Friday, January 05, 2007

Tri Talk

For the past few posts my mind is not on tri (as evident by some of the posts). With the new year, I figure it is time to get back in the game.

Swim

I will start off with a video from the Swim Clinic I went two months ago.



The top left corner is a video taken at March last year (click here). A huge improvement. I kick less and have more forward movement.

Notice:

i) Left hand flicker - need to work on.
ii) I breathe better with my left than my right (I thought the opposite). Look at the clip at 20 second mark. When I breathe, I stick my head up and over to the right side (remark, rollling over the centre of gravity). For every action there is a reaction. My body will react by moving to the left and I have to force my body back to the right. A lot of wiggling and I slow down
iii) The small video shows there is a delay before I catch. Not anymore. My arm rotation has improved.

This morning, I hit the pool since two weeks. Just did a few drill sets. The pool I normally go to is closed until next week. No excuse, I will go to other pools. Need to get the swim volume back up.

Bike

I am still waiting for the order of the Spinervals. Anxoiusly waiting. This Sat, I plan on meeting up with a few friends to jog for 30 min or so. Then head home, ride on the trainer for 3 hrs. And see how I feel and go for another run.

My butt is getting use to riding on the saddle. Hmm... :)

Run

This I have been doing a lot. I could feel the runner inside of me coming out. I love base training. Nice and easy. I am still hunting for a battery for my HRM. To keep my HR down, I walk up all the hills and sing songs (if you can call it singing). I run everyday since Sun. Wed and Thurs did an hour and 30.

Lifestyle

I notice when I train, my hygiene and self-image takes the back seat. This ain't to say I don't shower or brush my teeth. It's just that, I care less how I look.

Yesterday after a run, I showered and headed straight to Prayer night. I didn't bother wearing socks. I would bush my teeth after I do my morning training. I would get up, train, stretch, shower, brush teeth....I sure have my priorities straight :).

I listen to two interviews from The Competitor Radio Show. One is Faris Al-Sultan and the other is Chris McCormack. Faris have a very loose race strategy. He just go as hard as he can off the start. He does not use a HRM and even tape his powertap. Chris, on the other hand, is more calculating. He will look at the competition, guage the situation and assess how fast each racer will go and adjust accordingly.

This is what I love about sports. Different strategies. One is a number cruncher and one is not. One will base his race on the competition and one will go all out regardless. Not one strategy is necessary better. We just have to find one that suit us. This gets back to knowing ourselves.

Friday is here...got a lot of work to do before heading home :) Can't wait till the weekend.

15 comments:

Carrie said...

Hey, much improved stroke! Good work.

Anonymous said...

I really like the Faris interview. His approach is pretty refershing considering all the gadgets out there and how a lot of people get caught up in them.

Stroke looks good. keep it up man!

Anonymous said...

"I notice when I train, my hygiene and self-image takes the back seat."

I'm the opposite. When I'm training a lot, I feel MORE put together and feel better about myself, to take the time to get all cleaned up pretty :) When I'm not training, I can be a complete slob!

Glad to hear you are getting back after it!

Rick Gaston said...

I need a swim clinic. I'm the slowest swimmer I know. It doesn't help that I hate the pool:)

You sound psyched, just like in your other post. Been reading other people's blogs and they seem to be in the same mindset, it's contagious! 3hr. trainer ride! Last year I rode in a storm just to avoid the trainer...then again we don't have snow here just lots of wind and water in the winter. Tha's a lot of self-discipline Cliff.

Anonymous said...

Nice improvement in the pool, Cliff. Keep up the good work and you'll be setting PR's in 2007.

Stay tuned...

Unknown said...

Good work on the freestyle Cliff!

And how wonderful to be able to see the benefits of the improvements you've made. You should be congratulated, particularly on the changes to your kick.

Keep up the very good work.

Anonymous said...

Looks good, Cliff!
I got the new On The Road spinerval for Christmas - love it! It's an outdoor ride through the hills north of Baltimore with Coach Troy IN LONG PANTS!!!
Jenny

Anonymous said...

Dude! You look like a professional swimmer now! Congrats! A few questions: 1. what do you mean by a "delay before the catch"? There should be a slight glide while you're breathing and the catch should start just before the other hand enters the water. 2. (ok - so this isn't a question but whatever) to improve the breathing on the right, stick your ear into your shoulder girdle when you roll and it will keep your hips up and make the entire process a little easier.

Keep up the awesome work!

Anonymous said...

Cliff- Happy New Year buddy!
Great improvements in the swimstroke- keep it rolling!

Anonymous said...

Great video - shows the improvement very well. Kudos on putting together the video and the swim improvements.

I'm with skirough, I am a bit of a slob off training.

What a great time of the year - we are all making plans and getting serious! :)

Anonymous said...

i completely get what you said about hygiene taking a back seat. i work from home, so after my first workout of the day - i get my kids off to school, sit down at my computer and sometimes don't get up all day. i'm often still in my workout clothes when my hubby comes home from work. sometimes on a non-workout day, i'm still in my pj's. not good...

Anonymous said...

Looking good!

Anonymous said...

Good job on the swim improvement, Cliff.

I too like the Spinerval DVDs. My sister sent me a 5 hour one for Xmas (3 dvds!) that I have yet to try. I'm sort of scared, actually.

Good luck to you in 2007!

BuckeyeRunner said...

3 hours on the trainer...you are my idol. I think I would freak out

BuckeyeRunner said...

Cliff....getting back to you. to calculate my aerobic threshold, for the 1.5 mile run, I had to supply my age and time which they used to calculate my aerobic threshold...they did not share the equation. as for my heart rate, it was 167 for the run.

Knowing that you like band of brothers...read the book "German Boy" by Wolfgang Samuels....best book I ever read. I GUARANTEE you will like it. It is non fiction