Manatee Mentors 2015.2 CLOSED (Poptarts? Pet pics?) (Page 65)

I haven't fully decided the scheme.

Nothing on it so much... just painting the frame and fork. I am thinking maybe some sort of a combo of flat black and glossy and then getting bright blue grips and pedals or something. 

Did my second masters swim this morning and it was great.  Coach put me in a lane I could hang with, but that also really pushed me (especially as I'd already ridden and ran... err.. run... err... ranned?... runned?).  Ahem. 

(warning: name drop ahead)

So I look over in the fast lane after I hear coach half say, half laugh, "Lance is putting a hurt on 'em today."  Yep, LA is crushing souls waaaaay over on that other end of the pool.  Man, is he FAST (and way more buff than I would have thought - I guess the W/kg aren't as critical these days).  Totally chill and nice, too.  And that's all I have to say about that...

(back to the actual post)

Doing the workout was interesting, as it's not one I'd have put together.  I scored bonus points when I said no problem to doing the "other" strokes (after coach said, "Matt, you can just do freestyle if you want").  Worked my AZZ off on the non-freestyle stuff just to stay even, and eventually had to cut the last 5' of the workout as I was cramping from the breast-stroke kick! 

Got me some work to do, fo' shizzle (as the kids don't actually say), but I can see this being really good for my swim over even the short term.

Matt

I wondered if he was kickin' around Austin still. When can he compete again? Ever?

Good job in the pool. You triathletes are awesome. It all sounds so terrible to me. 

No orange?

Beat me to it!

Very cool! Sounds like it's going to be a great group for you.  It'll be interesting to see your improvement as you continue to participate.

I've contacted one of the coaches for the group I'm interested in to see if I can watch a workout before I jump in.  That way I won't make a complete fool of myself if there's no way I can manage it.  Between my stupid hip and back issues, I need to be so darned careful not to overdo and set myself back a couple of weeks just because I want to be able to fully participate.  I really hate having to think about that every time I consider starting something new.  I wish I could just say, "Hey, I want to try that" and do it.  I know I should give myself props for even considering new stuff and being prudent about it, but it still gets frustrating!!  Sometimes I just get so tired of feeling broken.  [End of whiny pity party.]

Weather here today is good for swimming and drainer/treadmill and not much else.  Rain, freezing rain, and snow here in Denver, up to 2'--yes, that's FEET--of snow in the foothills about an hour from here!!  My garden (read: "weed patch") is loving it.  Me, not so much.  Get to swim tonight with my former swim buddy who recently moved away, followed by dinner and drinks with her.  Can't wait!!!

Orange and blue ARE complimentary...I can work it in and I bet it'd look great

That's terrific!  I hope you have a blast.  So, you can't wait for the swim or the more interesting liquid phase activities? 

I really hope that you find a group with the right feel/attitude for you, as that's so important to a good experience (in anything - certainly not just masters or swimming).

Be smart in coming back, but never feel badly about doing only what you can at that point - no apologies needed for that to anyone. 

Matt

So much to catch up on...Mary, 2 feet?! Ick. You can keep that chit. And as for Pikes Peak, you keep reminding us and me thinks you should join us. Yaknow, put up or...

Yay for riding outside!

My first thought for "do you want to build a snowman" was the song from Frozen and I don't have young kids! You all know it's spring right? I got snowed on today but I climbed a mountain to get it.

Salty, why yes, blue and orange do go quite well together

Hey!  I'm your designated driver for the beer tour afterwards so you'd better watch it, missy!   I was going to say I wish I could join you, but on second thought, no, I don't .  You're welcome to it.  I'll do my all-uphill HM at Zion where the grade is much more reasonable thankyouverymuch.

Meanwhile, I'm working on my costume and figuring out how I'm going to haul myself up to mile 5 to whoop and holler at you silly racers.  Sorry, but I'm not going to rent a manatee costume.  Yes, manatees live in swamps but being inside a furred swamp in the August sun isn't my idea of fun!!

I got out for my inaugural Spring ride tonight.  Gorgeous 60 degrees, sunny, dead calm.  I'm cruising along feeling great and at 12 miles.  PFFTT!!! rumble, rumble, rumble.  I'm on a loop near my house so I limp home.  Didn't feel like fixing a flat on the side of the road.  Threw my running shoes on and ran a quick three before dark. 

And why does the front tire never blow?!?.  Always the rear.  Is that just so I have to get my hands greasy and fight with my derailleur?

Have another 5K this weekend.  I'm heading out to visit some friends, and some others invited me to do a race in the area.  It's great to be racing again!

Well...  I hate to second guess someone else's plan.  At this point, though, the hay is in the barn and I don't suppose you'd be asking if you were 100% comfortable with what it says.

I'll leave it there and add the the weekend before my first HIM, I had the following:

I think that by Fast they mean something like strides

RE: Tempo

When I hear "tempo" I think HIM pace normally.  I would probably do something like you mentioned.  

RE: 5x1 min
How long are the recoveries?  Matt Fitzgerald's plans have two flavors of that kind of workout.  One is 1 min on/ 1 min off where you go basically around 5k pace, and the other is 1 min on /3 minute off where you're basically going 1 mile pace.  It's pretty fast, but the recoveries make it doable.

To add to it, if I were to choose I'd go for the faster 1 min option.  I don't think you would get much of anything out of 5x1min @ 5k pace with 1min active recovery.  You need at least 10 reps of that for any effect.

Hmm 80 minute tempo? That is exceptionally long. While tempo can be a little vague (and for good reason generally...) that is really, really long.  

What is the purpose of this run? Let's define that and work backwards.

"Begin with the end in mind." hmmm, I may have read that somewhere before.

These are for familiarity and sharpness.

1. I'd go with times like you said and about estimated HIM pace. Cut it shorter if it seems to get hard. Familiarity with running at HIM race pace for a bit.

2. T-pace or a little faster is fine for all 3 activities on the day. You can go with 5k pacing for the run. It's a sharpening thing. Making sure you can still move quick. It's ok to be generous on the rest too. You're not trying to build a training stimulus. Just be used to moving plenty fast. Faster than race pacing for all three so that race pacing seems rather easy to do.

It bothers me that this plan doesn't tell you what the purpose is.

But I still don't know about this whole familiarity thing. That's just a long time to be spending running at what I imagine is a more taxing pace when you aren't honing specific things like vo2max or LT. To me, it seems like a bit time and energy suck with little reward.

BUT remember, I am not a triathlete so I don't really have a gauge on what the HIM race pace is. 

As we both know there are some things in the plan that probably are not ideal but a great overall plan that I think will serve you very well.  I mentioned before that I'm following the plan but I've modified it here and there based on what I've learned.  With a little over a week, the hay is definately in the barn and I'd see this as maybe that last pass on the grinding wheel to sharpen the sword before your taper week.

First, let's assume you want to do a 50 minute tempo run.  How fast?  Jack Daniels has a chart for figuring pace of an extended tempo run.  According to his training method, a tempo run is generally about 20 minutes but can be lengthened but pace will diminish.  Here is a link to figuring your VDOT and what your pace would be for a 50 minute tempo run.

 http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/threshold-training-finding-your-vdot?page=single

Let's assume a 45 minute 10k which would give you a VDOT of about 45.  This translates on the second chart to a 20 minute tempo run of 7:25 pace and a 50 minute tempo run of 7:44 pace.  That's probably close to a very hard open HM effort.  Personally, I think that is too much at this stage of the game.  I'd be more inclined to back off to about an 8:00 pace at best, maybe not even that.  If fact, I'd probably do it close to your target HIM pace which realistically should feel pretty easy for this workout.

As for the 5 x 1 minute runs, I'd also view those like strides.  They are not intended to build fitness but to keep the already sharp sword sharp.  I'd rest adequately between each one.  Again, they should feel pretty easy.  I'd think of it like doing 5 x 100 in the pool with a minute rest between.  Strong but easy.

Just warning you.  After all the work you have done the taper week is going to drive you crazy.  Try to relax.  It is normal to start feeling (imaging) lots of aches and pains.  You've done great up to this point learning your lessons well and I'm very confident you are going to crush this race.  Can't wait to hear your epic story.