Colin Cook's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 5)

Thanks Colin. I wanted to throw out one more swimming question for you and the group since the feedback has been very helpful. First, it's good to hear that I'm not the only one breathing every other stroke! What I noticed today is that I think a large part of my lacking endurance is because I am kicking WAY too fast. I've heard someone call my style of kicking a "runners kick", where I bend a little too much at the knees and pretty much kick as fast as I can even while at the same time trying to slow my arms and breathing.  So much to try to think about! Has anyone else had this problem, and any suggestions on how to correct it? I think in the back of my mind I feel like if I slow my feet down, my legs will drag me under.
Thanks!

Yee Haw!

Jus got my HRM, a Polar F6 used but, in excellent condition for $63!  Now if I can just figure the darn thing out, I can check my heart rate anytime I want!  LOL  

Beans!  Just discovered that it says the battery is low.  The manual also says it looks like another $25 bucks plus to have it "shipped" out and get the batteries replaced.  Looks like I may be able to have the batteries replaced in the watch but, looks like the Transmitter would have to be replaced.

Ok Colin, since I had this thing ordered before this forum, I am contemplating sending it back.  They do have new an F6 NIB on ebay for $85 bucks.  Is that worth it or do you suggest another HRM  I am looking to keep cost down.

Thanks,

Timmy!

Edited by ET1SW47 2010-04-21 3:13 PM

Hello guys I'm interested in putting on a set of racing wheels on my Cannondale Carbon Six, anyone have any recomendations? I feel this will help make the bike better than the factory stock rims that came with it. Hope everyone is good...and enjoying their training...


Tim 1

"This is my body and I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on. What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my a** six hours a day. What are you on?"

-Lance Armstrong

just wanted to drop in and tell everyone that you're in VERY good hands in this group. 

i'm new to triathlons and had the privilege of going out for a ride with your mentor this afternoon.  not only is colin a very friendly, great guy, he's also very well versed in the sport and you can tell he is genuinely happy to share his knowledge/experience with you.

hope everyone has a great year of training and races!

Tim 1,

I just replaced the stock wheels on my bike with a set of Mavic Cosmic Elites.  Certainly not high end wheels, but not $1k+ a pop either and much better than the stock ones.  I figured if I got really serious about it, I'd buy a tri-bike and if I wanted a disc on the rear I could get a wheel cover from wheelbuilder.com.  Probably not going that route for a bit though.  The engine is causing more problems than anything else.  I am going to get the bike fitted to me and will put some aerobars on it.  That will be it for a while.

Take Care,
Mark

I am getting ready to buy a felt F95team entry level road bike Ilove that bike Also giants are nice the key is to look for the best package for the money. The felt bike is going to set me back about a grand when its all said and done. I ended up buying the specialized double compact it feels great so far long ride scheduled for 4/24 let you know how it turns out

Edited by JakeC3850 2010-04-23 9:35 PM

Hey Timmy,

Sounds to me like you're better off with the new one.  If you're going to have to pay $25 for the new battery and you can return this one, I'd rather have the new one.  Price wise, I don't think you can beat that for a name brand HRM.  I think that one should meet your needs and appears to be a great deal!

Another good question Chad and I should have mentioned something about this in my initial evaluation of your videos.  As far as the kicking goes, you really want to use your entire leg during during each kick.  You want to keep your legs straight (a very slight bend in the knee is OK) and initiate the kick from the tops of your legs and the hip flexors.  You also want to tilt your feet back so that they are in a better streamline position.  I'm actually having a hard time explaining this and realized this is something I like to demonstrate...does that make sense?

As far as the amount of kicking goes, you should be kicking as much as a competitive swimmer does.  Although it is slightly different muscles used to bike and run, you want to minimal kicking to conserve your legs for biking and running.  This certainly does not mean you should not be kicking, but the majority of your power should be coming from your upper body.

Hey Tim,

How much are you willing to spend?  I just got race wheels for my bike and first off it isn't cheap!  However, getting lighter and more aerodynamic wheels can be very helpful.  I recently purchased a Hed Jet 9 700c Clincher front wheel and a real disc cover for my rear wheel.  I'll give you some more details after you let me know what kind of price range you're considering.

That's great Jake!  Felt makes some great rides and all the people I know that own one really like it.  I've certainly heard of Giant, but don't know anyone that has one.  Nonetheless, you're absolutely right, it typically all comes down to the best package for the money.

Which Giant are you considering?  Let me know and if you want, I can compare the two.

Hey Colin!

Thanks for all the help on here.  You are definitely a "fount of knowledge".

I watched the video of the (Olympic?) swimmer that you posted as an example of good form and whom you referred to as having a good, slow swim stroke.  After watching that, I can see that I am definitely stroking too soon.  But my question isn't about how to improve that, but rather why is a slower stroke like that better?  It seems counter intuitive.  Is it one of those efficiency things?

Thanks again!
Skip...

Colin
I was looking at HED brand last night on the web  I was thinking around a $1000.00 or less for the set, because if I continue to do this which I see myself doing, I will purchase a tri bike and keep my road bike for cross training and group rides. I think we have the same bike by the way how much of a difference did you notice after replacing the stock wheels. Also to answer your question from earlier I've been doing the 20 week BT program 2x s/b/r and it ends this week so I need to know what plan you think I ahould start for my first oly tri on 6/13/10.... I just have to watch my run due to the knee surgery doc says just ease back to it. This past weekend I rode 36.68 miles ran 2.125 mile to the pool swam a mile and ran 2.125 miles back total time 3 hours 22 min. Thanks for your help

Mark
thanks for the info I will check them out... I'm like you before I spend a bunch of money on wheels for my rode bike I will look at loaded up and gearing out a tri bike, food for thought though I rode this past weekend with guys on their tri bikes and myself on my rode bike and was able to hang with them, so continue to work on the engine.... just practice with those aero bars because when you leave the hoods it is different and takes time to adjust to get on and off the aero bars...

Good Luck
T1

Dang!!  Good for you, that's awesome!

Okay!  I think I've made my training logs public, which is good because I wasn't sure how to invite you all to be my friends. 

So I know I need to put in more time/distance on the bike, so today I added a mile to my regular route.  I know that's not much but since I'm new I'm taking it slow!  Anyway, I'm getting so much better on the bike that I completed the longer course in the same time it took me to do the shorted route on Tuesday!  My little success for today.

I do feel that my bike workouts are scattered.  With running I have specific focuses for every workout - speed, distance, recovery, etc.  With the bike I just get on and ride a few miles.  I'd love some suggestions to know if I'm on the right track.  I'm doing two rides per week.  Should I add another?  Should I also work on an indoor bike?  I'm such a newb!

Hey well, we're pretty much in the same boat as far as the biking is concerned!  I just want to get some miles in as well.  I'm trying to ride my bike three days a week.  I've done my three rides of the week, and they were basically just biking as my method of transportation, yay!  lol.  Monday I rode to the bike store and back (13 miles round trip), Tuesday to the post office and back (6mi rt), Wednesday to the book store and back (5mi rt)!

Edited by michgirlsk 2010-04-22 2:36 PM

I live in the suburbs so I guess it's a little different.   I guess stop and go city traffic would get a bit annoying to ride in.  Traffic doesn't get too bad here, or rather, maybe I tend to ride when there's less traffic.  Plus there are sidewalks most everywhere around the city now which is rather amazing, so I try to stick to the sidewalks.  Of course, there's hardly anyone on the sidewalks, so usually it's just a clear path, which I'm sure isn't the case for Chicago.  I've actually biked in Chicago once or twice.  That lakeshore path is along Lake Shore Drive right?  I'm pretty sure I remember it being hella windy when I was there lol.

And aside from riding around town, there's a bike path along the interstate which is nearby, so I go there to ride too.

But yeah, in general I try to be extra cautious when I'm riding around.

Oh, and if you do start to ride around for transportation and need to lock up your bike outside, I recommend a kryptonite lock.  I lived in Philly a few years ago for a short time and stupidly had just chained up my bike outside my apartment (don't ask why I didn't bring it inside, I had been thinking about it but just never got around to it!!), and one day I discovered the chain was cut off and the bike was stolen.  It was a very tragic day.  It wasn't a high end bike or anything, but it was tragic nonetheless.

Hey Tim,

Sorry, should have asked this before, but are looking for race wheels or are these wheels you will keep on the bike all the time?

As for your training program, I think we should go with one of the bike focused programs.  This way, we can give your foot some more time to heal, but still work your legs pretty well.  Since you obviously can't follow the entire program, you can just pick it up and follow it from here on out.  How does that sound?  They have two bike focused programs on here.  Either one would work, but I would recommend the one that is meant to be for 20 weeks as opposed to 16 since you have already been training.

Great stuff both of you! (Samantha and Sarah).

Sarah, I'm a little torn about my response on this.  How often are you running per week and roughly how many miles? This is a significant factor.  I can see your logs so thank you for that.   

I'd like to see you do some more riding as I think you could make some great improvements with some more time in the saddle.  However, since you're planning to run a marathon, we need to have you focused on the run.  Get back to me with your running plans when you have a chance please and we'll figure this out.

Hi Everyone,

First off, I've been really happy with the way things have been going over our first week.  You have all been asking great questions and I hope you're learning something.

As the last minute, I got an invited to play in a hockey tournament in Montreal this weekend.  The goalie for a friend of mine's team got hurt this week so they asked me to come play.  They're paying for my hotel, the tournament etc, so I couldn't pass it up.  As a result, I may not be available as much starting tomorrow morning until Sunday night.  Nonetheless, I did check and the hotel has Internet so I should be able to get on here.  I just wanted to give you guys a heads up on that.

Keep it up everyone!

Colin sounds good on the program I will start the program with 7 weeks left and taper down the week of the race... Also looking for wheels to help overall I guess to have better performace out of the bike, I could use the stock wheels for most of my training, then switch to race wheels.... I'm not sure still all new to this.....Thanks T1

We'll try to survive somehow without our mentor for a few days!
Sounds like you have a very fun opportunity ahead of you.  I hope you have a great time and don't allow any goals!

Colin,
First, congrats on the hockey invite.  Hope you have a great time.  Now, to answer your questions:

It is only a 1/2 marathon, not a full, so the running isn't as intense.  I am on a three day program that includes a long run, a speedwork/tempo run, and a recovery run.  However, I've switched the recovery run for a swim, so I only run 2 times each week.  My long run is currently at 6.5 miles and my tempo runs are 4 to 5 miles for the duration.  Milage will not exceed 18 miles in any week.  

The bike ride for my super sprint tri is only 6 miles.  Given all this, what do you think about bike training?