Dream Chaser's 'Set a Goal and Capture it!' Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 8)

Great quote....RIP Jack LaLanne

LOVE that quote.  Love the sentence "People work at dying, the don't work at living. 

And I also love "It's my tranquilizer".  That's EXACTLY what training is for me.  It's my natual ritalin.  Keeps me nice and calm.  Smooooth  

Yep...the swimsmooth site is good stuff.  And I look nothing like that swimming. 

There are a bunch of drills in the beginning swimming programs on this site, too...things like thumb drag, fist drill, shark fin, etc., all with the idea of improving your swim stroke.  My big problem with swimming is that I have to maintain a certain speed in the water to keep my legs up, and I'm trying to find that perfect balance point.  Sometimes I get it for like 10-12 strokes then it falls apart.  Those drills really have helped, though, and I do them with a pull buoy to make sure I do them correctly.

Total Immersion is another beginner swim program (people either love it or hate it...you could spend days reading the forums on BT about it).  It really does work for some people, others not as much.

I found that simply riding my bike a lot more than was in my training program helped with my speed.  Maybe ride a couple miles every other ride in the big ring on a higher gear than you would normally ride.  I also ride in pretty hilly areas so I naturally become stronger.

Well after a couple good weeks I slacked off on any training the last couple days but I am not going to beat myself up over it. In the past I have let these types of delays overcome my training - I am an all in or all out kinda guy. But I have come to peace that it doesn't matter if I miss a day or two...I can still focus on the bigger picture - consistency doesn't necessarily mean every hour of every day...it is ok to miss a day or two as long as I get back at it.

And so I did today...nice CrossFit session tonite Looking forward to a good week.

Following my own assignment, I officially registered for the Rev3 Quassy 70.3 in June - and I booked a hotel for Rev3.  My road map to this destination is my Be IronFit Ironman plan, which includes a half Ironman race and one week taper leading up to it.  Since this race is only 4 months away, it helps me to keep focus and stay motivated.  Like Ironman Lake Placid, this is a hilly Bike and Run course so I am going to slowly incorporate similar terrain elevation into my Run and Bike training.  The on-course drink will be Cerasport, so I am going to be puchasing and training with that nutrition two months prior to the event.  (When I ran the Steamtown Marathon the on-course sport drink was ALL-Sport,  I trained with it and it paid off on race day.)  

LAST WEEK OF JANUARY PEEPS!!  LET'S FINISH UP THE MONTH STRONG.  

Great questions, Jeff.  And some of the group members have already given you great advice.  Here's some more.  I'm finding out that we are all an 'experiment of one'; however, there are key fundamentals to each sport and one of swimming's is all about technique - which you know, cause you're asking how to improve your stroke.  Here's what I wrote in an inspire this morning to KathyG.  This is what works for me lately - two things 1.) Using the pool buoy for 400 meters after my warm-up. While using the pool bouy I entirely focus on my upper quadrant and really focus on my pull and high elbow.  Then, when I remove the pull bouy for the rest of my workout, I try and replicate that same body position (head down, upper body out of the water and legs HIGH) and I just add a slight, easy flutter kick making sure to keep the ankles close   2.) I imagine the top of the water as ground, and I am literally pulling myself along ATOP this mystical surface, sliding and gliding - my arms moving the mass behind me. Trippy.

For visuals, here are two good triathlon-specific tutorials.  The first one is REALLY good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYt8x_7uL48&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3McvmvTiQg

Bottom line, is to get faster on the Bike and in the water is consistent patience and 'time in the water' and 'time in the saddle'.  If you want to get strong on the bike, look-up Jorge's Winter Cycling Plan.  I did it last winter and the winter before, and each time when Spring came - I started riding outside with an unprecedented amount of fitness.  \

Hope this stuff helps

It looks like orange apple cider and tastes like strong, sour-apple-orange gatorade.  It's BRUTAL!!!  LMAO!! Seriously, taste terrible.  BUT it works.  It hydrated me and gave me plenty of energy.    

Good, positive attitude.  Enjoy your crossfit workout tonight.

Just be honest, George   I would compare it to an acquired taste -- such as coffee.  First time people usually drink black coffee, the initial reaction is it taste bitter and yucky.  But the pleasurable effect of the caffeine, how it helps us to get our day started, slowly turns our mind and tastebuds (and atleast for me) I thoroughly enjoy the taste of coffee.  Same thing with the CeraSport.  At first swig I almost gagged.  I though it had gone bad/soured.  But I talked to a few other guys and they were like, "Nope.  That's how it tastes."  And because it worked for well for me, kept me very hydrated and fueled, by the end of the run I was loving it.  One of those things, I guess

I got back on my trainer sometime in early December... I am just now feeling comfortable!  I don't think it normally takes people this long to adjust - it's just me.  Give your body sometime to adjust.  And stuff like that (hammy tightness) I'll log in my 'personal notes' on my BT Blog, and next week I'll look back at my training and see if the tightness has gotten worse or (in most cases) have forgotten about it and see realize that it's gone.

X2!!!