Swimmer's Group (Olympic Distance Animals) - OPEN (Page 8)

I am struggling to fit in all of the training that I am supposed to be doing at the moment.  I did a 12km run last weekend (a funrun) which I thought was going to be flat with a little bit of a beach run in it. Turns out to have the first .6km on softish sand and then weaved around the coast, up and down hills through bush paths and on concrete.This was the longest distance I have ever run, so I was extremely proud of finishing it in 1hr19mins. After that I did a 1.5km swim the next morning to loosen the muscles, swam in my masters swimming group on Monday night and then had my PT session on Tuesday. The problem is my body feels quite fatigued, so I am not sure how much rest I should have and what sort of rest it should be. I am mindful I have not cycled for a week...and plan to tomorrow morning.

This weekend I have a triathlon which is  a 400/16/4 so it is pretty short, should I try to rest up a bit more before starting to ramp up again to prepare for my next event which is a team Olympic tri (I am swimming the 1.5 and running the 10k) in March. I also have planned another 2 sprint tris before the biggy which is the Oly in Cairns on June 2nd.

Does anyone have any suggestions....it is mostly the cycle leg I struggle to fit in, as I need to organise myself better and it is too dark first thing.

For what it's worth, I too struggle with fitting all my planned workouts into my schedule.  If you don't already have one, perhaps a trainer would help you get in all your bike sessions?  I struggle with trainer time because time seems to pass so incredibly slowly, but without my trainer I'd be way behind on my biking sessions.  Rookie lesson learned... take a day off if your body says to.  It beats getting sick and taking a week off.  There you go, my two cents worth.

-Nat

In case any of you are interested or read blogs I have been actively keeping up with mine and will continue to in the future. Mostly about my life as a triathlete and cyclists, the up and downs and some deeper dives into what's behind the scenes. Feel free to pass it around. The more readers the better at least this way I know I am writing for something worth while. Enjoy your day.

http://swimbikerundrink.blogspot.com/

COOL, I am going to check that out! Didn't know you had a blog, some of them can be pretty interesting reading! Thanks Jason!

This has been another recovery week after 3 "build" weeks.  Just like my previous recovery week, I think I'm taking it too easy and feel tired doing it.  I was supposed to do a trainer ride yesterday but my daughter was hogging the trainer and took away my afternoon opportunity.  When night time came around after supper I felt a little tired and a little knee pain so I passed.  I did EZ run yesterday morning though.

I plan to do a short session on the trainer today and play racquetball tonight.  Probably a swim tomorrow and short run.  Hopefully a long run when we visit my wife's father on Saturday if I can handle the cold.

Jason, I like the blog...

After I complete the 12 week program that will lead me into my first oly tri (any tri for that matter) at the end of May, what's next in terms of training?

I have another race two weeks after the first, so was thinking a moderate to heavy training week followed by a taper week.  The only other race I'd like to taper for is at the end of the season in late August.

Should I start another 12 week program, or will the initial volumes likely be too light?  Perhaps pick some heavier training blocks repeating/modifying as required followed by a two week taper leading into my last race?

Just not sure what the best strategy is.  I don't really need this sorted out immediately, but I have been thinking about.  Hope everyone's training is going well!  By the way Jason, cool blog!

-Nat

Well did the Triathlon over the weekend...but it became an aquathlon as we had cyclonic conditions here on Saturday with king tides and the like so Triathlon Aust pulled the pin on the bike leg....unfortunately for me they increased the run... (GRRRR). I did put in a special request for them to double the swim from a 400m to 800m. But no-one else really likes the swim....so that never happened. Anyhow the run was changed to approx 7km with 2 loops of a course and a big hill in the middle!

So I came out of the swim pretty good in about 7mins, and not really tired, and then began....the run. What can I say about the run apart from agonising. I am starting to get tired of people passing me in the run...but know that if I didn't take it easy I would have blown out at the 5km mark...so I made it my mission to run the entire distance (even if my interpretation of running is what others would consider a fast walk). I achieved this, so I am very pleased. The time was pretty miserable..but for me it was good.

Given that the day before I did a 63sec pb on my 5km run (2nd time only sub 30 at 28:52) I could not be too unhappy, the blisters had started to hurt and my calf was cramping. Overall need to be less shy running over people in the swim, they don't seem to worry about my pain when they pass me in the run with smiling, happy, faces! (LOL)

Hey Felicity you got it done and THAT matters!! Congratulations!! Interesting to me is that they would shut down the bike leg and not the swim. We don't have much in the way of "clyclonic conditions" here in Alberta although we do get some big winds fairly regularily. Being new to this whole Triathlon business I have yet to hear of any of the three legs being shut down. Swimming in heavy waves would most likely have been a deal breaker for me! My swim in the pool is coming along nicely but open water is a different beast altogether, especially in heavy waves! I am curious as to why you ran 5 k the day before and why you wouldn't at least taper let alone skip the run altogether just to rest up for race day. I still cramp occasionally but have found that I just haven't been taking in enough water. When I am well hydrated I do so much better. Water is so boring though and I struggle most days just to get down my 8 cups and I know I should be doing 12-14 or more. I do supplement as well using potassium and magnesium and have found that helps too. Again CONGRATS!!     Howard

Nat I am interested to hear what Jason has to say about the "two week taper". I would be concerned that a two week taper would be to much taper and your race would suffer a bit. I "think" a one week taper is sufficient to to keep your end game where it should be and yet enough of a rest to keep you energized and focused. But I'll certainly leave the advice end of things to Jason here. Just my .02 cent thought!    Howard

Had to read through that a couple times to understand what was going on haha. Ideally the body can reach full peak 2x per season and sometimes you can stretch to 3x depending on schedule. That doesn't mean you can't "taper" for other events during the season, but just don't expect to reach your peak. If your "A" races are the first Oly and May and I am assuming another Oly in August then your training should be revolved around these two events. First I'll address the training...

For the race 2 weeks after, don't jump into heavy and hard training right away. You will only hurt yourself, especially if this is your first Oly distance. Take at least a day if not two of full recovery after the race, then ease back into training for the first week. I would do mostly easy paced runs and moderate bike and swims. Your fitness will carry over to the next race, so the week of the race throw in some speed and intensity early in the week, but I wouldn't do a full taper. You will be able to still perform very well, but I recommend on 3 day taper at the most. For instance if race is a Sunday I would do easy ride Friday with a couple short efforts, Saturday would be 25-30 minutes easy run with 3-4 30 second efforts and Saturday I would take off.

"A" race #2 you can start the 12 week program since it seems like that will be the amount of time between events. Actually looking at it I wouldn't even be afraid to start the 12 week program after your first "A" race and use those first couple week of initial volume to help recover from first race and second race. Seems like that would be right on 12 weeks and would give your body a nice break to transition into next "A" race build.

Don't think you have to carry hard training all the way through the season. In the middle of the year I take a break and start back towards the beginning. You will hit a plateau if you keep doing heavy/speed training all the way through. Back off for two weeks, then start over.

Now onto race taper...this is my favorite because I have been perfecting the art of tapering for 18 years! (Swimming and Triathlons) 2 week taper for Oly distance is WAY TOO LONG! You will lose the top end speed required for that distance race. Now for a HIM or Ironman then it's a different story, but for Oly 5-6 days is perfect. And I recommend some speed work the week before. You have to trust your training. Taper should be a VERY gradual drop in intensity and time. If you drop to drastically, you lose the fitness. If you drop to slow you will be fatigued and sluggish. If you are really precise you could start the taper 8 days out, but really the first 3 days you wouldnt be able to tell you even started tapering.

Really appreciate your insight Jason, and yours too Howard.  Your strategy and logic makes sense and I plan to use it.  It's nice to know that backing off a bit in the middle of the season isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I had it in my mind that I needed to keep ramping the mileage and intensity up throughout the whole season.  It feels good to have a plan for the season.  Now just need to execute.

Great job Felicity on your race this past weekend!

-Nat

Thanks Howard and Nat for your encouragement...I also appreciate your insight Jason.

In hindsight, I am not sure what my thinking was with doing the 5km the day before...but what I thought on Sat morning is that the event would be completely cancelled and if I did not do something I would have missed out entirely.  Also recently I feel that I have plateaud for a while, so with all the running training I have been putting in (I must say in leiu of the bike), I was ready to improve my 5km time.

Funnily enough, I have pulled up from both those events better than the 12km the week before. I feel less fatigued and went to my masters swimming last night and did a 9.5km run this morning....I think I have beaten a demon and now feel like I can run for an hour although not quite at the 6min/km time.

I read your race plan/ advice last week Jason and plan on printing it out to use as a guide....on Sunday, I have to say didn't quite feel like puking at the end, but almost!

Felicity, It is always an accomplishment to break through those little barriers. Find those little things to celebrate no matter how big or small. They will be great motivation moving forward in training and racing. You will always have bad days but try to think back to those good ones! Great Job

I'm glad you all enjoy it. I like writing it up. I may put a couple things together today or tomorrow in regards to training and taper. May put it in my blog and just let you guys know. If there is anything else you guys have questions on let me know and I will be sure to incorporate and touch base on it in the future. I like the core people we have developed in this group. Lots of dedication. 

I went in a couple of weeks ago for my 50-year-old health screening/physical (3 years past due).  The doctor said I had an abnormal EKG and bigger than normal heart so he sent me to the cardiologist.  The heart doctor looked at all my numbers and listened in at various locations on my body from neck to ankles.  He said he thought I was okay based on all the other readings, no negative symptons, and the exercises I am doing and mentioned that not all EKG's are alike between folks.  But, since spring is coming up and he is eyeing a new boat (okay not really) he scheduled me for an echocardiogram just to be sure but said I could keep on exercising.

I did the echocardiogram last week with results reported today.  It was really freaky to look at my heart on the screen and see all the chambers and valves beating and moving...  That sucker does a lot of work just constantly beating on-and-on-and-on.  As expected, everything checked out okay but the left and right ventricle chambers were larger than normal due to an "athletic heart"; the heart muscle is fine.  So low blood pressure, low heart rate and healthy heart muscle add up to being okay for me.

All my other tests associated with the health screening (blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, PSA, etc.) were very good.  I still have to do my first colonoscopy as part of the routine check which is coming up at the end of next week; I'll probably make that a scheduled rest day.

My wife says they are all liars as there is no way the Grinch has a big heart...  It's not really an "enlarged heart"; its just bigger than average from lots of exercise.

Good to hear you are in good health and no issues!!!

I would love to join your group!!

NAME: Butterfly Warrior/Amy

STORY: I'm a complete newbie. To the point I haven't even made to to the pool yet to start laps. Haven't swam since high school. So this was more than I decade ago. I live in Tucson which is perfect for year around training. Moved here about a year and a half ago. I've been a runner most of my life and started cycling when I moved here. I've dreamed of doing tri's and eventually moving up to a half IM. I wanted to join your group because everyone I know personally isn't as adventurous as I am and honestly I'm a little skittish about jumping into a pool again. Although i plan to start next week, which will be the beginning of March. I hope you can help me find my ground and honestly where to start and how much to start in the beginning. BTW I love pitties! I hope to adopt one someday. 

FAMILY STATUS: Single, one cat named Jack

CURRENT TRAINING: cycling twice a week so far and running three times a week. I also do a hot yoga class once or twice a week. I hope to start hitting the pool next week.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: sprint triathlon in May and July possibly August. A half marathon in June, half marathon in October and a possible century in November. I'm also volunteering for the half IM in St George UT in May.

WEIGHT LOSS: Never had any issues with my weight.

Jason I sincerely hope I can join your group. Would love to make this year a very exciting one. This years motto "be intentional" and that is exactly what I'm doing.

Amy, 

Welcome to the group!!! I hope you find the information useful and always feel free to ask any questions! ANY! There is no stupid question...well there could be, but I won't call you out on it I promise. You are lucky enough to be based is Tucson!! I envy you, I would love the ability to train out there. Since you are just getting started, dont jump in too fast and too hard, it can be a recipe for injury. Start by building your base and don't worry about doing an speed work right now.

PS. I definitely recommend adopting and Pit! We go to the shelter often and it sucks seeing all those Pit Bulls, most of whom are older and will never get adopted. I feel so bad for them I wish I could bring them all home.  

Welcome Amy!

Got  a swim in early this morning, now off for a 2hr ride before I have to pick the kids up from school.  Fun, fun, fun!!  The temp here in eastern WA is warming up (60's daytime high), but the wind is blowing today.  Could be an interesting ride.  I still perfer fighting the wind over time on the trainer.

Hope everyone has had a great training week, and has a great weekend!

-Nat

Welcome to the group Amy!! Good luck with your swimming! Sounds like you have a great base to work from and the motivation to get it done...very cool!

David that's great news about the check up! Just finished my physical a couple of months back. Most everything is good except that my cholesterol and blood pressure was a little high...I have always had higher than normal blood pressure for some reason, probably genetic!

Doing a recovery week this week and I must say I am enjoying the slower pace! haha Happy training everyone and have a great weekend!!        Howard

Yes, Welcome Amy.

Great to see that everyone is getting a clean bill of health. I had a slightly high trigliceride reading a few years ago, it took exercise and losing 15kg, to get it down.

Nat, I will be interested to see how your windy, cold rides are going. It will keep me looking forward to winter.

I am over the weather here. Wet, Wet, Wet. Stormy and windy. Not really weather for doing anything but stay inside.

Will prob try and go to the gym and do some interval running....but maybe not.

So who struggles with the run? Any takers? Anyone willing to admit it...I would say running is definitely my weakness and over the past 2 months I have been struggling to find my efficiency running. When I push the pace to tempo or 10k pace I feel like I am really struggling compared to last year. Even my long EZ runs just haven't felt "right". I have been messing around with my technique and finally watched some Bobby McGee videos on YouTube and tonight the light came on and I had a breakthrough!!!! Took what I learned from the videos and goal was to apply it to my long run tonight! 9 miles of rolling country side. Typically I run these easy runs at a 7:45-8:05/mile pace. It's generally a pace that I feel I can run for a couple 2-3 hours if I had to and still have plenty left in the tank. Well I set out and focused on my technique and what I learned and all I have to say is WOW!!!!!!!!! I never ran outside of my RPE and just kept a steady pace. I ended up with a 7:09/mile pace for 9 miles and I have a lot left in the tank!!!! Makes me ecstatic as I was starting to get frustrated. I am very confident I can comfortably hold 6:30/mile pace for the last 10k of a race. Now all I have to do is keep working on it and till it becomes 100% natural. I have posted the videos I have watched and highly recommend them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZKA2-Sb0Tk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZKA2-Sb0Tk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l01YEeyn6a8 <--this one I recommend for just the first part about running uphill and downhill! I cant even explain how effortless it was using the uphill technique described!!!!

JEAH!!!!