Robj's Group

Hi Rob, can I join your group? I'm a 47 year old male who use to play basketball and run quite a bit. I injured my knee 10 years ago trying to split two defenders and hit a cutting team mate. I made the pass, but the lower half of my leg didn't come with me. That knee injury ended my running, and greatly limited my basketball which I love enough that I was willing to limp for two days after a game if thats what I needed do. In order to find a more knee friendly form of exercise I took up cycling a couple years ago. I have enjoyed it and I have completed a couple of MS150 rides and a century. After my last MS150 in April I started looking for my next work out challenge and I had a friend mention a triathlon. I don't swim well, in fact 50 yards is about all I can do, and every swim is a near death experience for me. My knee is currently feeling much better than it has in years and I can run 2-3 times a week without any problems. The idea of a triathlon really excites me and I'm eager to train and complete one in late summer/early fall. I did run a triathlon once exactly 20 years ago, but I consider myself a rookie as I was totally unprepared for that event and did no particular training except for my usual running and basketball. I think if I train properly I can beat that performance 20 years ago which would really be a huge victory for me personally. My local running shop is offering a triathlon workshop tomorrow and I've registered to attend that event. I'm married, have three children (all daughters), and I work as an IT Manager for a large transportation company.

Doug,
Welcome, glad to have you. I think it's great to take a workshop, I also did my first race without really knowing much about the sport and although I swim pretty well, I probably hadn't been on a bike in nearly 10 years. However it was fun and I've been hooked. What race and distance are you training for? If you need help finding a plan let me know, there are several on here and some other sites and most only have 2-3 days of running, even for longer distance races. Talk to you later


Rob

Hi Rob, the workshop was fun and very informative. I picked up a lot of drills for swimming, biking, and running that I can incorporate into my training. Any suggestions that you have on a training plan would be fantastic. I looked at a couple on the site and they look interesting, but I think I need one that starts with basic couch level swimming, but a more experienced level for the bike and run. There are three different triathlons that I'm considering.

My big goal is the Cypress Gardens Triathlon.

Saturday October 06, 2007 ::: Winter Haven, Florida: Publix Family Fitness Weekend Triathlon
Sprint Triathlon 1/2 mile swim / 12.4 mile bike / 3.1 mile run
Location: Cypress Gardens Adventure Theme Park.
Register On Line At: familyfitnessweekend.com
Contact Information On Line At: familyfitnessweekend.com
This Event is USAT Sanctioned: - To become a USA Triathlon Member Click Here to print out a Temporary ID Card (valid at any USAT sanctioned event).
More: The Publix Family Fitness Weekend starts on Friday night and ends on Sunday.
Weekend events may include: Triathlon Clinic, Sprint Triathlon, Duathlon, Kids Events, 1 mile open water swim, 5K Run, In-Line Skate and more. Check the race web site for dates and times.


Another triathlon that I'm looking at is the Lake Louisa series. It is real short and is held every month. I went to watch this last weekend and it looked like a lot of fun. I thought it might make a good trial run type race.

Saturday, July 14, 2007 ::: Clermont, Florida: Lake Lousia Sprint Triathlon Series - Race #4
Swim ¼ mile, Bike 7 miles, Run 1.5 miles
Start Time: 7:00 AM
Location: Lake Louisa State Park
Phone: (352) 241-7144 ext.4209
email: [email protected]
Price: $25.00
Course Info: Great course inside the park. Great first time triathlon! Cook-out after the race on the beach! Each race in the series has about 150 participants. You can sign up on race day. Parking right next to the transition. Free enterance into the State Park.
Directions To Race: Lake Louisa State Park is located on Hwy 27 - 5 miles south of Clermont.

Then there is a mountain bike race that also looked like fun.
DATE
Saturday, August 11, 2007

ABOUT THIS EVENT
Join us for what is sure to be an amazing off-road triathlon, duathlon, and aquabike race! YMCA Camp Winona is set on 60 secluded acres of beautiful pine forest in West Volusia County Florida. The entire camp is covered by numerous shade trees, making for a very picturesque backdrop to a challenging event.
Please note: Different from years past, this is an off-road event, therefore, you will need a mountain bike!

EVENTS & DISTANCES
Sprint Aquabike - 0.75km swim, 20km bike
Sprint Duathlon - 5km run, 20km bike, 5km run
Sprint Triathlon - 0.75km swim, 20km bike, 5km run
MyFirst Triathlon - .4 km swim, 20 km bike, 5km run

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Swim in the clean, spring-fed Lake Winona which fronts the camp. Bike on a challenging new off-road course which is made of flat, hard packed gravel roads. Run on a beautiful course with plenty of shade and hard packed gravel roads.

Thanks in advance for any help on a training plan or suggestions on the target races.

Doug,

Happy father's day(a day Late). I hope you had a good day. Glad you got some good stuff out of the workshop. To me the biggest thing about swimming is just being comfortable in the water and swimming smooth. If the drills don't help maybe consider joining a Masters swim group, it will help to train with swimmers. As for the Tris you are considering, the one in July sounds like a good start if you feel you can get your swim up to 400-500m remember an open water swim is alot different then swimming in a pool cause there are no sides to rest on. What kinda mileage/training are you doing currently on the bike and run? If you've got a good base there you can really concentrate on the swimming while sustaining the other 2 events.

Talk to you later
Rob

Happy Father's day to you also. I had a great day, I hope you had a good day with your wife and daughter.

My runs have been about 3 miles, sometimes I'll run 5 on a weekend day. The bikes have been real short lately usually 10 miles, but it was only a month and a half ago that I was regularly riding 50 miles in a work out. I don't think endurance will be a problem on the bike. I've been working on my cadence and trying to ride fast on the bike rides but on a lighter gear than normal. Sunday I combined the bike/run by biking 5 miles, running 2 miles, biking 5 miles again, then running 1 mile. I could have run further, but I was running out of time and needed to end the work out. Swimming will be the real challenge, the part that's a little scary, but the part that will make this effort so rewarding when I complete it. My progress with the swim training has been real slow, but I felt better in this morning's work out particularly during the last couple of minutes. I felt a lot more comfortable breathing than I have before, but it was in my home pool which isn't very big. I'm looking forward to swimming in a bigger public pool later this week and see if I feel better there. One good thing about the July race is that the lakes around here are real low right now, and the race director told the participants last week that if they got in trouble to just stand up.

I am not sure what the secret is to the swim, you just need to get comfortable doing it. Don't worry about speed and just try to swim smooth and relaxed, the speed will come. That's great that the race is geared towards beginners. I think the race at Callaway Gardens is the same way, all in the shallows so you can always touch. I don't think you will have a problem with the bike run at all. The toughest part is running after biking and if you are doing bricks you should be fine. Good luck with training


Rob

Hi Rob, I'd like to join your group as well.

I'm 38 years old. Bad health runs in my family and I'm trying to outrun that plus overcome some lazy (bad) lifestyle habits . I started cycling about 5 or 6 years ago, did my first Sprint triathlon last year, did my first 10K run this year. I want to push myself hard right now and do either an Olympic or a Half Ironman triathlon 14 weeks from now - The Longhorn in Austin on October 7.

Thanks

Pete

p.s. I was in the Army right out of high school, from 1987-1991.

Pete,

Welcome, I also come from a BIG Italian family, so I know how that can be. Good luck with the training, the reason I'm doing this is to pass a little knowledge but also keep myself motivated. I am less then a month out of my first race in almost 2 years and I am very excited. Let me know if you need any help and once again welcome to the group...

Rob

Hey Rob,

My name is Chrisinct/ Chris Huntley and I'd like you join your group too. I'm a 32 year old married father of one little guy and I currently weigh in at 251. I have been working hard although posting my info to beginner tri for the last month or so. I started the year at 272 and it's been fairly tough to lose the weight. My first tri is scheduled for September 23rd (sprint) and I'm working on getting ready. When I was younger I was in great shape but then I tore my ACL and 2 surgeries later I was terribly out of shape and I've been making excuses since. I did great 2.5 years ago when I went from 293 down to 220. Unfortunately I lost the motivation and up my weight went up again and here I am.

Family status- Married to my wife Sheri and we have a 3 month old son Jacob. She's not into any competition but I think we can win her over.

Current training: I like to ride more than 100 miles a week and recently I've been putting in pool time 1-2 days a week and yesterday I did my first run since thanksgiving 2004 (Manchester Road Race).

Last years races: none

This years races: Lake Compounce Sprint Triathlon (9/23/07), Manchester Road Race (Thanksgiving) and maybe I can get in some 5ks.

Weight loss: I want to compete at 220lb in September and at 205 for Thanksgiving. MY eventual goal is 180lbs where I'd like to be next year.

Thanks everyone and I can always use encouragement.

Robj,

Do you still have spots open for your group? I am brand new to this sport and have been training for about 2 weeks. I'm hoping to do the SOMA triathlon in October (Tempe, AZ), which with the exception of the swim is olympic length (I think). I like that you make your own workouts. I've looked at some training plans and have altered them to what I think will build me up for the race. Also, about 3 years ago I had a nasty spiral fracture in my right leg that has kept me out of sports in general for about 1 to 2 years.

If you are full, will you please take a look at my training logs and let me know what I could do better? I have a ton of questions, from shoes to bikes to the transitions, and would really appreciate the help. If not, please consider me for the next round of mentorship.

Thank you for your consideration,

Jeremiah Tosic