SBR Training Journal

[finboy]

Good job Og. Your swimming notes are great. I need to try the 'pinning' technique and watching my stroke when I breathe. Just curious, what's your breathing rhythm? I breathe on the right side each stroke. I've heard it's more efficient to breathe every three strokes, switching sides. I used to do that, but realized my heart was really racing. Breathing every stroke slowed that down a little.

Keep up the good work,

-fin

[Ogedei]

Well I try my damndest to breathe every third stroke. If I am swimming my 500m, I eventually break into a breathe every stroke.

I am pretty firmly convinced I have better times when I do it every 3rd as I can stay streamlined, especially if I am gliding through the breath and stroking back on the roll back.

I seriously need to control my kicking to keep the heart in check, if I kick extensively I die. If I could swim without kicking I would be there, but alas my legs sink so I have to kick somewhat.

Og.

[Ogedei]

April 11, 2006

Cycling

Total Distance: 16.67km
Total time: 51:07m
Avg Pace: 3:03km/h
Avg HR: 133, 71% of max

[Ogedei]

Nutrition

1: 2 eggs + FF cheese slice. 1 cup oats + 1tbsp PB
2: Chocolate milk 500ml
3: 1 Serving ON Whey. 1 cup mixed veggies + FF cheese slice
4: 1 Salmon fillet + 1 cup mixed veggies
5: Oatrageuos protein bar. 3 dates, couple almonds and some dough things, pretty small, suspect not good for me.
6: 1 cup potato curry. 1/2 cup squash cury. Bread things for the curry. again suspect not good for me
7: 1 cup blueberries

Notes:
The curries and such were gifts from a lady at work, all very tasty and all eaten around my bike ride this evening, so hopefully any evil carbs in there were used for the cycle energy and recovery.

[Ogedei]

April 12, 2006

Resistance Training

Bench Press: 110x13 / 110x9 / 110x8
Bent over Rows: 75x15 / 75x15
(Very tiring on the arms, more than the back)

Front Squat: 45x15 / 50x10
(Form seriously breaking down, was trying crossed arms method)
Shrugs: 90x15 / 100x15

Calf Raises: 10x15 / 10x12
Wood Choppers: 90x15 / 90x15

[Ogedei]

April 12, 2006

Nutrition

1: 2 eggs + FF cheese slice. 1 cup oats + 1 1/2 tbsp PB
2: Chocolate milk 500ml
3: 2 hardboiled eggs. 1 cup veggies + FF cheese slice
4: 1 Salmon fillet + 400ml green beans
5: 1 serving whey
6: 1 Smoked turkey panini, the one I found at calorie king had WAY more calories than anticipated, like 820 cals. Hopefully the one I had wasn't this bad.
7: Frosted Cinamon roll (390 cals). 1/2 cup oats + 1 tbsp PB

[Ogedei]

April 13, 2006

Swimming: Distance

Total distance: 650m

Last few 50m laps:
Lap 6: 1.23.31
Lap 7: 1.20.72
Lap 8: 1.24.47
Lap 9: 1.16.62
Lap 10: 1.17.26
Total time: 13.25.64
Time for 500m: 13m25s
Previous PR: 13m44s
New PR: 13m25s.
19 seconds faster than previous.

Notes:
I think alot about my form out of the pool. I don't know how many others do, but re-learning to be streamlined and use efficent strokes has this new skill and what I am doing wrong constantly on my mind.

My first 200m is always a struggle, warming up and all. I did manage to hold my bi-lateral breathing together through all of that before finally succumbing to breathing every stroke. Getting towards the end with only a few more 100ms to go I kicked up my pace a bit which is evident by the times for lap 10 and 12. Wish my watch did more laps, I am curious how my warm up laps compare.

As is our nature I was comparing myself to other swimmers, I hope I don't look as bad as they do. I swam 4 25ms pretty slow to cool down at the end. On my last one, since I was swimming slow, I wondered how much longer I was taking to complete a lap compared to some of the others. Now since I am swimming slow, I can concentrate on form, bi-lateral breathing, pinning my chin when I breathe, looking at the bottom of the pool, using full strokes, not letting my lead hand collapse during the breath.

I get to the end and I surface, lift my goggles and look over...both of the guys who are swimming a couple of lanes over who started at or a little before me are just getting to the end of their length. So with proper form and a percieved effort of about a 1 or 1 1/2 I swam the 25 a fair bit faster than a couple of guys blundering through the water.

I do not consider myself a fast swimmer. A valuable lesson about form. I will try and time one of these slow laps and see how fast a total rest lap would be for me, they may allow me to increase output on other laps resulting in a positive gain for me. Maybe a fast 25m, and a recovery 25m would allow me to maintain my bilateral, and therefore more streamlined body longer into the race?

[Ogedei]

April 13, 2006

Cycling

1st leg: 4.5km
Aprox Time: 15mins

2nd leg: 4.25km
Aprox Time:18mins

Total Time: 33.17.62

Pretty short ride all in all. I needed groceries, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. The second leg is a massive headwind as well as being loaded with a backpack of groceries.

[Ogedei]

April 13, 2006

Nutrition

1: 2 eggs + FF cheese slice. 1 cup oats + 1 1/2 Tbsp PB
2: 500ml Chocolate milk
3: 2 hardboiled eggs. 400ml green beans + FF Salad dressing
4: BIO Protein bar.
5: 1 Salmon fillet + 400ml vegetable medly
6: 1 Salmon fillet + FF cheese slice. 6 dates
7: 1/2 package of pea pods. 6 dates. 1 Eggplant + 2 slices FF cheese + 1/4cup oats + 2tbps butter for frying.
8: black licorice, 100cals worth.

[Ogedei]

April 14, 2006: Good Friday

Running:

Total Distance: 3.5km
Total time: 19m26s
Avg Pace: 5:29/km
Avg HR: 156, 83%

Time over 3km: 16m32s
Pretty sure that's a new PR actually. Apparently running the hill course has made pretty decent run improvements on the flatter course I sometimes run.

A blast from the past:
Tuesday, Feb 21st, 2006.

Running.
3km - 19m 14s

Nearly a 3 minute improvment since end February on the 3km.

[finboy]

Great job on everything Og...you are really following your program and the improvements are obvious. I'm a VERY slow swimmer and your discussion of form and your own gains are giving me 'food for thought'. Thanks,

-fin

[Ogedei]

April 14, 2006

Misc activities

1km hiking over 1 hour period in badlands, much vertical climbing here.

Nutrition

1: 3 eggs + FF cheese slice. 6 dates. 3/4 cup oats + 1 tbsp PB
2: ON Why + 7 dates
3: 12 dates
4: 2 eggs + ff cheese slice. 1 cup veggies
5: 1/2 cup oats + 1 tbsp PB
6: 1 Tazo green tea latte at Starbucks.
7: Triscuits and cheese
8: 3 sausages + 1/3 pineapple.

[Ogedei]

April 15, 2006

Misc Activities

1 hour hike or so in the badlands again.

Nutrition

1: 2 eggs + 1cup oatmeal + 1 1/2 tbsp PB
2: 1 Yogurt + 2 kiwi fruits
3: bag of licorice allsorts (oops, I love em and it was that or we died on the drive home! )
4: Steak + corn + 2 sausages. 1 1/2 cups mango.

[Ogedei]

April 16, 2006

Brick

Cycle: 3.2km
Run: 3.0km

Pretty short brick here, was intending a 3km run and a 1km run, but it seemed to short so I ran the full 3km.

I plan on adding cycling time on to the cycling portion and working up to the full 16km cycle.

So running after the cycle. Pretty crazy. Anyone who has done a tri or a brick knows what I am talking about. Even after the short 3km ride the legs feel alot like they aren't in the mood for running.

After about 1km of running the legs felt better, even though my time wasn't anything to write home about. have to work on this and get the times up faster on the bricks.

Goal Evaluation
Lifting: 1 sessions. Fail
Swimming: 2 sessions. MET
Running: 2 sessions. MET
Biking: 2 sessions. MET
Brick: 1 session. MET
Nutritional goal: No junk binging. I will not have more than 500 cals worth of crap on my cheat day. Fail
Goal thoughts: Still having issues with the junk, although this week was better than usual, it was far from where I want it to be. Really wanted to get a bodyweight routine in as the gym was closed, but I just never did it. Some days we are just lazy. On the other side of things before I started this tri training I often only got 2 resistance sessions in. Now I typically get 3. Even this last week, 1 resistance, 2 swims, 2 runs and 2 cycles, plus a brick. So doing way more work. This is good.

New Goals
Resistance: 2 sessions
Running: 2 sessions
Cycling: 2 sessions
Swimming: 2 sessions
Brick: 1 session
Nutrition: Get the binging in control. replace crap with fruits. Ditch it all like the old days.

[finboy]

Good job Og. This was your first brick, right? A 3K run after any bike is very respectable. I am by no means an expert. But, if I were you, I would increase the bike distance quite a bit for the next brick...say to 10K. Then run your 3K or whatever you can hammer out. This will really give your legs something to think about! But, you have a plan I'm sure...do what you think is best.

Maybe you haven't met every goal you've set...especially the diet part. But, you are still working really hard and just need to find that mental edge about the diet part. I will agree that is the toughest part. It seems very easy to push myself to the brink on a workout, yet I often can't resist sharing those cookies and/or ice cream with my kids!

Onward and upward...
-fin

[Ogedei]

Yes this was the first brick, I opted for shorted rather than longer since I had no clue what to expect.

I was planning on working up by thirds, but I might double the cycle at least. We shall see.

Agree on the mental edge. I usually have the mental edge nice and sharp on Monday and then is slowly slips and by Sunday when I am sitting around waiting for the day to end. hahha ass.

Og.

[Ogedei]

April 18, 2006

Swimming: Drills

Warm-up
4 x25s, RI: 30
4x 50s, RI: 30

Drills
Bi-lateral: 5 x50s, RI: 30
Catch-ups: 4 x50s, RI: 30
no breathers: 4 x25s, RI: 30

Cool down
4 x25ms, RI: 30

Total Distance: 950m