Gray Guys/Girls Masters Focus Triathlete Forum (all levels welcome)--CLOSED

I'd like to join if you have room.  My name is Janet, 49 year old wife and mother of 2 (both in college).  I'm mostly a runner but have done sprint tri's off and on for the last 4 years.  Someday I'd like to try an Olympic but don't think it's going to happen this year.  Finances are a bit tight (see above note about 2 kids in college ).  I will be doing a duathlon in April and possibly a sprint tri in the fall.  I'm not doing any real swim training right now - focus right now is on running to get ready for a 9 mile race at the beginning of February.  After that I plan to switch to a duathlon training plan for the April race.  Once that's done I'll make the decision about the fall tri. 

So training now is mostly running - about 4 days a week with a couple of days of bike training mostly as cross-training, nothing hard at the moment.  I have strength training on my schedule but rarely do it - something I'd like to change.  I know I need to do it, just find it hard to get motivated. 

I've been pretty lucky with my weight.  It's not really an issue.  I did gain about 4 pounds when I was sick recently (ten days of the flu is not fun!) so I'd like to get rid of that if possible. 

Looking forward to getting to know the group.
Janet

Hi,

I'd like to join this group!  I'm looking for a group that focuses on middle-aged athletes and all the things we face.

Melanie's Story:  I am 52 and I started running in 2003 but didn't get my butt really in gear until the next year.  One night my jeans were just too tight and I WAS NOT going to go out and buy a larger size.  That night I signed up for a marathon four months away.  I have never looked back.  I discovered triathlons about 4 years ago and love the sport.  

My favorite distance is Olympic/International.  I've done a few sprints, quite a few olympics, and one HIM.  I also try to get in a few road and trail running races a year.  I have room for improvement in every discipline.  Up until last year, I was getting faster as I was getting older.

FAMILY STATUS: Happily married 29 years with two daughters.  One out of college and one heading to college next fall.

CURRENT TRAINING: I commute by bike every day to work (15 miles round-trip).  That is the bulk of my bike training.  I have joined a Saturday morning group ride in hopes of getting in some tougher workouts.  I try to get in 3 runs and 2-3 swims each week too.  Volume is around 9-11 hours per week but it's very skewed because of my bike commuting.  I've never followed a specific plan for any training cycle.  I don't really use a lots of digital training data since it gobbles up so much time on the computer for analyses. 

2013 Races -- two 5 mile trail races, 10K road race, DC Rock-n-Roll HM, Columbia Triathlon (olympic), IronGirl Columbia (sprint w/ daughters), Half Full (olympic), Nations (olympic)

THIS YEAR'S PLANNED RACES: Not sure of what races I will do.  I have registered for the Reston Triathlon (olympic) and plan to do Columbia again.

WEIGHTLOSS:  When I started running back in 2003, I was at 160.  I've settled in at about 142 and in 2011 dropped to 134 (my fastest year).  I'd like to have a racing weight of about 137.  I look rather unhealthy in the face below this weight.

Thanks!

Melanie

Hey all!  Just rearranged my training schedule to account for the holiday.  It's a lighter week for me anyway so that helps some.  I still hope to get 4 runs in and 2 trainer rides.  Also helps that I'm off work until Jan 2nd.  The hardest thing for me in getting the workouts in is motivating myself in the evenings after a long day at work.  It's so much easier to get the workout done in the morning or early afternoon. 

Hope everyone has a great holiday!
Janet

Hey Steve, I’d like to re-up with your group if you still have room.

NAME: Scott K.

BIO:

55 Y.O. Male, married, 2 "little ones," 5 grand-kids (would've had the grand-kids first if we'd known how much fun they are!)

STORY:

I started swimming competitively when I was 11 and swam all through high-school and college. I was a world class swimmer in the late 70's and early 80's. I held a world record at one point, albeit for about 20 minutes, but it was a world record nonetheless (I set the record in a semi-final and it was broken in the next semi-final). Back in those days, an amateur was an amateur so as a swimmer, unless you were independently wealthy, you really only had one shot at the Olympics. After the 1980 U.S. Olympic debacle my swimming career began to wind down and in 1982 I finally retired from competitive swimming. That was, coincidentally, the same year my Ironman dream started. I suspect that many of you can trace the genesis of your own Ironman dreams to the same moment - Julie Moss on her hands and knees, crawling across the finish line in Kona. In my mind, that was, and continues to be, the epitome of athletic achievement. I immediately knew I wanted to do an Ironman. However, the sad reality was that I had spent 5-8 hours a day in a pool, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for over a decade, and the thought of going back to full time training was not very appealing. On top of that, I had another problem - running and I had never really been friends. The Ironman has that little marathon thing at the end and that simply terrified me. A couple decades later, I found myself over one-hundred pounds overweight, and I couldn't run 100 yards, let alone a marathon. Although I didn't move to fulfill my Ironman dream, I did tell anyone who would listen that, "I could do an Ironman." Then a couple years ago, I went to a client's house and there on the wall of his home office was a picture of him crossing the finish line in Kona. Of course, my first comment was, "I could have done that!" After a year of him hearing about how I could have done that, he finally called me out in May 2012. He basically said, "Your going to go to your grave saying you could have done it, or you can do it." He then challenged me to join him at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on October 11, 2014. After a grueling two weeks of researching everything Ironman, including how to qualify for Kona, I finally accepted his challenge.

GOALS:

1. Ironman World Championships - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii - October 11, 2014

WEIGHT-LOSS:

1. Started a weight loss program in May, 2012. Was at 297.6 pounds when I started. Graduated high-school at 180 pounds, college at 200 pounds. Want to get down to that range. Target is 200. I have lost roughly 75 pounds so far. Started out using the Atkins diet plan and have modified that as I started training.

UPCOMING RACES:

1. Entered in Indy-500 Half Marathon 05/14.
2. Entered in Ironman Louisville 08/14.
3. Ironman Kona 10/14?

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MEMBER:

Having competed at a world class level for several years, I vividly recall the pressure and nerves you experience at a high level competition. Plus I have a pretty good understanding of swimming and proper technique. That is experience I look forward to sharing with anyone interested.

I may not be the most competitive person you have ever met, but I will settle for being the second most competitive person you have ever met.

I have this theory, if you aren't going to be the best you can be, why try at all? That theory tends to be contagious and will spur others to higher achievement.

Most importantly, I know my limitations. I know I have returned to training after a very long "retirement." I know that I am no longer the 20-something world class athlete of the past (I acknowledge my body is older, but beyond that, I think being a world class athlete is largely a state of mind). I know training techniques have changed dramatically in the past decades and I know there are many people here with far more knowledge than I have. I anxiously look forward to hearing their expertise.