Matt Gilmartin's Group- CLOSED~ we're swimming! (Page 6)

Yes, you're part of our ultra-exclusive membership

2 things come to mind immediately.  Glucosamine/Chondroitin is clinically proven to relieve knee arthritis.  I'm a testament to the stuff.  Second, go to a good running/triathlon store and have them do a gait analysis.  You need to be running in the right shoes.

All-

I found a great article (in the Articles section no less!) describing swim drills.  Here are some common ones and they're terms you will see me use.  Have a look-

Cruise - an interval you can make 100’s on with about 5-10 seconds of rest (i.e. 4 x 100’s on 1:45, coming in on 1:35 on each 100. “Cruise +:05” would mean adding 5 seconds to that interval, or in this case, 1:50.)
Descend - Get faster throughout set

DPS - Distance Per Stroke - stretch out, long strokes, extend and glide as much as possible.

Fist Drill - Swim freestyle with your hands in fists. Focus on hip rotation instead of pull for propulsion.
Finger Tip Drag - Drag your finger tips through the water on recovery. You will need a bent elbow to do this properly.
Shark Fin - While kicking on your side, extend one arm. Slowly point elbow of trailing arm up towards sky, hand almost touching your side, making a “shark fin.” Slide hand back down, breathe, repeat.
¾ Catch-up - Take strokes about ¾ of the way to touching your other hand before each recovery. (Catch-up drill would be touching your hands out in front with each stroke. ¾ catch-up allows you to rotate on your side, so you are never actually on your stomach!)

A little late, but here goes...

Name: Jen
Location: Mills River, NC
Story: I’m a 32-year-old mom who works full-time. I recently finished Couch to 5K and now my goal is to complete a sprint tri this summer, probably May 12, in under 2 hours. Typical story, active in several sports growing up, played sports in college, then went into the real world and steadily gained weight and became less active. I had my son in 2007 and that was that. We live in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains and hike a lot, but hiking with a toddler will not help you get in shape or lose weight. A group of girlfriends decided in May that we would do Couch to 5K, and I also started swimming some. After my last race in November, I wanted a new challenge and decided on a triathlon for the variety. Plus my son started preschool so I now have three mornings a week free for the first time in forever. I love swimming and the running’s not bad. I am completely new to the bike though and that’s been a big challenge. I have a mountain bike and almost fell over trying to get on the thing the first time. I am pretty lost about how to use it or train for it. Right now I am trying to ride it as much as possible but it’s hard in the winter. I belong to the local Y and use the stationary bikes most of the time.
Family Status:  Husband Nate and an awesome, awesome 4-year-old son who can’t wait to run a race (or at least wear the bib). My little man is the best cheering section ever.
Current Training: I started the bike-focused plan the last week of November, running twice a week, swimming twice a week and biking 3 times a week. Plus Pilates once a week and weight training once a week. I spread the workouts over 5 days a week, which means I have to do one swim/bike and one bike/run brick per week to get all the workouts in. My times are 18 mins. for 750m swim, 50 mins. for a 12.43-mile bike (!) and 29-32 mins. after biking for the 5K depending on how many hills I put in there. So lots of work to do!  
2011 races: Three neat 5ks, Hot August Night 5K and Superhero 5K in Asheville and the Wiggle Butt 5K in Fletcher.  
2012 Races: I have a list of races that I am interested in doing, from triathlons, 5 and 10Ks to trail and adventure races. For now I have picked a tri on May 12 as my first one, but I’ll see how I am doing in March before actually signing up. My knees are like an 80-year-old woman’s, so it’s probably best to wait a bit and see how it goes.

Just wondering if I made it into the group? Thanks!

Here's a question I have. How do I fit strength training in with my running, biking, swimming? I usually do bi's-tri's one day, shoulders next, chest-back next, not necessarily in that order. I've pretty much logged my upper body strength training in my training log. I'm cringing at the thought of giving it up as I have worked extremely hard to develop very good muscle tone in my upper body. I've been using running and biking as my cardio(will join club with pool this next week and add swimming).

However, I'm not going to keep up at this pace if it means risking injury or my body just becoming exhausted. One of the main reasons I wanted to join in on a group/mentor setting was to get some guidance on a way to attain some sort of harmony (not a big fan of "balance" I don't think we're ever in "balance")

Not sure if anyone else in the group is experiencing the same issues with "balance". I love that we're all in a different place (although you certainly have your work cut out for you!). There is lingo being used I've never even heard, so I know I'm at least in company of folks who know what's going on, lol!

Thanks to you all for what you've taught me already! I'm looking forward to watching everyone's progress!!

P.S. I will get my times you mentioned earlier as soon as i get my happy butt to the pool! What an exciting way to start 2012!! Happy New Year everyone!!! BTW, I'm on Facebook at Wendy Miller Standridge if anyone wants to stay connected there also

hey matt,

just wondering if your gonna give us any feedback on our training logs entered here on BT.  thanks!

Hi,

Just wanted to share my thoughts on calf pain.  I was having issues with my right lower leg when I would run to the point where I couldn't go a mile without feeling pain.  I thought that I needed another pair of running shoes with different support.  I went to a local triathlete expo, and there was a company there called Aline that sold insoles.  They had me step on this machine and explained to me how my knees were supposed to be directly above my ankles.  My left leg was pretty much in alignment but my right leg was REALLY off.  They put the insoles under my feet but the right leg was still really off.  They attached this small plastic wedge under the heel part of the right insole and it corrected my alignment.  It took about two weeks of wearing these insoles as much as I could for my legs to adjust, but now I have no pain when I run.  Their website is aline.com.

Another thought I have, which I have found helpful,  is taking magnesium, especially magnesium citrate, as it is the most highly absorbable form.  It is known for helping with muscle cramps and other muscle-related issues.  It can obtained from a local health food store.

Hope this helps...

I hope everyone has a healthy, and prosperous New Year that brings you many reasons to smile!

Sheryl

Starting to prep for my first Tri in 6/2012. Nutrition is not great and trying to drop weight while starting to train. I typically only have coffee for breakfast - any suggestions as I tend to grab and go. Would using a protein shake (muscle milk) or something like this be a good staple to start the day?

This is a lifestyle change for me so I am going to ask the 'dumb' questions as I pursue this lifestyle change.

THis is what I do when I KNOW I'm going to be in a time crunch the next day. You need PROTEIN in your stomach within 30 mins of getting up. So, the night before boil 5 or 6 eggs. Set aside a piece of fruit. If it needs to be peeled, peel it and pop it in the fridge. For breakfast have all the eggs and ditch the yolks on half of them, but you need "good fats" so keep a few in there. have your fruit. wash this down with 8 oz of skim milk (and OF COURSE your coffee. I would never give up my coffee either . You have protein to boot which will get your metabolism up and going, keep you fuller longer and a healthy breakfast! Keep some raw almonds around to snack on thru the day. In my opinion, a protein shake should not be used as a meal substitute. Maybe as a snack mid morning or late afternoon.  Another great breakfast is some quick oats (oats + water+ microwave for 1.5 mins= breakfast!) a couple tablespoons of non fat greek yogurt, some walnuts, an apple chopped up and/or some dried cranberries, honey to sweeten, and you have yourself one good (almost dessert) breakfast!

Hope this helps 

Wendy

Great advice, Wendy!  Having been a coffee and toast person, I too have found that protein really makes a difference as does the snack within 30 minutes after a work-out!  My favorite is chocolate milk - what a great excuse for chocolate!

Did something today I promised myself I would do at year's end - went to the gym and swam 1/2 mile, rode 12 miles on the stationary bike (for me good times for both), and then walked (but really really fast!) the 3 miles for a sprint event.  Not quite there for even a slow jog after finishing and pushing for the first two.  Good thing my goal event is in August.  Think I might try this once a month to cap off the training for the month.  A new LA fitness opens up 2 miles away in 2 days - this is really going to help my swim portion of training to have a pool so readily available.

Happy New Year to all!   Melinda

Just checking in to say hi to everyone---been offline for a few days.  No exciting NYE here---husband was sick so we stayed in.  Amazingly, my eight year old actually made it up past midnight---can't say as much for his mother.  After a 20 year swimming hiatus, went to a Masters practice on Friday night and absolutely loved it. Held my own better than I expected though it was a very humbling experience.  Unfortunately, this team's practice schedule isn't very compatible with my work schedule but I got a lead on another local Masters team that has more schedule variety and the members are closer to me in age (the team I practiced with on Friday was very young and seemed suspicious of a 40 year old mom in the group----ha!). 

Wanted to chime in with my 2 cents on a couple of topics that have come up.  I completely concur with the glucosamine/chondroitin recommendation for achy joints.  I would recommend finding a packaging option that allows you to take the entire daily dose at once (Whole Foods brand is three capsules once a day).  The first brand I bought expected you to take it three times spaced throughout the day which meant that I often forget the 2nd and 3rd dose---much easier to be able to take it all at once.  I'm also a big fan of Sport Legs www.sportlegs.com (recommended to me at a bike store), which I take pre, during, and post-run for the long ones.  Really helps minimize the soreness and reduces lactic acid build-up.  Since implementing both of these into my routine, it's very rare that I need to reach for the ibuprofen (for which my liver is very grateful). 

After a calf (soleus) injury last year that prevented me from running for three months and required extensive physical therapy, I've become a huge fan of Newton running shoes and the Chi Running technique.  I credit them both with completely changing my running form (I used to be a terrible heel-striker).  The key to the Newtons is a big lug in the middle of the sole that forces you to land in the middle of your foot rather than on your heel.

That's the update from this end---looking forward to running today and also want to spend a little time on my bike trainer.  Many thanks for the Spinervals recommendation---I've ordered a couple of them and can't wait until they arrive.  One of my resolutions is to commit to keeping my training log updated with workouts---I think that it will help to keep me more accountable.  Looking forward to sharing in this group's triathlon successes in the upcoming year!

--Robin

Matt---and anyone else who might be interested:

Just wanted to make sure that you saw the announcement that registration for the 2012 Chicago Marathon will open on Feb 1 at noon:

www.chicagomarathon.com

Cheers,

Robin

Good for you Robin, for getting out and swimming with the Masters group! Hope you will feel a little more comfortable with the other group! We had a couple of "kids" swim with us a few mornings. I'd imagine they have been out of high school only a year or so because they knew and were flirting with all the high school boys that were walking past our lanes. They haven't been back in several weeks, so perhaps they found a group more suited to their peer-age. I must say that most of us that swim at 0500 are 30+ years old, so they probably didn't feel like they fit in with us.

I've been in Newtons for over a year now, but I have to put it out there that people must be careful when using these shoes. Once you start getting tired or lazy, they have the potential to hurt you. Case in point - I ended up with a stress fracture while wearing them. I'm not blaming the shoes at all, but they are not something that you can just put on and go out and run a 10k in the first day. 

I go back to work on Tuesday, so that makes tomorrow my last day of "vacation"! So sad...I'm getting to the point that I can't wait for retirement even though it is still 7 years away While it seems like a long way away, I can only hope it will go by as quickly as the first 13 did!

Hope everyone has a great first day of the new year and this will be your best training/performance year ever!

Can anyone recommend an odometer to use when my bike is stationery in the trainer so that I can still measure distance?  It just occurred to me that my Garmin 305 won't work when my bike is stationery because it's GPS-based. This is probably incredibly obvious to most but I am not tech-savy at all.  I see a few options on amazon but would also love to hear testimonials from group members.  Thanks!

Yep, I'm already on it for the Chicago Marathon.  Someone is going to sponsor me for the race, so I will be there ready to enter my information once it opens.

-Will

Robin, I don't know about the 305, but I anticipated this problem myself.  I have a Forerunner 610 and I got a foot pod sensor that links up with the watch.  It came in handy for me at the Chicago Marathon due to the downtown area messing up the gps, I set my watch to use the footpod as the distance marker.

-Will