Beer Drinker Accountability/Appreciation Society - Open

Originally posted by Clarkey77

Hoping to join your group if you will have me? If yes I'll reply we the long Breakdown!

Originally posted by mirthfuldragon

NAME: Charles

STORY: Currently 30, in my second season of triathlon, and first long-course season. In 2009 I was at 296lbs, and as of this morning I am at 173.6. It's been a long road full of set-backs and triumphs, but I'm in the best shape of my life and enjoying the journey. Every bite is still a struggle, but it is a battle I can win.

FAMILY STATUS: Married, happily; no children currently.

CURRENT TRAINING: I hired a coach so that I could stop over-thinking and second-guessing myself (and overthink and second guess someone else instead), so I do what she tells me to do .

THIS YEAR'S RACES:: Gearing up for Rev3 Quassy in a few weeks, then Ironman Racine 70.3 in July, and then the big show - Ironman Wisconsin in September. After that, I may head down to Mexico and run the new Rev3 event down there, not sure.

BEER PREFERENCE: I'm not drinking a lot right now, since I'm still shedding weight for Quassy and IMWI. And my preference is for dark, heavy beers that have more in common with bread or cake than those hoppy, trendy floral bouquets most prefer. Stout! Porter! Bock! Dopplebock! I also love hefeweise beers - banana and cloves go right to my brain.

WEIGHT LOSS: Last year I hovered in the mid-180s, basically letting myself slack as I geared up for my marathon. At the new year, I was right under 200, and now I'm at 173.6. Hoping to see 16x before the month's out, and racing weight of around 165. I'm 6'2", so that should spit out about 9% bodyfat.

I'm by no means an expert in triathlon, but I know my way around bikes pretty well (and I know when to call a pro), and I like to run (even typing that is weird). I'm a mediocre swimmer on my best day.

Originally posted by mirthfuldragon

Randy - another man who likes beer as dark as my lawyer heart. Have you tried making Beer-a-misu yet? Dark beer, lady fingers, and marscapone - delicious. What HIM are you gunning for?

Originally posted by randym95

This group looks perfect for me, if it's still open.

I'm 5'10" (on a good day), and six years ago this month I was tipping the scale at about 240. Started running and eating better, and lost 40 pounds the first year, and 30 the second. I actually got down to an all time low of 167, but that was too light for me. Anyways, I got into multisport events back then too and did quite a few events, with my longest being Oly distances.

Well, two years ago I had a nagging achilles injury that found me in the OR. Essentialy, they completely detached my achilles, re-shaped my heel (made it smaller), removed a bone spur, and then re-anchored my achilles back on to my heel. The recovery has been incredibly slow and painful. I still have pain every day, but it's maneagable and I'm able to get back to doing what I love. I've signed up for my first HIM this coming September and just flat out, cannot wait. Thankfully, I've been able to maintain my current weight of 173ish, through all of this.

Beer. Ah yes, beer. I love beer. Dark beer. The kind you have to cut with a knife and chew in order to get it down. Bourbon stouts and coffee porters are my favorites.

Randy

Originally posted by badmo77a

I would love to join.

NAME: Adrian

STORY: 2013 I dropped from 300 to about 245 lbs and got back into running. Cross training for running led me to consider triathlon. Especially as I also love my bike. Now I consider Triathlon to be the route for me to be more complete in my fitness.

FAMILY STATUS: 10 years married with two boys 7 and 5.

CURRENT TRAINING: My logs (logs of shame) are complete. Training has to occur around my work (on call IT at a Credit Union) and busy family life.

THIS YEAR'S RACES:: I have done a couple of running events so far this year:

Feb 17th 10k (51:19) PR!
Mar 30th 15k (1:27:37) PR just because I have never run that distance before. Awful as I had the flu.

Both hampered by bad weather and low training volumes.

2014 RACES: Working up to Olympic distance currently. Planned:

7th June Binbrook Sprint (750m, 30k, 7.5k)
24th June Peachbud (10k run)
27th July Niagara (Grimsby) Sprint (750m, 25k, 7k)
14th Sept Lakeside Olympic

BEER PREFERENCE: Coming from England my tastes are for Bitter, Stout and IPA. But I can also enjoy Lagers and Pilsners having worked in Europe for some years. Don't mind the occasion pint of Mild. OK all beer!! Based now in Canada so am enjoying the craft beer explosion going on in Ontario.

WEIGHT LOSS: In 2013 I lost 55lbs and it is the best thing I have ever done. I have gained about 15 of those back over the winter but hope now that the better weather will see me again dropping.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOREE: I am in this for fun. I would like to be able to do a 70.3 over the next few years but want to build and train sensibly to do so. I view this as a mutli year project to secure good health and be able to keep up with my sons as they get into their teens.

Originally posted by Omne38103

I'm in!

Name: Justin

Story: Nothing exciting...somehow became a runner in 2009, watched a broadcast of Kona and gave myself a goal of completing an Ironman by the time I'm 35 (32 now). Obviously I'm taking my time...I'm originally from Cleveland (Go Tribe!) but now live in Memphis

Experience: None; my first tri is tomorrow! I've been running for a few years

2014 Races: Already did a 10k and a half marathon. Memphis in May sprint tri this weekend, Mighty Mite sprint tri in July, Riverbluff olympic in September, and NYC Marathon in November

Favorite Beer: Goose Island Summertime

Originally posted by sandishr

Oh, you just have to take me, since the only reason I'm doing this triathlon thing is because of BEER!!!

Name: Sandi

STORY: I've always been a pretty active person, but have resisted exercise that had much impact (i.e. running) and biking because of old surgeries. I walked/hiked a lot, and started swimming. I'd been able to maintain my weight until...well, age and it's effect on metabolism...set in, in large part because I inexplicably became allergic to many forms of alcohol in my 20's, including any decent beer. However, as proof that some divine spirit up there does indeed exist, these disappeared a few years ago and along with my husband, I rediscovered beer. We have lots of local breweries around, and it's become a fun and enjoyable pastime/ hobby for us. A few pounds more than I'm comfortable with crept on, and unwilling to give up the beer, I upped the exercise ante. I started running a year ago and was pleasantly surprised by how much I came to enjoy it. Spurred on by the location of my favorite few breweries along a bike path, I bought a bike this spring and have been biking to and from work. I figured a brew at the end of the workday was good incentive to bike those ten miles. Somehow, a natural progression of this process was entering my first triathlon.

FAMILY STATUS: Happily married to the best guy in the world.

CURRENT TRAINING: I run 4 miles several days a week, have been biking 3-4 days a week, and am restarting my swim training this week. (Have previously trained for longer distance swims, so am not concerned about the distance, just the open water experience in a mountain lake). I've done a few Brick workouts and am feeling pretty confident I can do this. In fact, I think I'm getting addicted. :-)

RACE PLANS: Am entered in my first try-a-tri in July (1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike, 5K). I have the option of moving that to a sprint class but since I'll have the least amount of time to work on open water swimming and the only difference is the length of the swim, I'm inclined to stick with the noncompetitive class for my first event. I'm looking for other events to enter, but will probably always focus on the sprint distances.

WEIGHT LOSS: I pretty much lost all of my excess weight last summer and have been able to maintain that. Adding on the tri training has allowed me to drink my beer without putting it back on...as well as a glass of wine and occasional pizza. I'm pretty happy with the way I look and feel right now.

FAVORITE BEER: A really good pale. It's got to have a bite to it. I consider Manny's a required drinking experience. (if you don't know what that is, you need to come to the Pacific Northwest and try it). I really like a lighter IPA and a decent amber too, but a good pale's got them all beat.

OTHER: I run a dogsled in the winter. Most of my training includes a dog on any given day, keeping us all in shape in the warmer months. And our favorite breweries are those that allow a well-behaved sled dog to lie at our feet while we enjoy a beverage.