Matt Gilmartin's Group- CLOSED~ we're swimming! (Page 5)

Name: Clint

Story: I'm a first time tri wannabe.  I have been running and riding the bike for about a year and last summer decided I wanted to do a triathlon.  I started a training program, but went back to school and life got in the way.

Family Status: Married (18 years) 3 kids, 11, 3, and 8 months.

Current Training: Been running/biking a couple of days a week for the past few months.  Need to get serious and also need to find a place to swim. There are only 2 places around me that have indoor pools, and both are a fortune to join)

2012 Races: Hopefully a sprint in May in Hopkinton, MA for my first.  I would love to do 1 a month from May thru Oct. (sprint to start, but maybe working to an Olympic distance)

Weightloss: When they tell me to haul @$$, it takes multiple trips.  I started 2011 at 293.  After diet and exercise, I was down to 243 by August.  I have gained a few lbs since then but overall, I am much better off than 1 year ago.  I am hopng to find a mentor who can help me keep on track.  

I live in Southern New Hampshire, so the real problem I have (as I pointed out) is finding locations to swim in the winter.  In the summer, I do a lot of open water swims due to the abundance of lakes around here

My bike has a compact double chain ring (50/34) and a ten speed 12-30 cassette (12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25-28).  Most of the time I was riding something like 34 x 19 or 21, and just shifting between those two for slight uphills and flats, and cruising the downhills.

Initial thought is to switch into the big ring~ you're spinning because you're using the small ring.  If you aren't feeling like the gearing is right after getting into the big ring try a new cassette.  I think the big ring should solve your "problem".

Height and weight make a big difference in cycling.  I'm also from the school of thought that cycling should be about power, not a running race (if that makes any sense without sounding condescending) where you are the motor behind the machine, as opposed to being the machine itself.  

Initial thought is to switch into the big ring~ you're spinning because you're using the small ring.  If you aren't feeling like the gearing is right after getting into the big ring try a new cassette.  I think the big ring should solve your "problem".

Height and weight make a big difference in cycling.  I'm also from the school of thought that cycling should be about power, not a running race (if that makes any sense without sounding condescending) where you are the motor behind the machine, as opposed to being the machine itself.  

NEWBIE for sure! You got room for me?

I have always wanted to attempt a sprint triathlon, but never had the time, space, pool, etc.  I swam competitively in college but was not fast, just loved it. I haven't swam laps in 10 years. I sold my bike 6 years ago and haven't been on one since, but I do enjoy it, if I remember correctly LOL.  I used to do some powerlifting but haven't done that in 6 years and probably won't ever do it again.  3 years ago I was training for the Music City half and training was going awesome when I got pregnant and was too afraid to continue (I was a month out from race day), so I didn't get to finish that. I am ok running on a treadmill, but I have a very hard time running outside.  The only race I've done is a 5k last September.  After I had my son and went through a divorce, training has been hilarious.  I tried countless times to run on my treadmill and do workouts in my house at 8:30pm but when you're a single working mom who gets up at 4:45am, that's just plain hard.  Now that things are settled, I'm joining a gym, I intend to work out on my lunch breaks (will have right at an hour), and will squeeze in the weekend and maybe once during the week after work.  The only knowledge I have about a triathlon is that you swim, bike and run.  I know there's a lot more to it than that. : )  

NEWBIE for sure! You got room for me?

I have always wanted to attempt a sprint triathlon, but never had the time, space, pool, etc.  I swam competitively in college but was not fast, just loved it (1999). I haven't swam laps in 10 years. I sold my bike 6 years ago and haven't been on one since, but I do enjoy it, if I remember correctly LOL.  I used to do some powerlifting but haven't done that in 6 years and probably won't ever do it again.  3 years ago I was training for the Music City half and training was going awesome when I got pregnant and was too afraid to continue (I was a month out from race day), so I didn't get to finish that. I am ok running on a treadmill, but I have a very hard time running outside.  The only race I've done is a 5k last September.  After I had my son and went through a divorce, training has been hilarious.  I tried countless times to run on my treadmill and do workouts in my house at 8:30pm but when you're a single working mom who gets up at 4:45am, that's just plain hard.  Now that things are settled, I'm joining a gym, I intend to work out on my lunch breaks (will have right at an hour), and will squeeze in the weekend and maybe once during the week after work. I got on the treadmill 2 days ago, after a good 6 month "nothing" period.   The only knowledge I have about a triathlon is that you swim, bike and run.  I know there's a lot more to it than that. : )  

NEWBIE for sure! You got room for me?

I have always wanted to attempt a sprint triathlon, but never had the time, space, pool, etc.  I swam competitively in college but was not fast, just loved it (1999). I haven't swam laps in 10 years. I sold my bike 6 years ago and haven't been on one since, but I do enjoy it, if I remember correctly LOL.  I used to do some powerlifting but haven't done that in 6 years and probably won't ever do it again.  3 years ago I was training for the Music City half and training was going awesome when I got pregnant and was too afraid to continue (I was a month out from race day), so I didn't get to finish that. I am ok running on a treadmill, but I have a very hard time running outside.  The only race I've done is a 5k last September.  After I had my son and went through a divorce, training has been hilarious.  I tried countless times to run on my treadmill and do workouts in my house at 8:30pm but when you're a single working mom who gets up at 4:45am, that's just plain hard.  Now that things are settled, I'm joining a gym, I intend to work out on my lunch breaks (will have right at an hour), and will squeeze in the weekend and maybe once during the week after work. I got on the treadmill 2 days ago, after a good 6 month "nothing" period.   The only knowledge I have about a triathlon is that you swim, bike and run.  I know there's a lot more to it than that. : )  

I'll second Matt's reply to you--sounds like the issue is in the gearing you're using. It's a bit different in a shorter race environment, but for endurance cycling the best approach is to try to keep your cadence pretty constant while shifting the gearing to adjust to the terrain/speeds you're going. Different people have different cadences that work best for them--I've seen articles that recommend around 100-105 rpms as an ideal "efficient" spinning speed, but that's only if you can do it smoothly. You don't want to be jerky or be bouncing around on the saddle.

I'd recommedn just finding the speed that feels comfortable to you. For me that's around 85 rpm. (Most stationary bikes have cadence meters to test out and get a feel for what different speeds feel like, if your bike computer doesn't have one.) Then use your gearing to adjust to the speeds you're going to maintain that. A common beginner mistake is to not use your gears enough--when I first started riding seriously I had the opposite problem of you--I was staying in too high of a gear and trying to power my way up hills. Which worked for a while, but tended to blow my legs out. It was a huge difference once I started utilizing my higher gears for climbing--my endurance went way up.

One last tip on shifting--when you're coming up on a climb, be sure to anticipate it and pre-shift into the smaller ring up front. Because of the tensions on the chain, you can shift your rear ring while under load, but it's a lot tougher for the front ring to do that. And you don't want to get stuck in a high gear climbing a hill. Better to lose a few seconds coasting up to the climb than losing more time and blowing out your legs because you're in the wrong gear during the climb.

A quick swim training question. From several articles and talking to some experience swimmers/triathletes, a pretty consistent recommendation is to swim train using intervals, rather than doing a single long endurance length as you would for biking or running. So I've started doing that--my first 3 sessions I did 5x100m and 10x50m intervals, with 20 seconds rest. Last ight I upped it to 8x100 and 10x50. However, right now I feel like a limiting factor for me is muscle fatigue--especially in the later sets, I'm getting pretty tired by the end of one of the distances. But the rest period feels like it's cheating and giving my muscles a chance to recuperate. (Sort of the same issue with breathing, too.)

So I'm worried that, even though I can do the intervals, it might not translate into a single endurance swim, when you don't get to stop for 20 seconds every once in a while. First, is this a reasonable concern? Second, how often, if at all, should I try to work in longer endurance swims without rests into the training cycle? I feel like I should be doing some of these, at least, in order to gauge my progress.

FWIW, I'm right at about 1 minute per 50m. My first few sets are a bit faster, my last few a bit slower, but I'm pretty close to that (+/- 5 seconds) for my whole workout.

Tell us more about your movie, Mariah!  Do we have a celebrity in our midst?

Thanks for the advice, next time I'm out I'll try moving to the big ring for flats.  I was afraid of burning out my legs, but I probably have more endurance in my legs than I give myself credit for.

How does height and weight make a difference in cycling?  I'm brand new to cycling, and I've never heard that before.  FWIW I'm 5'10"-5'11" and 155 lbs.

Thanks for the tips, unfortunately the bike computer my brother bought me for Christmas doesn't have cadence, but I can use a stationary bike at the gym to find what cadence feels right.  I've moved my running cadence up from about 140 spm to 170-180, so I think a cadence right around 85-90 should feel right.

I willed my way through 3.5 yesterday, I've had a fever two days ago but felt better last night. I'm jealous of everyone in hitting the pool, but I'll wait till whatever I have clears up before getting in the water.  Hopefully I feel a lot better before my 5k tomorrow!

My wife has a big bike phobia, she's extremely afraid of falling, which of course educes falling.  She's going to test ride a road bike on Monday in hopes of feeling more comfortable after riding on a bike trail instead of a busy parking lot.  If she still doesn't feel comfortable on a road bike, we are going to get her a 'hybrid'.  Wish us luck!

Tell us more about your movie, Mariah!  Do we have a celebrity in our midst?

Getting over a cold myself so really have just been taking it easy. The last few years they have a habit of going into my chest/lungs and then takes a month to get over.

Looks like 2012 is when I start back with the work. Got 8 weeks to get my run fitness up for a trail run with some friends, if I dont its gonna be a trail walk.

Doug,

Biggest reason we don't do long swims all the time- they're a recipe for boredom.  Secondly, the idea of intervals allows you time to stop and think about what you're doing right and wrong and make corrections.  It's also a lot more fun to work in drills, pull sets, kicking, etc rather than just swimming 1500 Meters.  That being said, I time trial my 1000 and 1500 every month to see where I'm at fitness-wise.  If you're coming up to a race and you're concerned that you won't have the stamina to go the distance, I'd suggest trying to do the distance as a workout in the pool at least once a month before.  If you can do it, you're set.  If not, you know what you need to work on.  Try it and let me know!

In fact, as part of everyones training you should probably get benchmarks of your 500, 1000, and 1500 swim times (if you can't go those distances-> make them your goals).  Watch as your training improves your swimming.

What kind of shoes and socks are you wearing?  Calf pain usually starts with your feet, or it could be from tight hamstrings. Are you stretching?

Good luck, Robin!  Have some fun and log those last few miles for 2011!

Short answer- if you're smaller (I'd call you smaller because you're <175, you're going to have a much easier time climbing a hill than I would at 240.  Climbing requires you to carry all the weight under your own power, and smaller guys usually are the best climbers.  Alternately, I'd fly by you on the downhill due to physics... the forward momentum is going to make a larger object move faster.  On the flats you'll "generally" be faster than a big guy too... just the luck.

I'm of course saying this assuming all other things are equal- we have the same bike, same fitness level, etc.

Is the pain in your calf, soleus, or upper Achilles tendon?  Remember, the Achilles tendon is a long tendon (like the IT band), and connects multiple muscles to your heel.  If you can identify where exactly the pain is, you can make corrections to your stride, shoes and/or stretching.  Your feet can change in the way they move through a running motion due to extension or contraction of muscles and tendons.  I started running again this year after many years off, at first I under-pronated due to tight tendons now I'm starting to over-pronate.  Locating the exact area of pain can really tell you what needs to be changed. i.e., I'm starting to have pain in my inner and upper Achilles which tells me I'm over-pronating, I'm going to switch from a neutral shoe to a stability shoe and it should help.

A good test is to run till you feel the very beginning of pain, then stop and stretch the calf/Achilles.  You should be able to fee the near exact area of concern.  If it's deep inside your calf then it's actually the soleus, one side of the calf/achilles vs the other then it's pronation.  

Hope this helps. 

Did I get into this group?    Not sure. . . .  Only the 3rd time I've been on this website. : )