Mike's group closed (Page 7)

Went to my first Masters swim practice today.  Some fast folks there. 

Coach told me my stroke is good, no major flaws.  I was surprised to hear that.  She also said that I need to start alternate breathing to balance the stroke out.  Worked on it for about 30 minutes.  It's gonna take me awhile to figure that out.  I always struggle to do things with my left (non dominant) side.

Hey Rob, let me know when you figure out how to breath from both sides. 

Mike, would you please take a look at this training plan and tell me if the times listed are for minutes?  What do you think of this plan?  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=46

Don't hold your breath.

Sandy, those are the minutes listed there for each workout.  That's a good plan too.  My first plan was more simple then that and I had no problem finishing the distance.  I think you could probably handle more though. 

Here are some good drills to practice getting smoother at breathing on both sides.  Put on some fins if you have them and keep the left arm out and only stroke with the right and breath on that side.  Repeat on the other side coming back.  Here's another. Do one length breathing only on the left side then next length breathing only on the right and repeat.

Last is timing it all so that you get comfy know how much air to exhale and when so that you can time it all together.  It is nice to know how to breath on either side and bilaterally in case of waves, sun blinding you, or someone splashing the heck out of you.

I thought those were minutes but I wasn't sure.  12 to 15 minutes in the pool would just annoy me, you know, girls and the hair thing.     Looking some more...

Thanks for the tips Mike.  I've never been good at doing things leading with my left (non dominant) side, and part of me wonders if I'll be able to get comfortable alternate breathing.  Going to give it my best shot and see what happens.  Lord knows I'll have enough pool time to work on it.  Argh.

Hey everyone.  I see we have some sick and hurting members.  Take the time to heal and get better.  Don't push it to get back too soon.  Often that is when you end up back where you started from.

In the mean time.  I noticed that two of our members haven't really kept up with their logs at all or with much in our forum.  If anyone would like to invite another person or two to join our group, feel free.  If not, I could always open it back up to allow two more in.  Let me know what you think.

I'm still around too!!  Just busy with travel for work and then with family, but I'm around.  I've been able to keep up with my training, just haven't had the chance to log my workouts on the site yet.  I'll try and get to that in the next day or two.

I was able to actually run outside while I was in Florida which was nice for a change.  Felt great to get out on the road for the first time in a very, very long time.  Surprisingly it was easier than I thought, although it was a pretty flat route that I ran.  I also made the leap to get fitted for new running sneakers, which has made a difference.  I highly recommend this to the group if they have a good running store nearby.  Amazing how comfortable my feet felt during and after the run.

One thing I'm struggling a bit with is a working on a true set plan - drills/workouts for all 3 sports.  I do some in the pool, which I'm going to switch up on Mike's advice a few pages ago, but even on the treadmill I feel like I should be doing more than just running for 2-3 miles each time I do a run workout.  I bought the Triathletes Training Bible by Friel which everyone raves about, so I'm hoping the plans in there will be of help.

Anyone have any thoughts?  I know the plans on this site are pretty good, but I feel like a 12 minute swim or a 24 minute bike ride is just way too short of a workout.

Pete

I suppose the length of the workouts is all relative.  For some it is short and some it is long.  It depends on your background and your goals.  A 20 minute run may only someone 2-3 miles today.  As they add to that, in three months from now they may be running 5-6 miles.  Keep in mind, these are workouts that you will be doing 5-6 days a week, every week, non stop, up until a week before race day.  That is a lot of conditioning and miles.  You will "taper" for about a week allowing your body to build up right before the race.  Come race day your body will be ready to go. 

How are you struggling with a set plan?  Is it lack of time, getting into a groove, not knowing what to do?

I think getting into a groove is part of it, but it's more of not knowing what to do.  By that I mean specific drills or intervals that are geared more towards endurance training.  I like to have a set plan when I go to the gym (during the winter), certainly for that workout but more importantly for the week.

Let's say I know I'll be working out Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - I want to know what I'm doing each day and not only - is it a swim/bike, swim/run, bike/run, or a day of just bike, run or swim, but what exactly am I doing which each of those 'activities'.  When should I mix weight training in (or should I not focus on this at all)?  I just feel like drills or intervals/sprints etc. like we do in the pool for the swim is something that maybe I should be doing on my runs and on the bike. 

I know what I'm doing now is helping - I feel stronger in my runs and a bit stronger in the pools, but I just don't know if it's effective for endurance training.  When I get a chance this weekend to post my training for the past 10 days, maybe you'll see what I'm talking about.

Just want to make sure I'm training effectively and the right way.  Hope this makes sense.

Pete

Feb. is quickly approaching.  Depending on your goals and races, most plans are either started or will be starting within the next month or two.  If you haven't picked out your "big" race yet, you should start doing so soon.  You can usually sign up at the last minute for any local and smaller races but you do need to plan and train ahead.  You can use the search race db tab at thetop of the screen to look for races based on location, length, date, etc...

I thought it would be nice if everyone posted their "A" race for the summer and if you haven't picked one yet, start looking.

I'll go first.   Louisville Kentucky- Ironman distance-August 30th

My A race is supposed to be the same as Mike's  -- IM Louisville on August 30.

Depending how the recovery from my hip sfx continues, I might have to change that in the next couple months.

For me it's the NJ Triathlon on 7/26/2009.  I'm signed up to do the sprint.

Had a good weekend of workouts and feeling better.  Swam both days and I'm really feeling stronger in the pool every time out.  Did a spin class for the first time on Saturday morning and it was great.  So much better than spinning on the bike alone.  I also ran for 3.5 miles yesterday and my legs have that good burn to them today.  The best part, I got on the scale and lost 5 lbs, which definitely made me feel good.

I'll be updating my workouts for the past 2 weeks today.  Hopefully the group can take a look and let me know their thoughts.

Pete

Here is the one I am still hoping to do.

Metroplex Sprint Triathlon (Triathlon)
6/13/2009 in Grand Prairie , Texas

Its 400m swim, 11 mile bike, and 2m run

 20 weeks away.

 Hip is a bit better today but still not able to do much.

I finally got around to updating my workouts from the past 2 weeks.  I think I got them all straight.

The new question of the day - how important is weight training?  I do a full body workout that works the major muscles and concentrates on your core, which is important.  It's a fast workout where you do a circuit of 1 rep of each exercise with no rest between (so you squat, bench, shoulder press, etc.) then rest 2 minutes and do another circuit.

I definitely feel good after the workout, although sometimes it zaps my power (mostly in the pool).  I'm just curious how important it is to try for an endurance event.  I've read some mixed opinions on whether you should/shouldn't.  Considering time is always limited, am I better off spending that 20 - 30 minutes running/biking/swimming?

Pete

Hey everyone!  Good to see some plans up for racing.  I say racing, but really the goal is to finish first, and to perform as good as you can.  I don't know that anyone (including myself) plans to win.

Pete, you workouts look right on track.  I have mixed feelings too about lifting.  I'd really be curious to see what pros do.  There is a book called strength traing for triathletes out that would be helpfull.  My opinion says that I am sure it supports the idea of lifting.  I think as long as your not doing this full time, you time might be better spent on running, biking, and swimming.  I started to lift a while ago but dropped it realizing that I didn't know what I was doing.  There seems to be a lot of discussions on how to, when to, what to and so on.  That many questions seems to me that nobody truly knows for sure.

Hey Pete, I checked out your logs.  Looks good, as far as I can tell!

As far as the lifting goes, my own opinion is that if you like it, stick with it.  But I'd bet that Mike is right - it's probably not going to help you come race day as much as putting that time toward a swim/bike/run.

Hey Heath, sorry to hear that your hip is still bugging you.  I've got my own hip problem and know what a pain in the #ss that is (literally in my case).  Hope you get healed up soon.

Mike - Which training plan are you using to prepare for IMLOU?

Thanks for the feedback on the workouts.  I think I'm getting really tired in the pool faster than I should be and I'm struggling to get the distances done.  I know my form is probably very poor by the end of the swim workout, so I think I need more drills to work on form.  I took Mike's advice (he is our mentor  ) and searched some of the swim workouts here on BT and found these "beginner" swim workouts.   It seems to focus more on form than on distance, which I think is more important at this stage of my training, right?  How slow should we be swimming these training laps?  I definitely feel that my pace is too fast (even though I start slow) which is probably hurting my stamina as well.

Also, when doing 2 workouts in a session (swim/bike, swim/run), do you swim first?  I've been doing my swim workouts after I bike or run on the days I do 2 because it's just easier considering I'm at the gym.  Going from the bike/treadmill to the locker room to change and get in the pool is easier to me than vice-versa, but I definitely think this has an effect on my swim workouts.  Not too mention it's backwards when thinking of the actual triathlon!!! LOL.

Just trying to get ideas and/or confirmation that I'm training the right way.  Here are the workouts I found the site that I think I'm going to start trying tonight.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=755

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=777

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=801

Pete