Ryan Mac’s HIM Focus Group - CLOSED (Page 8)

Originally posted by Ryan Mac

What does everybody have on the agenda today?

I am swimming at lunch, main set is 15x100 @1:45SI and then an easy 8 mile run later this afternoon or tonight.

Yesterday I missed my planned run due to being home again with my son but played hockey later that evening, so got something in.

Originally posted by slornow
Main set will be 3X3 min TT on full rest.  I know this will be painful. I'll finish the first one and almost fall off the bike....then I will still have 2 more to do.

Originally posted by juniperjen

She suggested that I do an underwater video session to see what's going on under the water.  Anyone have this done? 

I hadn't really given it much thought - primarily because i find it difficult to take in all the information even in regular setting and use it meaningfully. It can feel like a hundred things to do at once. I've always felt like i had enough room for improvement with what could be seen. Not to be hard on myself but i think i have been improving (and I do feel good about it) but i do think my coach might be a little frustrated with not having me improve more (move up lanes - like other people have) and wondering what to do.  

Originally posted by slornow

Swam at lunch. Later today some strength/core work then 40 min easy run.

Tomorrow should be interesting on the bike. Main set will be 3X3 min TT on full rest.  I know this will be painful. I'll finish the first one and almost fall off the bike....then I will still have 2 more to do. Should be interesting as I have no specific power number in mind other than estimates from recent workouts.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. 

Originally posted by slornow

Swam at lunch. Later today some strength/core work then 40 min easy run.

Tomorrow should be interesting on the bike. Main set will be 3X3 min TT on full rest.  I know this will be painful. I'll finish the first one and almost fall off the bike....then I will still have 2 more to do. Should be interesting as I have no specific power number in mind other than estimates from recent workouts.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. 

Originally posted by marcag Is that 3' all out, then rest, 3' all out.....? If so, how much rest ?

Originally posted by swimdean

I'm back amongst the living! Yeah!!
Question: my training plan for HIM New Orleans 4/19/15 was supposed to start the day I got sick. I'm supposed to be almost 2 weeks into the plan with only 3 workouts done. I am a gold member here and using a "custom" plan built with the software here. I can make a new plan that starts now if I want. Would it be better to do that or just continue with what I have now? My concern is that I have 1 more week of hard training and then a rest week. Will I be able to catch up?

Originally posted by GAUG3

Swim dean. I would start over again. It would do my brain better knowing I'm starting fresh than missing a few weeks of the plan. Still take it easy.

I check my pulse every morning. It jumps about 10 beats when I start getting sick even though I feel fine. I know to back off or else WHAM!

Originally posted by marcag I'm with the 'start a fresh plan' since you haven't really started. Another tool to look at is a program called iThlete that measures heart rate variability (HRV). It's probably a more accurate measure of fatigue than resting heart rate. Do not fall slave to it, but it is worth investigating.

Originally posted by slornow

Marca-I looked at the website http://myithlete.com/  Have you tried this. Looks interesting.

Originally posted by marcag Yes. I have been using it since June, but lost about 3months of data when my iPhone crashed and needed a factory reset. It definitely detects fatigue in me. I can also see a bad HRV score with a quick drop in TSB over 5 days or so. I also find that my swims are most affected by poor HRV scores.

Originally posted by slornow

Thanks. I may give this a try. I don't feel overtrained. Been getting good rest, volume has not increased a ton. But, have been building up my run mileage over the last month. Bike and swim have been "off" for the last two weeks. Wonder if the gradual run build is having a negative effect on my swim and bike.   

Originally posted by marcag The only downside is you need a Bluetooth HR strap or their bluetooth HR sensor to connect with an iPhone. They also suggest establishing a baseline when you aren't already "in the hole" from a fatigue point of view.

Originally posted by slornow

Saw that. I ordered the finger sensor since my HR strap is Garmin and the device/app is not Ant+ compatible. 10-12 days to get it from UK. I'll take it easy for a few days when I get it to try to establish an accurate baseline.

Do you find that the data is pretty consistent with how you feel? I currently enter all training/racing data into Raceday training software. It calculates TSS of swim, bike and run. Also, has a graph with positive and negative training stress. Hoping the ithlete device will be a little more nuanced and encourage me to back off when needed. Thanks for the help!

Originally posted by marcag



I am pretty bad at reading my body. However, after two HIMs it had properly detected that I was pretty depleted. Another time it told me to back off, and I was unable to hit my bike targets. A couple of other times, I had bad swims on "Amber" days. I have never done "well" on Amber days, so there is something there.

I did notice this. The test makes you breath in and breath out and it takes your HR during these long inhales/exhales. The time between heartbeats is what determines if your nervous response system is compromised. I now can feel the difference during the test when I am going to ht a low score. My breathing isn't as smooth. I also noticed more of a struggle breathing during swims when I am in this "tired" state.

The danger is to let it drive you. I intentionally stay away from really hard workouts when I am in red or amber state. But I am "Green", probably 98% of the time. I do not take days off when Amber, just back off a little and the next day I am fine. I never take days off. I just go a bit easier.

If your TSB is low (which Raceday can tell you), and you are Amber in this test, be aware of it but again, don't let it drive you.

I know a pro (a pretty good one) that was experimenting with it as well and seemed to believe there was something to it.

I plotted my CTL/ATL and TSB against my HRV scores and the only pattern I could find was I became amber during sudden drops in TSB.

I will look for a podcast where they interview the creator. It's pretty interesting.

It also went red when I was seriously hung over. But I didn't need an app to tell me I felt like crap :-)

FYI, the 4iiii Viiiva strap works well with it. Being a Ant+/BT gateway it also works with all your Garmin stuff and allows your Ant+ to talk to BT devices. Very cool.

Originally posted by littlewj



Interesting stuff. So how do you plan your workouts? If the unit shows you should back off but you have, say a 1.5 hour run planned that probably would have a high physiological cost, how do you approach that workout? Do you decrease intensity / duration or both?

Jim

Originally posted by ligersandtions

Slightly off topic but how long have you had the 4iiii heart rate monitor and what's your experience been with it?  It looks similar to Garmin's soft strap, which I've killed multiple of.  I take it into the shower and rinse it off after every sweaty workout (so pretty much every time I use it!), but still managed to kill them within about six months.  

I've recently (in the last year) changed to Garmin's hard strap, which worked flawlessly for me for a while....until just recently when it decided to start chafing my chest and now does it basically every time I run with it.  I haven't run with it in a while now as I was sick of cursing like a sailor in the shower after it happened!

Anyways, just curious about longevity, robustness, and chafing of the 4iiii strap as I'd consider it and look into myithlete as well, as it sounds intriguing.