Archive for category Training
Yoga Pose – Squat
Here’s a link to an article on Active.com on how to do the squat pose from yoga. It’s a fairly detailed description not only of how to properly do the pose, but also of the benefits of the pose. Sounds like a pose I should be doing regularly!
Race Schedule August 2009-March 2010
Posted by sheila in Race Events, Training on July 29th, 2009
OK, I’ve finally made some decisions about my racing schedule. Since I just finished the San Francisco Half-Marathon this past Sunday, I found that I had not signed up for any further events, nor did I have any training schedule.
Not to worry. I did a 6 mile bike ride yesterday. And today I did my own triathlon: 1500 meter ocean swim in 45 minutes; 3 mile run in 23 minutes; later in the day 14.8 mile bike in 1 hr 6 minutes on a hilly course. Tomorrow I will swim laps at the pool.
Anyhow, I do need to sign up for events and put together some more training. And I’ve finalized my events up through March 2010. Here they are:
Aug. 2, 2009 (Sun) 5K Paws for Cause
Aug. 16, 2009 (Sun) Hansen Dam Triathlon
Sep. 13, 2009 (Sun) Oxnard Splash-n-Dash (I think the long course)
new -> Sep. 27, 2009 (Sun) Mighty Mermaid Triathlon Santa Cruz (olympic distance)
Oct. 11, 2009 (Sun) Long Beach Half Marathon (completes my California Dreaming award)
Nov. 7, 2009 (Sat) Catalina Triathlon
Nov. 26, 2009 (Thu) 10K Turkey Trot at Dana Point
Feb. 7, 2010 (Sun) Surf City Half Marathon – I think I have to do this every year. I’m a legacy runner for this race.
Mar. 7, 2010 (Sun) Napa Valley Marathon
Mar. 21, 2010 (Sun) Los Angeles Marathon
Apr 23-34 (Fri-Sat) Ragnar Relay L.A. (Santa Barbara to Dana Point)
OK, so I have to get my credit card out and start registering for some of these. And tomorrow I’m going to have to hunker down and start writing my training schedule for at least through November 2009. That is always so much work.
So, from no events to 9 events. Really, though, I’ve been thinking about most of these for a long time. Just hadn’t committed to the registration and written out my training plans. Working on it, working on it!
First Swims in my New Wetsuit
Posted by sheila in Tools and Gear, Training on July 2nd, 2009
Me on the left & Nina (Twitter friend) on the right at Santa Monica Ocean Swim.
So I bought an xTerra Vortex 3 last Friday, June 26, 2009. And I was eager to try it out. Wanted to make sure it fit properly and was easy to move around and swim in it. So I planned to go to Huntington State Beach on Monday and get in a short ocean swim.
The original plan was to hit the beach before noon, short swim, picnic lunch with Jenny on the beach, play and relaxation time before heading home. Unfortunately, due to a comedy of errors, we didn’t actually get to Huntington until 3 PM. I talked to the Life Guard briefly, put my wetsuit on, and ventured out.
In watching the surf before I suited up, the breakers hadn’t looked too large to me. So about 20 minutes later I was wading into the surf. Life guard had said water temp was 62˚. It didn’t feel cold to me at all, especially with the suit on. Waves still looked ok, and I proceeded out to my chest. I felt the cold water coming through the suit at the zipper on the back. Just interesting, not a problem. Kept going and got out past most of the breakers. But there was one row left to get past, and they seemed pretty big. I was not comfy with it. I decided to go back in and try ocean swimming in my suit another day.
Speed Intervals – 5 x 1K
OK, so I had a speed workout today. 5 repeats of 1K at a target of 4:08 each (which works out to about a 6:39min/mile pace). Wasn’t feeling positive I could do it. But my 5K race is only 3 weeks out, so I figured I’d better go try.
I want to thank the Twitter friends @CoolRunning and @turtlescanrun for their positive energy, because that really helped when I was doing the workout. I just thought about “I can do it” and kept trying.
So my actual times were 4:09, 4:08, 4:16 (got confused on this one and stopped early & then had to pick up and keep going), 4:21 (no idea what happened here), and 4:16 (again, got confused and stopped early). Not really my day, but satisfied overall, since after only 3 repeats I was feeling like stopping but I made myself do the last two. In fact, even though I thought I was running pretty hard during the workout, sitting here now at my desk only an hour later, I feel like I could have run harder. Heh. Dunno about that…
Guess I was tired from my fast 14-miler on Friday, plus bike & yoga yesterday. Beats me. I do know that the week before my race I will be resting up so I’ll feel much more peppy and ready to go on race day.
Triathlon Training Resource – Gym & Coaching
So come to hear there’s a new gym in Irvine, California with a focus on triathlete training. Special facility with equipment designed to assist in training for a triathlon, coaching staff with extensive experience and qualifications in triathlon, etc…
Irvine is a bit of a drive for me, so not sure I would get down that way too often. They have monthly membership, but they also have non-member rates as well. So it’s something to keep in mind. Their “Endless pool” seems interesting.
Track Running for your Training
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on May 28th, 2009
For running, speed work is generally recommended for increasing your speed for racing, for going for that PR, for lowering your pace. Here’s an article at RunnersWorld.com that has more info on how to start speedwork, how to incorporate it into your training, and various types of speed work.
Swimming – Training with Drills
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on May 28th, 2009
So, as someone who is passably competent at swimming, I would still like to improve my swimming speed for triathlon events. Right now I’m just working up some basic yardage. Up to an easy 1500 in a workout right now. Will be dropping back these next few days as I approach my first triathlon on June 7th.
But after that is past, I will want to work up and improve my swimming and speed. I have seen recommended several times to do drills. Drills I’ve seen recommended for beginners are kick drills done on the side with no kickboard, shark fin drill, and also DPS (Distance Per Stroke).
So here is a nice site that has some explanations/suggestions for swim drills:Drills & Drill Tips | WSU Masters Swimming
They explain at the site above the side-kicking drill and the shark fin drill. The DPS is just the idea that you want to lower the number of strokes it takes you to get across the pool. By rotating your body in the pool from side to side while you stroke, having long strokes that pull, and you glide. Get fewer strokes to get across the pool.
So I guess after I finish up this tri coming up I will try to incorporate some drills into my swim training.
More Triathlon Swim Training Tips
Posted by sheila in Tips and Advice, Training on May 7th, 2009
Here’s another article from Active.com with some suggestions for training and preparing for the swimming portion of a triathlon:
Pacing Makes Perfect: 6 Ways to Train for a Triathlon Swim Start | Active.com
One of the main points of the article, is that just doing time trials doesn’t prepare you for the actual chaos and frenetic swimming of a triathlon. So they have some suggestions to help prepare a bit more for the reality of a triathlon swim.
I may try some of these ideas. I’m about 4 weeks out right now from my first triathlon. Finally getting some mediocre yardage in at the pool. Went swimming twice this week, which is my goal. Swam 2250 meters total this week. 1050 on Tuesday and 1200 today. Really tried a bit harder today and did a few faster sprints. Overall, my swimming is very mediocre and the focus for me in my first triathlon will just be finishing respectably.
Training is Required for Serious Improvement
Here is an article from the New York Times that illustrates that going from a middle-of-the-packer, recreational athlete, to someone with seriously good times, requires a serious training program, and probably a coach and personal training time.
Want to Go Faster? You Need a Trainer
(Note: the article requires registration. April 23, 2009)
Some very nice stories of individual cases of people with serious time improvements.