medic0020's Group - CLOSED--BUSTIN AT THE SEAMS

Shawn,

Welcome to the group...once we get some more suckers...err...victims.....we'll see about addressing some of your concerns.  I'm betting a lot of folks have the same issues.  I've got 4 kids at home so I feel your pain.  Finding time to train can be really tough.

D, Nathan, and Chris......welcome to the group.  I hope you guys are as excited about the 2008 season as I am.  Most of our race registrations locally open Jan 2nd, so I'm counting the days.

It looks like D is our official queen of posts.  I'm sure she'll keep us all in line.  Nathan, did you get involved in the Chicago marathon at all?  I'm sure you've heard some war stories from the first responders who worked it.  Chris, we're looking forward to hearing about your goals and challenges.

D--Set Up Events, www.setupevents.com, are well-run, which also means they are very popular.  What part of NC are you in?  Azalea, MAP, Latta, and Lake Norman are some of their most popular races.  Last year, their web server got overloaded and shut down at 1145am (registration opened up at 12n).  After 2 hrs, they came back up.  The most popular races were sold out by about 630am the next day.  That's why they are using the rolling opening of registrations.

Amy--welcome to our group.  I hope you'll find that we are just what you need.  I worked with a group last year and we had mixed results.  Quite a few of our folks just kind of faded away.  I'd definitely like to see this group be very active supporting each other.

Hey I wanna join too!  Here is my story:

Name: Pam

Story: This is the start of my third year racing, fourth year of training.  I started because of the book Slow Fat Triathlete and have been addicted ever since.  I am a current college senior in Minnesota studying child psych.

Family Status: Single but somedays it feels like I am married to my homework

Current Training:  I am kind of in a mixed up mess.  I am training at least one day a week with running, biking and swimming.  I know I need to add more time.  The majority of my time that I use to spend doing those three things is now spent back in the gym doing gymnastics.  I use to compete when I was younger and I decided to pick it back up as cross training.  Next semester I also add spring board diving twice a week to my schedule.

This year's races:  Now really on to the reason I want a support/mentor group...last year I ran my first half marathon in May, however, during the month of Jan and Feb I started having ITBS problems and pretty much by the time May came around was burned out.  I worked full time during the summer after a really busy semester and just lacked the general motivation to be successful which caused me to drop out of three races   My season was not as productive or successful as I would have wanted.

2008 Races:This year with graduation pending in May and me not really knowing what I am doing with my life after I graduate, I am looking to make training the stability in my life till the other parts of my life settle down.  I would love to do a longer race because someday I want to do an Ironman, so I need to build up my endurance.  I have an indoor triathlon scheduled in February and a 10K or half mary planned for April/May depending on what race I decide to do.  I am looking at a HIM in July...but I have a lot of training to do till then.  And if I was feeling really ambitious there is a full marathon in October that I would really like to do in the Twin Cities.

Weightloss: I keep bouncing around the 170's and have gotten as low as the 160's.  Technically by BMI I should be anywhere between 130-140's but I don't know if that could ever happen...so maybe losing some of the extra this season would be a added bonus and make me faster!

So...here I am...I am excited.  I have been waiting for 2008 mentor groups for about two months.  Now I just need to get my butt in gear! 

Wow!  I go away from the computer for about 12 hrs and our group fills up fast.  Everybody who has posted so far is in.  I think we'll call the group full and closed for now.

As an answer to Mike's question and a way to get things started, here's what I see these groups being able to do.  First, they are a great way to have other people checking in on you.  This gives you someone to "answer" to as well.  We'll know what your goals and plans are and will deliver the occasional kick in the butt  to keep you on track.  Second, bringing together a group like this also helps because each of us have knowledge that can be beneficial to someone else in the group.  We've already got several members who are strong in the pool and strong on the bike.  As usual, running seems to be the least popular among this group.  We see that a lot with most aspiring/beginning athletes.  I'm no exception to this either.  One year ago, I had never run more than 3.5 miles and still hated running.  Since then, I've successfully completed 3 half-marathons.  I still can't say that I love running, but I don't hate it anymore.

Ok, so a little homework for everyone....
1-Add all of our members to your friends list (let me know if anyone doesn't know how to do this)
B-Make sure that you log your workouts (we'll all be checking on you )
3-Check in on each other from time to time
4-Add your planned races to your race log so that we can see what is on your schedule
e-Post your 2 biggest strengths and 2 biggest weaknesses
Last but not least--Set 3 goals for January. December is tough with the holidays and travel.  Make these goals something you can measure--i.e, ride 15 miles at a time; swim 10,000 yds during the month, loose 5 lbs, etc

I'm really excited about this group.  I won't have all the answers to all of your questions.  I certainly don't claim to be an expert, but I do love this sport. I also love seeing people succeed.  That's why I'm doing the mentoring program.  If you have any suggestions for ways we can help each other, please let me know!