TitanIV Group FULL (Page 7)

Think Spring! That's what I keep telling myself is coming soon

Last Week: I hit all of my "scheduled" workouts, but only got in 1x swim. Running felt pretty good, I'm getting comfortable with 2, 2.5 miles so I should be able to get up to 5k distance by my goal. All you Half Mary and Full Mary runners are nuts!!! I wouldn't have the mental patience or endurance for that many miles! Bikes are on track as usual, and my first long bike session felt really good... I was pretty stooked to finish close to an hour of biking (though that's Mila's usual).

This Week: Make sure to get in 2 long swims, 30+ minutes. Keep my runs at 2.5 miles and keep biking my usual. I'm going to focus on nutrition this week and see if I can up my energy level with the right "pre-workout" foods.

LOL... no more 48 Hours Mysteries for her!  Sounds great.  I'm feeling a little jealous of the new bike AND the cruise!!  We went on a cruise a couple years ago and loved it because you just don't have to think too much or deal with logistics once you're on the ship.  Plus, there was a spa (perfect post race) and well-equipped gym (didn't miss a workout).  We had kids with us, too, and they had a blast doing their thing while we did ours.  Enjoy it.

How's the new bike?  Where's the bike porn?

As far as concerns go... I'm still struggling with the swimming.  It just doesn't feel natural to me.  I keep reminding myself that when I first started running that didn't feel natural either (and some days it still doesn't!) and that it will come eventually.  I have a lesson with a masters coach next week so I'm sort of biding my time until then.  I think I also have questions about logistics... how the races actually will run.  I'm going to go to a couple tris to cheer on some friends (you know, cause they start soon here :-p) just to sort of put it all together in my head.  There's a newbie-specific tri here in May that I'm considering... love the idea of everyone being just as clueless as I am .

The swimming will come. It took me a while but then got to where I could just relax and swim longer and longer.

The logistics for a tri aren't too hard. You can even practice when you do a brick. I like to lay out a towel and lay my stuff on the towel in order of putting on. Helmet is on the aero bars with glasses in the helmet. Gels in bento box. Front of towel has bike stuff. Water bottle to squirt feet clean, socks and shoes (I still don't bother with the shoes on the bike as transistion area where I race is usually dirt and don't want dirt all  over feet. Back of towel has running stuff. Running shoes, race belt with number and running hat. I probably forgot something, but that is about it.

One rule to keep in mind is helmet on before taking bike off rack. Another reason to put helmet on aero bars. Also, bike on rack before removing strap from helmet. Many races are very strict about this.

New bike huh! Very exciting!!! I hope you get some weahter to let you outside!

What kind of core training are you going to do? There are some good core workout articles on this site that are part of many of the training plans.

When you start increasing running, start with just increasing one run (long run) per week and then slowly building the other runs. You will get used to longer running :-) Even sprint triathletes do long runs to get their running faster. Souds like you had a good week. Keep it up.

Great morning workout foods: starbucks doubleshot, ensure or boost, gatorade. For longer workouts I will drink 1/2 to a full can of ensure. This has helped me a lot as I cannot seem to handle solid foods in early morning. Plus I am not getting up 1-2 hours before morning workout to eat solid food and let it digest.

Patiently waiting for pics...

Last week:  Good swims in (4400 yds total).  Speed work and mile repeats on the runs.  Long run on Saturday (~10.5 miles total).

This week:  Cutting back on the swim yardage (900 miles yesterday).  Cranking up (pun intended) the bike miles.  1 hour on the stationary today (I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL SPRING!!!).
WED:  1000 yd swim, and mile repeats (running)
THU:  Rest day.
FRI:  1500 yd swim, 45 min bike, 1 hr run
SAT:  30 min bike, 12 mile run (it's supposed to be above freezing!  YES!)

 I've heard ensure is a great boost, and it has a lot of other "nutritional" components to boot. You can bet it'll be in my pantry soon!

Nice training! Wow 900 miles swimming in one workout! Did you do repeats across the English channel  :-)  I hope you enjoy the "warmer" weather! Keep up the good work.

jhanton - 2007-03-06 5:36 PM Thanks for the tips, I'll keep my distance goal to a once a week "long" run then. My body is loving the sound of that for tonight already I'll just hit the 16 minutes my schedule calls for.

 I've heard ensure is a great boost, and it has a lot of other "nutritional" components to boot. You can bet it'll be in my pantry soon!

You can also increase the other runs too :-) What I generally do is increase the long run ~10% each week and one of the other runs each week. So, if running M-W-F with long run on W, each week increase long run and say one week increase M run and next week F run, etc.

Ensure is a great boost huh :-) Or is Boost to ensure a good workout! You can save a good bit of money several ways on the ensure (and probably same for boost). Coupons are out a lot. Also Sams sells the case (4 - 6 packs) of the generic brand if they have a flavor you like. I would recommend starting out at Walmart. They sell the generic in single 6 packs and that way you can decide on a flavor before buying a case. Also check the difference between Ensure and Boost. I think ine is milk based and one is not or something like that.

BEAUTIFUL bike... 

Green with envy...

Good catch Cameron!  LOL!  I needed to clarify.  I'm training to get off this island.  We've been on this island so long, they've named it after me.  I'm sick of eating coconuts and bananas and I'm the only one doing my share of work to power up the cycle-powered lights.  The cycle is uncomfortable.  How would you like to sit on a bike seat made of coconut shells?  The Professor makes EVERYTHING out of coconut shells and bamboo.  How many miles to Hawaii?

Wow... nice bike!  Happy riding.

Now where is MY new bike??  Problem is if I get the new bike all my hard work to decrease my bike volume will likely be wiped out within a week .

OK, so what I learned this week is that you need to rub Spam on yourself and swim 900 miles.  You guys are hardcore.

No worries, Gilligan... if you ride the bike enough you will get used to the seat; however, in the meantime, you could try making some padded shorts out of palm fronds.

That is pretty darn funny!

I'm glad I didn't ask my wife to go buy a can of SPAM for me :-)

I finally am getting better! Run last night and swim this morning! Felt pretty good considering. Race next week might still be on. Will decide this weekend! Meds kicking in fully now.

You guys know how much of a cheapskate I am.  I wonder if this...

 is cheaper than this...

Glad to hear you're feeling better.  We're all hoping you can still race next week...get some rest too...

Here are some tips from Mike Ricci 

Transitioning in Triathlon 101

Here are a few tips to help you transition during a triathlon. These are advanced techniques and require lots of practice.

Transitioning from Swim to Bike:
During the last 200 meters of the swim, you should be kicking lightly if you are a triathlete that doesn’t kick or move to a 4-6 beat kick if you typically use a 2 beat kick for the race. Your goal is to get some blood flow into your legs so when you stand up, it won’t be such a shock to your system as the blood leaves your upper body and heads to your lower extremities. As you stand up, reach back and grab your wetsuit zipper and unzip. As you are running toward transition your wetsuit should be around your waist. Once you get to your bike rack, pull off one leg of your wetsuit by sliding your hands down around your ankles and almost pushing the suit off. After you have the first leg off, step on the other leg and pull your leg out. Now, you are free! After you put you on your glasses, put on your helmet, grab your bike at the stem and head out of transition. Your bike should be racked with the rear wheel toward the rack. This way, as you pull out of transition, you can see where you are going.

NOTE: The best shoes for this are triathlon specific shoes that have one Velcro closure and have a finger strap in the back. Setting up your shoes on your bike for flying mount: Before the race clip both your shoes into the pedals. Make sure your bike is in the gear you want it in starting out the race. This should be a relatively easy gear that you can spin.

Once the shoes are clipped in, loop a rubber band around the strap in the back of the left shoe. (If you don’t have a finger strap you will have to be clever and somehow get the shoe to remain parallel with the ground). Then loop the rubber band around the end of the skewer closer (the skewer is the part of the bike you lock down once you put your wheel back on). Your left shoe should now be parallel. You can now do the same to the right shoe by looping the rubber band around the front derailleur or something you can hook the rubber band around without interfering with the mechanics of the bike. I tend to leave just the right foot dangling. It is high enough off the ground that your shoe will not come off.

The Flying Mount:
Once you have your bike and you are running for the dismount line, be careful of others and watch out for people who are not watching out! Run across the line and then take a leap into the air with your goal being to land on the inside of your right leg on the seat and slide down onto the seat. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT try to land your privates. This will cause pain, a lot of pain. Now that you have landed safely on your seat, flip the right pedal over with your toe and push down. Wait for the left shoe to come around, and then get your left foot on top of it. This will break the rubber band on the left side and you can now push down with both feet on top of your shoes. As you are moving along, look up and keep your eyes on the road. Work your toes and then your feet into your shoes and within a minute or two you are on your way.

Other comments:
Some people will tell you that putting your shoes on in transition is faster and maybe for them it is. But in terms of safety and sliding across the pavement like you are on ice skates on your cleats, I would rather run barefoot. If you are someone who likes to run with socks on, you have a choice to put them on in T1, or in T2. Personally I think it’s too hot to bike with socks, and if you are like me, then you would wait until T2 to put my socks on for the run..

On top of that I am still of the opinion that putting on my shoes rolling along at 16-20 mph is much faster than putting on my shoes in transition. Most importantly don’t try this in a race without practicing it about 20-25 times. This is free time on your competitors!

Bike to run:
This will work best with Velcro closure biking shoes. As you are getting ready to transition onto the run imagine moving up a few places on transition time alone. It can be done and I’ll tell you how!

1. Move your right foot to 12 o’clock and stop pedaling (yes, coast).
2. Reaching down quickly you undo the Velcro strap and pull it as far through as you can so it won’t get caught in the chain ring (or flop back and close again) when you start pedaling again.
3. Spin the left leg up and undo the Velcro strap on that side.
4. Keep your momentum going by spinning a few revolutions.
5. Bring the right leg back to the top again and take your right index and middle finger and making a Y push down on the back of your right shoe, slipping your foot out in the process.
6. Once you pull your foot out of the shoe, let the shoe swing back and catch the shoe with your now free toes and place your foot on the shoe and use it as the ‘pedal’. This is one quick motion, and don’t get caught with the shoe on the bottom side or you will go tumbling down.
7. Next using your left hand, do the same to your left foot. Slip your left foot out and use that shoe as the pedal.
8. You should be within a few yards of the DISMOUNT line now. Take your right foot off the pedal (shoe) and swing your right leg back over the seat and you will have two legs on one side of the bike (the left). At this point you will balancing on your left leg which is standing on the shoe/pedal.

1. You can practice this drill by swinging your leg back and forth over the seat repeatedly: Get up to speed on the bike and practice this little movement, again and again. Swing the leg from the left to the right, repeat.

2. Now take the right leg and bring it right through between the left leg and the crank. Your left foot remains on the pedal while your right foot is the first to hit the ground. The reason we dismount like this is two fold: One it keeps you ‘in motion’ and you can literally ‘run’ off the bike. Number two if you swing your right leg over and just cross it slightly behind my left leg still on the pedal until you come to a stop, you have a good chance of tripping. If you stay in motion and keep everything fluid, it will go much easier. By bringing your right leg between the left leg and the left crank (and bike frame) you are stepping off the bike and heading into the transition area in a full sprint, while your competitors are watching you go by.

3. Grab the neck of the bike and head to your transition spot.

Disclaimer: This requires practice, but after a few attempts you will get better. Go slow, be careful, and follow these steps. I recommend practicing this 20-25 times before a race!

Last Week: Tough week to workout overall. Luckily, I hit my workouts... just didn't do much "improving". But, the cold that was trying to hit went away (phew!).

This Week: Riding/Running/Swimming everything as a recovery week. My muslces are calling for it.

By the way it's going to be 60 today!!! Can't believe it, plus it's our 3rd day of sun in a weeks time... that hasn't happend in months! I might just make it outside for a workout, or at least to take the dog for a stroll

Actually, PAM is pretty cheap and very easy to put on. The body glide is what $6 a stick. My buddy said he used half the stick the first time trying to get it spread out. You could use the juices from your leftover Spam though :-)

Even if you don't feel you are improvnig during a week, the consistency is improving you over the long haul! I hope your cold is getting better. You are doing great!

Are you getting outside in the "hot" weather?