Older&Wiser Group - FULL (Page 8)

Malinda, before you know it, you'll be the roller derby queen.   Must feel like 15 again.  Good luck on your mock tri, have lots of fun.  I'm dying to race, but nothing out there until May.   BTW, congrats on your new bike, let us know how it works out for you.  We want pictures!

This is our "collective wisdom" post, which is regularly updated, so check back often.  Don’t get overwhelmed by it.   Pick what’s relevant to you and come back periodically for new ideas.  Don’t try to do all of it all of the time, just some of it some of the time, or even all of the time, or all of it some of the time.

Links: group summary,  progression to injury free running,  buying running shoes,  setting yourself up for success,  cycling tips,  award standings,  

The following is based on our discussion so far.  Let me know of any errors, omissions, etc…  I've set up links to some of our key posts above, so people don't have to search all over for it.  If there're other ones you'd like me to link, let me know.

SWIM:  General Tips:

1. Have someone (swim instructor, coach, experienced swimmer, etc.) look at your stroke and offer suggestions.  Or even have others videotaped your stroke.
2. Do sets / drills instead of lap swimming – Contrary to popular belief, practice does not make perfect, it only makes permanent.  Laps and laps of swimming with poor form only reinforce poor technique.  Only perfect practice makes perfect, and drills are the keys to perfect practice.  Doing sets / drills / other strokes also reduce risk of overuse injury because they give your system valuable rest in between (eg arm drills let your legs rest, kick drills let your shoulders rest, seconds in between sets let your system rest, etc).
3. DRILLS DO NOT HAVE TO BE DONE FAST! They should be done as slowly as you need to do them correctly.
4. Find some feet to follow, whether in the pool or in a race – Everybody knows about the benefits of drafting in open water swimming, you can swim faster with less effort and save time on sighting.  But even in a pool, if you swim behind a person that’s slightly faster and try to reach for their toes on every stroke, it forces you to swim faster with a long efficient stroke.
5. Check out the strokes of better swimmers.  The better the swimmer, the lower the stroke count, almost always under 20 per 25m.
6. Count your stroke/lap so you become more aware of your efficiency.
7. Swim against pace clock so you become more aware of your pace, and whether a stroke modification is working.

Technique / Drill Tips:

1. Swim downhill - Think about pressing down towards the bottom of the pool with your chest. (Not your head, just your chest.)  This will help get your legs/hips up.
2. Swim taller - Each stroke, say to yourself, "The most important thing I do with my hand is lengthen my body. "Reach! Reach! Reach!" This will give you a longer stroke and a longer, sleeker vessel, allowing you to slice far more easily through the water.  But remember to press your chest down and swim downhill or this technique may seem impossible.
3. Swim from side to side - Think of swimming as rotating your body on an axis from side to side.  Breathe by rolling your body to where the air is – rather than lifting or turning your head.
4. Swolf - swim golf, trains you swim faster with the most effective stroke count.
5. Lots of swim drill videos at this site
6. The classic drill for high bent elbow recovery is the fingertip drag drill, click on video here - Aside from the nice bent elbow recovery, the video shows a very nice long stroke, arm is stretched and straight before underwater pull and body rotates on an axis from side to side.

7. Stroke count can also be reduced if you delay your pull, i.e. don’t start pulling right away, wait till your recovery arm is at 10-11 o’clock position, but not quite a full catch-up. They call it "front-quadrant swimming".   The video mentioned in 6 demonstrates this quite nicely too.

Check out the ultimate tri swim training video by accomplished triathlete / coach Wes Hobson.

One stroke at a time:

"Effort - The spirit to win and the will to excel are always measured one stroke at a time"

Just keep swimming swimming swimming (click for audio clip)

 

Staying Motivated - Tips The following are tricks I’ve used over the years to stay motivated - [Mostly from http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/07_96/y_ex.htm & http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=540] 

Staying motivated is tough for all exercisers—even true jocks. A variety of techniques, though, can help you stick with it.  Pick and choose the ones below that suit you.

• Register for a race.    Racing keeps us training.   It provides focus, a short term goal, something to look forward to.  Putting $$MONEY$$ down to register for a race has a way of giving a little extra kick when the training goes stale.
  
• Celebrate success. Reward yourself for sustaining an exercise program.  Pat yourself on the back.  Buy that finish line race picture.  Eat a special meal, or treat yourself in some other way—a new jogging outfit, perhaps.  
• The 5min rule. If you're feeling lethargic, tell yourself you'll just do a 5min workout. Then, once you are up and out, you probably will decide to do a full-blown workout.
  
• Have a plan.   Plan ahead so you know what you’re supposed to do on a daily / weekly / annual basis.  The failure to plan is a plan for failure.  BT Programs are great.  
• Set a higher goal. Gain satisfaction from achieving goals. Try to jog a bit farther or for a bit longer than the session before.  But don't fret over minor setbacks—improve over weeks and months.
  
• Distract yourself. When working out on an exercising machine, read, watch TV, or listen to tunes.  But don't wear earphones when exercising outside near traffic.
  
• Buddying up. By working out with a partner, you can inspire and encourage one another—and spend more time with a friend.  BT mentor program does wonders.  Or join a tri club, running group or cycling club.
  
• Change quickly. Change directly from work clothes into workout clothes. This will keep you from getting sidetracked.
  
• Variety is the spice. Use a variety of activities to keep things interesting. Triathlon training is varied by its very nature.   Also, change the duration or intensity of your workout.  Or try new scenery.  Or try something totally different, skiing, volleyball, yoga…
  
• Logging in. Keep a diary of daily exercise accomplishments. It will help you track your progress and can serve as reinforcement.   BT Training Logs are great for this purpose.
  
• Wake-up call. Exercising first thing in the morning means only one shower and dressing session. But remember that not everyone's body—or mind!—is suited for it.  If you have a heart problem or may be at risk for one, check with your doctor first.
  
• Straight expectations. Fitness takes time. If you've put on weight, don't expect it to disappear in 3 weeks!

Keys to successful weight loss / maintenance – the following is based on our group's discussion and the 7 habits of highly effective dieters by Professor Jim Hill, who started the National Weight Control Registry where the average individual has maintained a weight loss of 67 pounds for five-and-a-half years:

1. Keep trying. Most people, over 90%, failed many times before they finally succeeded. 
2. Don't deny yourself. Eat a little bit of everything but in moderation.
3. Weigh yourself often, say every week. No denial. Don’t get too worked up about a pound or two. But when it creeps up, time to cut out the wine and cheese.
4. Exercise an hour a day. You can’t lose weight and keep it off by dieting or exercising alone.
5. Get other bits of physical activity into the daily routine.
6. Eat a low fat, high carb diet, research shows this is the most effective diet for keeping weight off.
7. Eat five meals a day starting with breakfast.
8. Do a race that’s the same every year. Racing keeps us training. The same race makes it easier to compare our fitness level year over year and with others in our age group.
9. Train with a BUDDY, provides camaraderie and mutual support. Join the BT mentor program.

Next topic - TBA

Older&Wiser Group - Patricia, Wolf, Lynne, Jennifer, Malinda, Rose, Angelo, Jeff

Wolf, what are you doing to me, messing me up with your double posting so I lost the prime spot for our collective wisdom post.  Well, not to worry, I'm sure our group is smart enough to look one post further down for it. Sorry about the weight thing; my philosophy is stick to one scale - the one that gives the best reading! 

This has been a quiet week, with Lynne out of town and Rose on vacation.  Jennifer keeps a low profile but keeps on ticking.  Malinda is generating all the excitement, almost doing a mock tri, getting a new bike and going roller skating, yes roller skating, not rollerblading – so I think Malinda deserves a "young at heart" award for this week -

As I was preparing for my weekly post, I thought about how all of you have families and lives and somehow find time to train and how many people out there have similar families and lives but cannot find time to exercise.  In BT article Go Ahead...Tri and Balance, the author shares her thoughts and experience on the issue.  Perhaps being Older&Wiser, we’ve finally figured it out, life is about choices, priorities and balance!  No exercise = no health = no energy to enjoy family / no life.  So give yourselves a pat on the back for sticking with it and keep it up, my Older&Wiser friends!!  Happy training…

Great to see Lynne and Rose back logging workouts.  Looks like both of you were able to get in a few workouts when you’re out of town / on vacation.  That’s hard to do and kudos to you both! 

I felt really tired this morning.  Not sure whether that’s because I didn’t sleep well or the changes in weather are bringing on my migraines.  So I followed BT 5min rule of training – I told myself I’d get up and walk for 5min, and if I still didn’t feel well, I’d go back to sleep.  So I got up, walked for 5min, didn’t feel so good, but not so bad, and walked for another 5min, then ran for 5min, then walked a bit more.  Ended up walking for maybe 20min and running 10min!

The following are tricks I’ve used over the years to stay motivated - [Mostly from http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1996/07_96/y_ex.htm & http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=540]
 

Staying motivated is tough for all exercisers—even true jocks. A variety of techniques, though, can help you stick with it.  Pick and choose the ones below that suit you.

• Register for a race.    Racing keeps us training.   It provides focus, a short term goal, something to look forward to.  Putting $$MONEY$$ down to register for a race has a way of giving a little extra kick when the training goes stale.
  
• Celebrate success. Reward yourself for sustaining an exercise program.  Pat yourself on the back.  Buy that finish line race picture.  Eat a special meal, or treat yourself in some other way—a new jogging outfit, perhaps.   I celebrated my 10 yr anniversary of tri by training for the Cdn Tri championships, qualifying for the Worlds, racing in Switzerland, relaxing in Paris after, making a video as momento, all of which will hopefully keep me going for at least another 10years...
  
• The 5min rule. If you're feeling lethargic, tell yourself you'll just do a 5min workout. Then, once you are up and out, you probably will decide to do a full-blown workout.
  
• Set a higher goal. Gain satisfaction from achieving goals. Try to jog a bit farther or for a bit longer than the session before.  But don't fret over minor setbacks—improve over weeks and months.
  
• Distract yourself. When working out on an exercising machine, read, watch TV, or listen to tunes.  But don't wear earphones when exercising outside near traffic.
  
• Buddying up. By working out with a partner, you can inspire and encourage one another—and spend more time with a friend.  BT mentor program does wonders.  Or join a tri club, running group or cycling club.
  
• Change quickly. Change directly from work clothes into workout clothes. This will keep you from getting sidetracked.
  
• Variety is the spice. Use a variety of activities to keep things interesting. Triathlon training is varied by its very nature.   Also, change the duration or intensity of your workout.  Or try new scenery.  Or try something totally different, skiing, volleyball, yoga…
  
• Logging in. Keep a diary of daily exercise accomplishments. It will help you track your progress and can serve as reinforcement.   BT Training Logs are great for this purpose.
  
• Wake-up call. Exercising first thing in the morning means only one shower and dressing session. But remember that not everyone's body—or mind!—is suited for it.  If you have a heart problem or may be at risk for one, check with your doctor first.
  
• Straight expectations. Fitness takes time. If you've put on weight, don't expect it to disappear in 3 weeks!

My midweek bike picture - Saluting Malinda and her new bike:

"Enthusiasm - Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."  Mark Twain

Just want to add one more point to the tips post on staying motivated, something most of us are already doing:

• Have a plan.   Plan ahead so you know what you’re supposed to do on a daily / weekly / annual basis.  The failure to plan is a plan for failure.  BT Programs are great.  (Unless of course you’re Wolf, who doesn’t have a structured plan but obviously has no problems sticking with it.)

Malinda, I know what you mean about unfriendly drivers.  I was in Alpharetta, Georgia in 2002 for the Duathlon World Championships.   Athletes from around the world were cycling in this industrial area during the week prior to race day.   A lot of drivers just refused to share the road, even though it’s a pretty big event.   They came very close to us and one driver actually knocked one of our teammates off her bike!   Even though it’s illegal in Canada, sometimes it’s safer to ride on the sidewalk.   No such problem in Europe, apparently.   And I'm lucky - where I live, sometimes there're more cyclists than drivers on the weekend.   Just be careful, Malinda, cyclists are pretty defenseless relative to drivers. 

Hi all,

Everybody is back and working out and logging.  I’m pleased to report that all your charts look spectacular.  This group rocks!  I’ll call this week’s award the swatch award, after the swiss watch,   and we must give it to Jennifer.  As Wolf noted, Jennifer operates like a swatch, never missing a beat, and she has the most colourful chart of all of us, 4-5 colours every week for the last month, just like the colourful swatch watches.  Current standings -

Hi all,

Malinda has posted a picture of her receiving her medal.  Nice pic, Malinda.

I played around with the BMR calculator and Harris Benedict Equation on this site and found out that a sedentary 199 lb 46 yr old woman and a 115lb moderately active woman has the same caloric needs!   Hard to believe. 

Lynne's discipline (and the above #'s) has inspired me to set a higher standard.  I'm announcing here that I WILL NOT SKIP more than 1 workout / wk in April, no matter how busy I am.   When the time comes, I'll just pack up and go swimming, or running, or whatever.  That's it!  Because...

Good thing it's rest day today.  Didn't get home until 11:30pm last night from my downtown business meeting and dinner.  Not only was the downtown business dinner way too late and way too much red meat, after I logged in the #'s, the calories and fat info made me sick to my stomach (1500 cal and 80g of fat, 50% more than my daily intake!).  Until I logged and see the actual calculations,  I would not have believed how bad it was!!  I actually thought at the time I did ok, I didn't feel stuffed after the meal at all, and I only had an 8oz filet mignon, the smallest portion in the finest steakhouse in Toronto (my boss had 16oz) and no sour cream on my potatoes (my boss poured about a cup on his) and no dessert!!  Thank goodness for the BT Nutrition Logs, I would never have guessed the huge difference between perception and reality.  I had previously considered myself quite knowledgeable about these #'s, even giving advice to people!

(If you want to see how the dinner added up to 1500cal, go to my Training Logs, under Blog bar, which is under the Program button ,  click on "Nutrition" and you can see full details.  Pretty revealing.  Click "Actual" under Blog to get back to swim/bike/run logs.)

Hi all,

Hurray, all the snow has melted so I got to ride outside for the first time yesterday.  March is over and looking back, some of you may think you had some setbacks last month.  Malinda gained a few lbs.  Wolf was under the weather and Rose was taking in water during her swims at the beginning of March.  Lynne couldn’t do much when she was recovering from surgery and then got very busy later in the month.  But I’d like you all to look at the BIG PICTURE.  Malinda looks absolutely radiant in her recent March pic.  Wolf and Jennifer have now mastered the HRM.  Rose just set another new low in her stroke count.  And Lynne still averaged in March more training minutes than a 70.3 / wk. 

It doesn’t matter whether you skip a day here or a day there, what matters is the BIG picture, your lifestyle, that you’re working out consistently every week, every month, every year, year after year without injury and continuously improving.  For shorter races (sprints and oly), you’ll achieve your goal if you train 3-5hrs/wk; for longer races (70.3 and up), you’ll have the endurance if your training volume / wk is greater than your expected race duration.  As illustrated in the following table, ALL of you, Wolf, Lynne, Jennifer, Malinda and Rose, are doing great.  If you click on your name, you’ll see a graph of this BIG PICTURE I’m talking about.

Strive to maintain or improve on these weekly averages in the coming weeks and months, and I’ve no doubt you’ll achieve your goal.  So everybody gets a √ for the BIG PICTURE award.  We’ll announce the overall winner next week, although I think we’re already all winners as clearly demonstrated in the table above.  Current standings:

For those who listen to your ipod/mp3’s on the treadmill, I just discovered the tri-talk podcasts.  Episode 35 is about the top 20 gear / resource / equipment that would make you race faster.  Of course, 95% of your race performance is based on your training and genetics.  Gear / resource / equipment mentioned in the podcast refers to the other 5% that can make a difference to your racing.  Most bang for your buck:

1. Self coaching resource, eg Triathlete’s Training Bible – 120sec saved - $0.14/sec;
2. Hydration system, eg Profile Aero Drink – 33sec saved - $0.52/sec;
3. Professional Bike Fit – 120sec saved - $1.25/sec.

For the rest of the top 20 and rankings based on other criteria, see printed report here

Collective wisdom post is here.

Good luck to all in your training next week...

Chag Sameach to Wolf.

Just saw the women’s 800m final of the World Aquatics Championships (Melbourne) that I taped on the weekend.  The top 2 girls (a French and an American) were doing about 49 and 44 strokes /50m respectively, and about 32 sec /50m.  Translate to swolf count = 32 + 24 (French) / 22 (American) = 56 / 54 respectively. They hardly kick at all. The French girl led most of the way but the Amercian (with lower stroke count) won at the end.  Not very good quality but the race is here on you-tube too.

When I signed up to be a mentor in Jan, the intention was to give back a little of what the sport has given me.  Over the last 12 wks, I got a lot more out of the mentor program than I had expected.  I believe each of us, including myself, has accomplished more together than we could have individually. So this is a most appropriate swim (I know, this is a stretch) pic for my midweek inspiration -

 Teamwork - Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results

Posting a swim / bike / run picture every week has been fun for me, and I’m proud to say, a feature unique only to the Older&Wiser thread.  And who says accountants are not creative!  Only the first swim, bike and run picture are from my personal collection.  It was going to end there, and then I managed to find more gems on the internet (although I had to doctor some).  Pics are certainly easier to read than a 1,000 words, esp since I can’t write, so I hope you’ve enjoyed them.  I think I’ve one more pic for my weekend post.  After that, it would be nice if you’d go to my Mentor Pic Album and leave a comment to let me know which is/are your favourite(s).

Happy Easter everyone!