Thursday Track Workout and Weekend Practice

Happy Thursday TEAM Cap Tex!

Here is the information contained in this post:

1. Thursday Night Track Workout
2. Saturday Bike Workout
   
3. Photos from last Saturday

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Thursday Night Track Workout

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Tonight at 6:30 PM at the track located across the street from the Memorial Park Tennis Center and Smoothie King, Ryan will be out there a little early to lead the Track Workout. You can do this workout on your own at a local school track, but if you want to meet up with some of your TEAM-mates, bring a water bottle and come on out tonight. It is warm so make sure to bring plenty of water with you.

Warm-Up:

2 min of small bouncing on the balls of the feet to warm up those lower leg muscles.

2 min of running in place focusing on picking the foot up off the ground as if you were running on hot coals.

6 forward lunges on each leg. Step out into the lunge and then step back in to alternate legs.

6 side lunges on each leg. Step out into the lunge and then step back in to alternate legs.

Workout:

Newbies to running--4 x 800 meters (2 laps around the track, 4 times)

Seasoned runners--6 x 800 meters

Hard-Core runners-- 7 x 800 meters

Take a full lap (400 meters) around the track jogging or walking, or a combination of the two to recover between each 800 meters.

Keep track of the time it takes you to do an 800 and try to keep all of your 800's at or around the same pace.

Don't chop off that last 400 recovery. Use it as your Cool Down. Stretch after the workout.

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Saturday Bike Workout

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This Saturday we are back at Bear Creek Park for our bike workout. We will meet at 7:00 am at Pavillion #6. Remember, directions to get to Bear Creek Park from Memorial Park, head west on I-10 past the Beltway to the Eldridge exit. Head north on Eldridge to Clay Rd. (third stop light) and turn left and head west on Clay Rd. Go to the second entrace into Bear Creek Park on Bear Creek Dr. and head into the park. Drive about a 1/4 of a mile down the road and you will see the golf course on your right and then a huge white dome shaped picnic pavillion on your left. This is Pavillion #6.

Bring your bike, a helmet, water bottle, and a tire pump if you have one. The weather looks to be warmer than the last time we were out there but make sure that you have some warmer clothes if you need them.

After our workout, we will go have breakfast at Taco Cabana on Clay Rd. Yummy!

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Fun Pictures !

Contact me if you have questions about the workouts,

Coach Liz

Monday Swim Workout

Howdy TEAM!!!

Great turnout for the workout this past weekend. So how many of you are a little sore from running on your mid to forefoot? The more you practice that running technique, the stronger your calf muscles will get and the longer you will be able to run with speed and without pain.

If you cannot make tonight's swim workout, here is what we are doing so you can get the workout in on your own. However, I hope to see you tonight because we have some fun planned. The Workout is in 2 parts. The first part will focus on kicking and the second part will focus on stroke work.

PART ONE
1. Do two lengths kicking on your side, with or without the kickboard. Concentrate on having a relaxed but mostly straight leg. Rest as needed. (50)

2. Swim two 50’s of the 10/10 drill with stroke. Rest 15-20 seconds after each. (150)

3. Swim four 50’s of the 10/10 drill with stroke down to one end and swimming back breathing every third stroke. Rest 15-20 seconds between each one. (350)

4. Do two lengths kicking with kickboard or lying on your side. (400)

5. Swim two 50’s freestyle breathing every third stroke, then one 50 of the 10/10 drill with stroke. Rest 15-20 seconds between each 50. REPEAT. (700)

6. Swim four 25 yards easy freestyle, breathing every three strokes. Rest 15-20 seconds between each. (800)


All Freestyle sets will be done with breathing every third stroke.

When streamlining off the wall, hold on to wall with one hand and stretch out the other hand down the lane. Dip 12 inches under the water and push off the wall with the legs and lock the arms above the head with one hand on top of the other and the head slightly tucked down.

Fingertip Drag Drill requires that you drag your fingers over the surface of the water from the point where the hand comes out of the water by your hip all the way up past the head where the hand would enter the water.

PART TWO
1. Push off the wall, streamlined with 6 to 10 small kicks. Do this 5 to 10 times until you can do it every time with ease.

2. Push off streamlined with kicks, and do the 10/10 drill for a 25. Rest if needed, then push off streamlined and swim breathing every three strokes on the way back. Repeat. (100)

3. Push off streamlined with kicking and swim either four 25’s or two 50’s breathing every third stroke. (200)

4. Fingertip drag drill—four 25’s or two 50’s, streamlining off the walls and kicking. (300)

5. Swim six 50’s, concentrating on having a good stroke, streamlining off the wall and kicking at starts. Rest no more than 15 to 20 seconds between each one. (600)

6. Do a 25 of the 10/10 drill and a 25 of the fingertip drag drill. Repeat. (700)

7. Do two 75’s, streamlining off the wall and kicking at starts and turns or doing flip turns with kicking off the wall. (850)


Hope to see you tonight!

Coach Liz

Weekend Update #2

Howdy TEAM!



This post is in two parts with some fun pictures at the end.



Thursday Track Workout is on your own this week. The mentors all have a function that they are attending so you will need to find a local school track near your home to get this workout in. I am giving you the same workout as last week since many of you attended the Fundraising Workshop. This workout should only take you 30 to 40 minutes to complete.

The Basics--1 lap around the track = 400 meters.
Track Ettiquite--Slower runners and/or walkers should stay to the right of the track. No more than two abreast on the track.

Warm Up:
20 Overhead arm swings (think of doing an underhanded basketball toss)
20 Trunk circles, 10 in each direction (rotate the shoulders around the hips in a big circle)
2 minutes running in place with high knees (goofy drill from the video on Sunday)
2 minutes small bounces on balls of feet like you are jumping rope.

Work Out:
Newbies to running--3 x 800 meters (2 laps around the track)
Seasoned runners--5 x 800 meters
Hard-Core runners-- 6 x 800 meters

Take a full lap (400 meters) around the track jogging or walking, or a combination of the two to recover between each 800 meters.

Keep track of the time it takes you to do an 800 and try to keep all of your 800's at or around the same pace.

Don't chop off that last 400 recovery. Use it as your Cool Down. Stretch after the workout.


Saturday TEAM Workout--Memorial Park @ 6:45 am and running at 7:00 am. Please meet at the picnic table at the front of the parking area on Arnot St. next to the Memorial Park Pool and Fitness Center. This is the same place we met for our first workout. Call me if you get lost or need directions!

Route--We will be running 4 miles on Saturday. As soon as we finish our workout, Dr. Hassenbank from Spine and Sports Therapy will be stopping by to give us a stretching and injury prevention clinic. Bring a beach towel that you can throw on the ground and use while we stretch.


Make sure to finish up your arrangements for a bike in the next week. If you have any fundraising letters that you want free postage on, please bring them to practice on Saturday. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by phone or email. Keep telling people what you are doing and keep asking them to help you find a cure.

GO TEAM!!!

Coach Liz

Monday Swim Workout!

Hey TEAM!!!

We had some great weekend workouts.  Ryan and Erich said that there were a few of you that went out to Track Workout on Thursday night but I heard that 13 of you went to the Fundraising Clinic which is awesome.  Don't forget that if you have letters that you need for me to take to the office for free postage, bring them tonight for swim practice.

On Saturday we had a small turnout for our first bike workout.  I hope that it was a small workout only because many of you do not have your bikes yet.  Please finish up your bike plans, either borrowing or purchasing, and start getting some time on the bike.  It was windy and a little chilly, but I think that once we got going everyone warmed up.  There were a few potential crashes, bit it looks like we avoided any injury.  Remember that riding your bike is like driving your car.  You need to let people know what you are going to do to avoid a crash.

Yesterday we had our Sunday Social and did a little eating and socializing and a little learning about run training.  The two major lessons that we learned about running to prevent injury were:

1.  Shorten your stride

2.  Avoid landing on the heel of your foot, but rather you mid- to forefoot. 

These two items will help you use your calf muscles and the facia in the foot to absorb the impact of landing back on the ground.  There are two goofy drills we learned and you will probably be working on the during your warm up at this week's Track Workout.

Tonight

Monday Swim Workout--Dad's Club @ 7 p.m.

Workout Week 2

• Do 2 lengths kicking on your side with or without the kickboard.  Rest as needed. (50)

• Do 2 lengths kicking the 10/10 drill with the kickboard.  Rest as needed (100)

• Do 2 x 50's kicking the 6/6 drill with a water bottle.  Rest 15-20 seconds between each.(200)

• Swim 4 x 50's of the 10/10 drill with stroke.  Rest 15-20 seconds between each (400)
  

• Swim 6 x 50's breathing every three strokes.  Rest 15-20 seconds between each (700)
  

So bring your kick board (Dad's Club has some you can borrow as well) and bring a water bottle and I will see you tonight ready to go at 7 p.m.

I have pictures from this weekend and I will post them later today.

Have a great day today,  GO TEAM!!!

Coach Liz

Track Workout and Weekend Plan

Great turnout Monday evening for swimming! I can say that I am pretty impressed with everyone's swimming ability and willingness to give those drills a try. If you are looking for more swimming lessons on the basics of freestyle and getting comfortable with the breathing take a look at Centergie Team's website. They offer Adult Learn to Swim classes and Masters Swim programs at 24-Hour Fitness and Bally Total Fitness gyms around the city. There are lessons and swim groups every day of the week both early in the mornings and after work. Their prices are reasonable at $40/month for gym members and $50/month for non members. You can attend workouts as many times a month as you want. Not a bad deal!



Ok, this post has a lot of information in it and it will be split into 3 parts: Track Workout, Saturday Bike workout, and Sunday Social.



Track Workout--6:30 pm at the Memorial Park running track across the street from the tennis courts and the Smoothie King. Ryan will be out there early, by the big oak tree and park benches, and he will have a few short warm-up drills for you before you get going. The track workout is designed to help you get a little faster with your running pace and to help you to become comfortable with being uncomfortable. Trust me, when you are out there at mile 3.5 of the run and it is almost 90 degrees, you will thank me for putting together these interval workouts.



The Basics--1 lap around the track = 400 meters. Slower runners and/or walkers should stay to the right of the track. No more than two abreast on the track.



Warm Up:

20 Overhead arm swings (think of doing an underhanded basketball toss)

20 Trunk circles, 10 in each direction (rotate the shoulders around the hips in a big circle)

20 count running in place with high knees

20 count running in place with butt kicks with your heels

20 step out side lunges, alternating sides



Work Out:

Newbies to running--3 x 800 meters (2 laps around the track)

Seasoned runners--5 x 800 meters

Hard-Core runners-- 6 x 800 meters



Take a full lap (400 meters) around the track jogging or walking, or a combination of the two to recover between each 800 meters.

Keep track of the time it takes you to do an 800 and try to keep all of your 800's at or around the same pace.

Don't chop off that last 400 recovery. Use it as your Cool Down. Stretch after the workout.





Saturday Bike Workout--7 am at Bear Creek Park. Bring your bike and a helmet.



Directions to Bear Creek Park--Head west on I-10 and get off at the Eldridge exit. Go North on Eldrige to the third stop light at Clay Rd. Make a left on Clay Rd. and go to the second stoplight and turn into Bear Creek Park on Bear Creek Ln. Drive a 1/4 of a mile down the road and on your left you will see a large covered picnic pavillion. This is pavillion #6 and we will park there.



Workout Objectives: Learn how to change gears on the bike. Basic bike rules of the road. Adjusting bike fit if needed on anyone's bike. How to change a tire.



Please bring a water bottle and the tools needed to change a tire (tire levers, tube, CO2 and inflater or floor pump).





Sunday Social--2 pm at Coach Liz' House 10802 Idlebrook Dr. Houston, TX 77070



Directions to Coach's house from the Memorial Park area: Take Hwy 290 past Beltway 8 to the Jones Rd. exit. Turn right on Jones Rd. and drive 5 miles into the Norchester Subdivision just past Grant Rd. Once in the Norchester subdivision, you will pass three stop lights. Take a right on Idlebrook, the first street immediately after the third stoplight. Coach's house is the 5th house on the left, a two story tan painted brick house with a white mailbox.



If you have an E-Z Tag, take Hwy 290 to the Beltway and go north on the Beltway to Hwy 249 just past the Sam Houston Race Park. Head west on Hwy 290 past Willowbrook Mall to the Cypresswood exit. Make a left on Cypresswood and you will enter the Norchester subdivision after the second stop sign. Take the first right on Balcrest after entering the Norchester subdivision. Make a left at the stop sign onto Idlebrook Dr. and drive down towards the end of the street. 10802 will be on your right. It is the 5th house from the end of the street and is the two story tan painted brick.



We will be enjoying a little social time and some good food as well as getting to watch a DVD on running technique. Evolution Running is an approach to running that I have been using since I had knee surgery in 2006. I have been injury free since then and I have run several half and full marathons using this technique posting some of my best running times. Running should be a natural movement, but many times we use inefficient techniques that can slow us down or lead to injury.


As always, if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at tntcoachliz.gmail.com or call me at 281-787-6436 to get the answers you need. See you on Saturday!

Later Gators,

Coach Liz

Swimming at 7:00 PM on Monday

Howdy TEAM,

It was great to see such a big turnout for our first practice on Saturday. If you did not find all the swim gear you were looking for, you can always find kick boards, swim caps, practice suits, and other gear at D&J Sports. Hit the D&J name, and the link will take you directly to their web site on grab bag swim suits and from there you can look for other gear. I love this shop and they are right near my home up on the Northwest side of town.

The big question you might have is "Where is swim practice and at what time?" We are holding our swim workouts at Dad's Club. Here is the address:

Dad's Club
1006 Voss Rd.
Houston, TX 77055
713-461-6533

From Memorial Park, you will need to head west on I-10 past the 610 Loop to the Bingle and Voss Exit. Once on the feeder road, drive through the Bingle and I-10 intersection and Voss is the first block past Bingle. You will see a large building on your right with some plastic tarp near the roof. This is Dad's Club. Parking is around the back of that building and we are swimming at the outdoor pool. Our pool time starts at 7:00 pm and we have one hour so get there a little early so that we are ready to jump in the water at 7:00 pm.

If you cannot make the swim practice but would like to do the workout on your own, here is what we have lined up for tomorrow evening:

Freestyle Basics
Focus—Kicking, Body Roll, and Breathing

Workout 1
Rest when you become winded but keep rests to less than 30 seconds. If you’re experienced, rest 15 – 20 seconds. The numbers in parenthesis are cumulative yards.

1. Float and look down at the bottom of the pool. Let your legs and hips come up. Get accustomed to what that feels like. Your heels should be near or at the surface.
2. Do one length kicking lying on your side either with or without a kickboard. Rest. (25 yds)

3. Come back lying on your other side. Rest. (50)

4. Do two lengths kicking while lying on your side, rolling and switching sides every 10 kicks. This will be called the 10/10 drill with kickboard. Rest at each end if needed. (100)

5. Do 4 lengths kicking holding a water bottle, rolling and switching sides every 10 kicks. This will be called the 10/10 drill with bottle. (200)

6. Do 2 lengths kicking holding a water bottle, rolling and switching sides every 6 kicks. This will be called the 6/6 drill with bottle. (250)

7. Do 2 lengths kicking without the bottle, rolling and switching sides every 10 kicks and reaching and stretching with the arms. This will be called the 10/10 drill with stroke. (300)

8. Do 4 lengths kicking without the bottle, rolling and switching sides every 6 kicks and reaching and stretching with the arms. This will be called the 6/6 drill with stroke. (400)

9. Swim 25 yards, breathing every three arm strokes. Rest and repeat. (450)

10. Swim six more 50’s breathing every 3rd stroke, resting 15-20 seconds between each. (750)

Alright! So bring your kick board and a water bottle to practice and you are good to go. I am finishing up some photos for the weight workout so you know what it is you have to do. Here is a great little video from Dave Scott, 6 time Hawaii Ironman champ and TNT national triathlon coach:



Again, call me if you have any questions and if you want to comment to this post, just go to the bottom where it says comments and make a comment. I would also suggest that if you want to register on Blogger so you can make a profile for yourself or start your own blog about your training and send it out to your supporters, it is a great way to see how you will progress over the season! Check back often for cool photos of our trainings.

See you at the pool,

Coach Liz