Asphalt Junkies Winter Edition - CLOSED (Page 9)

Take your time learning the proper technical approach to swimming because the payoff comes in spades later on.  Once you've established the muscle memory and things begin to click you'll begin to see times drop likes rocks from the sky.  TI has given a lot of people some tremendous improvement over a short period of time and following their drills will help establish things nicely........Stay with the program and try not to become impatient.

Cycling and spinning aren't so different that you'll see anything but improvement since you're just getting into the sport.  Once you become an addict, as Brenda mentioned, you can grab a trainer and do some testing to get more closely dialed in.  Now, with that said, do you complete your own workouts or are you part of a class?  If you're not part of a class and you are simply spending time on a spin bike some adaptations can take place to get you more focused.

More specifically, both types of workouts are part of a good cycling plan.  Completing these types of workouts will develop both a stronger endurance engine and a more capable, efficient and stronger cyclist.  Having the proper targets can be determined by completing a few test but they are very brutal.  Heart Rate (HR) plans are a method by which training zones can be determined and proper training targets achieved.

Uploading a Garmin work out is very simple.  Plug in your Ant+ stick, then from the top of your page hover over the Training Log link........

Training Log>Add Today's Workout> Upload (Click)>Select your device>List Activities.  Once your there simply select the workouts you wish to upload and click the upload button.  The data loads pretty quickly but it take a minute to actually appear in your log.  Then, as Brenda suggested, we can see your workouts in your training log as long as it's marked public or friends and all of us are selected.

Originally posted by Jo63 Tony take care of yourself and don't overdue! Hydrate and take some extra vitamins I was so excited to post about my run I forgot to post my swimming question lol, so I am working hard on my catch and pull but have discovered my issue is on my breathing stroke, the side I breath on I loose complete form every time, any suggestions? is this possibly a flexibility issue?

I doubt it's a flexibility issue but without seeing you I can't say with certainty.

I would say that you are raising your head during the breathing cycle causing your legs to drop and basically bring you very close to a stop.  This is a common mistake I see nearly every time I go to the pool.  The way to combat this is to try to rotate your head and shoulders to the side you're breathing toward.  Practice seeing water from the lower side of your goggles and the side of the pool in the other goggle.  This takes time to master but you can pick it up with a drill using a kick board found here....Shoulder Breath And some good reading from Swim Smooth

Dirk, JoAnee, Tony, & Matt --- Thanks for your input.

I usually drink water, H24 Prolong, and a few bites of breakfast bars during long runs and it has worked well so far. Gels, Gu's, & Gatorade never agree with my digestive tract so I stay far away from those. I've been eating a little more than usual, including lots of almonds, spinach salads, oranges, water, Greek yogurt, and salmon. My the night before my best long run was a homemade Mexican meal (of all things) without any of the spiciness - turkey burrito, pinto beans, and rice.

I am running the Tallahassee Marathon. It is a very small marathon by marathon standards. I think there only 1,000 slots for the half and full combined. There will be no live tracking.... So, I will likely text the hubby around mile 20 to let him know I am about an hour from finishing if he decides to bring the kiddos to see me finish.

The above diet appears to me you are attempting to lose weight at the same time you're marathon training.  If this is the case it could likely be hurting your performance by your average daily caloric intake.  Training for these long course events, and having a high training volume in general, depletes your body of all sorts of important nutrients throughout the training cycle.  Therefore it become really important to make sure the right types of foods are consumed to replenish and recover to keep on training.  And becomes increasingly important to taper and recover properly the closer you get to the race.

We'll all be rooting for you on Sunday!!  Remember that the day is about successful completion of the race and having fun.  If having fun means suffering to you, then by all means suffer.  But if crossing the finish with a smile on your face and the desire to meet and kiss your girls is your goal, then finish with a smile and enjoy the victory with your family.

Originally posted by Jo63

Originally posted by DirkP

Originally posted by Jo63 Tony take care of yourself and don't overdue! Hydrate and take some extra vitamins I was so excited to post about my run I forgot to post my swimming question lol, so I am working hard on my catch and pull but have discovered my issue is on my breathing stroke, the side I breath on I loose complete form every time, any suggestions? is this possibly a flexibility issue?

I doubt it's a flexibility issue but without seeing you I can't say with certainty.

I would say that you are raising your head during the breathing cycle causing your legs to drop and basically bring you very close to a stop.  This is a common mistake I see nearly every time I go to the pool.  The way to combat this is to try to rotate your head and shoulders to the side you're breathing toward.  Practice seeing water from the lower side of your goggles and the side of the pool in the other goggle.  This takes time to master but you can pick it up with a drill using a kick board found here....Shoulder Breath And some good reading from Swim Smooth

Thanks I do already breath like that, I just cant seem to keep my arm extended, it just immediately drops, I will check out swim smooth and try to video my swim. On a side note, I did my 20 minute test for trainer road last night I probably shouldn't of did it yesterday but I couldn't wait to try it out! I woke up at 3:30 after getting only 5 hrs of sleep then I didn't do the test till 8:30 last night needless to say I had hoped my numbers were higher but it also showed me that for the first five minutes I didn't push as hard as I could have, I have got to get out of my own head thinking I am not going to make it to the end. Anyway FTP was if I remember correctly 147 lactic was 154. I will have to go back in to dbl check but close enough. I really liked using it, it beats riding and trying to keep looking at my watch to make sure Iam where Iam supposed to be! Have a great day everyone!

A video would be very helpful to complete a more accurate assessment.  

How do you extend your arms above your head?  Do you cross over your head or do you extend your arm across the centerline of your body.  Proper form is to extend directly above your shoulder, keeping your hand relatively flat (parallel to the water).  TI teaches that you should allow your arm to enter the water at a slight downward angle to help promote keeping your legs and hips higher in the water behind you.  I think one of the videos points to this but I am not sure right now.

Your FTP test through TR should help you tremendously.  Even if it's off  target slightly there will be some solid work handed to you.  Now that you have an FTP test the next one will show you some targets, which it a huge help when you are looking at your numbers from an older test.  Being able to see where you were during the last test provides the visual reference point to assist in increasing your FTP or staying at the same level.  Just remember that the testing targets are how you performed last time NOT what TR thinks your new FTP will be at the end of the test..........SO GO HARD!!

I vote we let him join the group......we might need his services

Seriously, welcome.  It looks like you are a racing maniac with a nice challenging line up for this year.

A couple comments on other questions that have come up:

I don't remember who asked about pre-race food, but my favorite meal the morning of a race is oatmeal, a banana, and coffee. I also make sure I give
myself plenty of time to digest. Sometimes I might even get up and eat and then try to sleep for awhile longer. For my long runs (50k) I eat a little more in the morning, and then graze on whatever solids sound good at the moment and supplement with gels if I feel like I need more, or even gels with a little caffeine toward the last 5 miles or so. My longest triathlon to this point is the oly distance, so nutrition during the race is more traditional triathlon fare with Heed, H2O, Gels.

Swimming: I only have one thing to add to Dirk's advice about breathing during the swim. No one likes breathing on both sides because one side always feels easier and more natural, but it's really important to learn that skill AND practice it. Breathing to both sides (even during training) will help to prevent any muscle imbalances and it's a very helpful skill in open water swimming when you need to see buoys or other swimmers to site and stay on course.

For me, I'm currently working on trying to gain a little speed on my 5k distance run. Last year I completely focused on long distance running. So, SLOW SLOW SLOW running. I did accomplish my goals and completed 6- 50k trail races, but I think all of my fast twitch muscles shriveled up and died.  Being stuck in the midst of this polar vortex has made it necessary to use the treadmill much more than I would like, so I'm trying to make it as worthwhile as I can.  I've been running for 30 minutes to get good and warmed up and then doing speed intervals.  I'm running for 2 minutes at 7mph (fast for me) and then resting before the next interval.  I'm working to reduce the "rest" period.  I started with 1 minute rests and last night just reduced them to 45 seconds and did seven intervals instead of six.  Hoping it will pay off. 

UHH!  Speak for yourself Jayne!  Everyone can tell you're the gangsta with that bandana in your profile pic.  I'm as pure as the driven snow and many people can attest to that.

Of course those "many people" are unknown and have yet to step forward!

Welcome to the Junkies, Terry, this is a great group.