grandhavenbill's group - FULL (Page 6)

2:00 PM 5 miler, I'm in. I'll be on the track at the downtown GR Y. Not ideal, but better than a treadmill. Plan on hitting the pool after that.  I slacked off a bit the end of this week. My daughter had pink eye, dog had surgery and I had an allergic reaction to raw shrimp all in the same day. Took Thursday and Friday to recover from that mess. Should be able to make up for it today and tomorrow.

New thread for everyone:

What does your current training playlist look like? I have 4,675 songs on my computer and I can't find any good music to listen to. We have a pretty good mix of people and age groups here, so we should have a good mix of music tastes.

Just some quick questions about swimming for triathlon:

 Me and my friend just started swimming laps this week.  We are wondering about technique and form a little -

       1) What is the proper kick for triathlon swimming (sprint- olympic distance)

       2) Should our elbows be bent and high up when our hands hit the water?

       3) While we breathe on our side, should we be finishing that stroke (pulling water even  though we are sideways?)

       4) Anyone have a good endurance set for beginners?  We are currently doing the Beginner Swim Program on this site but any other drills/ endurance sets would be appreciated since we are trying to hit the pool as much as possible since this is definitely our weakest link. 

 Thanks alot and hope everyone is doing well!

Brad:  (or should we start calling you Lucky), that is a heck of a way to end the week.  No fun!  Hope things are settling down for you.

Music....this should be fun!  Really just depends on the mood and what I'm doing.  My wife is a fitness instructor so I frequently tap into her collection of obscure, high cadence motivational stuff.  I lean towards techno (Prodigy, Crystal Method, etc.) for my up tempo workouts.  Old school rap is fun for bike intervals.  I have a great marathon mix that I put together for Detroit last fall, I'll have to print that out and post it.

Looking forward to tomorrow's run!

OK Jan, keep rubbing our noses in it.....   We've had close to 10" of snow today, salt in the wounds after near record cold temperatures all week....

Stick with the swimming, I promise it will get easier.

What size is your Tarmac?  I'm looking for a road bike.....Have you considered the Transition for a tri bike (this is what I'm riding and LOVE it).  If so, DO NOT mention it on the ST site! 

Hey JeanMarie,

Trying to describe a proper swim stroke in writing is not easy (at least for me).  Check out the video advertisement for the "Out of the Box" DVD on the Total Immersion website:  www.totalimmersion.net   It is right there on the home page and should give great visual answers to the first three questions.  There are also a gagillion youtube videos out there.

Drills:  Some of my personal favorites include one arm stroke drills, the fist drill, and the various side kick and "zipper drills" from Total Immersion.  Let me know if you  need help with any of these.

Sets:  I like ladder drills a lot.  Basically build yardage on the previous set (i.e. 100, 200, 300, 200, 100).  Breaking your set into intervals (e.g. 3X400, alternate 50 easy/50 hard) is also a lot of "fun." 

Does this help?

OK!  I had to change up my schedule a bit and do my long run yesterday so I cut the bike back to about 18 miles followed by a short 2 miler @ 2 EST.  I was smiling like Chrissie Wellington leaving my driveway knowing the group was all taking off at the same time!  btw, weather here in houston, 73 not a cloud in the sky

I've only done two of these bricks and I HATE the first mile but I must say I feel better after them then I do on most runs.  

Its Miller Time! 

It was really nice running with you all this afternoon! Started with a nice 5 minute warm up walk.  Started Mile 1 at a 9:30 pace and felt just fine.  Decided to increase the pace every mile and was very pleasantly surprised.  My shoulder did start to get a little stiff towards the end and I noticed that, if I wasn't focused, I'd start to rotate across on my left side rather than a straight "piston pump".  All in all, I was VERY happy considering I haven't run in over 7 weeks. 

Nice ride Jan!  Unfortunately, I'm a 58....Even with a short stem I think, a 61 would be too long.

John:  Great job this weekend!  Running off the bike will feel more natural with repetition.  Although, your legs never really do quite feel like your own for that first mile or so....

Next week is a light week for me, time to let the past 3 weeks of hard work sink in and get ready for the next 3.  My 3 year old and I are celebrating by making oatmeal raisin cookies this afternoon!

Thanks for the drills and swimming tips!  I really want  to get that Total Immersion DVD and am going to order it soon hopefully.  I hit the pool again today for an hour, did some drills, and swam some more laps, and learned a flip turn which was cool!  Is it normal to not be able to swim more than 150 meters without being completely exhausted?  I can run for an hour and bike for a long time,  I always thought I was in good shape but this swimming regimen has really made me question that!  Swimming is tough and the 800 meter open swim is daunting!

JeanMarie,

Flip turns?!?  That gymnastics background is paying off!

Don't get discouraged, it is not uncommon for "beginning" swimmers to feel totally wiped after a couple hundred metres.  Remember my earlier post, the "survival stroke" most of us learned growing up will keep you alive, but it sure isn't efficient!  Issues with position in the water and/or technique will definitely increase your exertion level.  Do you feel like you are beating the water to a froth but just not getting anywhere?  

Focus on your technique, keep telling yourself "long and strong".  The drills will certainly help with this.  Couple of additional suggestions:  (1) I'm guessing you are swimming in the university pool?  Chances are that the lifeguard is/was a competitive swimmer.  Tell them your situation and ask them to critique your stroke.  I'm sure they'd be willing to oblige.  (2) Have someone video your stroke.  Even a minute or two using the MPEG feature on a simple digital camera will help.  Actually seeing what you think you are feeling is HUGE.  Compare your stroke to the 'fish' you see in the pool and the web videos.  Ever wonder how those swim team folks go 10,000 metres or more per day??

Thanks for the tips!

 I feel like my stroke is pretty good for just starting, I am quiet in the water and am rotating on my sides to breath and kicking on my side too.  I think more drills to reinforce form and more endurance pieces are gonna help.  I'm going snowboarding tomorrow so no pool for me, I will probably take Wednesday off too since I am starting classes.  Thursday I'll resume training!

Had a decent weekend and a great swim tonight. It was the first time I completed the entire set in my masters class. I'm catching on!

Here is my current playlist. It's mostly old techno from college, which is why I'm looking to expand my horizons. Looking forward to seeing what others are listening to.

Not Techno
Eminem
Domestic Problems
Evanescence
Nickelback
The Decemberists
The Killers

Techno
666
Astrospider
ATB
ATC
Brooklyn Bounce
Channel X
Darude
DJ Jurgen
DJ Quicksilver
DJ Sammy
DJ Skribble, Anthony Acid
DJ Tiësto
DJ Ton TB
Gigi D'Agostino
Goldfrapp
Groove Armada
John Digweed
Lo Fidelity Allstars/Pigeonhed
Moby
Paul Van Dyk
Praga Khan
Sasha & John Digweed
Stardust
The Chemical Brothers
The Crystal Method
The Prodigy

AC/DC

Alanis

Beatles

Dropkick Murphy’s

Enya

Fleetwood Mac

Frank Sinatra

Gordon Lightfoot ( last thing i do before hoping on the bike saturday morning is sit at the end of my driveway in the cold grey light of dawn listening to Sundown)

GnR

KISS
Metallica

Montley Crue

New Order

Ozzy

PM Dawn (damn did i just admit that)

Rodney Crowell

Sick of It All

Simple Minds

U2

Pat Green

what do you do about aid stations on the bike if you choose to use them.  roll through slowly and take the hand up, stop, or fly through them hoping for the best.  

 do you really need them during a sprint if you carry your own?  

 thanks

See, I knew there would be a lot of different music! Gordon Lightfoot? I guess I'm glad your not listening to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" while riding your bike...

I like the Enya idea. Maybe some high pace techno mixed in with some Enya for run intervals. I'm on it. 

LOL!!!   "I guess I'm glad your not listening to "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" while riding your bike..."

I do.... well on the trainer.  ipod + bike + houston = suicide

 edit... how the heck do get rid of the auto double space on this forum?????

For the safety of you, your fellow riders, and the volunteers, "follow the traffic" and roll thru at a pace that will allow you to comfortably handle the bike and grab the bottle.  This is something that I would strongly recommend you practice a few times before race day.  A botched hand-up can quickly turn ugly......

That said, I do not know of any sprint races that have bike aid on the course.  This is even rare in OLY distances.  A bottle on your bike should be plenty for both.

anyone running sunday?

Yep, it just plain sucks getting old.....I remember the good old days when I would roll out of bed at some rediculous hour, strap on the kicks and just start running at the end of the driveway.  I'd be on the couch with multiple bags of ice if I tried that today....I also need to do a thorough w/u before getting rolling.

The early "screaming stop" pain is a little troubling though, have you had previous knee/ankle issues?  Do you have similar tenderness after your workout?  From a previous post, I think I remember that you are taking a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement.  If not, you might give it a try as I know several athletes who swear by it.

I'm in.  3-5 miler probably after lunch?