Ran a 10k in June (3 Viewers)

[gruecd]

Hey, guys. Just got back from the Bellin. Did 40:43, a new PR by a whopping 4 seconds over last weekend. Not bad, I guess, for having less than a week to recover. Was on pace to go sub-40 through the 5K (19:51 split), but it got super hot in the second half of the race. Anyway, I'll definitely take it.

Caught up with Keggers and the GF after the race. I'll let him give his own race report, but he posted a very respectable 48:44. Nice job, Keggers!

The winner, Kenyan John Yuda, ran 28:05. That's 4:32 pace. Sick.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Keggers, gruecd, 2Young, and anyone else who's racing this weekend - go get it!

I'll be getting up early tomorrow to get in my first 20 miler as part of this marathon training cycle. Planning on keeping it mostly flat, as with a 25K trail race next weekend don't want to trash my legs anymore than necessary. With all of the beautiful trails around here, what we're missing is a nice, flat, running trail (like Pre's Trail in Eugene). So I'll end up spending more time on pavement that I'd like tomorrow, but it's either that or hills.

Hey, catching up some more saw you signed on the virtual dotted line for your 1st marathon. You've trained way right so far and are setting up for a great run. COOL!

 

[2Young2BBald]

Hey, guys. Just got back from the Bellin. Did 40:43, a new PR by a whopping 4 seconds over last weekend. Not bad, I guess, for having less than a week to recover. Was on pace to go sub-40 through the 5K (19:51 split), but it got super hot in the second half of the race. Anyway, I'll definitely take it.Caught up with Keggers and the GF after the race. I'll let him give his own race report, but he posted a very respectable 48:44. Nice job, Keggers! The winner, Kenyan John Yuda, ran 28:05. That's 4:32 pace. Sick.

Dang, PRs in back to back and still coming off a bit of an injury in the not to distant past. Sick Nice work, & you too Keggers. Good luck tomorrow BNB. Coed + swimming should hopefully = with 750 racers for mine tomorrow I am hoping they have Brightroom or someone else on site for too! eta: Don't know why, but both my calves are crampy. I am going to give PSL's Rolaid the nigt before tactic a test tonight. Figure it can't hurt (I know, don't try anything new on race day, but if I take them tonight it is not technically race day, right?)

 

[mr. furley]

Hey, guys. Just got back from the Bellin. Did 40:43, a new PR by a whopping 4 seconds over last weekend. Not bad, I guess, for having less than a week to recover. Was on pace to go sub-40 through the 5K (19:51 split), but it got super hot in the second half of the race. Anyway, I'll definitely take it.Caught up with Keggers and the GF after the race. I'll let him give his own race report, but he posted a very respectable 48:44. Nice job, Keggers! The winner, Kenyan John Yuda, ran 28:05. That's 4:32 pace. Sick.

almost finished up the walk minus a wife today

 

[wraith5]

Set out in a light drizzle this morning to do 13 miles at 9:15's pace. Stuck to it for the first 5, felt very strong so kicked the pace to 8:50's. At about 10 I decided to tack on an extra mile and push hard. Ended up doing 14.2, which is the furthest I've gone in 2 years. My last 1.2 miles was 8:40s, another good sign since I tend to struggle with the finish on longer runs.

The best thing about the run was that my heart-rate stayed mostly under 170 until mile 11, and barely crossed 180 until the last 1/2 mile.

Gotta love running in near-perfect conditions!!

I hope everyone's weekend runs/races were as or more successful!

 

[tri-man 47]

Great job again, gruecd!!!!! Looking forward to the other reports.

Wraith, awesome run!!

--

I did a hard brick yesterday - 45 minutes biking and a 6 mile run. Excellent pre-race training for next week. Pushed the middle of the biking to a firm 20 mph pace. Did a quick 1:15 transition. Took off comfortable (8:30/mi) for the first portion of the run, then pushed it back in (7:50/mi). Feeling confident that if I trust my stride at the start of my run, I can have some energy left for the end.

 

[BassNBrew]

CHAMPIONSHIP!

Race report tomorrow.

 

[gruecd]

CHAMPIONSHIP!Race report tomorrow.

:(

almost finished up the walk minus a wife today

2Young - Looking forward to your race report, too! Hope today went well.Wraith and tri-man - Nice workouts, guys! I did 12 miles today in 1:36:03 (8:00 pace). It was warm and humid, so I was VERY happy with how it felt, especially considering how I just raced a 10K yesterday morning. Averaged 8:07 for the first seven miles and 7:51 for the last five miles. Perfect.

 

[yeltneb]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

 

[gruecd]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

 

[2Young2BBald]

2Young - Looking forward to your race report, too! Hope today went well.

I am going to have to give the Cliff's Notes version until tomorrow too. Been drinking a bit since and want to be sure to add all the high lights. Had a great race, but it was tough. I have 3 bruises from the swim. One on my left jaw (that I swear I saw stars) one on my arm and one on my thigh. I got thrasehed for about 300 of the 500 meters and the current was a crusher. Killed on the transitions as I scrapped the socks and had NO cramping issues due to, I think, the PSL Rolaids the night before. Averaged 19.9 on the bike and 7:42 MM on the run and ended up 82nd out of 417 men. More important (I guess), I beat my brother-in-law, my buddy that beat me by three minutes the last time we went head to head (by 7 minutes ) and all 7 people from work and a few more friends. Only friend that beat me has been doing this for 20 years and only got me by 2 minutes or so. First to greet me at the finish was my daughter. I am a lucky dude to have great course support (and great racing friends too). I love this stuff and will share more tomorrow.

 

[yeltneb]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

It's really a welcome back. Look at my name in the mirror.

 

[meeka]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

I don't think he is new here. :readnameinmirror:

 

[gruecd]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

I don't think he is new here. :readnameinmirror:

That's stupid.Sincerely,dceurg

 

[yeltneb]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

I don't think he is new here. :readnameinmirror:

That's stupid.Sincerely,dceurg

Here's a little hint. Don't call someone "jerko" in a thread that Joe Bryant is reading or you may be forced to use an alternate name for a little while.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

My FIL is giving us his old Honda (an Accord, not a repeat thread), so I was in Red Wing MN this morning to help get it home. In the meantime, I did a tough 4 miles. The first 2.5 were a fairly ordinary up-tempo 8:00 or so. But I was intrigued by a gigantic hill that we had to drive up to reach my FIL's subdivision. I live in a very flat area, so of course I think to myself "When will I ever get a chance to run a hill like this again? I'd be stupid NOT to run this hill." So I run down the damn thing, which actually slowed me down because it was way too steep to maintain a normal gait, and then I run about a quarter mile beyond just to get some momentum going. Then I turn around and head back up. About a third of the way up, I check my garmin and I see I'm doing 8:30. Awesome; I'm killing this thing. By the time I reach the top, I'm gasping for air and doing 10:30. After reviewing my data, this hill ended up being a half-mile beast that peaked at a 22% grade. I know lots of you are probably used to hill-running, but this thing just about killed me.

Edit: I still finished my four miles at an average pace of ~8:20, so this was definitely a "high quality" run for me. I just need to use the incline feature on the treadmills at the gym if I'm going to do something like this for real sometime.

 

[gruecd]

4 miles on the treadmill today in my first physical activity since the baby was born. Hoping to get in 15 on the bike tomorrow.

I don't think he is new here. :readnameinmirror:

That's stupid.Sincerely,dceurg

Here's a little hint. Don't call someone "jerko" in a thread that Joe Bryant is reading or you may be forced to use an alternate name for a little while.

 

[2Young2BBald]

2Young - Looking forward to your race report, too! Hope today went well.

I am going to have to give the Cliff's Notes version until tomorrow too. Been drinking a bit since and want to be sure to add all the high lights. Had a great race, but it was tough. I have 3 bruises from the swim. One on my left jaw (that I swear I saw stars) one on my arm and one on my thigh. I got thrasehed for about 300 of the 500 meters and the current was a crusher. Killed on the transitions as I scrapped the socks and had NO cramping issues due to, I think, the PSL Rolaids the night before. Averaged 19.9 on the bike and 7:42 MM on the run and ended up 82nd out of 417 men. More important (I guess), I beat my brother-in-law, my buddy that beat me by three minutes the last time we went head to head (by 7 minutes ) and all 7 people from work and a few more friends. Only friend that beat me has been doing this for 20 years and only got me by 2 minutes or so. First to greet me at the finish was my daughter. I am a lucky dude to have great course support (and great racing friends too). I love this stuff and will share more tomorrow.

Just a few more sober things to add. First, age group results are up & I ended up 6th out of 40 in my age group (must have been 82nd out of all racers, not just men), which I am VERY happy with as this was a "Best of Midwest" event and drew a huge and talented field. I can't imagine a tougher swim. Unless you busted it out at the start, it was the washing machine all the way. Early on, I got stuck behind a huge dude that I couldn't get around. About 3 minutes in, he panicked, started thrashing and gathered up me and about 6 other guys around us. The current plated huge havoc and took lots of swimmers off course (they said it was one 1 or 2 MPH, but it sure seemed stronger). My strategy of hugging the inside cost me as I had to swim against the current to catch the 2nd bouy. To get there, I had to swim under water (and racers) to get around & got run over by about 5 guys that took a better line. Based on all the advice after the race two weeks ago, going sockless was key & I had no issues (and owe PSL beers for the Rolaid advice). I held my own on the bike, getting passed by a few of my age groupers. When I got on the run, I had no idea where I stood in relation to all the folks I was there with. My plan was to look for guys in my age group and pick them off. I overtook 8 to 10 of them of them over most of the course. Turning for home, there was a finish chute of about 150 yards. With a finish sprint, I took down 3 more guys in my group. Its good to be a runner in these events!!! Next up in two weeks is another tri with longer lengths in every segment.

 

[gruecd]

Sounds like you had a hell of a race, 2Young. Nice job! Looking forward to watching all your fellow tri-geeks when I'm at High Cliff this coming weekend for the relay!

 

[tri-man 47]

IK, way to attack the hill! I love that mentality of taking on the challenge that presents itself.

2Young ...man, you've quickly become one fine triathlete!!! What a tough, tough swim.

 

[SFBayDuck]

Great race and training reports, congrats everyone!

I got in my 20 miler yesterday morning. Up at 5:00, running by 6:00. Decided to really focus on this as a training run for the SF Marathon, so off the trails and onto the pavement I went. Started just north of Sausalito, ran through town and then up the hill onto the Golden Gate Bridge. Practically had the thing to myself at 6:45 on a Sunday morning, and it was a perfect day - wind and fog stayed away, really rare for this time of year. Came down off the bridge towards the Bay and Crissy Field, and all the streets were blocked off by cops. Asked what was going on - Escape From Alcatraz tri. Realized I'd have to get back up on the bridge before I could get caught up in that, so ran down along the Bay to the point where they would be coming out of the water, a few minutes before they'd be going in, and turned around and hustled my way back up to the Golden Gate. Nice to hit the biggest hill I'll be facing during the marathon, a little further into the run than I will be that day even, and knocked it down relatively easily as I climbed up onto the bridge. Then ran back through Sausalito, up into Mill Valley, and my 20 mile finish. Started to hurt quite a bit about 16.5, and switched from ESPN podcasts to some music, and that really helped me through the end. I don't like racing with an iPod, and don't use it on trails, but that convinced me that for my first 26.2 it's probably a good idea to have it.

Ran a 10:09 pace, really excited about that as my trail runs are such a slower pace, somewhere north of 11:30 pace on the longer ones, so good to see I can move along a little quicker when there aren't roots, rocks, switchbacks, and monster climbs involved.

Came home and iced the knees a few times yesterday, but felt pretty good then and this morning, much better than I did when I did my last 21 miler leading into the cancelled marathon 2 months or so ago - I couldn't barely walk for 36 hours or so after that run.

Going to scale it down a bit this week. I've run 53 miles in the past 8 days, and over 70 this month already, a lot for me. With the 25K race coming up Saturday, planning on one easy run early this week (today?) for recovery, my normal 5 mile trail run mid-week, and maybe a short, really easy run on Thursday.

 

[tri-man 47]

A young friend of mine had gotten a lottery slot in the Escape from Alcatraz. He's a pastor and shortly after getting his slot, he accepted a call to be the lead pastor at a small church back home in Wyoming. The family recently welcomed child #2 also. Needless to say, getting adequate training with the wrap-up at our church, moving, starting a new ministry - all while raising a very young family - left little training time. I just checked, and he finished in 4:13 (winners were sub 2:30), but hey, he did finish and beat all of five guys in his age group. Tough. Course.

---

So for the anal racers here (read Young:2) - I checked the registrants for my race on Sunday and find just six others in my age group (it's a very small race). With Athlink, I was able to scope the competition:

1 - no data. Must be new to this? Beatable.

2 - He's around my 1/2-marathon time; much slower for the marathon. In a sprint tri last year, I project I'd have beaten him easily ...he biked much slower than my pace, and that's in a sprint. Beatable at this longer distance.

3 - In a recent sprint tri, both his bike and run pacing were slower than my distance pacing. Beatable.

4 - Faster in a recent sprint tri; a little bit slower than my pacing in an Olympic tri last year with a slower run pace. Beatable if I hold strong in the run.

5 - A recent sprint tri pace seems about where I'd be at. Bike pace for the sprint is about where I've paced in my other 1/2-Ironman races. Beatable if I hold strong in the bike.

6 - A strong recent sprint tri with solid pacing throughout. Can he extend that to the 1/2? Possibly beatable if I stay strong throughout.

 

[2Young2BBald]

So for the anal racers here (read Young:2) - I checked the registrants for my race on Sunday and find just six others in my age group (it's a very small race). With Athlink, I was able to scope the competition:

1 - no data. Must be new to this? Beatable.

2 - He's around my 1/2-marathon time; much slower for the marathon. In a sprint tri last year, I project I'd have beaten him easily ...he biked much slower than my pace, and that's in a sprint. Beatable at this longer distance.

3 - In a recent sprint tri, both his bike and run pacing were slower than my distance pacing. Beatable.

4 - Faster in a recent sprint tri; a little bit slower than my pacing in an Olympic tri last year with a slower run pace. Beatable if I hold strong in the run.

5 - A recent sprint tri pace seems about where I'd be at. Bike pace for the sprint is about where I've paced in my other 1/2-Ironman races. Beatable if I hold strong in the bike.

6 - A strong recent sprint tri with solid pacing throughout. Can he extend that to the 1/2? Possibly beatable if I stay strong throughout.

Looks like I taught the Old Dawg some new research tricks. SWEET. A 70.3 is a loooooooooooong way off for me, if ever and I admire what you are about to do a ton. I can't imagine any of those dudes have put in as dedicated a training plan and program as you and it'll show BIG on race day. I know you don't need advice, but I'll share some anyways. Not on purpose, but more so how my brain works, I visualized the transitions over and over again the week before the race. Doing the three things is "easy" as you are reacting to conditions on the course, but it takes a real plan for the transitions in my opinion. Yesterday's race was weird as they had 2 different transition areas. I executed both exactly how I'd run through it in my head. You're just not with it enough to have to think about shoes first, then glasses, helmet, etc. Its better to train yourself, though visioning to just make it happen. I'll be cheering for you big time next weekend.

 

[gruecd]

So for the anal racers here (read Young:2) - I checked the registrants for my race on Sunday and find just six others in my age group (it's a very small race). With Athlink, I was able to scope the competition....

Wow, and I thought I was anal. You tri-geeks take the cake!

 

[Keggers]

Hey, guys. Just got back from the Bellin. Did 40:43, a new PR by a whopping 4 seconds over last weekend. Not bad, I guess, for having less than a week to recover. Was on pace to go sub-40 through the 5K (19:51 split), but it got super hot in the second half of the race. Anyway, I'll definitely take it.

Caught up with Keggers and the GF after the race. I'll let him give his own race report, but he posted a very respectable 48:44. Nice job, Keggers!

The winner, Kenyan John Yuda, ran 28:05. That's 4:32 pace. Sick.

Sounds like there were a lot of good races and training this weekend! Nice job Gruecd!My report: Did the Bellin 10K as Greucd mentioned. I started at the back of the first wave...this ended up being perfect for my level as I never felt crowded and only had to push down a few kids. Why do they sign up and enter a time that they KNOW they can't do? Anyway, I was planning on doing the first two miles at a 7:30 pace, then easing up a bit and do the next miles at 8:00 pace, then speeding up for the final 2.2 miles. Well, I didn't exactly stick to my plan. I never slowed up for the middle two miles. I maintained an early pace that was too fast for me and this affected my performance at the end. I posted 48:44 but was hoping to get closer to 46:00. Lesson learned. Oh well, this was still a new PR!

 

[gruecd]

A 70.3 is a loooooooooooong way off for me, if ever and I admire what you are about to do a ton.

Not sure if I'll ever get the tri-bug, but I'll admit to being a little intrigued by the idea of calling myself an Ironman. If you know how my mind works, you also know what this probably means for the future...For the time being, I'll be content watching the swimmers and cyclists while I get ready for my 13.1 mile run at the relay on Saturday. I'd like to finish under 1:35, but it's going to be hot, and I won't be tapering, so we'll just see how it goes. I'll start running 7:15s and go from there. Just realized that I'll be doing an unscheduled marathon-pace training run. Better really focus on doing my "easy" runs easy this week.FYI, decided that I'm going to start swim lessons again tonight. I've got time, and while my front crawl is OK, I can't tread water. Already told the instructor that this is my sole objective for the 9-week class.

 

[tri-man 47]

So for the anal racers here (read Young:2) - I checked the registrants for my race on Sunday and find just six others in my age group (it's a very small race). With Athlink, I was able to scope the competition....

Wow, and I thought I was anal. You tri-geeks take the cake!

I know, I know. But it's only six other guys! I gots ta know.On another note: Stopped for some lace locks, and ended up just buying a couple of the little slide-on clips (like at the top of a sleeping bag case to pull the cord tight). $2 In looking for old laces at home, I realized I had some of those clips and cut-off laces on a really old pair of shoes. Anyway, they work fine and save time.--Keggers, congrats on the PR! Live and learn on the pacing.Gruecd, you'll have a blast with your tri-relay team. You should get a shirt printed that says on the back: "Sorry! I'm a relay runner with fresh legs." I bet it'll feel awkward to be just blowing by everybody else. Hopefully you'll have another relay runner near you to race against. And nice running, SFDuck! Getting close to your big races.

 

[pigskinliquors]

I've gotten my first look at a forecast for next weekend and my big race ...temps hitting the mid/high 80's. Nothing like four hours of warm-up before starting a half-marathon at 80 degrees.

Bellin Boys - hope y'all rock this weekend!!!

I'm back and a bit swamped at work = little time to catch up on the 3 pages I missed while I was gone. Congrat's to all who ran/biked/swam over the past two weeks. For those who raced; awesome efforts!! Seeing the post above from TriMan reminded that I brought two things back from Mallorca.This is for Tri-Man

This is for Gruecd

 

[Sand]

My Garmin 305 is my best friend. Have had it for 18 months or so, love it still. Pace, distance, heart rate, lap pace, whatever you might want as feedback while you're running. Then come back and plug it into your computer and have a history of everything you've done.

I know there is a next generation, the 405 which has a touch screen, synchs via bluetooth, and some other features. But you're also paying for next generation, and the 305 works great. (does anyone here have a 405, btw?).

I have the Garmin Forerunner 305 and love it. has GPS and HR monitor.

Historically Garmin = better GPS and Polar = better HR monitor. I find the HR monitor for the Garmin more than sufficient. I actually find it more comfortable and it stays in place better than the Polar. Polar has wireless capabilities and I don't think my Garmin does. I did hear that at the end of this year Polar is supposed to be coming out with a GPS version...not sure though.

Lehigh - I'd suggest getting one of these. I've got the 205, but it doesn't have a HRM. The equivalent model with HRM is the 305. You can get the 205 on Walmart's website for $150 and the 305 for $210.

Sounds unamimous. The 305 can be had on Amazon right now for $170.The 405's have mixed reviews and the 310 coming out in July looks good but all of those are over $300.

So looks likr the 305 may be the right choice if I was to buy right now...

Quick questions though:

- Since it uses the GPS to track distance and pace, how can you record a treadmill workout?

- The thing looks kind of big and clunky, any issue with the size and or weight of it?

- How do you personally use the data that you upload and store on your PC?

Thanks again!

I'm also on the 305 bandwagon. Great option for you. You can enter any workout manually, or if you want you can buy a foot pod that will track your "distance" on the treadmill. I think they run around $100 or so.

No problem whatsoever with the size of the Garmin. You won't even think about it - it's actually lighter than my normal watches I wear.

I upload all of my workouts, but where I fall down is doing much with the data. I think there are a couple of software packages you can use to manipulate the information and make it more "useable," but I haven't done that. I know you can create workouts and courses, but I haven't done that, either. Been thinking about taking everything and copying it over to an old Excel format I used to use, where I could see my running mileage total and compare similar runs pretty easily. If someone is really getting all of this out of the Training Center (or add-on software) I'd really like to hear about it.

I have an Edge 305 (I carry it on runs). As far as software goes, the Training Center Software is pretty much crap.I use two software packages to look at things: Sportracks and TopoFusion

Sporttracks is good to keep track of workouts. It does have mapping capability, but limited in that area. The interface is a bit clunky, but once used to it it does work ok. Graphing capability needs to be better. As a log it is pretty decent.

Topofusion is great for looking at courses. The demo version is more than good enough for most folks (never expires). It is great for looking at your data. Elevation, speed, grade, HR, etc. It can easily break up your data into chunks that you define so you can look at your race mile by mile, if you want. GPS and mapping capability is superb.

The only thing Training Center does that these other two don't is being able to directly compare two data sets.

On a side note I had a weekend in New Orleans. Got two runs in. I was looking forward to running here as it is, by definition, flat. The only rise on the course I ran was a four step grade to get on a bridge over a canal. I wanted to get a good flat run in to see where I am - I simply don't have a flat course at home. The first run (had to drop on the second run early) ended up at 3.25 miles at 8:01 per mile (doh - so close). I ran 7:40 for the first two laps and then really tailed off the last lap. It might be flat, but even at 5 when I ran it was 90 degrees with 80+% humidity and it got to me on the last lap. You guys can say to HTFU, but NO summer climate is just oppressive (despite the fact that I grew up there - you never really do get used to it).

So progress is being made. The engine is there, just gotta get her back up to snuff.

 

[gruecd]

This is for Gruecd

Simply awesome.

 

[yeltneb]

Aaahhhhh, dull pain the leg muscles. I've missed it. Getting pretty excited about this evening's bike ride.

 

[pigskinliquors]

This is for Gruecd

Simply awesome.

She was happy to hear that you were single. She serves 2-4-1 taps at the Pirate Bar in Magaluf, Mallorca. I sense a road/plane/boat trip in October!

 

[tri-man 47]

This is for Tri-Man

 

[gruecd]

She was happy to hear that you were single.

Not technically. Is she a stickler for details?

 

[pigskinliquors]

She was happy to hear that you were single.

Not technically. Is she a stickler for details?

I'm guessing not. What I got from our conversation was that she was a Brit; spending some time on an Island, looking for a "good time". She didn't seem to be detail oriented, though she was brilliant at serving a pint.

 

[wraith5]

FYI, decided that I'm going to start swim lessons again tonight. I've got time, and while my front crawl is OK, I can't tread water. Already told the instructor that this is my sole objective for the 9-week class.

Funny timing that you posted this today: So yesterday it seemed that summer FINALLY arrived in Chicago, so we took the kids to the community pool. Most of the time was spent in the shallows by the kiddie slide, but I noticed on the far end there were two lap lanes. So seeing as how I "hang" with a bunch of Tri-studs, I'm like, "Honey, I'm gonna go do some laps." She looks at me, looks at her watch, and asks how long I expect I'll be ditching her & the kids for this newest, latest form of excercise (otherwise known as "me time.") I holler something to the effect of "not sure" over my shoulder and jump into the pool. Less than 5 minutes later I was back to take a hit off my asthma inhaler. I seriously thought I might have a heart attack. I did get back into the pool and just took brief rests between laps (added bonus: it helped fight off the nausea). I'm not sure how many I did because the head-spinning made it really difficult to count. Since that pool is only about 2 miles from my office, I can see some lunch-time sessions in my near future.

 

[tri-man 47]

Funny stuff, Wraith! Maybe you swim enough to someday be a tri-guy; maybe not. But just getting comfortable in the pool to add some workouts can really round out your overall training routines and, therefore, good health. The aerobic necessity of swimming; the full body effort without any pounding, the swimming version of the runner's high ...

:swimming fan:

Swimming PS: Watched Lonesome Dove this weekend ...nervously laughed and cringed at the early scene where a guy gets overwhelmed by water moccasins in a Texas river. Thoughts of liquors in the local pool, and his consideration of the local lake. :shiver:

 

[2Young2BBald]

Hey Wraith, 2 quick things. First, I didn't start swimming until late June of last year. I could barely do a down a back for 50 total yards without being gassed. Second, my daughter is growing out of childhood asthma, but still has issue and uses a pocket inhaler now and then. She has really taken to swimming and is gunning for kids tri in a month & a half. We have done dry land drills to work on breathing and her swimming is soaring. She had huge breathing issue at first, but with the right technique, its not much of an issue at all now. I learned by watching YouTube videos and other swimmers who I thought looked like they knew what they were doing. Give it a few more tries.

Gruecd, very cool you are giving it a whirl. I think it'll be a very nice addition to your routine. You'll see and feel the energy around the tri you'll be at, to me it blows running races away.

 

[wraith5]

Hey Wraith, 2 quick things. First, I didn't start swimming until late June of last year. I could barely do a down a back for 50 total yards without being gassed. Second, my daughter is growing out of childhood asthma, but still has issue and uses a pocket inhaler now and then... I learned by watching YouTube videos and other swimmers who I thought looked like they knew what they were doing. Give it a few more tries.

1) very cool that you progressed so quickly. When I ran my first marathon, I'd never done more than 8 miles in my life, and I only trained for about 10 weeks, so I know things can change with a little focus. I did not enjoy the level of success you've achieved though. At least not yet. 2) I have to use my inhaler before any/all excercise, and I finally broke down this year and went on Advair full-time. I kept waiting to grow out of my childhood asthma and it never quite happened. I wish your daughter more success than I had (although if she doesn't, she doesn't. Asthma is a very manageable disease nowadays). 3) Don't worry - I will literally be back in that pool at least once this week. I didn't like that feeling at all - I wrote my update intending to be somewhat funny, but it's basically 100% accurate. Coming off a great 14 mile run I was really shocked. Any Youtube training videos you suggest? I saw a couple on there after I read your post but I'm sure there are dozens.

 

[Sand]

FYI, decided that I'm going to start swim lessons again tonight. I've got time, and while my front crawl is OK, I can't tread water. Already told the instructor that this is my sole objective for the 9-week class.

Funny timing that you posted this today: So yesterday it seemed that summer FINALLY arrived in Chicago, so we took the kids to the community pool. Most of the time was spent in the shallows by the kiddie slide, but I noticed on the far end there were two lap lanes. So seeing as how I "hang" with a bunch of Tri-studs, I'm like, "Honey, I'm gonna go do some laps." She looks at me, looks at her watch, and asks how long I expect I'll be ditching her & the kids for this newest, latest form of excercise (otherwise known as "me time.") I holler something to the effect of "not sure" over my shoulder and jump into the pool. Less than 5 minutes later I was back to take a hit off my asthma inhaler. I seriously thought I might have a heart attack. I did get back into the pool and just took brief rests between laps (added bonus: it helped fight off the nausea). I'm not sure how many I did because the head-spinning made it really difficult to count. Since that pool is only about 2 miles from my office, I can see some lunch-time sessions in my near future.

It gets better quick. Not sure how much swimming you have done and how your technique is, but you are (obviously) pushed anaerobic quick. Make sure you are exhaling completely under water and not trying to do both with your head out of the water. That is a sure recipe for not getting enough oxygen. You have enough aerobic capacity with your running that your technique may be partly at fault for getting tired quick.

 

[mr. furley]

almost finished up the walk minus a wife today

we didn't decide to do the walk until Thursday of last week.. she was not at all prepared for it. we're really not getting out to walk/exercise as much because of our schedules so this 10k was a bit much for her

 

[gruecd]

I have got to learn how to slow down on my GA and recovery runs. Grr. Just did 8 GA miles at 7:47 pace in 80-degree heat. Pretty consistent pacing, too, with all eight miles between 7:42 and 7:54 (last two miles being the fastest). Finished up with 10 x 100M strides on the local HS track.

Off to swim lessons....

 

[wraith5]

It gets better quick. Not sure how much swimming you have done and how your technique is, but you are (obviously) pushed anaerobic quick. Make sure you are exhaling completely under water and not trying to do both with your head out of the water. That is a sure recipe for not getting enough oxygen. You have enough aerobic capacity with your running that your technique may be partly at fault for getting tired quick.

Thanks a ton for the comments, Sand! I haven't done any real swimming since I was a young kid. I got a merit badge for swimming a mile in Boy Scouts - turns out that skill seems to have dropped off over the past 25 years... I'm sure my technique is poor, and part of it is just building from the ground up. I'll watch some videos as 2Y2B suggested and keep at it.

 

[Sand]

It gets better quick. Not sure how much swimming you have done and how your technique is, but you are (obviously) pushed anaerobic quick. Make sure you are exhaling completely under water and not trying to do both with your head out of the water. That is a sure recipe for not getting enough oxygen. You have enough aerobic capacity with your running that your technique may be partly at fault for getting tired quick.

Thanks a ton for the comments, Sand! I haven't done any real swimming since I was a young kid. I got a merit badge for swimming a mile in Boy Scouts - turns out that skill seems to have dropped off over the past 25 years... I'm sure my technique is poor, and part of it is just building from the ground up. I'll watch some videos as 2Y2B suggested and keep at it.

No problemo.Keys as you get back into it - breathing (as above), head down/butt up (i.e. make sure your legs aren't dragging), and a good long smooth arm pull. It may well be worth it to look into some lessons with a good tri/swim coach. Swimming is the most technical of the three sports, by a good way.

 

[2Young2BBald]

Any Youtube training videos you suggest? I saw a couple on there after I read your post but I'm sure there are dozens.

I like the form displayed
Good reach with limited kick. Although, I'd advise breathing much more than she is. I breathe on the right side every time I come around on that side (every other stroke). I don't need air every time, but it is an excellent security blanket if I get splashed, hit, etc and can't get a full breath (if any) as I'll "make up" the air on subsequent strokes. I remember watching an awesome, long, video that had a split screen view of a swimmer from the top, side & bottom that helped me a bunch, but can't seem to find it. I'll keep looking and share it if I find it.

 

[DolphinsPhan]

had a nice 3 mile run this morning. 5 mile pace run tomorrow.

Signed up for a 5 mile race when we will be on vacation in July visiting my wife's family in Nova Scotia. Found it interesting that a country based on the metric system has their race in miles and not kilometers

 

[2Young2BBald]

Off to swim lessons....

 

[gruecd]

Off to swim lessons....

Not really much to report. I've done lessons in the past, so I already know the basics of front crawl. Worked on that for a while, and really had to focus on just slowing down and also getting my left arm out of the water and getting a good pull. Right arm is fine. I'm just amazed by how I can run forever and not get winded, and yet I swim halfway across a 25-yard pool and my heart rate goes through the roof. I know the reasoning, but it still amazes me.Finished up with some work in the deep water. Was able to tread water for a little while by putting my head back and getting more diagonal in the water, but I really want to get to the point where I can be vertical and hold a conversation while treading. I'm more of a "sinker" than a "floater," so it's going to take some work. All in due time, I guess.

 

[Bankerguy]

had a nice 3 mile run this morning. 5 mile pace run tomorrow.Signed up for a 5 mile race when we will be on vacation in July visiting my wife's family in Nova Scotia. Found it interesting that a country based on the metric system has their race in miles and not kilometers

Nova Scotia is beautiful in the summer.I could be wrong, but I believe the US has races in KM's (10k usually)?

 

[tri-man 47]

Off to swim lessons....

Not really much to report.

All I can picture is you swimming along with your headband in place.If you're very right-side focused, it would probably help to do some alternate breathing to ensure you turn just as fully to the left as to the right. One of the ultimate tests of good form is one-armed swimming ...swimming the length using just one arm (and of course breathing to that side) with a light kick between the strokes. When I first started these a few years ago, it was quite a (water-based) lunge, but now it's become a smooth motion.