GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 55)

Great interview Steve!

Thanks Steve. As I've been progressing through the TI book and getting the swim smooth email updates, I have a bunch of other techniques I need to try too:

"Stretching" and reaching with the arms with each stroke;
Pretending to breathe with the belly button (so as to roll the body to the side rather than turn the head...)
Push the hip down when returning from the breathe (to reinforce the torso roll)
"Lean" on the armpits when extending the arms

And so many more!

I'm going to start working on the drills today too. I'm going to try the balancing and sweet spot ones for now.

Thanks!

Tracey

M -

Thank you, too........but I still have not been there myself. But seeing as how you mention cupcakes, maybe I'll grab one of the Vanilla Bean ones I've been eyeing at a Starbucks for a few weeks now. I was at 175 this morning and am content enough with that, plus I will swim and run today, and maybe also hop on the bike for a while during the Super Bowl, so I guess my TBF (trim boyish figure ) can handle it!

How are you doing these days, anyhow? Here's something that dawned on me, but I haven't tracked it down yet:

In '00, we did a family driving vacation out west, making it as far as the Colorado and New Mexico. That was my first year of traithlon, and at that point I hadn't done a race but was training for a first in mid-August. So going through Council Bluffs, we made a stop at a local lake, I believe at the southeast corner of the city, and I was able to fit in a half-decent swim. I can picture the beach and the parking area, and clearly remember the water being very warm, but it worked for my purposes. I should dig out a Nebraska map and figure out exactly what lake it was. And it might've been a reservoir, but one that is open to public recreation. Any ideas?

(And thanks for the cupcake!)

Ah, a cotton ball!

My husband is a nurse and we have endless supplies of first aids, so I'm sure I can dig up some cotton somewhere...

Tracey

TRACEY -

Merci! (See my post to M above; still haven't heard it yet.)

Remind me to track down a comment about reach/extension in "Overachiever's Diary", which is written by Louis Tharp when he was the swim coach of the West Point Triathlon team. He brought a TI mentality to the team, and at some point in the book he provides an interesting take on shoulders. I know I'm sounding vague about this, and I'll have to work a bit to find it and figure out exactly what he said that caught my attention.

I like that book a lot, partially because there are several places in which he thinks outside the TI box. The reach/extension/shoulder thing is one of those instances. I'll get back to about this!




Edited by stevebradley 2010-02-07 5:04 PM

Steve, this is the reason she wants me to do the bilateral, particularly because in the past I did my breathing to the left which is the really bad shoulder.

That said, I am finding it difficult to incorporate everything at the same time!  Watched all of the TI DVD before getting in the pool yesterday and was a little overwhelmed.  After a couple of really bad laps decided to just focus on the rolling and leading with my head down rather than the breathing and the rest of it.  And the arm "zipper" motion and leading with my elbow noticeably put additional strain on my shoulders.  So for now I need to focus on keeping the recovery long and low.  My shoulders started to feel strained at lap 9 and hurt by lap 13 but were not nearly as painful as the week before and I do not have nearly the degree of pain this morning as last week after the swim.  So there is definite progress.

Steve, I do have a question about how to proceed.  If I do the tri in May, I just need 200 yards on the swim which is what I'm doing with the 13 laps.  For now, should I just focus on that distance and work on strengthening my shoulders and speed with that distance or should I work on increasing the distance?  My next one will not be until October which is the 300 meter.  So I would have more than four months to work on the additional distance.  At this point, I am taking it very slow and leisurely as I do not want to have a setback with my shoulders.

Hope that everyone is having a great training weekend!

Tracey, I am envious of your progress on the swim!  Where are you getting the swim smooth email updates?  Sounds like they would be helpful.  Thanks!

STEVE,

Listened to the podcast this morning.   Congratulations again!   I really enjoyed it and it is so nice to have a voice to put to the face.        We really lucked out in getting you as our mentor.  

Just about to head out for a short run.    Hopefully I won't be back in tears.  

Just finished week 1 of my 12 week program and it felt really good ... did get 45 minutes extra of running yesterday! It feels really good to be back in the pool, the bike is going to use a bit more work ... my rear end is feeling the little time that I put in. 

Trying to decide on whether or not to buy a wetsuit for my tri in April. X-terra has theirs on sale through today.

And here is a rather unusual question for everyone ... (except for Denise, because I know how clear the water is in the lakes in Minnesota!).  Open water swims here are typically in murky green or murky brown water - yuck! So, would most of you swim with your eyes open looking into the abyss or closed and opening them when you breath to sight? Just curious.

I wish I had the opportunity to swim in nice crystal clear water but not around here! I remember watching my 18 month old daughter sink about 10 feet to the bottom of Clamshell Lake in Minnesota one summer when she fell between the slats of a bench at the end of a dock. I thought for sure she'd come back up but guess her diaper, jeans, and shoes weighed her down ... ended up having to get in and rescue her. She thought it was fun stuff and my husband found it very amusing when we both walked back up to our cabin soaking wet.

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-24 7:41 AM

TRACEY and ALL -

Arghhh! Dumbdumbdumbdumbdumb!!!

In my post this morning I gave the name of the Louis Tharp book as "Underachiever's Diary", whereas it is "Overachiever's Diary"!! How could I be such a chowderhead! I mean, it deals with West Point -- how could they possibly be thought of as UNDERachievers?!?

Anyhow, I have switched it in the previous post, so at least I have atoned for my sins. It hit me about ten miles from home on my way into ottawa this morning, and I almost turned around to rectify it right then and there. (But, I decided to wait.)

Anyhow, apologies to you, and enormous apologies to Louis Tharp and the West Point triathlon team!




Edited by stevebradley 2010-02-07 5:03 PM

Hi Diane. Don't be too envious! I wasn't feeling so great in the pool today and had to take quite a few extra breaks. We will get there though!

Here is a link to where you can sign up for the Swim Smooth "blog":

http://www.feelforthewater.com/

Tracey

Edited by midlifeinsanity 2010-05-24 7:42 AM

TRACEY -

Shortly, I will start posting snippets from "Overachiever's Diary". Shortly, as in later today most likely, as I'm on here for a while and then disconnecting as case our slacker of a plumber is trying to return my calls!

Swim Smooth --- Is this the same one I raved about way-back-when? The one run by Paul Newsome?

So your husband is a nurse - lucky you! I think we should all have a partner who is well-versed in the medical arts. Maybe it should be part of the pre-nups for triathletes!

For much of '02/'03 I was plagued with a S-I (sacro-iliac) joint problem, and it really affected me on the bike. To relive the discomfort I would periodically do what I considered an "Elvis-pelvis thrust", which involved stopping pedaling with my right foot at 6 o'clock (bottom) and my left foot at 12 o'clock, and just thrust my pelvis as far forward as possible (the stem of my bars being the limiter!) stretching that part of my lower-lower back. So i was doing this during the bike leg odf Atomicman (TN) in '02, and a guy passed me and said as he passed "Don't you wish your wife was a chiropractor." To which I responded enthusiastically "YES!!!!"!

Yeah, I love Lynn dearly and have for 35 years......but when it comes to chiropracty and physiotherapy, her skill-set is woefully deficient!

Prepare yourself for some Tharpisms!

DIANE -

I will defer to the judgment of your trainer at all times, so with anything I ever say, go to her for a second opinion!

I am not surprised that your shoulder starting acting up with the zipped drill, as it was a similar motion that led to my impingement a few years ago. I was really a very exaggerated zipper, and done at speed -- bringing my arms back up to the front as close to my body as possible. I had watched a video of an olympian swimmer, and, boy-oh-boy, did his form ever look great when his recovery was high and close to his body. But for me the attempt lasted just a few strokes and I knew I had done something to my left shoulder.

Having said that, i still occasioanlly do zipper drills, but I do them somewhat modified and not at speed. I figure, though, thta if they are accompanied by sufficient body roll, that the shoulder will not be overstressed. In my extreme case a few years ago, because I was not treating as a drill but rather as a refinement of my regular long-distance swim training pace, I was bringing that arm high and clsoe but with no attempt to accommodate it by rolling more. Ergo, impringed shoulder!

Are you currently swimming in a 25-yard pool? Then you are already going "over-distance" for the May race! Congratulations! You have gone over half-again as long as you need for something that is still a few months away! Nine laps gives you 225 yards, 13 is 325 yards, so you know what things will feel like in May. Piece of cake, eh?

Unless you feel the urge for more, or unless your trainer thinks that will be good for you, I wouldn't push the distance much further at all. I am generally very cautious about people over-training for an event unless they have one not-so-far after it that will require those extra distances. But for you having until October to prepare for the next one, well, as you suggest, that's a long time to get in those extra yards. So for now, get comfortable at the 200 yards first, and then play around with ways in which you might do that distance faster. That might be breathing patterns or stroke cadence or any number of seemingly miniscule adjustments, but going over-distance won't do all that much to help you - other than a boost of confidence (which is never a bad thing).

Where's your bike right now? Little Rock? Tulsa? Denton?

ANNE -

I've just visited your log, and it looks like the run went well. At some point you used the word "great", so that sounds far removed from the fear of coming back from it in tears. When is the next one scheduled?

The bike looks to have gone well as well, so yesterday was a good'un for you!

Interesting comments on yoga and swimming! That ought to provide a small kink in things, wheeling and dealing to fit both of those into your schedule to their best benefit. I guess the surprise of sorts is that the effects of the yoga seem to last for a fairly long time. It's great that the yogic benefits seem so large in some respects.......but just not necessarily for a swim-on-the-rebound!

How do you think you will have to adjust things?

LISA -

Aw, I'm sorry I didn't get to your post yesterday before the Xterra sale ended. I hope you managed to read my comments to Shaun a week or so ago in which I encouraged him to get a Xterra. I have had two of them, and while they have worn out kind of quickly they have served me quite well -- especially at the price you can get them for! They also seem a bit heavier than many other copainies, but they also seem a bit more buoyant. Anyhow, I hope you bit the bullet yesteday and decided to order one.

Even in the murkiest of waters I keep my eyes open. Now, we are talking about this with goggles on, yes? I guess if I were swimming bare-eyed I would only open them when I was breathing, but with goggles on they'd be open the whole while. It's kind of like driving in severe fog -- you can't see four feet in front of you, but just keep hoping the fog will lift, and if it does then it will be useful to have your eyes open!

For me, it really is just having all the senses atuned -- even if one of them (vision, in this case) is basically impaired. Swimming in the mighty Hudson River for the NYC Tri is one of the rare cases in which I am in water that defies sight. But I do remember some of those lakes (reservoirs) north of Dallas, and they were as murky as they were toasty!

Cool story about your daughter. It sounds as if over the years mom has grown to find the story somewhat amusing, too!

Finally, well done on week one. Your bike-bottom should be okay soon; thank goodness that always comes around pretty quickly for me after any sort of layoff from the bike!

M -

The cupcake was GREAT! I had enjoyed a superb run following a decent swim, so thta gave me more reason to indulge. I wish it had had a bit more of the vanilla bean gloriousness to it, but it was nevertheless a tasty delight.

Lake Manawa ---- that rings a distanct bell. I'll have to get to a map and see if I can recreate the drive to it and all.

Which model of Merrells did you get? They ahve made some nice inroads into the running universe, and some people are very impressewd with waht they are doing. I hope they work wll for you!

Life getting in the way for you? Fear not, and worry even less! That happens to all of us, and what is great is that 19 times out of 20, when everything shakes down, it happens that most things have been fit in just fine. I mean, some shoe-horning has been required, and a few items have had to be tossed away, but mostly evreything has worked out 90% fine. Keep the faith!

Back to you with the bike question later!

STEVE,

I WAS happy with the run, and no tears, but disappointed that I was starting to feel the twingy nerve by the end.   But it seems the manipulation the osteo did on it helped, so that tells me there is hope.

I don't know how long the effects of the yoga linger on, but on Friday I did a late session 4:30 in the afternoon and was swimming at 11:00 the next morning.   I do remember I always had problems when I did my strength training too close to swimming.   However, it seems to work well for biking.  

I have now changed my RECOVERY day to Monday in prep for whatever training plan we decide on and will do yoga this morning at 9:30.   Won't swim till 11:00 tomorrow so will see if that helps.

I am not going to do yoga on Wed  anymore so it won't affect my Thursday swim and will do my Friday yoga at 9:30 and probably do long weekend swim on Sunday.  

This week I am doing yoga M, T and Th, Fr.  

Have loaded my week's training into my 'planned training'.   Slight increase in volume.  

Thanks.  

Hi Diane. Don't be too envious! I wasn't feeling so great in the pool today and had to take quite a few extra breaks. We will get there though! Here is a link to where you can sign up for the Swim Smooth "blog": http://www.feelforthewater.com/Tracey

Thanks Steve.  That was pretty much my thought as well.  I have so much work to do on things like breathing and rolling that not adding distance for now is a relief.  The pool I am using currently is just 16 yards so with the 13 laps I am just going slightly over the 200 yards.  But that is with many breaks in there.  I have located a 25 yard pool with lap swimming when I feel I am ready to work the distance.  For the drills, the 16 yards works fne.  And it is the same length as my pool in the backyard when spring/summer arrive here.  Thanks as well for your thoughts on the zipper drills.  I don't think I can do much with those until my shoulders improve significantly from where they are now, even if I add more roll.  Don't know exactly where my bike is at the moment but it is scheduled for delivery tomorrow and will be in the bike shop by tomorrow night if it is delivered early enough.  I am hoping to have it back by the weekend although that may be overly optimistic.

ANNE -

It would be nice if the extra seven hours between yoga and swimming makes a difference. At SOME point, the spacing between them will be workable!

But I will be sending mojo that the differnece between the 4:30pm and the 9:30am yogas does the trick, and that you need look no further!

M -

Nope, you don't have to be in the saddle for the whole thing, and depending on the course, many people have to walk their bikes for a while.

I have seen just about every type of bicycle at races over the years, with the exception of a pennyfarthing! And although I have never specifically noticed one that is without gears, I'm sure they are there.

My good money says that I am less of a techie than you are, and so I figure that if I can figure out gears, you can too! I think that for most people, it all comes down to practice. It is pretty dauntuing at first to make them "work" for you, but in time is all just sort of falls into place. In most cases I don't even think about how I am going to shift, it just happens automatically.

Lots of people like the benefits of having the so-called "granny gear", which comes from having a third ring in the front. My wife has one on her hybrid and I should check out her gears to see whther that makes things easier or harder......but to my mind having a third ring would just confuse matters. Granted, it allows for easier pedalling on harder hills, but it's still a third choice instead on just two.

So if you are toying with the idea of going with gears, think about two rings up front and a cogset with 8 or 9 gears in back. Having that extra cog in back doesn't make any difference in trms of decision-making, but it just allows one more option for pedalling efficiency. Of course, there's also bikes that have just three gears, and as long as you are looking at flat races and flat training, that would work. And coming back to your original question/situation, a gearless vinatge model will suffice, and it will be allowed, and you are perfectly free to dismount whenever you need to.

DIANE -

Ahhhh! A 16-yarder - that explains things!

Pool-length and drills can work both ways. Some of the TI balance drills left me close to drowning after about 10 yards, so a 16-yarder would've been ideal. For other drills, I love being in a 50-meter pool just so I can build and refine technique without the interruption of a wall. Ultimately, we make do with what we have, and there are SO many things to work on with swimming, that probably even a hot tub or a jacuzzi could have its discrete little benefits!

Can you make big cow-eyes, or conjure up a trembling lower lip? Either of thoise will work with your bike shop guys if you really want to get your bike by the weekend. Bike shop guys are generally sweethearts and will go to great lengths to get owners back in the saddle again. But if you feel you need that extra edge, practice the big, sad cow-eyes and the trembling lower lip in the mirror, and feel free to use either when imploring them to have your bike ready for the weekend!

M again -

Couldn't find anything on Black Squirrel, but did explore the Omaha Triathlon website. VERY nice logo, reminiscent of some of the logos that the Chicago Triathlon has used over the years. I love city-based races, and especially like it when a city uses its skyline as part of the logo.

But I couldn't find any course specifics, other than the mention that water temps in Carter at that time of the year are 77 degrees, which place it very close to the USAT wetsuit cutoff temp of 78 degrees.

It's a costly opne, following the alarming trend of olympic-distance races to be in mid-100 range (Omaha is $150). really, it was jsut a few years ago that $150 was at the outer limits of a half-iron, and only rare olys were even $125 (that was the case with NYC in '05, and it had jumped to $225 for '09!). In the interests of household economics and dwindling discretionary spending, it makes alot of sense for a lot of people to race mostly sprints, which are generally still well under $100.

Ack.