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The Official OGBoards Running (and Cycling) Thread: (Insert Season Here)

Deacfreak07 said:
Don't know if there is enough interest in a triathlon thread, but I'm taking this spring to build a base to potentially run one in the fall. I feel fine about the run and bike sections of just about any race, but I've never done any "real" swimming despite having pretty much been in the water since I was an infant. Anyone else get into swimming for fitness in the adulthood? Had my first swim workout with a training partner this morning who has some background with swimming (his sister swims for her college team), so he's giving me some good feedback. The breathing technique is nuts. I think I can figure it out, but I didn't expect it to be such a challenge.
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All I can tell you is just keep swimming. The swimming portion of any Tri is always the shortest, timewise, so you can gain or lose the least time there. The goal is to get through it without wearing yourself out for the other portions... that is assuming you are not trying to win the race or something. I don't know what length Tri you are looking at in the fall... I can tell you I signed up for the Raleigh 70.3 in May. I started swim training in Nov. and couldn't swim more than 50-100 yards without resting. I have been swimming 2-3 times a week since and can now swim a mile without stopping and without being overly tired (though not fast). I never dreamed I would be able to swim that far...

This is all pool swimming, of course, so I am uncertain what it is going to be like to transition to open water swimming...
Good luck!
 
lbE08 said:
Please tell me all about what you did because I am curious!
Also, what's tripping you up about the breathing? I could maybe figure out which drill would help you out...
Click to expand...

2x50 warmup
4x25
4x50
4x25
2x50 cool down

I had my buddy watch me and give me some feed back in between sets. I used a pull buoy for the middle section to help reduce some of the things to think about. Tried to just focus mostly on relaxing my pace and bilaterally breathing. I think my problem may be more with exhaling underwater wasting my breathing time when my head turns. The buoy helped by either reducing my thoughts or keeping my body more straight (probably both).

Towards the end of my workout, I got some things figured out. When I got tired coming back on 50's, it broke down on me though.

After the workout, I did a lap with a kick board and flippers because my buddy noticed my kicking was too much from my knees. I tried practicing a breathing rhythm with that, and noticed I was not really exhaling as much in between breaths.

I will be back in the pool Thursday for the same workout, so I'm excited to improve. It's just crazy how much swimming depends on technique (running and cycling much less so IMO), so I feel like the n00biest of n00bs.
 
scooter84 said:
All I can tell you is just keep swimming. The swimming portion of any Tri is always the shortest, timewise, so you can gain or lose the least time there. The goal is to get through it without wearing yourself out for the other portions... that is assuming you are not trying to win the race or something. I don't know what length Tri you are looking at in the fall... I can tell you I signed up for the Raleigh 70.3 in May. I started swim training in Nov. and couldn't swim more than 50-100 yards without resting. I have been swimming 2-3 times a week since and can now swim a mile without stopping and without being overly tired (though not fast). I never dreamed I would be able to swim that far...

This is all pool swimming, of course, so I am uncertain what it is going to be like to transition to open water swimming...
Good luck!
Click to expand...

It's just a sprint, so that's no problem. I just want to take advantage of being in a place personally and professionally to workout twice a day and really focus on more than just running.
 
re: transitioning from pool to open water
If you can get out anywhere (Jordan Lake?) and practice, do it. A lot of people get more rest on the walls in a pool than they realize (unless you're doing flip-turns, at which point the wall's helping in a different way), plus the shock of suddenly not having a lane line or being able to see much around you can be jarring/disconcerting for many. You also will want to get out there and practice sighting, because it's likely you'll end up swimming a lot farther than 1.2 miles just based on the weaving around you'll do. If you're in a wet-suit legal race and plan to be wearing one, you need to practice and get used to that, too.

DF07, scooter makes a really good point that the swim is the shortest piece of the puzzle and at a certain point the effort you'd need to put in to make marginal gains is not really worth it... but there's a lot you can do to help it be more than just something you have to endure in order to get to the bike/run. Especially early on, focus on form and establish good habits.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
2x50 warmup
4x25
4x50
4x25
2x50 cool down

I had my buddy watch me and give me some feed back in between sets. I used a pull buoy for the middle section to help reduce some of the things to think about. Tried to just focus mostly on relaxing my pace and bilaterally breathing. I think my problem may be more with exhaling underwater wasting my breathing time when my head turns. The buoy helped by either reducing my thoughts or keeping my body more straight (probably both).

Towards the end of my workout, I got some things figured out. When I got tired coming back on 50's, it broke down on me though.

After the workout, I did a lap with a kick board and flippers because my buddy noticed my kicking was too much from my knees. I tried practicing a breathing rhythm with that, and noticed I was not really exhaling as much in between breaths.

I will be back in the pool Thursday for the same workout, so I'm excited to improve. It's just crazy how much swimming depends on technique (running and cycling much less so IMO), so I feel like the n00biest of n00bs.
Click to expand...


Think of your legs as scissors and your crotch is the fulcrum to keep those knees straight; there's a tiny bit of whip action (you're not a robot), but your motion should start from the hip. Isolate this by kicking with a kickboard, but extend the board out in front of you and keep your face in the water so your body remains flat. If you hold yourself up on the kickboard, your back gets all arched, your hips drop, and all of this becomes much more difficult. If you want, you could also forgo the kickboard and put you arms in a tight streamline over your head and kick on your back (so you can still breath; it's hard). Engaging your core is crucial. Can't stress that enough.

The breathing... figuring out how to exhale completely (or almost completely) underwater can be tough. As far as bilaterally breathing.. you do you. Not until I started doing open water stuff did I even think about breathing to my left (because some donk might be making waves on my right). If you're having problems with breathing technique in general, focus on the side that feels natural until it (breathing) is more natural. Then consider going bilateral. If you are trying to do every 3rd stroke (bilateral) AND working on form, you're just gonna be flopping all over the place. Also with breathing, core is important. Think about turning your body on a spit and breathing in your armpit - a lot of people have a tendency to lift their heads when they go to breath, which like holding yourself up on a kickboard causes your hips to drop/back to arch/everything to get harder. Keep your core engage and rotate like a log on a spit.
Drill: hold a tight streamline; kick on your stomach for 6 kicks. Flip over to your back (instigating with your core, your arms remain in a tight streamline throughout) and kick for 6 or so kicks. Flip back to your stomach instigating with your core. Do 25 of that, then 25 freestyle swim back to the side you started from.

Core core core. Keep it engaged. Planks are fun; think of perfect plank form (where your butt is not dipping). Try to recreate that body shape in the water.

I have so many more thoughts, but those two address some pretty key points that really affect everything else about swimming.
 
Also, why is all this swimming shit on the running thread? GTFO with this nonsense.
 
lbE08 said:
Think of your legs as scissors and your crotch is the fulcrum to keep those knees straight; there's a tiny bit of whip action (you're not a robot), but your motion should start from the hip.
Click to expand...

Say Hey Deac said:
I'm thinking of your mama's crotch as a fulcrum.
Click to expand...

What a great sentence by leebs. Unedited and in order: legs, scissors, crotch, whip action, motion should start from the hip.

I can envision a director saying the exact sentence to a young porn star.
 
lbE08 said:
Think of your legs as scissors and your crotch is the fulcrum to keep those knees straight; there's a tiny bit of whip action (you're not a robot), but your motion should start from the hip. Isolate this by kicking with a kickboard, but extend the board out in front of you and keep your face in the water so your body remains flat. If you hold yourself up on the kickboard, your back gets all arched, your hips drop, and all of this becomes much more difficult. If you want, you could also forgo the kickboard and put you arms in a tight streamline over your head and kick on your back (so you can still breath; it's hard). Engaging your core is crucial. Can't stress that enough.

The breathing... figuring out how to exhale completely (or almost completely) underwater can be tough. As far as bilaterally breathing.. you do you. Not until I started doing open water stuff did I even think about breathing to my left (because some donk might be making waves on my right). If you're having problems with breathing technique in general, focus on the side that feels natural until it (breathing) is more natural. Then consider going bilateral. If you are trying to do every 3rd stroke (bilateral) AND working on form, you're just gonna be flopping all over the place. Also with breathing, core is important. Think about turning your body on a spit and breathing in your armpit - a lot of people have a tendency to lift their heads when they go to breath, which like holding yourself up on a kickboard causes your hips to drop/back to arch/everything to get harder. Keep your core engage and rotate like a log on a spit.
Drill: hold a tight streamline; kick on your stomach for 6 kicks. Flip over to your back (instigating with your core, your arms remain in a tight streamline throughout) and kick for 6 or so kicks. Flip back to your stomach instigating with your core. Do 25 of that, then 25 freestyle swim back to the side you started from.

Core core core. Keep it engaged. Planks are fun; think of perfect plank form (where your butt is not dipping). Try to recreate that body shape in the water.

I have so many more thoughts, but those two address some pretty key points that really affect everything else about swimming.
Click to expand...

This is really the filthiest post I've ever seen. So sexual. I've highlighted all the dirty parts. Jesus, Leebs, pretty clear you're making up for lost time with HJD.
 
I don't know if I'm impressed or concerned that you took the time to do that.
 
It definitely concerned me that you wrote that pervy post. "Rotate like a log on a spit" -- damn, Leebus, you been reading 50 Shades of Gray on your lunch break?
 
Just spent the last hour watching most of the 30 for 30 on Terry Fox. I don't have any tears left. Wow.
 
Signed up for the Broad Street Run. Who has run it?
 
DeacHawk said:
Damn dude. Running? Biking? Hope you're ok. Scary shit I'd imagine
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Running down PH Rd toward Country Club, and she's turning right on PH out of that apartment complex behind the shell station. I come up to the intersection, it's still light outside, I look at her face as she looks right, signal I'm coming, and then she hits the gas as I'm directly in front of her. Lifted my left leg up and out a little, and I slammed my hands on her hood. I seem to be ok. Still finished my run. I'm sure I'll probably have some bruises. Talk about adrenaline. She was probably 16-18 years old. Sure I scared her to death. Could have been really bad around 5:00 had she thrown me in the road.
 
That is crazy DF07. I know that turn well. I wonder if she even actually saw you or registered that you were coming towards. I bet that adrenaline was going hard. Glad you were able to continue on and hopefully it's just some bruises, if anything.
 
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