Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 64)

Found out my fate.  It's a century ride.  He is letting me pick it though because he doesn't want to mess up my training.  Looks like a century ride in June. 

I want to thank everyone for all the post on the bike issue.  I do have one more question about it.  My local shop wants to charge $75 for a bike fitting.  Me and the Family are heading to Atlanta the weekend of 2/18 for my daughters cheer competition and I found that all3sports.com has a store there.  I asked about their fittings and it was $250.  Well this is a big difference and I know Steve you said bike fitting do cost a couple hundred.  I know all3sports will apply $150 of it to a new bike.  My question is what should I be looking for when trying to find a fitting place.  If i went to my local shop will they fit me the way a $250 fitting would do.

JOHN -

How thoughtful of him! You'll need a few of those in prep for LOO anyhow, so I think you both won on the deal!

DAVID -

You're right -- you are limited some by having 14 gears available. But the technique is still very vaild, and if you can master it you will be available to milk your existing gearage for all it's worth.

Maybe think of it as a "leaded bat" type of experience. You will go from your slightly "leaded" bike to something sleeker and ligher and with more gears, and it will be juts like stepping up to the plate with your 34oz bat after hacking away with the leaded monster while in the on-deck circle. ZOOM!!!

KASIA -

Okay, I'm working at accepting the fate of those running shoes, and am no longer a blubbering mushball when I think of them.......

KASIA again -

Great questions/concerns in your longer post to me, so let's get to them right away.

About the plans per se, Craig is right that they are customizable, so see what latitude there is in that approach.

Beyond that, you can probably do all the finagling yourself. As I have said before, not only are all of the plans "canned", but also that if you ask for 20 oly plans from 20 coaches, you will get 20 different sets and sequences of workouts. And as my former coach used to tell me, creating plans is more of an art than a science ---- so feel free to unleash your creativity!

Seriously, though, I really think you can do that. Starting with the swimming, assume that being coached directly, and being pushed decisivley, is more beneficial than following workouts from a set plan ---- and there you go! As long as your total yardage approximay=tes that of the plan, you should be okay, and maybe even better.

Cycling becomes a tad trickier, and my tentative advice is to strike a compromise. That is, do one ride on your own terms, be it solo or with a group. Try to substitute this for any ride that might have the word "steady" in the description. Do at least one ride according to the guidelines of your plan, especially when there are tempos or intervals involved. These are wokouts that are often hard to replicate on one's own, so treat it as you would the commands that come at you from your Masters swim coach!

That's two bike workouts. If most weeks have two more, then split them up as well, if you must. If there is a week in which there is only one other bike workout, try to follow the plan's guidelines. (But if this makes you really miserable......then........)

Another apporach is to add an extra ride of your choosing, especially on a day off or a day in which you are NOT running. Until a brick is called for in your schedule, don't create one on your own -- or at least not yet.

Um, nothing from you about fitting in runs. Your thoughts??

Finally (for this post), you CAN make the adaptations as mentioned above and still follow the tenets of Periodization -- Prep, Base, Build, Peak, Taper. Again, there are an infinite number of fine-tuned workouts to get there, so don't get too paralyzed by tunnel-vision as you view whichever plan you select, okay?

KASIA again -

You raise some very valid points and concerns about what triathlon means to you and the priorities you are setting for yourself -- and you don't have to be at all apologetic about anything! To wit:

In every triathlon or duathlon I have done, the most joy comes from those who are doing it mostly out of enjoyment, or love, or a personal challenge. I see those emotions played it countless times in any given race, and for ALL of those people that is clearly good enough -- and well it should be!

On the other hand, not much palpable joy comes from the more competitive types. There may be a lot of satisfaction in racing hard and racing relatively well, but often that comes at the expense of unmitigated pleasure. I'm sure you've heard me say that by the end of each season I am tired of "putting on my game face", and invariably my last two or three races will seem kind of emotionally burdensome. And I can't juts dial this down anymore, which adds to the patheticism of it, doesn't it?

But I digress!

For you, this is just a hobby-with-goals ---- improve, get faster. The "getting better" part is not your top priority per se, although of course that will happen as you continue to improve, yes?

Your approach is very, very healthy, and emotionally you will be able to stay with multisport as long as your heart desires if your head doesn't get muddled with other stuff -- like being competitive, to the exclusion of most else. That doesn't necessarily have to be a deal-breaker (it hasn't been for me, although as I said above it can be problematic at times), but it sure can muddy the waters of happiness!

There really is a world of latitude for you to train, and do it in a structures and systematic way, and still have all the pleasure you can handle. Like the start of an open-water swim ---- you control where you position yourself so that you don't get flustered or pummeled or discouraged. You can back off at any point (and over the course of any highly-structured season, even elite triathletes find they have to back off at times where it isn't called for in their seasonal plan), and whenever you feel the need -- do it!

I think where you're at now is ideal, and you seem so much more on top of things (especially your own self) than at this time last year. It's a very impressive transformation!

GEORGE -

Good questions.....tough(er) answers.

I can't really say what your LBS (local bike shop) will do. Many bike shops specialize in hybrid or mountain bikes, and throw in general purpose road bikes as a sidelight. Some specialize in road bikes, which is a more positive step for you. And some, such as all3, will specialize in tri bikes.....which MIGHT be the most comprehensive option for you (but no guarantees!).

For nothing, your LBS will put you on the bike and make a few eyeball assessments of how you look, and do a couple of simple adjustments. For $75, I figure they'll add a few measurments, and maybe drop a plumb line down from your knee or hip, and the adjustments will be more serious; they may even adjust the potion of your cleats to reflect the other stuff they do.

For $250, though, it has to be quite comprehensive. My last big bike fitting was in '03, so that's stretching the boundaries of my memory some, but here is what I remember happening (in no particular order):
1.) An interview as to my history, goals, planned mileage, etc.
2.) Full-body measurements, some of them done twice (measure twice, cut once? ) (Note: This is very critical for me, as I am proportioned oddly -- tall, but with more of my height in my torso and length in my arms than in my lower body.)
3.) My flexibility and range-of-motion was assessed (both of which are poor! ).
4.) Balance was also tested, right along with foot analysis (this helped to see how my weight was distributed and how I responded to that, mostly to see how my cleats needed to be positioned -- and how many shims were added undere each, and where).
5.) I was put on Serotta Size Cycle (maybe google that to see exactly what it is), which is kind of a truncated prototype bike -- weird little things! I was videotaped on this thing, and countless adjustment were made; think of it as "takes" for a scene in a movie. I would ride; he would stop me and adjust something. Repeat X countless!! This set-up includes read-outs of wattage produced, so when he was finally done he had an excellent depiction of how to make adjustments to my own bike to maximize comfort and power.

I think I was there for four hours; it only seemed like longer! (But it was a value-beyond-measure experience for me.)

I haven't kept up with the world of bike fittings as I should, but I think the two gold standards of tri bike fittings are still Serotta and F.I.S.T. Maybe phone all3 and ask which of those they use.

For $250, you should get a lot, but as I implied yesterday, it might be more than you need at this stage of your game. I would recommend asking your LBS what they will do for $75 (as opposed to nothing), and if they mention several areas they will cover, thta's what I would go with for now -- unless you have recently won a lottery and have lots of extra money burning a whole in your pocket!

Let me know if you need more info, okay?

Wow ! quite ambitious!
I am a closet competitor it seems compared to most folks schedules of races LOL
I love training! And do enjoy racing but I have 2 issues: if a race falls on a Saturday and my husband's working, can't do because of childcare. And... the family budget really doesn't allow for several monthly races...maybe in a few years  

Random thoughts on swimming and my ankle

I was getting very confident in my ankle, but now I am suspicious. There was never any discoloration and I was walking better quickly. I am back to work now, for the moment after our ice break, I noticed that I am tending to want to walk on the outside of my foot (dress shoes) and am trying to stay conscious of this and keep it straight, which is slightly more painful but less stressful on my calf. Tonight at the pool I noticed it was more swollen than I thought. Not sure what my point is, just saying.

In the pool, I instantly noticed my ankle is affecting my kick, pushing off the wall hurt to the point where I used my left foot, if at all when pushing off. The pain was worse at the beginning but did get better as I loosened up. Most of the main set involved a pull buoy so the kick wasn't relevant-tonight. I did skip the kick sets though.
Now this was the first time I tried 1 arm sets 4x25 left arm, 4x25 right arm with the pull buoy. And "catch up drills also with the PB. Now my questions are:

1. What, exactly, am I trying to accomplish with catch up drills? The one arm drills I believe I understand, the catch ups confuse me and I not certain I am doing them right.

2. Should I just skip any kicking while my ankle is sore, or stretch carefully and work through it?

3. Should I feel like I am going to drown when doing my left arm drills (non dominant arm)?

I have kept in mind what Steve has said about thinking about each length at the wall and concentrating on form, tonight's workout was form focused anyway.

I am struggling to push past 1100-1200 yards, I suspect this is about form and efficiency, just waiting for something to "click" as long as it isn't a body part.

I have noticed when I breath I "speed up"  my opposite arm and sort of hasten the rolling of my head out of the water, not really a panic just seems "un-smooth".

SARAH -

I am actually working very hard at curbing my racing enthusiasm (although it's kind of hard to tell, isn't it? ) (That's what Lynn thinks, too. )

In '04 I had built to nine races, and in '05 there were ten. Then along came '06 with my torn meniscus, and I was reduced to doing aquabikes, and just seven of those. So the following season, '07, I went kind of nuts -- ostensibly to make up for the '06 Lost Season -- and did a whopping 17 tris and/or dus, plus a 10km thrown in for good (??) measure. I reagined some of my senses for '08 with just 10, then '09 was back up to 13, partially because I tossed in a few dus when my separated shoulder was healing and i couldn't swim. And this past season had me doing 11 triathlons, plus two 10km and a half-marathon when the season ended.

My attempts at restraint (honest!!) are two-fold: to spend less money, and to schedule wisely so that every race really matters. A tie-in to the latter is to maximize my efforts for USAT points, or at least to not wear myself down racing just for the heck of it. A tie-in to the former is making a big effort to not scheduling races that I end up bailing on due to injuries. I have eaten a lot of race fees over the years, and while that was semi-excusable back when I was working, it doesn't cut it being retired and making no money.

So, right now I am standing at zero races registered for, and the list I posted is kind of like an old Hollywood "false-front" --- all facade, with nothing behind it! I have seen a number of races I might've wanted to do close out, and what's on the list is mostly safe for another month or so. West Point might fill first, likely by mid-March; gotta stay on top of that one!

As for Saturday's and childcare, that makes good sense! How old are the offspring, though.......and how many years until they can effectively be sherpas for you at your races, kind of your Support Crew?

JEFF -

Second things first, which would be swimming matters. Glub!

There are several reasons for doing the catch-up drill, and in no particular order of importance they are:
--- lengthening the body
--- ensuring full(er) extention and reach
--- encouraging glide
--- a timing aid -- when the catch-up hands catches up, it's time to pull and rotate
--- a balancing aid, especially for bilateral breathers

There may be another couple of benefits to catch-up, and if I think of them as I write this I will add to the five above. But I should mention that the list above is just for the basic Catch-Up, and doesn't include two variations on the theme --- C-U with Fingertip Drag and C-U with Thumb Scrape. Do you ever try either of those? Let me know if you want some thoughts on the purpose of those two variations.

As for Single-Arm drills, even though you say you think you understand it, let me just add three thoughts:
1.) I cannot do them well with the pull-buoy, as it throws my balance way off.
2.) It works best if you do NOT try to work on all the phases (entry, catch, pull, finish, recovery) of your stroke at once. I once heard that it is best to focus on just one of those five phases at a time, doing it for a two-length sequence (one arm going down, the other coming back), and while it requires a lot of patience, it really is more effective. I am currently working hard on the catch-pull phases, doing about ten minutes on them every swim session.
3.) Do you have your nonstroking arm in front of you or at your side? I usually (99% of the time; does that qualify as "usually"?) have mine in front, although I know that when it's along the side it helps some with focing balance and also encouraging fuller roatation. Just a thought!

Kicking if it hurts? Nope! Don't do it! If it hurts, back off! I have learned the hard way, many times, that not taking a few days off now can lead to having to take a few weeks off later, so the trade-off is a killer. With my current foot problem (peroneal tendon) I have been an exceptionally good boy, now going 14 days without a run. I've just gotten pretty good over the years of practicing patience, and my efforts at HTFU are more cautious mental discipline, as opposed to physical bravado and impatience.

Finally, when you mention feeling like you might drown when using your less dominant arm.......is that also your less dominant breathing side? For me, the answer is yes. That is, i am a right-side breather, and when I do one-arms to my left and have to breathe there, drowning seems that much more imminent. The take-home lesson with this is that my rotation is not even, and therein lies one of the big benefits of practicing biliateral breathing --- if you can do it, your stroke evens out. Over time, this is favorable because it will reduce the chances of shoulder injuries, and may also help one swim straighter in open water. Just another thought!

Finally-finally, I think I told you before that even if you are struggling to get past 1000, the fact that you are AT that point (swim-wise)at this point (season-wise) bodes well for whatever swim distances you race at this coming season. You're already over-distance for sprints, and closing in on the 1500 for olys. And once there it's just a short hop of another 500 until you're at 1.2 miles for a half-iron. Perfect!

JEFF again -

That was second things first. Now first things second, which is the ankle.

I'm sure you're fully aware of this, but you are having to do a lot of accommodating -- walking on the outside, not pushing off in the pool, and likely other things as well. Add to this the realization in the pool that swelling is indeed present, and all signs point to the need of getting a good professional to have a thorough look at it, asap.

One way to rationalize this is that now is agreat time to be injured -- or at least better now than in AprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember. Address something now and get it resolved and behind you before race season begins, and you won't be reduced to braying at the sky and chewing furniture when races are happening and you're not part of the festivities!

And if I didn't say this in the last post -- definitely use the pull buoy exclusively that's the only way you can swim without ankle pain. It's the ideal time to work on the all-important front end of the stroke, as well as any of those five phases I mentioned in the last post.

Well, it's back to bed with me. We had a power outage from about 8:15 on and went to bed early (~10:30), and then woke up when power come back on about 12:30. After checking this and that (mostly the sump pump).............I couldn't go back to sleep! So here I am, writing to you and Sarah, and it's now 2:15 and I really ought to give sleep another try. G'night!

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Capt Steve and my fellow Tri Runners.... I have been invaded by the bad man in the head... How do I get him out???????  This morning I went running with a plan to go 2 miles and just a little more..  Well about 1.5 miles I was feeling good then all of a sudden you know who showed up, yes the Bad Man.. Boy it was a fight over the Bad Man and the Good Man that lives in my head.. The Good Man kept saying go for it you can do it..The Bad Man kept saying just give up, stop at 2 miles you big sissy.. Well I hit mile 2 and the Bad Man won... How do all of you stop the Bad Man from winning..  I'm talking about just going another 2 minutes and I just stopped..Does anyone know of a good Priest that can do that thing they did in the Amityville Horror movie.. Well it's off to the gym.. It would be nice to see what yall do to push yourself..

JAC -

Mother Hen here was worried, so thanks for responding! Bruck-bruck!

Good run last week for you, eh? And nicely done on those 32, complete with correct form; no mean feat, that!

You have a race this month, yes? I seem to remember that from way back when...........but often my memory is frisky and capricious, so who really knows??

Oh. School is back. Oh.

2500 kids? Oh!



Keep in touch, Jac!

GEORGE -

I'm sorry that Bad Man bested you today, and while I don't have a sure-fire way to turn the tables on him next time, here are a couple of thoughts.

Alter your form some when crunch time comes. The best way to do this is shorten your stride and almost shuffle. Often if you do this for a minute or so, you can slide back into your regular running form. Other alternative form switches could involve arm carriage or body lean.

Leave the watch at home and run a different route than normal. Maybe just drive yourself somewhere, park, and do an out-and-back run. Estimate a mile and add on a bit, and then turn around and head back. If you are feeling fine when you get to the car, keep going in that direction for what you think is a minute or two, and then head back.


What exactly happened to you this morning? That is, was it all in your head, or was some of it physical - cramping, tightness, soreness, forced breath, etc?

No known exorcisms for what ails you, and unfortunately going down to the crossroads and selling your sould to the devil won't work either (I've tried it for swimming....... . Of course I'm joking there, and the serious part is that if it's mostly in your head, that can be worked on with training. Some people do really well with mantras, and I have had a couple of half-hearted ones that have helped me through some rough patches in races, but they are nothing I rely on or do regularly.

This morning was just the top of the first inning -- it's a long game, and you have lots of time to run up the score on Bad Man! Game on!

As for teh run this morning, it was going good up to 1.5 miles then I started to get tired.. No cramps or pains, just tired.  It was like the engine was running out of gas.. I really feel I could have gone further but once I hit the 2 miles which is by the house I stopped.. I do feel that I need to pick a new route to avoid those Bab Man thoughts, they win all the time.  Problem is when I come out of my street I can take a left or right.  To the left it leads to the back of the subdivision which if I run down all the roads its 1 mile and then I run back to make 2 which leads me back to my street where its easy to stop.  I plan now to take a right which will lead to the front of the subdivision which if I run all the roads comes to about 2.5 miles.  I have never been the type to train on a stationary equiptment or run on a track because its to easy to stop.  I like to do the out and back training.

DANIEL -

Hey! You're back! Woo-hoo!

I have never used a bib in a race. When I began this stuff in '00 I was outfitted at the bike shop where I bought my bike with a bib, but didn't like how it felt just wandering around the house, so I returned them and got straight tri shorts.

I suspect, though, that many triathletes wear bibs for the reasons you prefer them. There is no overwhelming reason not to wear them, I suppose, especially if the temperatures are not too hot. What you see in my photo here is what I wear from race start to finish; that is, it is under my wetsuit, and I neither add nor subtract. I could well be wearing a bib under that top, and the only difference would be that I wouldn't be able to tuck my top in. That does matter to me at times, though, so among other reasons for wearing just tri shorts I need the tuck-in option.

Another thought, though, is that most bibs are designed for cycling, and probably have a thicker pad. That is great for long rides or for people who are sensitive, but it is helpful for neither the swim nor the run. The more that needs to be crammed inside a wetsuit just adds to the discomfort, and running form is somewhat compromised by a thicker pad. But if you can find a bib with a very minimal pad (such as in my DeSoto tri shorts), then the potential problem of a bulky, intrusive pad is reduced or maybe even eliminated.

GEORGE -

At the risk of repeating myself from an earlier discussion, I think, I'll ask what you are eating before your early morning workouts. I'm sure the topic of gels and bars came up previously; any luck with those? Other than that, look into good carbohydrate sources -- a bagel (maybe add p.b. or jam?) with a banana should tide you over for a sub-40 minute run.

So........What are you eating before those runs?!?

I do the same every morning. I wake up and have about 2-3 shots of espresso with 1/2 cup skim milk and 1 banana.  I then do my training and after the training I drink a protein shake and eat 1 boiled egg.  I have tried the gels and Im not really sure what they are supposed to do but they do taste good, no problem getting them down.  I took one last Sat, 15 minutes before my race and I felt the same in the race that I do when i train during the week.  About mile 2 of the race I ran low and walked about 2-3 minutes and then ran the rest of the way in.  The problem with this morning might have been my dinner last night.  We were really busy and by the time I got home I made 1 cup of oatmeal for dinner and that was it..  

Hey everyone... I have been missing in action for a few days.  Been just lurking... it has been a crazy few days.  I am very sore -- my legs are really sore from doing 2 crossfit classes, plus 2 swimming lessons... hopefully everyone is doing well!

Alex 

Steve I hate to ask you again to post that website where I can research the protein.  I know you have posted it twice before but I have no clue what page it's on.  I'm wanting to read up on taking a protein shake at night before bed and I'm not sure if you or someone in the group talked about drinking a heavier protein shake at night.