Dirk's Junkie group - CLOSED (Page 65)

You did a good deed John.

I've picked up a friend in my neighborhood.  It's a cat.  It joins me and my dogs on our morning walks most days.  No matter where it is, it seems to see us and call out to us with loud Meows.  I hear it coming from 100 yards away.  It follows us the entire way around the block.

It seems irresistably drawn to my dogs.  No me.  I have tried approaching it and it runs.  One of my dogs is frightened of it.  Enough that she won't turn her back on it when it's following.  And when she is close enough to the cat, she charges it.  Well, that's been going on for a while, but the cat keeps coming back.  This week it's developed the courage to run in front of us and lay down in the street.  The 'frightened' dog still lunges at it, but now the cat runs a few steps and lays down. 

Cries for us after we get home.  It's really weird.

Wait, that has nothing to do with triathlon! 

I know you've all been waiting anxiously for this.  Here's a vid of my track run.  On the non-slow-mo part, the start of the run is 7.5 mph and gradually builds to 12.3 mph by the end.  The slow-mo gets most of the faster end portion.

Everyone needs a little comic relief now and again....right...?

Perdy!

Why are we all laughing at Jonathan's running?!?!?  Classic clip buddy.

On the home front - my poor dog has poison ivy.  He's wearing the cone of shame, and he's depressed and humiliated.  Vet said it's only the second case he's seen in 26 years on the job.

I love the slow motion bit - I imagine some inspiring music playing in the background.

It's amazing the ways you find to amuse yourself while bored at work.

John

Looks absolutely fine.  You look very relaxed and effortless.  Arms seem a little tight, but I don't find that the way the arms are held is much of an issue.  As long as they aren't ACTUALLY tight (as in muscles becoming fatigued).

For the slow stuff, you should have played the theme from Chariots of Fire.

Cool, that's good to hear....although I was hoping you would have some idea on exactly why I can't run this speed all the time due to some form imbalance or whatever :-).  I don't see much difference between running slower and faster in the clip.  I was glad to see that.  My arms aren't tight...that's just how I seem to carry them.  I do end up having to shake out my arms every once in a while on longer runs because I will get my little fingers falling asleep.  This only happens when I am wearing a lot of clothing.  It just seems easier to carry them.  Probably because the moment around my shoulder is less....not real sure.

I never did think of the chariots of fire theme!  I will be changing that on my home copy!

On longer run I too will have to shake my arms out a little bit because of numbness.  Most of the time I think it is because of a static arm position over a lot of miles.  For example, your elbows really don't move a lot.

I agree with what everyone else said about your running form except that I think you should try to relax your arms more.  Try letting your lower arms them swing lower, say a 90 degree angle to your upper arms.  Maybe it's me but I feel a little more relaxed and comfortalbe when they are in that position.  I also feel you get a little more forward momentum from the motion that is developed from your arms swinging.  If you chose to do this just make sure you keep your arms opened and don't allow them to cross the mid-line of your chest.

Can you explain?  Are you just saying that you get winded and aerobically can't sustain it?

Tomorrow is a big swim day for a few of us.

Myself, Brenda and Allison and her husband are getting together for a swim.  I hope to get some video of all of us, especially me, during the swim.  I am really anxious to see all of my mistakes in form but not because I want to see any but because I have never seen myself swim before.  My wife was supposed to get some video of me last Sunday at my race but she apparently couldn't figure out how to use the camera in video mode.

On the swimming front, I seem to have finally made a bit of a breakthrough in my technique, at least for tonight.  I really tried to stay focused on a long stroke throughout the MS.  I have found, especially since beginning the flip turns, that as I get tired I begin to lose my form and try to rush through m stroke.  Tonight I was very intentional as I got tired to stay long and relaxed, tried to keep a good shoulder rotation and keep from reverting my pull back to the "S" pull I learned as a kid.  when I finished the MS I was not nearly as tired as I have been.

Yes, exactly....my legs get tired and all that, but I can push through it...like on the bike.  I just get winded like you said.  I know...be patient, right?  A friend of mine and I did the video.  Just thought you'd guys would get a kick out of it.

Loved the video. For both songs I thought - gee I'd like to run with that song .

Fun, have a great swim everyone! I can relate to your wife except I'm always pushing the video button when all I want to do is take a picture.

Flip turns have a way of pointing out your weak spots don't they?! Congratulations on the breakthrough.

I've cut back a little this week. I pushed a little last week with a longer ride and added a little bit more time to my runs. By the end of the week my back was a little fired up. Nothing terrible but enough to remind me I don't need to go all tri crazy

Unlike Dirk I am very frustrated in the pool right now. I just can't swim enough to make the gains in speed I know I am capable of so I'm kind of stuck. I want to do more but swimming irritates my back more than anything else so it is what it is.

Also had a really crappy ride on Wednesday. It is farming season here so my normally low traffic farm roads are very busy with combines and pick ups pulling tanks of anhydrous ammonia. It was also really windy so the ride was kind of stressful. Then at the very end as I'm cooling down, riding straight into the wind up a hill no less, I get chased by a pack of 6 freaking farm dogs. I was totally surrounded, both sides and behind. I'm shouting at them to get and every time I shout they bark. I'm starting to freak out a little because I'm really trapped. I can't get off and two of the dogs are literally inches from feet. Finally I thought to change the tone of my voice to all sugar and sweetness "it's ok boy, that's a good boy" etc. They all just stopped and went home. Crazy.

Happy training everyone!

Dina,  Hopefully your back will begin to settle down and you can get back to a normal training regimen. I checked your logs and your not swimming exorbitant amounts to where it seems like it might cause additional problems.

1. Does your back cause you problems immediately when you get in the water or after a few sets?  If it is immediate, maybe you could spend a little bit of time doing back related stretching before getting in for the swim. 
2. Are you continuing doing the back strengthening exercises that you  were originally doing?  These may help you continue through the healing process.
3. I wonder if you cut your swims by 25% and tried to go a little more frequently if you might experience some relief.  I am not certain if this would help you make speed gains you are looking for but I can apply similar principles to running.  Kind of like the ideas Jeff has presented to all of us in the running suggestions.  I am interested in hearing thought on this from others.

Thanks! It was a great day: After working a half day I took the afternoon off. We (wife, 2 daughters, and me) toured the school (junior high) my older daughter will be attending next year and our tour guides were 2 current students from the school who had a lot of enthusiasm for their school. My daughter is pretty excited about going now. She is even considering joining the cross country team! Then I took my younger daughter to her gymnastics class. When we got home my wife had pizza waiting and she was working on a homemade apple pie. My son (20 yrs old) was there waiting for us too. A great evening of family, pizza, and pie. It doesn't get any better.

On the training front - the weather has been very wet this week (thank God, because we need the rain) so I had to hit the dreadmill for the first time this year for one of my runs.  The other runs have been outside and a bit wet.

I also hit the pool for the first time in a while. After a short warm-up I did 900 yards continuous for the first time ever. It was a test to reassure myself that I could cover the distance for my sprint tri coming up an a couple weeks. I covered the distance, but afterwards I had the same stomach cramping from swallowed air that has been my nemesis in swimming. I really need to slow down and focus more on the breathing. I averaged about 2:02 per 100 yards, but with that breathing problem. I like the improved speed but I'd settle for 2:30 per 100 and no cramping afterwards if I can manage it. So I have some work to do there.

I'm jealous of you all getting to meet for swimming. I know you'll have a really productive time.

I need so much help in that area. My breathing is the major issue now, but I know my pull is along the lines (curves) of that "S" pull, and I basically kick only once per stroke. I have lots of room for improvement for sure.

When I can get a chance I'll have my wife video my swim and get it up for you all to give me pointers.

Happy birthday Vero!

I hope everyone else has a good day too and gets some fun training in! I'm shooting for my first ever 2+ hour bike tomorrow morning. I'm going to go grab a new rear light today since my old one met a wet end...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh let's see, my back is mostly a pinching feeling at certain times while I swim. I feel it the most when I reach and twist. I can manage with it - I just don't want to risk making it worse for a few more yards. I know my volume is low, especially compared to previous years.

My plan was 3 shorter swims but it has not worked out. I live 40 min one way from the pool and with gas prices rising it is not worth it. It seems silly to drive 80 min round trip to add one more swim for 30 min. Open water season will be here soon enough and there are many more choices for me to swim then.

I have been naughty and dropped the back exercises. Thank you for the reminder to get back to it! It really feels good pretty good this week.

Well here it is.........Links to my swim video's.  Allison took 2 of them for me and each is about 100 yards.  Take a look at them and see what kind on errors I am making.

End Swim

Side Swim

I have some thoughts but I want to hear what others have to say.

One of the best things about today was being able to try to help Allison and Brenda out.  It was a real joy to be able to work with them as they are both very willing learners.  I did not attempt to get much swimming in today but rather allowed time to help a couple of other athletes find a few things to work on.

I can't say enough about the video.  It is very revealing of what you do. I thought I was doing certain things.......and then I watched myself.  WOW! is all I can say.

I started to post the things I can see flawed with my stroke but I want to allow others to post their comments first.  Well, as long as Jonathon doesn't criticize me.  He doesn't need to post a video because he has a 3 or 4 for a SWOLF score.  He can almost reach from one end of the pool to the other just by lying flat in the water.

Just a quick post from me with good news. I took 2nd place overall female in my race this morning (30 overall). My new pr is 21:26. I am not quite sure how to factor it because my garmin tells me it was only 3.0 miles, but I figure that I still would have beat my old time of 22:46 if the race was a tenth longer. Ryan's time was 19:48. 

I was close to winning and was neck and neck with the girl who ended up winning. I am so mad that she beat me because she tried to trip me at about 2.5 miles. Grrrrr.