Coping with Cramps
Hey Gang,
This week while running trails I had a wicked stomach cramp and it started the conversation on how to best get rid of cramps. So I spoke to a few trainer friends of mine - and this is the best we came up with:
First - a quick, rough, laymen's look at anatomy - the diaphragm moves up and down to work in concert with the lungs that sit above the diaphragm.
Below the diaphragm are lots of internal organs (stomach, intestine, liver, etc) and many of those are suspended by connective tissue that is attached to the diaphragm. When we run there's this battle that ensues: the diaphragm is working overtime to support heavy breathing going on above and the internal organs are bouncing up and down below. When all this action gets over stressed the connective tissue (think of them as straps) cramp and cry out in pain - there's our stitch.
Things you can do to keep this from happening:
1) PACE - start all runs easier and build progressively and slowly into faster paces. Even if this means starting with a walk/jog to help our insides warm up and get into sync.
2) FORM - running with long strides and a brutal, crushing heel strike will cause greater vertical oscillation and that exaggerated up and down motion is more likely to cause more bouncing internally and increase the chances of stitching.
3) LOSE FAT - body fat isn't just about the inch plus of flesh that I can pinch at my waist line or on my bum - body fat also builds up around our internal organs making them heavier and putting more pressure on the straps that connect to the diaphragm. If the organ is lighter then the work to hold it up is less.
Things you can try to keep the stitch at bay once it begins
1) BREATHE - take deep, rhythmic breaths.
2) PURSE - purse your lips and breath through those pursed lips - the theory here is that when we purse our lips it tightens our inner abdominal muscles (TVA - Transverse Abdominus) and that reduces the bounce in the internal organs.
Hope that helps!!
Pool Etiquette
Learn the names of the swimmers in your lane.
· If you’re unfamiliar with a term or do not understand the set, ask for clarification.
· Learn to read the pace clock.
· The “top” means “0” or “60” seconds (XX:00). The “bottom” means 30 seconds (XX:30). For
more information, go to: http://www.usms.org/fitness/content/usingthepaceclock or
http://www.usms.org/fitness/pacechart.php.
· Calculate your time and know the interval.
· Do not change the interval without communicating with the other lane-mates.
· The order in your lane should be fastest to slowest.
· Leave at least 5 seconds apart (preferably 10 seconds apart if there is room).
· Don’t “sit” right on the feet of the person in front of you. Go ahead of them or go 10 seconds
behind them.
· Swim on the right side of the lane. Turn at the wall in the middle of the lane.
· Finish swims to the wall and move to the left to allow others to finish to the wall.
· When passing, tap the foot of the swimmer in front of you. Do not grab or slap their foot.
(Faster swimmers may not necessarily tap but may just pass within the length of the pool.)
· If you are in the middle of the pool, make sure there is enough room to pass. Be careful not to
collide with oncoming swimmers.
· If you are approaching the wall, stop at the right side of the wall and let the faster swimmer
pass. Sometimes, the swimmer in front may swim towards the very left side and stop if they
anticipate they have time to do so. Either way, please be careful not to collide into each other.
Be aware of where others are.
· While doing a set, if you swim faster than the person in front of you, you may switch places.
Ask to move up or the swimmer in front can offer you to go ahead of them. Please
communicate. (Although the slower swimmer will yield to the faster swimmer, the swimmer
that moved up in order may lose some rest since they switched places. This is done so that
the base of other swimmers in the lane behind you will not be disrupted.)
· If you are about to get lapped, stop at the next wall and let others pass you. (“Lapped” is
when a swimmer overtakes another swimmer by at least 2 lengths of the pool.)
· Be AWARE of where others are in the lane. ANTICIPATE when they will catch you and pull
over.
· Don’t push off right in front of someone about to turn if they are faster.
· For more information, you can go to: http://www.usms.org/fintess/content/pooletiquette
Intro to Swimming
Guidelines for Beginner Swimmers + Workout
Triathlon Swim Training for Beginners
Congratulations! You have made the big decision to try a tri. So what are the very first things you should know and think about as you start training for the swimming portion of the event? I have many new triathletes every year who come to me saying, “I am doing my first triathlon in two weeks, can you help me with my freestyle?” That is not an exaggeration on my part. Thus the very first piece of advice I can give to the new triathlete is to start your swimming training earlier. Several benefits will occur when you do this. The most obvious benefit will be that you will develop greater stamina in the water portion of the event. Far too many people think that just because they are in good shape for running and cycling they are also in good shape for swimming. The reality is that the crossover benefit is very different from expectations. Different muscles are used and swimming requires a very different approach to oxygen intake. The anxiety level of the athlete also plays a major role in the perception of fatigue as does the more obvious issue of stroke technique. So plan your training and competition calendar in advance. We are entering the winter here and for many of you that will cut down on the amount of running and cycling you can do so now is a perfect time to start your swim training program.
When you begin your swimming training there are many points to keep in mind. The first is relaxation. You may not be very comfortable in the water; you may have bad memories of swim lessons. The swim portion of a triathlon is normally done in open water in a crowd. You will be jostled, splashed, sometimes even dunked and shoved. If you aren’t comfortable in the water, if you feel like panicking when your face gets wet, you will have a problem. So when you begin your training, work on relaxation in the water. Get in the pool and submerge yourself. Stay under the water and look around a bit. Come up for air and go back down. If you feel a little panicky, think about a pleasant place. Relax. The second step is to try swimming under the water a little bit. You won’t be swimming under water in your competition but this step will help in decreasing your anxiety level. Push off the wall and try to swim as far as you can under the water with your eyes open. Come up for air and go back down. Relax. Finally for this portion, go under the water and lie down on the bottom of the pool on your back and look up. Many times even if you had no problem with the first two suggestions, this third one will cause some difficulty. If you are new to swimming, I advise you to do these three steps frequently all the while reminding yourself to relax, to loosen up.
The second key point is related to the first because without being relaxed a lot of what happens in swim training is more difficult. Push off the wall, on the surface this time, and just stretch out and kick. When your face is in the water blow bubbles; when you need to breathe turn your entire body and inhale. Then return to your prone position blowing bubbles. You have to learn to exhale while your face is in the water and inhale when your body turns. This may seem very obvious, but many new swimmers hold their breath when their faces are in the water and then try to exhale and inhale in the same motion. When they do that they lift their heads too high, they blow all their air out, and they gasp for new air. This becomes a negative cycle and can destroy any comfort or relaxation achieved as well as interrupting good stroke technique. So blow bubbles in the water, breathe air out of the water.
Good body position is essential to good swimming. The newer stroke manuals and videos emphasize swimming uphill. What that means is that you want your body to be level or even inclined slightly downward at the front. Put another way it means that you want your hips to be high in the water. The best way to achieve this position is to stretch out in the water and put your head down. Often new swimmers come to me and they swim with their heads out of the water or they swim with their heads too high in the water with their foreheads up and their chins down. Then when I tell them to put their heads down, they try to do this by just moving their head, as if nodding. The head should be down with the water level running right across the top, at the crown of the head, but that isn’t achieved by just nodding your head. Push the head down while holding the head in line with your spine and shoulders. This way your entire front half will also go down in a nice line and your hips will come up. Once again, relax. Holding your body too rigid while doing any of this will cause excess fatigue and will prevent you from developing a smooth , long stroke. Start swimming paying particular attention to the head position and to your hands. If your hands go too high in the recovery portion* of the stroke you will need to bring them down. If your hands enter the water too close to your head, you will need to move your entry* further in front of your shoulders. If your hands enter the water too far in front of your shoulders, you will need to bring them back just a little. You can figure out your best hand entry position by putting your arm out straight and then bringing your hand back about four inches with your elbow slightly bent. Your fingers should point downward and your palm should be flat, not canted to the thumb side or the pinky side. As your hand enters in this position, push forward at an angle several more inches and then pull your arm back with the fingers still pointing to the bottom of the pool until your thumb brushes your upper thigh. If you are looking down at the bottom, which you should be, you will be able to keep good arm position by pointing your fingers at the lines on the bottom of the pool and keeping them pointed there throughout the stroke. Just practice this for a while remembering to keep your head down.
The final point for this month’s advice is perhaps the most important. No matter what you do while training, and this is true for the biking and running portions as well as the swimming portions, you will always have an easier time doing it if you maintain a positive attitude. I always tell my swimmers that it comes down to, “Mind over mind.” This doesn’t mean just relaxation; it means that you have to be careful not to talk yourself out of anything. Once you start to think that you can’t do something, it will become that much harder to do. But if you keep focused and stay positive, you will be able to continue working hard even when you are tired, nervous, sore, etc.
Try this workout—
500 yards or meters warm up (work slowly, stretching out)
12 x 50 yards or meters
4 x 50 on 20 seconds rest after each
4 x 50 on 10 seconds rest after each
4 x 50 on 5 seconds rest after each
10 x 100 yards or meters
Do each of these 100’s with 30 seconds of rest after each. Try to drop 2 seconds from each 100 repeat. So if you swim the first 100 on 1:50, you will be swimming the last one on 1:32. This is one of the best sets I know to learn pacing. If you have trouble doing this the first time you try, put it into your workouts once a week. Learning how it feels to swim at targeted speeds is an important skill for swimming longer events.
12 x 25 yards or meters
Swim nice and easy but work on nice streamlining* off each wall.
*Glossary of swim terms
Recovery—the recovery portion of a stroke is the part of the stroke where you are not actively pulling. In freestyle it is the part of the stroke from when your hand leaves the water until it enters the water. Keep your hands low with fingers down during recovery in freestyle.
Entry—this just means the point at which your hand enters the water. Your fingers should be pointing down but not perpendicular to the water which would cause more drag.
Streamline—holding your body in a nice, tight line especially when you push off walls. You should be under the water with your arms pressed up against your head, deltoids squeezing your ears. One hand is on top of the other with the hand that will pull first on the bottom. Arms and legs are straight, toes are pointed.
Training SMART
Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Triathletes should take time each season to establish long
term & daily training goals. Long term goals define what
an athlete wants to accomplish during his/her season.
Long term goals often include the selection of challenging
races, improving on a previous race time or qualifying for
a prestigious event. Having focus towards long term goals
facilitates concentration (the mental ability to stay on a
task regardless of internal or external distractions).
Achieving goals leads to building confidence (the ability to
believe in yourself and your skills) as well as fostering
commitment (the willingness to train hard, make sacrifices
and to push past all obstacles). Established long term
goals should then help shape daily training goals. Inherent
to some, a daily training goal should be effectively
S.M.A.R.T.:
S It should be Specific and not general in nature.
(e.g., I will bike x-amount of time at a specific pace.)
M It should be Measurable. (e.g., does it have a specific
time, distance, heart rate, number of intervals, etc.)?
A It should be Agreeable to you and not controlled
by someone else. (e.g., is it your training goal or is it
someone else’s training goal?)
R It should be Realistic? (e.g., is it within your reach
or is it to too easy or hard?)
T Is should be Time appropriate? (e.g., can it be accomplished
today?)
So take the time to plan your season’s long term and daily
goals. Because without a plan, your goals will just be
dreams. Train SMART.
Laura
Welcome
Welcome to the Paramount Tri team website.
This website is your direct link to all of the team training plans, workouts, news, athlete updates, races and contact information.
Now that you have logged on as a member of the team, your name and contact number will be on the directory list. Please also take a moment to click on any upcoming races you plan to attend, as this will be a useful tool to communicate any carpooling needs.
This website will be very dynamic depending on the amount the team wishes to use it. At present, we plan to update the training plans etc only if people see a particular requirement to do so. The team roster and contact information will include any real time updates you make to your information. We will post weekly news updates and photos featuring upcoming events and interesting information on our athletes. If you have any information that you believe to be news worthy, please email us in the CONTACT area of the website.
To kick off the training season, we have a training plan that can be used by both the individual and relay competitors. If you have any questions regarding the plan, intensity, issue or injuries, please contact us. We also have at least 2 group workouts planned per week - these are also included on in the TRAINING area of the site. Finally, we will have several learning events during the course of the summer that you are all invited to. We will post more information about these events as they occur.
That's it for now! Welcome to the team, welcome to the site - and TRAIN hard!
Laura Harris
