Mike's group closed (Page 6)

omg!  That picture is so cool!  And obviously so real too.  I've been thinking about this.  When I'm swimming by myself in the pool the water is nice and calm and I get my rythm going quite easily.  I used to hate when others got in the pool because it became that much harder to swim.  Also the waves would make me swallow water sometimes.  Ugh!  Now I've learned to like it when the pool turns into a washing machine.  It's so much more realistic.  So tonight I practiced swimming in the washing machine and applying the principals of good form.  Can't say it was that pretty but...  LOL

A second point about pushing off the wall, I never do that because in open water you don't have a wall to push off.  I was watching this guy tonight who got almost to the middle of the pool with his push, loosing swimming ground.  He was also swimming really fast and got tired just as fast.  Lasted but a few minutes in the pool. 

Here's my question of the day.  What do you guys do when you're having a bad training day?  What do you do to refocus on form and basic principles?  I was having issues tonight with my swimming and couldn't get right for the first 25 to 30 laps, my form was bad, couldn't get my breathing right, kept getting foot cramps (52 degrees here, antartica like weather for us southerners), my goggles keps leaking and then fogging, my swim cap wouldn't stay put, ...  I was finally able to get my grove going between the 30th and 60th laps.

Oh, one last question.  What do you do about your goggles fogging?  So annoying!  And it's hard to see too! 

The funny thing is that I'm only training for a short sprint.  LOL  Definitely one of those over achievers...  LMAO!!!

I wish I knew the answer to that Sandra.  I think everybody does.  The bottom line is you have good days and bad days.  What do you do to have a good day is the same question in disguise. You try to do the best you can and don't let it get inside your head too much.  Just like a bad day at work.  In the end, you'll still get paid.

Sometimes, though, just stopping for a minute or two to catch your breath, re-focus and start again helps.  Re-focusing to me means I make it clear in my head what it is that I am doing like a specific swim drill.  I think of what it should look like and what the point of the drill is.  It probably won't suddenly be a good workout, but it may get me through it.

Either way, good or bad workout, I keep those little gems stored away.  During a race or really long training day in the summer I pull those memories out of storage and remind myself of how bad I felt that one day.  Or how I should feel so I can try to re-focus on that memory/feeling.  Or just how I didn't give up and I remember how good that feels in the end. Those get me through those tough times too.  It's all a test to see if you can do it.

Can you do it?

 For foggy goggles, put a drop of baby shampoo in them and smear it around the night before.  Before swimming, rinse them out well and your good to go.  Works every time.

Hey all, I've been travelling for business (add another IT manager to the group) which has made it difficult to post.  I get the email updates whenever the thread is updated, so I've been able to read everyone's posts which has been great and has helped me stay focused.  Certainly helps when you're eating out every night because these big work dinners can be killer sometimes and not something I'm used to.  Nutrition for me is so important in keeping my weight in check and absolutely makes me feel so much healthier -  I was overweight for many years and was able to lose over 40 lbs 6 years ago and for the most part kept it off.

Luckily there's a small gym in the hotel we're staying at so I've been able to get some bike work (the dreaded fitness bike, but it's better than nothing) and some runs on the treadmill in.  I'll try to update my logs when I get back from the trip.  Surprisingly I've had some good workouts which has been great.

Happy to say that I'm spending the weekend in Florida on a mini-vacation (visiting family) so I'll actually be able to run outdoors and if the weather is good enough - swim outdoors as well!

By the way - never thought about the push off the wall and the effects it would have in the open swim.  I always looked at it as a little cheat in my swim workout  .  Well that now ends thanks to you guys and the discussion.  Thanks!!

Hey Pete - I think some people handle it much better, but business travel is definitely tough on me.  Long meetings combined with a disrupted schedule and eating out/more work me over.  Usually takes me 2-3 days to get back to normal after I get home.

Enjoy Florida!

Wow Sandra, 56 degrees.  I'm so jealous.  I had one of those bad days today.  I couldn't get my run feeling good and it was only supposed to be a short one (30 minutes)  It was 20 degrees outside and I ran immediately after swimming 50 laps so I didn't want to go out in the cold while still a little wet.  In hindsight, I probably should have just bundled up and gone for it because I ended up cutting it short.  Every treadmill at the local Y was full so I had to use their indoor track (less than 100 yards per lap) and I was dodging through about 15 people on it.

Unfortunately, tomorrow is probably going to be worse.  The temperature when I'm going to be working out is set to be around 1 degree with a 15 below zero wind chill.  I'm pretty sure I won't be outside running in that.  An hour on a treadmill might just kill me....

1 degree?  Come on!  You're lying to me right?  There is not such a thing!  I tell you, the 56 degree temp I told you guys about was air temp.  The heated pool was probably around 70 or so and I kept getting foot cramps.  In fact, I think I might be getting sick from how cold the pool was! 

So sorry that you guys have to train in such an unbeliveable conditions.  ALL YOU GUYS ARE WAY BETTER THAN I AM OR WOULD EVER BE!  YOU'RE MY HEROES!!! 

Aw, so sorry to hear that.  New equipment is great new toys, but it sucks because you have to fine tune it and get used to it which can be very frustrating!  I'm going through it with my new cycling shoes anjd will soon with my new bike.  Not really looking forward to the combination.  It'll work out!  Good luck.   

I just got home (11:00pm)  from our local tri club meeting.  It is always fun to hang with people with common interest.  I'll keep it short tonight since it is getting late.  Are you part of a local tri club?  Do you have one?  Look on line or ask around your local bike shops to see if there is one and how to join.  Being a part of that type of group has lots of benefits and is just one more source for you. 

Train on!

The latest Triathlete magazine on the stands is a special for beginners.  I glanced through it and it has some pretty good articles if anyone is interested.

Today on my way to work it was -10 degrees outside!  So there is no running or biking outside for sure.  That's just plain dangerous.  I had planned a long run too.  I hate long runs on the treadmill.  HATE them.  So what does one do when things don't work out?  Try doing a short, intense work out instead.  There are many benefits to doing a good warm up, then 15 minutes of hard, hard effort with a nice cool down.  Push yourself to maximum if you can.  Occasionally "shocking" the system is a good thing.  The body gets very efficient at doing repetitious things.  So good at it, it can become weak again and anything new becomes tougher then normal.  Make sure you add varying intensities to keep your body on it's toes and growing.

If intensity doesn't work, try doing brick workouts.  Get your bike and run gear out just like it is race day.   Ride your bike for a little while (15-30 minutes) in all of your bike gear you plan to race with and then hop off and practice your transition (T1).  Practice what you will take off and put on and look for speed and smoothness.  Then run for 15-30 minutes.  Your legs will feel wierd at first, so it's good to get used to it.  Some people work their butts off in the pool to shave a minute or two off their swim time only to loose it all in the transition area.  I have seen people loose or gain several minutes and positions in each transition area.

I went to college in northern MI (above WI) and ran XC and track.  We ran just about every day, year round.  My first year in college we got over 300 inches of snow and we used to go for off-road runs for over an hour in the woods in that stuff.  Those were some crazy days.  Now I'm living down south and can hardly stand to go outside the few times it dips into single digits. Funny how my perspective has changed between now and then!

Lately I've been swimming about 5-6 times per week.  Now it's gotten cold and really dry, and my skin is starting to itch more than I'd like.  So I've taken to rubbing my wife's body lotion all over my body.  Unfortunately, I like the smell of this stuff better on her than on me.  Any other suggestions?

You could try vaseline.  It's a little sticky but it's great when you are in need of industrial strength stuff.  I've also noticed that my skin gets very dry.  Guess it's a combination of the cold weather and the chlorine. 

Although it was cold today (got up to 49) I made it to the pool but came 10 laps short of my usual.  Ran out of energy because I forgot to bring food.  Oh well... 

 It'll be in the 70's on Sunday for the Houston marathon.  Woohooo!!!! 

I've been noticiing that I'm getting tired about an hour and a half into my workouts.  I usually take one day off training but was wondering if I need more.  I hate to take too much time off because it makes it hard to get back in.  I also thought that if you vary your workouts in terms of activities it would be okay to keep it at 6 days a week. 

How much is enough time off to recoup?  How much is too much?

To answer your questions.  A day off a week should be good.  And it's never too much if you can do it in a positve way.

Of course my answers are never that simple so here it goes.  I looked back at what you told me at the beginning of all this and your workout logs since then and here is what I think:  You swim a lot!  But you don't run.  Going from swimming 2-3 days a week to 5 or 6 and your times being so long is probably the culprit.  Not that it can't be done, but I think it is just a lack of endurance in the water.  It takes a ong time to build that up.  If your not built up to it and do it every day, I am sure it is going to get to you.  Just think, the longest swim in triathlons is 2.4 miles for a reason.  In the water, that's a long distance and it tires you out. 

So to fix it, or at least beging to see what the deal is, start to throw in some running too.  This will build your cardio, work new muscles, and give your swim body a small rest.  Don't forget, you need to run in a triathlon too.  Give it at least two weeks to see how you feel.  Most likely your swim will be better and then your run will be the issue, because the lack of it.  I always stress balance.  It is consistency in all three events that allows you to perform well come race day or during the week in your work outs.  You have to do them all well, not just one or two.

Another side note:  My longest swim in my Ironman plan is 1 hour and 35 minutes total, Bike is 7 hours and running is about 6 1/2, run is around 4.  They kind of line up with the distances.  Swim is always shortest, bike is longest and run is in the middle.

By tired, do you mean the sort that can be helped by eating, or do you mean no "oomph" to push the pace?  Sounds like you mean the latter?

My own experience is that varying activity is not enough to maintain a high volume.  Varying intensity is also important.  If I'm going to go for 6 days in a row of 1+ hour sessions, I need to take 2-3 of those days at low intensity (zone 1-2) to give my batteries a chance to recharge for an extended zone 3 kind of effort on other days.  When I was a young dude I found this to be the case even if I alternated swim (upper body) and bike/run (lower) days.  A long intense session drained my system no matter what sport it was, making it difficult to go hard the next day.

My swim endurance is building (at the expense of everything else!), but I still find it hard to think of swimming over an hour straight.  Hopefully I'll get there.

Can you clarify what you mean here?  Bike is 6.5-7 and run is 4, I assume?  That's a looonnnggg run!

Ooops typo.  Your right.

To add another thing (there are so many things to add)  most plans arrange workouts so there is one shorter, intense workout in each area and one longer, less intense workout in each area.  That way speed and endurance are being worked on plus it does allow the body some breaks for recovery.  Rarely will you find two shorter, intense workouts two days in a row.  For example a intense, short run on Monday and a short, intense swim on Tuesday.  Again, it is more balanced.

Another thing that is very important is recovery weeks.  Every fourth week, distances/time decreases about 10-15%.  This si to obviously allow the body to recover.  This coming week is my recovery week.  Enjoy them and realize that it is really, really key to building back up.  I have read time and time again how important recovery time is.

In general, each week increases 10% then the fourth week backs off.  Then continue where you left off.

What?  I was so looking forward to this week off!!!  lol

I see you point.  I used to think that recovery once a week was sufficient but an easy week every 3 to 4 weeks makes sense.  Guess I'll do some research on more structured training plans. 

 Thanks and have a great weekend everyone!