What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

2013-12-18 2:56 PM

Pro

6191

Subject: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

GROUP FOCUS: The focus of this group is on early season races. We're not in the off-season - we're IN SEASON this winter!

NAME: ratherbeswimming / Elaine

STORY: I'm an engineer, and Army National Guard Officer, and a triathlete. I've been tri-ing for quite a few years and coaching for two. I've got a strong background in swimming (age 5 through college and then masters...) and I've been running a little longer than I've been cycling. I'm USAT and USAC certified.

FAMILY STATUS: single, living with the best dog ever.

CURRENT TRAINING: I'm Olympic focused. I'm chasing a dream of being able to try out for the Army tri team. This involves cranking out a 2:35 qualifying time! That time may get my foot in the door, but might not get me on the team.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Duathlon Nationals, Xterra trail runs, Ragnars... spent most of 2013 in Army training!

2014 RACES: My first shot at sub-2:35 is SuperSeal in San Diego on March 16th. Rest of the season is TBD - I've got a spreadsheet of races to choose from!

WEIGHTLOSS: I'm a few pounds over a decent race weight - I'm working on that right now

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR: I love mentoring, coaching and triathlons... I'm active here, and on social media in general. I'm happy to be a source of motivation and accountability. I feel that it's important and useful to bring together a group of triathletes working towards a large near-term goal while the majority of the triathlon world is putting in some solid off-season hours. Let's talk training, racing, strategy, nutrition, pacing, clothing, gear, and whatever you need to get yourself ready for your late winter/early spring race!

So, if you're chasing big goal in January, February or March - join me here!

2013-12-26 12:19 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Hollywood, FL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

I am interested! I'm signed up for an early season race.

USERNAME: ccjr

STORY: I'm a 37 yo software engineer living in South Florida. I used to be very active - soccer/tennis - as a teenager, but stopped doing any kind of activity after I started working. I started running regularly in 2011, and started doing triathlons in late 2012. So far, my tri goals have been to just reach the finish line, I finished 4 sprints, 1 international distance, and did Miami 70.3 two months ago. I'm a father of 2, have a full-time job, and am doing grad school; so, training consistently has been very challenging.

FAMILY STATUS: Married, 2 kids, 1 yo girl, 3 yo boy

CURRENT TRAINING: I train an average of 5 hours per week, with a lot of fluctuation, I sometimes get in up to 10 hours, and only 2 hours some weeks. I want to work on being consistent with my training in 2014. I am a horrible swimmer and want to join a masters swim group asap.

2013 RACES/ results: I finished two local sprints - 400m/10 miles/5k - averaging 1:10, and finished my first 70.3 in 6:48; so, there's a lot of room for improvement.

2014 plans and RACES: I want to focus on learning to swim properly and be faster on all 3 sports in shorter races. I have never really worked on being faster; so, that should be interesting. I'm signed up for a half marathon Feb 2nd, spring tri Mar 16th and 1-mile ocean swim Apr 14th, and really want to push speed wise to get a good sense of what type of performance I should aim for later in the year. My main goal is to do the sprint race - 750m/20km/5km - in under 1:20, hopefully closer to 1:15.

WEIGHTLOSS: I don't really have a weight "problem", I've been around 185 for the last 10 years or so, but have leaned towards 180 the last 2 years since I started being more active. I was feeling great at 175 two months ago, but I'm back around 180 now. I want to try to be at/slightly under 175 all year in 2014, it's not a huge effort, but I have to constantly watch out.

skankey

2013-12-26 6:17 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

NAME: Skankey, Nathan (Skankey is my last name actually and not a descriptor of my personality)

STORY:I have been a competitive athlete my entire life. I did Cross Country and Track all through high school and went to Cal State Fullerton for Track as a Pole Vaulter. After tearing the labrums in both my shoulders I had to give up pole vault when I graduated undergrad in 2009. I was always interested in Triathlons and endurance events and found that swimming didn't hurt my shoulders. I decided to start off with a marathon(to satisfy a bucket list goal) in the fall of 2009 and after completing it, vowed never to do one again(which became a lie when I did my second one this last year, 2013). I started doing triathlons in 2011 when I did 4 sprints. I have always been very competitive and have a hard time racing just for fun and to accomplish the race. I feel the need to race as hard as I can. 2011 I started grad school in Phoenix, Az which made training hard. In 2012 I did 1 triathlon in December. 2013 I raced my second Marathon with very inconsistent training and almost qualified for Boston(one of my life goals). I graduated this last year and am currently interviewing with a few companies but living in Phoenix. I am currently getting ready for a big 2014 tri year.

FAMILY STATUS: Married(Stacy) for 6 years with a 17 month old daughter named Paisley.

CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently focused 100% on qualifying for the Boston Marathon in the Phoenix Marathon on March 1st. I am using the Pfitzinger 18/70 program. However I realize that if I want to be competitive in the triathlon scene this next year I need to start working on my bike more and start building a base.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: I did the Phx Marathon and the Anthem Sprint(1st AG) but the swim was cancelled due to lightning and since the swim is my worst event things could have changed.

2014 RACES: I have the Phoenix Marathon March 1st but thats it for the schedule. A new job may take me away which makes it hard to plan. I am planning on competing in at least 2 sprints and 2-3 Olympics this year though. 2015 will most likely be the year of HIMs.

WEIGHTLOSS: I don't do triathlons to lose weight but feel that the natural weightloss that occurs helps with being competitive. When I started my marathon training I was 155 and am now down to 145. By race day I expect to be just under 140. For Triathlons I expect to be around 145 or so.

WHAT I LOOK TO LEARN: I am a horrible swimmer/I'd rather be running or biking, and any help/motivation I can get to get me in the pool and get better is appreciated. Also my entire life I have been on a team to help motivate and push me a long. I just really need something that will motivate me to get the workouts in and people to help me keep my mind focused. It will also help to be more engaged in a forum rather than a lurker like I have been for the last year and a half. It will also be good to talk out my workouts and make sure what I am doing is going to help me improve.

2013-12-27 1:49 PM

in reply to: ccjr

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Welcome, ccjr! I'm a former Ft Lauderdale resident

LOTS of USMS options in the area for masters: http://www.usms.org/placswim/placswimform.php?LMSCID=50 - the team at the Hall of Fame pool is supposed to be pretty great, but I never signed up because it's expensive. I had a punch card there and would swim on my own.

Which Half Marathon?

We can definitely help support you in the push for consistency. It can be tough - especially with a schedule like yours!

--------------

Welcome, Nathan!

The Phoenix Marathon is a great chance to make it to Boston! Your training is looking solid, too. What time do you need to qualify?

With the 18/70 plan, it might be hard to find the time to work on a cycling base - but lucky for us AZ residents, we've got a LONG tri season, with some awesome, local, late-season options.

A good master's team - or even a swim-related goal race might help you find that swim motivation after the marathon.

2013-12-27 1:49 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

How's everyone's week going?

skankey

2013-12-27 3:35 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Things are going well. I spent most of the week up in Utah and had some hard runs due to elevation and cold. Now that I'm back in Az I was able to have a great half marathon training run last night. I will post soon. I'm 29 years old(forgot to mention that in my post) and the BQ is 3:05. My goal is to break 3 hours. I agree that getting in the bike with such an intense running schedule may be hard. I think on my aerobic or recovery days I could get an hour or so in.

2013-12-30 9:33 AM

in reply to: skankey

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by skankey Things are going well. I spent most of the week up in Utah and had some hard runs due to elevation and cold. Now that I'm back in Az I was able to have a great half marathon training run last night. I will post soon. I'm 29 years old(forgot to mention that in my post) and the BQ is 3:05. My goal is to break 3 hours. I agree that getting in the bike with such an intense running schedule may be hard. I think on my aerobic or recovery days I could get an hour or so in.

It could be a good time to work on a little technique-type stuff on the bike - cadence drills, one-legged drills...

2013-12-30 9:33 AM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Hollywood, FL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

I'll be doing the Miami marathon - http://www.usroadsports.com/Signature/Miami/- on Feb 2nd. I signed up for that race a long time ago, and haven't really focused my training for it. I'm planning to run twice a week with a long run on weekends, that should be enough to give me some confidence. I want to focus on swim/bike; so, I'll race this one for fun. The Fort Lauderdale area is great for finding a place to swim, there are many options, and there's pretty much no weather restriction. I'm trying to find a place close to my son's pre-school, I'll let the group know when I find something.

I did have a decent week of training, I was able to bike twice, run and swim once, not bad for a week full of family commitments. I'm starting to put together a training plan for the Sprint triathlon in March, I'll share when it's ready. I'm hoping to start the week well with a 90 minutes ride later this afternoon. Have a great week!

2013-12-30 11:00 AM

in reply to: ccjr

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by ccjr I'll be doing the Miami marathon - http://www.usroadsports.com/Signature/Miami/- on Feb 2nd. I signed up for that race a long time ago, and haven't really focused my training for it. I'm planning to run twice a week with a long run on weekends, that should be enough to give me some confidence. I want to focus on swim/bike; so, I'll race this one for fun. The Fort Lauderdale area is great for finding a place to swim, there are many options, and there's pretty much no weather restriction. I'm trying to find a place close to my son's pre-school, I'll let the group know when I find something. I did have a decent week of training, I was able to bike twice, run and swim once, not bad for a week full of family commitments. I'm starting to put together a training plan for the Sprint triathlon in March, I'll share when it's ready. I'm hoping to start the week well with a 90 minutes ride later this afternoon. Have a great week!

That was my first (and only!) marathon! Loved it. Great course, great crowds.

Which sprint?

I do really miss the racing scene in South Florida - lots of opportunity!

2013-12-30 11:22 AM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Hollywood, FL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

I'll be doing the HM at the Miami marathon, which is the best part of the course, I'm really looking forward to that. The sprint I will be doing is http://2575lasolas.com/in Fort Lauderdale, it will be the second year they have that race, another great South Florida course.

2013-12-30 1:44 PM

in reply to: ccjr

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by ccjr I'll be doing the HM at the Miami marathon, which is the best part of the course, I'm really looking forward to that. The sprint I will be doing is http://2575lasolas.com/in Fort Lauderdale, it will be the second year they have that race, another great South Florida course.

Definitely the best part of the course! It was really entertaining to see people leaving the bars and clubs on South Beach, and finding a marathon happening right in front of them!

2013-12-30 3:26 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Ok to jump in if first tri is in May though there are swim meets in February & April? Never really have a true off-season and an on-going thread with this focus was fun last year.

2013-12-30 3:50 PM

in reply to: brigby1

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by brigby1

Ok to jump in if first tri is in May though there are swim meets in February & April? Never really have a true off-season and an on-going thread with this focus was fun last year.

Awesome! Welcome!!

What events are you targeting for your swim meets?

2013-12-30 8:50 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming

Originally posted by brigby1

Ok to jump in if first tri is in May though there are swim meets in February & April? Never really have a true off-season and an on-going thread with this focus was fun last year.

Awesome! Welcome!!

What events are you targeting for your swim meets?

200 & 500 free in both, plus the 1,000 free in April. Might add some more in, but need to look at the schedule again. It's a multi-day state meet, so lots of time. The first meet has them as the 1st & last events, but think it's going to be a smaller meet, so not really enough rest time to fit in anything else and still hit these two really well. At least not yet. There might only be 1-2 heats between swims with their scheduling. Not good with these events.

2013-12-30 9:13 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Name: brigby1 / Ben

Story: Engineering, sciences, and life-long athlete. This will be year 6 of triathlon, got started when a friend of remarkably similar ability tried it and did ok. I'd been riding a bunch for awhile, run on and off at times. Could stay above water and was active with it through other means, but didn't know how to really swim like this. Things just kind of grew from there.

Family Status: Single

Current Training: I train fairly consistent year round and across the board in intensity, so I'm never really that far away from being able to compete well in sprint to HIM distance events.

This Year's Races: Everything should be in the Race log. Sprint, Olympics, HIM Aquabike, s/b/r single events. Had to skip the duathlons with scheduling conflicts and needed recovery

2014 Races: Going to be all over the map in distances and really emphasizing the "multi" part of the sport. It doesn't just mean triathlon. Will be doing single sport and any combination that involves the bike. First up will be a fairly competitive sprint in May. The swim meets are more for testing of progress and experience as opposed to targeted events.

What Will Make Me A Good Mentee: Hoping to share past experience and gain more through interaction here. Have made some decent progress the past few years in each sport, looking for more. Fairly active on the boards. Was involved in another early season group last year, but as a thread in Iron Distance Racing instead of a Mentor group. That experience should help here too.

2013-12-31 4:43 PM

in reply to: brigby1

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Ended the year with a KILLER ride. I found all of the hills in Tucson!

(hillride.jpg)

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hillride.jpg (38KB - 10 downloads)

2013-12-31 5:46 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Good way to finish! Are you going to go for Mt Lemmon sometime?

2013-12-31 6:00 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Hollywood, FL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming

Ended the year with a KILLER ride. I found all of the hills in Tucson!

Wow, that's awesome. I also finished the year on a high note, I did ride outdoors for 75 minutes yesterday, and indoors for 65 minutes today.

Happy New Year

2013-12-31 8:23 PM

in reply to: ccjr

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

More single digits and sub zero with continuing snow ahead, so not really going to try for anything outside. Keep living it up!

2014-01-01 1:36 PM

in reply to: brigby1

Master

10208

Northern IL

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Started the year off with a trainer ride, ~2.5 hrs. 4 x 20' just under 90% each. Trying to shake out this funk.

skankey

2014-01-01 9:48 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

New user

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

My training plan called for 6x800s at 5k race pace today so instead I found a 5k and just ran it. I'm glad I did. I ended up getting a PR in the 5k, 17:37. Felt great. I'm excited for whats going to happen in any sprint or olympic triathlons I do this year as my legs aren't fresh right now due to the hard past weeks I've had and I still PR-ed. Its going to be a good racing year!

AmandaPanda

2014-01-01 10:16 PM

in reply to: ratherbeswimming

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Hi! If the group is still open, can I join?

About Me - My name is Amanda. I've always been active (mostly rugby and kickboxing) and just started doing triathlons in 2013. I did 2 Olympic tris in July and August.

Family Status - I have a great boyfriend and an awesome dog.

Current training - I've been working on technique lately trying to get better at swimming and cycling.

This year - Marathon in March, an Olympic in May, a Half Ironman in either June or July, and IM-Chattanooga in September. It's going to be a busy year :-)

2014-01-02 8:52 AM

in reply to: brigby1

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by brigby1

Good way to finish! Are you going to go for Mt Lemmon sometime?

I've been up it once. A local group, GABA, does a fully supported ride once or twice a year - there was pie at the top! My tri club (Tucson Tri Girls) also does a yearly event there.

I'll probably hit it again when a group goes

2014-01-02 8:52 AM

in reply to: brigby1

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by brigby1

Started the year off with a trainer ride, ~2.5 hrs. 4 x 20' just under 90% each. Trying to shake out this funk.

Solid! You using videos/software for the trainer rides?

2014-01-02 8:53 AM

in reply to: skankey

Pro

6191

Subject: RE: What off-season? Early season racers Mentor Group - OPEN!

Originally posted by skankey My training plan called for 6x800s at 5k race pace today so instead I found a 5k and just ran it. I'm glad I did. I ended up getting a PR in the 5k, 17:37. Felt great. I'm excited for whats going to happen in any sprint or olympic triathlons I do this year as my legs aren't fresh right now due to the hard past weeks I've had and I still PR-ed. Its going to be a good racing year!

AWESOME! Congrats!!!