first triathlonites 2006-07

[eclectic]

Well, I know for me... I focus on long strokes that allow me to glide. I do not kick a lot (unless it's in open water with a current/waves)... and I monitor my breathing.
.

Not kicking alot won't be a problem - I have a lousy kick, basically it just keeps my legs floating not a lot a forward momentum

re pacing like running - need to work on that end too - I have no pace beyond slow !

[KSH]

AHHH! So KSH is arm strokes more important that leg kicks when it comes to tris?? I mean on the bike you're using a different muscle group to the pool if youonly use your arms right??

More important?

Uuuummm... well... let me just say this... a front crawl stroke with very good form, can be very effective without a lot of kicking involved.

The key is learning how to insert your arms in correctly... so you can glide. A goal might be to try to get to the other end of the pool with less strokes than the lap before.

There are many times in the pool that I am passing people in the lanes next to me... and they are making a huge splash and working very hard to get to the other end... where I am gliding, focused on my stroke, with a small kick to keep my legs involved... with very little splashing happening.

Thus... swimming is ALL ABOUT FORM. You can have horrible running form and still go fast... you can't have horrible swim form and still go fast.

Finally... if you think about it, if you can swim fast with very little kicking... that only saves your legs for the run. Of course, a good strong kick does come into play when you need to power through waves or currents.

[Kimmyt]

w00t!

just wanted to share my happies... today in swim class we did a T30 and i got in 1400 meters so I feel soooo much more confident now about being able to do the 900 meters in this tri (which is in June, so I have a ton of time!).... maybe I should set a goal of doing the swim in under 20 min?

Yay!

K.

[HillSlugger]

I had my first swim coaching session last night. When I went on my own last week it was pretty obvious to me that my kick needed work. I found out yesterday that my kick is all wrong I have what she called a "trudging" kick. She's got me working on properly kicking from the hips and has recommended that I get swim fins.

Do others practice with fins? Can you make a recommendation on types/brands/models?

Thanks, Nicole

[eclectic]

Do others practice with fins? Can you make a recommendation on types/brands/models?

Thanks, Nicole

I started out w/ long fins, but no recommendation on model, we had them supplied for us. I then went to short fins which I LOVED - you can still do flip turns and when you take them off you don't notice as much how much you slow down. You can also do an ok breast stroke whip kick w/ them - check w/ your coach and see if these would work for you instead of the long ones. Any type of fin helps your legs float better.

Just be careful - I had to suffer through some nasty blisters until I got used to them. (One guy that swam w/ us bought scuba socks to line them and that really helped. I used water repellent athletic tape and wrapped my toes.

[eclectic]

Can you make a recommendation on types/brands/models?

Thanks, Nicole

these are the short ones we used:

http://www.lane4swim.com/zommerblue.html

I don't know about the specific store just using photo and type for referance

[tygab]

a less than stellar workout today...

I ran tonight, starting at a faster pace to try and work on my time. But I was just fidgety and unhappy the whole time. I felt sore and even walked some. Dunno if it was because I hadn't eaten a good lunch, or hadn't run in a week, or worked really long hours, or because my pod battery conked out on me, or what.

I'm a little bummed out about it but I told myself that these kinds of days happen... I guess a bad run is still better than no run.

[Bikingmomof3]

Tygab,
Sorry the run was not as god as you wanted. I have had some of those. Your next run will go well. And yes, some running is better than no running.

[HillSlugger]

I started my running back in the last week of October. For the first 4 weeks (excluding my second run) each time out was a new personal best for pace, distance, or both. I was at the point where I was only walking once over 2.5 miles and expecting to reach "no walking" the following week. These last two weeks I was going backwards, feeling like my legs would fall off if I didn't stop to walk. The number of walks went up and my pace went down. Today, I seem back on track. I went 2 miles before my one walk (I probably could have made it a no-walk run but didn't want to push it too much) and had my pace back under 12 min/mile. The weather today was unusually warm (64 degrees) and I ran in shorts and a short sleeve top. I'm wondering if the warmer temps played a part by helping me loosen up faster and run better.

[alpinerabbit]

Ta-daa... crawled my first 500 meters in one piece this morning. Then went shopping, home and ran 11 k! In a mere 1.15. LOL - I am THAT slow - and I felt fast!

I could do it right now... just slowly. and I do not want to be last.

[eclectic]

Ta-daa... crawled my first 500 meters in one piece this morning. Then went shopping, home and ran 11 k! In a mere 1.15. LOL - I am THAT slow - and I felt fast!

I could do it right now... just slowly. and I do not want to be last.

11 k in 1.15 - compared to me you are a jack rabbit

ran last night for 26 minutes with the middle ten at a 10 minute mile and the remainder at 10.5, I thought I was just cruising
This week I bump it up to 28 min

Well off to swim

[Offthegrid]

This is totally shameful self-promotion, but I got hardware in a 5K competitive walk today!!!! See my report here.

[Bikingmomof3]

Congratulations OTG!

[eclectic]

I posted on the link too

but a person can never get too many "WAY TO GO ! ! ! high 5!"

[Offthegrid]

My swimming's really coming along. This morning I was able to breathe only every 3rd stroke for my entire 600 meter long set. (I had been breathing 2-3-2-3.) It felt like I was going faster, too, but I wasn't timing myself, which I really should start doing.

I'm almost up to the minimum required to be able to join masters (1,600 meters), but I don't think if I'd join anyway. I watched one of their practices, and they were doing 4 x 100M IMs. I can't swim fly and have no interest in learning because it's not going to help me in a tri.

MD, I know this is a little late, but did your coach say why you should be working on your kick for triathlons? In tris, your legs are more or less along for the ride. I'm obviously no expert, but everything I've read and heard says that triathletes kick only a little to conserve energy and their legs. (Hey, if swimming were about strong legs, we'd all be able to do 3,000 meters by now.) But it is important to make sure your feet are together and not dragging.