Matt Gilmartin's 2nd Quarter Group- back in the pool! FULL HOUSE

I'd like to think I'm not lost, just absent from time to time. I have surgery tomorrow and then have to sit around for a week before being able to get back to training. No swimming for 2 weeks, then should be good to go. I'll still be lurking though.

Steve

I really enjoyed this group first quarter---count me in for another round!  Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Steve---you're in our thoughts!  Thanks for your willingness to mentor us again, Matt.

Robin

This 2nd quarter will be my 1st Quarter really tri-training.  My last day of PT is Wednesday, and then it's time to slowly build up again.  My plan is to start a mile at a time, and a few hundred meters in the pool at a time. 

I've counted out the weeks and started to plan the workout to get me be able to finish at least a sprint. I'll build up slow and steady and complete a tri this summer.

Surgery went really well. Doctor removed lump and is 99% positive it is not cancerous. He sent it to the pathologist just to confirm. No pain and I'm ready to get back it training. Unfortunately I have to wait a week for the 4 inch incision in my side to heal.

Funny thing happened today too - the anesthetic nurse took my blood pressure and pulse, looked at the results and then took them again. Then she asked me "Is your pulse rate always in the 40's?" I told her "only when I'm resting, I usually keep it around 140 when I'm running in zone 2." I really think she thought I was going to die. Blood pressure was 109 over 66, pulse was 48.

Thanks again Matt for the mentoring and I look forward to the Spring training!

Steve

Looking forward to Qtr 2 and continued progress with my swimming. Thank you all for the encouragement and experiences that you have shared.

Bryan

Your message made me chuckle, Steve---you are immortal with those numbers!  I get nervous when I have a patient whose heart rate is in the 50s or below---but then again, most of my patients are FAR more geriatric than you are (usually in their 80s or 90s getting joints replaced---that will be all of us in a few decades!).  We'll breathe a huge sigh of relief for you when that pathology report comes back negative---hope you get the results quickly. 

Sorry, kids- I didn't enable e-mail notifications for this thread.  I'll be more responsive!  Glad to see everyone re-upping for another quarter.  This is the fun part of the year- we're actually outside and training for real

If you guys aren't friends with Robin on FB, you should be- awesome picture of her crossing the finish line at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler from last weekend. 

Happy Easter everyone!  I'm in for Q2.  I fell off the wagon for a bit in Q1, but I am back on track now.  Lost 3 pesky kilos in the past 2 weeks and trying to prepare for the last race of our season.  Just have to get through the Easter long weekend without eating too many hot cross buns...

Steve, I hope your path results come back negative - sending out a little prayer for you!

ps - welcome to Autumn for those of us down under.

I'm trying but can't figure out how to set the email notifications for this thread. I did it for the first quarter thread but can't seem to remember. Any help would be appreciated.

Steve

Aaargh! We're at the VERY bottom of the pile! 

So my son and I went out this morning and did the road runners fun run(s). They had a 100 yard kids run, a 1/2 mile, 1 mile and 5k run. My son did all 4 of them. I did 3 as I was not young enough to do the 100 yard run! 

We had to walk a 1/2 mile to get to the start of the 1/2 mile and then another 1/4 mile (through the woods on a trail) to get to the 1 mile point. I don't understand why they just don't have you run out 1/4 mile and then turn around to complete the 1/2 mile run. Same for the 1 mile - why don't we just run out 1/2 mile and then turn around and run back? Doesn't make any sense to me...In the end, we ended up doing over 5 miles for the day.

Anyway, the base tri team is starting to ride on T/Th at lunch, so I'll be riding with them if time permits at work. From what the coach said, they have a 5 mile loop that is a good mixture of flats and hills. I'll be bringing my road bike on Tuesday to check out the course before I dare get my tri bike out there!

I am also looking at signing up for a 100k bike ride on 22 April. I have a (very) short tri scheduled for 28 April - I'll be doing it with my kids. It's a 100 swim, 3 mile bike and 1 mile run. It's free and will most likely be the last tri I will get to do this season due to our move (things will get packed up in May and shipped over; we won't receive our things for several months and by then, the tri season will be nearing an end). Do you think a 100k ride is do-able? Am I out of my mind for even thinking of doing it?

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

This is my first time on here, so I'm going to kind of follow your lead.

Name:  douthi1/doug

Story:  32, played high school soccer and still play today.  Never had any training in running, cycling, or swimming.  I started running last year to get in shape for soccer after getting run by too many times.  Decided I had to do a 5K by the end of  the year.  Did my first one in October of last year, have done one so far this spring.  I've always thought it would be cool to do a tri.  I've been trying to find a sprint somewhat close to home and in July or later so I can be ready.

Family Status:  Married with 2 little boys 7&4.

Current Training:  Running, Cycling, and resistance 4-5 days per week.

Weight Loss:  I've been as high as 250.  Was about 220 at the beginning of the year with 21% body fat.  Currently 195 with 14% body fat.  I'm not exactly sure where I want to end up, but I do know I want to continue to lose.

2012 Goals:  Continue to better my 5K times.  Complete a 10K and a sprint Tri.

Hope everyone is having a great spring weekend.  It's been a low-key training week for me and I'm going to blow off training today to completely indulge in Easter festivities with my family.  Was a little shocked to step on the scale a few days ago and see that some pounds have crept up on me in the past few weeks.  Am hoping to nip that in the bud with more disciplined eating starting tomorrow. I think I'd feel allot better if I could shed ten to 15 pounds yet I break out in a cold sweat at the notion of dieting.  I have always resisted the idea of keeping a food journal since I've had a love/hate relationship with food my entire life but I think that might really help me to take an honest look at my intake.  Started reading a book called "Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance" that has given me a few ideas on ways that I can do a better job fueling my body---will keep everyone updated on the progress.  I'm starting to get the jitters about my first tri looming just a few weeks away.  I get a pit in my stomach whenever I think about all of the uncertainty (especially transitions) but I know that I need to face my fears head on and not let them rattle me.  It occurred to me that I have absolutely no idea how to change a flat if disaster strikes on the race course.  This is just one example of all the doomsday tri scenarios crossing my mind right now.  Acck---I'm my own worst enemy! 

Robin

Welcome Doug! Sounds like your weight loss is right on track. Keep it up and your running times will decrease as well! Please don't hesitate to ask any questions. We have a lot of members with veritable amounts of experience and Matt (our fearless leader) is AWESOME!

Robin - check with your LBS - they should be able to show you how to change a flat and then watch you do it a time or two. I went out on my first group ride without knowing how to change one and ended up getting dropped AND having a flat (remember that?). Fortunately there was a kind gentleman that hung back with me and we fought through it together. Once I got back to the LBS, they took me to the back and gave both my husband I a tutorial. One of our other shops here has classes once a week for new riders. They go over changing flats and basic bike maintenance. Might be good for you to check into seeing if something like that is available.

Going to try and get a TrainerRoad workout done today, however, my house is a DISASTER!! I've been working all morning to get it shaped back up (this is my little break), so the training will have to wait until later this afternoon (I still have to iron my uniform for work tomorrow...ugh)!!

Hope everyone has a great Easter Sunday (if you choose to celebrate) and a wonderful week ahead!

Our new tri team uniforms! The company messed up and put "bike jersey" pockets on the back instead of the zipper pocket that was ordered, so we may be getting new tops. I called the company to see if I could order a smaller size, so hopefully I'll get the next size down if we get new tops. When we made the initial purchase we could have opted to purchase (at our own expense) a tri-suit. Most of the team decided not to, as did I, however now I wish I would have oh well...too late now - live and learn.

ETA: having trouble uploading the picture...will keep trying.

(JBSA-L uniform.jpg)

Happy Easter everyone!

 I had actually laid down for a nap this afternoon when a thought went through my head. (Your first sprint tri is 6 weeks away and you are TAKING THE DAY OFF?) I took yesterday off too.  That thought alone was enough to bolt me off the bed and to the park.  I had a great day! Halfway through my bike ride, half of the county arrived to look for "egg number 5" with the local radio Easter egg hunt. Yes, needless to say, I stopped several times to look for the big egg.  Then I decided I would be a little more safe jogging through the people instead of trying to ride.  It was fun and beats a lazy nap anyday!

I am having a BLAST with this training.  This is far more fun than anything I have ever trained for.  I love swimming and biking! I have also discovered that my allergies have been no where near as bad as they usually are and I am so thankful for that. 

With that being said, I'm also having that nervous pit in your stomach feel about the first triathlon.   I  am also worried about the tire changing thing-I asked my LBS about showing me, they were busy and he told me to "watch the dvd" he gave me.     I am also sure I'll be the one running with my bike helmet still on.  

I knew we were heading into a new quarter, but did not think about all the old pages of info getting deleted.   Are they anywhere, or are we starting from scratch?

Good luck to everyone in your training!

I would like to join.

NAME: Tigereye (Real name: Hjalte).

STORY: I am 32, male, live in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was a swimmer 10 years ago, been training a little on and off but without much racing since. I miss structured training and the feeling after a good hard workout, where the body is tired. I used to be a sprinter when swimming, but I am fascinated by the longer distances and would love to do an IM at some point.

FAMILY STATUS: Married for almost 1 year to my wonderfull wife, no children yet but own a little dog.

CURRENT TRAINING: I have been training for a HM on April 15. with a few spinning and swimming sessions for variety. I will be starting the beginner HIM plan on this website after the HM.

2011 RACES: None.

2012 RACES: HM in April, 1k-76k-20k Triathlon in august as A races, maybe a few more if it fits in my program.

WEIGHTLOSS: No plans.

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR OR GOALS: I am trying to make my training more consistence as I would like to complete an IM at some point. I believe joining this group will help me achieve that and have fun while doing it.

PS:

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=416872&posts=920&start=1

Hey everyone, sorry I have been MIA again!

I'm going to have Ron close the group and move us into the main forum again.

Everyone who requested a join- you're in!  I think you'll find our existing group is pretty awesome- we had a great 1st quarter and had lots of goals accomplished.  This group really did a terrific job supporting one another, and I've got no doubt we'll have a great 2nd too.

Feel free to PM me your information and I'll update our roster.

Matt

Found this online today- I'm going to add it to my reading list:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/08/swimming-to-health-excerpt-of-lynn-sherr-s-swim-why-we-love-the-water.html