Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 8)

Wow, I need to catch up on some video's! I too may not have much to offer, but all the advice and tips are much appreciated.

My question....  So I attempted to get up early today and run. Clearly I didnt get enough sleep, but how do those of you handle early morning workouts and fuel? I think a breakfast or anything would make the workout worse, but dont have time to get up and hour early to get something in me.

1.  Get properly fitted for shoes.

2.  Run in the grass or on a trail rather than the street.  If you must run on the street try to avoid concrete and stay on the asphalt.

3.  Quick 5 minute warmup and then spend some time stretching the shins.

4.  Don't go further than what your current level of run fitness would allow.  The primary cause of this is stress from the new activity and ramping up time/mileage to quickly is the root cause.  For now all you can do is try to manage it and keep it in check.  It took a good 6 months for me to be able to run and not feel like a needed a bubble around my shins to avoid anyone coming in contact with them. 

Hey there groupies!  Sounds like everyone is making plans and making progress.

Cheri - Good luck this weekend!!!  Hope you have lots of fun

Dennis - good call on getting out of the pool.  Riding out a tornado in there just doesn't sound good at all.

Steve - you are actually a good coach, credentials or not.  Thanks for the tips re: the wetsuit....especially re: the timing chip band getting caught...hadn't thought about that at all.

Lisa - I'm not sure how much the goggle tint matters in a pool swim, but I was advised to get tinted ones for my upcoming OWS since we will head out right into the morning sunrise.

Karen - we followed the same path in getting a bike.  Got my bike and one for my friend on Craigslist.  Why hers is faster I'll never know .  And I'm not that brave.  Love to run in the rain ONLY when it's warm outside.

MEVT - understand what you're saying about run fitness...seems like the easiest to lose.

Conanzchic - we ARE on some sort of parallel path!  My OWS swim clinic is this evening.  When is yours?  The clipless pedals are getting easier after my day of falling.  No more spills since then, and bruises/scrapes are healing.

Nate - lotsa tris in the DFW area....just sayin'!

CK - good luck bike shopping.  Love Craigslist for that!

Batlou - so glad to hear that getting into and out of bike shoes ON the bike is not a given.  I know it's not for me!

Marcus - thanks for the swimsmooth link!

Samantha - I struggle with the training plan thing too.  Finally just laid out my own 3 bike/3-4 run/2 swim in a spreadsheet.  Can't say I'm following it exactly, but am getting the mileages/distances in throughout the course of the week one way or another.  The 7 days a week thing is a new way of thinking to me, but my body seems to be dealing w/ it OK so far. 

If I missed anyone...it's not you...it's my middle aged brain....and I'll catch you next time ! 

Later...off to run!

Imbalance between the calf muscle and the muscles in the front can cause that problem. Do toe lifts throughout the day to balance that out.

Ice every night

Get a Baker's Pin or this tool: http://www.thestick.com/ and roll it over your shins. It'll hurt but it'll help. Back in my gymnastic days we actually used a broomstick. Anything round that rolls and can apply pressure will work though.

Markus

Good morning team. 

I am more of a lurker than a talker so forgive me if I do not post often.  I do read all post however and try to add comments when I feel I can offer input. 

I am currently doing a 3 X 3 X 3 work out schedule.  I try to take at least one day off a week and have one day of a lighter (short bike) workout.  I try to include my wife in my short work out. 

I am really struggling with swimming still.  I am looking for a Masters swim class in my area.  I have recieved great advice from everyone on swimming, read books, watched videos and still struggle.  I will overcome this hurdle this year. 

So that was super helpful, thanks! For the bike portion is there a way to convert cadence into distance? Yesterday I rode the spin bike for 20 minutes and I kept my cadence around 82/minute. I think the distance tracking was the biggest reason I was looking into a HR monitor. I don't really care too much about my HR, but knowing how fast and far I am running and biking seems like it would be helpful. Your suggestion of using google maps is excellent!

I am going for the 3/3/3, since my summer is really flexible I think I can do it. I readjusted my plan by adding in the other three and I am going to try and have two days off per week. I will see how this goes because it means I will be doing back to back workouts. I think I am starting to realize how flexible I will need to be and just get things in when I can. Should be interesting, and since I will not have access to a pool for two plus weeks I will really have to get my pool time in 3 times a week when I get started.

Hopefully your shin splints are on the outside of your shin and not the inside.  The stick will work on the outside.. not the inside.  Ice after every run for sure, ever night would be better.  If you have not gone to a run specific store to get the right shoes, do that.  They should videotape your run on a treadmil and offer the right level of support for your level of pronation or whatever.  I had shinsplints my first year training.  I had to take 2 weeks off of running, but was able to walk, just no impact.  I really recommend walking, you should be able to get in a 4 mile walk where a 100 yard jog might kill you.  Stretching and strengthening is good as stated above.  Then rebuild with a run walk program until you are back up to speed.  If you go too fast your body will teach you patience and you get to start back over again. 

The wrist thing in swimming is more of a focus point.  In the biking diagram and discription it said to lead your downstroke early and with your heal 10 degrees down from your pedal for a good powerful stroke (if your fit is bad you will know it when you do this, especially if the seat is too high).  In the swim stroke you focus on pulling with your wrist as if you had a rope tied to your wrist and you were pulling that against a bungie cord towards your hip.  The hand can be straight down that is fine, but if you pull with your hand it shifts the focal point of the lever making your shoulder take more stress and tending to raise your head which sinks your legs which makes you go slow.  I do suck at swimming, but this helped me feel that the pull was a bit more powerful and I was able to stay a bit more level in the water head to tail.  I have some bungies and will have to try this out on dry land to see how it feels there as well.  Swim 2000 yards tonight, hope the shoulder is still good.  Swim is soo much about the feel.  I so wish I had a masters swim class within 100 miles of where I live. 

Here is another one.  I found that when I am running if I rotate my hips ever so slightly forward I am able to run faster.  Granted you have to be in shape enough to handle the slight forward balance shift.  Note I am not bending at the neck, or waist.  In general if you lean forward you want it to be at your ankles, but a slight (quarter inch or so) pivit forward at the hips made a big difference in focusing my energy more forward and less up an down.  This would have meant nothing to me 2 years ago.  There are all of these slight this and nuance that that if you are not trained to a certain point I am not sure they mean anything to you.  If you are worried about breathing it doesn't matter where your wrist is.  If you are reaching to far to center or tilting too much side to side again it doesn't matter.  It is like building the perfect paper airplane, really small changes affect how it flies. 

Kmatt - I have been encouraged to find a triathlon club to join. I do not know all they offer, but I think joining one will provide face-to-face support and I believe they run different training clinics on things like swimming. It is worth looking into anyway. I will be looking into the one in my area in about two weeks.

I think I have a good 3/3/3 plan now. I will see how it goes, but I am excited to see the improvement over time. 13 weeks til my race and I am so excited/nervous!

The things I like about the Timex hr monitor gps watch is that you can swim with it, so water isn't an issue and its battery lasts for 15 hours instead of garmin's 8 hours and the interface looks more user friendly.  Sometimes my Garmin doesn't turn off as it should and the entire battery drains while it is in my backpack or on the shelf overnight.  Like I said I don't know what the Timex bugs are as this is their first version and they proably have a newer improved version coming out.  Put in some research time and get back to us 8).  They are pricey and an entry level road bike may be a better purchas if money is tight than a really fancy watch.  But I do love so much to know what pace I am running any time I want to check.  Toys....

The freeking out about your first race comes in stages.  1) OMGosh did I just sign up for a TRIATHLON,  2) did I really just tell my friend/spouse that I am going to do a triathlon, now I am stuck I have to do it, 3) wow a training plan which one they are all written in Greek, 4) what does LSR mean, what is a fartlek, does it have anything to do with burritos, 5) hrm I haven't been in a pool in 10 years I wonder if that is a problem, 6) ok first training day, ya those 10 year old shoes should be fine, 7) shin splints um hrm.... 8) marathon stick... but I am not running a marathon, 9) woot I can run a mille without walking this rocks, 10) my scale still shows no decrease in weight in 2 months that sucks, 11) ok I can do this, 12) crap the race is in 2 weeks what do I need for the race again, 12) how do I set up a transition area again, 13), what was that about drafting, 14) oh crap I can't sleep the race is tomorrow I will never be able to complete a triathlon, 15) bang the gun goes off you are doing it, drowning, feet slipping off pedals, side cramps whatever you get to the finish line and everyone cheers 16) you are a ROCKSTAR.. this triathlon stuff is cool.... should I try to go farther for the next one or just faster.....

Samantha- There really isn't a good way to transfer cadence on a stationary bike to and actual distance because you could be doing the same cadence at a much higher power level and would be going much faster on a real bike.  Sorry.  I just put what the distance says on the stationary bike and have stayed away from the spinners. 

Why in the world is there snow possible in our area tonight?!  Why did I pick the coldest year ever to decide to train for a tri?  I am slowly putting in my time but I am pretty sure it will be snowing during my OWS in my June race 

Who runs with any running clubs?  Solo?  With friends?  I am trying to stick to a rhythm of at least 4 runs a week but I need someone to keep me on track!!

Hey have you done this triathlon thing before or something . . . hahaha. You hit my thoughts on the head and now I have a headache .

What is fartlek, LRS, hrm (heart rate monitor)?

Four runs per week?! I run solo, but that is because I am slower than the other people I know who run. I bet a running club/tri-club would be a good place to get some accountability.

Bummer on the cadence thing. I will have to stick with tracking my time and mapping it on google for distance. Though I am going to look into the Timex HRM Steve is talking about. Thanks for the info!

yeah it is snowing in places that snow doesn't usually come this time of year. I have friends in Washington State who got a foot of snow the other night . . . not cool! I hope it warms up for your OWS. Snow would make for a good story.

Good luck Cheri on your race this weekend!

Brian, you have on ethisweekend as well, correct? Good luck!

We want to hear from you both how things went.

Note to self and team...for those who have clipess pedals and bike shoes...unclip BOTH shoes when approaching a red light.  Last night I stopped at a light, unclipped left foot (my preferred foot) put it down after the stop, then proceeded to loose my balance and fall to the right, of course, with the right foot still clipped in.  Except for my pride and an abrasion on my knee, I was not hurt. Bet 'cha I remember to unclip BOTH shoes before the next traffic light.  I am such a newbie. *sigh*

Brian-thanks for the tips. I will try and get fitted next time I am in Albuquerque. They have a New Balance store. I've been looking here in Lubbock and I get these puzzled pauses when I call and ask. "You don't know what size shoe you are?" I've heard that a few times. So...I'm guessing that I'm SOL here. In the meantime, anyshoes are better than these I think. They're running shoes but it's literally starting to hurt when I walk. I don't know if it's carryover from the run, but it doesn't hurt when i put on other shoes, so...yeah. I do do a nice warmup and have been doing a shin stretch. It's kind of like a lunge but I come up on the the top of my back foot. Seems to stretch it pretty well. Still having pain. I bet though that of all, it's probably like you said about trying to do too much too soon. I'm a little asggressive sometimes when it comes to goals and maybe I do need to back off. I'm going to try the running on a path too and see how that works out. Thank you so much for the advice and I will let you know how things progress.

Carol-DFW huh? I'm gonna have to look into that. Southwest is doing CHEAP flights there this summer so I might be bumping elbows with you at one of these events. I will def let you know!

Markus-I will try icing tomorrow. I work graveyards so my days are a little reversed, but in the morning before I go to sleep I will do some icing. I actually read another thing about the imbalance so have been doing some calf exercises. I have quite a bit of time at work when i can do toe raises so I'll be doing that tonight. And I think I have something that'll make a good substitue for THE STICK! I like that picture on the website of the DR.s wielding them like swords. I'll try working with my substitue tonight as well.

Marcus--I run solo.  Occasionally I run with friends but that takes time to work out.  It's easier for me to get out there.

Toys:  love my Garmin FR 305.  Love it love it love it.  It's definitely a toy, but a very fun one.

trigator--so sorry to hear about falling over.  I'm sure that will be me multiple times if I get clipless pedals.

Big Tice--it's really easy to develop shin splints from doing too much too fast.  I'd take it easy for a few days and bike or swim instead.

Did school pick-up with the bike trailer today.  If hauling two kids in the trailer up the hills won't kill me, it will definitely make me stronger.    Daughter #1 is off school tomorrow and Friday.  I'm thinking that means my speedwork will be on the dreadmill tomorrow night, though I suppose that's good because it means no stroller and no hills while trying to do it (and a bad thing considering that it comes after all the kid-wrangling and teaching).

I want to say it was my second ride or so on my new bike with clipless pedals when I made the mistake of shifting my weight onto my still clipped foot.  Luckily after some embarassing flailing at a packed intersection I got my left foot unclipped before the fall happened!   I would say 90% of the time I unclip both feet but when I am actually focused or feel a need to put in a good average overall pace I do leave one foot in for the start.  Knock on wood that I am good on this for at least a little while!

I do think it is a lot of work to get a group together to go running and I mostly run by myself.  I just think that I have no idea really where I stand pace wise.  I am all over the place and have a hard time keeping a steady pace as I tend to go all out.  I just think it would be easier to pace myself with a group.  The largest group I have ran with, with the intent of staying with them, would probably be three people and even then half way through our 5k I took the lead and gave them the best splits they have ever had.  I guess pacing myself isn't in my vocabulary.

Marcus

Marcus, I understand what you mean about running pacing.  I am not very good at that either.  I am much better when listening to music.  That helps. 

Toys:  I have a 405.  I love it.  I also have an Iphone.  It is also a great toy for training. 

When I first started using my clipless, I rode around my neighborhood about a million times trying to get accustomed to them.  Then I went out with a group, rode 50 miles clipping in and out without a problem then on the way home coasting up to a stop sign, I relaxed too much and fell right over.  Talk about humble pie. 

Well I think all of the tornadoes have passed through my area and it is sunshine through the rest of the week.  I got my run in this morning and swim in tonight.  I went against my training plan tonight and instead of swimming 1350 total, I swam 2250 total.  I decided after doing some of my drills that I needed to try and swim a mile nonstop to build up my confidence.  49 long minutes later I was done.  I just have to keep working on my technique but it will get better I'm sure.  At least tonight I had my breathing down from the start and was able to start off with the 350 warmup without any issues.

Good luck everybody.  I enjoy having a group I can share my accomplishments with.  I also enjoy hearing about yours.