Kristi - Great question! Very related to yesterday's post too. The TYR floaty that you see between people's legs at the pool is called a pull buoy. Basically, you put it between your legs and it keeps your legs afloat while you swim using only your arms. This is referred to as "pulling" see yesterday's post.
Katie - First of all, congratulations on running your first marathon! Second, I like the interview you did with Workout Mommy. You bring up a great point about cross training and injury prevention. I'll discuss this topic tomorrow.
I rode the Computrainer today for the 2nd time. Did the CP30 test again, as my HR monitor didn't work on the test I did last week, and I was curious to see it. Later this week. I'll start the Computrainer PIG (Performance Improvement Guarentee) program, and we'll see if it actually works.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
My First Comment!
Hey! I received my first comment! Very exciting! Please comment and ask questions. I would love to hear from you. The question was, what am I going to do to improve my upper body strength? Let me preface this by saying that I believe the best way to build strength for swimming is to swim. Likewise, the best way to build strength for running is to run and the best way to build strength for biking is to bike. Seems like a lot of people look for some sort of short-cut to improvement, but the bottom line is there isn't one.
Now, let's specifically talk about swimming. First, you need to gradually build your base, which will also start to gradually strengthen your muscles. We don't want to do this too quickly, as we need to be cautious of shoulder injuries. As every person is different, the amount and exact method of base building would vary from person to person. As you increase your yardage, I would recommend to start adding some pulling sets in gradually (no paddles at this point, too hard on the shoulders). After you have a significant level of strength built from basic base training, I like to add pull sets with paddles. Magically after several months, your strength will improve!
Let's talk about one upper body exercise that I do like and would recommend that everyone include in their program. That is none other than push-ups! Why push-ups? Because they require no equipment, very little time, and there are no excuses not to do them. Also, you get a lot of bang for the buck. Most people think of the push-up as an exercise for the chest, but the push-up actually works much more . . . the core, the triceps, the shoulders, the back.
Bottom line, as most of us are short on time, I generally do not advocate a lot of "weight" training for most people (again depends on each individual athlete though). Swimming, biking, running, and a few other basic strength exercises, like push-ups, will go along way to helping you build the strength you need to enjoy the sport of triathlon!
Today's training - took a rest day. Worked on the custom coaching website. Hope to have something online soon!
Now, let's specifically talk about swimming. First, you need to gradually build your base, which will also start to gradually strengthen your muscles. We don't want to do this too quickly, as we need to be cautious of shoulder injuries. As every person is different, the amount and exact method of base building would vary from person to person. As you increase your yardage, I would recommend to start adding some pulling sets in gradually (no paddles at this point, too hard on the shoulders). After you have a significant level of strength built from basic base training, I like to add pull sets with paddles. Magically after several months, your strength will improve!
Let's talk about one upper body exercise that I do like and would recommend that everyone include in their program. That is none other than push-ups! Why push-ups? Because they require no equipment, very little time, and there are no excuses not to do them. Also, you get a lot of bang for the buck. Most people think of the push-up as an exercise for the chest, but the push-up actually works much more . . . the core, the triceps, the shoulders, the back.
Bottom line, as most of us are short on time, I generally do not advocate a lot of "weight" training for most people (again depends on each individual athlete though). Swimming, biking, running, and a few other basic strength exercises, like push-ups, will go along way to helping you build the strength you need to enjoy the sport of triathlon!
Today's training - took a rest day. Worked on the custom coaching website. Hope to have something online soon!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Building upper body strength
Made it to the pool today for a 2500 yard workout. I did an 1800 yard pull set, as I've been able to tell my upper body is very weak. Going to focus on building my strength in the pool for the next month or so.
Thanks everyone who's been reading my blog!
Thanks everyone who's been reading my blog!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
What a great day to be outside! This warmer weather (40s) makes training outside much more enjoyable.
Today, I ran 10 miles at Queeny Park. Got to the park a little early to meet Laura and Tara, so I got 2 miles in before they got there. Felt great. Wish I would have had time for a couple more miles.
Today, I ran 10 miles at Queeny Park. Got to the park a little early to meet Laura and Tara, so I got 2 miles in before they got there. Felt great. Wish I would have had time for a couple more miles.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Endurance athletes should be more like dancers.
Unfortunately, I don't have any workouts to report on today. Looking forward to some good training session this weekend.
I just got home from the Dancing with the Stars show. Yes, dancers are athletes. One of the most remarkable things about dancers is their flexibility. I think flexibility can benefit athletes in all sports. Unfortunately, flexibility training is one of the most overlooked aspects of endurance sport athletes. How many of us go out for a run and then immediately hop in our cars and go home without stretching? By the time we get home, our muscles are cold and stretching at that point is likely to do more harm than good. Stretching is great to prevent injury and to reduce soreness, but it can also improve performance, by increasing range of motion. One of the easiest ways to improve your splits is by getting in the habit of a regular stretching routine.
I just got home from the Dancing with the Stars show. Yes, dancers are athletes. One of the most remarkable things about dancers is their flexibility. I think flexibility can benefit athletes in all sports. Unfortunately, flexibility training is one of the most overlooked aspects of endurance sport athletes. How many of us go out for a run and then immediately hop in our cars and go home without stretching? By the time we get home, our muscles are cold and stretching at that point is likely to do more harm than good. Stretching is great to prevent injury and to reduce soreness, but it can also improve performance, by increasing range of motion. One of the easiest ways to improve your splits is by getting in the habit of a regular stretching routine.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The JCC training group is doing great!
Had a great practice with the training team at the pool tonight. They had a tough workout, but everyone did a great job! Beth asked if I thought they were getting better. Yes! Everyone's swimming has improved a lot.
I got in 2600 yards tonight in the pool which was a decent workout. We'll call it my second Ironman swim workout.
I'll be running the Go! St. Louis Marathon in April. Marathon training "officially" starts for me in about 1 week. I'm looking forward to training and the race. I'm in much better shape this year than I was at this time last year. I've been getting a long run and a few other runs in every week, for the last couple of months. From now until the marathon, I'll be focusing primarily on running and will try to get at least one swim and one bike in each week, to have a little bit of a base to start Ironman training right after the marathon.
I got in 2600 yards tonight in the pool which was a decent workout. We'll call it my second Ironman swim workout.
I'll be running the Go! St. Louis Marathon in April. Marathon training "officially" starts for me in about 1 week. I'm looking forward to training and the race. I'm in much better shape this year than I was at this time last year. I've been getting a long run and a few other runs in every week, for the last couple of months. From now until the marathon, I'll be focusing primarily on running and will try to get at least one swim and one bike in each week, to have a little bit of a base to start Ironman training right after the marathon.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Final words on the eating log
There is a lot more to racing than racing. The "a lot more" is of course training. I was not able to get any training in today, but had a much more enjoyable day spending time with my mom on her birthday.
Tomorrow's plan is to make a training plan to follow until my official 20 week Ironman training plan starts. I haven't really been doing any structured training for the last four months, but I know I train better when I have a plan. I'm also working on getting into a routine with my training, which proves to be very difficult with a 2.5 year old sometimes.
Went to the running store today to try to get some shoes to run the marathon in. I was looking for something a little lighter with firmer cushioning, as I train in Nike Vomeros, which are pretty hefty and have very soft cushioning. I tried on the new Nike Lunar Trainers. I really liked , but as they are a totally new technology, the guy at the running store said he didn't know if they'd make a good marathon shoe. I ended up leaving empty handed. I'm thinking about trying some Asics Speedstar 3s.
Now back to the discussion on nutrition. Time to pull out your eating log that tells you what you and and why. Hopefully, this exercise was pretty self-explanatory, but I do just want to talk about a few things. First, you need to eat when your hungry or about every 3-4 hours, so when you look at your log, we want to try to eliminate most of those times that we eat "just because." YES, it is okay to occasionally eat things that are not nutritious, because we like them or because we just feel like it. The key is to not make this a regular occurrence. We want most of the reasons that we eat to be "because I was hungry," "it was mealtime or snack time," or "I needed some extra protein for the day." All of these reasons are good reasons and we should eat for good reasons. Remember we need to eat to be able to train and to reach our full potential. I encourage everyone to do this log every few months to help stay on track with their eating plan.
Tomorrow's plan is to make a training plan to follow until my official 20 week Ironman training plan starts. I haven't really been doing any structured training for the last four months, but I know I train better when I have a plan. I'm also working on getting into a routine with my training, which proves to be very difficult with a 2.5 year old sometimes.
Went to the running store today to try to get some shoes to run the marathon in. I was looking for something a little lighter with firmer cushioning, as I train in Nike Vomeros, which are pretty hefty and have very soft cushioning. I tried on the new Nike Lunar Trainers. I really liked , but as they are a totally new technology, the guy at the running store said he didn't know if they'd make a good marathon shoe. I ended up leaving empty handed. I'm thinking about trying some Asics Speedstar 3s.
Now back to the discussion on nutrition. Time to pull out your eating log that tells you what you and and why. Hopefully, this exercise was pretty self-explanatory, but I do just want to talk about a few things. First, you need to eat when your hungry or about every 3-4 hours, so when you look at your log, we want to try to eliminate most of those times that we eat "just because." YES, it is okay to occasionally eat things that are not nutritious, because we like them or because we just feel like it. The key is to not make this a regular occurrence. We want most of the reasons that we eat to be "because I was hungry," "it was mealtime or snack time," or "I needed some extra protein for the day." All of these reasons are good reasons and we should eat for good reasons. Remember we need to eat to be able to train and to reach our full potential. I encourage everyone to do this log every few months to help stay on track with their eating plan.
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