Have I lost my mind to consider a HIM? (Page 66)

I think I may be parting ways with my swim coach.  I did a different style set today--one that a friend sent me after my horrible day Thursday.....it was hard but I felt a lot better about that set than what I have been doing in the Master's class.

Leah,

My coach has been doing a lot of sprint and IM work lately.  Most of the sets he posts have nothing longer than 150 yds.  Whoop de doo.....GailG (big shout out to her quiet wisdom) sent me a couple workouts from LA tri club.  I used one of those today.  The main set was 3x (3x100 desacending + 1x200 EZ had maybe 15-20 sec rest on the 100's.  It was hard work,  but I did more than 600 yards more in that set in 50 minutes than I have =been doing in my Master's class in an hour.

A typical masters class has been 8x25 stroke 3x100 free repeated x3 (maybe).  Lucky if we do 2000 yards and a lot of focus on IM which is okay in the off season but we're headed into race season and the fly just isn't going to be a tri stroke for me!  I can barely do it or the breast stroke and at least breast has application for hard water recovery to sight quickly and regroup.

For me it was a matter of swimming a longer set on less rest to build my confidence in the swim.  My stroke count was probably higher but overall I don't think my form suffered too much.

Hello, Crazy People -- I like to lurk in your thread in part because Leah lives down the street from me but also because I will be at Oceanside to cheer for you...now that you are actually talking about me and because Leah pmed me about a related thing, I thought I'd pop in to clarify a few things.

I do in fact swim at the same masters program with Leah, but mostly because I think it is fun to be social.  I think those workouts are not as great as they might be.  For ex., I think the warmup is usually too long, especially lately when it takes up 35% of the hour and has no structure.  I also think the intervals and rests should vary more depending on the distance of the set.  I am a fan of a shorter warmup, a primary drill or sprint set, a main set with a specific focus that is related to triathlon racing, and then a cool-down.  But I am a strong swimmer for my AG so I don't stress about it; I go a few times a week and also try to swim once a week or so on my own and/or open water.

The workouts I sent to Judi were from my personal tri coach and are published on the LATriClub website under the Training tab.  There are links to a handful of specific workouts with specific purposes (swim, bike, AND run), and there is also a link http://www.latriclub.com/resources/article_detail.php?id=1654to a DVD series that my coaches have developed.  The swim DVD is all on drills and has a page of swim workouts that you can print out of your computer.  They are organized in a periodized schedule -- workouts for base, workouts for build, workouts for taper, etc.  I would post a direct link, but BT has (or at least had) a policy about embedding links to organizations that compete with their sponsors/official coaches.  If you can't follow the link above, PM me for more info.

The whole DVD series is fab and well worth the money.  Leah, they also offer monthly coaching, plans for specific (esp. local) races, and one-on-one workouts. It is a company owned by the head coach of our tri club, and ALL of their coaches are excellent.  Plenty to choose from, to ensure the right personality match.  

In re Oceanside, I will be in medical, and I expect NOT to see any of you.  That said, keep in mind that medical has special privileges.  If a member of the med team stops you after the swim and tells you to come to the med tent and warm up, LISTEN!  You are not DQed if you are at medical, and med staff is instructed to find people who look too cold (usually very skinny people and slower swimmers, but it could be anyone).  On the bike, eat well and keep pedaling.  It is hilly; don't kid yourself, but just gear down as low as you can go and think about making circles with the pedals.  For the run, just keep moving forward!

Finally, maybe you were a little crazy when you first considered signing up.  But now you are all well trained, and nobody except you yourselves would ever question whether you "belong" at the race.  Don't sabotage your race by selling yourselves short!  You all rock.

Gail, THanks for the input. You rock

Poor Lisa!  Hang in there and don't let it get you down! 

I'm in taper land.  Feels good.  Kind of eerie!

You are right, Leah.  This SHOULD be fun.  Yes, it's hard work....but there's no sense in not having fun in the process!  To that end, I am leaving my swim coach.  His workouts and I just do not gel well and I am not improving.  He offers minimal suggestions and if you  look at the email I put in my blog from him....he said a whole lot of nothing to insinuate I am not working hard.

For those of you tracking us here is something to pay attention to - our cut off times.  The last swim wave goes off at 7:48 a.m.  I am in wave 12 that starts at 7:17.  Leah is in the next wave that starts 4 minutes after me.  It is cool we will be pretty close together during the race.  I'll have to try to catch her on the bike.  Yes, she will pass me on the swim. 

Cutoff Times:

Swim Cut-Off: 1 hour and 10 minutes after final wave start
Bike Cut-Off: 5 hours and 30 minutes after final wave start
Run Cut-Off: 8 hours and 30 minutes after final wave start

Good morning all - I am attending a CLE on the legal ramifications for employers of employess or job applicants with facebook or other social networking accounts..actually kind of interesting.  Hope everyone has a great Thursday planned.

Hello Kate and Leah - make sure you guys are hydrating!!