More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed (Page 92)

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Hot Runner

2017-07-06 8:20 PM

in reply to: DaveL

Master

8247

Eugene, Oregon

Bronze member

Subject: RE: More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed

Sometimes I just swim for a period of time (when left to my own devices) with the goal of acclimatizing to cold water, a new wetsuit, race conditions, etc. or just enjoying a swim at a new venue on vacation. At others (when given a workout by my coach) I might do some "sets" like one minute faster, one minute easy. I just guess by figuring out my strokes per minute )which varies a bit depending on pool, fresh water, or salt water, wetsuit or not) and counting, or by swimming at different effort levels between various buoys in the lake. (I know roughly how far apart they are.)

As for pool swimming, it depends. I almost always do a structured workout; prior to getting a coach I often used those from Sara McLarty's website. I also have a few favorites from BT and other sites, magazine articles, books, etc. that I do when I don't have anything specific I need to do. With my coach's program, most of my repeats are 100's and 200's, but I do some shorter, faster stuff periodically (25m-75m repeats), sometimes as part of the warmup and sometimes as main set. It's also pretty common for a workout to mix some longer, less intense stuff (400-800m), often pulling with paddles, with shorter, faster repeats (50-200m).

Once in a while I will do a longer continuous swim of 1000-2000m, usually a kind of "fartlek" workout where every 3rd or 4th 25 or 50m is harder than the rest. The latter can be an effective way to get in a good workout if one's pool time is really limited. But I would not recommend this to someone without solid form and good endurance. My swim profile is probably a bit different than many triathletes--swimming since childhood, about eight years of competitive youth swimming. I've never been super-fast and always been a much stronger distance swimmer than sprinter. My form is a lot better when I do long swims at moderate effort than when I try to "sprint". I think the latter just doesn't come naturally and, because I was moved up to the distances at a young age (swimming against older kids, because I could score more points that way than in sprints with my own AG, where the team's talent was deeper), maybe I never developed proper technique for it. As I recall in HS there really wasn't a huge difference between my best 100m and my pace per 100m for my best 500m!

Guessing that for most adult-onset swimmers, shorter repeats (50's, 100's) with good form would be best; maybe occasionally swimming the race distance continuously as the race approaches, mainly for confidence and pacing purposes.

My Training Log My Race Log

Blanda

2017-07-06 8:22 PM

in reply to: 0

Master

2177

Subject: RE: More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed

Originally posted by marysia83

Sorry for coming back to this once more.... But I need moral support...

So this Saturday will be my first trail run. I did some reading on couple of runners' forums and most people said it's crazy difficult. So I basically am jumping straight into a very deep waters.
My co-worker, marathon runner, told me as long as I feel ready for a regular HM distance, I should be fine, just take it slow and careful. I am also repeating Ben's earlier advice. Watch for roots, watch for rocks/stones, take it easy going downhill....

Attached is the elevation that scares the sh$%^& out of me, but my approach is to just take it slow and not think about the pace/speed. Anything else anyone wants to add...?
I will have regular running shoes, nothing trail-specific.

Love trail running! I got my triathlon start with Xterra races, which are off-road races. My favorite kind.

Running trails, especially on our sketchy courses, I try not to lock out my knees, and my strides are shorter to pick my way carefully through rocks, roots and such. We also have slick mud, so shorter strides help me keep my center of gravity lower than normal to catch myself if I lose my balance.

A hasher/frequent trail runner friend told me once that if my running up a hill isn't that much faster than if I were to walk, then walk it with a purpose. Conserves energy, and that way your pace doesn't drastically reduce after you clear it trying to recover from running up.

Going down hill I do more of a side shuffle down, especially if it's steep and gravely, or muddy. If you end up going down, you have your weight on your back leg and will likely be able to catch your fall with your one hand that's behind you. Trail shoes with some good traction will help you stay on your feet.

And, have a lot of fun!!!

Loving the feedback on the swimming. When I'm on it with the training, I normally do two short swims during the week that include drills that come whatever plan I'm following, then one longish open water swim during the weekend.

TGIF, folks! I've got a bike "race" Sunday.

Edited by Blanda 2017-07-06 8:23 PM

More Manatee Mayhem - 2017 Edition - Closed (Page 92)

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