KiterChick's beginner friendly group - CLOSED (Page 5)

Having to share a lane with a stranger the first few times adds a lot of anxiety, but it gets better pretty quickly. The lane partner will adjust to you as well as you adjust to them, and actually they are so into their own thing they'll barely notice what you're doing. That said, bringing a lane partner with you or going when the pool is less busy is a good idea. Hang in there and keep plugging away, each swim will get easier.

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone I really appreciate it. Gene I hope you are right that I will be swimming 1000 by July! That would be awesome! Lacey! You and I are in the same exact boat! Nice to know I'm not alone, I'm not worried about the bike or run as I have pretty good endurance with both but I too struggle with the swim especially when there is someone in my lane. I think if we keep at it, along with the support of everyone here we will make our goal! My first Tri is going to be in May so I feel like I have plenty of time to get the swim down well enough to finish it and it is really exciting to think about that! I'm planning to up my swim workouts to two this week start tomorrow I will let you all know how it goes. Thanks again everyone!

Wow.... lots of posts ! Sorry I only get time to read through until the weekend when there is a little more time.

Great information on swimming, definitely my weakest phase.... I'm still trying to find the motivation to get into the pool...... whilst SoCal is having nice weather compared to the rest of the country, the local pools are outdoor and the nights and mornings cold ! I have joined our local tri club and they have coached sessions on Mondays so no reason to put off any longer

So I have entered the Tri Clubs winter duathlon at beginner of February, the distances are 2 miles run, 12 miles bike , 2 miles run on a flat course. I'm good with the distances, I did a trial run today. Got a couple of questions though - for this distance should I just use my running shoes on the bike ? I have speed play pedals on my bike and I'm concerned that my feet will slip off the pedals ? And what should I wear, I have tri shorts and a racer back style top, however I'm not sure it'll be warm enough .

As for losing weight, I have 8 lb that dont wont to leave

Have a good week everyone, happy training !

Jan

Melissa,

Ahhh...cupcakes are my fave. Extra frosting, please.

You're already on the way dropping that unwanted weight and it will come off easier now that you're seriously training again. And if you indulge, don't beat yourself up. Easier said than done, I know. But you are an athlete. You can do this!

So it seems I have bronchitis, which is why I haven't been able tot take a deep breath without pain, but I'm still cleared to swim. Tonight's swim class will be interesting - I won't have an option but to take smaller breaths and control my breathing.

Keep up the great work, Team Awesome!

I did 30 minutes on the trainer this morning, first time. Also first time wearing bike shorts with the pad. Tell me my bum will get used to it, it hurt!

Ended the week with 4x run last week, following an intermediate half marathon plan. My background is running, with almost zero biking and swimming. Time to get in the pool!

Hepcat, it is encouraging to know I am not alone. I know we will be successful with overcoming the swim, because of our own determination and the support of the group here, just need to take it one swim at a time. I am going for another swim tonight (late so the pool won't be busy) and as I said I will be bringing a friend which I hope will help. I am going to start working on form and endurance, following the beginner workouts at the link below. I hope having better form will make swimming easier so I don't get so anxious when I feel like I can't catch my breath and then start panicking that I am going to drown.

https://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=...

Thank you to everyone else for your kind words as well, the support is very much appreciated

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. I ended up getting too busy at work on Friday to get in my planned workout, but hopefully worked towards making up for it with a session on the trainer on Saturday and a run yesterday. My first full week of getting back into training! Planning to hit the gym after work today for a swim and a run.

Gail - Hope the hamstring/IT issue is feeling better. Also, good luck shopping for tri clothes. They're definitely not the most flattering things to shop for!

Hookandy - I promise I'm not judging you and your gel saddle! Seriously though, you should use whatever makes you feel comfortable. If it gets to the point where you're looking for ways to get faster though, then we might have to talk about ditching it!

Carolyn24 - I'm so jealous of how close your gym is! Regarding swim classes at the Y, I know they usually cover different techniques depending on the class, so I'd just ask at the front desk. I'm sure if you explain what you'd like your focus to be, they can point you towards the best class. As for a good program to follow, there's a minisprint 20-week program on this site here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/training-plan... This actually starts even more slowly than you need, so you could skip ahead to a week that looks more in line with your current level of fitness. It looks like starting with week 2 and running instead of walking, as they suggest, would be closer to where you're at now.

Lacey - Sharing a lane is definitely going to be more stressful when you're first starting off. Bringing a friend will likely make you more relaxed. You'll get used to it soon though! It's just a lot of new things you're trying to deal with at once right now.

John - Good luck in the pool today!

Melissa - Congratulations on the weight loss! I know you're frustrated that you've gained in the past, but you're definitely not alone with that here (I'm 10 lbs. over my ideal weight too) and it's all about just moving forward from this moment and it sounds like that's what you're doing.

Jan - I have Speedplay pedals too. I'm not sure I'd recommend riding with running shoes and them for two reasons - 1) As you mentioned, they don't have a lot of surface area, and you risk your foot slipping off of them throughout the ride, and 2) you're going to miss out on the upswing portion of you pedal stroke and this is probably going to slow you down a lot. If you'd really rather not swap out shoes, you'd be better off finding a pair of regular pedals with toe clips and putting those on. As for what to wear, it looks like the average temp should be 50-65. That's not too cold, unless you're really sensitive. You could add arm warmers, that way, they'd be easy to pull off if you felt overheated or even start with a jacket over a short sleeved top and ditch it during transition if you get too warm if you're worried about being cold.

Carolyn - Hope the bronchitis isn't too serious. Take care of yourself!

Omne38103 - Haha, yes, don't worry, your butt will get used to riding. You likely won't get entirely immune to it, but it will take a lot longer before it will bother you. Just think of it as another endurance aspect you need to build up!

Love the link to the swim training programs... Now who has a link to the equivalent for the bike and run?

Did a swim on Sunday followed by a 15k bike home.... Just a flavour of what we are letting ourselves in for!

Well I managed 500m today at the pool. I really worked on my breathing today and I think I made a little headway. Of that 500, 50 was warm up and 50 was cool down. But more significantly for me was I managed to eek out 100m of freestyle, at least my version of freestyle and that was a bigger accomplishment than the actual distance as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure there were some people wondering if I was going to make it out of the pool when I was done. But hey I felt pretty good about the effort. I will make it back there later this week as my plan is to swim 2x's a week. I'm a bit more encouraged today than I was last week so I hope to build on that! The saga continues!! LOL!

Nice work on the swim, Hepcat!
I had another swim session yesterday and actually had about 3 strokes of sheer zen! Everything felt smooth. The coach was even yelling "YES!" from the deck. Of course I quickly lost the zen and didn't get it back, but it was there. My glimmer of hope. My promise that this nightmare will end! It kept me on a high for hours. I'll go back in search for more of those strokes. They will come for all of us!

In other news, my Pearl Izumi tri suit came in the mail. It was more humiliating than I thought. It will go back. I'll start with a two piece, the one piece is just embarrassing. I'm afraid to get the swimsuit I ordered in the mail now. Who came up with these outfits? And the pros (the people you actually see wearing the stuff) look so good that the expectation is that they might not be so bad. Well, I'm here to tell you it's bad. I should be able to fit a somewhat fitted but roomier tank under my wetsuit, there's no need for that one piece trisuit at my level.

My hamstring is still giving me a dull throbbing pain. I'll go another day to heal it and do some foam rolling and pushups instead of biking. Hoping to swim on Wednesday. Our local YMCA has a 2 week free deal so I can check out lap swim times and how crowded they are. That would be what I'd do after the lessons at the private school which is 45 min away.

Good for you!!! I am embarrassed to say that i skipped my workout today. I conned myself into believing that I was too tired and needed a rest day after a long Monday at work, but the reality is that I wussed out after my swim buddy cancelled. My horrible swim Sunday made me anxious to get back in the pool, and i let myself get away with the excuses. I will, however, force myself back in the pool tomorrow as your post helps to remind me that my next swim could be a good one

Hi Sarah,
Well, it turns out it was user error, and the tube was working just fine (apparently I left the valve " open"/unscrewed so it wasn't keeping air in. Whew!
The good thing is, I learned how to change a tube! Woohoo
53min on the bike trainer today.
4 mile run tomorrow.

After a mini get away to NYC (from London) I started training last night with 20min on the trainer (I find reading a magazine eg Women's health is a good way to keep me going & keep my mind off a sore butt) and tonight I went to the pool for the first time in a long time and did 34 laps (I think the pool is 25m) in 25minutes - including one lap of swimming the lane rope down for the staff there! Walking home from the pool (20min walk) made me concerned about doing the 3 things altogether.

My tri is just a super sprint. How long or far should I be aiming to get to with each thing in their separate training sessions?

When I first started on my trainer a few weeks ago I put a pillow on the seat coz my butt was hurting soooo much! Pillow is off now

In relation to what to wear, is a normal swimsuit ok then put tight gym pants and top on for the bike & run?

Also, I just have regular trainers and standards pedals on my hybrid bike - are straps recommended?

Did 30 minutes in the pool tonight and swam 450m. I followed the 400m form workout from the link I posted earlier with swim drills, and added an extra 50m of cool down to make it an even 30 minute workout. Today went much better, I think having the drills to focus on (some of which felt really awkward) kept me from thinking too much about drowning although I did still have a couple of moments where I started to panic. One thing that I did differently was that when I started to feel anxious and panicky I just stopped swimming and treaded water until I calmed down, whereas on Sunday I tried to keep going which made it worse...this was a definite improvement.

Nice work Lacey! Proud of you for making it through the drills. I haven't done drills yet I just keep flailing away in the water. Maybe I should consider doing some drills. I did get a pull bouy yesterday and I'm anxious to use it for my next swim which I plan to do on Thursday. We will do this!!! HAHA!!

Hi all,

I have a couple of questions for everyone.

I'm reading all of your great swim posts, and I want to know if you all are stopping or resting at all during your 400-500 m distances? I don't know how to do one of those turns, so I just touch the edge and turn around when I do my laps. After every 6 laps or so (150m) I'll hold on to the edge for 10-15 seconds to rest. I am soooo tired. I'm doing 1600m 3 nights/week, but that's in an hour, includes pull and kicking drills, and lots of rests. Do I suck as badly as I think I do?

Also, when should I really start my serious training? I set up an 18 wk training program using one of the links here. But I want to rest my strained tendon in my inner thigh, and get over this bronchitis. My Olympic tri isn't until May, and the 70.0 is in September. Other than the swim, the run and bike distances are already there, and I've kept up with strength training all winter, so that's solid. Should I be working on interval drills for the run and bike to get faster instead of just putting in the seemingly low mileage? Both courses are insanely hilly, and once it warms up, I'll go practice them. I love local races for that reason.

Is January too early to start panicking? I want to finish strong, and one day I'd really like to instill a little fear in my competitors. hahaha

Hi all! Well, I didn't make it to the gym on Monday. I realized I'd forgotten my lock. I also was feeling pretty run down from running and biking over the weekend, so I decided a day off was in order. I got back into things last night with a trainer ride and a run this morning. Eating wasn't very healthy last night since I desperately need to go grocery shopping. Planning on stopping on the way home tonight so I can get back into making some healthier meals.

In other news, I just signed up to do the B2B ride again! It's a 131M ride from MA to VT. Last year it was 148M, but I think this year will be tougher since it now ends on a significant uphill. I'll definitely be doing some hill training as soon as spring rolls around! You can see the course map and elevation profile here if you're interested: http://b2vtride.com/the-course/course-map/

Hookandy - That's awesome that you swam then biked. Soon you'll have to try biking then running. That's where it really starts to get interesting!

Melissa - Good point about riding on the trainer being more uncomfortable than being outside. I definitely find that I get sorer earlier when I'm on the trainer since you're basically stuck in one position and you tend to get out of the saddle less.

John - Congratulations on getting through 100m straight with freestyle! It's just going to keep going up over time and soon 100m will seem like nothing.

Gail - Sorry trying on the trisuit did not go well. I'm not a huge fan of them either and almost always opt for a two piece kit at this point too. It makes going to the bathroom easier too! Good luck resting up that hamstring. Injuries are the worst!

Lacey - Don't beat yourself up too much over missed workouts, it happens to all of us. I missed a run and a swim last week, and will probably at least miss another swim this week. Not ideal, but there will just sometimes be days where you're just not motivated to go. As long as you don't stretch it out to several days, you'll be fine. Nice to hear your latest swim was better than the last one!

Daniela - Do you have presta valves on your tubes? They still shouldn't leak that much, even if you don't screw them back down. In fact, if you have deeper rimmed wheels, you have to keep them permanently open with a valve extender screwed on to be able to inflate them. Perhaps you just had a faulty tube. Regardless, glad you got it fixed and that you learned to change a tube too. Definitely a useful skill to have!

KJ - I like to go a bit over the race distances when I'm training. How far over though is up to you, but don't feel you have to go too far. You don't want to risk injuring yourself by overtraining. If you're feeling good with your training though, and would like to know you'll feel really comfortable at the race distances, you could go up to 2x the distances. For clothing, you can wear a normal swimsuit and put on pants/top in T1, but be aware that putting on clothes when you're wet can be difficult. I'd suggest trying it out after your next swim to see if you still want to go this route. As for pedals, if you can get straps, it will likely improve your cycling, but you don't need them. The benefit is that you get added power from the upswing part of the stroke and not just the downswing. This is especially helpful on hills.

Carolyn - You definitely don't suck! I don't do flip turns either. I'd suggest you just work on building up the distance you have between your rest periods over time. Perhaps try to add an additional 25-50m per longer stretch every week. If it starts to feel too tiring, don't worry about it, and do what feels best and work on it again next time. It's all about steady progress over time. As for when to start training, I'm assuming you're 18 weeks out now from the Oly, correct? I wouldn't recommend starting in on intervals until your tendon heals, but once that's the case, you could definitely add some in to build up some speed. What I like to do, is look up a lot of different plans, then pick and choose the workouts that I feel will benefit me the most and substitute them in as desired. So, if you want to add intervals, check out more advanced plans and throw in some of those workouts if you're interested in them. Also, if you're feeling good, and want to keep up the run/bike mileage too, you could certainly do that until the program catches up with you. A lot of programs are designed with the understanding that you need to build up to that. Are you doing Savageman? Just wondering since you mentioned you're doing a 70.0. I watched the video of people climbing that one ridiculous hill from last year. Crazy!

Well, I put my money where my mouth is and officially registered for the Memphis in May sprint triathlon! After I clicked submit, I had an immediate panic attack. I am perfectly fine with the running (I run between 20-40 miles per week anyway) and assume I'll do ok on the bike. The swim freaks me out, but the lake for the triathlon I'm doing is 4-5 feet deep at the deepest point, and is human-made.

There's something about the inevitability of actually signing up that is both awesome and terrifying

OMG Chuff! No way! You don't suck at all! I rest every full length. In fact I think the best I have ever done without a rest might have been 75 m. I wish I could do a fraction of what your workout is. Well I guess mine is a fraction of your workout. A small fraction. . As far as turning goes I do not nor will I even aspire to do a flip turn, I'm sure that would be my demise if I try to get that fancy! Fortunately flip turns aren't needed in any of the races I'm planning to do! You are rockin' it Chuff! Fear not my friend!

So...I registered tonight for an adult swim class that focuses on stroke development. There aren't any Masters Classes offered in my area so I thought this might be the next best thing. I figure I could try to figure this all out on my own, but it's hard to see what you are doing wrong since your face is in the water. It runs 1 night a week for 12 weeks so hopefully I will be able to improve significantly over time...I can only get better from here I will be sure to pass along any good tips I learn

Lacey, know what you mean about not being able to see your own stroke. I go to a session every few weeks get some pointers and come away and practice. Seems to be working, just not sure if it is the help or the time in the pool!

Hep, if I try and tumble I feel sick and dizzy and usually end up choking and coughing. So I gave up. Can not play on the roundabout with my boy in the either as I feel sick.

Well I managed another 500 today in the pool. Used my pull buoy and boy was that a surprise. LOL. It helped but it was different not kicking and man did my shoulders scream after a few laps. Man I'm so weak! . It helped me feel better about the sinking feeling and I do think it will help me work on my freestyle form. I was only able to use it for 3 lengths but I was less panicked so that's progress. The rest of the swim was back stroke and I took less rests today so I feel pretty good about the effort. I also went and bought a different set of goggles afterwards. The ones that fit more like a mask. I'll try that next swim and see if it's better. My current ones just constantly fog up no Matter what I do to make them not fog. Also bought a nose clip. Not sure ill like that but I'll see how it goes. Moving forward!!!