left.right.repeat group 2011 edition - CLOSED for 2011

I want to join the group because there is more than one person with IM experience and especially Louisville. I will be doing my first IMLOU in august. I have done 2 sprints in the past a few years ago but got hit by a truck training for my third one. Haven't been on a bike since. I have ran Boston, been a pro/expert quad racer, place second at the regional olympic trials in greco roman wrestling among other things. I am now 37 and decided I better try and check IM off my to do list. My goal is to finish. My brother in law bought me the book Iron Fit so I am planning on following that workout program but feel I could benifit from some support. I look forward a great 2011 and talking to the group.

Hi Bryan,

I’d love to join your group – it sounds like an invaluable resource for a guy like me.  Sign me up!

I’ll probably be one of the ‘younger’ guys in the group – I’m 27 and dating a very special young lady who I hope will become my training partner.  I work as a small business accountant & advisor in Boston and am entering my second season of endurance racing.

Historically I’d never been a terribly athletic guy, but I got away with good genetics and a fairly healthy diet.  That said, prior to a year ago I’d never run more than a mile in my life, I hadn’t swam a lap since junior high school swim lessons, and my department store hybrid bicycle was purely recreational.  Besides the occasional “resolution” bout of exercise, the highlights of my athletic routine included ultimate Frisbee, dodgeball and snowboarding.

Try as I might, I’d never been successful developing a “three days a week in the gym” routine.  I’d be motivated for six, eight, twelve weeks, then I’d get bored or distracted and fall off the wagon for six months.  I was nine months deep into a particularly bad “off the wagon” bout when I began to realize that my lifestyle was catching up with me, and even my recreational endeavors were being affected.  Then by a strange turn of events, I found myself training for a three hour Spinning fundraiser.  Then my training partner and I trained for and ran a half marathon.  Then came a sprint triathlon.

Throughout this process, I dropped 40 lbs, got the racing bug, and realized the key to consistency with exercise: competition.  When I had a short term goal to work towards, a race that was six, eight or twelve weeks away, keeping to a training schedule was easy.  And so long as I had another race lined up after the first one was over, I’d keep it up.

My first year I completed a three hour Spinning fundraiser, a sprint triathlon, two half marathons, an Olympic distance triathlon, and a marathon.  This year I will improve upon my times and finish a half Ironman.  Next year, full Ironman.

I hope ya’ll can help me!

Hello Bryan,

I would like to join your group if there it is still open.

About me:

44, married to a wonderful woman, 11 kids (yes eleven) but they are all old enough to fend for themselves (2 college graduates, 3 in college, 1 married, 1 in the army….the list goes on). Born and raised in the San Francisco bay area.

I’m just starting out, so assume zero fitness level. I was very active in my younger days and was in pretty good shape though never ran, biked or swam for distance (I don’t even currently own a bike). I have always held interest in distance running but could never find the time to train. I am now in a place where I can put that time in but I’d rather do more than just run.

I’m a highly competitive person and LOVE to compete. My ultimate GAOL is to compete at the highest level in an IM, but I will of course work my way to that goal by running the 5k’s and sprints.

I’ll be researching bikes so I can get out of the gym and on to the streets.

Looking forward to hearing from you and can’t wait to get started!

Pace13 (aka Jeff)

Wow - what a cool group of people....you are alll in as far as I am concerned.  Let me tell you a bit how this will work and then we will get about our business of incorporating you all into the main group. 

I started this three years ago and each year have added people and people drop out.  When I first started, Ron wanted you to mentor 5-7, now this year it is around 15....reason being that so many fall out, fall away, do one and they are done, etc.  I will say that EVERYONE who has ever been in my group has found their finish line that year - or they lied about it - and I don't want to think that.  Each year, we have a few folks hang around (we can't get rid of a couple of them - smile).  We have a lot of fun and are all FRIENDS.  We give each other a hug when needed and a kick in the butt when necessary.  I can assure you the collective knowledge in the group/team (I really like that Glenn called them a TEAM - I am using that from here on) will get you to your finish line as comfortably as possible.  Jeff - I recognize your competitiveness - you will find that on our team although many are limited by genetics and/or age....for example, in my head I am a Kenyan but on the street I am an old dude.....just slow.....but I keep going like that pesky bunny...I don't stop.

So here is a bit more about me....at 47, after a day at the emergency room with two swollen disks in my back -L4/L5 and L5/S1, the doc told me my back was a problem but he was really shocked I had not had a heart attack and said "you have two choices, you will take better care of yourself or you will die" (I had not been to the doctor in a few years).  This was Jan 2007.....high blood pressure, high cholestrol, pre-diabetic, too much stress, work too much, eat poorly, overweight by about 40 pounds or more....just a typical business man who had been sedentary for 25 years....I raced sailboats through my 30s at a highly competitive level but that was just an excuse to drink....seems sailing and drinking go together....by the way, I still like a martini or a beer - I am not crazy....

So we joined a gym - my wife had it narrowed down to two and I picked the one between work and home - the other one was past our house and I KNEW that I would not PASS my house to go work out.  I went to the gym and told a trainer, if this hurts, I WILL QUIT - I am a devout coward.  He said "then we can't let it hurt" and I was off to the races.  Two months later I was at a spin class on a Sat morning and after a particularly tough class, I was in the locker room and there was a guy, about my age, who had been in the class, putting on a pair of swim trunks - I asked what he was doing, he said he was going swimming.  Me: "after that????????" Him: "yes, I do some triathlons and I have to swim today too, hey, you should come do one with me."  Now THAT was the FUNNIEST thing I had ever heard and I laughed out loud at him.  But he had planted a seed.  That day I started researching triathlon and was intrigued.  I kept it to myself.  About two weeks later I screwed up the courage to mention it to my wife (by the way, it could have all ended right here if she had laughed) so I said "what would you think if I said I wanted to do a triathlon?" She said "I think that would be great" "But I need a bike" "So we get a bike" and so on.  Her encouragement has been priceless -- the lesson -- find an encourager - anybody - if it is not your spouse, find a friend, a co-worker, me, someone else on the team....you need it.  There will come a time when you want to quit - either through fear or just being tired, you need someone with you on this journey.

So I did my first and second sprint in the fall of 07, my first half marathon in Feb 08, May 08 was my first Olympic, Oct 08 for my first half Ironman, my first marathon in Jan 09, my first Ironman in Nov 09, my second Ironman in Nov 10.  I am signed up for IM Arizona in 2011.  There have been a ton of other races but we can talk about those later.  I always have another event on the calendar.  It keeps me working.

So there is more about me.....

Now about you --

Chris - congrats on your IM finish in 2008, I was a volunteer at the finish line that year to sign up for 2009.  I also volunteered there this year and got to hang out with Chrissie for quite a while after she finished...she is way cool.  Take care of the health issues - you will want to closely monitor the effects of your training on your health as you dial it up.

Graham - welcome - while you are new, you can also be smart - and I think that's where our team can help you.  Don't worry about the swim - everybody worries about the swim - we will get you through it. 

Phil - IMLOU this year --- WOOHOOO!!!!!!!  We have IMLou experience in the house....you are in for a great year my friend...I am very impressed with the Greco Roman wrestling stuff - I have had an opportunity to meet a few Olympic athletes and one of them was Jeff Blatnick.

Todd - HILARIOUS - since you are left handed I am typing really slow so you can keep up......smile....we have had another guy from Utah in the group in the past - you have a lot to live up to so you can clean up the reputation of your state.  First tri this year - very cool - you are gonna have a blast.  An IM in 2015 is doable if you want....we will get you there.  Swim - just takes some time my friend - we can help - go to the Total Immersion website and watch the videos - the biggest issue in swimming is balance.  We will work on it.  I know you don't believe me right now but repeat after me "I can float, I can float, I can float"  -- it's gonna happen.

IDMtnGirl - Boise 70.3 it is!!!!  Come on finish line.....I can't wait to add that one to our count.  We keep a running tally of every finish line of every body and see where the year totals out....last year we had 70 finish lines in our team.

Christopher M - 27????   PUPPY --- dude, you are YOUNG....good deal, you bring down the average age.....haha...I appreciate your honesty - we will get you to your finish line of your 70.3.....no worries, you just gotta do the work.

By the way, I call them a 70.3 usually just due to the fact that 70.3 Miles under one's own power is NOT HALF OF ANYTHING.  I feel the same way about a half marathon - it is 13.1 freakin miles for crying out loud.  I always correct the people who say "I am JUST running the half" - shut up....very few people have done one - it's 13.1 miles. (climbing down off the soap box).

Glenn - when is the Give It a Tri?  You are very smart to come get help....let us tell you about all the mistakes we made, you can be smart.  I really like that you called us a team....that's how it is.  To give you an idea, Amy (in our group) met me at the finish line of IM Florida - she was there volunteering and had seen me on the fun and them came over after I finished.  Another two guys teamed up to do a relay together - they live in adjoining states.  And I surprised one of my original members by coming out to Arizona (I went out to volunteer and sign up for 2011) to support her and was there to catch her at the finish line of her first IM.

Jennifer - almost 50!! - oh please - we are just getting started.  Now repeat after me, 9 minute miles are not slow - 9 minute miles are not slow.  (I don't run 9 minute miles in a race - so if I am too slow to be anyone's mentor who is here, you will not offend me by finding another group - hehe - but they will not be as good - and dang sure, not as fun).  Your Olympic goal is within reach - let's go get it.  We will get you through the swim - go check out the videos at Total Immersion.  We will discus them more later.  Help with motivation -  not to worry - we have plenty to go around.

Jeff - competitive - hmmmm - 11 kids ---- yeah I can see you are competitive - LOL - nobody is gonna beat me at this.....smile.  I am a very competitive person but have had to temper my competitiveness to compete with myself and the race vs other people and I am totally fine with that.  I have podium'd in my age group once but that does not happen often - I would love to be faster but I LOVE that finish line and will not give it up.

Dan - I also have a crazy schedule with work and travel - I travel every week.  2 Olympics are a great goal and I LOVE that you are already VOLUNTEERING.  Fantastic!!!  One of our rules (ok suggestion but I think it should be a requirement) is to volunteer at least once a year.  I highly recommend doing it for a 70.3 or an Ironman if there is one close by.  My favorite thing is a finish line catcher from 8pm to midnight.  That is when I finish and when the actual raw emotion of the race comes home.  It is however, a terrible empty feeling at midnight when it is over and you know there are still people out there....

Andrew - Welcome - we have crossed the Canadian border a few years ago and Pete has worked out fine so I am totally okay with GOING GLOBAL.....welcome to the team.  Congratulations and welcome to the year that will change your life.  Very good on commuting to work by bike - even if it is only two weeks.  How long do we have to train for the race?  We will get you through the swim.

Ali - If you weren't scared I would send you to a psychiatrist....LOL....you will be fine.  I have lots of tips on IMFL - I was there in November....had a tough day but finished.  I drank a large portion of the Gulf and my stomach never worked itself out.  I will be happy to help you any way I can.  The first thing I am going to tell you is to dial it back on the bike.  In the words of Endurance Nation "there is no such thing as a great bike followed by a poor run" - saying - you gotta be able to run to the best of your ability - it may not be fast but it needs to be to your ability.  We will get you there....

Welcome everybody...

So here is what we will do - we will continue for a couple more days to get to know one another on this site and then I want to just combine you all into our current team.  But again, I want you all to get to know each other a bit first so you don't feel like you walked into a room of a bunch of friends and you are the stranger - and they are all telling inside jokes you don't understand - and you may be wondering if they are laughing at you - let me touch on that one right now - no one will laugh at you at any time or I will tell their secrets - and trust me - I know a LOT of their secrets....as well as some of the really funny stuff they said and/or asked.....so don't worry about that at all....we are all here to help.

Why do I do it this way?  There are 209 pages of posts in my archived group - that is a LOT of history and advice.  Many of your questions have already been answered.  Many of you will be encouraged by reading about the swimming inability of people every year - and they get there.  For me when I started, I could breathe and I could swim, it was only when I tried to put them together and do both that I had a problem.  After a youth of being a life guard, teaching people how to water ski at a resort, going to the beach every year (even as an adult), and a lifetime of loving the water and fancying myself as a strong swimmer, I went to the pool to swim 6 laps (300 total yards) - see the training plan I was going to use said the first week I would swim 10 x 50s so I thought, I have 2 weeks until it starts, I will swim 6 x 50 this week, 8 x 50 next week and I will be ready to swim 10 x 50 the first week of the plan. 

Well, I swam/struggled/fought my way down the pool 25 yards.  I clung to the edge trying to breathe - who sucked the oxygen out of the atmosphere - and wondered if I could get back to the other end.  I would have climbed out of the pool but there were a lot of people out there and NOBODY got out of the pool at this end....crap.....I gotta get back.  OK...go.....no way a minute more....breathe.....go....no....not yet......ok.....now, I swam - although that is being very generous with the word - 12.5 yards to the line across the middle of the pool - stood up.....and walked to the end of the pool where I started.  My first swim workout was 1 x 25 and 1 x 12.5 for a total workout yardage of 37.5 yards.  I thought there was no way I could swim further - I did and you can too.

So here is what I want you to do....post here - get to know each other - be open - be honest - have fun - you all seem to be off to a good start.  Additionally go to the Forum home page, then click Mentor Program Archives and look for left.right.repeat group closed - full of a bunch of winners (it is usually one of the first three or so) and click on it.  Go to the early pages and read some history - see the evolution - go to the most recent pages (209 currently) and work backwards to see where we are today.  You are welcome to post over there too but I would like to personally introduce you so the team today can get to know you all together.

I am going to keep this open for a little longer to see if anyone else wants to join our little party....I will be back soon....I rode 1:30 hours today and am going to a Newton Running Symposium tonight.  Long run tomorrow - I hope the weather is better than today - it is raining.  By the way, I live in San Antonio, TX so I have pretty good weather year round except when it is brutally hot during August.....

Bryan

I've been reading some of the archives and see that you have warned the team of our arrival

Since actually joining a gym a month and a half ago, I have been twice. I'll be heading there today starting my new challenge!

Having said that I will let you know that my ultimate goal is a FULL LENGTH IM and competing in Hawaii....lofty goal I know. I hope to find shorter goals to keep me driven and focussed at my current level (ie i'll be after someones best 5 k time, then 10k, etc etc etc).

I've got a ton of research to do...and still finding my path to my ultimate goal. I'll be starting out by training for a 5k, joining in on some spinning classes (while I save up to buy a bike) and get in the pool at the gym so I am biulding all 3 disciplines at once (even if only currently competing in one).

If anyone has a decent 5k time I should shoot for (or other distances for that matter as I will eventually get to them all) please send them to me or post them.

Thanks!

Todd and Jeff - spin class is great as long as the instructor teaches as an outdoor ride imitation.  Quite often, they teach a get out of the saddle for 10 seconds, sit back down, up for 10, sit down....that doesn't happen out on the road.  So, if you find yourself in a class that doesn't replicate an outdoor ride, just ride your ride and let them jump up and down, doing push ups on the handlebars and so on.  You know what it is like to ride a bike whether you have done it in 10 years or not.  While in spin class - target a cadence of 90 rpms.  This is measured by counting how many times your right knee (or left but just count one) comes up in a 10 second period.  You are shooting for 15 (6 10 second periods would be a minute, 6 x 15 = 90 rpms target).  Let me know if that doesn't make sense.  You are shooting for a consistently high cadence as the bigger gear you try to push the more you trash your legs and then the run is nasty.  That said, when you are doing a "hills" class it is good to push a bigger gear at a lower cadence.  Just spend the majority of your time at a 90 cadence.  This will keep your legs for the run.

Jeff - for running targets, google jack daniels running (I am not kidding and I am not talking whiskey).  Jack has written a defintive book on run testing and his vDot chart is widely accepted as pacing gospel.  His testing protocols and their interpretations will give you pacing guidance and targets to run at as you improve.  As far as your goal of Kona - I would love to see it happen and I will do whatever I can to help.  I know several people who have raced there over the last couple of years.  For me, I would have to get a lottery slot or not lose any speed over the next 25 years....I may be able to qualify at my speed in the 75-80 age group.....

Bryan

Todd - you will love wetsuit peeling....I did it in AZ this year....there are a lot of fit women coming out of that water.....just saying....by the way, usually wetsuit peeling is usually for VIPs and a local club that has volunteered many, many hours so you are lucky to get in.  I guess St George may not be quite there as they are only in their second year.  For example, at Florida, Arizona, Canada, Texas, Wisconsin - wetsuit peeling volunteering doesn't go on line (that I have seen).