SWBKRUN -CLOSED DUE TO TRAINING (Page 70)

no racing for me this weekend.  getting on a plane for warmer climes tomorrow afternoon. I am planning to do some hiking through the desert in AZ though.  hopefully i'll have some good pics to share when I get back.

The harder the effort, the more rest you should take so you can recover enough to maintain that level of effort on the next one. If I'm doing an endurance set, where the goal is to maintain a steady, moderate pace, I'll go on an interval that gives me 5-10 sec rest. If I'm doing a set that includes some hard 100s (e.g., descending sets or easy-build-easy-hard), I'll go on an interval that gives me ~20 seconds rest on the hardest 100. If I'm doing a set of hard 100s, I'll go on an interval that gives me ~30 seconds rest.

Sound okay, fishies?

No racing.  Doing a spinning fundraiser on Sunday -- to raise money for cancer research.  Ride is called Cycle for Survival, and has raised $6.8M in 2012.  On a team created by a friend.

Fear:  Disappointing myself or my kids.  There -- I said it.  How to deal with it: train more and more consistently; work hard on the things I need to work on and keep everything in perspective, which can be quite a challenge.

No racing this weekend, and no fears for this season. Saving the scary for next year!

No racing this weekend.

Biggest fears for me is being able to hang in my new category, first year racing as a Cat 4.  Plan to overcome it is to ride my bike more. 

I decided to stop being coached by my tri-coach this year.  Just didn't feel like I was putting forth the right effort lately to need a coach, and directing money to a shiny new bike doesn't hurt either.  In writing my own plans I'm taking into account what I have going on each day and the weather forecast so I can try to make sure I have the time (and right weather) to get the workout finished.

No racing for me this weekend.  

Training really never stopped this offseason (Not at Doug's level, but I'm not as crazy as he is!).  Fears or Worries about the season .....  only one.  Being new on a cycling team this year will mean my role will be mostly as a domestique for other riders during road season.  I have no issues playing this role, however, this means that if I fail in my race execution or fitness, my failure will probably have a huge effect on another teammates race.  I can handle my own failures, as I have had enough of those to know how to cope, but to screw up somebody else's race ......  that's pressure.  

But to clarify, this is exactly the reason I wanted to be on and accepted this teams offer to ride with them.  I thrive on the pressure and felt like I needed the extra push this year.   

Hey, Dino I resemble that! And I am still not doing an SSMinnow amount of workouts!And I meant to say my fear is spiders, or bees. (<-- sarcastic movie reference, hint: chicks dig scars).

I thought it was spiders and snakes...and in case you haven't noticed I have dialed down my volume siginificantly in the last 12 months.  I do not believe I hold the title volume queen any longer.  That would go to you!

PS. Trev--I can relate to that fear.  I worried a little about that myself after Year #1 was so good for me.  It'll pass with the right amount of training, physical and mental.

No racing for me this week; however, this will not be my announcement next week!

I am afraid of kale.

Sounds good to me!! I don't think too much about it -- make sure I get some rest and it's all good! I'm a victim of having swum under coaches my whole life, so I never had to think about these things -- I did what the coaches told me! Sometimes we got more rest than others, but I never asked why, ha ha!! If I'm doing a ladder set (like I did today), I like to do things on a consistent per-100 pace, and then theoretically you get more rest on the longer distances, so that's always a good carrot for me. Sometimes I may challenge myself on a set of hard 100's with very little rest, or descending amounts of rest as the set goes on (for example, 5x100 on 2:00 then 5x100 on 1:50 then 5x100 on 1:40). Maybe on the last set you're only getting 3-5 seconds rest, but you are getting a benefit out of pushing yourself when you're tired (after having paced the first 10x100's moderately, right?!).

There are many ways to skin the swimming cat. Mix it up and have some fun! Challenge yourself some days and try intervals that seem out of your reach. Reward yourself some days with longer rest.

Smile through it all!!!!

No racing for me this weekend.

So, fears concerning my "a" race.  I tend to overthink things, so I've definitely got a few, some of which weigh more heavily.  My two big ones:

The swim: I am afraid I will panic in the swim, like I did in my first OWS race.  The water will be COLD.  While I dealt okay with cold water this past season, I'm concerned that losing weight will reduce my ability to deal with it.

Dealing with it: this one is almost entirely mental and a little bit training.  I have an uncle that lives by a reservoir where I can swim (in water as cold as the race will be) who will spot me in the canoe.  That gives me lots of OWS opportunities.  Also, I may have panicked in that one race, but I also got past it and finished.  So, even if I panic, I can recover.

The bike: 1. I am not that strong a cyclist.  I am afraid there will be a massive headwind that day (the race is a point to point course) and I won't make the cutoff time.  2. I am also not that brave a cyclist.  I am a chronic brake rider and give up totally free speed on downhills - and the course has plenty of hills.

Dealing with it: I truly think that if I give my bike the attention I've given to running and swimming the last couple years, I can see huge improvements.  Commence operation .  Also, the race course is literally my training ground, as I live in a town it goes through.  Lots of training, plus lots of course specific training.  I think the bravery part is simply that I need more bike time as well.  Last year was my first year riding, and I think doing it more, and improving my handling skills will give me the confidence I need on the hills.

No racing for me.   While fear can be a motivator for some, for me, it is a negative emotion that doesn't really do me any good.   And not just for the actual workout or race but it can negatively affect other aspects of my life.  I am (to quote my self awareness book) "letting fear fizzle"

Thus, I have been thinking about my training and racing in terms of taking little steps and really enjoying the process.  Last year, I would see a workout on my schedule that was really "scary" (usually some crazy bike thing)...and I would literally lose sleep over it.  This season, I've just been taking each interval at a time (some of them in three minute chunks!)...like I do for running...and it is so rewarding to get through each one.   

Just typing this is making me think I really need to try to continue this in my swimming.  Last night I had fast 6 x 100's for the first time since I have changed my whole swim stroke and I was thinking about it all darn day!  Thanks for asking the question, Suzy.

And I know we are all used to my liberal speak, but really, to call Doug a volume queen is just not nice, Ms. Madison Conservative. 

I am by no means an expert on the bike, but it might actually help in being to relate to some of your anxieties.  I was scared to death the first time I went above 30 mph on a downhill.  What helped me deal with the speed was finding two good-sized hills, close together and on a straightaway, and just going back and forth on them acclimating myself to the speed.  Spending more time on the bike will help as well, as I find myself feeling more and more at home in the saddle this year -- as opposed to last year when I started riding as well. 

For those that have some form of bicycle fear I recommend biking...a lot. It does not matter what type of terrain, speed, work out, whatever. The more being on the bike becomes second nature to you the more the fear will dissappate.

I lerned to ride in 1966. The moment I could is one of my most vivid memories. I have loved it ever since. I do some of my best thinking on the bike and it is a good mood leveler for me.

I have crashed, many times. Some in races, some in training and some while just out for a ride. I have never been hurt badly, no broken bones, just bruises and road rash. Knowing how to fall is important.

I do understand the fear of high speed. Back in the day when I raced I used tubular tires (we called them sew-ups) and I remember that when I would start to think about them while barreling down a hill at high speed I would lose my nerve a little. The only thing keeping from crashing was a little bit of glue? That was part of my undoing. I can say that at a bike training camp in morthern Florida I hit 54 mph and did not feel to scared. Of course there was no turn at the bottom.

You can overcome your bike fear! One piece of advice: if you start to feel your nerves do NOT hold your bars too tight. You need to keep your upper body loose!

Hmm, in my post, I am sure I typed Operation "Time In The Saddle", except I used the acronym.  I guess "" is automatically censored?

Doug, thanks for the feedback.  I completely agree.  I am more comfortable on the bike then I was at this time last year, so I'm confident that more riding will increase that comfort.  It just takes time.  If only I hadn't been too cool to wear a helmet as a teenager (because that meant my parents wouldn't let me ride a bike).  I might have had more experience then.  

Ah Ha!   Maybe THAT'S why John posts 'boobs' so often.....the alternative is banned.

No racing yet but getting close!!

I am afraid that the ice will melt and the beer will be warm at the end of the race. 

If it's the same run course, you will pass houses around miles 2, 8, 17, and 24 (ish) that keep the party going all night... I guarantee their beer is cold!!

I think they always throw the periods into time in the saddle, i.e., T.I.T.S.  (at least that is what I remember seeing)

No races.   The thing that I worry about (never to the point of losing sleep of course) is getting to the run leg when it is 90+ and humid.   I think the solution is to just run more and so I'm trying to build up my overall running base.

edit: I also need to spend some more time going downhill on the bike and either get my death wobble sorted out or get another bike.  My A race has hills and I don't want to be braking on the downhills again.

I'm pretty late to the show, but I need to make a couple of comments.  The above statement is inaccurate.  That was Deb that made that comment. I'm the one that posted the original picture!!  I felt like our female triathlete needed a male counterpart on the thread.  It only seemed right. 

That wasn't just some "naked dude" (someone else's description), that was Jonas Colting.  He's a world class Swedish triathlete and winner of the 2007 Ultraman World Championships.  His resume as an elite athlete is quite impressive.  He's also authored a book on nutrition titled, "I just want to look good naked."  I would post a pic of the book cover with the link, but on second thought . . . .

Seems like if someone is going to censor something on here, they should contact the person who posted it.  Hmmmmmm 

That said!!

I had a good long run (9.4) tonight.  I tried to hold a consistent pace for the entire run and didn't do too bad.  Check my logs if you want to investigate.  Feeling pretty good about my first 1/2 mary at the end of March.  I think I'm going to be ready.

Edited because I can't spell

Quicksand

I love it!  I come back from a day at the beach with the man and I see so many people sharing their concerns, their tactics for overcoming them and even those who have no fears at all.  Perfect.  It's exactly why I asked the question.  I do think if you lay out your concerns either to us or write them down you can overcome them, stop obsessing about them and make your training more productive.  Good stuff kids.

My number one concern is the start of the OWS.   I have zero doubts I can finish every one of those swims, but it is often those initial seconds/minutes that send me over the edge. I am sure it has something to do with my past.  I've been working on swimming A LOT with not only the goal of becoming speedier, but also stronger mentally.  I would say that I have made ok progress on the speed front and pretty good progress on the mental front. Some of the crap I have gone through this winter made me want to scream, but I held up.   I won't know for sure until I get back in the OWS en mass during training and racing which makes it a little uncertain.

Speaking of fears... One of my fave triathletes, Bree Wee (breeweehawaii.blogspot.com) had this paragraph in her blog today. She is speaking to our MG!! She covers many of the fears listed here today! Yay for Bree!

"Speaking of big sharks, we all have them. Call them fears if you want. In sport our sharks can be, "ocean swims, the competition, big hills, cold water, long run courses, the heat, attempting to qualify, racing for paydays, big waves". The list can get pretty big if you let it, like a shark. I'm coming to find at most all the races these sharks and more are all out there, every time. Much like swimming here on the island, the sharks are always there. Slowly I'm discovering they aren't exactly out to get you, eat you, and spit you out, they just exist in the same place at the same time, like a race day. In most every case, if you don't look for your sharks you won't even see them, fears are those things that most the time are only visible if you actually focus on them."