Mad Manatees Mentor Group - VERY CLOSED!!! Sorry! (Page 81)

OK Manatee's.  Here are the deets of my race...  I posted a race report, and I posted on my blog - but I left out a few of the details that I saved just for you guys to get a good laugh at.  

I'm supposed to catch my train out of Seattle (45 min drive) on Saturday morning at 7:40 a.m.  Normally not a big deal, as I'm an early riser, but I went out with my brother Friday night, and didn't get in until 1:00 a.m.  Did I mention that I drank way, way to much beer?  

With my alarm set for 5:00 a.m.  I still wasn't worried, because I new I could sleep on the train.  For some reason though, I didn't sleep well at all, and I woke up about 10 mins before my alarm went off.  I was feeling nauseous and decided "F" it I'm scrapping the race.  About 10 mins later, I was praying to the porcelain goddess while on my knees on my bathroom floor.  I barfed and suddenly felt better, so I decided to brush my teeth, take a shower and hit the road.  LOL  

It must be known that (a) I haven't vomited from over consumption of alcohol in at least 10 years, so it must have been something I ate right?  And (b) there must be a porcelain goddess, because she answered my prayers and made me feel better.  

I make it to Vancouver and spend most of the afternoon walking around, re-hydrating, and eating as much food as I can.  I'm in bed by 8:00 p.m. and slept a full 12 hours (something I also never do).   

Sunday is race day - I walk from my B&B to the race start (about 1.5 miles).  It was raining and cold, so I stop at Starbucks for a last cup of coffee.  Questioning the decision to drink a cup of joe 45 mins before start time, I drink about 1/3 and dump out the rest.  

Race starts - I'm feeling surprisingly well.  cruising right along and since you all know I run naked (without a watch), I ask the guy beside be what our pace is.  He says "about 4:30 per kilometer."  Sh*t!! I forgot I was running in Canada and everyone was using splits in kilometers!!  So I just keep running.  

At the 8k mark, I get passed by a guy who had been stalking me for a while.  I found out that he was Canadian as well when he replied with "4:30 per kilometer."  "Oh well" I thought, at least I was consistent.  

I decided to pick up the pace so as to negative split the last 1/2 of the race.  I pass 8k stalker boy at the 10k mark and this time I wisely ask him what our overall time was.  He said "43 minutes."  That is a full 5+ mins faster than my 10k time last year!  

I cross the finish line in 1:05:16 (that's what the race clock said).  That is an average pace of 7:00.17 seconds per mile!  I missed my goal of going sub 7 by 2 seconds overall!  That 2 seconds will motivate the hell out of me next time I think I'm going to skip a run day!  

Long walk (1.5 miles feels longer after the race than before) back to the B&B for a hot shower and to change.  Did I mention the walk was up the hill, in the rain, and it was freezing cold?  I couldn't run there to stay warm, because I left it all on the course.  

I spend the next few hours in a pub watching a hockey game and talking to Bee and Kyle.  They are a cute couple.  Kyle is 25 and a bartender.  He works hard, drinks hard, watches hockey and snowboards as often as possible.  Bee is a gorgeous 29 year old British nanny who works hard, drinks hard, watches hockey with Kyle and snowboards as often as possible.  She has done this in France and Switzerland also, but not with Kyle.  I am a 41 year old American male who is seriously envious of both their lives!  

I leave the pub in plenty of time to make my train.  Get to the train station and see a small line for the Seattle bound train so I decide to go have a Big Mac.  After finishing my Big Mac, I go to board my train AND THE DOORS ARE LOCKED AND CUSTOMS IS CLOSED!   

I knock on the door and the customs guy comes over.  I am standing their with my ticket in hand and my passport and looking at my train (which isn't leaving for 15 more minutes) and they won't let me board the train.  3 agents have gathered around now - all with nothing to do, and not one of them was willing to check my bag and let me get on my train!  I'm trying to laugh it off (at the time) but inside I'm really pissed.  I missed my train for a Big Mac!  LOL  (now it's funny).  

The customs agents point me to the Greyhound station.  $24 and 45 mins later, I'm boarding a bus for Seattle.  Oh well - not the end of the world but I will tell you this.  The Amtrak train seats are much, much more comfortable than the bus seats.    I made it home about 11:00 p.m. last night and am playing hooky from work today so I could update you all on the adventures of Chad this weekend.  

Stupid 2 seconds and Big Macs!  

OK Manatee's.  Here are the deets of my race...  I posted a race report, and I posted on my blog - but I left out a few of the details that I saved just for you guys to get a good laugh at.  

I'm supposed to catch my train out of Seattle (45 min drive) on Saturday morning at 7:40 a.m.  Normally not a big deal, as I'm an early riser, but I went out with my brother Friday night, and didn't get in until 1:00 a.m.  Did I mention that I drank way, way to much beer?  

With my alarm set for 5:00 a.m.  I still wasn't worried, because I new I could sleep on the train.  For some reason though, I didn't sleep well at all, and I woke up about 10 mins before my alarm went off.  I was feeling nauseous and decided "F" it I'm scrapping the race.  About 10 mins later, I was praying to the porcelain goddess while on my knees on my bathroom floor.  I barfed and suddenly felt better, so I decided to brush my teeth, take a shower and hit the road.  LOL  

It must be known that (a) I haven't vomited from over consumption of alcohol in at least 10 years, so it must have been something I ate right?  And (b) there must be a porcelain goddess, because she answered my prayers and made me feel better.  

I make it to Vancouver and spend most of the afternoon walking around, re-hydrating, and eating as much food as I can.  I'm in bed by 8:00 p.m. and slept a full 12 hours (something I also never do).   

Sunday is race day - I walk from my B&B to the race start (about 1.5 miles).  It was raining and cold, so I stop at Starbucks for a last cup of coffee.  Questioning the decision to drink a cup of joe 45 mins before start time, I drink about 1/3 and dump out the rest.  

Race starts - I'm feeling surprisingly well.  cruising right along and since you all know I run naked (without a watch), I ask the guy beside be what our pace is.  He says "about 4:30 per kilometer."  Sh*t!! I forgot I was running in Canada and everyone was using splits in kilometers!!  So I just keep running.  

At the 8k mark, I get passed by a guy who had been stalking me for a while.  I found out that he was Canadian as well when he replied with "4:30 per kilometer."  "Oh well" I thought, at least I was consistent.  

I decided to pick up the pace so as to negative split the last 1/2 of the race.  I pass 8k stalker boy at the 10k mark and this time I wisely ask him what our overall time was.  He said "43 minutes."  That is a full 5+ mins faster than my 10k time last year!  

I cross the finish line in 1:05:16 (that's what the race clock said).  That is an average pace of 7:00.17 seconds per mile!  I missed my goal of going sub 7 by 2 seconds overall!  That 2 seconds will motivate the hell out of me next time I think I'm going to skip a run day!  

Long walk (1.5 miles feels longer after the race than before) back to the B&B for a hot shower and to change.  Did I mention the walk was up the hill, in the rain, and it was freezing cold?  I couldn't run there to stay warm, because I left it all on the course.  

I spend the next few hours in a pub watching a hockey game and talking to Bee and Kyle.  They are a cute couple.  Kyle is 25 and a bartender.  He works hard, drinks hard, watches hockey and snowboards as often as possible.  Bee is a gorgeous 29 year old British nanny who works hard, drinks hard, watches hockey with Kyle and snowboards as often as possible.  She has done this in France and Switzerland also, but not with Kyle.  I am a 41 year old American male who is seriously envious of both their lives!  

I leave the pub in plenty of time to make my train.  Get to the train station and see a small line for the Seattle bound train so I decide to go have a Big Mac.  After finishing my Big Mac, I go to board my train AND THE DOORS ARE LOCKED AND CUSTOMS IS CLOSED!   

I knock on the door and the customs guy comes over.  I am standing their with my ticket in hand and my passport and looking at my train (which isn't leaving for 15 more minutes) and they won't let me board the train.  3 agents have gathered around now - all with nothing to do, and not one of them was willing to check my bag and let me get on my train!  I'm trying to laugh it off (at the time) but inside I'm really pissed.  I missed my train for a Big Mac!  LOL  (now it's funny).  

The customs agents point me to the Greyhound station.  $24 and 45 mins later, I'm boarding a bus for Seattle.  Oh well - not the end of the world but I will tell you this.  The Amtrak train seats are much, much more comfortable than the bus seats.    I made it home about 11:00 p.m. last night and am playing hooky from work today so I could update you all on the adventures of Chad this weekend.  

Stupid 2 seconds and Big Macs!  

Kirsten and Skrat -- overall, yes, I agree with this. Some finer points:

I assume you'd be adding TWO ~1500m swims for a total of 4 workouts per week? Yes, I'd definitely add the two workouts, and do them in intervals ... HARD intervals. If you really need to, take the first 1-2 intervals as warm-up, but frankly, you're not gonna die if you don't. You might feel like it, but that's kind of the point.

There are two general ways to do HARD intervals: either on a send-off time that's just barely within your grasp (and perhaps not at all for the last 2 repeats or so) OR to extend them 50-100m beyond what you feel like you can swim hard. In that sense, an A x 100m type set with some B x 250m could be ideal, provided that around 200 is where your hard swimming starts to trail off / break down in form / slow down / etc.

I'm not sold on the value of a long continuous swim unless someone's swimming 5-6x/week and really focusing on swimming ... honestly, possibly not even then. There is no doubt that if you can suffer through a tough 1500m main set or workout, you can swim a solid continuous 1500m in race conditions. In terms of ROI for swim time, unless someone's actually swimming TO BE A SWIMMER with that kind of training time available and actually done, I think the long continuous swim is weak.

The exception is that a 1000/1500 yd/m time trial can be very helpful for setting productive interval training paces and gauging progress. With a proper warmup and cool-down, seems like a good idea (if you're swimming a lot and want to focus that much on it) every couple of months.

Yep, always an adventure in Canada!!  Great job on the race.  I wish I had've realized you were in Vancouver, BC, I would have come watch!  And drink beer of course

I will disagree with you (sort of) when it comes to long continuous swims.  I see 3 benefits to doing them, but I only recommend one every 2 to 3 weeks.

Benefits (not in order of importance):

1. Confidence builder - knowing you can swim the entire distance straight and that your arms / lungs / legs etc can take it.  
2. Measurement tool - I like to do one long swim - time it, and track my improvements over the course of a 4-6 month training program. 
3. Goal setting - helps me to set realistic goals for my expected swim time in my race.

As for the intervals - I love them but caution newbies (not sure your swim level Kristen) against making it to aggressive.  I recommend doing your warm up...then swim a 50 yard swim at 80%.  Add 10 seconds to that time, then try to do 5 in a row.  If that is easy - lower the interval by 5 seconds and try 5 more.  I recommend only 80% for the timing part of figuring out your interval because when a newbie tries too hard to go too fast, usually form breaks down and they will lose more than they gain.  

I think I might have just described what you said is "just out of reach."  LOL   

When you can do the 5 - try to make it 10 intervals.  This philosophy works for 100's as well.  

I will disagree with you (sort of) when it comes to long continuous swims.  I see 3 benefits to doing them, but I only recommend one every 2 to 3 weeks.

Benefits (not in order of importance):

1. Confidence builder - knowing you can swim the entire distance straight and that your arms / lungs / legs etc can take it.  
2. Measurement tool - I like to do one long swim - time it, and track my improvements over the course of a 4-6 month training program. 
3. Goal setting - helps me to set realistic goals for my expected swim time in my race.

As for the intervals - I love them but caution newbies (not sure your swim level Kristen) against making it to aggressive.  I recommend doing your warm up...then swim a 50 yard swim at 80%.  Add 10 seconds to that time, then try to do 5 in a row.  If that is easy - lower the interval by 5 seconds and try 5 more.  I recommend only 80% for the timing part of figuring out your interval because when a newbie tries too hard to go too fast, usually form breaks down and they will lose more than they gain.  

I think I might have just described what you said is "just out of reach."  LOL   

When you can do the 5 - try to make it 10 intervals.  This philosophy works for 100's as well.  

Good morning Jo!

Well ... I used to do stuff like that ... 10K would be the shorter of the two long weekly swims! And it's weird ... actually the longer I swim, the LESS boring it gets. Maybe it's getting past the boredom into the Zen zone?

I do know about the Icebergers ... they come up to Bali and kick our azzes every year in the Bali 5K/10K, but some of the time the Perth Polar Bears outdo them. It's a serious rivalry!

I was thinking about you and cycling ... I had to fall in love with cycling, and it was a lot more like an arranged-marriage type of having to build love and common memories before I was really in deep. I think of it as a sightseeing tour, very exciting! And you get to have a picnic out of a box (okay, a Bento box, but still).

Sometimes I feel like this is one of the most important things that gets overlooked here on BT. I think it's really important to fall in love with your sports. It sounds silly writing this but you have to build a relationship with SBR. It makes it a lot easier on those days where you really don't feel like getting out there. 

Speaking of, swimming and I need to have some sort of hot fling soon. 

Sometimes I feel like this is one of the most important things that gets overlooked here on BT. I think it's really important to fall in love with your sports. It sounds silly writing this but you have to build a relationship with SBR. It makes it a lot easier on those days where you really don't feel like getting out there. 

Speaking of, swimming and I need to have some sort of hot fling soon. 

Just read on FB that Rinny is doing Oceanside again!!!!!!!!!! I was hoping she would. This will be my first time sharing the course with the big names! I'm so stoked! Don't know if I'll have a chance to see her on the course but I'm stoked she'll be there.

As for loving SBR... I usually enjoy the bike, although at the end of my long rides I'm usually wishing for it to end. As for the swim, I go through phases, usually oscillating between liking it and tolerating it. Yesterday, after my near miss I wondered why I don't go back to *just* running. I think that is the HIM training talking though. After Oceanside and some time off I'll be ready for the next one.

You know you are going to have to pull and Yanti and get her to sign your melons, right? 

HA! Rinny *might* fit

#2 and #3 serve the same purpose and are what I described as a time trial.

#1 if you need the mental training, and you're not getting the confidence from appropriate-to-you-and-the-race training, then fine. But I still don't see how that would need to be done more than once.

If someone has a fundamentally sound level of swimming for doing average in an average triathlon, and they're swimming, say, 3x/week (which is in the grand scheme of things not very much if one actually wants to improve--3x/week, if one is past the acquisition of basically sound technique and has the fitness to sustain it, is maintenance swimming, not significant improvement swimming).

If someone in that position actually wanted to improve, I'd be hard pressed to come up with evidence or good reason for why a significant proportion of their swimming should be tied up in long continuous swims, and why those swims would benefit and improve their swimming more so than threshold-specific intervals.

However, this may just be a semantic debate--I'd say maybe every 3 weeks (let's say 1 out of every 8 or more swims) is fine, and definitely if the weather is warm and one has the opportunity to do OWS, then absolutely one should, and often. The difficulty with that is unless you have the exact same body of water in very similar conditions and reliable distance marked, OWS isn't any good for time trialing.

What I'm saying is that the long continuous swim *can* be beneficial--and I would say critical in open water--but it's by no means a necessity and shouldn't substitute for a significant proportion of swimming if your swim time is limited, and mostly limited to the pool during certain blocks of training.

I had a BEAUTIFUL run on Sunday. It was slated as a recovery run. Wait, let me back up. I went to go visit my best friend and her new baby in the morning. She's been slammed with family so I was just waiting until things calmed down to come meet him. Anyway, here we are:

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't really like babies. But when it's the spawn of someone I love so dearly, it's a game changer. Notice the beer in the background? Of course I brought beer!!!! 

Anyway, afterwards I went trail running. It was a place I hadn't been before.

Oh my gosh. I think I feel head over heels IN LOVE with running again. It was really cool because I first ran to a small waterfall and then out to an old coal mine, complete with old-timey mining cart. I tried (and failed) to get a photo of myself in the cart. You just have to trust me on this:

Eh, I'd say personal preference.

Personally, I have moved more and more away from music while training. I will say, I use it every once in while but I feel there are plenty more pro's on the list than con's in support of going without.

1. It allows me to focus on the task at hand. It's easy to space off and fall off pace. I think being present in your workout is really important in terms of getting maximum benefits.

2. It's one less THING to worry about.

3. As you said, you don't want to become dependent on it and then feel off when race day comes

I also have a hard time believe any MP3 player is truly waterproof, but ya never know  I did put mine in the wash machine once. Still works. 

I hear you about being present in the workouts.  I need to focus so I can keep track and think about form, especially for a swim.  It's not really boring to me.  Maybe I'm weird or something, but I don't really hit a bored point in SBR unless I'm on a treadmill stuck in front of a TV (funny how that works).