Today was Day 1 of my Total Immersion transformation. Today I went to 24 Hour Fitness before work for 1 hour.
I pulled on my new Total Immersion cap and reminded myself that whenever i pull on this cap I am swimming in a whole new world. Different goals, different priorities, different measurements of a good workout... like I said a whole new world.
This was my 'workout' today....
A bunch of 12.5 and 25's drill. From a pre-TI perspective that is how I would have thought about this workout. and I would have come away with pretty much nothing. No gained fitness, not improvement of technique. It would have been a waste of time.
However, now that I have taken the workshop I now see it as the best time I could have spent. I spent my time working on balance and relaxing my head. Specifically I worked on hanging my head. Here is what I found. If I push my hand forward and keep that muscle tension on I tend to use my head as part of my "force" of my stroke. If i didn't work so hard to keep my hand reaching forward i could relax my head, relax my shoulder and just let the power happen.
I only did 3 lengths of whole stroke free. And I did this in an unheard of 13 strokes. (Without a long push off either.) Also while I was drilling I did not work on breathing. If I had to breath I rolled onto my back like we did in the workshop and then rolled back and continued.
During the superman drills and skate I kept the propulsion kick going. However when I got to doing switches I let the kick go to nothing or just a small 2 BK except when I rolled on my back. If I was on my back I kicked a little but when I rolled back I stopped my kick because it really pointed out how much I "muscle" my way down the pull. Being at basically a stop really pointed out how my muscles were being triggered and allowed me to really focus on making it feel different.
The other distinctive thing I did was I did things to perfection. I didn't just do the drill to get the lengths in of the drill. I did the drill focusing on the 1 thing I wanted to concentrate on and doing that as perfectly as I could.
Here's a video that was taken of my pre-Ironman Canada 2007 that is probably pretty representative of my stroke as of about a month ago when I started working on the TI drills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJSwVm3U1FY
And here is a video of what I want to look and feel like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJpFVvho0o4
Monday, October 05, 2009
Saturday, October 03, 2009
New Identity
Right now I am working on developing a new identity, changing from a Slow Fat Triathlete to a Slim Fast Triathlete. I know I can do it but here is what I think. Until I change my picture/view of myself I will not "transform" myself into something else. So as of today I am a Slim Fast Triathlete. Not a huge change but substantial. Many things will remain the same I am just modifying a couple things.
Slow to Slim
Slow to Slim
- S:
- L:
- O to I: Streamlined and slim
- W to M: Totally turn this around from weight to muscle
Fat to Fast
- Just adding and S here: Not a huge change just Slim and Slender
Day 1 of Total Immersion Workshop
Not to brag but my stroke looks better than it ever has at the beginning of this workshop. Granted there is a HUGE difference between 25 yards and 2500 yards. Holding that stroke can be a different story. I actually find though that if I keep it smooth and easy I can keep it that way longer.
Patience is going to be the key here. Practicing the drills and getting back to the basics. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this while I'm swimming with my regular group. I'm not sure I have that amount of discipline to keep it together without trying to return to the normal mindset of yardage focus.
The main thing I think I need to work on is:
Patience is going to be the key here. Practicing the drills and getting back to the basics. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this while I'm swimming with my regular group. I'm not sure I have that amount of discipline to keep it together without trying to return to the normal mindset of yardage focus.
The main thing I think I need to work on is:
- Head position: keeping it down more and stationary
- Breathing: Keeping my breathing in the same timing and same stroke as when I am not breathing. That will be a big one. I already know that my timing gets off when I swim and breath. I have a hard time keeping the same stroke.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Why Total Immersion
I have been thinking about why I want to take the TI wrkshop
One is to improve my Ironman swim the other is because I think swimming is the fountain of youth. My goal is to stay as healthy as I can for as long as I can. I think swimming truly is one of the few sports you can do for life. And if I am going to do this for a life I want to figure out a way to make swimming pleasurable and a place I can improve for as long as possible in my life.
Total Immersion Workshop
i decided I need some concrete goals prior to attending this TI workshop otherwise what am i spending my $$ on. After the workshop I'll figure out the how I'm getting there.
Gecko Swim 2.4 miles in May/June 2010 in 1:12
IMC 2011: 2.4 miles in 1:10
Gecko Swim 2.4 miles in May/June 2010 in 1:12
IMC 2011: 2.4 miles in 1:10
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Black Diamond Half Ironman 2009
I have to admit I was really nervous about this race. The morning of I was almost in tears thinking I did not have the fitness to even complete this race. So I set my task for the rest of that day to change my expectations for the race.
I always strive to improve my time from my previous time. However this year (or rather past 2 years) has been very different than what I had seen in my life when I did Ironman Canada in 2007. I would not exactly say that I "trained" for this event. I worked out and did workouts that would possibly enable me to complete this distance, not necessarily race this distance.
On my way up I worked on developing my "intent" for the race. I decided it was time for me to give up my expectations of how I should have trained or what I didn't do in preparation for this race. All that was behind me and there are no excuses. We all choose to spend out time the way we do and we all make other decisions that impact us every day.
So my "intent" for the race was a mantra of Enjoy the Experience, Relax, and Smooth. That is what I concentrated on. I did not concentrate on who I was passing, who was passing me, how fast I was going, etc. I concentrated instead on listening to my body, enjoying the sheer fact that I have the priviledge to participate in these type of events, I have the priviledge of getting to be around some extraordinarily motivated people who share at least some of the same ideals, and to appreciate the fact that there are still people out there who will go out of their way to come cheer me on in what must be one of the unproductive, boring events they can imagine.
I listened to my body in the morning. I had concentrated on eating a good amount the day before to make my glycogen stores pretty full so i did not have to have a huge breakfast that day. For breakfast i only had 1 bagel and peanut butter, not my usual pre race meal for this distance but it is what felt right. When i got to the race I set my stuff up and walked away and went to the lake and relaxed. My mom was there supporting me all along the way. I did not let her worry get to me either or annoy me which it often does. I tried to give her my perspective of the race and teach her about how to read the maps, figure out timing of things, etc. There's alot I just know from doing the race that makes it almost intuitive for me to figure these things out. I forget that most people don't have the same experience.
The swim was a bit rough at first. I felt my chest getting tight and I seemed to only be able to breathe on 1 side. Finally I relaxed and just enjoyed the feeling of being on top of the water. I could tell that my body position had changed this past year. In my wetsuit I felt like I was on top of the water. As a matter of fact I could feel myself lifting my leg out of the water sometimes when i kicked because I was riding so high. I found that I had lots of speeds I could maintain and i played with them.
Out of the water and onto the bike i expected the same route as last time. They cut out a big hill from the previous route. It was a perfect bike route for me gentle rolling hills and some long flat stretches where I could just push a big gear. There were times when i would get anxious about whether I would have enough in my legs to do the run. So I didn't go all out on the bike. i held back some.
Into transition and out the chute straight to the bathroom. one thing I know about this race is that 3 miles can be a long way to the next blue room. I knew that there was only 1 blue room per stop too which meant you could wait awhile. I went coming out of transition and was glad I did. I found another woman who was just my pace and I kept her in my sites the entire time. We traded leads on the run a couple times and I was impressed with her endurance because I honestly think of myself as being an exception to the rule that I have this pace and just have the endurance to hold it. I don't think many people my speed have that level of endurance. She surprisingly did. She held it until mile 10 where she fell off somewhere off the back. I did not even see her finish.
On the run I set my intent to make it to the first 5K without walking. This included the stretch of really rough unimproved road that I don't like. Once I got there I felt great (the first 30 minutes are always the worst part of any run for me). Then I concentrated on making the next 5 K as easy as the first, then at 10K to make the last 10K feel as good as the first 10K. I did pretty well to this point. In the last about 1.5 miles I started to really feel a muscle in my quad knotting up. Cardiovascularly and fatigue-wise I felt pretty good. My stomach was good for the most part except the initial sip of anything but that went away quickly. It was just this one muscle that was getting shorter and shorter that was hurting me. Makes me remember why you put in all those hours for an ironman. to just get your body used to the pounding more than anything else. The fitness cardiovascularly comes but the muscles learning how to stay loose and endure the pounding is quite another situation.
Anyway, I finished. I didn't know my time as I did not have a watch nor did I see a clock posting it anywhere. When I saw my brother I looked at the time and it was 3:25. That means I did it in 6.5 hours. I was amazed. i had no idea. I expected around 6:45 or so for this race. It was a nice surprise.
Now, 3 days after I again remember why you do all the things you do for an Ironman. you ride the bike you will ride for miles on end because you need to get the muscles (not necessarily your legs) used to holding you in that position. My traps are very sore as is my neck which is what I usually experience during an Ironman. my legs are still a bit sore but i swam most of that soreness out today.
All I have to say is I LOVE being Fit and Healthy. I just hope that I can keep doing this until I am 65. that is my goal.
I always strive to improve my time from my previous time. However this year (or rather past 2 years) has been very different than what I had seen in my life when I did Ironman Canada in 2007. I would not exactly say that I "trained" for this event. I worked out and did workouts that would possibly enable me to complete this distance, not necessarily race this distance.
On my way up I worked on developing my "intent" for the race. I decided it was time for me to give up my expectations of how I should have trained or what I didn't do in preparation for this race. All that was behind me and there are no excuses. We all choose to spend out time the way we do and we all make other decisions that impact us every day.
So my "intent" for the race was a mantra of Enjoy the Experience, Relax, and Smooth. That is what I concentrated on. I did not concentrate on who I was passing, who was passing me, how fast I was going, etc. I concentrated instead on listening to my body, enjoying the sheer fact that I have the priviledge to participate in these type of events, I have the priviledge of getting to be around some extraordinarily motivated people who share at least some of the same ideals, and to appreciate the fact that there are still people out there who will go out of their way to come cheer me on in what must be one of the unproductive, boring events they can imagine.
I listened to my body in the morning. I had concentrated on eating a good amount the day before to make my glycogen stores pretty full so i did not have to have a huge breakfast that day. For breakfast i only had 1 bagel and peanut butter, not my usual pre race meal for this distance but it is what felt right. When i got to the race I set my stuff up and walked away and went to the lake and relaxed. My mom was there supporting me all along the way. I did not let her worry get to me either or annoy me which it often does. I tried to give her my perspective of the race and teach her about how to read the maps, figure out timing of things, etc. There's alot I just know from doing the race that makes it almost intuitive for me to figure these things out. I forget that most people don't have the same experience.
The swim was a bit rough at first. I felt my chest getting tight and I seemed to only be able to breathe on 1 side. Finally I relaxed and just enjoyed the feeling of being on top of the water. I could tell that my body position had changed this past year. In my wetsuit I felt like I was on top of the water. As a matter of fact I could feel myself lifting my leg out of the water sometimes when i kicked because I was riding so high. I found that I had lots of speeds I could maintain and i played with them.
Out of the water and onto the bike i expected the same route as last time. They cut out a big hill from the previous route. It was a perfect bike route for me gentle rolling hills and some long flat stretches where I could just push a big gear. There were times when i would get anxious about whether I would have enough in my legs to do the run. So I didn't go all out on the bike. i held back some.
Into transition and out the chute straight to the bathroom. one thing I know about this race is that 3 miles can be a long way to the next blue room. I knew that there was only 1 blue room per stop too which meant you could wait awhile. I went coming out of transition and was glad I did. I found another woman who was just my pace and I kept her in my sites the entire time. We traded leads on the run a couple times and I was impressed with her endurance because I honestly think of myself as being an exception to the rule that I have this pace and just have the endurance to hold it. I don't think many people my speed have that level of endurance. She surprisingly did. She held it until mile 10 where she fell off somewhere off the back. I did not even see her finish.
On the run I set my intent to make it to the first 5K without walking. This included the stretch of really rough unimproved road that I don't like. Once I got there I felt great (the first 30 minutes are always the worst part of any run for me). Then I concentrated on making the next 5 K as easy as the first, then at 10K to make the last 10K feel as good as the first 10K. I did pretty well to this point. In the last about 1.5 miles I started to really feel a muscle in my quad knotting up. Cardiovascularly and fatigue-wise I felt pretty good. My stomach was good for the most part except the initial sip of anything but that went away quickly. It was just this one muscle that was getting shorter and shorter that was hurting me. Makes me remember why you put in all those hours for an ironman. to just get your body used to the pounding more than anything else. The fitness cardiovascularly comes but the muscles learning how to stay loose and endure the pounding is quite another situation.
Anyway, I finished. I didn't know my time as I did not have a watch nor did I see a clock posting it anywhere. When I saw my brother I looked at the time and it was 3:25. That means I did it in 6.5 hours. I was amazed. i had no idea. I expected around 6:45 or so for this race. It was a nice surprise.
Now, 3 days after I again remember why you do all the things you do for an Ironman. you ride the bike you will ride for miles on end because you need to get the muscles (not necessarily your legs) used to holding you in that position. My traps are very sore as is my neck which is what I usually experience during an Ironman. my legs are still a bit sore but i swam most of that soreness out today.
All I have to say is I LOVE being Fit and Healthy. I just hope that I can keep doing this until I am 65. that is my goal.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Pacing
Today my main set was
5 X 100 on 1:50 (wetronome set at 1.3) tried to keep pace at 19 - 20 BPL
5 X 200 on 3:40
1 X 500
I used the Wetronome to keep my pacing the same. i did pretty well throughout the 100's holding 19 and 20 beeps per length. However when i got into the 3rd 200 I was definitely doing more like 20 - 21 BPL. I also noticed that I wasn't necessarily doing each arm stroke the same. I think what I found is that when i breathe, particularly to my right I drop my hand so my stroke is actually much faster and it gets me off. The left side I do not feel like i lift my head or drop my hand nearly as much. This is a great area for me to focus on and improve my stroke and get a better catch and a more streamline position. I can almost feel the fatigue as i sit here in the top of that shoulder from pressing it down in teh water to get my head up.
5 X 100 on 1:50 (wetronome set at 1.3) tried to keep pace at 19 - 20 BPL
5 X 200 on 3:40
1 X 500
I used the Wetronome to keep my pacing the same. i did pretty well throughout the 100's holding 19 and 20 beeps per length. However when i got into the 3rd 200 I was definitely doing more like 20 - 21 BPL. I also noticed that I wasn't necessarily doing each arm stroke the same. I think what I found is that when i breathe, particularly to my right I drop my hand so my stroke is actually much faster and it gets me off. The left side I do not feel like i lift my head or drop my hand nearly as much. This is a great area for me to focus on and improve my stroke and get a better catch and a more streamline position. I can almost feel the fatigue as i sit here in the top of that shoulder from pressing it down in teh water to get my head up.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Breakthrough
I had a revelation today. I'm not sure how resolve it yet but I've had the revelation and that is at least half the answer to the problem.
This week I have been concentrating on why when I get home I walk through the kitchen and I immediately put something in my mouth. Sometimes I'm hungry but usually I'm not really hungry but I do it anyway. So, why? Why do I do this? I'm not bored. I'm not lonely. I realized that I have this tension that I am trying to resolve.
I look forward to coming home because it means I get to spend time with my little Moo, E'llee. I love this time we have together. It's fabulous. But the other part of it is that I am also coming home to Barb. Please don't get me wrong Barb is a wonderful lady but here's the deal....
I want home to be a safe haven. I want to be comfortable and be able to create the atmosphere of my household. However, when I get home there are a few things:
This week I have been concentrating on why when I get home I walk through the kitchen and I immediately put something in my mouth. Sometimes I'm hungry but usually I'm not really hungry but I do it anyway. So, why? Why do I do this? I'm not bored. I'm not lonely. I realized that I have this tension that I am trying to resolve.
I look forward to coming home because it means I get to spend time with my little Moo, E'llee. I love this time we have together. It's fabulous. But the other part of it is that I am also coming home to Barb. Please don't get me wrong Barb is a wonderful lady but here's the deal....
I want home to be a safe haven. I want to be comfortable and be able to create the atmosphere of my household. However, when I get home there are a few things:
- Barb is already there so in essence has already influenced the mood of the house.
- Barb is sick and I am hypersensitive to her moods,
- I learned this hypersensitivity as a survival technique when I was an adolescent with my dad.
Now Barb has never really been all that grumpy much less explosive with me. However, she does "kick the dog". Tawnie is the next one down on the totem pole from her and she gets really cranky with Tawnie. I can tell her mood by how she treats Tawnie or how Tawnie is acting.
I am hypersensitive to that. I feel the mood. I am flooded by that emotion. I expect an outburst anytime but quite honestly the outburst is more likely from me than from Barb. It is odd because I find myself getting annoyed with the same stuff that I used to get in trouble for with my dad that I learned to by super attentive to over time.
For example, putting away and cleaning up after ourselves was something my dad would explode about if it wasn't done. He did this because he didn't feel good enough to do these things and my mom was already taking on lots of extra responsibility. I'm sure he felt super helpless about being the cause of my mom's extra stress and not being able to do some simple things to help her out like making sure the dishes were put away and kitchen was clean when she came home. Cognitively I get that. Emotionally I still resent the fact that it felt like it always fell on me. Why was I always the one that had to clean it up?
I get home now, what 25 years later in life and I have the same feelings from a slightly different angle. I come home and I always make sure that when I leave the sink is clean of dishes because there are always a few trickle in dishes after dinner it seems. And I try to make sure that the dishes are put away so that if someone dirties a dish it can be put in the dishwasher. HOwever when I get home there are dishes in the sink. And if I ran dishes in the morning instead or didn't put them away I get home and the dishes are still sitting in the dishwasher.
This really triggers something in me. I get the same feeling I got when I was an adolescent. Why does it fall on me? She is home for many hours in a day. Many times the dishes are just left on the counter wherever she happened to make her lunch much less in the sink or god forbid in the dishwasher. Can it really be that much more effort to rinse the bowl out and put it in the dishwasher? And, why can't she put away dishes? Almost everything is within 2 steps of the dishwasher. 90% of the stuff that comes out of the dishwasher is within arms reach if stand on one side and then the other side. It's pretty damn easy. So why does it feel like it is always me?
And I see the pressure on Cate. I again feel like that adolescent who needs/wants their parents (in this case partner's) attention and I resent the fact that so much time and energy go to this other person who really shouldn't be taking up the lion's share of her time and energy. (Well except for the fact that she is ill). I think there is even double resentment because not only do I feel that for myself I feel that for E'llee too. I feel like Cate is missing out on being a mom sometimes to E'llee because she is so wrapped up in Barb's stuff. And I feel like E'llee misses out on things from her mom because of Cate trying to balance her mom, work and family. It feels like we are third priority. We are always the thing that can be flexed. Which we really are? We do not usually have appointment times or deadlines.
So, back onto the food thing. Here is what I find myself doing. I look forward to going home and spending time with E'llee and cooking a nice meal for Cate and I. I get home and I am suddenly anxious. By the time I hit the kitchen after picking up E'llee and stripping off my bike clothes in the laundry room I am compulsively reaching for something to put in my mouth. I'm not sure if I feel really soothed by the food because I find that I keep reaching for it on instinct unless I go distract myself with something else. That is why going for a run immediately after I get home or taking E'llee to the park or swimming is a good thing for me. It helps break that cycle a little. Granted I encounter it again when I return home but I've gotten through the critical point.
Like I said at the beginning I don't know how to resolve it. However acknowledging that is what is going on for me is huge. Admitting that that is why I have this love/hate relationship with being home is a big deal.
I've been trying to create a little more grey in the world for myself this week. This is also something really difficult for me, I'm very good at black and white. I have been trying to embrace something Renee said about letting both things be true. An example is, I can be slender and safe. THis is something that has always been an or for me. I can either be slender or I can be safe. It doesn't have to be this way.
So I know I have this tension between wanting to home and not wanting to be home. What is the AND there. I can be support Barb in her illness (perhaps I should change this to treatment) and create the atmosphere I want in my home. I'm just not convinced of that yet....
Renee has a new subject she has been exploring (compulsions). She just posted a new podcast which I am grateful for because I did the homework of figuringout what the trigger is for me when I get home. In this episode she has you blow through that compulsive feeling by visualizing a more perfect you, embrace I think is her terminology. And you release this tension by pulling it back and then letting it go like a slingshot so that you are exploding with this more perfect self. And you just kind of keep doing this over and over again until you feel the release. I'm having a hard time seeing that more perfect me in that situation. I get so bogged down in the resentment it's hard to visualize something positive coming from that. But I'll work on it. That is my goal for this week. I know that if I can master this compulsion I will be able to easily lose weight and get to my naturally slender self. I just have this thing in front of me right now that i'm not sure how to hurdle.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Starting to drop my 100 pace
Today throughout whatever set we were doing my 100 pace was lower than normal. even during a set of
100 Free
50 Stroke
100 free
50 Stoke
100 Free
50 Stroke
100 free
The free was on a 1:45 and I held about a 1:38 pace on that even though it was at 75% of the way through the workout.
I'm really happy with it. It seems like I'm having to think less to keep everything together too. I'm able to think aobut some other things like my hips instead of just my hand position. i'm excited maybe i will be able to swim a 1;10 IM!
100 Free
50 Stroke
100 free
50 Stoke
100 Free
50 Stroke
100 free
The free was on a 1:45 and I held about a 1:38 pace on that even though it was at 75% of the way through the workout.
I'm really happy with it. It seems like I'm having to think less to keep everything together too. I'm able to think aobut some other things like my hips instead of just my hand position. i'm excited maybe i will be able to swim a 1;10 IM!
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