Baby Steps

     Have you ever seen the movie,"What About Bob?" Bill Murray, plays Bob Wiley, a man with many psychosomatic disorders. Bob goes to see his psychiatrist, but is pawned off on another doctor in the practice named Dr. Leo Marvin (played by Richard Dreyfuss). Dr. Marvin offers his new book called Baby Steps to Bob as a cure for his phobias. The book's main idea is that by taking small steps each day you can improve your life. Bob is agoraphobic, and has trouble leaving places sometimes. Dr. Marvin,"baby steps," him out of his office before leaving for a month long vacation with his family. The story continues with Murray(Bob) following the family while they are on vacation.

     "Baby Steps," is exactly where I am right now with my training. After a tailbone injury, I have started adding land workouts back into my routine, but it's a slow, steady process. I've been doing small increments of  running on pavement and trails to rebuild what I have lost over the last month or so. The good news is that water workouts, like swimming, and running on the underwater treadmill by HydroWorx, have kept my aerobic fitness level where it needs to be. Still, it's different running on land, and my body is taking a while to adjust back to land workouts.
     Fartlek workouts have helped with my land training. These are interval sessions, done at about 60-80% intensity. They can be done anywhere. I have a trail right in my backyard so I run there, but fartlek can be done on a regular treadmill, HydroWorx treadmill, or track. I warm up with a mile to mile and half of easy running. Then I take walking breaks in between my intervals. For example, after my warm up, I run for about 4 minutes at about 60% intensity. Next, I walk for a minute and run another four minute increment at a higher percentage. Each interval is followed by a 30 second to minute rest before I start the next run. You can have fun with these and mix it up anyway you wish, with whatever intensity you wish. Once you reach the allotted mileage or time, be sure to cool down with some easy running or easy walking.
      I am not running for long distances, but rather,"baby stepping," back into running shape on land. After all, I didn't go out and run six miles when I first started running. Conversely, after an injury, I want to protect myself from getting hurt again. Small intervals of running at moderate intensity are a great way to get back into the game.
     Fartlek can really help with speed too. Once I am pain free and able to do a bit higher mileage, the fartlek method can be used by increasing  intensity and decreasing rest periods. One of the great benefits of this method is that it can be adapted to the needs of an individual, and it develops aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels. Many fartlek workouts include hill work which can be especially tough.
     My first race of the season is in April, and to quote part of  Robert Frost's, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," But I have promises to keep , And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep..."

Tri- On,
Kelly

What About Bob.mov You Tube

Tri A Swim Workout

     About three weeks ago, I slipped down some wet stairs in my ski boots, and bruised my tailbone. The good news is that I had an x-ray last week and it is not broken, whew! The bad news is, that it's a bit sore. What's an injured triathlete to do that can't run or bike?  Practice what I preach about the power of water, and add more water workouts. I can still run in the water. The water is a perfect place to work out and rehab at the same time. In this post, I'll share one of my swim workouts.
    First tip, if you have an injured tailbone, is to not flip turn when doing laps. The motion from somersaulting on your back and pushing off the wall can cause excruciating pain.  A simple, two handed turn, off the wall will do. Ignore your inner swim coach and wait until the area is pain free.
     Second tip, again if you are experiencing this injury, is to go easy on the kicking sets. Depending on how bruised the area is, kicking freestyle with a board could aggravate the area further. The muscles around the tailbone area are over compensating for the injury. My first swim workout back, I did very little kick. This type of injury really requires you to listen to your body. A good rule- if something is causing pain while you do it, stop. Take it from me, I've had my share of injuries, and if you push too hard, too soon, you can increase the longevity of the injury.
     Otherwise, the doc said swimming is absolutely fine, even encouraged with something like a bruised tailbone, because swimming has no impact. Below is a swim work-out that I have done the last couple of weeks. Again, no flip turning, and you can add or take away from the kick sets, depending on if you are injured or not.

                   Warm Up
Easy 500 yards. Concentrate on long arm strokes and breathing every 3rd stroke.

                    Pull Set
These are done with a pull buoy- great if your back area is injured, and great if it is not too.This works your arms and your lung capacity. Hypoxic means training with little oxygen.
4x200 yds (800 yds.) Concentrate on elongating your stroke and hypoxic breathing- first 200 is every 3rd stroke you breathe, second 200 is every 5th stroke, 3rd 200 every 7th stroke, last 200 every 3rd.
         
                   Kick Set( if it is not causing pain from an injury)
   4x100(400 yds)
   100 free kick
   100 breast kick
   100 free
   100 breast

                 Main Set
4x100(400)
Alternate 100's with freestyle and breaststroke
Rest only 10 seconds in between each 100, breathing every 3rd bilateral( on both sides)

               Cool Down
Swim an easy 200 freestyle
Total yds=2300 yds.

     This is a great swim workout( injured or not). You can always tailor this to your needs, by adding more or taking some away. Also, be careful when doing the hypoxic part, if you are not used to little breathing then that needs to be built up. I don't want anyone passing out during a workout.

Tri- On Friends,
Kelly

The Power of H2O

     Last weekend my family and I took a ski trip to the mountains of North Carolina. A mountain called Beech provided us with plenty of east coast skiing, even with all the warm weather. Sunday we ventured to another mountain, just six miles from Beech, called Sugar Mountain, where we skied comfortably in the high 30 degree sunny weather. December and January are months where I tend to spend more family time and take a little break from my usual triathlon training. Soon, I will be gearing up for my first race in April, but it is fun to switch the focus every now and then, and while downhill skiing is not the same as swimming, biking, and running, it is still an activity I love.
     Sunday turned out to be our best day skiing; bright sun and cooperative temperatures provided an enjoyable day; that is until I slid down some cement steps in my ski boots and bruised my tailbone. Ouch!
     I was able to rehab a bit Sunday night in the cabin's hot tub, but my mind was on the HydroWorx pool. I was miles away from being able to use it and I realized at that moment how much it really works. The hot tub was an okay alternative, but what I was missing was the attachment that the HydroWorx pool has that enables the user to blast water at an intense rate onto sore areas of the body. I kept trying to position myself on the hot tub jet, only to find myself frustrated, as I couldn't get the right angle.
     Last year, I had a sore knee and was able to run on the HydroWorx underwater treadmill and recover rapidly. I would recommend that land athletes try more water workouts. At one point or another we all have some type of injury or ailment and the power of exercising in water is amazing because you are virtually getting no impact on your joints and muscles.

    The HydroWorx pools are mainly found in physical therapy offices. Professional and college sports teams have access to the pools too, but even a YMCA in Randolph, NJ now has three of the portable X80 underwater treadmills in their facility. Featured recently in the news, the YMCA provided a boot camp class using the underwater treadmills as part of the workout, where participants rotated to different stations in a warm therapy pool. The workout was killer as they incorporated running, biking, and the use of exercise balls in a non-impact environment. This YMCA recognized that the HydorWorx equipment provides an excellent workout. Soon, I 'm sure we'll see more of the treadmills in gyms around the country. The fact that you can rehab and get a great workout without the stress is a key selling point of their products . Look for more of these classes and equipment at your local gym. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jCQGNdnpBI

Check out this cool video of the Randolph Bootcamp with the underwater treadmills.

Tri- On,
Kelly

Barefoot Running... But Not Where you Think

     All over the news lately is a new trend called barefoot running. The obvious definition- running in bare feet.  I have been intrigued by this new phenomenon and I do like to follow new trends. I consider myself a trendy chick for a forty something, well sort of. Anyway, I looked at some interesting web-sites and while intrigued, I still was not inspired enough the other morning when I went out on my deck to inspect the great outdoors to discover the outside temperature of 13 degrees Fahrenheit or -10.5 Celsius. I immediately ran back inside, barefoot, right to my computer to learn more.
     I spent the morning surfing and learning about the Vibram Five Fingers shoe especially made for this,"barefoot running," at eighty bucks a pop I wondered why I'd bother with these since the trend is without them. I read more about the folks out there who are purists and really prefer wearing nothing on their feet at all and about a guy whose done one hundred marathons barefoot. Humm. What's a girl to do when she wants to try a new trend? I decided to wait for the spring to attempt running sans shoes outside. I packed my bag and off I went to do some barefoot running of my own; on the HydroWorx treadmill.
     A perfect and safe environment for barefoot running is on the underwater treadmill at HydroWorx. I'm in my swim suit too and barefoot and as carefree as a pregnant woman. Okay so maybe I should save the stand-up for the spring too, but the warmth of the water and safety of the underwater treadmill came through again. I'm still on trend, but I am not going to have to shock my feet into understanding why I am running without shoes. The underwater treadmill leaves me weightless and therefore my feet are not taking the pounding they would barefoot on a road or trail. I am still carefree and running; just safe and pain-free.
    While running barefoot I decided to do intervals. Anyone who runs knows the importance of interval training and while I am an older athlete, my speed is probably not going to improve greatly at this point, it is still something that I incorporate into my workouts rather than doing the same old run at the same old speed. Repeats or intervals are something that I normally do on a track or on the pavement. The last time I did intervals was with my friend Fran, the crazy, mountain- trail racer. I was miserable because we did them running on the road and by the fifth one I could feel my feet hitting the pavement, this was with a very cushioned shoe; imagine without shoes.
     The underwater treadmill was perfect for an interval workout and fun. I warmed up by running at about 6mph for about ten minutes. Then I alternated speeds, and to make things even more fun, I added the resistance jets on the pool, making it feel like you are running uphill. I ran at about 6.5 mph for about one minute fifteen seconds and then keeping the same speed, added the resistance jets at about 75% for about a minute. I did ten of these. After about thirty minutes I switched to straight running at 6.5 mph and then did a cool down at about 6mph for the last ten minutes.
      I was completely distracted during the intervals because I was looking at my watch for time and constantly changing the resistance jets; this made the workout fly by and it made it fun for me because I was changing my routine a bit. Distraction is something that I have become very good at being an endurance athlete. I break my workout into chunks of time rather than thinking of the whole session. That's exactly how I get through a triathlon; I think of each piece of the race and then I move onto the next portion. If I thought of the whole distance I would never make it.
     Because I was barefoot, I could also watch my form. I could see my feet hitting the treadmill underneath me and fix corrections if my feet were not properly aligned. If you are an under or over pronator this would be valuable to you because you can literally see what your feet are doing. Unlike the repeats that I did the week before on the road, my feet did not hurt. In fact my legs were not sore either and usually the day after repeats I want a low impact workout of some type. I went downhill skiing that night after my workout in the HydroWorx pool and felt great. My butt would have been in a hot tub and to bed early if I had been out on the road.
     I think I might buy a pair of those Vibram Five Finger shoes; but I'll save them for my next,"barefoot," session on the HydroWorx underwater treadmill.  For more information on hydrotherapy go to http://www.hydroworx.com/.

Tri-on Friends,
Kelly