kmarzano's Group - FULL

I'm going to do my first tri sprint in June in Boulder, CO with your mom! My husband is also going to do the tri with me. I've never done a tri and I'm a little nervous. I've been pretty fit most of my life and I've competed in swimming events from ages 8-18. I've done some long bike rides, including the 70 mile Elephant Rock in Castle Rock, Colorado. I've also done some rides in the mountains including riding over and back on Vail pass. I hurt my knee a couple of months ago and had to take some time off for rest. I've been back into lifting weights the last couple of weeks to build up my strength. My weak point - running. I have been running on the treadmill - some, but really need to build up my running endurance and technics. I also need to start swimming and biking. Basically, I need to get on a good training program, one that I don't burn out on. I'm about 5'8 and weight around 140. I would like to drop about 7-8lbs. I carry too much weight in my upper body. I'm looking for a mentor to give me some advice on running and overall training for my first tri! I work with your mom and think she is awesome!!

Hi Kelly,

I'd like to join your group too! My name is Linda and I live in Kansas City (hence the username!). I did two Sprint tris this past August, and got my sister to do a relay with me in September- I love getting other people into this. I am totally hooked, and am registered for my first HIM this July (Sprint of Racine tri). Unfortunately, I have had some foot/ankle problems recently, and had to take some time off. I just started running again last week, and it's slow going, but I'm glad to be back into it. My bf is starting to run with me as well, and he is interested in maybe doing a duathlon this summer. I've been on BT for a few months, but don't really have anyone to check in on my logs to make sure I'm doing all my training! It'd also be nice to have a support network where we can all motive each other to reach our goals.

Other info about me: I'm 26 y/o and I work in corporate Finance (fun, fun). I've got a boyfriend named Dave and a yellow lab name named Grace. I have been running for a few years, just to stay in shape, but still consider myself a novice in the swim and bike areas. I just bought a Cervelo One recently, and took it out for the first time this weekend but the aero position scares me!

Future goals include the HIM this summer, along with a few Sprint tris and an Oly leading up to it. I want to finish the HIM in 6 hours and improve my times for the two races I did last August. I'd also like to do a marathon someday (maybe next fall?)

Thanks for doing this! ~talk to you later,
Linda

Hi Cindy,

I’m so excited you want to do a triathlon. I love them and it’s really fun to have other people doing the same thing. And if you do the sprint tri in Boulder with my mom I’ll be flying out to do it with her so I can do it with you too!

My mom said you were nervous about doing your first triathlon, particularly one with both men and women. My first reaction is to tell you that learning about triathlons can be overwhelming so be patient with it. You’re already ahead of the game getting involved with a website like this and knowing someone else who’s training for the same thing. When I did my first triathlon I didn’t know anything about it, but I was lucky to have a good friend who used do them and was willing to work with me. He did training sessions with me, laughed at my questions and then answered them, and went with me on race day. He was the only reason I got through race day without crying or being sick. I hope I can help someone else that way. And you will definitely make it through a sprint distance with your background. If you already have the swim and the bike under control, the run is really all you need to work on.

I have a slightly obsessive, type A personality (I thank my mother for that all the time) so I’m fairly goal oriented and I work well with structure. If you prefer to go a little more informal right now, that’s great too. Whatever makes you most comfortable. I agree a training plan is a good idea. You might check into one of the plans on this site or post a thread asking people to recommend good beginner training plans. Even if you need or want to modify it frequently for your schedule or life in general, it at least provides basic guidance of where you should be with your training in the three events. And I understand about burnout, especially during the winter. Once you find a plan, if you start feeling it, we can talk about some things you might try to help get over it. Along with getting a training plan, I would suggest logging your workouts. That way people (me specifically) can offer encouragement and congratulations. It might also help you trace where aches and pains come from or identify what might be causing something like burnout or what might be working really well.

How much are you running right now? How far? Do you ever run outside? Do you have any pain or problems now? If it’s okay to ask, what was your injury? Once I know a little bit more about your running, maybe I can offer some suggestions. The run is my favorite part of the triathlon and by far the strongest of the three sports for me. When I finally put my running shoes on all my stress disappears. That’s when I know I’m home. All I have to do is put one foot in front of the other. Hopefully we can get you to where you’ll feel the same. I won’t overload you with anything else right now. I don’t want to scare you away. Triathlons are really fun. I promise.

Kelly


Edited by kmarzano 2006-12-20 9:37 AM

Hello Linda,

Welcome to the group. I've added both you and Pink (Cindy-above) to my log so I can check in on your workouts. It definitely helps to have someone looking at your logs. I certainly hope your foot/ankle problems feel better soon. Take it slow and if the problem persists or gets worse, definitely check in with your doctor.

I'll be doing Spirit of Racine this year as well. It was originally going to be my first HIM (it sill might), but some members of my tri club will be doing the Rockman HIM in Rockford, Illinois in early June and my trainer thinks I can be ready if I put the miles in on my bike. I bought a Specialized Roubaix last Janurary. Because cycling is my weakest area, I decided to ride it for a season before I went aero. My trainer and I will be re-fitting me with the aerobars in January. I'm nervous about it so I'll be glad to get the feel of it on the trainer before I take it out for a spin on the road. I'm certainly nervous about an HIM but if I can get the swim and bike a little stronger (I'm working on both intensively this winter) I should hopefully be fine.


For both Cindy and Linda,

Since it seems that two of us are nursing ourselves back to health after injuries, please check in and let us all know how you're doing. If you can, note how things go in your logs as well. It looks live you've been doing that your Linda so I'll keep checking in. It also looks like the two of you are both interested in improving your running so we can offer encouragement for that.

Please don't be shy about checking in on me. I LOVE inspires and I'd love to get more of them, especially as I train for a marathon during the coldest months of the year! I'll need it on those days I need to get my butt out of bed and out the door on a Saturday morning for a 15 mile training run on a 10 degree day.

Glad to have you both in the group!!

Kelly

Hi all,

My name is Kristin, I'm 26 years old and I have a tendancy to set ambitious goals. Sometimes too ambitious, but I carry on anyway.

I am originally from St. Louis, Missouri but am currently completing a JD/MBA program in Oregon. I am a life-long athlete. In grade school and high school I played field hockey, basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball and swam competitively for twelve years with an independent club. I played softball in college. When I graduated I took up running. I've done some 5 and 10K's and am currently training for a marathon which takes place at the end of April.

Though I love running, lifting and staying fit on my own not being part of a competitive team anymore recently really got to me. I know that my background is perfect for triathlons and I had always wanted to train but never knew where to start. I have also moved around a lot since graduating from college (lived in NYC, Oregon, St. Louis, Chicago and Europe) which makes sticking to training a bit of a challenge. However, my life has finally come into focus and I'm pretty sure that I'll be in the Northwest for awhile. So, this past November I just decided to go for it. I joined the Tri Team and the Cycling Team at my University. Our official training begins in January, though I have been training on my own all fall. We have four sprints planned through May of 2007 and one Olympic planned for the beginning of May. When the summer tri season begins I hope to complete a Half Iron by the end of June.

I am tri training to be part of a team and be competitive again. I also look forward to being in the best shape of my life. I want to see how far I can push my body. I want to set new goals and identify as a triathlete. I'm pretty pumped that I'm finally doing it.

I am joining this group for additional support, advice and encouragement. Because I am a graduate student on a limited budget, building my gear base will be an issue. Questions about gear and the expense were two of the main reasons I didn't get into the sport sooner - which I now realize are pretty lame excuses. I use a Polar HRM and have appropriate gear for running and swim training, but cycling is my limiter. I still need to invest in a road bike and race gear - and I have no idea what I need. Tips and advice in the gear area are MORE than welcome!

In addition, though I've always been a bit of a health freak, I'd like some tips on fuel for training and fuel during races. I'm a novice regarding pre- during- and post- race intake, so I look forward to tips in that area as well.

Glad to be here!
Kristin

Edited by kmharrer 2006-12-19 5:05 PM

Welcome Kristin! We're glad to have you. I'm very excited to do the mentoring thing although I think of it more as a mutual support group and I have been put in charge of making sure we don't lose touch with each other or lose our focus. It sounds like you have a great background for triathlon. Being a part of tri-club/team/training group will definitely help guide you and if you want to do an HIM in June, doing the other races with them beforehand will help work out all the kinks between now and then. Hopefully this group will supplement it well.

As for cycling and a limited budget, getting together the money for a decent road bike was an issue for me as I live off part time work and financial aid. I went with a five year old hybrid I already owned for the first two seasons. It was torture on my knees. I broke down and used some of my financial aid and first of the year paycheck to buy one. I went in Janurary because the bike stores are all trying to unload the previous year's models so they can bring in this years. I got my bike for $500 off the original price and I was able to get a much better bike than expected. I also went to a store that sponsors my tri-club and the guy gave me 15% off all of my accessories saving me quite a bit more money. I ended up getting a package that should have cost about $2300 for about $1700 instead. You might check with your cycling team and see if they have such an arrangement.

You could also post a thread in the Oregon forum or in the triathlon talk forum and ask for recommendations about good local bike stores in your area. When my mom did that for Colorado she got an almost unanymous response about a particular guy at a particular store who was particularly good, and he was only a couple miles away from her. If either Cindy or Linda has some feedback, feel free to pipe in here.

I'll be working out my nutrition for an HIM this spring (it's a whole different ballgame than marathons) so hopefully we can give tips to each other as we're working through it. When I talk to my coach about it I'll let you know what he says. As for marathons and nutrition, I'm about to give you way more info than you probably were looking for right now but after two years of working at specialty running stores and four marathons I have way more to say on this than I probably should. Take what you want and leave the rest.

For right now, I would suggest you start by figuring out a hydration plan that gets you adequately hydrated in the morning but doesn't have you running to the bathroom every 20 minutes. It starts by making sure you stay adequately hydrated the day BEFORE your long run or race. The morning of I usually down a big glass as soon as I wake up, eat breakfast and down another big glass. If that's not adequate I keep sipping as I'm getting dressed, etc but I slow it down a little after that. I'd like to be peeing almost clear by the time I start my run, but if I'm somewhere close I'm happy. I just know I won't make any hydration up during the run so I don't want to start with a deficit.

You'll also probably want to experiment with what dinner the night before and breakfast the day of won't upset your stomach during your long workouts. Better to make the mistakes now than on race day. You'll also want to eat the meal early enough it won't be sitting in your stomach when you start out. After some trial and error your body will figure out what it wants or doesn't want.

I'd also suggest checking out some of the gus and gels available if you haven't already. When you train and race for more than an hour your body is really starting to deplete some essential nutrients (like glucose). While some people can handle something solid like small bites of a cliff bar they take way longer to get into your system and it is way harder on your body to digest when you're running. The gels will get into your system much more quickly and easily, but you need to take them with about four ounces of water for that to happen. The gels won't maintain the level of nutrients they address but they will help slow the loss.

Although my stomach isn't particularly sensitive to any food the night before a long workout, it's REALLY sensitive to which gel I use during a workout. I can get away with Gu only (not Power Gels or Cliff Shots or any of the others) and my taste buds are really picky so I can only handle the plain flavor or vanilla. Some people will swear by the other brands and like the Razz-berry or Coca cola flavor or something, and some people can take anything. You might try a couple of different brands and flavors for shorter workouts to see how your body and taste buds react (no sense in being 12 miles out and finding out you don't like it) and then start working them in as you increase your mileage for the marathon training. Make sure you always take the same stuff within the same workout though because if you mix it up and your stomach gets upset, you won't know which one did it. Once you know what kind you like you can buy them by the boxful (24 to a box) at your local running store, which will probably be pretty reasonably priced or pretty cheap on the internet (DON'T go to GNC-WAY expensive).

You might also avoid taking the gels with Gatorade. Although I haven't had significant prolems so far, all the sugars and other stuff in Gatorade makes some people feel bloated and cramped. No need for that in a long training run either. I take the gels every 40-45 minutes during a long run, but your body may be different. You might experiment with some different timing. You'll be able to tell if you've gone too long without one. Your body starts to feel sluggish and, mine at least, starts to feel achy.

Afterwards just make sure you hydrate well and get some proteins in your system for muscle recovery. Some easy foods are a yogurt or an ensure. I also do chocolate soy milk, which has the sugars, proteins, etc. When I trained for my first marathon my body wanted to reject all food right after a long run or the race. Now I could step across the finish line and sit down to a feast without even blinking. It took awhile to train my body for that, but I'm better for it. Your body needs to be replenished and right away after a tough training session.

Now that I've completely overwhelmed you with info (and hopefully haven't scare you off) I want to welcome you one more time to the group. I look forward to getting to know everyone as we move through our training.

Hi Kelly,

I am interested in joining your group. I have never done a triathlon of any kind before, but very recently I have felt drawn to the challenges of a sprint triathlon. There is one in March that is a 750m swim, 13 bike, and 5k run that I want to try. I'm not really sure how to go about training for a sprint triathlon which is obviously why I am here I ran cross country for one year my senior year of high school and have just started running 5k races a couple months ago. The furthest that I've run post high school XC is 3 miles. I did swim team for a few years as a youth and usually whenever I go to the pool I usually just swim half an hour. I'm able to swim for half an hour and do all right but I'm afraid that because of the pool's walls it falsely leads me to become secure about my swimming capabilities if I do end up doing a triathlon in the open water (i.e. ocean or lake). As for the biking, I recently bought a mtn bike with the intention to go mtn biking which I have done for the past couple months as well. The most I've mtn biked (beginner trail) was about 8-9 miles, and I've ridden on roads for about 20 miles. So I guess to make this short and not bore you any further, I'm looking for advice and tips on how to train and what the best training techniques are, as well as trying to prepare myself for what the race setting is like for a triathlon. I know that there are transitions and that's mostly what I'm worried about because I know it's an integral part of the race, but something I'm not too familiar with. I hope to learn a lot from you!

Hello Jennifer. Welcome!! I'm really glad you decided to give triathlons a tri. That means we have three people in the group so far who have not done a triathlon yet so we will definitely get to learn together for it. I'm excited to see everyone's progress as you go along.

And please don't think you're boring us with information about your background. We won't be able to offer any tips if we don't know what you're doing. I'd actually ask all of you to regularly log your workouts if you would. It will help you feel a sense of accomplishment as the calendar fills up (or maybe that's just me and my type A, slightly obsessive personality ), it will also help track your progress and let you know if you're not spending enough time in any particular area of training or help you figure out where injuries, burnout, etc might be coming from.

As for training for your sprint, the first recommendation I'm going to make is that you check into the training plans on this website. As I suggested to Cindy, you might also post a thread in Triathlon Talk asking if anyone can recommend a good beginner program you might follow. You might need to tweak it for your own schedule and needs, but it can provide the basic structure.

It looks like you are also able to cover the minimum distance needed for each leg of the race. If you struggle with any one of the three, I'd work on getting that up to at least comfort level. Once you've mastered them separately figure out what your weakest sport is and give that some extra special attention. For me it is both the bike and the swim so I'll really focus on those this winter and spring.

I'm not sure where you live or if it would be warm enough, but if you could get an open water swim in before the race in March that might really help your confidence. You can workout whatever issues you have with not being able to see or touch the bottom beforehand. And remember there are lifeguards. If you start to feel a little too flustered, make your way over to a boat and hang on or roll over on your back and put your arm up to let them know you need help. When you feel better you can start swimming again. FYI--practice putting your goggle straps UNDER your swim cap now so it's natural on race and so no one knocks them off in the flailing chaos at the swim start in a triathlon. THAT certainly won't help anything.

I'm also not a coach so I can only offer suggestions here but I'll do the best I can. Feel free to post threads in the forums to get other suggestions if you like. Or, if you feel like you need it, work with a coach or a tri-club or whatever helps. My feelings won't be hurt and you can let us know what you're learning from these other sources so maybe we can benefit too!

When you're feeling comfortable with the three distances separately, let us know. I can offer you some other suggestions and others might have some ideas too. I don't want to overwhelm you with anything more right so I'll wrap it up by saying we're glad you're joining the group and we'll look forward to tracking your progress.

Dear Kelly!

I'm so excited about this! My name is Sanja, I'm from Zagreb, Croatia, Europe. I am PhD student working full time, living with my BF, 40yo.

I have long history of starting my training over and over again for so many times and finally want to establish a routine that I will stick with. All my training I ever done is in my blog. I went to couple 5k races (walked half of it). Fell of the bike (nothing bad happened) and never sat on it since then, I'm terrified of traffic. I'm fine with stationary bike for now. My life accomplishment is a 1500 OW race (i did it in 43 min) this September. I also row. I would like to row in a single.

I've managed somehow to keep my weight in reasonable limits but need more muscle mass, my goal is to seriously improve my BF% that is currently 28%: 177cm, currently 72kg (i would like it to be under 70), tipically fat-thin build.

My goals for this winter are indoor rowing and adding functional muscle mass. I know how to do it, I "only" need consistence. I have some slight postural problem, I use Egoscue method to correct it, after that I can start running. I also want to do swim drills this winter, I have TotalImersion book and video and it helped me a lot. To go sundays is a struggle, and getting up in the morning to go swimming - well, it would be nice.

Kelly, please could I be the memer of your team?

P.S. Oh I forgot to mention the obvious - i want to do sprint 3 in June 2007.  And also want to compete in rowing. (And Oly doesn't look impossible any more. I have 10k running plan, and bike? will see.)

Edited by sanjana 2006-12-20 4:55 AM

hi there,
I was wondering if there are any openings left in this group. I have finally come to the realisation that I need to get back in shape (studying plays havoc with your exercise routine) and that I would like to, as well as need to, join a community to keep me encouraged and engaged, trying completely on your own is just too hard. I am a 24 year-old recent graduate (MSc Political Sociology) who has just started her first 'real' job her in London (UK)

I used to be pretty in to exercise but have been slacking of for the past year or so. I did a sprint tri about two years ago (on a sort of spur of the moment) and loved it – even managed the entire run. I planned to do the London tri last year but due to various commitments had to drop out at the last minute.

So my purpose for joining this group is that I want to do the Blenheim sprint as well as at least one Olympic distance tri in 2007. I would also like to get back down to my ideal weight (around 148 lbs) as the lack of exercise has resulted in a bit of weight gain (I’m 6”1 and about 155-160 lbs) and a general lack of energy.

I continue to commute on my bike pretty much everyday, a 6 miles ride each way, and have recently joined a gym. But I need to formalise my training and to get into a proper routine. I realise that this is primarily an American board and as a Dane living in London I may not fir the profile or at least I don’t think anybody will be doing the same tris as I am planning to. I hope this does not exclude me completely. You all seem like a very encouraging bunch, and I am looking forward to working with you and getting to know you all.

I’ll stop ranting and go back to work now.
Stine

Hello Stine,

It looks like you've got the last opening. Welcome. We're happy to have you. It looks like we are a group of all women, which is exciting. I find women to be very supportive, even when they are competitive and there are some issues women deal with during training that are not as comfortable to discuss when you know there are men reading the forum.

Stine, I’m excited you decided to come back to triathlons. And you certainly won’t be alone living in London. There are actually a number of people in the UK on this website. If you use the search forums button at the top of your page, you can scroll down in the drop down box and there should be a special forum just for the UK. You might be able to connect with some people there and get ideas for good triathlons or simply have people to meet with before or after a race. Either way, we’re happy to have you on board with us.

I definitely think having a structured plan helps. It’s too easy to get off track if you don’t. And if you have a hectic schedule, its okay to lose a workout here and there as long as you generally stick to the plan and progress as needed. I also think picking an actual race and registering for it (or at least informally having it in your head as a definite race), as you’ve done, helps because you have a clear goal to work towards and a clear timeline by which you need to be ready.

My first suggestion, as I’ve noted above, is to check out the training programs on this site or to post a thread in the forums asking for suggestions about good beginner tri programs. Take a look at all of them once you have a few and figure out which one would work best for you. Once you have a plan, let us know what it is so we can encourage you to stick with it even when it’s tough. I’m also going to suggest that as you’re looking into a plan you work on making sure you can cover the three necessary distances for a sprint on their own. Since there are a few of you who either haven’t ever done a triathlon or haven’t done one in awhile, when everyone is a little more acclimated to their training, we can talk about brick workouts (workouts where you combine two of the three sports just as you will in a race). As you train for your sprint you’ll be able to work up the distances to be ready for an Olympic.

Now that we’re all signed up and I know a little about where each of you is with your training, I wanted to find out if any of you had any more specific questions for me or for the group, or if there is anything the group as a whole would like to focus on. I also wondered if any of you are interested in using the ‘Planned’ workout function in the logs. That way we would post our workouts at the beginning of the week and know what everyone has on tap. For those of you who first started training, if you’d like to wait a little while to do that its fine, but I can start posting mine if you’d like to see what it looks like. Just keep in mind I’m in my fourth year of tris, I’ll be doing at least one HIM this summer, and have a long term goal of a full IM in 2008 so my training will look and should look vastly different than yours probably will. I’m also working with a coach. However, if you think it would be helpful, I’m happy to start posting it. Let me know if there is anything else any of you are interested in.

Kelly

Sanja,

Your post was delayed for some reason and when I first checked the thread this morning it wasn't there. The group had filled so when I did see it I contacted the website and asked if it would be all right if we had six in our group instead of five. They said that should be fine so if no one else objects--welcome to the group!!

I'm a little hesitant in traffic on my bike as well. My first and worst accident involved a run in with a car and I've nearly been hit on the Chicago city streets so many times it's not even funny. I actually got up every weekend this summer at 4:30 so I could ride out to the lakefront before traffic started (I live about 5 miles away).

I'm glad you've decided to join our group. It sounds like your largest hurdle to date has been sticking to your training over time. As I've indicated for most of the other members, I would suggest getting on a plan. Check out the ones on this site or post a thread in the forums and see if you can find some suggestions. Just having the structure will help. I also suggested earlier that we might all consider putting up our planned workouts for the week. That certainly holds us all a little more accountable. If that might help motivate you (since we'll all know you didn't do the workout you had planned) maybe give that a try. And I think rowing will be an excellent form of cross training, especially for your upper body, so maybe you can find a plan that will allow some time for that.

It also sounds like an issue you struggle with is finding the time in your schedule to make sure you get your workouts done. As I've mentioned before, I'm a little . . . anal some people say. I prefer goal oriented. Anyway, I sit down at the beginning of the week and work out my schedule between work, school, and training. Then every night I check my schedule for the net two days and make sure I'll still be able to do it. If not (I'm too tired or something has come up that I wasn't planning on, etc) then I have time to change things around so I will still get my workout in. I also struggle to get to the pool on Sundays so I always schedule a bike or a run on those days because I can do them from home. Going through your schedule that way might help. I know it's not for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

Let us know what sort of support you think will help most and we'll see what we can do to help.

On a non-triathlon related note: I was supposed to go home to Colorado for Christmas and right now they are in the middle of a blizzard. The airport has shut down and flights continue to be cancelled. Please pray, cross your fingers, cast a spell, or do whatever it is you do when there's trouble that mine won't get cancelled so I can go be with my family for the holiday instead of stuck in Chicago alone.

Kelly,

I really hope and pray that you will be able to get home to your family. I know what it's like to not be there... Four years ago, I missed spending Christmas with my family because 16 inches of snow closed the highways between their city and mine, and I couldn't get off work early enough to leave.

The kicker in my case was that my then-boyfriend of three years had come all the way up from New Mexico (where he'd recently moved for grad school) to visit me. That wouldn't have been so bad, but I broke up with him on the night before Christmas Eve, right before the storm really hit, so we were stuck together for the weekend! Talk about bad timing!!! That sure made for an uncomfortable Christmas.

So whatever happens with this storm now, at least it can't be that bad!
(I know that probably won't help, but hopefully it'll at least make you laugh!)

Okay, that story did make me laugh. I was actually on the phone with my mom (who is also on this website and dying to be part of this group) when I read it and she busted up laughing too. I think she's going to log on and read for herself.

You're right, at least it can't be that bad!

My flight did get cancelled and given that about 600-700 flights from earlier today had a chance to grab up the few available seats that were left, it's virtually a guarantee I won't get home now. I've been trying to get through for almost an hour and a half and I've had no luck. I hope none of you will think less of me when I write in to say I missed two days of training drinking myself in a holiday oblivion . . .

Wait! I just go through. I wonder how long I'll be on hold. Ahhh. My call will be answered in approximately 53 minutes. I'll let you all know what happens. And thanks for the story and keeping me in your thoughts.

Good morning ladies. Or afternoon or evening? Depending on where you are.

I did finally get a flight home but it's not until late in the evening on Christmas day. For the sad saga, read my blog from yesterday and today.

I think that Sanja is right that we should add each other our friends list. I added all of you as each of you signed up and I'll check your logs everyday.

As for the rest of your post Sanja--WOW. You have a lot planned. I got overwhelmed just reading it. Would it help to slow it way down and only incorporate one or two of those things at a time? Maybe pick the two most important and do those for three weeks before you start incoporating something else. Or maybe incorporate them, but scale them back. Commit to working out three or four days a week for two weeks. If you're successful at that bump it up to four or five days a week for the two weeks after that.

I don't know you very well yet, so you might be able to do all of it just fine. For myself anyway, that would be too much to deal with all at once and I'd probably end up chucking it all after a week or two. But I'm a baby steps kind of person. I know others are giant monster steps kind of people of dive in head first kind of people. You'll pick what's best for you. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, unmotivated, or just generally not very focused after a couple of weeks, you might think about postponing a couple of those things and only focusing on the one or two you know you can do for sure.

I'll also start posting my planned training. And remember everyone--it's the holidays!!! If we let it all go for a couple days here and there that's okay.

Cindy is out in Colorado dealing with the very blizzard I've been talking about. cindy, I hope you'll be able to stay warm and safe. And hey, digging yourself out can be considered cross-training. Lots and lots of cross training.

Hi Kelly,

I am glad that you were finally able to get home. Hope you have a safe and happy holidays! I think it's a great idea that we add each other as friends, but, forgive my ignorance; I can't seem to figure out how to to that. I'm registered under the "free" membership, does that impact things? Thanks a lot!

Hello everyone,

I haven't made it home yet, so please keep your fingers crossed. As for adding each other as friends, just to the right of your calendar is a set of icons. The very top icon (it looks like a screen with something in one of the corners) is the setting you will use. Click on that and you can add lots of information about yourself. Off to the right you will find the place where you list your friends. Put in their username and then hit apply at the very bottom of the screen (you'll need to scroll all the way down). BUT WAIT. Before you do ONLY that, you can also put in your personal best time for a particular distance (below the friends section). You can also put in your Blog title, websites, gear information, avatar, and other information about yourself (to the left). And at the very bottom you can enter your long and short term goals.

And any time you want to change something, just go back in and change it. Each time you hit apply it automatically updates your blog. And I'm on the free service too. It doesn't matter. The paid service is where you get the training plans, the gear reminder (lets you know when you need new running shoes and so forth), etc.

Good luck and I'll keep checking your logs to see what everyone adds as time goes on.

Kelly

Hello everyone,

I've 'inspired' a couple of you and I see you've 'inspired' me back. I wanted to give you a tip about doing that. When you go into your inspires and want to respond to someone's message, you can click on the 'Blog' button in the bottom right corner and it will automatically open up a new window showing their blog and it will automatically open up their inspire window on top of that. Inside the inspired window it will quote the message they left you and then allow you to leave your message as well. I'll keep checking your logs so I will see any messages you leave in your own log, but that will also allow you to leave a response in someone else's log.

A couple of you have also indicated you'd like to work on drills for swimming and possibly get lessons. Unfortunately I can't really help the international members of our group with this(although I'd love to) and I don't know of the local coaches in your area, but I've attached a link for the U.S. athletes for the U. S. Masters Swim organization. They run teams throughout the United States and you can either join them just for the practices or participate in competitions. The coaches are generally very well respected and would definitely be able to help you with your stroke, as well as provide structured workouts with the other members of the team. They usually meet before or right after work at local or university pools and often have Saturday practices. The link is below.

http://www.usms.org/

There may be similar organizations abroad though. You can also post a thread in the triathlon talk thread or in the state thread for your location (or for the UK) and ask if anyone can recommend a good swim coach or adult swim group you might join. If you need help with your swim or would just like the company I definitely recommend this.

Good luck shoveling yourself out Pink (Cindy).

I'll be on BT throughout the holidays, but I know some of you may be planning to spend a few days away or simply away from the computer so I wanted to go ahead and wish you all a wonderful holiday season.

Stay safe and warm and enjoy your families, friends, or whomever you'll be spending the time with. Eat well and traing when you can. And if you're on BT definitely check in with us.

Kelly

Hi Kelly,

Thanks for the explanation on how to manuever the site, as well as the link for the swimming drill links; they're all very helpful. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone has had a happy holiday season so far. I'm hoping after the new year everyone will be able to settle on a training plan. For a lot of triathletes after the new year is when their 'real' training season begins because it gives you enough time to build your base and also be in great shape for racing in the spring and summer season. I look forward to pink squares in excess in your logs as we really start the tri season in January!

Kelly

I hope all of you have something fun planned tonight.

I'll check back in the next couple of days with some ideas about how to get us kick started in the new year. In the meantime everyone have a fun and safe night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!