So we got into the pool a bit late due to traffic (30 minutes to be exact). While driving, I had a Banana-Strawberry GU gel packet. I never had that particular flavor, but it was pretty good. The cashier in REI referred to them as sport enhancing supplements today, so I laughed in my head. I looked at her and wanted to say, “my name isn’t Barry Bonds, why don’t you just call it by it’s name…GU, lol.” I started to think I was taking over the counter ‘roids or something. So I was fired up in the pool. We picked up where we left off from last week…the front breast stroke. I shared a lane with one of the guys, so it was cool to occasionally compare yourself and have a silent peer-review session.

My front stroke is getting stronger. I’m pivoting my head much more when coming up for air. The main part of it is, I’m calming down and just that alone is making me move faster in the water. I did the breast stroke back and based off of last week’s feedback, I slowly pivoted my neck upwards to inhale and stayed really calm. When I got to the start, I felt like the man:) Then my stomach started to rumble in the jungle and I thought, “I CAN NOT leave to go the bathroom and come back”…as I’m cursing the crap out of the GU, lol. The stomach cramps went away and I got in a zone. I rested less and I could feel my heart beating in my ears. It was a good night. I did 26 laps and I was late. Was it the GU? Was the anxiety? Regardless, I was challenging myself to be better this week. I would see my lane mate start, then I would start behind him. I would eventually pass him, get to the end, see him approach and then go before he rests. It’s not competition, it’s gearing up for game day!!! June will be here in no time, so it’s time to put in some extra swim time.

For you swimmers out there. When you front stroke, do you keep you hands open or cupped? I’m hearing mixed opinions, so wanted to get some feedback.

Goals accomplished this week: (1) front stroke inhale pivot is getting better; (2) calmed down tremendously; (3) GU makes you fart like a caged rabid animal; (4) during mid-swim, transitioned from front stroke, to back stroke, then to breast stroke.

Goals for next week: (1) Stay within 22-26 laps (which equals about 3/4 mile); (2) change lanes from the stair lane. It’s a little shorter because it’s in the way. Lisa pointed that out, so I’ll make the lane change next week.
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Week #1: 15 laps
Week #2: 26 laps
Week #3: 22 laps
Week #4: 22 laps
Week #5: 26 laps
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Thanks for following my journey everyone:) Any tips you may have, please share them (videos, books, etc.) I would appreciate it.

We’re in February and the snow we received within the last few weeks (20-30 inches), forced the college to cancel class the week before last. So once I got in the water, I was feeling like a kid with ADHD. I put the goggles on and I have a habit of putting my head in the water and just scanning the bottom. Not sure why, but I always have this thing about cloudy water. When my triathlon rolls around, not seeing the bottom will be interesting, but I hope the adrenaline rush chills me out. So, the water was kind of cloudy and the first thing I think of…”did someone crap in the water and poop remnants are messing it up?”. I know, I have a crazy imagination. But after scanning the water as if I lost my wedding ring, no poop was found, loll

We started with our normal routine, front stroke down and fundamental back stroke to the start. After about 10 laps, the old man said it was time to learn the breast stroke. So we went through the details, which was quite a change from the typical stroke. The breast stroke is all about resting, but since I have this aggressive stroke that sometimes gets in the way, I have to tone it down a bit. I actually like the breast stroke. I was getting feedback from the lifeguard on duty and decided to continue my laps. What makes me a bit nervous is transitioning from front stroke to breast, then flipping to the fundamental if I get tired. So I practiced the combination and it wasn’t bad at all.

I found this video of Jimmy Dshea going over the breast stroke. It’s much more than the instructors from the class, so I’ll definitely implement these fundamentals to make the stroke a power stroke if I ever want to mix it up during game day.

Goals accomplished this week: (1) learned the breast stroke; (2) the fear of deep water is pretty much gone; (3) tread water much longer.

Goals for next week: (1) Stay within 22-26 laps (which equals about 3/4 mile); (2) Work on stroke transitions; (3) work on not using the wall to push off. It’s almost like cheating and I don’t think there will be random walls in the middle of the lake during the tri.

Week #1: 15 laps

Week #2: 26 laps

Week #3: 22 laps

Week #4: 22 laps

Thanks for following my journey everyone:) Any tips you may have, please share them (videos, books, etc.) I would appreciate it.

This week I was on a mission to calm down a bit and really try to work on my front stroke. First off, we got to class late, so I already had self-applied pressure and some catching up to do. Got in the water, and did my first lap with my goggles too d@mn tight. I felt like my eyes looked like Bart Simpson, bulging out, so I readjusted immediately, lol.

This week I was doing some reading and had some adjustments planned. Instead of taking a breath with every stroke, I’ll take a breath every 3 strokes to help calm me down a little. That allowed me to take shorter exhales under water, pivot my head out calmly and take a deep exhale. It actually worked for me and I didn’t gulp too much water with this change. I did try to work on my endurance by NOT doing the fundamental backstroke, but by doing the front stroke back to the start. I caught some serious wind at one point, drank half the pool, and belched like I just had a keg to my head, but I survived:) I know the lifeguard must think I’m a looney tune!!

Last week I completed 26 laps in the 90 minutes and this week, I did 22 laps, but I actually paused more to work on my form. So not bad for less time in the pool and more time concentrating of being more efficient. Nadia and I didn’t share a lane this week. I had to be careful not to slap the goggles off of my lane partner by accident, but we worked well together. I did however introduce her to my best whale impersonation as I blew the living crap out of my nose because I was holding my breath too long when she was waiting at the deep end. She was silent…but had to be flipping me “the bird” inside. Oh well. Actually, it was more like an elephant with water in it’s tusk.

Goals accomplished this week: (1) I calmed down drastically; (2) I stayed in my lane and didn’t wander as much; (3) I worked on pivoting my head more and looking up in order to take a nice deep inhale, reducing the water intake in my mouth.

Goals for next week: (1) Stay within 22-26 laps (which equals about 3/4 mile); (2) work on my endurance outside of the pool with 25 yard sprints outdoors or tabata sprints on the the treadmill. I have to NOT get winded…eventhough it’s really taxing. But I’m feeling better for sure.

Week #1: 15 laps

Week #2: 26 laps

Week #3: 22 laps

Thanks for following my journey everyone:) Any tips you may have, please share them (videos, books, etc.) I would appreciate it.

So last week swimming was all new to me. I never went into the tub to practice, but I took a few minutes out of my day to get the breathing sequence together. The way you breathe for running is totally different, so practice for me was very important. I got into the water today feeling really good. I worked out hard this week, but laid low today because I wanted to give it my all. Based off of the goal that I set last week (complete 15 laps TODAY), that number kept resonating in my head, “15, 15, 15, 15.” But something clicked and that was it. The class is scheduled for 90 minutes and I got to 15 laps in 35 minutes (18 laps for a .50 mile distance). I was feeling good. I only drank 14 gallons this time (lol) and my stroke was improving. The old man was silent and you know what they say, “no news is good news”, so I kept on going. There was alot of water chatter in the other lanes, but I’m NOT here to socialize and talk about how wrinkled my thumbs are, I’M HERE TO SWIM!! To make a short story even shorter, I did 26 laps. So you are suppose to double that and it gave me a total of 52 completed lengths. I don’t think that’s too shabby for my second week.

Goals accomplished this week: (1) I wore goggles; (2) I kept my head down to exhale and kept my cheek on the water; (3) My right arm stroke is aggressive and that’s what is causing the water to find a home in my nostrils. So I need to calm that down; (4) I didn’t pee in the water…just kidding (hahahaha).

Goals for next week: (1) Maintain 26 laps; (2) Instead of doing the fundamental stroke back, I will do the forward crawl to build up my endurance; (3) Reduce the aggression on the right hand stroke…aka…calm down!!

Week #1: 15 laps

Week #2: 26 laps

Thanks for following my journey:)

Today was the first day of swimming class. As of today, there are 157 days until the Celebration Sprint Triathlon in Columbia, Maryland. This year I set a goal to not only do a triathlon, but learn how to swim. I know, a bit crazy and to top it off, that’s a 0.62 mile swim. The swim instructor said it would take about 22 laps to complete 0.50 mile swim, so I have some training to do.

When we got into the pool, I was psyched until he said, “Shawn, swim to the far end while doing a front stroke, then coming back, do a basic back stroke”. The machismo in me was like, “Yeah, I got this!!!”. So I perked up, put my chest high and went for it. If you were a bystander, you would have needed goggles just watching me (lol), but I made it. Then coming back, who told me to play Mister professional back stroke man? I’m in the water, alternating arms like I was in a Speedo commercial. I gulped about 2 gallons of water while coming back, but I made it. To make a long story short, I think the old man was on the verge of demoting a few of us to the beginners class, but he said he’ll work with us. That includes my lovely wife Nadia who hadn’t been in the water since the end of time as well.

So they showed us the basics and I took every mental note that I could. I practiced breathing, I relaxed and treaded more than I should have, in order to get over my, “I’m going to sink” fear. As the 1.5 hour class went on, I felt more confident and I was getting the “much better” head nod from old man. I ended the night doing 14 laps (28 lengths), which was a little under 1 mile. This was day 1, but truly an eye-opening experience. So my homework until next week is to fill up the tub and fit my big @ss in it and practice breathing:) This is going to be fun!!

Julie & Lisa were in the class after mine, so I’m curious to know how their experience was.

Goal for next week: Do 15 laps, relax more and stop swimming into the wall as if I were drunk.

When you run, your body looses fluids. To run optimally, you need to replace the fluids your body looses. Your personal sweat rate (PSW) will help you determine how much you need to drink and how often while you are running.

How to determine your sweat rate:

When well hydrated, do a short warm up and then weigh yourself naked. This weight will be called the pre-run weight.
Run for an hour in the conditions and intensity you expect to face in an upcoming training session or race.
Dry yourself thoroughly.
Weigh yourself naked. This weight will be called the post-run weight.
Subtract the post-run weight from the pre-run weight.
Multiply the number you calculated in step 5 by 16. [(pre-run weight - post-run weight) times 16]
If you drank during the 1 hour run, add the number of ounces you drank to the number you received in step 6,

Example:

Pre-Run weight: 160
Post-Run weight: 156
Pounds lost: 4
Drank 8 ounces of Water

(160-156) x 16 = 64

64 + 8 (ounces of water)

Total fluids lost = 72

**Try to replace 72 ounces of fluid each hour. When replacing fluids, It is best if you drink fluids every 15 to 20 minutes.

Where does the Fluid Go?

Your body looses fluid:

Urine
Sweat
Evaporation (other than sweat)
Water used inside the body and respiration

You can’t help but get excited when thinking about participating in a triathlon. In 2010, will be my first triathlon and I have a slight feeling that it won’t be my last. I have some work ahead of me. The swimming is my weakness, but starting in January, I will be taking a series of swimming classes. These will range from the basics to the advance movements in the water. I’ve read numerous articles about the brutes of the water, so I’ll be preparing accordingly. Here is a great article for newbies. It also includes a 6 week training program. As the new year begins, I will post more tri articles in the “WORKOUT” section.

The thought of getting ready for a short triathlon can be a daunting prospect for the average athlete. Brendon Downey explains some of the key points to ensure that individuals can get ready to do their first triathlon.

Triathlon, it conjures up images of extremely fit, lean individuals battling the sun and the elements in the all day gruelathon of the Hawaii Ironman. No wonder many people secretly wish that they could do one but are too afraid to give it a go.

The first myth to dispel is that not all triathlons take all day. The local Corporate Triathlon (Swim 400m, Cycle 18km and Run 4km) will take normal people around an hour, going at a steady pace including some walking during the run section. Just about anyone can complete a triathlon of this size. One of the great aspects of these events is the team concept. Each team comprises of 3 individuals who each complete the whole course, one at a time in relay. It can be a great team building exercise.

Swim
For a lot of people the swim is often the area that creates the most fear of triathlons. A 400m swim can be very off putting to non swimmers. If you havent swum for a few years/decades start slowly. Some swimming pools are quite shallow, allowing you to stand up at any time, something that will take a lot of the fear out of swimming. Start with short pieces of say 10-15m. If it has been quite a while or you really dont know how to swim call your local swimming centre who will get you in touch with an adult swim instructor. They will usually be able to get you swimming in only a couple of weeks. The key is to slowly increase your distance and start with broken swimming see the programme for more detail.

Bike
The bike leg is the easiest section to get ready for. If you are tired you can always free-wheel. Again start slowly -if you are not confident cycling on the road start by cycling at the local park. A basic mountain bike and helmet is all that is needed. This leg is short so you dont have to do a lot of training to get ready for a 10km cycle (See the programme for more details). If you dont like to go on the roads, another good option is to use the cycles at your local gym.

Run
Yes it is called a run but you can actually walk. There is no rule that says that you must run the whole way -in fact many people will walk all or nearly all of the run section. Make sure that you have some energy at the end so that you can look good as you run across the finish line!

What do you need to do to get ready for the run?

There are two main points for the run section.

First and foremost cover the distance in ONE training run. This does not mean that you must do this every week -you should build up to run distance over a 4 week period. If you have never run before start with a short walk of say 20 minutes and include a little running. The bottom line is that at the very least you can walk the whole way (See the programme for more detail).

Secondly practice running off the bike. One of the hardest parts of the triathlon is the start of the run. When you get off the bike your muscles are tired from cycling and also your body is sending oxygen to your cycling muscles creating the jelly legs feeling the best way to get around this is to do a couple of Brick (because thats what your legs can feel like) sessions. These involve a short run off the bike on a couple of occasions prior to your event.

Classic Mistakes when Training for a Triathlon

1) Too Much
More is not always better. Be realistic the basic programme provided will get you there. If you have a demanding job, a life and would still like to have some friends after the triathlon, keep to what is required.

2) Too Long
Classic mistake two is thinking that what ever training is not enough. Once you have reached the race distances, the buzz on the day will get you through the event.

3) Too Intense
Not only does your average Type-A Exec go too fast training but they also tend to put in a lot of effort at the start of the programme, do not miss sessions and end up injured or burnt out before the event.

Final Note
When you get to the event remember what your goals were at the start. If your aim was just to finish dont get sucked into having to beat someone else or a time. Finishing a triathlon is a great personal achievement in itself. Have some fun and enjoy the post race activities.

The 6 Week Basic Triathlon Program