Iron Aardvark group - Closed

Hey Josh

You seem like the mentor for me! Let me tell you a little about my self and maybe you can let me know if we are a good fit.

My name is Kevin and I am a 22 year old recent college graduate living in Wisconsin looking to get into triathlons. I just moved home with my parents and have a full time job doing sales and operations in Milwaukee. There is an Olympic triathlon in the town over on June 23rd (152 days away) that I would like to finish not only for the sake of my health but for the purpose of accomplishing something I set out to do. No one in my family has ever done a TRI (my dad is our success story because he changed his life around 2 years ago and began running - he now does marathons regularly). I want to feel that accomplishment as well.

I am very out of shape at the moment. 6'0 240 due to the copious amounts of taco bell, beer and pizza I consumed my last semester of college but I am ready for some significant lifestyle changes, I just need guidance. I want help! I not very athletic. Never was. But I am no stranger to getting in shape. Two years ago I dropped down to 198 after a summer of diet, insanity and running. I would kill to get back in that body. When I started college I was 270 and have yo-yo'd up and down over the last 5 years. I'm a very focused individual scholastically and professional but my health has always taken a back seat. I just want to start fresh and Learn to eat right and maintain a healthy lifestyle now as I begin my professional career.

Every time I have ever gotten in shape I had someone getting my to the gym, telling me what to lift and when to workout and I like it that way. Otherwise, I just seem to always find excuses. I don't have that anymore living at home and my dad and I are at very different fitness levels so I turned to the internet to hopefully find my motivation. It was pretty hard for me to write all this but I hope you can read thru the lines and realize that I'm in need of some serious help but I want to do this. I kind of feel like this could be the first day of the rest of my life kinda thing.

Maybe you can point me in the right direction to a very simple, laid out fitness plan for this triathlon in 21 weeks. Something that tells me to go to the gym on this day and swim this far....for this long....and to rest on this day...etc. With my current schedule, I don't have a problem working out twice a day.

Sorry for the novel. 

I hope to hear from you soon

Kevin

My names is Bryan Poley and I just started getting into triathlons. I made some new friends last year that I started running with so we would have something in common. So I've been running off and on but feel so much better when I do it so I'm making it a goal to make exercise a lifestyle change. I want to be a good role model for my 2.5 year old son and my daughter which will be joining the family in may.

I've done a 5k and thought it was fun but wasn't competitive about it. Unfortunately I have to take a lot of training pretty slow as my work requires me to be physically ready to keep people safe so I can't push myself as hard as I want to, as I feel strongly that my clients safety are a bigger priority.

My goal is to do a sprint in June and a olympic in september. Only doing two due to budget (another lifestyle change... booo!). I'm really looking for someone to hold me accountable and to answer questions when they rise. I only know one person that does triathlons and he's got enough going that I don't want to harass him.

Looking forward to kicking some sprint tri butt!

Bryan

I know there are only a few so far, I am sure we will get more over the next week or so, but for now, please everyone start logging your workouts so I can see what you are doing.  Baby steps are better than standing still.

Josh

What's up everyone. I'd love to join the group. I've done quite a few sprint triathlons as well as other types of taces; Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder. I've always been obsessed with Kona and one day would love to do it. This year I've signed up for the Syracuse half ironman on June 23rd. This will be my first half ironman distance race. 

I workout pretty routinely. Over the past month I've been swimming 3 times a week for about 45 minutes per session, running 3 times a week for about 50 minutes/5 miles and biking 3 times a week for an hour to hour and a half on my trainer. I have a 20 week training plan that I was going to begin on Feb. 4th which will take me right too my race. 

I'm 36 years old, married and have a 7 year old daughter. I work for a wellness company that allows me to workout during the day which makes training easier. I'm 5-10 and 165 now and am not really looking to lose weight, but would like to drop some body fat while training. 

I wanted to join a group to stay on track and have a resource of other triathletes. The main areas I'm looking for help in is diet and weight training while preparing for my race. 

NAME: Brandon

STORY: Hello everyone name is Brandon and I love triathlon or just endurance sports in general. Right now the occupation I currently chose is a Security guard full time but part time a Manager in a restaurant with the focus on the Kitchen. I am also in the National Guard as a Military Policeman been doing that for 6 years and counting. I was going to school for criminal justice but had a change of hart and will be going to school for culinary arts and a chef apprentice in the fall. This will be my second year doing triathlons and I would say what motivated me to do them is my wife's sisters do marathons triathlons and many other endurance sports and I also would like to lose a lot of weight. Last year I did only sprints and I was a BOP so this year while losing weight I would like to move up in my finishing.

FAMILY STATUS: Married. Kid on the way n March.

CURRENT TRAINING:  Just running and trying to get back in the swing of things.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Did 4 sprints 

2013 RACES: Mostly sprints again but would like to through in a Oly but we will see.

WEIGHT LOSS: One month ago I was 255lbs and currently I al down to 247. So I have started my journey. I would like to get down to at least 200lbs 

Hey,

I'd be interested in joining this group 

NAME: Graham

STORY: Hi all - I'm a 36yr old guy from Ireland with a decent sporting background but only doing tri's for the last 3 years. I've completed a HIM last year and want to step it up to a full distance this August. I'm pretty disciplined and enjoy the training for the most past but am nervous about the step up in distance. Have only recently started to follow the free online plan with BT - it'll be the first plan that I've followed and am hoping that it gets me to the finish line!

Biking is my weakest leg overall adn the one I enjoy least! No problem with running and swim picks up pretty quickly in comparison to the others. The HIM splits were about 35mins, 3.07hrs, 2.14rhs so loads of room for improvement.

FAMILY STATUS: married with a 1.5yr old girl

CURRENT TRAINING: about 7-8 hrs per week - based around the first weeks of the 20wk plan

THIS YEAR'S RACES: a couple of duathalons early in the year, a HIM distance in May, full in August and maybe a couple of other shorter distances thrown in

WEIGHT LOSS: currently about 80kg - would like to get this down to about 75 by race time

Forecasted difficulties: Time management,  finding balance in training and life.

Looking forward to loads of advice & stories!

Graham

I would like to join and become a fellow Aardvark.

NAME: Hunting Triathlete (Todd) 

STORY: I smoked a pack a day for just over 16 years and decided enough was enough. I decided to use S / B / R to help me stop.  Well I am proud to announce that January 3rd made Three Years Totally Smoke Free.  I've completed several sprints, 50 mile bike ride, 2 half marathons, and 1 marathon since starting this.    

FAMILY STATUS:  Married twelve years w/ one beautiful daughter, three dogs, and one obese cat (31 pounds)

CURRENT TRAINING: Here and There, which will change this year.

2012 RACES:  Sprint, Half Marathon, 5K (did not do much in the form of races, which added to inconsistance.)

2013 RACES: I will do a Half Ironman this year and finally decided on Racine, which is why I think this group would be great for me being from Texas.  Josh I saw that you have done it before and saw that another here is from Kenosha, so between just the two of you I have course knowledge and logistic help not to mention the help others can give me.    

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS:  Just reduce body fat, but I know that will come with regular training.  I put on twenty pounds when I quit smoking, which I likely needed as most felt I was too skinny / unhealthy, but I need to turn more of that into lean mass / muscle. 

GOALS: Consistently Train / Half Ironman  - I want to make exercise a routine, not just something I do here and there or before a race.

Just FYI - I originally signed up with another group but developed a severe infection and abcessed tooth, which lead me to three weeks on antibotics and a root canal to get back to somewhat normal. I still have to have another root canal done to finish things off, but can start working out again on the first.  During that missed time the group got going strong and I just really want to be with a group from the start and this one seems more well suited for me and my goals. 

I'm excited about what this group is turning out to be. It seems to have a good mix of us newbie tri people with some more experience people that I can vicariously live through and pretend my skills are better than it is.

Bryan

And with that, I think we have a pretty full group, so I will be closing it now.

OK...first thing is for each of you to add one another to your list of friends here. 

Go to settings (the little wrench icon at the top). 
Select the Training Blog Customization tab
Select the Friends tab
either type in the screen name directly, or use the ... button to look for someone (so if you ... and type "disciple" I'll show up in the list). 

You can also add a hyperlink to this thread.  Copy the URL, go back to your Training Blog Customization page and select the dashboard tab.  Somewhere in here, type something that'll make sense to you (I'll probably use something creative, like "Iron Aardvark Group") highlight it, and then click on the little chain icon which brings up a hyperlink window where you can paste the previously copied hyperlink.

One more thing, I strongly encourage everyone to take a few minutes sometime this week to do the following:

1. Take a couple of "Before" photos.  (put on your workout clothes)  Trust me, by the end of summer, you may not notice all the changes, but if you have a couple of photos from right now, you will see them clearly, and most likey you will be glad you did it.

2.  Take some measurements, like waist, arm diameter, leg diameter.  I have found that you may not always loose a lot of weight, but the way you carry it that weight will be completely different by then of the summer.

I kind of hate to use the scale as a gage of my health.  I know some of you have weight loss as a goal, and I will do my best to help you.  Just keep in mind, I am not a weight loss coach.  I did not get into triathlons to loose weight, but as a bi-product of getting healthy I did loose about 30 lbs, more importantly I felt better, and although the scale can be decieving, the tape measure is not.

You guys have got yourselves an amazing mentor!  Take care and have fun!  Holler if you need anything.

   This is not who you are

  this is who you are!!!

So we have a pretty good sized group.  Looks like 11 plus a couple of friends of mine that will jump on once in a while to help out.  Don't forget to add everyone to your friends list.

Hoffman102 - Jason

Kdooze - Kevin

KellyOlin - Kelly

PoleyPower - Bryan

Sal Hontiveros - Sal

Reverend5150 - Mike

Triman 25 - Brandon

TheKonas - Doug

Sunkissed7 - Courtney

GrahamClark 6 - Graham

HuntingTriathlete - Todd

___________________

Laurak11 - Laura

Ree - Maria (my wife)

BamBam66 - Beth

Thank you everyone for choosing me to help mentor you.  Please don't hesitate to post questions here on the thread, or message me anytime.  You can also find me on FB (Joshua Kugler, Pleasant Lake, IN)  If you actually need to speek, message me for my phone number.

So here is a short story that may help encourage anyone who is just getting started this year:

In 2009 around Christmas time I was sitting on the couch at a very unhealthy 200 lbs.  (not a muscular 200 either, if you know what I mean)  I was watching Biggest Looser - Where are they now.  I watched Matt Hoover (the winner of season one) do Ironman Kona.  That is when I looked at my wife and said, I think I might do that.  (oh if she had only known then what it would lead to...)

So the journey began with my first trip the swimming pool.  What a laugh that would have been to anyone who knew I was actually signed up for a race that would require me to swim 2.4 miles in the Ohio River.  I could not even string two laps together at a time.  My first trip was 4 laps of freestyle and one lap of breast stroke - two times in a row.  For a grand total of 500 yards over the course of 45 minutes.  Two days later, thought I would get started on running... lol - 1 mile on the tredmill almost killed me.

IMKY the first year was ALMOST a bust, I just about did not make it.  Finished right at midnight, right at the cutoff.  Fast Forward to this year, I did IMKY for the 2nd time, and finished it in 13 hours.  During my 2012 training, I did a total of about 95 miles of swimming in the lake, ran a little over 500 miles, and rode my bike for 2K miles.

Moral of my story : no one is great when they start, and everyone starts from the same point.  So no matter what your experience level at this point, if you are even getting 10-15 minutes of exercise per day, I am impressed.  I know too many people that just say I can't, but the truth is, I know you CAN.

Lets ALL try to log 3 or 4 days of exercise this coming week, even if it is only 10 - 15 minutes.  In order to get to our destinations, we have to start the journey.

Challenge Accepted and Raised.

I vow to give at least six days this upcoming week of no less than 30 minutes per.  This is a not to put down a lower amount or total number of days, but instead a necessary personal challenge that I know I can and should make.

GO IRON AARDVARK'S