JFord Bradleyd3 2013 Spring Group- Closed (Page 7)

Brad - The hot spots are the ball of my foot.  I tried tighter stiffer shoes per the suggestion at the bike store.  That didn't work.  It seems to show up when I'm working against a lot of resistence.  Easy pedalling does cause that problem at all.

Elena - What has to fall off for us to get the official "triathlete" title?  (and welcome to the "runner" club)

For those of you who want to improve on the swim, one thing that has helped other people I know is to find a Masters Swim Team in your area. Here is the national page: http://www.usms.org/

They alsoo have a page specifically dedicated to triathletes: http://www.usms.org/content/triathlon?utm_campaign=top_nav&utm_medium=training

And on stroke technique: http://www.usms.org/articles/articlesearch.php?CategoryID[]=2&utm_campaign=top_nav&utm_medium=training

There is also a lot of other good information and you should be able to find local clubs near you. Swimming is a very difficult sport to learn on your own. You really need someone with knowledge of the strokes to help you get your technique down. Swimming is all about technique - improving technique takes time off of your swim quickly and, more importantly, drains less energy because you become more efficient in the water, allowing you to keep a greater reserve for the other events.

Just go and get wet is about the worst advice you can get - you can practice all day and just get frustrated and tired without making much of a difference on your swim - drilling proper technique and applying it during your race is the key.

Take a look at the drills section to: http://www.usms.org/articles/articlesearch.php?CategoryID[]=5&utm_campaign=top_nav&utm_medium=training

The reason that crawl is the stroke of choice is because it is the fastest and most efficient stroke to use - butterfly is arguable as fast, but a whole lot harder to do (thus, demanding more energy for the same output so not as efficient).

Anyway, a few minutes a week with a coach or friendly competitive swimmer can help alot. You have to practice a lot to get the muscle memory down - that's what the drills will help you do.

Here is an online article that will help you, as well (by the way, most people don't call it crawl, they call it freestyle) about proper freestyle techniques: http://www.active.com/swimming/Articles/10-Elements-of-a-Perfect-Freestyle-Stroke-Part-1

Hope this stuff helps. I'll hit you up for bicycling and running tips in the future!

Bob

Busy night tonight, every third Monday, my family and a couple of families from our church go down to the homeless shelter downtown and serve food. It is a great experience for us and the kids, then we will come home, eat, homework and get the kids in bed, then I will hit the trainer for a good solid ride!

Tomorrow is a short 1000 yard swim, trying to decide what time goal I want...

Michelle - I still think cleat position may be the source of the hot spot since the ball of the foot is over, nearly over the cleat and I think you said you had new shoes on a different page.  Just moving that cleat 2-3mm can help dramatically I promise.  Just take both shoes to bike shop and they will do it for free if you ask....good luck - got to solve this riddle for sure.

I wish! I did a 1000 yd time trial this morning and came in at 18:41 or 1:52/100. I will be working to get that down in the 1:40's by May!

EV3110 - 2013-01-22 11:12 AM I have a confession to make... I don't monitor my heart rate during training. Ever. Is this terrible. I wonder if I should. I've got the gadget for it so Why don't I? Or the better question is why SHOULD I. I want to! But not sure why I should. This is my 3rd yr doing tris. For my runs: I'll run one long run, a short recovery run a day or 2 followings and a medium run or sprint work. I'm fairly consistent with this when I begin any training plan. When it comes to swim or bike I just do it... I swim and bike. It's not @ a leisurely pac.. I'd say at an RPE of 7ish I don't monitor anything and do no specific workout...(and I'm super slow- 2:15 per 100yd and 14 mph on the bike. Toward he end of he season I may be riding close to 16 mph). So my question is DO I and SHOULD I monitor my HR?

This is my first year using a HR monitor. I used to train by RPE only. If you are truly using the RPE, then you should see the gains you are wanting. 

WOW!  Stuart nailed the HR, RPE reply perfectly!  If I may, I want to add a short note since I have been trng with a HR monitor for years (cycling is my background).

• HR monitoring is a great tool and toy to keep your interest.
• I recommend it for the bike so you can stay in zone 2 when just logging some nice mileage, but to get faster, you have to train for it.  Zone trng is essential for quickest improvement.
• Quick start: follow Stuart's formula for LT and click on a website to establish some zones. Accuracy is not paramount b/c you can adjust them during the season.
• Next ride, watch your HR and try to stay within a zone as you ride (prob zone 2 or low 3) as we do base.  
• I love watching and monitoring - helps with boredom!
• As Stuart said, don't worry about power meters...costly and not needed at our level.
• I would be very surprised if you trained with one and you did not like it after a while of logging data and doing different workouts.  I know when I am racing when I hit zone 4, I have about 3-4  minutes to make an adjustment or my race will end soon...I can ride all day below 3.8, but not above 4.2.   It is like a warning light....takes my ego out of the decision making.
• Also, as he said - want to learn more?  Check out Friel and the Training Bible.  That is the methodology I use and have used for 7 yrs on the bike.

fun group....hope all are well and had a nice weekend.

And that surgery thing...start the ice before you need it; good luck!

I agree that HR training is good, but I disagree if you are saying RPE has no place in training. Both if used properly can be advantageous to training.

RPE: Rating of perceived exertion is an easier way to assess intensity than heart rate because it does not require a timer or heart rate monitor. RPE is relative to individual perceptions of difficulty and individual physiological makeup. Its drawback lies in being subject to variance in individual tolerance for discomfort, but the more it is used, the more useful it becomes for giving a comparative perception of difficulty. One must be honest with their RPE scores and should stay between the 5-8 levels during training. (and those scores are different for everyone, thus making it difficult to measure)

HR: Most people will use the old ancient scale of 220 - your age to get the max HR zone and base everything off that. If you are not using a Lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) test to determine your zones, than a HR monitor will only be a recording device for your run. You will need to do a LTHR test for running, biking and swimming for this to be accurate and it should be done every few weeks, because hopefully you are making gains from all your training.

So to say that RPE training is not good is something I disagree with in a flat statement. One may be better than the other, but I know gains can be made using either. 

Listen to James - both work. 

I use RPE for running, HR zones for bike and I try not to drown in the pool (not far from truth).

I like collecting data and reviewing it as I go - keeps my mind occupied. 

One thing I have done in past groups is come up with some team goals, like complete an IM distance in your training for Feb, or something like that.

Anybody interested or got any ideas?