Baowolf's Mentor Group - Sorry Closed. (Page 52)

Mike_D - 2013-05-07 12:03 PM I'm with Carol.  Steve captured one of the great aspects of this hobby of ours -- the realization that what you do today is what seemed impossible to you yesterday.  I think we as individuals lose that perspective when you're in the middle of it all, working toward a goal. Incredible to get the view from outside the bubble

I couldn't agree more!  I'd like to add something witty but Mike, Steve, and Carol covered this topic brilliantly!

Today was another good day.  I had a late start because my wife is home....but I did get in my work.  On the topic of improvements.....I used my tempo trainer again today and what almost killed me after 550 yards was much easier at 750 yards today.  I actually reduced my trainer by .01 and it didn't impact me much.  It was a good hard workout but I got my 10x75@10sec done.  My takeaway is that when I get tired, I don't glide as much in the water as I do when I'm fresh....I'm not sure how to improve that except improve my swim fitness.  The rest of the workout was pedestrian; 30 min elliptcal and strength training.

I got my final toy today; the Podium Quest that Steve has!  It is now on my bike and I'm looking forward to using it.  I may have cut my straws too short...but they give replacements.

That's it for now.  I'm off to get my kids off the school bus!

Jay -- try the 'catch up' drill to work on the glide. You swim normally, but don't start your pull until your other hand has completed the entry into the water and reaches your other hand. Its over emphasizes the glide part of your stroke, but also builds the muscle memory for it which is what you want.

One other thing -- relax. Easier said than done, but I've found when I try to relax and swim easy, my stroke gets longer and smoother. And you go faster. Keep repeating "easy is smooth, and smooth is fast" (<-- stolen from someone else on BT, but its 100% on the money).

They are correct Samantha!  You are there!  As Steve said get those long ones in, you're sure to be fatigued but  that's what taper is  for..

I've been a bit busy as of late so I have some posts to catch up.  I did a 3.5 mile run on the treadmill with a 1500 yd swim this morn.  Gonna take some time to get my stroke back but I feel pretty good over all.  

Thanks Mike!  I searched that drill, watched the video, and remember doing that before my TI workshop...never understood it back then!

As far as the relaxing, I'm alot better than I used to be.  However, there's something about being tired and having your face in the water that doesn't lend itself to relaxing

Mitch: Good to see you adding some swimming to your runs!

It comes with time. Once you get more confident, you'll see. Funny how swimming seems to be a contradiction of sorts -- the best way to go fast is to swim easy (or smooth/relaxed).

Ran for a bit this AM (5.11 miles) a bit sore in the hammy region, but nothing too awful. rain coming for the rest of the week, so I'll likely be doing more bike riding indoors this weekend. Someday I'll get to ride on a road....

I tried a new mantra to incorporate your thoughts: Smooth, Easy, Fast, breath.  It worked okay but again it got harder as I got tired.  Some of this is due to swimming w/o pull buoy and being careful with my kick...but I need more work.

I hear you on the bad weather.  I had hoped to ride outside today but rain derailed that.  Perhaps I'll get in a session tonight while the B's are on.

Sending positive vibes you way with that hammy.  Tomorrow is back to reaity; first day back to work...UGH!

Keep at it Jay. the biggest ingredient in all this is time in the pool.

Did an hour on the bike this AM, and almost didn't make it. Alarm went off at 4 AM, and I ended up saying some real nasty things about myself to myself to get my feet on the floor and moving . I think I may have hurt my own feelings.... 

Way to keep at it Jay

Mike D - very funny! 

Steve - great job so far.  that was a big day yesterday

I just did a 5 mile run by the beach.  Feeling pretty good.  Gonna do my long run of 9 tomorrow, then beach boot camp with the running group on Sat...  gonna try to get in the pool again some time and I swear I will get back on my bike soon!

Steve and Mitch: Doing some really good work getting back into training!

Mike: You made me chuckle because I may have to do that to myself tomorrow morning!

So today was the first day back at work and its like I never left...SOS different day.  In this case, that isn't a good thing but its my reality.  I need to adjust my diet back to my work schedule and get my training routine down as well.  I'm hoping to wake up early like Mike and put in some trainer miles but that maybe difficult until I get a few more days of waking up early under my belt.

As far as the group not posting, it doesn't look like they're filling up as fast as the last one.  I'm assuming some of that maybe due to no more New Year's resolution types joining up.  Reminds me of the gym for the first 2 weeks after New Years...then it dies down to the usual suspects.  I also have to be slightly judgemental and say that some of the group target audiences are far from impressive.

That's it for now.  Hopefully, everyone is doing well and will start getting more active again once we have a current group.

Hope Samantha is going alright. 

For the podium quest I high recommend getting a couple camelback big bite valves and put them on the end of the straws.  You will tank me.

I'm trying to do my part - signed up for the old folks group :-)

Hello. I'm just gonna do a quick post because I need to get to sleep early tonight. I'll catch up with post late.

So...I'm doing well. I'm tired, but making choices for how to best deal with that. I've been able to run consistently without pain in my calf. Both calves are very tight still, but I have found the lake temp to be perfect for standing in after I finish running. I really think it is helping.I've done some marathon stick work but it hurts

Took my bike to LBS and they took it right back and fixed the slightly bent rear derailer and didn't charge me a dime. I love their service.

Did a 40 miler the other night and after I had passed some guy I realized he decided to ride my tail and get a break. Wasn't sure how long he would stick with me, and I kept wondering if he would at least say "hi, I'm drafting off you. Hope you don't mind." When he reached the point where he broke off from me he did yell, "thank you". It made me laugh, but I'll tell you what having him behind me pushed me much faster than I set out to ride, so my way back was a bit more challenging.

Steve - I have a billion questions, but for now I need your opinion. I'm riding 100 on Saturday. Would you recommend I hit the hard course with lots of hills or go with the flat and fast? I still have two more longs rides after this one, but I want to be cautious while still preparing for the race. I'll ask more stuff later. Thanks for wondering about how I'm doing!

Night all (Or Good Morning) and happy Friday!

I think I know why Ron has been slow with the new groups -- and its BIG BT news.....the new, updated site goes live next week, according to what I've been reading. I'm a beta tester for it, we are on the final phase of testing, and its very slick looking, very cool, and a great update. So, that may be the delay. I have no doubt he'll get the other groups up, but many balls in the air at the moment for BT management .

I was all fired up to get to the pool this AM, until I woke up, realized I never set my alarm, and was already late for getting going to work. So, I'll do a run tonight, and maybe convince my wife to go swimming with me tomorrow sometime. She swims 4-5x/week but since our schedules don't work out, we never swim together. Would love to try it, as we talk about swim workouts all the time.

Speaking of which, here is an *awesome* new one I found out about right here on BT yesterday. Its called the "broken mile" and its a 1650 yard set which goes like this:

11 lenghts, 10 sec rest

10 lenghts, 10 sec rest

9 lengths, 10 sec rest...

Keep doing this until you get to 1 lenght. When you finish that, subtract 1:40 from the overall time, and voila! You have swum a mile, and have your time for it.

Yes, everyone please jump over to the new group I will be posting there after today.  Again all are welcome from this group or past groups just jump on in. 

Samantha I would be tempted to do the flat route this weekend, the hilly one next weekend and the flat one for your last long ride.  Good news on the calf.