Tony's Xterra & Short Course Tri Group - OPEN (Page 9)

Meulen - 2013-01-28 12:37 AM Yup. That's all! Lol

I will never forget recovery from my first marathon. I was very well prepared for the race. Built a good base and ran it hard. I could barely walk for 2 days after. It was a good month before I could think about racing again and maybe another couple months after that when I was actually "right" again. Meaning I couldn't put in any kind of improvement or peak in my training for a good 3-4 months after that marathon. I haven't done one since. I've stuck to 1/2 marathons. If I do one again it will be a late season endeavor and not an early season one! Lol.

That is one reason a marathon scares me!  I'm afraid of a long recovery!

Yeah...it's a quick turn-around. I'm waiting to sign-up for Ft. Custer until it gets a lot closer. I'm willing to drop it, but I'd like not to. I've already decided to aim for completion instead of competition in Ft. Custer.  

It's all about the experience. =) Running has always been my thing...I've never run a marathon and after this one might not run another one. We'll see!

So there I was, home from work. It was 30 degrees and snowing. So I decide to go for a 10 mile pace run. I think that in better conditions, I would have dropped a few seconds of that min/mile time, but this was a solid run that was beautiful. I love running at night while it's snowing. Although I prefer running in the sun in short sleeves...

Happy training everyone!

Brave man, its still too cold for me!  

I'm keeping my outdoor adventures to a walk over the Adams street bidge downtown and backyard walks with the dogs!  It's coooold!

Had a little gap in the program tuesday.  It was lightening outside and they closed my pool.  Weird....I know, but I guess the indoor and outdoor pools at my gym are connected by piping so they close it.  Even more weird......lightening in January!!!  

So I've been a little stressed out lately and workouts have been particularly difficult.  The diet and weight lifting are still kicking my butt!   So I did what I always do when I lack motivation.....buy something! LOL   I'm still waiting for the Wahoo Kicker to come out, but my wife does tri's too so I figured having 2 trainers wouldn't hurt.  So I upgraded my Kurt Kinetic Road Machine to a Rock and Roll.  Anne will use the old one till I get either the Kicker or a computrainer.  Then, my dad is getting the road machine!

Trying a new masters swim class tonight.  A new pool too, in Lemont Il.  I think it's salt water so it'll be interesting to see how my sinuses/allergies do.

Let me know how the rock-n-roll is! 

And I'm interested in the salt water pool.  Sounds interesting.  Does it come with any sort of wild life in there chasing you??? 

I'm hoping the R&R will be a little easier on me for all these loooooooong sessions you give me!  

It's a masters class!...I'm sure there is plenty of other wild life besides me in the pool chasing down other wild life!

Masters Class was pretty good last night.  I was surprised it only took me 15 minutes to get there!  The salt water was pretty interesting.  I did an aquajog at my gym before I went.  Never put my head in the water and I could feel and smell how corse the chlorine is in my sinuses.  But, at the salt water pool, I didn't notice anything.  No smell, no sinus issues.  I ddn't even wear my ear plugs!  Wanted to hear the coach!   I think the workout could have been tougher, but the coach was probably just feeling me out and will probably put me in a faster lane later.  I got a good amount of attention and some good direction.  Something the masters swim at my gym really lacked. 

My R&R shipped yesterday.  Crossing my fingers for it to come this weekend! 

Todays is supposed to be my rest day, but I think if I can convince the wife to train with me, I may go to the pool and do another swim/aquajog.  Already had an unplanned rest day this week 

I've searched for a salt water pool near me and can't find one. Sounds great! Hope the new master's program works out for you too! Wish I had convenient hours for one here! Those rock n roll (or whatever they're called) trainers look cool. Let us know how it goes!

I'm faced with some weather tomorrow that won't be great for a long run. Looks like I might have to do a couple long...boring hours on the dreadmill. I'm on for 18 miles tomorrow. I'd be looking forward to that outside, but I'm not sure about inside at the gym...

18 miles on the treadmill?!  Good luck.  Better save those longer ones for outside, do some higher intensity / shorter volume inside. 

Brian, glad to hear the pool was good and better for your sinuses!  I'd be interested to try heading out there one day, shoot me the info.  

Any other plans for the weekend?  Looks like it's going to be another cold one for any real outdoor training!   

Just watched the promo video on the Xterra Guam website. Looks like a fun course! Challenging too. Lots of water in places other than the swim! 

Because of my missed long run yesterday, I did a little longer spin and a little longer swim. Both went well. Really buckling down this week with getting up. That's my downfall.

Also...I'm realizing that I'm pretty inefficient on the bike. I don't get power all around and mostly just pushing down. Anything I can do to improve that? Is it one of those things that is only solved by more time on the bike?

Tony would certainly have some better input for you on power.  It helps if you have a power meter to train with, but even then there is kind of a science to it.  I thought I had it all figured out, but he's shown me how dumb I really am on the subject! lol   If you don't have a powermeter all you could really do is design your riding around HR zones.  I hear a lot of people really like Jorge's Program here and/or trainer road.  But yes, ride lots is probably the answer.

Well I didn't get near enough done this weekend.  I had a dentist appt. and a lot stuff around the house to take care of.  I didn't even get to my basement project.  Only got half my workouts in on Saturday.  I was pretty bummed about that.  Especially because part of it was being turned away to swim at my gym because they rented out the pool for a swim meet.  I hate paying for a membership and getting screwed like that.  I pay for it to be available to me darnit!  Anyway, still got a 2 hour trainer ride in.  Had a good email chat with coach to calm me down a bit and find some direction with where we are going and how I'm getting there.  That really helped!  Then I held my own Super Bowl riding party.  Complete with half time snacks and a strawberry/blueberry protein smoothy afterwards! lol.  Hit 3 hours on the trainer during superbowl.  3x40' @ 80% still isn't going well for me.  I can only do the first 2 and always fail on the 3rd.  But I just spun it out for the rest of the time and did what I could. 

I am pumped about being able to run on the treadmill today!  Sounds dumb, but I've been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis and have been restricted to pool running all of January.  My foot is feeling great, so I can't wait to run for real!  Got my gym back in my office waiting to go after work.  Then another trainer ride when I get home.

Yep Brian said it, having a power meter will only help your training!  Although they are pretty pricey, hopefully that changes... 

As far as pedaling smooth circles, you can do individual leg training while your on the trainer.  Just unclip one clip (I usually rest it on the trainer), then pedal with the other leg concentrating on smooth circles.  You'll feel right away where your week doing these drills.  I usually go 60 seconds, then switch to the other leg and repeat for a total of 5 times each leg, or 10 minutes total.  I also like to change the gears so one set I'll be high RPM, one set really low, etc.  

So that, plus more time on the bike will help! 

The course is amazing and really fun! Lots of dirt and water, for sure.

Finally back on track after a week of off. Yesterday got in 11 miles on the bike with flat tires. Couldn't figure out how to use the bike pump! Not pleasant doing hills with low tire pressure. Husband helped me figure it out last night. I always youtubed "how to shift gears on your road bike" because I've had no clue and been riding in one gear since I got mine, lol! Today I will practice.

This morning I got up before 5 and ran 5 miles. Just getting up at that time is a feat. Biking again at noon, and hopefully a swim tonight. I have a sprint tri this Sunday I need to prepare for.

Have a great evening!

Thanks for the advice on the power meter guys. I've looked at them before and they were a little more than I was willing to pay. I like low-tech training (or maybe I'm just cheap). Tony, that individual leg drill is what I was looking for. Thanks a lot!

I have another general trainer question. Would I be ok with a base model trainer (something with wind/air for resistance) or is it really worth the extra $$$ for a different model? I'm looking at getting a used one to save some money (and hopefully get to do another race). If it really is worth is for a magnetic or fluid trainer, I might look into that, but I thought I'd get your opinions first. Thanks guys!

BTW....5 mile run in the fresh snow this morning and 1400 in the pool. Was supposed to be more, but my shoulders and back were VERY tired from yesterday's workout. Try it again Wednesday.

Happy training!

Name: Sebastian

Experience: I used to race XC mountain biking but have been away from racing for a while because of my isolated military posting.

Goal: 2013 will be my first Tri racing season. I will be racing a sprint tri at the Edmonton triathlon festival.

I am here to get some pointers in my development especialy in swimming. I need to get myself able to swim 750m at a good pace. Right now my training consists of 2 swims, 2 runs, and 2 bikes/spins per week.