DRM's Group - FULL

Hi Don:

I'm interested in joining your group.  Using your info. as a template, my story's below:

Story/Family Status: I am a 43-year-old father of two - Madison (8) and Patrick (6) - and married to a great lady, Beth.  I’m 5’9", with a medium frame build and currently weigh ~180 w/ ~15% body fat (it's amazing how much it flucuates based upon my water intake during a given day)

As a child, I was fortunate to live in a n'hood with lots of other kids, all pretty close in age, and as a result we were a very active bunch - soccer, football in the yard, street hockey, skateboarding, etc., biking in the woods, etc.  You name it, we probably did it.  Soccer, however, was the big thing for me.  From 3rd grade until my late 30's, I played on some type of organized team, including HS, club ball in college, and amateur league post-college and beyond.  I also played a lot of golf in my youth and ran track (sprints and sprint relays).

As an adult, soccer, mountain biking, and running were my primary pursuits.  During the early years of living in Atlanta, I always made it a point to run the Peachtree Road Race (10K) as well as some odds-and-ends 5K's, 4 milers, and once, on a whim while in New York City, I ran the Frostbite 10 Miler with a couple of friends.  Unfortunately, life as I knew it came to a screeching halt one cool October afternoon in 2001 when I blew out my right knee during a game.  The MRI showed I'd torn my ACL and meniscus damage was evident as well; surgery in Jan. '02 bore out the meniscus damage to include both medial and lateral meniscus as well as the already known ACL.

After the operation and due to the fact that the surgeon was able to sew up my medial, I had to be non-weight bearing on my right leg ~4 weeks.  **NOTE - this fact caused quite a bit of tension in our home, because the kiddos were quite a bit younger and we don't have family in town so Beth had to carry almost the full load for longer than initially anticipated (thanks to yours truly not reading the pre-op notes as carefully as I should've).

As a result of the atrophy in my right quad and me pushing too hard too fast during rehab to try and bring it back, I actually put myself further behind due to knee pain and the subsequent need to back off the weight being lifted.  Fast forward a bit and the knee finally started making some headway.  As a result, I started riding my mtb (with road slicks) near our home; I also started taking spin classes at the local Y.  I liked spinning so much that I became certified and eventually earned a teaching slot (6AM, Tues); at the same time, after getting sick of trudging along on my mtb and wanting to be able to ride with a neighbor, I bought a "real" bike in August 2005 and threw myself into getting up to speed.  I rode solo, I joined group rides, I rode with friends from the Y.  Eventually I connected with a group of guys who specifically focus on tri.  This past summer me and the "tri guys" logged a lot of miles via regular "first light," 50+ milers on Saturdays.  As we moved into the fall, the bug took hold and I made the decision that while they were busy getting ready for IMLP I was going to prepare for my first sprint tri in 2007.

Like you, I found BT and have jumped in with both feet.  I've already started logging stuff and have the Swim-focused (my weakness) training program locked and loaded in anticipation of my April 28 date with destiny.

Last Year's Races: nada, though this past year I successfully completed my first century ride (hit the 100 mile mark in <6 hrs) as well as completed a four-day, 270 mile ride across the state of Georgia with some friends.

2007 Races:  One (or maybe several) sprints plus some cycling-specific rides.

Current Training:  Nothing specific, though my tri friends share their swim plans with me; BT's swim-focused plan is what I'll be using beginning on Jan 8.

Weight loss: I need to log this more actively.  Beth says I look trimmer (and I see it), but I'd like to drop my % body fat to low dbl-digits or single.

Wrapping It Up:  I'm excited to see what the coming months will bring and really look forward to completing my first tri!

Hi Lou,

Welcome aboard! Man bummer on the knee deal, I'm glad though it's OK these days for you and you can go 100%.  We'll make sure your prepped and ready for the Sprint at the end of April.  Don't worry, you'll love the sprints and pretty sure you'll be looking for an Olympic for the 2nd half of the year to do ;)  Hopefully along the way we can share encouragements as I could certainly use some for my biking and a kick in the pants for getting in some early morning workouts!

I'll be kicking off the 07 training plan on 1/15 after a business trip.  In the meantime I'll add you to my blogs and be checking in here and there...

Oh, wanted to add, I bought one of these a few years back and check my own BF periodically after an newbie trainer at the Y couldn't figure out if I was 25% or 35% BF!  http://www.athletes.com/store/acc/accu.html

Don

Excellent!  Looking forward to being "comrades in arms," Don.  Hopefully a few more folks will join the group soon.

Re: bike encouragement, I'll certainly do what I can; and, re: the early AM w/o's, you and me are in a similar boat...I tend to be more owl-like as well.  In fact, it just occurred to me today that I need to add "Consisten early AM w/o's" to my Short-Term goals.

Thanks too for the BF caliper link - on my "To Order" list.

Happy New Year and safe travels - look forward to catching up soon.

Lou

Welcome Jonathon!

Let me know what your 07 goals are.  Do you want to do a triathlon, concentrate on training, etc.  So what's killing you on your running, your history!?! Dang those are some good times. 

This was your first post I see, over time you will find using BT training log a valuable tool and the amount of info and feedback you can/will receive in the forums unbelievable.  I'll add you to my blog list and check in with you as we go forward.  I look forward assisting you to stay with it and accomplish goals...

Don

Now were talking!  Good goals.  BTW LHablas (aka Lou) is also from your area.

Welcome Jonathan!  Where do you live?  As Don noted, I live in Alpharetta.  My first tri (ever) is the Tri the Parks race at John Tanner State Park on April 28.  I looked at the Lanier race as well - I like the sound that one "My First & My Next" - but decided to do the Carrollton race (entered in the Novice Men's division) instead.  Perhaps we can schedule some training rides/runs between now and then.

Lou

Excellent...let's see if we can connect soon and nail down some shared training.  What sprint prep plan are you using to get ready for the 5th?  I'm using one of the swim-focused plans from this site - set to kick in on Jan 8.

Hi guys - I would like to join in as well. 

Name: run joe run/Joe

Story/Family Status:  I am a 35yo, soon to be 36yo, married father of two.  10yo daughter (kid triathlete) and a 3yo sin son.  Whoops, is there such a thing as a typing Freudian slip?  I am 5'10" and currently 156 lbs, but my racing weight last year was about 151.  I think that puts me in the small frame category.  When I started training for triathlons I went to a nutritionist because I knew I wasn't doing things correctly.  I weighed 143 lbs with 8.7% body fat. 

I too have always considered myself to be athletic, except for a lot of my 20's - a mere 25% of my life - where I didn't exercise enough and drank/partied too much.  As a child I spent a lot of time hiking/camping and just playing outdoors.  I also played football and some baseball, basketball, and track. 

I became more motivated as I approached my 30th birthday and began to exercise more, but had no goal.  I got a set of free weights and did some cardio on a Nordic Trac thing.  I own a roofing company so every winter when we were slow I would get in pretty good shape and then by the end of the summer my fitness would decline.  As the business grew I spent less time in the field and more time behind a desk and you guessed it, my fitness declined.  Christmas 2005 I gave my wife an elliptical trainer and even though I don't like it I began to use it in addition to the weights.  As spring turned to summer I began to run outside and was soon doing three miles. 

I had seen the Ironman championship on TV as a kid a couple of times, but my real introduction to triathlon came after my first, and only, 5K race.  I signed up for a 5K that was a companion event to a triathlon.  My wife did the race with me and when it was over we watched the swimmers go thru T1.  I was hooked!  I came home and googled "triathlon" and found BT.  I immediately added biking on my MTB and swimming in our neighborhood pool and at the lake to my training regiment.

Last Year's Races:  A 5K and two sprints.  My first race was awesome, but I probably shouldn't have done the second one as I was battling ITBS.

2007 Races:  I have registered for the Lonestar sprint (March 31st) and I'm planning to do my inaugural race again, as well as the tri that started it all for me at that 5K race.  Finally, I want to do a HIM in Sept.

Injury Status:  As a result of my ignorance and zeal I spent most of my training time last year in Z3 and a lot in what was probably high Z3 to low Z4 and that set the stage for an injury.  I went from running 3-4 miles to running 5 miles on hills one day and then two days later 6 miles, BAM!  I got to learn what ITBS stood for.

Current Training:  I have worked on rehabbing my ITB and I'm now back up to running 3-4 miles twice a week.  I am biking a little and swimming some, but I really haven't set a plan since I feel safer listening to my body and when I feel anything alarming I take a couple days off.  I just got a Heart Rate monitor and plan to learn how to use it and train a lot smarter and safer this year.  I think I need help with HR training and using rest/recovery time.

Wrapping It Up:  My life is very busy.  My wife owns her own business as well, and our daughter is very active with sports, so training time is limited and sporadic.  I'm going to try to be creative with training time this year to achieve my goals, but I think I need help setting a plan and sticking to it.

I'm excited to get back to where I was last year and continue on, and I'm looking forward to "working" with you guys.  This is going to be good.

Thanks

here is my Bio folks! 

Name: Bluejack/Steve

Story/Family Status: I'm a 35 year old married guy with one son aged 20 months.  I live in Augusta, GA and I work as a general surgeon at the VA Medical Center in Augusta.  I was born in Philadelphia, PA at the MEthodist Hospital in South Philly, but my family moved to western Massachusettes when I was four.

  My parents broke up when I was eight and we moved to the five college area of Western Mass. (i.e. Smith/Hampshire/Mt. Holyoke/Amherst and UMASS).  I had a pretty liberal background there!  Lotsa out of work artists and 6 million grad students. 

  I was a fairly scholarly youngster and was a nerd/athlete in high school. I played Varsity Football/Diving/Swim Team/Lacrosse and Track and Field. I was a decent athlete but nothing compared to my family's extensive athletic pedigree.  While I'm happy for my family's successes, this has always left a bit of a chip on my shoulder.  My Dad played on Two national championship soccer teams at Rutgers, My cousin was an olympic field hockey player, another cousin was a state wrestling champion etc. etc. So despite some relative success early on, I've never fully removed this chip! 

  In college I partied a lot and got a bit overweight. I played club rugby on the Colby A side.  I was very fast for my size (4.6 40 yard dash and 230 lbs some of that was beer!) and I excelled at my position as an outside center, going against guys who were 150-160.  I really loved rugby, and until I started triathlons, I feltlike this was the sport of my life.

 Unfortunately, in the winter of my senior year I was playing pick up B-Ball and I partially tore my left ACL and injured some cartilage. I rehabed this injury, but it took a long time and I was supposed to wear a brace.  When I went on to medical school, I couldn't play with the brace so I just played on the Rugby team without it.  During my 2nd year I got hit by two players and blew out my knee the rest of the way.

 It took me about two years to recover from that surgery.  In the mean time I Graduated medical school and moved here to Augusta for y residency.  I met my wife and got out of shape for five years as I worked 120 hour weeks.

In August 2005, I watched my wife run the Kessler Lightning 10k in Atlanta.  She and some friends ran and I felt extremely left out watching on the sides.  I started training for Kiawah 1/2 Mary for last year and had a great time.  I started crying when I finished because I felt so great that I could be athletic again after so long off with injuries and the long hours.  It felt so great that I knew I needed to keep going.  I realized I wanted to know my limits.  I've been trying to test them ever since!

Last Year's Races: 

2005 Jaguar Jaunt 5k, Augusta GA

2005 Callaway Gardens 10k (3rd in AG with a time over 1 hour heh heh!)

2005 Kiawah 1/2 Mary in 2:13 for my first 1/2 Mary. 

2006 March Parris Island Sprint tri- My first Tri

2006 Fort Yargo Sprint

2006 Mistletoe Sprint Middle of the Pack for Clydes.

2006 West Point Lake Oly Tri-

At this point I had a herniated muscle in my left shin from ramping up cycling too fast. It still is an issue but slowly it is getting better. I had planned to do SC HIM to get an idea of what IMAZ was goin gto be like, but instead I rested the shin and just swam. The shin is still a fairly heavy limiter on the bike.

2007 Races: 

ING 1/2 Mary 3/25

Parris Island Sprint Tri (Maybe if I can fit it in) 3/2007

IMAZ! 4/2007

Mistletoe Sprint 7/2007

West Point Lake 8/2007

SC HIM 10/2007

Kiawah Marathon 12/2007

Eventually I think I may go to mostly Olys and Sprints but we will see!

Injury Status:

1.  Hx Fallen left arch and Hx of Bil platar Fasciitis

2.  Hx Broken left ankle mx bilateral ankle sprains.

3. Hx Left ACL repair.

4. Hx Left separated shoulder.

5. left shin compartment herniation.

Current Training: 

I am using the BT Bronze Beginner Full Ironman training schedule.  It is going well. It seems a bit swim heavy, but that's Ok.  My old injuries are holding up fairly well and my shin seems to be getting stronger.  Left shoulder has some tendonitis where the separation was and in the joint I have some cartilage injuries from rugby, but overall it seems to be getting better.

Wrapping It Up:

I look forward to having some more folks to share the tri experience. I'm starting to become more high tech and use HRM etc. in training. I also realize that so much of this is injury prevention to maintain consistency. Over time I would like to be a MOP clyde with some occasional chances to place in a sprint. But for now I'm focused on finishing IMAZ without hurting myself!