triOK's Group - FULL (Page 18)

Those are some great pictures!!

and like others have said, Bricks are vital if you want to run well off the bike.  Personally, I do very few dedicated brick workouts.  But after every ride, I go for a quick run.  10-15 min, nothing long.  Just get home, put your bike up, slap on some shoes and go. 

Ditto... if nothing else, at least throw on some shoes so that you can learn what it feels like coming off the bike.  You DO NOT want to learn that feeling on race day!

No.... Different muscles are used when you swim, so you don't get that heavy feeling in your legs.

Although, I would give some thought to the swim-to-bike transition.  I have never practiced a transition, but I always think about it.  You don't want your feet to be wet while you get into your bike shoes (whether you wear socks or not).  You also need to remember to put your number on.  And of course, you need to remember your helmet.  I almost forgot mine once.

Plus running after swimming gives you the tired aspect of coming off the bike.  You will have lactic acid built up during the swm (if done right) and your HR will be elevated.  So it mimics the run portion of the tri very well, IMHO.

Yep... very much agreed and was reminded of that today.  Race report is on its way!

Is the best way to slow down your swimming to simply slow the strokes?

I'm finding that when I swim with regular strokes, I can't last very long, and it feels like I'm sprinting (relatively speaking of course).  I'd like to go slower to see if I can keep it going longer, similar to running, but I always seem to go at the same pace (1:45 per 100 yds).  So what I've been doing is basically overswitches from TI with 2-3 breaths every 3 strokes, but that's starting to feel counterproductive since I'm not getting a lot of regular swimming in.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Don't think of it as slowing your stroke... think of it as lengthening your glide.  When you do your body roll, you should be pausing in your sweet spot and gliding.  This should slow you way down.  Glide, roll, switch, glide..... repeat.

Race Report is up!

Also, breath every stroke (same side).  For me, it keeps me Aerobic.  As you glide, take in a deep breath, stroke stroke, breath.

I use slowing down to work on my catch phase.  Keeping the elbow high and "coming over the barrel"

I agree.  When I slow myself down, I work on getting a good glide.  Almost to the point of doing catch up drill.

Actually, they DO lie... a lot.  The only way to get an accurate body fat measurement is to do a submersion test.  Any of the other test methods are highly variable, and depending on what/where they are measuring, you could get a number that is WAY off.

Don't sweat it.  I think you are doing great!  Keep at it and don't get discouraged by some stupid number that probably isn't right anyway.

Gator - here's the link to the thread I mentioned.  As you'll see, you are not alone. 

Just keep on training for the triathlons, and let the weight take care of itself.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=71236&posts=19&start=1

Robyn & Dan,

Thanks for the advice on the swimming.  I was able to use both and do a regular swim stroke much more today.  Since I wasn't running out of breath as much, I could also think about my form and work on that.

I've also realized that I was kicking way too much.  When I purposely slowed them down that helped as well.

Exactly what is says... a stripper.  When you come out of the water, you take the top half of your wetsuit off then lay on your back and the strippers come by and yank the wetsuit off the bottom half of your body.  If you have a two-piece tri suit, you have to be sure they don't rip off your shorts.  That'd be very bad.

I took 1 gel before the race started.... another one during T1... and again at T2.  I didn't get enough water with them and I am pretty sure that contributed to the tummy issues.