Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Prev Next
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Cody Beals wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
OK that's more like it (the Chattanooga +potential Kona trajectory). At least if nothing else maybe we can get Ashley Horner demoted to second page so you will have done some community service :-)

In terms of swim more often/swim harder/swim with a group. I have one more question via a comment for you.
In biking you and almost all on ST obsessively focus on shaving every newton of aerodynamic retarding force. We're all into the aerodynamics so with that's I'll lead into the swim:
If there were an ST contest for contorting your body into the shape of a torpedo, Phelps would win it. But getting in this position is not as simple as getting fit in the wind tunnel. The top swimmers have the malleability in the entire body to hold the torpedo shape through their entire stroke. But to do that, the only way is to morph your body swimming more and holding the streamline all the time.
I think our first instinct in a pack swim when we are gapped is to pull harder. But if we were drafting on a bike, we'd try to get as small as possible at the same time. When swimming hard, often in a group you get to practice being a hydrodynamic torpedo and the body shape can literally change in time with more practice, almost like someone who does yoga all the time and can hold the poses for longer in more duress than a person who shoes up 2x per week.
So since you are the aero king among ST pros, how much is this mindset influencing your swimming.
On the flip side, I think Lionel is just trying to pull harder and use more of his available engine in the water.


I wrote out a longer reply but lost it TWICE due to a glitch. Here's an abbreviated version.
This is some next level stuff right here. I'm surprised by how little attention seems to be payed to drag and hydrodynamics, both with respect to technique and other details. For example, I see quite a few pros who don't bother shaving their arms for non-wetsuit swims.
I've admittedly been guilty of neglecting this front. I was racing in a worn out old swim skin for years before recently upgrading to a new one. The improvement was quite noticeable and probably accounted for some of my recent swimming progress. I would never dream of running slow tires, for example, so I'm not sure why this oversight seemed acceptable...
My impression is that swimming is the least mature of the three disciplines. It's the discipline with the greatest discrepancy between elite triathletes and elite single sport athletes. The best tri swimmers have long been impressively quick, but the level of tri swimming in general is clearly on the rise. I've had to make progress just to hold steady relative to the field over the course of my five year career. Most of that progress has been won through sustaining higher swim training load. Those gains will eventually plateau and I'll be more motivated to revisit stroke analysis as a potential means to eke out a little more progress.

The same goes for beards and mustaches, all elite swimmers shave their face, as well as the rest of their bodies, before a big meet. :)


"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [ericmulk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
ericmulk wrote:
Cody Beals wrote:
devashish_paul wrote:
OK that's more like it (the Chattanooga +potential Kona trajectory). At least if nothing else maybe we can get Ashley Horner demoted to second page so you will have done some community service :-)

In terms of swim more often/swim harder/swim with a group. I have one more question via a comment for you.
In biking you and almost all on ST obsessively focus on shaving every newton of aerodynamic retarding force. We're all into the aerodynamics so with that's I'll lead into the swim:
If there were an ST contest for contorting your body into the shape of a torpedo, Phelps would win it. But getting in this position is not as simple as getting fit in the wind tunnel. The top swimmers have the malleability in the entire body to hold the torpedo shape through their entire stroke. But to do that, the only way is to morph your body swimming more and holding the streamline all the time.
I think our first instinct in a pack swim when we are gapped is to pull harder. But if we were drafting on a bike, we'd try to get as small as possible at the same time. When swimming hard, often in a group you get to practice being a hydrodynamic torpedo and the body shape can literally change in time with more practice, almost like someone who does yoga all the time and can hold the poses for longer in more duress than a person who shoes up 2x per week.
So since you are the aero king among ST pros, how much is this mindset influencing your swimming.
On the flip side, I think Lionel is just trying to pull harder and use more of his available engine in the water.


I wrote out a longer reply but lost it TWICE due to a glitch. Here's an abbreviated version.
This is some next level stuff right here. I'm surprised by how little attention seems to be payed to drag and hydrodynamics, both with respect to technique and other details. For example, I see quite a few pros who don't bother shaving their arms for non-wetsuit swims.
I've admittedly been guilty of neglecting this front. I was racing in a worn out old swim skin for years before recently upgrading to a new one. The improvement was quite noticeable and probably accounted for some of my recent swimming progress. I would never dream of running slow tires, for example, so I'm not sure why this oversight seemed acceptable...
My impression is that swimming is the least mature of the three disciplines. It's the discipline with the greatest discrepancy between elite triathletes and elite single sport athletes. The best tri swimmers have long been impressively quick, but the level of tri swimming in general is clearly on the rise. I've had to make progress just to hold steady relative to the field over the course of my five year career. Most of that progress has been won through sustaining higher swim training load. Those gains will eventually plateau and I'll be more motivated to revisit stroke analysis as a potential means to eke out a little more progress.


The same goes for beards and mustaches, all elite swimmers shave their face, as well as the rest of their bodies, before a big meet. :)

But...to Cody and Eric this is a second order savings just like dimpled/textured equipment/suits are on the bike. The first order savings is the aero position on the bike or the torpedo position in the water. I think the macro gains are right there. As Mark Spitz showed, shaving down is less important than the actual shape that you can put your body into WHILE pulling hard. For more of us, our hydrodynamic profile just turns to a parachute while pulling hard (kind of like standing up out of the saddle pushing a big watt surge rather than staying aero and doing the same watt).
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Cody Beals wrote:
AquaBikePatti65 wrote:


I've not been convinced that this is worth trying to alter through orthotics or delibarate technique changes. First, I have essentially zero injury history. I can literally count on one hand the number of runs I've missed due to injury (just a bout of Morton's neuroma due to tight shoes in 2010 and a mild calf strain this year). My durability seems to be one of my greatest assets as an athlete and the overpronation obviously isn't causing any injuries.

Hey congrats on a phenomenal race, really enjoyed following it. If you're still answering questions, can I ask how you overcame your Morton's neuroma? I'm dealing with that now and have been doing conservative measures for some time. Thanks very much.

-------
http://www.y-rocket.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [TriSRV] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
TriSRV wrote:
Hey congrats on a phenomenal race, really enjoyed following it. If you're still answering questions, can I ask how you overcame your Morton's neuroma? I'm dealing with that now and have been doing conservative measures for some time. Thanks very much.

It can be a really persistent, insidious injury! I think that the origin in my case was a combination of shoes that were too small/narrow (especially in the forefoot) which was exacerbated by wearing thick winter running socks. Once that bundle of nerves between the metatarsals becomes inflamed, it's tough to get the inflammation down. It felt like a marble between my metatarsals at its worst and I may still have some residual scar tissue built up there.

I took a shotgun approach and tried a number of things to deal with the injury. The most critical thing was switching to shoes with a wider toe box. Even briefly wearing tighter shoes could result in a setback. I also avoided walking with bare feet by wearing slippers or sandals around the house. The next most helpful thing was a taping technique I developed. I would pack soft foam pads (actually makeup remover pads) between the two problematic toes and gently secure them in place with athletic tape. This had the effect of spreading the metatarsals and taking pressure off the inflamed nerve bundle. It felt odd and uncomfortable, but it was better than the pain. Towards the end of the injury, I took a few days off running, but that was more of a precaution. Finally, I tried an off-the-shelf metatarsal lift, icing and NSAIDs, but I'm not convinced they did anything at all.

Good luck!

CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [ericmulk] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
ericmulk wrote:
The same goes for beards and mustaches, all elite swimmers shave their face, as well as the rest of their bodies, before a big meet. :)

Maybe so, but it's a fact that a beard earns you +10 stamina and +5 intimidation on the run... ;)

CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
It's funny how BikeRadar trashed the LG P-09... they'll need to revise their review as their helmet mashed a Ironman course record lol.

https://www.bikeradar.com/...rneau-p-09-14-48753/
Last edited by: propeloton: Sep 4, 18 7:23
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
First off, congrats to a fantastic race. And hats off to being open to answering average forum joe questions which is super appreciated. Now to my question. I have a running and cycling background which I competed in both alongside but seperately so it felt only natural to compete in triathlons once in a while. I am an aweful swimmer though. For a while it was fun swimming with the slowest groups and than collecting many competitors on the bike and run. As I want to take the sport more seriously next year I would like to improve my swim speed (currently 1:50/100m). Any advice how you would structure a swim training plan when I will only have time for two hours of swimming a week due to job and family?

I also tend to cramp up while swimming after about 1k slowing me down. Could that be a nutritional thing?

Thanks, if you have any advice other than look up swim training in Youtube. There is just too much advice to choose from for my taste. I just need a starting point.
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Sebi76] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Sebi76 wrote:
First off, congrats to a fantastic race. And hats off to being open to answering average forum joe questions which is super appreciated. Now to my question. I have a running and cycling background which I competed in both alongside but seperately so it felt only natural to compete in triathlons once in a while. I am an aweful swimmer though. For a while it was fun swimming with the slowest groups and than collecting many competitors on the bike and run. As I want to take the sport more seriously next year I would like to improve my swim speed (currently 1:50/100m). Any advice how you would structure a swim training plan when I will only have time for two hours of swimming a week due to job and family?

I also tend to cramp up while swimming after about 1k slowing me down. Could that be a nutritional thing?

Thanks, if you have any advice other than look up swim training in Youtube. There is just too much advice to choose from for my taste. I just need a starting point.

Thank you!

I'd like to keep this thread on topic: AMA about my IMMT race. I've already written a lot about my swim training and what I've found works for me. Without knowing a lot more about your situation, I'm not in a position to dispense training advice. That said, some general recommendations would be to swim as often as possible (maybe 3 x 40 min swims/week), swim with others and swim hard every session (not just steady, aerobic swims).

I highly doubt the cramping is nutritional. It's almost certainly related to your fitness. If your legs are cramping up, make sure your kicking technique is correct (especially pointed toes). The group I swim with does a lot of kick sets (up to 20% total mileage) over the winter. I found this helpful despite the fact that kicking doesn't account for much propulsion at 70.3/IM swim pace.

CodyBeals.com | Instagram | TikTok
ASICS | Ventum | Martin's | HED | VARLO | Shimano | 4iiii | Keystone Communications
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
for me, I'm prone to leg cramps on the swim, and they are usually fitness and/or fatigue related. eg getting back in the water after a layoff or ramping up bike or run training. My calf muscles hate that.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Sebi76] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Magnesium did the trick for me, get it when I bike or run hard - before a swim. But magnesium can keep it away (for me).

---
Long Distance PB: 8:25
Instagram: larsschmidttri
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Thanks very much for the great reply (!), I'll try out those steps.

-------
http://www.y-rocket.blogspot.com/
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Timtek] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Could you please point me to the video mentioned?I curious to know Cody's explanation, but I wasn't able to find the video. Thanks!
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [crazyeng] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Oh crap, I mixed up Tyler Butterfield with Cody due to their similar bike positions. Sorry Cody!

Here is the video I was thinking of, with the explanation I mentioned at 4:45 of the vid:







-------------------
Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram
Quote Reply
Re: Ask Me Anything: Debut Win & 8:10 Course Record at IMMT! [Cody Beals] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Cody - congrats on a very impressive showing in your Ironman debut. It was awesome watching you ripping it up out there on course. Looking forward to watching you continue to develop at the Ironman distance...if the first is any indication there is much more coming. Keep it real!

_________________________________________________________________
Supported by Compressport Canada | F2C Nutrition | Element | Argon 18 | 4iiii Innovations | Read my Blog
Quote Reply

Prev Next