jsipos group is Closed (Page 6)

jsipos - 2009-03-04 6:41 AM

Hey Mark I haven't seen the video on BT but here's the description of "strides" that I send the athletes I coach:

Short, submaximal sprints of around 15-20 seconds at 5k to 3k pace, with the goal being to run as relaxed as possible, with full recovery (ie, walking rest), at the END of a run. They aren't intervals, don't time them or track their progress or chart them or get competitive with someone else about who does them faster. Do these on a relatively flat surface not on a hill.

TriD64 - 2009-03-04 11:27 AM


Thanks Jeremy. What is a good number of strides to start with, and how many would you suggest working up to for training for Olympic distance?
Mark

ATLrunr - 2009-03-04 10:26 PM

Not to completely hijack this but my pet peeve is when people call them "striders!"

TriD64 - 2009-03-11 11:41 AM

Jeremy
I'm curious to know what training tool(s) (other than goggles, bike & running shoes) you find to be indispensable. It seems there is no end to the gadgets and gizmos available. I'm trying to figure out which are essential.
Thanks, Mark

jsipos - 2009-03-13 12:20 PM



Hey Mark, well I'd say that there are some good "toys" for swimming. Paddles are great but you definitely need to ease into using them. For starting swimmers, doing some work with the pull bouy can also be good. For running and especially biking there are a lot of gimics/gizmos/gadgets etc. Most of that stuff is pretty much worthless. It took me years to realize that you will get faster/more fit if you just put in the HARD work and forget about all the extra stuff.

Here are a couple things that I incorporate into my training.

Swimming, I always use a pace clock or my watch to keep track of how fast I'm swimming. I like to keep track (in my head at least) how fast I'm swimming over time so that I can track improvement or tell if I'm tired etc.

In biking, I personally don't use a powermeter as I've done pretty well on the bike without one and it really probably wouldn't benefit me too much for the cost. But powermenters can be good for some people. For bike workouts, I have different places where I train so that I can get in the best workout. For harder Z4 intervals I have a stretch of relatively flat road that has little traffic. This allows me to really hit the hard intervals without being interrupted by cars, stop signs, etc. I think it's good to think about the type of workout and make sure where you'll be riding will be a good place to do that workout.

For running -- For newer runners I think doing some faster running on the track is great for learning to pace correctly. I don't do much running on the track now but when I did I would break down my times so that I would know what time I should be able to hit every 200m. So If I was doing mile repeats, I'd check my splits every 200 to make sure I was on pace. Eventually you'll get to the point of not having to check your splits. Whenever I got to to the track with someone for the first time, their first repeat on the track is always the fastest by far. It just takes some time to get an idea of what different paces feel like.

If you don't have a track or don't like to run on it you can also do this same thing at your favorite park etc. I have a great park that I do almost all of my Hard run intervals. This park has a 1mile and a 1.3mile dirt trail marked off in 1/10mile increments. I think it's much easier to push yourself to run hard in training if run the same route over and over since you'll know how long it should take to get to certain points of your route and you can easily track improvement over time. I can tell you that there's probably no bigger motivator for your training than seeing improvements.

Let me know if this makes sense. Also, If you are considering any other specific tools let me know.

TriD64 - 2009-03-15 10:38 AM

Jeremy
Thanks for your response. I have a question about paddles. What are they supposed to help with, strengthening your 'pull' muscles? I do use a pull buoy about every other swim.

I also use the same couple run routes to better judge my improvements. The downside for me is that I live a rural part of the country so the 'mapping' programs don't have satellite images close enough for me to map the trails that are in the area and they aren't on the street map view either. There are some hill routes I'd like to use, but short of measuring them with my bike and marking them off, I don't know the distances. For these reasons I am considering a Garmin 305. Any thoughts about this piece of equipment?

I think I will do something similar with swimming, in that I will pick 4-6 plans that I like and just use those to measure against.
Thanks again, Mark

TriD64 - 2009-03-19 10:09 PM

Jeremy
Thanks for your ongoing follow-up and feedback. I am glad to hear that you think adding a day of running, even if it is a shorter run day, would be of benefit. I have been considering adding another day of running, but wasn't sure if there would be much benefit if it had to be another shorter run day. Until recently my knees could only tolerate 2 days of running. Lately (past 3-4 mos) they seem to be recovered w/in a day after my short run, so I could do something like T & Th shorter runs, and Sat a long run. How would you suggest I structure the 2 shorter days for maximum benefit?
Mark

ATLrunr - 2009-04-07 5:42 PM

sooo how did no go

TriD64 - 2009-04-09 9:58 PM

Hey Jeremy
A while back you offered to provide an alternative method for determining LT and target HR training zones. I'm wondering if you would be willing to provide that now. It looks like I should be able to run outside most of the time now. I wanted to wait to try this until I could use it outside.
Thanks, Mark

jsipos - 2009-04-13 1:30 PM



Hey Mark, send me your email address and I'll forward the instructions for the tests.

TriD64 - 2009-04-16 10:49 AM



Thanks Jeremy. Please send it to [email protected]
Mark

ATLrunr - 2009-04-22 7:29 PM

Hey! Im glad to see you guys are still around... it seemed like everyone stopped posting! This weekend is my first ever sprint- John Tanner

I have a sleeveless wetsuit I am planning to wear... do you think it will be worth it since the swim is so short? My thoughts are it helps me at least Feel like Im swimming faster and it doesn't take but a few secs to take off, plus I think I might get nervous with crowd swimming thing

I have a question about pacing on the bike.... what is it supposed to feel like from an RPE perspective? I don't want t screw up my run... Today I basically did my first ever brick and I am planning to take it easy for the next couple of days... long slow swim tomm and friday off.

I didn't push it hard on the brick... I prob did about "80 percent" of what I think I would be doing in the race. So I am just wondering how much harder I will be able go on race day. Maybe 1-2 mph faster on the bike and 30 sec mile faster on the run?

You can probably tell Im a little nervous!!

ATLrunr - 2009-04-27 10:28 AM

So thanks so much for the advice. I had an awesome time at my first tri... there is a race report under my log .. not sure how to link it.

I made a lot of mistakes during the swim and transitions but those will be easy fixes for next time! I took your advice about not holding back too much on the bike, and in retrospect, I prob could have pushed it a little more since I ran fine. Also, I was happy to see that not having practices a lot of bricks wasn't limiting, and I do think it was better that way.

Overall, I can't wait to get faster with more training, and can't wait to have another race. So much fun!

ATLrunr - 2009-04-30 10:03 AM

Hey!  Looks like both of you did awesome at St. Anthony's!! Didn't have to swim either!

I am still doing Gulf Coast... it is really way too soon for me to do a half, so Im counting on it being slow! It will be fun though....

Okay I have a question... how many cals do you think I need to get through GC.