ADollar79's Group--closed and in the base building phase!

Sure thing John...I am up for the challenge.  And the fact that you stay true to you bets, says a lot, lol

Welcome Drew & Sarah.  Looks like we are going to have a good crew this time around!  I will spend some time over the next day or so collecting so extra info (i.e. articles, sites) that I find beneficial to share with everyone. 

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL here and perfect for training. 

Hi!  I did the Mentor program last January, was wondering if I could still do this one? 

Last year I put in two sprints, a 5K trail run, and a 1/2 marathon.  I'm still deciding if I like tri's, I love all the sports individually, but not sure I like doing all three at once.  I definitely want to step up the distances this year.  I'm gearing up for a marathon (eek!), at least one Oly, a couple of sprints, and a hike around Lake Tahoe for this season.

Your expertise interest me because of your running background and sadly, because of your knee surgery.  I had an ACL reconstruction in '04 and I'm still dealing with pain from that.  And from everything my surgeon and PT tells me, it may never go away.

Look forward to joining you!

Thanks! ~Kendra

Hello there. My May mentor group from last year fizzled out only after a few months so I'm looking for a group with loads of super peeps and some inspiration!  This looks like the place.

NAME: Lynne, Lynnie, Scot

STORY: I have always been active throughout my life. I was a lifeguard a few years back and I love to swim! I biked and biked and biked to work and the pool and everywhere else I could when I lived in Scotland. I never ran! I am slowly trying to get better and better though and I just ran my 1st (and disasterous) 10K this past weekend. Not to worry. That's why I'm here.

CURRENT TRAINING:  I have no clue what I'm doing. I need advice and a plan to follow. I just do everything for an hour but I need more structure than that.

Great question. (I just shamelessly spent the past two hours at work putting together my Ironman Florida training plan..and I am still NOT done) 

First things first...IMO, a training plan is the way to go.  And there is more to a training plan than just run 3x a week, swim 2x a week.  A well-crafted training plan structures your workouts so that your body slowly builds endurance, adds strength and speed but also allows your body time to actively recover.  It prevents overtraining which is a HUGE limiting factor in this sport.   I can't even articulate what it feels like when you are on a long (16-20 week) training plan and you hit that peak phase and you ARE peaking.  It is like your just take off in your workouts.  A well designed plan does this for you. 

As to your issue, there is no doubt in my mind that a coach is the BEST way to go.  A personal coach can develop a training plan specifically for YOU and around YOUR season!  However, that comes at a cost (figuratively and literaly).  There are a number of good books out there that teach you how to put together a solid plan (Bernhardt & Friel are both great).  Also there are free plans out there (BT is great for this).  So is it worth hiring a coach to structure a season for you?  That is the $64,000 question. 

Have you identified which race(s) you want to be your "A" race(s).  To me this is the first step in developing a plan.  Jorge (amiine on BT) just wrote a blog about this topic.  http://jorgepbmcoaching.blogspot.com/2007/12/planning-your-next-season.html

Your season should revolve around those races for which you want to do the best.  The second thing I do is find a plan that seems to fit my schedule.  (again, I am an advocate of the BT plans).  I like to spend time plotting the weeks onto a calendar to see where certain training weeks fall (i.e. weddings, vacations, other races) to see if that plan is good for me.  If it isn't a good fit the get rid of it.  I am also notorious for moving workouts around to fit my personal life.  That's fine so long as you don't miss workouts....especially your long ones. 

Looking at your goals for the season, I think you would be well served by an Oly plan.  One of the decisions you need to make is do you want St. Anthony's, West Point or Chattanooga to be your "A" race.  Will you be recovered from ING in time to peak at St A's????    Would you prefer to peak in the middel of the season?   Clearly you will have the running base for the season.  It is just playing catch up with the rest of the disciplines. 

Welcome Kendra and Lynne!

We are now up to 5 people so I am going to close the forum.  There might be a few more that trickle in but I would prefer to keep this a bit more intimate so that we can casually discuss things and make sure everyone's questions are answered!!!!

My expertise?  That cracks me up!!! And I bet those who know me are on the floor laughing even more. 

I have had a number of bouts with my knee since starting the sport.  I spent my entire first season SOOOO scared that it would flare up and prevent me from participating.  When I began Ironman training last season, I had developed patello-femoral syndrome (my knee cap wasn't tracking right).  I faced my biggest fear...not being able to train properly for the race.  Fortunately, I found a great physical therapist and a few sessions with her got me back on track. 

You are correct, it will always be an issue.  I have muscle imbalances in legs that regularly flare up too.   My advice--don't rush it....triathlons, marathons, Ironmans, running across America....these are things that aren't going away anytime soon.   However, an injury can last a season, a year, a lifetime.  (this coming from a guy who REFUSES to go to the doctor!!!)  

Ok, I'll substitute expertise with experience.  How's that? 

Yeah, I get a fabulous pain at the top of my shin when I run.  It's something that I've just learned to live with, although I'm sure there's a better solution.  And my latest favorite bar trick is my popping knee...you can not only see it, but hear it too.

And part of the reason that tris give me problems is that after biking, my knee doesn't feel right when I'm running.  Which is okay, because for now I'm content doing the individual sports. 

Just a couple of questions....have you been fit on both the bike and in the proper shoe?  Where is the pain when you ride?  I used to get ITBS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome) in my left knee.  In fact it was irritating me yesterday.  Just a thought in case you have not gone down that route yet. 

Apparently I have TOO much time on my hands today but I was thinking of a few extra ways to kick off this group. 

I am not one for rules nor will I require anything out of you except being considerate and respectful of others.  (it should go without saying but you see too many threads in the forums go sour).  Feel free to be as active or passive as you want in this forum.  Ask questions, generate discussion, encourage each other, etc....this is YOUR group, my role is to provide support and generate discussion.  The one thing I love about this sport is that learning and knowledge is endless.  I assure you that I will learn as much from each of you as you (hopefully) will learn from me. 

If you haven't already, I encourage you all to add each other to your BT friends list.  This can be done by going to the control panel  -->  edit training settings --> friends.  Enter each person in the group and you will have instant access to their blogs.  That why you can check in and hopefully encourage each other on a regular basis. 

To kick off some general discussion, feel free to chime in on some or all of the following questions/thoughts

1.  What do you want from this mentoring group?

2.  What do you believe is your ONE largest obstacle in the coming season and how do you plan on overcoming it?

3.  What motivates you?  How do you motivate yourself on those bad days?  How can I help motivate you more? 

4.  Complete the following statement: "I would be a better triathlete (athlete) if _______"

In an effort to hold myself more accountable to you all and me, I will also attempt to post my weekly workouts.  Feel free to do the same: 

Monday:  Yoga (am);  Rest (pm)
Tuesday:  Chest and back weights (am); 60 min LT run
Wednesday:  Yoga (am); 45 min base run
Thursday: Arms/Shoulder weights (am); 75 min run with 6x1 mile repeats
Friday:  Rest (if possible)
Saturday: Long run 120-140 minutes
Sunday: 30-60 minute base/recovery run

I am traveling this week and have a wedding this weekend so some workouts are in jeopardy! 

Ok, I might be silly, but I can't tell where the IT band connects in the knee to know if that's the problem.  Hmm, let's see if I can describe this.  I had a patellar tendon graft on my right knee.  It's just to the inside from my scar and it feels like the top of bone, which I'm assuming is my tibia.  It's not a sharp pain, but it constantly feels sore and achey, increasing when I bike and run.

I'm working with my podiatrist on orthotics for the run, but I've now gone through three pairs and something still isn't feeling right with my foot, which he thinks aggravates the knee pain.  Next step is custom orthotics for a pretty penny or more...

I haven't gotten fitted on the bike with various excuses, the main one being money.  That's next coming from my savings plan.

1.  What do you want from this mentoring group?

• Random question help that I feel to silly to ask in any of the other forums. 
• Help with nutrition for longer training sessions.
• An overall kick in the butt when I start slacking off during the winter seasons.

2.  What do you believe is your ONE largest obstacle in the coming season and how do you plan on overcoming it?

Time, see question 4.

3.  What motivates you?  How do you motivate yourself on those bad days?  How can I help motivate you more? 

Skiing!  I started doing triathlons because I thought it would be a great way to stay in shape during the summer for the upcoming winter season.  Now I enjoy the triathlons almost as much as skiing.  But, skiing is still the priority.  So, I just need to remember that whatever training I'm doing, is to ski faster than before. 

4.  Complete the following statement: "I would be a better triathlete (athlete) if _______"

I had more time.  Yeah, I know that's most generic statement of all.  I'm hoping to find the best balance that I can, but we'll see.  The hardest part is going to be that my long runs fall on the weekends, which are my ski days.  I have thoughts of juggling the schedule around so that they're in the middle of the week, but being an Accounting person, not sure the week is going to be much better.  Oh well...I'll figure it out and just see how it goes.

 
1. What do you want from this mentoring group?  Motivation! I get so down on myself an awful lot!! 

Nutritional advice if possible. I'm hopeless with eating right and portion sizes.

Help in making a workout plan suitable for my schedule.

Running technique advice 

2. What do you believe is your ONE largest obstacle in the coming season and how do you plan on overcoming it?

My lack of running skills, and proper training knowledge.  

3. What motivates you? How do you motivate yourself on those bad days? How can I help motivate you more?

All the numbers and medals and photographs I've saved and put on a board motivates me.  Getting healthier and having others being proud of me also does it. Losing a pant size has also.

4. Complete the following statement: "I would be a better triathlete (athlete) if _______"

 I had better training knowledge and more time.

Though I have NO medical experience, I think we can rule out IT bands.  IT problems are a very common triathlon injury that have sidelined a number of people.  They typically flare up in your glutes/hip area or on the lateral side of your knee.  And trust me, you will KNOW when you have that problem. 

I am not sure what to say about your injury.  It could be something as simple as runner's knee or scar tissue.  You might consider posting something in the Health & Injuries forum.  I am not certain that you will get any answers as knee issues are just really tricky.  However, there are a number of ortho surgeons on this board that will likely chime in. 

Taking a look at the answers you all provided, I see a few themes that nearly everyone has in common (including myself)

1.  Balance.  How to strike a life balance between the sport and things you love (kids, skiing, weight lifting, etc).   This is a HUGE issue. 

2.  Race Preparation.  What to look forward to as you approach a race, what to bring, what to do when you arrive, what to do in transition, etc. 

3.  Nutrition.  How to fuel your body properly for working out?  How to fuel your body properly post workouts?  How to fuel your body for weight loss. 

4.  Training Properly.  How do you structure a plan specifically for you?  What do you do between events?  How do you prevent burnout?  When do you know that you are overtraining?  How do you continue to push yourself? 

These are all CRUCIAL components to both short and long term success in this sport.  I have a number of thoughts on each of these that I am more than happy to share.  And each of these are things I face every season....including right now.  I am currently pulling together some resources on each of the topics.  I hope to post them in the next day or so.

I think this framework will provide a great spring board for us.   Feel free to chime in with other questions and topics as we go....