James G Group - CLOSED (Page 6)

Hi Guy's sorry I haven't been to active thsi week on the forum getting killed at work and wife and son have been really sick so been playing Mr Dad, Bread Winner and triathlete, whew I am tired.

Going to answer questiosn above now and try and get new swimming post in by the end of the week. 

"2.I have two main concerns. First is motivation...right now its pretty easy...new year, new training program, new goals, but I definitely know that I am the type of person who is very gung ho at the start of something new, then my motivation slips and I find it so hard to push myself through and train anyway. The second concern I have, and it probably shouldn't be a concern, is my speed. I know I shouldn't compare myself to anyone else, but I look at all the training logs and see that I am comparatively very slow in all three disciplines, and that bugs me. It actually feeds into my first concern...ie: I'm so freakin' slow, why do I even bother? What do you all do when motivation is an issue?

Aaron - My advice is get in the pool now and swim if you can't make yourself do it in winter while it is cold outside then you have no chance in summer when all we want to do is run and ride outside when the weather is warm 8-)

molly@rosenblumlawlv - 2008-01-08 3:11 PM 1. my training is going well, but I am still in the winter phase of my program. I don't start my actual training program until April since I don't have my first race until the end of June 2. concerns are swimming obviously. TT today was a little discouraging. I thought after 2 months of a solid base I would be faster than I am. other concerns are staying injury free until June - there are a lot of hours in these training programs and I'm not getting any younger

A wise lady (My old Coach) once told me it takes 6 years to hit your potential in traithlon and patience is the key. Molly in terms of swimming yes it is frustrating but you are putting the building blocks in place at the moment for a strong swim come race season. As you say it is winter just carry on working on the technique and base, when you start your summer program you will be amazed how fast you are when you start adding some speed sessions, I hear you on the aging front I am definitely not getting younger 8-)

Mitch you said it buddy you have made every work-out as you all know in my opinion consistency is the key.

Yes a beginner tri is a good start. The key for your first tri is to not set any time goals. Goal should be in my opinion. "To finish the race and enjoy myself and not feel like death afterward"

We all only once ever get to do our first tri, try and enjoy the experience, no matter how fast we are in training etc we will all make mistakes in our first tri, we will all be nervous and anxious don't heap more pressure on ourselves by setting time goals. Think of it this way how do we know what our potential time is when we have never done a tri before? doesn't make sense in my opinion. Go out there smile, thank the volunteers enjoy the race and then afterward say you know what I could have easily knocked 10 minutes off if I had done things differently and then start setting some time goals for your second race.

This is the approach I am taking for my first IM, I am going to enjoy teh day and suck up the atmosphere. I will worry about time goals in my second race if I do one.

Cheers

JG 

Molly here is my 2 cents, for what that might be worth.

I spent all of 2007 training with a triathlon group that my coach ran and am a big believer in these types of groups very good for getting motivation and improving your skills by learning from more experienced people and a coach. But:

I think in your case this isn't going to work for you. You are already following a plan and from what I can see from your logs this is working well for you. I wouldn't try to complicate things by adding a mix and match of two programs. Forget that the coach has gone to Hawaii your goals are sprints for 2008 and as you say you have your racces mapped out for 2008 and the funds paid. I don't personally see much value in training with an endurance coach when you are concentrating on short distance.

Maybe what you might want to do is talk to this coach and see if you can attend some of the specific clinics she is going to conduct and see if you can pay on a per session basis or use the money to get a one to one session with a run/swim coach or as you say join masters swim squad...

Any ways just my thoughts!!! 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1391

Check this artice out? As you know I am a big beliver in building base at this time of year....Thsi is quiet a useful article just posted today worth a read. I think the only thing he didn't cover off is training at high intensity frequently causes injury. I also like to build technique specific skills in base period, such as one legged drills on the bike, lots of drills swimming and strides during running...

I really like the point he makes at the end about slowing down let's you enjoy looking around and taking in the scenery!!!

Guy's - Wanted to share with you the attached article, it is about IM racing and mental toughness but I believe the concept/approach can be used for all distances, believe me in some of my races last year My mind and body were arguing hugely about continuing.....

I must have read this article 2 -3 times I really like it and I am going to use the "One thing" Approach at my HIM and IM this year. Some of you have already doen tris and running races how so you deal with your body when you hit the wall?

http://www.cruciblefitness.com/etips/IMMental.htm 

I know I still owe some swimming articles as soon as I am done I will post...

Cheers

JG

 Sounds like me every day during training....

Great article! Thank you.

Aaron, good job on the swimming remember it only gets easier the more you do it 8-)

So what's on tap for the long weekend?

For Me

Saturday - Early 8am ride with Mossman Tri Group.

Sunday -  early 6.30am trail run with a couple of buddies 7+ miles.

Sunday afternoon Football and lots fo beer and snacks 8-)

Let me just say how consistent your guy's training has been of late, keep it up and you guys will have amazing success this year.

Also one final thing Kirsten left me message regarding riding on a trainer. It is recognised that training on a trainer is harder than riding outside there is no coasting on a trainer you are riding all the time and the resistance is constant. So in my opinion and my old coaches opinion a two hour ride on the trainer is equivalent to a 2 1/2 hour ride on the road.

Anyone got any suggestions fo how to relieve the boredom on the trainer?  I tend to ride outside as much as possible in winter for my long rides but if it is unbearable I will watch Lord of the Rings On DVD, works everytime nice long movie with lots of action. Also another good option is to get the spinnerval DVD's or invite some friends over to ride as a group time passed very quickly. I have NEVER ridden longer than 2 hours on a trainer just can't bear it. Aaron maybe you can chip something in here your ability to ride long on the trainer is second to none 8-)

Weekend for me:

Saturday: Long Ride...as noted above probably have to do it on the trainer so 2 hr rather than 2 1/2. and a 30 minute recovery run.

Sunday: 30 minute run and 1 hr trainer ride in small chain ring.

Monday: 45 minute swim

Hey Molly - Hope all is going well? your training is looking very solid. I don't have a computrainer but have heard good things about them. But as you say they are really expensive around $1,500 each for a good one. To answer your questions.

In your case I don't think it is worth it, you live in a warm climate so can bike outside 90% of the time. If you say lived in the North East and would use this thing 3 - 4 months of the year then probably worth it. In my opinion nothing is as good as riding out-side for bike handling and strength building. As you say riding a trainer is boreing. If I were you I would put the spare $1,000 aside and look to contribute it to things you would use more and make a bigger difference to you. i.e. Tri bike/Race wheels/Power meter/Aero Helmet etc.

Note: I have never used a computrainer or seen one so you may want to talk to people who use these. But to my way of thinking these just can't be as good as riding outside we race outside so I think we should be training outside as much as possible.

Anyone else got any questions?