Cadreamer's Group - FULL

Hi cadreamer,

I would like to join your mentoring program, if you’ll have me.

ABOUT ME

In my past life (12 years ago), I was a college athlete, played field hockey for Ball State University, Muncie, IN. About three years ago, I started working out again, and training for local 5K races. Needing a new goal to push me, because I get board easily, and not really losing any weight, and I can’t forget all the great conversations with a co-work/good friend (FishrCutB8), I decided to sign up for my first triathlon in August.

GOALS

1. Finish my first triathlon (RYKA Iron Girl Columbia, MD ~August 19th)

2. Lose weight…right now I weight 171, dreaming of the college field hockey body of 135, but would settle for 145.

3. Just live a healthier life.

Thanks for any support you can give me,

Beth

Love to have you Beth!

A couple of questions to get things started: Are you following a specific training plan for your triathlon in August? Is that going to be your first one? And, since you listed weight loss as one of your goals, have you figured out a beginning plan for that?

Also, is there anything else YOU would like to know right now?

Welcome aboard!

Nope - come right on in... 

Please introduce yourself - maybe a little bit about you, background, your goals and anything else you like.  If you have any specific questions right now - feel free to post those as well.

Welcome!

Thanks for allowing me to join the group. To answer your question about a training plan, no I’m not following one right now. I have looked at several different ones, some from this site and a couple from books and other sites, but I have not found one that I think fits me. For example, I think some are too easy and others way too hard. I would have to say that running is my strongest of the three sports, followed by biking (need to work on it) and as for swimming, I hope I just don’t drown.

Yes this will be my first ever triathlon. As I said, all I want to do is finish, and have fun. Then next year, decide on a goal time and go for it. Not sure if you had any time to check out the RYKA Iron Girl, but it is a .62 mi swim ~ 17.5 bike ~ 3.3 run. They (Iron Girl) just put a time limit on the event, which now has me really worried. When I first signed up, there was no time limits. According to the information from the web site, you have 1 hour to complete the swim or your done, and 4 hours, 30 minutes for the whole triathlon. I think I can do it in that amount of time, but then again I don’t know.

No plan either for the weight loss, but I do have an appointment for a consultation with a sport nutritionist on Thursday (May 24^th) of this week. I’ll be honest with you, weight loss is a hard topic for me. I have a family history of obesity and diabetes. My mom is constantly on my case about how much I weigh. I’m 5 ft 4 in, and the last time I had my fat percentage taken (January) I was 40%. I don’t really look fat, but I do carry most of it in my belly, not a good place. In fact, my mom thinks I’m crazy for doing a triathlon, or working out, and that I should just knuckle under and go to Jenny Craig or some place like that.

Health and Fitness was my major in college, so you would think I would be better prepared for starting out on this journey. Sorry, not sure why I’m not better organized. I promise I will work hard, and follow everything.

I don’t have any question right now, but I’m sure as time goes on I will.

Thanks again,

runningshorts

Wow.  You've done a lot of races so far this year!  Great job.  How are you feeling now?  Burnt out/wanting to rest - or are you feeling motivated and ready to go on to the next challenge?

Next question - how close together are the Oly and the 1/2 marathon?  What are the dates on those, and which is more important to you as far as a goal time?

On the running - best advice to get better is to be consistent. Get out there and run at least 3x a week (4x is better but I struggle with that one myself.)  It doesn't have to be long and it doesn't have to be fast - but just putting in the time/miles will improve your running immensely.  Once you get used to 3x a week - then start putting in some longer sessions.

Well, in that case a good bet might be to mix and match.  You want to be doing at least 2x a week in each sport.  From there, pick the swimming from one plan, the running from another and the biking from a 3rd (each one to match your ability level now.)  If running is your strongest sport, focus on maintaining that - while improving the bike and the swim to the same level.  Since you are saying that the swim is your challenge, I'd suggest planning 3x a week swimming.  You might want to check out Total Immersion (good exercises for the beginner) and then just commit to getting in the pool on a regular basis.

That amount of time is easily doable (well, unless you are planning to push your bike and crawl...)  As far as the swim 1 hour is a LONG time for that distance.  .62 of a mile is not that far.  About 1000 yards.  Ok, that may seem like a huge distance right now, but trust me, you will be able to build up to that and past it before your tri.  Also, you do NOT have to do freestyle (crawl) the whole way - if you feel more comfortable breast stroking, side stroking, dog paddling that option is there.  Get in the pool a few times and then come back and ask questions if you feel like you're not getting anywhere.  Remember, it's about building up slowly.  If you're a runner, you've got the aerobic engine already, you just need to get it in gear for the swimming.

No offense to your Mom, but working out is one of the best ways to improve your health.  I weigh more than you do - and if I can do this so can you.  My BP is low/normal, all health indicators are great (except the weight issue and my cholesterol but that's a family genetics thing) and I credit it to triathlons.  I ALSO have energy and fitness to do other things that I love which is very important to me.

Some beginning ideas on diet - first of all, make sure you are getting enough protein.  When you start working out more, your body needs it.  I find that if I don't eat enough protein that I just start craving food.  Any food. And then I eat more than I should.  Right now, I'd say that my diet is about 50-60% carbs, 20-30% protein and I try for 20% or under in fat.  That carb % may seem high, but if you're doing endurance sports (like triathlon) you need the carbs to fuel your workouts.  I also do not totally deny myself anything.  (I have emotional eating issues - which I can address later if you are interested in how I'm FINALLY dealing with that.)  There are obviously many methods for weight loss - counting calories (this site has a nifty calorie tracker if you want to try that), going by "feel" (doesn't work for me), the Zone diet (again a good plan for an athlete, I tried it, didn't work for me either).  I started WW online this year, and finally seem to have found a plan that is giving me results.  If you are interested I'd suggest tracking exactly what you eat for a week or so under the nutrition tracking (in the logs) and then I could give you some better feedback if you are interested.  Or just list what you are eating every day in your logs.  Also, Chris Carmichael put out a book on Endurance Sports nutrition that is supposed to be very good - but it's also very technical, and I have not worked my way through it myself.

Don't worry, we're all crazy here anyway.  Enjoy the ride, it's a rush.  Don't panic, don't forget your towel and you'll do just fine.  One step at a time.

To everyone - I STRONGLY suggest that you start keeping track of what you are doing in the logs.  This is one of the most helpful things I know to keep you on track as well as to see where you've been.

Also a good way for us to check up on each other from time to time.

Welcome Nathan and Tonya!  Glad to have you...

Well, after reading what everyone has said so far - I'm thinking we should stand around in a circle and chant "Running sucks, running sucks, running sucks..." 

Just kidding.

Actually your mental mindset about the activity has a LOT to do with how much you enjoy it/will do it.  If you tell yourself every time that you hate it/dread it - pretty soon you do - and then you avoid it, doing it less than ever, and then you get worse at it, and dread it even more.  It can be a very bad cycle.

If you want to get better at something you MUST do it.  You must do it frequently (at least 3x a week.) And for me, it is KEY to come up with something mental that is positive and not negative.  The visual one I use the MOST often is that when I run each step is killing off fat molecules.  I actually envision little fat globs disappearing in little "poofs" as I run.  I also tell myself the following: "Running makes me stronger.  I am becoming a better runner with every step."  Then just naming things that I LIKE about running.  Being outside, feeling the air, seeing the sunset, etc.  Whatever makes you feel GOOD about running.  That's what you need to focus on.  Replace the negative "I hate this" with positive talk.

I will admit it does not work all the time - I've had runs from hell where all I wanted to do was go home and never put my feet in running shoes again.  Not everything can be nice/easy and if you're not a natural runner - running will be the biggest challenge you have.

Tonya - Try Kinesys sunscreen.  The very best I've ever used.  Other people strongly recommend Bullfrog so try that too.

Rebecca - As far as a plan, I'd stick with the Olympic but extend the long run out every week til you get close (at least 10 miles) to the 1/2 marathon distance.  Don't worry about pace on these runs, just worry about getting the distance in.  If necessary, cut back on the bike or swim slightly, to get your long runs in.  The 1/2 marathon distance will only help you in the Oly - it'll seem like a breeze in comparison.

On dehydration/heat - I, personally, need to start working out in the heat as it gets hotter outside.  Your body will adapt but you need to give it some time.  I'd think maybe doing NO heat training affected you during the race.  Yes, dehydration is an issue - but a bigger one is that while you are drinking you should also be taking in electrolytes to balance it out.  Have you looked into that?  I use Endurolytes by Hammer (they work really well) also, I make my own sports drink to which I add extra salt/light salt. (Ok, I am cheap...)  I have experienced what you did, and it is no fun and takes a little while to feel 100% again.  Actually, I used to get nauseous/dizzy on any workout over an hour until I figured out that I needed more electrolyte replacement.  Watch out any time you stop sweating.  That's a very bad sign.

tbctbc and cadreamer,

In my eyes, Mom's are Mom's, they always want the best for you but don't always know how to help. Most of the time with mine, I let it go in one ear and out the other....I can say that here because she doesn't know about the site. LOL!

Thanks for all the encouragement, I finally began last night putting a plan together for both biking and running. I actually did what you said cadreamer, took stuff from one plan and combined it with another. I'm going to look today for stuff on swimming. Growing up, I was able to swim before I could walk, but the last time I was in a pool was.....

Side note tbctbc, my sister lives in Tampa!

I look forward to working with all of you.

runningshorts

halfdome - 2007-05-22 10:28 PM

tbctbc - 2007-05-22 9:19 PM Halfdome- You sound like me...I LOVE the swim, I just think while I'm doing it how wonderful it is...then the bike...ehhh, not too bad...then the run I just DREAD! ugh...I get left in the dust...by everyone (at my last race, a 78 year old ran by me...that's not good)

Sometimes I ride slower so I don't have to run so soon!!!hehe And I take longer in transition to delay starting my run!! I know that is sooo bad, but I can't help it

You know halfdome and tbctbc, I'll do your running if you do my swimming! I love running.

YAY!!!  Cadreamer's Group is still OPEN!!!  I want in!

NAME: jellogal/ Sherist, I live in Fort Wayne, IN and I'm work for an HR consulting firm...I calculate pension benefits for retirees

STORY: While camping over 4th of July weekend last year, a friend of mine (since 4th grade) asked me if I'd like to join him in a triathlon in 2007.  I was debating...I wasn't sure I'd be ready in time, I was thinking I was too fat...basically making a bunch of excuses to NOT do something, which would be really cool.  The next day, my cousin Paul was killed in Iraq.  Paul had competed in duathlons and had been wanting to try a triathlon, but wasn't confident enough in his swimming skills.  That day, I decided I would train for triathlon.  My first race will be for Paul.

I started swimming competitively in 5th grade and continued through high school.  I'm not a fast bike rider, but I love it.  I've never enjoyed running.  The farthest I have run w/o walking is 2 miles.

You're in!

So, Nathan (or would you prefer Nate) are you mostly focused on the running right now?  Are you planning on doing any cross training (I would suggest it, just for a bit of a break now and then...)  And, are you following any specific plan?