James G Group - CLOSED (Page 8)

 Mitch congrtats my friend that is great news....Hopefully you recover quickly and get back on the training band-wagon. Take it easy though when you start back....

Hi Guy's - I know I never finished the final bits of swimming series. To make it up to you I received with my Ironman program a Swim E Clinc Book. I read it last night and I believe it is the best work I have ever read on swimming, there is numerous progression drills through the strokes that have videos of the drills. It flows really nice and I honestly believe it is a great swimming guide.

If you PM me your e-mail adresses I will send you a copy if you like when I get into work on Monday!!!!

Btw - Hope every ones training is going well? I am all set to start IM program tomorrow...next 26 weeks no life for me!!! 

Aaron, great job and well done I dropped by and added a few comments. It is a real testamant to your consistency on the run and bike.

My advice is after running a hard 10 mile race is take a rest day or doing an easy swim. Not sure if you have a foam roller.

I also sent you the swim ebook clinic via e-mail can you post back in this forum what you think. I think it is a great training tool myself woudl be interested in your thoughts!!! 

Hi all - I am feeling ok, been a very tough 1st week of IM Training approx 115miles of Hard riding and 18 miles of running. To be honest this has been the longest week of training I have ever done and it is week number 1 only 25 weeks to go 8-)

Molly - Good to see you are back at it, you probably feel good in training at the moment as your legs are fully rested  8-). I remember leading up to my HIM last year when I went into taper how strong I felt after it, you kinda forget when your legs are always so tired.

Aaron, great job on the swimming man keep it up.

Mitch hope things are looking up for you after your surgery.. 

JG 

Mitch, So only 4 more weeks until your 1^st Triathlon huh, great news. Some things you may want to think about before the race.

1. Taper – I think from memory you are a doing a BT program so taper should already be factored in. What I tend to do for a sprint would be probably 50% of current volume during race week. But at close to race pace i.e. short/fast sessions to keep yourself fresh but feeling that race edge. I love to on about the Tuesday/Wednesday have a short fast session in the pool something like 10 x 50 with lots of recovery between each set this makes me feel really fast and dialed in. Don’t do any long running race week a 5-6 mile run hard can take a week or so to recover from. If your race is on a Sunday take Friday off completely do nothing. Saturday do some very short fast sessions in each of the three disciplines ideally on the course if you are picking up race packet that day…Also recommend you take the Monday off as well to recover from the prior week of training.

1. Nutrition – Pre-race. NO ALCHOLE the week of race and limit coffee intake. Concentrate on staying hydrated with water all week. In terms of Carbo loading this should happen 48 hours before the race i.e. for a Sunday Race Friday night is the important evening meal, lots of clean burning carbs i.e Pasta etc. My wife makes and awesome Pasta/Chicken/Pie nut concoction I eat for this meal. Saturday night have a light meal and try to have it reasonably early stay 6pm. Stay away from anything with roughage in i.e. Vegetables/ Fruits last thing you want to be doing is needing to Cr*p at 7am as the gun is about to go off morning of race day, my race breakfast I usually have a whole-wheat bagel with turkey (300 Cals) on lot of people have P&J but I hate it, key thing is to get something in the system that doesn’t take-up much room but provides a lot of Cals, I will also usually drink a bottle of Gatorade  . During Race. I usually have a GU with Water 15 minutes before the swim start and 1 bottle of Gatorade on the bike. You won’t need many calories for a Sprint and the Gatorade helps with the Electrolytes to avoid cramping later on the run. Only carry one bottle on your bike unless it is very hot otherwise you are just lugging extra weight. PRACTICE IN YOUR LONG RUN AND RIDE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO RACE WITH TO PREVENT GI ISSUES ON RACE DAY.

1. Race Strategy, it is your first race. ENJOY IT you will never get the opportunity to race your first race again. SWIM, Take it easy on the swim seed yourself somewhere where you are not going to get run over. Take it easy to start with get into your rhythm easy breathing long stroke try and draft someone if you can but make sure they aren’t swimming too fast for you. Swim all the way into shore/lake until your hand touches the ground this will save you energy from having to Wade too early. T1, Don’t spend all day here free speed man I am constantly amazed at the amount of people who spend 2-3 mins in T1 I am usually out in 30 – 45 secs. Keys are wear your tri short and pants under your wetsuit. Only bend over once, i.e. strip of wetsuit and while you are down there put on bike shoes. Every time you bend over you are wasting 15 secs Lay everything out on your transition towel the order you mean to put it on. Practice it at home before hand. Don’t forget your helmet, put it on before you grab your bike, you will be DQ’ed if you cross the line with out it on. (Very important before the race pick a land mark in the T area, count the racks until you hit your bike, then walk through the swim entry into T1 and then do the same for the bike entry for T2, this will help you in not loosing your bike when you get in from the swim and when you get in from the bike) Bike, Pace yourself for the first 5 minutes get into a nice rhythm try and get your heart rate down from the swim. After 5 minutes make an assessment how are you feeling if good, well start to push it up a bit keep you HR in your Zones try and keep your cadence at 90RPM. Ride on the right hand side at all times unless passing people. Drink the whole bottle of fluid on your bike you will need it for the run later 8-). In the last 2 minutes of the bike drop into an easier gear and spin and to loosen your legs up for the run. T2, Don’t take your helmet off until you rack your bike once again taking off helmet early another DQ offence. Don’t; mess around bend-over only once take off your bike shoes slip on your running shoes grab your running race belt, a cap very important will keep you cool. Run, Ok you have taken it easy on the Swim and the Bike you now have 3.1 miles to totally shell yourself, first half mile just concentrate on short step high cadence it will take a little while for your legs to come around after getting off the bike. Start to pick up your speed now. You should be running at your Run LT+ for the last 2 miles really hammer it, you will be passing all those people who went too fast on the swim and bike. If you are the one being passed by everyone then you went too hard on the bike 8-) Smile for the finish line bask in the glory and praise your family will heap on you then the next day start thinking about all the things you could have done better for your next race oh which by the way you will be racing hard in 8-)
2. Time Goals – Forget them for the first race, you will have enough nerves and pressure standing at the start of the swim don’t let a time goal be another one. You can set time goals for the second one 8-)

Hope this helps, Note this is a very specific and applies to sprints and Mitch’s case Molly/Aaron if you like closer to your races I will be happy to adjust this for you both if you like closer to your race days….As always just my thoughts  accept or reject!

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=107072&posts=24#M1275965

Very good discussion on Bike intensity and increasing speed when riding!!! 

So guy's - How is everyone's training going? With any luck you are starting to add a little more intensity especially on the rides. Only another couple of months for us East coasters and the season starts. Can't wait!!!

My training has been going great. First rest day today in three weeks which I am really enjoying...let me just say IM training is hard I am always eating and if not training thinking about training. So far I am managing a good work/life/family balance but could really do with more sleep.. 

Swimming is going well, Shoulder is a lot better I am slower than last season but my technique is a lot better, my swim golf score is down to 75 for 50 yds and my strokes per 25 yd length is down to 13 which is 3-4 better than last season.  Just trying to be patient strength will come just need to continue taking it easy on the shoulder.

Biking is going great I am I reckon 20% stronger than last year, and am going to kick some serious butt on the bike this year. Some of my team mates I rode with last year whom were better than me or the same I am drilling now...

Running - I just really don't know,  Running has become a bit of a joke for me. It is my srongest leg but I never run hard and never focus on it. But that being said at a lower heart rate I am a lot faster this year. Not sure how that translates in terms of racing but I am going to do a race this weekend. I have been suffering from PF in my right foot not good so if thsi is feeling bad I wont run.

look forward to eharing how your trianing is going...please post any questions you may have!!! 

Aaron - very good lesson for all of us. I got a flat two weeks ago and changed it in about two minutes flast. Last season however I couldn't change a flat at all. The difference this year is I use a training tire for my bike on the trainer and seperate tires for outside so I change my tires once a week, painful yes but means my outside tires last 2000 miles instead fo being eaten up on the trainer and also good practice for changing tires in a race situation.

Some tips. When you put the tire on sit on the ground and hold it horizontally (Stops the tire coming unpopped at the bottom if you hold it vertically and also easier to keep tension on) i.e like a circle into your stomach work both hand from the bottom closest to your stomach keep as much tension on the tire as you can with your hands. When you get to the point where the tire is so tight you can't slide the last bit of the tire in to the wheel using your wheel. Use a tire level to pry it onto he wheel. Pedors palstic tire levers are grat 99c each. get two they are yellow and palstic. I used to use tea sppons before getting these 8-)

Mitch hope your wife is feeling better. Make sure you get a couple of Open Water swims in before your race very important.. Swimming in teh sea/lake very different to swimming in a pool. Also beg/borrow steal or hire a wetsuit for teh race. This will make your swim faster and also more efficent. Hope your wife is feeling better!