Gary's Mentor Group - Re-OPENED for Training (Page 68)

Put up my next training plan.  Its a 6 week sprint program based upon Carmichaels "Time Crunched Triathlete" book.  Actually has three rest days per week, not sure what I am going to do with all of that time.  Trying it out leading up to a super sprint in June.  If it works I will the Oly version for the Oly at the end of the season.  Next week will be a transition week where I will do some workout then the following week will be on the plan. 

Dorm - great idea on the relay with the kids.  I have a race in early Oct and checking to see if there is an age limit for relay members (DS would do the run). 

BTW, added the names to the first post.  I will add Thads today.

Tracey - understand, hope things are better.  Congrats on the Swim improvements.

For all of the new folks please PM (don't post in the thread unless you like spam emails) and I will get you setup in our Race calendar (via google).  There you need to post your races and can get updates on when others are racing.

Quick brag, I am coaching my daughters Y Softball team.  Won again today.  Granted it was a very young team we played but nice to see the girls confidence grow.  They are learning so much.  Next week is going to be a very tough game.

hi gary and everyone else who reads this post,

  looking for some training tips and insight on what to expect as i am signing up for my first sprint in august. i am in my mid 30's and have been athletic for the better portion of my life. i've been mostly a gym rat and now looking for that next level of fitness. i run more now than i weight train and plan to incorporate swimming and cycling as soon as my ankle heals (rolled it recently and then decided to run a 10k the next day). i have always admired the athleticism of triathletes. that and the desire to raise my fitness level has inspired me to pursue my first sprint race. i have participated in 5k and 10k races, but that's it. i plan on participating in some more as i train for my sprint. i currently reside in pasadena, tx which is a suburb of houston. i train 5-7 days a week depending on my schedule. i have lost around 20lbs this year following a semi-strict diet and increasing the amount of time i train. 

my first question would be, what techniques would you recommend in training for a 500m swim? my second would be, what kind of bike would you recommend?

Dorm - are you taking in any caffeine or gels before/during your run? I had similar issues a year ago. I was able to link the problem back to a combination of too much caffeine and a particular brand of gel. I've found Hammer products are easier on my stomach.

Welcome Stacy ... 3 suggestions:

1. Don't wait to start swimming - you can swim even with a sore ankle.
2. Find and join up with a 'masters' swim class.  Masters classes are great to help with basic technique, start you out with drills and point out the really big flaws which slow you down.
3. With buying a bike - spend money for the long run.  By this I mean it's better to spend your money right one time than wrong 2-3 times.  I started out buying a cyclocross bike, then a pure road bike and now I have a super nice road bike.  I would have been $$ ahead to buy the super nice road bike at the start.

With the road bike, you'll want to focus on the fit, wheels and hardware.  I'd check out the local bike shop for some help with which size bike you should get.  Too, Mavic wheels and Shimano-105 grade components are good - actually better than average entry level equipment.  Cannondale is my fav brand of bike, but there are tons of others that will work for you.  Check out your local Craigslist for ones which may be a few years older, but equipped with good components.

Stacey - I would get swim lessons, swimming is almost all about technique and subtle changes in your stroke can make big differences.  Very similar to golf.  +2 on the masters swimming, it will kick your butt but thats a good thing.

As for bike there are so many choices and so much to learn (type, crankset, wheels, components, etc).  Spend time reading the Tri forum threads looking for the bike recommendation posts.  Visit your local LBS' and learn about what bikes they have and the different options.  Fit is super important and understanding sizes is very helpful.  Remember that bike sizes are like pant sizes.  Two different bike brands with the same size will not mean you fit both.  You will also have the whole tri vs. road bike decision to make.  I went with the Tri bike and am happy I did (especially after the winds in NOLA) but there have been some times where having a road bike as a 2nd bike would be great.

Good luck!

Deb - Post an intro similar to the others (mine is on the very first page) and you are in!

Gregory - welcome, please post an intro and you are set.

Hey Gang,

Super busy at work, super busy at home (trying to get ready to sell), and super super busy with end of semester exams and research projects at school.  Still managed to find time to kick the week off right.  1000M interval swim this morning, and an extremely hilly slow (10:30 pace) 5 miles over lunch.  Already looking forward to 5am to get on the bike.

Hope everyone has a great week.

I've only got three left to go!

Chris

Awesome!!!  My son has his first machine pitch game tomorrow night.  We were rained out yesterday.  He plays up a few years, so it's always entertaining watching the little midget run around with all the big kids.

Great video (Or at least the ending is great)

http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/california-hit-and-run-caught-on-bike-camera-29134035.html

Revenge is sooo sweet

Shelly - good luck to DD!

Rob - Long trainer rides can be a PITA (literally).  I have started listening to some of the Tri pod casts (IM Talk and others) and it has helped.  Good luck, you are going to do great on you HIM.

Rode yesterday for the first time since NOLA.  A little tight at first but once i got going I felt great.

FAMILY STATUS: Married for 5 years, I have a daughter and we are waiting for another baby to come in a month.

CURRENT TRAINING: normally i do about 3-6 hours of training per week for 2 months. Already lost 6 kilo out of 93. Since I live in Russia there were not a lot possibilities to do outdoors training, so I spent quite a while swimming. Now I am trying to have 2 days for all exercises.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: no completed races so far but I am going to participate 2 half Olympic triathlons this year in July and August.

WEIGHTLOSS: I was 93 kilo in the beginning of march, now I am 86. My target is 78.

Edited by Gregorysharkov 2012-05-02 10:05 AM

Gregory, welcome again and hopefully with a new one on the way we can help you!