Hokies 1st Timer's Group - FULL (Page 6)

No problem.  ITBS is a real problem with many - thought you could share you experiences with the group.  You have a great weekend as well.

No college footbal this weekend - that makes me sad!!

No but we've got the playoffs. I am a MUCH bigger NFL fan, than I am a college football fan. Falcons have a bye week but I will be watching all 4 games this weekend.

Seeing you are a former Hokie... you can't tell me there is something more exciting than being in Lane Stadium and seeing the student body jump up and down while the football team runs onto the field to the tune of Enter Sandman.!!  Best entrance in any sport (pros/college/high school) - hands down!!



Edited by junthank 2011-01-07 9:50 AM

Keep doing that twice a week until your upcoming race and you will be ready for the swim leg.


Yes, I did say that.....I just used you, LOL.   And the swim was fine.  I think I did 350 (7 laps, 25 m lengths) in 20 mins.  I wasn't comfortable enough for regular freestyle, so I did a drill that a swim instructor had me do last year....3 strokes face down, roll face up and do 3 strokes, roll face down, etc.. I could easily make the 25 m's with this technique. I'd rest less than a minute at each end. Just need to build up some confidence and lung capacity.     I really like that drill and feel that I could do it in a race if I needed to to keep going.
I think I will bring a note pad to keep at pool side and do a better job of keeping track of time, laps and breaks.

Thanks for checking in, I knew that would work.   Here's your next assignment: I need to be at the pool at least twice next week.  
Christi

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Snuck out and did a 10K run this afternoon.  Super weather for a run.  So nice not to run in heat and humidity).

Thanks, that IS helpful, as I am competitive too.  I think I'll keep an exercise journal and keep track of my improvement over time!

My HRM calculated my "maximum HR" using my age, height, gender, weight, I guess.  The MHR is 168.

So, if I want to burn fat & build endurance -- where should I be?  65-75% of maximum?  Or higher?

Yikes - so much to learn!

Hey Barbara,

Journal - Great idea.  I do.  If you follow my training log over the course of the next few months you will see that I do tests that measure my paces (on the bike & run) at specific HR's.  When my pace increases at a given HR I know my fitness is improving. 

Much to Learn - It's best to just keep it simple.  As you progress in the sport you can learn more about LT (Lactate Threshold), FT (Funtional Threshold), AeT (Aerobic Threshold), etc....  I enjoyed learning about of all that stuff.  But, it really boils down to going EASY, STEADY, MOD-HARD and HARD (you burn fat most efficiently in your STEADY zone). 

HR Zones for You - I'll help you set your zones.  I have a bunch of company in my house at the moment (snuck off to take a quick peek at the group!!).  But I'll get to it.

Happy training this weekend.

Alright Gang we here some racers this weekend (I think Amanda and Melissa are doing running races).  I look forward to hearing about how things went.  FOr those of you not racing, let us know how your training went this weekend.

Whatever program you were on the diet front, the results were super.

I have a few swimming questions this morning:

1. Meters vs. Yards - is one method better than the other for measuring swim distance? I swim in an Olympic pool with 25 meter lengths, so measure in meters. Not sure if one is considered a standard measurement for triathlon.

2. Tips for counting laps? I think I do a pretty good job, but am not 100% confident. I know you can buy lap counters, but I am not interested in spending more money so am looking for mental tricks.

3. Any tips for getting out of the pool? Mine is deep and I can wedge my toe on the wall to push myself up and haphazardly swing the other leg to the pool deck, but I always feel like a whale beaching myself.

Amanda

Glad you asked....I have the same question with lengths and also have trouble remembering laps.  I was going to buy a waterproof pad and pen leave it at the end of the lane to write down lap times, maybe even heart rate.  Looking forward to what others have to say.
I always use the ladders of pool.  Usually an outside lane is the slower ones anyway, so it's easy to access.  Otherwise, from the end of the lane I swim my way to the ladder, trying to time it right when I need to pass into someones lane.
Christi

Amanda,

1. The pool I swim is 25 meters so I track in meters.  I don't know if there is a standard per se.  Honestly, for OWS races I doubt that the swim distance accurately matches the distance they advertise anyway.  It will be close but...  That's the case for the bike and run courses as well.  Often my Garmin will will differ from advertised distances.  Here is a web based meter to yards calculator if you want to do the conversion:  http://www.metric-conversions.org/length/meters-to-yards.htm

2.  I'm pretty bad at counting as well.  Particularly when doing long MS's (main set).  I don't count the number of laps as I'm doing them (i.e... 1,2,3,4,5....).  I count by distance in multiples of 50 (i.e... 50, 100, 150, 200...).  But often I'll daydream and wonder if I'm at 600 or 650.  I'm pretty good at understanding my paces so if the time say I'm doing 1:35/100 meters I know I under counted.  Also, check out the main board on BT.... I recall some threads discussing this subject.

3.  Whale beaching myself... Ha... Ha.. too funny.  This whale (me) goes directly to the steps or ladder.  If they are not there I'll thrust myself up and land my knee on the wall.  Hey, a whale getting out of the water after a swim workout is much better than a whale laying on the couch!!! 

Hey Christi,

I have a watch that I wear that is a stop watch.  It also records laps (a lap being when I hit the start button until I hit the stop button) along with times for the different laps.  So, I don't have to write down or remember anything.

HRM (heart rate monitor) - I have a Garmin 305 so I can't track my HR in the water.  Wish I could.

Pad and Pen - Since I have the watch I mentioned above I don't need this.  However, prior to doing my swim workouts I do write them on a queue card and then put the queue card in a ziplock bag.  I put the ziplock at the end of my swim lane and achor it (when it's windy) with my tennis shoe.  That way it can get wet and the paper/pencil writing won't smear all over the place.  Plus, I don't have to remember the details of the workout prior to getting in the water.

Hope this helps.

Had a planned "ZERO" today.  Hey, life gets in the way sometimes!!

Definitely better than last year when it sleeted and snowed at the start. That was just rude! Jeff's right, the weather was gorgeous this weekend and perfect for running!

I had low expectations for this race since training got derailed when I injured my foot at the last one, then got sick. My longest training run was 5 miles, though I did do a half in Oct and Nov. I held the intervals for 8 miles, then downshifted for 2, then walked the last 5K. Not fabulous, but better then I expected. And hey, I beat Al Roker!

Next half is last weekend of Feb, another Disney race. I'm going to try to go to the Y tomorrow after work and see if I can learn to swim before the tri!

Did everyone have a good training weekend? 

Gang,

With regard to training by HR, when I started I was very lucky and got into a mentoring group that was lead by Gordo Byrn.  Gordo is a world class triathlete and coach who is the founder of a company called Endurance Corner.  My training is heavily influenced by what I was taught in that mentoring group.  In addition to being a tremendous athlete and coach Gordo is also a true gentleman. 

Until I started training using the guidelines that Gordo taught me in that group I was constantly hurt.  In retrospect I think this is the primary reason I was never able to have an exercise focused lifestyle in my earlier years.  I used Gordo's HR guidelines outlined below to setup my initial HR training zones.  For those of you who have not trained by HR and are interested in doing so this is a great starting point. 
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"If you are not familiar with my book, Going Long, or endurance training, then you are going to need a starting point for training intensity.

Three things to remember:

1 - Make sure you can hit tomorrow's training. If you need to back off today, to train tomorrow then do it.

2 - Always leave yourself room to lift your effort in the second half (intervals, sets, workouts, weeks, months, seasons, races). Your best results will come from building a habit of always being strong at the end.

3 - Endurance training is about building our capacity to absorb WORK, not endure pain.

The starting guidelines are designed to give you the best shot at maximizing work across your season.

With that opener... the following is my recommended starting point:

Easy = less than 160 minus "Your Age"
Steady = around 170 minus "Your Age"
Moderately-Hard = around 180 minus "Your Age"
Threshold = don't use any to start
VO2 = don't use any to start"
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Edited by junthank 2011-01-09 8:08 PM

Melissa CHICKED Al Roker.  Way to go Melissa.

Good luck with your swim on Monday.

Awesome Melissa!  

Jeff....thanks for the HR info, I was going to ask that question next.  So to pile onto your answer...how would you suggest checking heart rates?  I have a terrible memory so was thinking of some kind of electronic device that kept track of HR, time, distance, calories, etc.....like the Nike wrist band.  But don't know that it does HR.  What's your suggestion there? 

Good to hear Jeff!! That's really encouraging!

Hey Mel,

Sorry I haven't been on the forums a whole lot, but the training is going ok...the swim needs work but i am getting time in the ocean and the pool swims are ok not fantastic but ok. The run and bike are coming along really nicely. However I did have one hicup yesterday when i was doing my OWS practice, I stepped on a sea urchin, nothing serious but boy it's painful I don't recommend the experience to anyone. Had to go to the doctors (GP) to get the spines out of my foot (left and right). Yeah, "ouch"...

Feel free to have a look at my training log that will give you some idea of my training.

J

LOL @ the college football comment

See now this i can relate to we get NFL playoff coverage, the "Atlanta falcons" i assume your referring to? I know very little about the dynamics but i do understand how the game works, not all the rules just some. =)

Keep up the good work Christi!!


Yes, I did say that.....I just used you, LOL.   And the swim was fine.  I think I did 350 (7 laps, 25 m lengths) in 20 mins.  I wasn't comfortable enough for regular freestyle, so I did a drill that a swim instructor had me do last year....3 strokes face down, roll face up and do 3 strokes, roll face down, etc.. I could easily make the 25 m's with this technique. I'd rest less than a minute at each end. Just need to build up some confidence and lung capacity.     I really like that drill and feel that I could do it in a race if I needed to to keep going.
I think I will bring a note pad to keep at pool side and do a better job of keeping track of time, laps and breaks.

Thanks for checking in, I knew that would work.   Here's your next assignment: I need to be at the pool at least twice next week.  
Christi

[/Q

Very True!