Give it a TRI

[Swim.Bike.Run]

Interesting article

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43003892

 

I heard of a guy that had a double knee replacement and suffered lots of pain afterwards.  He lived in Cape Town and decided to go and swim in the sea to check if it didn't help (since nothing else did).  He reckoned that the pain got better with every swim...

[IceCreamMan]

http://www.220triathlon.com/blog/triathlon-room-101-bruntys-top-30-pet-hates-that-belong-there/12233.html

[SeaBee]

http://www.220triathlon.com/blog/triathlon-room-101-bruntys-top-30-pet-hates-that-belong-there/12233.html

That made my day!  Esp point 17 - the "time finishing on 01" bit! 

[IceCreamMan]

I heard of a guy that had a double knee replacement and suffered lots of pain afterwards.  He lived in Cape Town and decided to go and swim in the sea to check if it didn't help (since nothing else did).  He reckoned that the pain got better with every swim...

Smiling and laughing are natural analgesics. Remember that so when you deep in the pain cave smile, joke with spectators other participants etc. the last 21 km of the big walk at ironman I am grinning like a demented clown normally.

 

Got to have a sense of humor if you into this tri thang

[amr63]

Just in case you haven’t seen this bikehub special by Anatomic:

 

[IceCreamMan]

KONA, HAWAII 

 

On February 18, 1978, 15 people set out to complete a race in Oahu, Hawai`i thought to be impossible – swimming, biking, and running 140.6 miles in a single day. Their dream created a community that believes ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Four decades later, hundreds of thousands of athletes fulfill their dreams at finish lines all over the world.

[SeaBee]

When you guys started off swimming - any particular swimming aids to take note of and seriously consider obtaining? VA has boards and buoys, was wondering about fins and paddles? Or just get in the water and swim. Once my shoulder is sorted.

[shaper]

When you guys started off swimming - any particular swimming aids to take note of and seriously consider obtaining? VA has boards and buoys, was wondering about fins and paddles? Or just get in the water and swim. Once my shoulder is sorted.

Only consider paddles once you have swimming strength, they take a lot of effort to use and can cause further injury and to be preferably used when you have a good feel for the water.

 

https://www.active.com/swimming/articles/should-you-swim-with-hand-paddles

 

As you are new to swimming, better to just get in the water and swim, work on technique, stroke correction, getting a feel for the water, the catch and pull.  Avoiding the cross-over and other bad techniques that lead to the shoulder rotator cuff injury.

 

Lots of vids and articles here if you are self coaching http://www.swimsmooth.com/

[mon-goose]

I haven't used any aids in the last year and a bit that I've been swimming. More because I've never bothered to ask anyone for advice on how to use them. From what I've read and heard I'd suggest you speak to a proper coach or someone who's used them a lot and get proper advice. They can do more damage than good if not used properly, such as the paddles.

[mon-goose]

agree with shaper

[Chris_]

I went the youtube self coaching direction in the beginning. I would suggest going to a coach instead. I just think a hands-on professional would be so much more beneficial.

 

I don't know what to do with buoys and paddles, nor do I have any. I've just been swimming varying distances and speeds in the pool, only crawl. 

 

Saying this I barely do enough millage to get out near the back of the pack at a race - so I'm definitely no authority

[Troi Sport]

I went the youtube self coaching direction in the beginning. I would suggest going to a coach instead. I just think a hands-on professional would be so much more beneficial.

 

I don't know what to do with buoys and paddles, nor do I have any. I've just been swimming varying distances and speeds in the pool, only crawl. 

 

Saying this I barely do enough millage to get out near the back of the pack at a race - so I'm definitely no authority

 

 

Agreed

 

 

The tools are only useful if you know what the issue is with your stroke, and you use the correct tools in the correct manner to either compensate or overload. 

 

I am fortunate to have learned correct stroke patterns early on, so my biomechanics are "second nature", but many self coached athletes will teach themselves poor form and then compound it with volume and intensity.

After injury and rehab, they will have to unlearn the poor form and then learn correct form so as not to re-injure themselves. 

This is a much longer time frame than learning it right from the beginning - and super frustrating too

 

Get a stroke correction coach - not a distance coach, not a masters coach, not a triathlon coach.

 

Fast and efficient Swimming is at least 70% technique.

Once you have the technique locked down, you can work on fitness and strength. 

[SeaBee]

Thanks guys. Will get back and swim and leave the other stuff for when I'm being told to use them! 

 

Just to clarify - my shoulder injury started with a fall on the trails which I never rested properly and now came back to haunt me... 

[Troi Sport]

Thanks guys. Will get back and swim and leave the other stuff for when I'm being told to use them! 

 

Just to clarify - my shoulder injury started with a fall on the trails which I never rested properly and now came back to haunt me... 

 

Be careful that you have equal strength and flexibility in both shoulders before adding volume and intensity. 

 

Imbalances lead to compensations, compensations over time lead to misalignments, misalignments are compounded with added volume and intensity and this more often than not leads to injuries. (sometimes completely new injuries)

[Chris_]

The other thing which changed my life was including open water swims. I spent all the time before my first (and second, maybe third..) race staring at the black line in the pool and thinking I was pretty confident in the water and becoming a fairly good swimmer.

 

Fail. Welcome to the sea, waves, humans, and I freaked out like a good thing every time.

[SeaBee]

Be careful that you have equal strength and flexibility in both shoulders before adding volume and intensity. 

 

Imbalances lead to compensations, compensations over time lead to misalignments, misalignments are compounded with added volume and intensity and this more often than not leads to injuries. (sometimes completely new injuries)

Indeed, that's exactly how I got to this mess of missing my XTerra on Sunday. Not resting my one shoulder, "needing to" get my swim up to speed... the rest of the story is history.

 

CBlake, agree! I had one dam swim. Spent most of that on my back, staring at the treetops and trying to calm down. Just that idea of running out of steam and there's nowhere to stand to rest freaked me out completely! Interestingly though, I went much further before getting the tired feeling than I do in the pool - it must still be the mental "end of a length/lap" break I still give in to.

 

Will get there. For now, rest the shoulder and do some running and little riding over the weekend maybe.