Got Your Mojo WORKIN'! group - CLOSED (Page 85)

NEED SOME HELP AND SUGGESTIONS.

Ok started back to running today, have not ran in 2 weeks due to shin splints.  Ran 2 miles and the legs felt good but my energy was extremly low.  For the last 2 weeks my workouts and personal life activity has increased.  On most workout days I have been training 2 sports, also my son is back playing baseball so we are gone now 3 nights a week which was normally rest nights.  I need to read up on proper nutrition to see what I can do since my activity has picked up, also need to see about taking some kind of viatmins.  Lately I have been feeling a little tired due to all the activity.  Im getting about 8 hours sleep every night.  Any suggestions on a website to read up on nutrition and also any suggestions on vitamins. Thanks and I hope everyone has a great day.

?Steve,

I learned about this site from a member of this group.  He does these incredibly detailed product reviews.  He is a triathlete who gets companies to send him stuff which he reviews and then returns (so  he is not swayed in his thinking or what he writes).

If the link  does not work just google him.   You may not agree with what he says but he does a very thorough job.

http//www.dcrainmaker.com/p/product-reviews.html

Ellen

George,

Did you try the link I sent to Steve?  I will try adding you as a friend and see it that work.  It is really a plan that I downloaded from BT and I moved some things around for when I could fit in specific workouts.  For example, I can't swim on Sundays because the pool is closed. 

Give me a little while because I need to figure it out again. This computer stuff gets harder as you get older.  It's kind of like hiding my own Easter eggs..works fine.

Ellen

Hey Ellen, I saw your plan, do you log your training into BT? because I was not able to see it.  I went through everyones Log today and some I was able to see and some I was not.  Possibly they are keeping track of their training on something else. Oh well.  ITs just nice to see what everyone is doing and how they are progressing.  I just like it so if I see someone is improving on a sport that I might be having problems then I can ask them for assistance to help me.  I did like your training plan, it tells you what to do like run 10' at x pace and then 15' at this pace.  I guess that is one of the benefits of being a member.  Thanks Ellen

I've been reading a lot of your guys' (and gals') posts on cadence and I just don't get it. At all. I mean, I understand the whole moving your legs faster to get more revolutions in both running and biking. But from everyone's descriptions, it seems to be incredibly difficult and tiring. So why do it? Is it just a way to increase speed (kind of like interval work for running)? Or what?

These might be stupid questions, but I've tried to think through them and figure out a logical answer but no such luck.

Kasia

Let speak from a cycling perspective. I take it as efficiency. There is an optimal cadence where my body produce power, process wastes. At this cadence I can maintain my pace for an extended time, respond to speed changes and terrain changes quickly, shift more efficiently etc

 This was a big deal as a racing cyclists, especially speed changes-breakways pursuits, the hard part of criteriums etc. The ability to maintain a smooth relatively high cadence seems to work better for me when climbing as well. There is less stress on the joints as opposed to turning a big gear at a low cadence. I think of it like I do a tachometer, If I try to shift into a high gear at a low RPM the motor bogs down, stalls and I put more stress on the components.

Right now the mood is toward a high cadence like Lance Armstrong. Some of this is purely empirical, "if a 7 time tour winner does it it must be right" Hard to argue with success. Some research supports this. Time Trialist and triathletes  tend to be "mashers" turning a big gear slowly. My little brief experiments with bricks leads me to believe I run better sooner coming off a high cadence ride vs a low cadence big gear ride.

 I can only guess for running but it appears to have helped me reduce my injury risk and recover from my hip/quad injury. A shorter stride but higher cadence  has added some speed but without the issues I created with a long loping antelope like stride.

 Im sure Steve or others have more evolved thoughts on the topic it is interesting stuff IMO

stevebradley - 2011-03-17 5:49 AM GENE - Good question, and not necessarily one that comes comparably equipped with an quick and easy answer. That said, I'll give you a quick one, which is: BIG difference! And unfortunately for me, it is not an easy answer, so..... The first consideration is what you might want out of the workouts. Here is a not-exhaustive list: 1.) pure time in the saddle and time on your feet -- what some people call "junk miles" 2.) hard efforts at a comparatively shorter distance, being the 30 minute ones 3.) steady efforts at the comparatively longer distances which would be the 60 minute ones 4.) the experience of getting a brick under you 5.) the degree of difficulty or effort in those bricks The sesond one is kind of out of place there, as that is not one of your options --- but it could be. I put it there because it brings to mind one of the drawbacks of bricks, which is that often they can end up compromising one, or even both, of the componenets. That is, you can end up doing something wishy-washy just because you are kind of "protecting" yourself so that both segents will actually happen. Usaully, of course, this comes in the form of going easy on the bike to save something for the run --- or it turns out that the run is lousy because the bike has been done too hard. Make sense? So, if you do a 60' run one day and a 60' ride the next, those are just stand-alone efforts that can either be junk miles (some say they are good, others take the word "junk" as being completely appropriate; I think they have their purpose) or something with a more dedicated focus (i.e., tempo, hills, interval, fartleks, foundation, LSD [long slow distance], and others). Usually, though, a brick won't have that sort of focus, with a balance between speed and exertional comfort being more of the goal. I will also add that most bricks are NOT even-time. That is, they aren't 30'-30' as you are thinking. Bricks work best when they most accurately reflect what one will encounter on race day, and as you know, most races are bike-heavy; so, you want your brick to be the same. Bricks are usually in 5:1 or 4:1 or 3:1 ratios. Thinking of your 30 minutes times, that might be a 30' ride and a 6' run at one extreme, or a 150' ride and 30' run at the other extreme. (Did I do the math right for those extremes?) If I'm thinking of a standard brick that would have a 15' run at the end, I'll set the bike part for no less than an hour. If all I'm fater is getting the feeling again at the start of a season of "running off the bike", then I might do a 90' ride...but only a 10' run. That's clearly a 9:1 ratio and beyond what I mentioned above, but I like to think my experience allows me to get away with it! See, I told you it wasn't a simple answer! As a season progresses, i do more race-pace bricks, and alos more bricks that are race-length. That is, if I have an oly approaching I will do a 40km bike and a 10km run AND try to do them at race pace. But most people don't do that and shouldn't do that, and so the goal for them is riding pretty hard and then seeing how well they can run coming off the bike. That's why so many prescribed bricks for sprints and olys have short run segments -- they're just there to get accustomed to getting the legs running after spinning around on the pedals for a while. So, 30'-30' is too skewed, I think -- too short on the bike for that length run. That leaves open a compromise, which might be a 50' ride and a 10' run, or maybe 45'-15', or thinking outsdie the multiples-of-five bubble......48'-12'. I know those don't fit with your idea of two 30s equally a 60, but how you might want to view this is in a two-week system. Say this week would be a 45'-15' brick one day and a 60' ride the next, and next week would be a 60' run and a 48'-12' brick (with the option to cut the run part a bit short if you're feeling it's a lot of running on consecutive days; even 5' would be okay!) Let me know what you think!

Steve,

What you say makes sense.  Sometimes I get bored with the long runs and long rides, breaking them up into bricks makes me more enthusiastic about the workouts.  I will ponder your suggestions.

Kasia,

I'm with you.  It seems to me that the length of your legs would make a big difference in cadence.  A 5'8" person vs a 6'4" person at the same cadence would have a big difference in speed.

Gene

Sometimes I think people overstate the level of difficulty in this. It is a challenge, at first, just like learning any new skill. You will develop "muscle memory" with practice.

Some people may be shooting for too high of a cadence as well, based on some inaccurate assumptions or what someone else is doing.

Perhaps the best approach during the season is to "be aware", meaning when you can, remain conscious of your cadence with an effort to increase it somewhat, you may need to down shift a bit to maintain it. Then during the winter make a deliberate effort to improve your cadence as well as your pedal stroke. One legged drills, high cadence spin ups, an old favorite of mine was 15/15 intervals: A very low gear featuring 15 seconds at a VERY high cadence 100rpm+ then 15 seconds at your target cadence etc. do 5 minute sets with a few minutes recovery a few times each work out. And sustained sets at your optimum cadence in a variety of gears.

 This speaks to the conversation about "pedaling circles" before. A high cadence seems to demand a smooth stroke. It is very hard to "Stomp" at 90+ RPMs. My very old very noisy mag trainer tells me when I am "pedaling squares"-it sounds different and the bike rocks a little in the trainer when I stray. When my cadence increases and my spin smooths out it gets quieter and still.

I have a question about single leg drills.  When I try them I can not get a smooth upward pull.  What am I doing wrong?  Sometimes I think the gear is not hard enough but I don't really know. 

Also, along those lines, when I am on my trainer and try to stand (like when watching a Spinervals DVD) I can't seem to get a smooth motion.  Is it the same thing?  The people in the video just stand and pedal and then sit.  I'm sure these are all accomplished triathletes so they make it lool pretty easy. Any suggestions?

Ellen

Thanks Steve.  I did another Spinervals today and tried to make the tension tighter.  I am still having trouble standing and pedaling smoothly.  I will keep trying.  Troy kept saying something, which I forgot, but I think it was key to how it happens that you are able to stand and pedal without skipping or having that jerky thing happen. 

Another question about the indoor trainer.  When you go outside do you use the same wheel and tire as the one on the trainer.  Does it get worn out?  Should you change it before a race?  I have a fluid trainer and the reservoir is very hot after I finish riding so I suspect the tire is also getting a lot of wear.  I have never had a flat in a race and I don't want to since I have never changed one except in my garage. And the one time I tried it the first one exploded and I had to do it again.  I have seen the CO₂ canisters work but I have never used one and I believe Crissy Wellington had an issue in the first world championship she won.  So even though I would be in good company I would rather not have to deal with it in a race (I'm slow enough already).

Ellen

The trainer will wear tires. There is a tire made for trainers if you have another wheel. I just use the same set I have now.

I suggest you practice changing tubes a few times. With a little practice you can fix a flat, rear, in under 5 minutes. Practice in semi darkness with the water sprinklers on maybe to simulate a dark rainy day