Manatee Mentors 2016 - Closed (Page 62)

David - I have a lot of the same questions people have already asked.

But regardless of those answers, I wanted to reiterate what Janyne said and Ox alluded to. We do this for fun. So if it's not fun then definitely change something.

Hi all :-)

Thanks for the replies. Firstly, I haven't updated the logs for the last week or so, so should really do that soon :-)

The plan was a more generic one from a pretty reputable source. I think it might be more of a mental thing as NONE of the distances/workouts are ones that I wouldn't be able to push myself to complete, but I think the difficulty is getting to that point on each and every workout. Some examples are:

45 min swim, warm up (200easy free), 50 easy kick board, 8x200 free at T pace + 5 per 100 (last 200 is cool down). Alternate 50 hard kick between each 200, one on back, next on front and so on. Last 200 easy slow stroke to cool down. 2,200 yds at 2:03 pace. I completed 28 mins, 1000yds, 2:44 pace and stopped mid set on the 8x200 bit.

Another: bike - base endurance on the trainer. 1hr scheduled ride, 1/3 being strong Z2 effort. I completed 30 mins but was at around 80-90rpm throughout.

I wonder if I'm a) going into these too hard and burning out more quickly (not being able to identify between 70% and 90% effort, etc), b) letting my mind dictate how far I'm willing to push, c) lack the overall fitness to complete these consecutive workouts. At the moment, I have two workouts a day scheduled with one rest day and a brick on the weekend.

For the Oly last year, I was a little under prepared as I just spent time in the shoes or pool with very little bike time. It's actually the main reason I started training hard two months ago in prep for the IM later this year, and went with a winter maintenance 11hr/week plan.

Edited by RookeyDavid 2016-02-10 11:17 AM

Yep, I have previously completed 2500yds with about 4x30 second rests, so not entirely continuous... its actually the workouts that I fail in.

I have a kinetic fluid trainer and have only ever done about an hour on it, but can cycle 2-3 fairly easily on the road. Example - this weekend Im doing a 3hr 70.3 ride course followed by a 30min run and I feel I will be able to complete that (although probably fatigued at the end!)

I dont know how to set my HR Zones, so have just been going from what "feels" right, but do have a HRM that I monitor.

Regarding the bike - probably a mixture of both. More a mindset of "that feels like enough, let's not push through the barrier".

Swim-wise, I can jump in the pool and kick out 2000yds immediately. It's probably the intensity and variation of the workout sets that gets me and when I can't complete one aspect of it (for example, the kickboard stuff kills me), the rest of the workout seems moot so I call it a day.

In talking this out, it seems like it's more a mental thing. Any ideas on how to break through that?

Sometimes when motivation is lacking, it can be helpful to go back and revisit WHY you picked your goal. If you aren't able to find a satisfactory answer, then you will likely have a hard time with motivation. If you do find your answer, hopefully the soul searching will have rekindled your motivation.
Barring that....suck it up, buttercup.

All good advice

Call me crazy but if the kick board is killing you dont do it, or scale it back. If plan calls for 100's on kickboard just do 50 or even 25 and see how it goes. Although it might not be the "text book" best plan any activity you do will be better than nothing or getting frustrated and giving up half way through.

As far as the trainer goes are you just staring at a blank wall pedaling yourself into oblivion? I watch TV series and movies on the trainer and honestly say that most times I look forward to that time. Put me on the trainer with out a video to watch and I go crazy - I cant even do a ride on Zwift - its just too boring.

^This.

YAY!!!!! That's awesome!!!! So happy for you )))

Hey guys,
have you seen this Ted Talk? I was wondering what you thing about it. Not about running without shoes, but about the concept of long distance running as "human thing".

https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_to_run?l...

I love his/this book, I read it once a year.
That book pretty much started my Tri "career" now that I think of it. Great read. :-D
I don't think everything he wrote in that book is good/helpful though, his ted talk is an excerpt of his book.

I am really planning to experiment with barefoot running someday (not this year, this is swim year), I think he might be onto something there.

Lol!!! :-D

Edited by Lighttower 2016-02-10 9:43 PM

double post.

Edited by Lighttower 2016-02-10 9:44 PM

Even though I'm not a fan of barefoot or even minimalist running (except I don't like socks) That was an interesting talk. BTW I love Ted Talks! I can always find something depending on my mood/interest at the moment.

Two possible issues here:

1. In your heart, maybe you're really not that committed to the IM goal and ready for the hard work it's going to take to get there. I'd take a good hard look at WHY you want to do an IM. Is it to prove something to yourself? To impress someone else? Because that seems the logical next step? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time? Or something else? If it's not what you really want to do, or the process isn't worth it to you, then there's no shame in focusing on shorter races, or just training for general fitness and enjoyment. Unless you're a pro, it is, in the end, just a hobby.

2. If the basic desire is not the issue but the workouts are, then try to modify the workouts and your approach to them. I've never trained for an IM, but I'm an elementary teacher and coach and have worked with a lot of kids who are on the ADHD spectrum, and I'm probably on it myself. Not saying that you are, but those long, boring workouts like "8 X 200m at T-5" or "2 hours steady on the trainer" bring out those kind of traits in almost everyone! Make them more interesting and break them into manageable chunks:

*Definitely figure out your zones and find some structured way to spend your time on the trainer. Even a "steady pace" ride can have some pickups at higher gear/cadence/power inserted at regular intervals to keep things interesting. Find some good videos, invest in Sufferfest, or do like I do and google "Virtual Cycling". I do most of my trainer rides watching a bunch of German dudes ride stunningly beautiful courses in Europe.

*For swimming, modify the workouts that drive you batty, or find another source for swim sets. I understand that vague suicidal feeling that comes from contemplating a set like 8 X 200m. Think about how you could do the 200's differently. Can you swim different strokes? If so, maybe #3 and #6 can be something else, or IM. Or make some of them kick, or pull, or with pool toys (fins or paddles). It's not exactly what you'll be doing in the race, but it's still swimming and building endurance, and the other strokes can help improve your freestyle. Or choose one aspect of your stroke to focus on for each 200m. Or do two sets of "descending" effort, from easy to medium to medium hard to hard. Or build the speed within the 200m. Or something. I've spent a long time coaching myself and I know that modifying the sets like this makes them easier to do. Now that I'm working with a coach, I've told her, "I train solo 99% of the time, and sometimes I don't handle boredom well." In my case, I'll usually finish the workout even if I'm bored, but I lose focus, my form gets sloppy, and my paces fall off. So she usually makes sure to spice up the sets in some of the ways I've described above. I can also recommend the workouts archived on Sara McLarty's blog (google it)--there's a good variety of things to break up the monotony, it's oriented toward triathletes, and there are three levels of workouts for different calibers of swimmers.

*Once you've spiced up the workouts, do what I call "chunking" when I work with kids. Don't think about getting through the whole workout, just that particular repeat, then the set. For example, today I had a workout with 200's, 150's and 100's. It was a pretty long workout, and I wasn't feeling that great. (Not sick, just cramps and maybe some cumulative fatigue, plus water was colder than I like and I was feeling a bit uncomfortable.) I would have quit if I thought, "Okay, I'm going to go swim 3300m." Instead, I thought, "Now I'm going to swim 200m easy. Now I'm going to swim 200m medium. 200m medium hard, 200m hard." It's much easier to focus on doing a good job on one repeat than contemplating a whole workout.

I haven't done a full IM but I imagine I'd be using the same mental strategy in that case. If I thought about 140.6 miles, I would never start. Instead I'd think about each little stage at a time and just try to do my best at that. My favorite coach from back in my higher-level running days used to ask his athletes (he'd worked with some of the elite African runners and coaches, and claimed it was a Kenyan joke), "How do you eat an elephant?" After we'd worked with him a week, we all knew the correct answer was, "One bite at a time."

Hope this makes some kind of sense!

Edited by Hot Runner 2016-02-10 10:58 PM

Noticed your last question about nutrition. Sorry, I don't think there is a supplement that will increase your motivation! That being said, if feeling this unmotivated is unusual for you, particularly if you feel you're not only mentally, but also physically struggling with workouts that shouldn't be that difficult, then taking a good look at your diet (or talking to a nutritionist) might be helpful. Anyone who's ever been anemic can tell you that it can leave you tired, mentally foggy, and unmotivated for pretty much anything except napping--it can mimic the symptoms of other issues like depression in some people. Likewise, if you're subsisting on junk while trying to train (or, at the other extreme, eating "too healthy" and not getting enough calories, protein, and/or healthy fats to support your training), that can take a big toll on energy levels and motivation. I was somewhat of a nutritional ignoramus in my younger years (back when runners were told to eat lots of carbs, little/no red meat, and low fat, which just doesn't work for my body) and learned these things the hard way.