As featured in www.agegroupers.com Coaching Forum: : I am a decent swimmer meaning I can swim but am not very fast. I have problems turning right so I site every third or fifth stroke. I feel as if I am going very slow and am not keeping up with the pack. I also have gone through about 8 pair of goggles trying to find a pair that don't leak. Can you give any advice on speed, staying straight or goggles

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:27:27 -0500

A: These are all great questions. Sounds like you need a good coach, especially in the swim. The questions you have asked may have a lot to do with
body position in the water.

1. When you say you're having problems turning to the right, I'm guessing you're having problems breathing to the right. If pain is causing this problem, it may be time to see a chiropractor to see if there is a problem with the neck or upper back. Chiropractors may not be the answer, but they can be helpful in finding the answer. They can show you where the problem is, so that you can deal with the specific strength and flexibility issues.

ex: If you are not getting enough rotation in your stroke, it can lead to problems with your shoulders. When you finish a long or hard swim, you should be sore and fatigued in your Lats and Tris. If your shoulders are really sore, you are probably swimming to flat in the water. I dealt with this for 3 years while learning how to swim. It lead to many neck and shoulder problems, mostly pain in the rotator cuffs. It also lead to pain while turning my head to breath.

What you can do:

1. Get your cadence up by shortening your stoke. You are not racing in the pool, you're racing in the open water. Shortening your stroke will make it much easier to breath to the right while your body is rotating.

2. Think of your arms as a kayak paddle. When one is out of the water, one is in the water. This will also make it easier to stay with pack.

3. Spend more time with the back of your stroke than the front. More can go wrong with the front of your stroke while in a pack. People can hit your arm or keep it back while your trying to get it forward and into the water.

4. Your hand should enter the water at shoulder width and close to your head (maybe 4 to 6 inches in front of the head). This will be a tough habit to get used to. When you finally get it down, then the rotation will come much easier.

Sighting:

1. It's actually good to sight every 6 to 10 strokes. If fact, while with a pack, you should do more than half of your sighting under water. Lift your head a tiny bit with your eyes staying under water. Look for the feet and the bubbles in front of you.

2. Staying with the pack in the swim is very important because of the draft. You can actually get almost as much of an advantage in the swim as in the bike. It may not feel the same, but if you lose the pack, they can actually put minutes on you.

Goggles: I don't know what to say about fit except that when you find that perfect fit, buy 20 of them! I've been known to clean out one type of goggle in a store because I'm afraid that I may never see them again.

You may not even be dealing with these issues. This is why I suggest a coach, someone who knows how to deal with each of your specific needs.

As featured in www.agegroupers.com Coaching Forum: I did IM CDA in June. I had a hamstring issue that needed to heal so I took a couple week break and kept doing some fun stuff. I ranged from about 50 -75 miles a week on the bike, couple days swimming and recently got back on the run and have built up to about 20 miles a week on the run and I feel good. Didn't want IM to be only race of the season and waste all my fitness that I built with my IM training so I just signed up for a 1/2 Im Distance mid Sept. I have read about "blocks of training" to help rebuild fitness. With 3 weeks of training is there a block of training I can do to ramp up quickly? What do you suggest

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:25:00 -0500

A: Yes and No.

No: Blocks of training have to do with a long period of training (i.e. a 1 year build towards next year’s IM CDA). You split up that year in order to train your body for different races, and different weather periods. Ex: indoor most of the winter because of snow.

Yes: You can simply add this small block to your whole period of training, (this year). You had a problem with your hamstring, but you are probably still in pretty good shape. You need to maintain that fitness and do 2 to 4 key workouts before your half IM. You probably want to focus on distance rather than speed because speed will tend to harm the hamstring more easily. Do a smaller taper with less speed. Focus on a good diet so that your mind is ready for
the race.

You may want to see a chiropractor. One of your joints may have slipped out of place causing the hamstring pain. This is often overlooked.

As featured in www.agegroupers.com Coaching Forum: Every time I run my shins get sore either during the run or the next day. I know this is common but everyone I talk to that has this problem just quits running or only walks. I like running and hope there is another alternative.

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:19:10 -0500

A: That's seems to be a problem with many runners at whatever level, including "yours truly." Most likely, it has something to do with lack of strength. Runners calves tend to get very strong while the shin muscles (actually the front part of the calf) stay weak. The weakness can also come from the feet and
ankles.

Question: What do I do about shin splints?
Answer: Time to strengthen the shins!

1. Theraband work with the ankles, to strengthen shin muscles. Black (strongest), red or green (weakest). Cut about 2 feet of the band and tie it in a large loop. Anchor it to the leg of a couch, or something else close to the ground that won't move while doing the exercise. Sit a few feet away from the anchor and wrap the band around your foot while leg is straight. Pull foot back 30 times while in 3 different positions using only ankle and shin muscles. 1. Straight back. 2. To the right. 3. To the left.

Repeat this process 2 to 3 more times and do it 3 times per week.

2. Bare foot sand walking. Go to the beach or local sand volley ball court. Walk around for 15 to 30 minutes. This is about the best thing you can do for foot strength. I usually throw a frisbee for my dog while in a volley ball court, (that is, if I'm not working at the beach).

3. Write imaginary letters with your feet. You can do this with or without shoes. Write capital letters with your whole foot using your toe as your paint brush. You can do this while watching TV or at the office.

Remember: Repetition is the key.

Be sure to get running shoes that fit properly. This in itself may remedy the problem.

As featured in www.agegroupers.com forum: I am training for a 70.3 in July. I am trying to not only build my base but build speed. How often should I incorporate speed work in my routine?

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:06:39 -0500

I believe whole heartedly in speed work, though there are many variables
involved in answering this question: time; how much base you have; what
type of training tools you have.

If you don't have a lot of time, you can actually build speed work into 40
to 60 percent of your training. Let's say you can swim 3 days, bike 2 days,
and run 3 days. I would have you working some type of intervals on at least
2 of the swims, 1 ride and 1 run.

If you have more time to train, it will give you more time for building
strength throughout the schedule. You would do roughly the same amount of
interval work as the previous paragraph. The difference would be that you
would have more workouts in each event. This would bring the overall
percentage of interval work in your schedule down.

Ex: 4 to 5 days of swimming per week: At least 2 days would be speed work,
on occasion, 3 days. The other 2 to 3 days would be very easy work with
drills.

3 to 4 rides per week: 1 to 2 of these days would be intervals. 1 day
would be an easy spin and 1 day would be long.

4 to 5 runs per week: 1 to 2 days would be intervals. 2 to 3 days would be
easy runs. 1 day per week or every other week would be a long run.

Tools like indoor wind trainers and treadmills can greatly cut down on your
overall time of training. They can also make every training session hard.
There are no red lights or down hills when training inside. Everything is
specific and hard.

Missing workouts

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:46:30 -0600

If you miss a workout, don’t do the workout the next day. This will put you in a hole you can’t get out of. Just start the next day fresh.

Efficiency

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:45:41 -0600

While getting in shape, try to focus on cadence and time rather than distance. If you end up going less distance running or cycling, it’s OK as long as you keep up the cadence. We force those rhythms into the brain early, so that they will come easier when you start going really hard. This will increase your overall efficiency in workouts and races.

Separating the hard from the easy

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:44:36 -0600

It’s very important to separate the hard workouts from the easy workouts. This will make you more ready for racing when you get there. Your body has to go through a process in order to recover from the hard workouts. If you don’t let it recover, you won’t be able to get it to go where it needs to go. You race how you train, and you train how you race. In other words, don’t work hard every day.

As featured in www.agegroupers.com featured coach of the month Q&A forum: I am running my 1st Ironman in about 4 months. I have never run a marathon and was wondering if you thought it was a good idea to complete one before the IM? Or would that require too much recovery and interruption to my training?

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:40:18 -0600

When training for the IronMan, it's not so important to run a whole marathon distance before the race, especially if you are only 17 weeks from your race. When Pro Triathlete Sam McGlone is training for the IM, Cliff English (her coach) has her do a hard two-day block, three to four times during her lead up to the race. She will build by about 1/2 an hour each time. The first of the two days will be a long, solid brick and the second day will be a 2.5 hour run. These are usually done on a Saturday and Sunday, 4-5 weeks apart. The final one should be about 21-28 days from the race. In a 4-month period, you have time for 3 of these 4-5 weeks apart.

Example:
(14 weeks from race)
Saturday: solid combo/brick (swim - bike - run): equipment ready
  Swim: 45-50 minutes (solid efforts - race
specific)
  Bike: 5 hour ride (focus on cadence and
nutrition)
  Run:   40 min run (quick cadence and
rhythm)

Sunday: Long run: 2 hours as 3x (35min aerobic - 5min easy jog)

(9 weeks from race)
Sat: Combo/brick (swim - bike - run): Equipment ready
Swim: 50-55 min (solid efforts - race
specific)
  Bike: 5:30 ride (cadence and nutrition)
  Run:   50 min run (cadence and rhythm)

Sun: Long run: 2:15 as 3x (40min aerobic - 5min easy jog)

(4 weeks from race)
Sat: Combo/brick (swim - bike - run): equipment ready
Swim: 55-60min (solid efforts - race
specific)
  Bike: 6 hour ride (cadence and nutrition)
Run:   1 hour run (cadence and rhythm)

Sun: Long run: 2:30 as 3x (45min aerobic - 5min easy jog)

Remember to take the next 2 or 3 days very easy, with maintenance work only.

In training for a 70.3 or an Ironman, do you recommend less time in the saddle and eliminating those 6-8 hour rides?

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:24:22 -0600

You have to do those rides, just maybe not once per week. Vigil talks about training his marathoners at 120 miles per week for 20 weeks. They actually only hit that mileage 3 to 5 weeks out of the 20 weeks. They go down and up through the valleys and over the peaks because of periodization. You need your body to be ready to conquer those 120 weeks the same as you need your body to be able to conquer the race (marathon). How can your body do this if you are already doing it every week? You just get into a rut, and stay there for all of your training. Then, "you race how you train and you train how you race." If you train at 120 miles per week and always feel badly, your taper won't matter, you will race badly.

Now extend this training out for the Ironman and the half. You need to spend most of your time at that 2.5 to 4 hour period in order to hone your power, cadence and riding skills. Then you pop up every once in a while to hit those big rides in order to gain confidence and teach your body how handle the time in the saddle (nutrition included). This is why you see the great ironman competitors only doing one or two of those distance races per year. They spend the rest of their time honing their skills at the shorter distances.

Nutritional Tips From Derek Kite

Sat, 9 Sep 2006 17:37:06 -0500

Printed in USAT Coaching Newsletter 2006, Volume 3, Number 4, Page 10

Set Goals: Just as in racing, setting nutritional goals is an important part of overall planning. Without goals you don’t give your body a reason to get where you want to go. If it’s not set in stone, there’s no reason to do it. Without goals, eating becomes more of a random process; however, if an athlete and coach coordinate training, competition and meeting all goals can be met. If an athlete focuses on only one aspect; for example losing a certain amount of weight, then when one considers overall goal planning, that athlete is set up for a roller coaster ride of emotions due gain and loss that could be just a matter of water weight.
Protein, the Forgotten Nutrient: Athletes who are putting in a great deal of mileage have a tendency to be lacking in one thing, protein. Billy Mills recommended to me to eat a variety of protein sources in a training week. The first day might be fish, then red meat, the third chicken and the fourth a vegetarian source such as rice and beans. Another coach told me, “8 ounces of steak three times a week.”
Signs of Protein Deficiency: An early warning sign is being tired all the time. Another is sleeping in a lot. If you have a blood test you may see an iron deficiency. Many athletes take an iron supplement to increase the oxygen carrying abilities of the blood. This really doesn’t address the protein issue and gives athletes a false sense of security.
Protein Supplements: These are OK; however, they are really for the upper echelon athletes with very high training loads every day. Athletes should remember to eat properly first and then, if necessary, take protein supplements.
Don’t Overdo It: I’ve done a lot of protein experimentation on myself. You can overdo protein and end up hurting during a workout. I started to eat a lot of protein so I could get that lean look. I found that I couldn’t get through my workouts. As with any source of nutrition, more may not be better.