Super Cats Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 5)

D001 - 2009-04-18 6:46 AM OK, I actually have some questions.... (And you thought all I ever did was pad my post count!) Running It feels like one leg hits the ground harder than the other. Does this mean that one leg is shorter than the other? And, if so, how do I know which one? Swimming What's the proper hand entry angle? I put my thumb in first, but I read something that said to put your pinky in first, as it engages the lats better. Most importantly --> Which method is easier on the shoulder? Biking How much of a bend should your leg have at the bottom of the pedal stroke? I know it's not supposed to be straight, but I feel like I'm constantly adjusting the seat, and I never get it quite right. OK, that's it for now. Back to post padding.

Hi Dee,

Thanks for filling in on all the BT stuff for me while I was sleeping!!!

To answer your questions:

Running: Most people have one leg slightly longer than the other...believe it or not the human body is not perfectly symmetrical!!! Its more likely, however, that one leg is less co ordinated than the other and you are just a bit out of balance!

When you are running just concentrate about landing softly with BOTH feet - it will take your mind off the whole icky running thing for a bit too. Try and get your feet landing not to far from under your body and work on rolling the legs over.

Do you count or something on one leg when you run? Sounds weird but if I start counting using one leg per count... I seem to start landing on that leg heavy... like Im trying to stamp out the beat (ok everyone probably thinks Im a loony now!)

Swimming: Im not sure how you would enter pinky first!  No way I ever had....right now Im sitting my bed in my PJs mimicing my stroke to check... its my thumb side down but probably more my pointer/middle finger that breaks the water closely followed by thumb.

The goal is to enter the water cleanly, extend your arm flat just under the surface so you can then pull water straight down. In your case you need to work on engaging your lats to take more pressure off your shoulder.

What you may want top try is making sure your hands are entering the water inline with your shoulder - too narow and you will be rocking and rolling, too wide and youll be straining your shoulder more fighting it. You should extend the arm in front then pull it straight down with a small bend in the elbw - engaging your lats to take some pressure off your shoulder.

If you have access to a gym or some stretch cords doing some straight arm pull downs will mimic the feel and isolate the lats for pulling which will give you the feel Im talking about!

Drills may help too by refining your stroke to be more sound mechanically so less ntensive on your shoulders if it is form adding extra stress to them

Cycling: YOu should have a small bend in the knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Too low it will put pressure on your knees, too high and you will pedal with your toes down badly. I would Sit down with your legs out in front of you, make a fist with your hand and slide it under your knee cap - the kind of bend that creates is a good place to start. Nothing wrong with a bit of tweaking... we all do it even when we shouldnt!

Ok Im going to make an offer - if she wants to join us on this group she is more than welcome. It may help as many of us  are all trying to loose weight and many tryingto complete their first triathlon. Plus with you here it might not seem as scary as posting on the main boards for starters...

The thing with weight, in my experience, is it tends to get momentum and because for many people its linked to emotions (myself incuded) you can find yourself in a cycle where you go.. Im fat, I dont like myself, I feel bad, Im going to eat some chocolate (insert food of choice), why did I eat that, I feel sick etc etc etc Ive been there more times than I will ever admit... bad day at work? I want junk... Success at work? I want junk to celebrate... its such a very very hard cycle to get out of.

In terms ofweight loss there is no magic bullet - its improving your eating habits and burning off more energy. If you are starting from scratch then start small. What things are you currently eating that you could probably do without? What foods do you genuinely LOVE and want to use as your sometimes foods? Do you eat breakfast?

Some great goals to start with are:

- Drink more water

- Have a healthy breakfast every day as close to waking as possible: Cereal and milk, toast and a low fat spread with a glass of low fat milk etc

- When you are hungry and its not a meal time have a glass of water, if your are still hungry have some fruit (any fruit will do)

- If you can handle it clean out the cupboards so none of your trouble foods are in the house.. it can be hard but really helps if you have to make an effort to get junk.

- When you do want to buy a treat, get it in a single serve. Eat it! Enjoy it! Dont feel bad about it - you can STILL have your treats Just not at every meal!

- Switch all soda to diet soda, gradually switch diet soda to water or low calorie cordial

- Coffee is fine - just stick to  it black with low fat milk (no sugar) and try to avoid things like Starbucks, or keep it as a once a week treat

If she can slowly work towards some or all of these steps she will ALREADY start to feel better. I havent got into the nutritional nuts and bolts yet but you HAVE to start small or its all too much to handle!

The next step is exercise and if she wants to do a triathlon then swimming, cycling (on an exercise bike is fine) and walking is a great place to start. To begin with half an hour 4-5 times a week would be amazing. As long as she works up a sweat she will notice the difference.

I hope this helps a little - if she would like any more info just let me know. Also she is more than welcome to join the group officially or unofficially!

Cat

Thanks for all the info - Im vSLOWLY getting a handle on everyone and their goals so I really apprciate all the time everyone is taking to tell me about themselves! THanks!

 Just been reading your info so here goes:

1) Training plan: I dont have one as such either but I do have a routine I stick to most weeks. I also prioritse my workouts so my long ride is more important than fitting in a swm. And because runningis my weakness...getting that in3 times per week is crucial etc etc I also look at training plans and talk to others for ideas. Obviously going out and just training can work and if thats your goal awesome! But there are small thing like adding TT efforts to your ride or specific swim drills for stroke technique or sets in the pool to make things less monotonous and add some speed. Im sure Tnt may offer advice in that regard!

2) Your ankle... if its a minor sprain I would still suggest NO RUNNING for 1-2 weeks. On your first run attmpts stick to flat surfaces where you are likely to stay upright etc and jog. Any sign of discomfort walk so stay close to home. Strap your ankle for all run workouts for awhile. The chemist and places like that sell little anklestraps or wraps that slip on over your toes and have a seam along the injured ankle that offer the musclke some suport.

3) Swimming - to help I need to know some more bitand pieces. Do you have any thoughtsn your current weaknesses? What were/have you been doing to improve your swim? Do youswim drills or sets? Or just continuous swimming for now?

4) Half Ironman: Could you do one at the end of your second season? Sure.. probably. Do you think you will be able to put aside enough training time to do it? Have a lok at the time required and go from there. The basics of a training plan would be dng each sport 3 times per week (average). Your swim sessions would be longer than the HIM distance, your rides would be building up to close or just over HIM distance and I know you can do the running if you were heading out for a 15 mile trail run1! I would talk with your family and see if there is a way to make it work that wouldnt take too much time away from them.

Thanks Joe! As long as everyone is a little patient if I get behind on the replies we will be fine!!!

Right now Im sitting in bed with a laptop in my PJs and getting thall read before I head out on my long ride! (Its coming up for 10am saturday morning) I should have gone earlier but Im riding solo today so it wont matter when I start or finish!

Thanks for taking the time write an intro! I love the new avatar too! Very cute!!

There is SO much to cover in there so I will do my best right now but if I miss ANYTHING please follow me up

1) Its great that you have a gym at work! How much time do you manage to squeeze in? Im guessing its great for your running Is there a pool or do you have to go elsewhere for that?

2) Strength TRaining: Around BT its a bit of a can of worms as some people are a fan and some are not as such. I would suggest if you are unsure you start out with core work and stretching. For general body conditioning, weight loss and longterm health, especially for women who start loosing muscle mass rapidly every year from around the age of 30 then its a good idea. Might not directly make you faster in a triathlon but it will make you a more well rounded human being health wise. I also call some of it vanity in my case!

Also a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat so as you shape up you may find your weight doesnt always change that much but your size may!

3) THere is nothing wrong with liking food and wine! I like eating out too! I try to just besensible and not make it an every day occassion Meat, vegies etc can all be fine in a restaurant setting as long as you watch portion sizes. I dont miss out on dessert either but I will often split something. Im a light weight when it comes to drinks which is probably one of my saving graces!!! If you like to cook then thats fantastic! A whole new world can open up to you

Other good restaurant choices can inclue: tomato based pasta sauces, salads with dressing on the side so you can control your portion, vinagartter etc dressings are fine, most meats - chicken, fish, red meat as long as you kep and eye on portion sizes and how its cooked, japanese, mexican (just keep and eye on the cheese/guac/sourcrem), stir fries (dependant on how they are cooked), anything steamed etc etc etc

l always have 1-2meals a week that Im not that strict with. The day before my longride is a good time to have one of them... the other is usually the day off or the day after. It comes down to eating the naughty calories at timeswhen my body needs them msot. Special occassions such as Easter, my birthday, christmas are open game for at least one meal! But dont drag it out a week!

4) Running: You sound like me. The thing with running is that if you are already fit to some degree it will not be your heart and lungs that hold you back but your body. All the connective tissues and muscles in your legs have to gradualy get used to the impact of running nad the strain it puts on the body.

Walking is REALLY hepful for beginner runners or those returning to thesport as it mimics the time on your feet requirement without the impact of running. The essentials for starting out are: ALWAYS warm up by walking for a minimum of 5-10 minutes at the beginning of EVERY run workout. When you start to run, jog at a conversastional pace. Walk breaks are good if taken regularly - they should be taken before your body starts to yell at you as they are designed to help lessen discomfort and allow you to have a longer workout. Walk breaks can be 1-2 minutes in duration starting out. Run 3 times a week and not on consecutive days for starters. IF you start to notice any unusual niggles dont be afraid to take an extra walk break. To finish walk for 5-10 minutes to cool down. Stretch!

IF its ok Im going to start a NEW post covering all your race related questions later as I dont want to miss anything!

PS: I just realised I hadnt answered your training solo question either... will come back and write a WHOLE post n that too... its something Ive got LOTS of eperience in!

Background picture has disappeared from the original post

D001 - 2009-04-18 10:02 AM

kaqphin - 2009-04-17 7:23 PM Ok Im going to make an offer - if she wants to join us on this group she is more than welcome. It may help as many of us  are all trying to loose weight and many tryingto complete their first triathlon. Plus with you here it might not seem as scary as posting on the main boards for starters...

I so saw that offer coming. Cat rocks! I think it's a great idea. She could discuss weight loss, training, and so on with us. (I'll even hide my taser collection until she's used to us.) Whoops! I wasn't supposed to mention that yet ^^^^. Just pretend you didn't see it.

Clearly Im predictable!

Great!! I look forward to meeting her

Im now off for my ride - I will then spend sometme this afternoon talking about training in a group, training solo and the questions around your first triathlon...

In the interim Id love to hear any updates on peoples traing and what you all have planned for the weekend (not just training!)

Me? Im going for my long ride now... a bit late... then I have dinner with my brother tonight before he flies back to  Melbourne tomorrow. Tomorrow I am meeting a friend for a run, then will do a ride and hopefully later in the day a swim...

My what an exciting social life I have!!It has to fit around my bike rides Well that and I have NO MONEY because of the whole paying for a new bike thing...

I think I was a little misleading when I said I don't do the plan thing.  I do actually have a routine and I try to workout intelligently, but I don't follow any "prescribed" or written plans.  I have tried that a couple of times and always have a difficult time adapting other plans to my schedule.

When my ankle's back in shape, here's my planned rountine:

Monday - run after work; bike in evening (in the summer I will bike to work and back)
Tuesday - swim at lunch (40 min)
Wednesday - run after work (speed workout with T-Ray2 & friends)
Thursday - swim at lunch (40 min)
Friday - OFF
Saturday - swim in early morning; bike later in the day
Sunday - long, slow trail run

Cat, thanks for the ankle advice.  It felt good enough today that I really wanted to run, but I'm using my greatest willpower to be patient and wait until I'm sure.  I'll listen to you and wrap it during my runs for a while.  I hadn't thought of that even though I do own a wrap.  Duh!