IronSteves Group Now FULL

Hi Steve,
would love to join your group. I am a 36 year old aussie living in Singapore. Married with two boys (3 and 5). Was a team sport player in college but gave it up once I started work. Fast forward 10 years and I did a medical for work. Results were not pretty – high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I remember thinking that night that if I want to be an active part of my boys (and my wife’s) life in the future then I need to start doing something about it. So the next day I joined a gym and started on the treadmill (mainly cos I did not know how to use anything else!). 12 months later I did my first 10km race, 12months after that my first half marathon and then 12 months later on Dec 9th I did my first full marathon (see the pattern). After completing the marathon I feel like I want to do something different so I started thinking about triathlons (motivated by a 2x ironman friend).

So here I am- I aim to do my first triathlon in June (sprint or Olympic distance depending on how far I can swim!) My challenges are:
1. I have a bit of ITB after the marathon so have done no exercise for a month. I need a kick to get started again!
2. 90+% of bike training will be on the trainer (roads are very dangerous here!)
3. My access to a pool is limited- and I cant swim that well!

I am not that performance driven, just in it for the fun, the health and the challenge of completing-so I am more long distance oriented.

Looking forward to sharing and motivating each other!

Cheers
Matt (aka elmatto)

Welcome to the group. I can appreciate your challenges and applaud you for working to the start line. The ITB issue is one what you really should take care of by light stretching, massage and icing. Additionally, working with less intensity on your runs will help as well. Soft and Connective tissue issues do take time to heal be patient. Your training on trainer is NOT a bad thing as long as you can get out on the road sometime. I use Spinervals workouts to break up boredom and really helps with developing fitness. Spinervals can be found at www.spinervals.com. Finally, you gotta swim......No matter how we slice it getting in the water at least twice per week is a good idea even for sprints. Hope that helps, and congrats on your choise of tri-ing it out!!

Steve

Hey Steve,

Sounds like you have some experience in this sport! I would love to join your group and get some advice as to how best to go about my training.

I am 38, male, and relatively healthy. My main goal is theMighty Hamptons tri in September, and I'm thinking about the New York Tri on July 22nd. My girlfriend/life partner did the Mighty Hamptons olympic tri last her, as her first event, and she loved it. She came in 14th for her age group, even with very relaxed and long transition times! Watching from the sidelines, it looked really fun, so I decided then to give it a shot next year.

So now it's that year and I feel like I need to start training. My big weaknesses are swimming and core strength. I get chronic pain in my lower back, which I believe is due to very weak mustles in that area. I can do a 50 meter swim badly but after that it all falls apart. Water in the mouth and nose, flailing body parts etc...

I think I am somewhat fit, 5'10" 150lbs. I did yoga for years (not so much these days) which has given me great flexibility (I can forward bend my knuckles to the floor). I think my fast running pace these days is around 9:00 per mile for a 3 or 4 mile run.

So that's me in a fitness nutshell. Oh, and my girlfriend is pregnant! Babies due on May 19th, so I need to plan a bit of a slowdown in my training schedule for the little bundle of joy and bodily fluids.

I am new to this beginner triathlete website, but it seems to be a great resource. Any advice as to how best stem these next couple of months gearing up for a race ready summer would be greatly appreciated.

Hey ddicon,
First Welcome to the group but more imprtantly welcome to the SPORT!!! Triathlon is great and the lifestyle you are about to be part of is one that is healthy and fulfilling, not to mention FUN!! Having a your partner involved in Tri is great. My wife and I are training for a Spring race and is amazing how we are feeding off each others energy, espceically when the energy is low. The Mighty Hamptons is a great race from all accounts and the NY Tri is amazing! I hope to do that one someday.

For IM Arizona, I trained 2 days a week of core and it made a huge difference s I was able to stay upright for the marathon and keep a good rythm. Last season I suffered because of my lack of focus on core strength and I paid a dear price (I got lazy). My suggestions for core workouts include a routine such as 3 x(8 jackknifes on stability ball, 12 to 15 ab crunches on stability ball, 20 alternating opposite arm and leg rais on Strability ball, and 8-10 reverse crunch for lower back). Doing this 2 to 3 time per week will do wonders! This will aslo help with balance in the water.

Oh swimming- you are ahead of me where I was a few years ago. 25 yards was exhausting! ONe of the first suggestions is to learn bilatera breathing (breathing to each side). Two things help me with that that I can passs on. First, I would walk the length of the pool (usually on dry land) andsimulate my swim stroke while breathing to both sides. Doing this creates muscle memory that beleive it or not helps in the water. Secondly, I took a swim stroke clinic at my local pool. If you can't do that have the lifeguards check you out or EVEN join a master's swim program. The coaches for master's groups are great at giving stroke advice (I did this too, so there are 3 ideas). In the beginning I was very defensive about my swim stroke but as I got advice, and began applying it to my swim, it became more enjoyable despite me still being slow. Finally, I would also suggest checking out the total immersion web site www.totalimmersion.net as they have some videos of their stroke technique. I bought the tri swimiming DVD and useed it faithfully and it works!

Now the wonders of parenthood and triathlon training! The balance is one that takes some work to achieve but can be done. My thought is that you should develop a training plan and identify times when you will be out training. THis helps you and your partner. I usually take a copy of my weekly schedule and tape it on the frige and everyone knows what is happening. THis way everyone feels included in the process. As far as trainiong plans, there are some on this web site that are good and can be used as a template for developing a training plan for the summer race season. Check them out see what you think.

Hope this helps!
Steve

Already some great advice, Thanks.

So I am just getting into this crazy website/service and I am seeing a huge amount of functionality. Specifically the training plans. At the moment, I am just a registered with a free account, is the upgrade to bronze worth it? I see that with a bronze or better membership you can use more of the site capabilities.

As for the training plans, there are sooooo many. What's the best way to choose? Also, considering that I have 20+ months to work with before the NYC Sprint tri, what's the best thing for me to do at these early stages of training? Form, technique, core strength?

Hello again!
I can say, it is usually best to find a plan that seems to fit. One way is to look at the plans identified for the distances you are training for and focused on. I typically ask athletes I coach to identify their focus event and plan accordingly. For instance one of my athletes is doing an OLY distance and mixed in are some sprints and a Long course DU. We are focusing on being able to run between 10 to 15 miles per week (time value 2 to 3 hours per week), 3 to 4.5 hours on the bike per week, and about 2 hours swimming. These are the "maxes" we are working towards and willl adjust about April once we get a guage on her fitness.

Once again this site is great in terms of functionality if you have the time to use it and make it work for you. The plans are designed very nicely and using time as opposed to distance is the way to go. Plans are used to take the guess work out of training and aid in putting it all together because Tri training is a bit more than swimming, biking and running.

I can't stress enough the core exercises. I started doing them again in December and have seen a marked difference on my bike! I am pushing on average 20 + watts on average more since reincorporating these workouts!

In closing you may want to pick a "Balanced" workout plan that has you doing all sports in balanced fashion with you plugging in core exercises Tuesday, Friday and Sunday's and see how you feel in a month (1 complete workout cycle).

Hi Steve and welcome oddicon!

Bit of bad news from my side- went for a run last night and after 20min ITB flared up again. This is after a month break and I did not wear my ITB strap (which works really well for me) So looks like going to have to be more aggressive in the treatment. Your thoughts on core work are very interesting- I think my problems are to do with weak core, weak muscles (eg hips) and inflexibility as much as anything else. Well the good thing about tris is if I cant run I can still swim and cycle! So will replace run sessions with a crosstrainer or water running or something like that.

So my 2007 plan is going to be something like this: (based on 7-8 sessions per week):
Cycle- 2-3, times week
Swim 2-3, times week
Run substitute (Cross trainer/water running) 2-3 times

Stretch and core/hips- hope to make this a daily thing (do it every day, following the core performance book which I quite like)

Sorry to hear about the ITB!

Are you incorporating massages into the treatment? Massage will force blood into the area and force healing. When you are able to go again, try lowering your intensity and work back a bit slower. AND NEW RUNNING SHOES! Meanwhile, keep working the bike. Are you clipping in? What types of bedas are you using. One thing I heard and you may want to research the LeWedge developed by Greg LeMond. This helps with alignment of your foot in and leg in the pedal stroke. A more expensive method is using the Aline System that acts like an orothotic and I have seen much improvement in myself this year using this system. Your plan looks very balanced. While off you feet for running, a thought would be to kick up your bikeing on the trainer and add another swim. Biking helps your running! (Unfortunately not the other way around) Ands swimming will help even with struggling in th e water with getting more comfortable in the water and increase aerobic fitness!

Steve

Hey ironsteve

a little about myself i am 23 and i live in georgia, i am a army national gaurds man. i have been aching to get into triathlons for a while now and i stumbled across this website. my goal is to start participating in triathlons and keep participating. although i do not have diabetes my aunt does. she has recently had a heart attack due to her blood suger level going really high i belive the number was in the 900 range but i could be wrong.

family satuse: single but hoping to change that soon i have been dating my child hood friend of 11 year for over a year now and i am planning of asking for her hand in marrige. (side note my father used to run in marathons)

current training: i dare say not enough. i cycle about 20 miles on the weekend, and run 6 miles a week. haven't started swimming yet but plan on starting today.

would like to join our group because your younger then most of the mentors i have checked out (i feel we would be closer to the same page of thinking) also because my aunt has had diabetes sense she was a child. (p.s. i chose my name before i saw your page my friends call me iron man andrew cause i have always wanted to do the iron man compatitions, plus i am the buggest and toughest of all my brothers)

Hi Steve,

My name's Thor and I'd like to join your group if you still have room.

My deal: I am turning 46 this month and was recently searching for a "big" fitness goal to motivate me for 2007. Completing a sprint triathalon seemed to fit the "big" requirement pretty well. I've run before. Trained for the LA marathon about 10 years ago, but had to pull out after the 22 mile training run due to knee pain. I haven't done any serious swimming or bike work, but it sounds like it will be fun.

My life: I'm a writer/stay-at-home dad living in Southern California. Been married 10 years and have a six year old daughter who keeps me busy. My health is pretty good, though I feel like I could lose about 10 lbs. My cholesterol is a bit higher than I'd like, but at this point my doctor doesn't feel I need meds. We're trying to address it with nutritional supplements and exercise. I think this program might help with that.

My 2007 goals: I've been looking through the B.T. site and have set some tentative goals. I'd like to do either the Santa Barbara sprint on 8/26 or the Long Beach sprint on 9/23. Both seem doable. I like the S.B. because it's close to home. I also like the L.B. because they claim the ocean swim is behind a breakwater so there won't be any waves. For a first time ocean swimmer, I like this aspect a lot. At the same time, there's usually not much surf in S.B. in August, so this may not be much of an issue.

I'm currently thinking that I'll do TWO of the B.T. training plans in succession. First I'm thinking I'll do the 16 week aggressive "Couch to 5K" walking/running plan. Then I'll follow that with the either the "16 week sprint - 2x balanced plan" leading into the Santa Barbara sprint, or the "20 week sprint - 2x balanced" plan followed by the Long Beach sprint. At this point, I don't think I have to decide about which sprint plan or race I do. If I calendared this correctly, I won't have to decide that till early May. Right now, I'm just going to do the "Couch to 5K" plan, starting in "week 2" in order to finish this in time to start the sprint program May 7th. I think this adjustment will be fine, since I'm already used to walking 30 mins. 3X a week.

My other goal for the next 15 weeks is to start a bit of swimming, biking and core work. That way when I start the sprint program in May, everything won't be new to me all at once. I'll also use this time to see if I can tune up my mountain-type bike for the summer. Not ideal to use the mountain bike, but I'm trying to keep my investment low this first year.

I haven't signed up for any of the plans (bronze, silver, etc.) yet. Would appreciate any advice on that.

Anyway, there's my story. Look forward to conversing with everyone in the group. Thanks!

Hello Ironman andrew!
Believe me the name Ironman is fine to pass around. In terms of life achievements, finisishing an Ironman is one of them. I must thank you and admire you for being in the armed forces. I appreciate what you adn your fellow patriots do. A good friend of mine stationed in Germany is busting my chops because he rode l'Alpe Duez and rides many of the TdF routes partially.
As far as diabetes, you Aunt still has a chance and I encourage her to work for control (I walk after every meal to help with the burning of glucose).

Your training is not that far off. You are moving and that is what counts. Not many folks get and even do that. That sets a ood base. Ahw the swimming...That is the when things get interesting. Are you thinking about a race or races to do? Distances? That is when you will have to "committ" By the way, I appreciate my wife everyday and am thankful I married her. I recommend marriage by the way and i got two great kids out of it as well.

I hope that you stick with the group because I think that it will be great to see how things progress with you and the foks already in here are great!


Steve

Hey Thor,
There is room and setting that Sprint Tri or Tri's goal is a huge goal! A triathlon lifestyle is one where you reap numerous physical benefits, not to mention it is kind of cool to let folks know you are "triathlete" it perks interest everywhere. Physically I can relate on some level asd I use my training as means to control my diabetes. With the right plan and working the diet you will get healthy training for your SPrints. SOme of the folks I have coached I have seem incredible life changing differences once the began their training. My brother -in- law, one of my first athletes I trained is now doing half irons and keeping his weight and cholesterol down. I would think about doing both tris! Why not.....

Plans, oh what to do...AN aggressive 5k plan is well within your means as your are capable fo going that distance with your 30 min of walking. Maybe you want to think about doing a 5k as a demarction of the end of 5 k training and beginning of tri training. I do crazy stuff like that and it reall keeps things interesting. I drive my athletes crazy when I suggest the same to them. Finally with regard to you plan of choice, I am always in favor of balance plan due to folks getting used to training for triathlon. As it is not as easy as swimming, biking , and running. As you may have read in the earlier posts that core training is one that I abandoned stupidly and have found again. I am NOW a real Believer in core training.....

Oh the equiptment issue. Good Running shoes a must! As far as bikes, ATB bikes are fine to start. The only recommendation I would make is for you to invest in some slick tires for your ATB bike. It makes your ride a bit smoother...no...A LOT smoother and even give you some speed. You are definitely being smart about the bike issue, especially when you see the fancy stuff at races...remember we all started out on ATB Bikes with slicks and it was a BLAST!

Steve

Looks like our little group is getting bigger. It's great to have more cohorts to share training and race experiences with, welcome!

I'm not sure exactly how best to use this site, but I did notice that you can allow other people to look at your training log, which I imagine is for review purposes. This might be useful to me in that if I am not running the durations or pace that is recommended it would be great to have a little kick in the to push me a bit or to give me suggestions as to more ideal speeds and heart rates to work towards. For example, this morning I ran for 45 minute (on a freakin cold Brooklyn morning) at an average pace of 9:45 mm or so. My average heart rate was 152, which is a bit over my 70% ideal workout zone (I think my target 70% puts me more around 145 bpm but I'm not sure). I find that I like pushing myself hard when I train and easily get bored when I train at slower speeds (especially when it's colder than a witches out). How bad is it that I am training more around 75% max HR rather than the more ideal 60%-70%?

Gidday Steve,

My background is 20 years of football and cricket. I've run the last two Auckland Marathons and I really want to have a crack at the ultimate, the Ironman 2008(Auckland). Problem is I've never even completed a sprint tri, and i drink my swim lane dry because I'm a hopeless swimmer.
However I've been out over the last month cycling between 30 -50kms 5 times a week and have been running between 6-10km 3 times a week in an effort to build up some mileage in the legs/lungs. I'm enrolling in adult swim school this week.
I've read some articles that say you shouldn't step up more than two race distances in a year but I'm going to pig headed and have a crack anyway.

My question, or should I say my first question of which I'm sure will turn into thousands is this, is there a programme for idiots like me that will takeme through a build up from now.

I've got an olympic distance race lined up as my first crack on the 28 April, and I'll try and get some other races under my belt to gauge my progress but I need to get goal orientated training now rather than later if I've got any chance. I'm single don't have any major work commitments and so I've got the time to it, but the programmes I've found online are from 36 weeks out and treat you as if you've come from at least a olmpic distance programme.

Congrats on your time, looks like my new goal ! ha ha

Hamishwannabe,
Hello from the now Cold eastern US. Hamish is truly something else and winning the Xterra's paired with his gold well.... Anyway, the guidelines related to stepping up distances is one of personal choice. I have know folks who have stepped up aggressively. OLY is a step up from Sprint and a real good ruler to guage how your body responds to 2+ hours of working. Having marathon experience suggestsn that you body is already been there. I am guessing your are talking about IM NZ. One point I wish to make is that Ironman Training is NOTHING like Sprint OLY or even 70.3 training. It is what people make it out to be as it encompasses your entire being. Doing an adult swim group is an excellent idea. In Ironman racing it is not about having a fast swi, it is about conserving energy for the last 10 miles of the run therefore, efficiency is the operative word.

For Ironman training, it may be useful for you to consider getting a coach. There are a number of online coaching services that will help take the guess work out of training. Also, take a peek at the book Going Long (Velo Press). And the thruth is if you are ging to step up to the Ironman game you have to be at least taining as an OLY distance athlete because the first 2 to 3 months of IM training will challenge your base and begin to build from that and then you can easily come in at 12hrs 49 min and 21sec!

Steve

can you give me some good coaching sites for iron man compititions?

Obviously some plans at this site but also: www.triathlonacademy.com; www.performancetrainingsystems.com; www.fuelbelt.com; www.cruciblefitness.com. These are a few that I have checked out. (Fuelbelt has the plans and PTS is the coaching service)

Hi Steve,

My name is Nick and I'm a 21 year old college student at the University of Pittsburgh. In highshcool I played baseball and football but decided not to play in college due to 4 shoulder surgeries. My first couple years of college I just took it easy lifting and running every once in a while but nothing serious.

Competeing in Triathlons and Marathons has been a dream of mine for years. But this past year I decided to make that dream a reality and I completed the Steamtown Marathon in October of 2006. Now I'm ready to step up to Triathlons.

The Pittsburgh Triathlon is on July 15, 2007 and I'm planning on competing in that. It's an Olympic Distance Triathlon.

Here at school I am taking an aquidic conditioning class which is an hour long twice a week. I've also been biking inside for an hour a day twice a week in between a couple gym classes. And I'm running an hour a day twice a week. Swimming is going to be my biggest challenge, but the class I'm taking should help out a lot. I've also bought a book/video on swimming technique.

I would love to join your group if you still have some room.

Thanks a lot,
Nick

Hi Steve,
My name is Michael; I’m 31 years old and live in southern California. I’ve been married for 18 months, no kids yet. A few months ago I decided I want to do a sprint distance triathlon on 6/24/07. I'm a newbie’s newbie, I have never run for anything much less for fun and distance, I can barley jog or 1 min. I have only swum a little for fun, but never for distance or endurance. I have only ridden my bike for fun but I have done some distance (30 to 50 miles a few times) but never for time or anything. So this is a ground up type of thing. I’m limited in funds so I run on the road and I go to the community college and take a swimming conditioning class. I do have a fairly nice road bike. I currently I’m trying to use the “Michael Pate’s Total Sprint” training program. So I Jog/Walk Mon/Wed/Fri for 35min., swim Mon/Wed for 1:20min., bike Tue/Thru 7 to 10 miles, then on Saturday I ride 20 to 30 miles and run for 1 hour Sundays. I’m working on getting some weights and getting a good stretching program down. I’m trying to eat right, but I know nothing about that either. I would be very happy with any help you can give me.

Thanks,
Mike (Midnightmedia)

Hye Nick,
Welcome to the group. Pittsburgh Tri is an excellent tri and run by some reall classy People! I am a former wrestler who took a few years to move to tri due to a c5 fracture. Anyway I was thinking about Pittsburgh this year but opted out due to Lake Placid. I am not sure of the bike and run courses but it could be a bit hilly asmy uncle ran the Pittsburgh Marathon a few years ago. Steamboat is a great marathon! A friend of mine ran it a few years ago and loved it. Keep checking back and hope some of th group will be sharing their training logs/ experiences.

Sorry about the misspells Nick and I didn't sign off!

My Best ,
Steve

Hi Michael,
Congrats on 2 levels! First on getting married! And, second welcome to triathlon. You may want to check out the Couch to Sprint Plans posted on this site. These are great in getting you moving and having some integration of each sport and how to work with each sport. How are you feeling about the plan you are doing? Is it manageable? How is your body responding? and do you have a progression? One thing some generic pland have is they give you a sample and you are left doing the same thing over and over again. Maybe good for some, but I know my limited attention span self, I have to have some variety in regards to time and intensities.

Finally, Triathlon is FUN!

Steve

Note to the Group:
I am not sure of the constraints placed on this site, but I am working on my personal web site to give some folks a glimpse into my training schedule and trials and tribulations of IMLP Training.

Steve,
Well first thank you for working with me. I don’t know yet how I feel about the plan because like I said this all new to me. It does have a progression for all three sports. May only problem is on the days that I run and then swim, I have trouble with the running and then a few hours later going to swim class. These are the two that I need the most work on and I feel like I can’t push on the run because I need to save myself for a swim class that is a conditioning class which is meant to be for swimmer to condition thru the winter so it is hard . My body feels good most days; maybe to good I don’t know maybe I’m not working hard enough? I know stretching is important how much and how often do you recommend stretching? How Important is good running shoes? And how do I pick them?


Mike