Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 66)

Good Morning Team,

I figured I'll get this out of the way first. The month of April was not as much volume as March. I did have a 5k race (PR) and a Sprint Tri (PR) in April which has a little something to due with the lower than usual volume. I am starting of May with a OLY Tri on May 5th and then I have no other race scheduled until July (yet). 

I got my last workout of the month over with this morning. A nice speed set with long recovery times in between (30 secs.) I actually hit one 25 yard dash at 1:06/100 yard pace. I come to realize that when I am in the water I keep trying different forms to see which ones work out the best. I realized today that I can mash the sprints and I am only a second or two faster than if I make sure my form is good and I am not even remotely as tired as when I mash.  I didn't even think about all of this until I read Jason's post the other day and figured I will keep an eye on it. Here is what I learned ...

Swimming with good form and small effort is faster than mashing with bad form and all out effort! :-)

What else is going on? 

Rene - How is the rehab going?

By the way ... I got my race kit the other day. KMF Performance is my coach. What I like about it ... very slimming ... doesn't show the love handles ... :-)

Michael -- I'm sorry, the kit only reminds me of the Norwegian curling team... 

(Cortina-Pants_Aftenposten-300x245.jpg)

So I decided to get experimental last night -- went for a swim, and tried my hand at "alternative breathing".  Typically I breathe every 2 strokes, but I wanted to give it a shot with 3 (bilateral) or 4.

First I tried 4 -- man that takes some getting used to....!    I was able to complete about 1.5 lengths before the reduced breathing caught up to me.  I did about 6x50m and gradually got better and better.

Then I tried 3 -- breathing frequency was fine, but I am not accustomed to breathing on the left.  The first couple of times I tried it, I veered badly into the oncoming traffic.      I also found it hard to get my mouth and nose clear of the water.  But the more I practiced, the more I was able to avoid the problems and get a good breath.  So pretty happy with the progress.   Needs more practice but a good start.

The strangest thing -- I hadn't expected this -- I've grown so accustomed to breathing every time I pull with the left -- it was a very weird sensation to pull with the left with my head down!    

Any tips on making bilateral breathing more natural?

Scott.

Michael-nice kit! Always fun to get new gear.

Scott-I'm not great about bilateral breathing. I've gone through a spell of a right side only breather to now breathing only to the left. If I'm working on bilateral breathing I will incorporate it into my warm up and/or cool down by always facing the same direction while swimming. In other words if I am in the lane by the wall I will breathe toward the wall for all lengths. This has me working half the time how I am comfortable and half to my weaker side. Not so overwhelming as trying to work out a new rhythm/pattern and doing it the hard way the whole time.

Swim at lunch and bike this evening...that will do it for April. 

Swim done. Workout included a 400 yard TT. UGH I hate these things as I know I will be hurting after the first couple of laps. Was "hoping" for 5:40 and the clock turned from 5:39 to 5:40 as I touched the wall so looks like I'm at 5:40 1:25/100.  I can't imagine swimming that hard/fast in a tri as I would not be able to get out of whatever body of water I was in.  I was whipped at the end of the TT so the remainder of the workout was plodding along with a mix of swim/pull.  Oh how I wish I swam when I was young......would have to make it so much easier now.

Hi, guys!

Michael: Snazzy outfit. I can appreciate slimming!

Scott: I always breath to my left no matter how many strokes I take. I tried a few times to my right and got a face full of sea water every time. Totally put off by it now! I hope you can figure it out and it helps improve your swim!

I'm back it it. New month, training buddy is slowly recovering. They found the people who beat and robbed her. The guy that beat her was huge. He beat her in the head with a gun. That poor woman! Breaks my heart to imagine it happening. We all pray he goes to jail for a long, long time, especially considering the guy has a long history of criminal activity. Jerk.

Here's last months totals.

Running is not a huge part of the training plan the coach has set up for me, which seems to be OK! Ran my fastest 4 miles this past weekend for a relay race, and was able to get through almost 2 miles of mostly uphill.

With this month's training schedule, I'm thinking it'll be a long time before I can fit in training for anything more than an Olympic distance. MAYBE a half IM if I get a trainer, but holy cow, the hours!

I have a 1500m swim and 4 mile run on schedule today. I'm buckling down. My training buddy was supposed to be my roomie for Xterra Worlds. We were so excited to go and experience it together. She is going to be my motivation to do well there. She had so much going for her, so much planned. I'm going to enjoy the things we did together for both of us until she's back on her feet doing it herself.

Blanda-glad your friend is recovering. Great motivation to train and race for someone.

My April numbers were down a bit. Primarily due to race season beginning and racing 3 times in 4 weeks. Overall pretty satisfied with where I am right now. Of course, that varies from day to day.

April numbers:

Really happy with my April numbers -- about 17 hours total (18 if you include a short hike with the kids) which is well ahead of my previous best.  Plus this month was a bit more balanced -- though I had to back off the bike due to bad weather (would you guys believe it snowed again today?!?)

May will be interesting -- need to continue strong running for my HM, but also need to stop neglecting the bike as this is my big lagging area prior to my Oly in June.

Scott.

Very light month for swimming.  Picking up on bike/run.  Looking forward to getting outside on the bike for long rides. 

I need to pick up the running miles but I've really been concentrating on my weakest legs of the race. This month will be the running month, starting with a HM this weekend. I've also had issues with posterior tibial tenditis and I've had to slowly increase my miles to prevent this from getting flared up.

Scott – I’ve tried alternating breathing but I seem to keep sucking in water on the left. I plan on getting a swim coach at the end of this season. There are so many technical parts to swimming and I can't watch myself to fine tune any changes. I’m just glad I can swim my required distance for the Oly I have planned. I started this winter just trying to finish a 100 meter distance.

Blanda – glad to hear hear your friend is progressing. Head injuries can take a while to recover from, so don’t get discouraged.

Scott, Jim and Dave-nice work solid months.

Jamie-I've been really impressed  how you and Nate have progressed in your training. Great consistency and steadily increasing volume. You guys are doing it the right way in getting ready for IM Louisville. The next few months will be tough but you have laid the groundwork to get to the starting line ready and healthy. Keep it up. I'm looking forward to following you guys through the race. I think you will both have great success at the race if you can keep it up through the next few months. Stay healthy!

I love training outside in warm weather!!  Finished a 33 mile bike followed by 4 mile run.  The first mile of the run was a chore but it got progressively easier, and I was faster each subsequent mile, and the effort seemed much less.

An update to the group on my future living situation.  I am focusing on Arizona.  I will be flying out for an interview at a hospital at the end of the month.  If this job is a go, I will be looking at moving in December.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  No more snow!!!  I don't mind snow if I travel to it as opposed to it coming to me   I'm excited about having the ability to train outside year round. 

My running volume has not been where I'd like it to be and I am definitely feeling it.  I am continually impressed with Jason's streak of 100+ miles per month.  I know I felt much better about my running last year when I bumped up the volume to 100 + miles monthly.  I  other words, I need to step it up.  Jim

Jim-good luck with the interview and job search. Every location has its positives and negatives. Cold/snowy Winters usually means nice Summers. Down here we can train outside pretty much year round. The worst months of the year are June/July and August when the heat and humidity can be overwhelming. Hope things work out well for you. Always exciting to start a new chapter.

Had a busy day with work so I hit the pool early and then had track intervals this afternoon. Drizzled throughout the workout. I always feel "hardcore" when I run in the rain. Well, as hardcore as an old man can be. It was actually comfortable with the rain. Unfortunately, it started pouring right as I started my cool down run so I got soaked. Got it done and had a pretty good workout.

Good luck, Jim!

1500m swim went well yesterday. I did it at my beach pool. Sometimes I get so distracted by a particularly interesting looking fish I don't pull my face out of the water quick enough and get a face full of it. Blech!

The run started off ho hum, but I ran into my sister and we ran together. Great timing! Took my mind off the run.

So, this weekend I am hoping to do a 50 mile bike ride. Not stoked about it, but it would be good training, and the coach worked it into the schedule.  My son will be participating in a duathlon, so that's going to be fun! Let's hope his playing on the bike with friends, and running with parents help him do well.

Great April numbers, guys!

Looks like we have been archived. Jason and I will be doing a new group. Not sure when they will open the groups. All are welcome to continue but feel free to seek the wisdom/support/friendship of others as well. No worries if you get with a new group.....or decide to try your hand at being a mentor!

Best to all! Keep up the good work!