide to keep plyometrics in the schedule add it to that routine but of course remove something as well so you're not over doing it.

100 push up challenge sounded great to me, any other suggestions?
200 situp challenge

How can I tell if I am suffering from overtraining or just having a bad training day/week?
A bad training day/week is most commonly due to either outside stress or overtraining.  Sore legs are pretty common and not what I consider overtraining... for most beginners the clear sign of overtraining is inconsistency which is caused by pushing too hard in workouts.  If you finish a workout completely wiped and require > 24hrs to recover, it's overtraining.

This week has been challenging for me, packed with quite a few commitments, forcing me to running around the city  before having to do a work out....any recommendations?
Good for you for getting in the workouts regardless of your schedule it is great  that you're making your workouts a priority regardless of other commitments.  The best advice I can give is try and re-evaluate your schedule and make sure it fits your lifestyle as best that it can.  Everyone has hecktic weeks and what I try to do for those is pre-plan how I'm going to rearrange my schedule before the week begins otherwise I leave too much upto my mood of the day which is not always the best option

Tackled the stadium yesterday at lunch. I did 15 bleacher lunges followed by some 50 yard dashes. It was hot and it was challenging. Did some work on the abs to finish out the workout.

This morning the group ride was resurrected for spring. I set the alarm for 5AM (I usually get up at 5:30AM – without the alarm most days). Had my 2 cups of coffee and then hit the trace. I left the house at 5:45 and the morning light was sufficient – I did turn on my pathetic headlamp and rear blinky light just in case. I got to Jackson Station and the guys (JD, Keith and Lance) were unloading their bikes. Everyone was here except for Jim – he has said that he will be back in the groove in just a couple of weeks.

This is the time of the year that I enjoy the most. When my 6 mile bike commute looks like closer to 30 miles. We saddled up and headed towards Sumrall. Lance and JD had been at New Orleans with me and we swapped some race stories. There would be no warm up today. JD, Keith and Lance seemed like they had something to prove. I was on my road bike, Lance and JD were on their tri bikes and Keith was on his road bike – he has a new one that will be in any day now.

Everyone was faster! I was sucking the back wheel of everyone today. There was no way that I could have maintained a 2 4, 25, or 26 MPH pull. I nearly got dropped twice. The second time I almost got dropped was when I pulled aside (okay I did do a little pull coming back into Clyde Station) and the train kept going. There was a huge gap created and I really had to hunker down. I started counting one one thousand, two one thousand. I knew that I had to close that gap and then I would be cool. The exertion level would drop once I got that wheel. This is a fast section of the trace. They were really hauling. I looked at my cyclometer and I was 27.5 MPH. I would top out at 28 MPH (max speed measured today on my bike computer). I thought that I could keep this pace for maybe 15 seconds. I caught them at thirteen one thousand. Once on the wheel it still took a high effort to hang with them. A couple of minutes later and I was recovered again and all was well. This was a tough ride for me. LOVED IT!

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hey all,

just checking in more than anything.  I'm still trying to figure out what training plan I should use. 

I've discovered I'm getting much better about doing my runs (with or without a partner though w/  a training partner is much better for me).  Makes sense that I'm more motivated to run b/c I see that's the area in which I can (and need to) make the biggest improvements.  However I still feel I'm at the point of just working on consistency, just running, as opposed to specific workouts.

I'm having motivation issues re: the pool.  I think in part it's because I've not swam in so long I feel a little lost.  The beginner plans don't have enough running in them but the more advanced plans have too much swimming.  Not sure how to combine plans in the training log (or if that can be done).

The bike?  no excuses.  planning to ride this weekend.

Steph

I hate that I haven't been on lately. Sorry. Crazy busy week at work and barely had time to log workouts.

First race of the season tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Good luck - looking forward to seeing your race report.

Bueno Suerte!!!!!!!  Will be logging on later today to check out your finish results.

Stephcat,

Not sure of your swimming level or what your goals are, but I had a problem with swimming at first as well.  I formally learned how to swim as an adult over 10 years ago, and then after the beginner's and intermediate level swimming classes, I didn't swim laps again until nearly 11 years later, when I started training this year.  That being said, I found that following a training plan and first tackling my fears/insecurities about swimming to be extremely helpful.

At first I was afraid of the deep end and wasn't sure I was breathing properly.  The lifeguard at the pool taught me some breathing drills, and he had me do this drill where I jumped feet first, arms long over head into the deep end of the pool. It wasn't easy, I stalled and nearly pissed myself jumping into the 9FT deep portion.  But after being forced to jump repeated times, in succession, that  one session rid me of my fear of the deep end.   And allthough I am still improving in my breathing technique, I can accidentally swallow water and tolerate (a little) water going up my nose, without gripping for the side of the pool and seeing my life go before my eyes.

You seem to be gravitating towards the activities that you enjoy or at least with which you are more comfortable.  Constructing some weekly goals in each area can help you achieve some balance, and I feel that that BeginnerTriathlete.com's balanced plans, there are 2x and 3x/week balanced plan.  Coupled these plans with the drills found on this site to improve your technique, endurance and speed, depending on your goals, may be of help. 

I follow the beginner swimming 3 month swimming plan.  I love these drills and feel that i can see myself improving with each week of the plans.  The plan consists of 3x/week training, with a form day, an endurance day and a combined day for the early weeks, and later a form day, an endurance day and a speed day.  Each week the distance is lengthened.

Personally, I have looked at various training plans, for beginnertriathlete's online, and I almost feel like they are not too much different, overall, at least for my level of training.  I like BT.com's plans because I feel that this site provides the best plans for the complete beginner and I am a couch to sprint contender.

I hope that this helps!

---

BG/Ony

Good luck and have fun! Let us know when the race report is up

For swimming the best place to draft is directly behind the person in front of you. I read somewhere that drafting during the swim can decrease your effort level 20-25% so it's a huge plus if you have someone there going about your speed.

I have yet to find a book that gives actual mileage for training plans even for specific distances like 70.3/IM, if you find one let me know

Your workouts/mileage look fine, if anything your swim/run distances seem a little long. Since the run is only a 5K in the sprint you really don't need to go much above 6mi, 8mi at most.

Good luck Sandy!

What's the best thing to do about a wetsuit? I've just signed up for my first open water Tri and I can hire one but I'm not sure they'll have one to fit my 'unusual' proportions (i.e. tall, hourglass female with big chest, big hips, long torso and long legs). Then again I'm not sure that any manyfacturers will either!