mixie's group Closed :)

pick me! pick me!

 I'm looking for some motivation and encouragement. I'm quite new to BT, but not exactly new to tri's. 

Any help is appreciated  

Oooh, can I join???  I already belong to a mentor group from the round from New Year's, but would love to have another bunch of people to discuss tri with!

My background: Name is Sarah.  After college and starting a demanding job I was appalled to discover that I had become huge (215lb to be exact), so I joined a gym and didn't really do much with the membership, looked up at the wall in spin class to see pictures of all the members who had completed ironman, joined a tri group there, and the rest is history.  Last year I did 2 sprints and a few 5ks; this year I have done a sprint, a half mary, some 8ks, and have an oly in June and a half ironman in July.  Whew!  Oh, and today marks 50lb lost!!!!

Oh, and I have a very supportive (live-in) boyfriend.  No kids.  Stressful job.

Hi everyone!  I'm excited to "meet" some people here.

Background: Recently separated from the US Army and am currently taking the summer off.  I will start to look for a job sometime in Aug/Sept. I spent all of 2007 in Iraq and I'm taking advantage of living back here in Colorado.  My big goal this year is to complete a HIM in Sept and run well in the Chicago Marathon.  I'm also single but recently started dating a really great guy who thinks I'm crazy with all the running/biking/swimming I've been doing.  My weakness is the swim - I'm just so intimidated and not at all confident in the water.  I haven't swam since 2005 - shoulder injury which led to surgery and in Iraq I wasn't near a pool.  Its been s.l.o.w. getting back in the water.

You girls have inspired me

Norine 

Welcome back home Norine!  My little brother just got back from Afghanistan -- it's nice to have him back safely.

How is your shoulder now?  I'm not a fast swimmer, but it's my strongest out of the three tri sports, so I'll be happy to try and answer any questions you might have.  Since you have a prior injury, I think it's important to start slow and gradually build up speed/distance.  And have fun of course!

Wow Verna, that's fantastic!  I just peaked at your albums and you look so great!  All of your hard work has definitely paid off. 

Just wanted to drop by and say thanks Mixie for volunteering to be a mentor; You are awesome

And to the folks who are signing up for her Mentor Group, Mixie is definitely an inspiration for us all and a great example of what is possible with consistent training and a strong desire to have loads of fun along the way.

Hope you all enjoy her company as much as the rest of us have

Thank you!  It was a rough year, and I know you can understand what its like having your brother deployed.  Totally sucks.  

My shoulder still is a bit sore, but I've been going to a massage therapist and she's been working the connective tissue that has been causing discomfort.  Its definitely not as painful as it was before the surgery.  It is still frustrating though to be in pain still.   

Verna: Ha! My parents found the name in a book and then changed the spelling.  As if 'Norine' isn't weird enough, its not even the common spelling (Noreen).  Re: boys. Yeah, I'm with ya.. I actually worked with this guy and the 3 single captains all went out one night.  A few too many vodka tonics, made out and its been magic ever since   Oh, and Iraq.  Uh yeah, that really did suck and it was hard but I did have some good times.  Being home is really really good, yet its been a tougher transition than I thought it would be.  I did keep a blog while deployed, so if you really get bored go ahead:

http://koreaheartkurdish.blogspot.com/

And I just took a look at your album! Congratulations, you've come a long way - you look great! 

Hi! I'd like to join your group if you still have space. I'm very new to BT and think that a mentor group could be what I need to get ready for my first tri.

My name is Angie and I am 31. I decided about a year ago that it would be fun to try a sprint and am signed up to complete my first one in mid-July. I joined a gym about 4 years ago, but have a problem getting motivated to work out. I have found that the last couple of months have been fun as I have tried new things like swimming which I hadn't done in years. 

I have a great boyfriend of almost a year who is behind me 100% in completing my first triathlon. He is a serious cyclist so he can't wait until I can keep up with him on rides. I have a job that entails quite a bit of travel during the summer months so training is going to be tough during the month of June.

I am lucky because most of the travel that I do for work is within the state of Wisconsin so I am able to drive, don't have to worry about flying and I can take my bike with me. Plus I get to be at home every weekend when we aren't traveling out of state.

In the month of June I will be spending 3 weeks in the Eau Claire, WI area. I have been doing my research and found a state bike trail not far from the hotel where I will be staying, so I think that I have the riding and running taken care of for the 3 weeks I am there. It is the swimming that I still have to figure out. The hotel has a pool if I am unable to find anything else. 

The worst part for me about traveling so much is that I feel like I eat horribly when I am on the road. In the past 4 years on this job I have gained around 15 lbs. It would be worse but we spend at least 5 months each year in the office. A secondary goal right now for me would be to lose the 15 lbs I have gained plus another 10.

I'm so excited to get to know all of you. This is going to be fun!

My first race is the first weekend in June...the Power Sprint Triathlon in Richmond, VA. I am training with a local group called TriGirls and a lot of the "girls" are doing this race for their first. Not sure what race I will do after that...I'm still intimidated by the open water swim, but I am sure that I will get braver as I get more endurance built up in the pool.

Norine, where in CO are you? I live in VA, but two of my best friends live out in CO, and I will be heading out for a week next month. One friend is in CO Springs and the other is in Niwot--what a gorgeous state. If I ever move, that's where I'm heading.

I have a crazy name, too....Stacia, but it's pronounced Staci. The funniest part is that my mom gets upset when people mispronounce it.

Hi Stacia!  The only tip I have for you concerning the open water swim is be prepared to be kicked, hit, swam on top of and have your goggles ripped off your face.  Some of these things might happen, some might not. My first OWS all those things happened and I was not prepared for it.  The second OWS I did, these things didn't faze me   But you'll be fine.

I live in Colorado Springs!  I love it here - it is the best state I've ever lived.  I don't plan to move   Let me know if you want/are able to get a run or something in.  The Garden of the Gods 10 mile race is in June and the training groups meet at 6 am Tues and Thurs - its a nice place to run. 

Hi everyone!

Verna, I hope that there is room for one more person in your group...

My name: Ronen

My Story: 38 years old. I've never been an athlete. Going to the gym or running seemed to be one of the worst activities for me - up until the summer/fall of 2006. After gaining too much weight and getting pretty bad blood test results, I decided to change my lifestyle and become a healthier person. I decided to pick running as a start. My first run was about 3/4 miles long and I had to walk half the way back. A few months later I attended my first race - a local 5M race.  I had no idea what I was going into - but finished (one before last). About a half a year later I completed my first 1/2 marathon. In the summer of 2007, I moved to San Diego, CA and since then decided to train for triathlons. I joined the Triathlon Club of San Diego, completed 2 Sprints, 2 duathlons and 1 Olympic distance races. I just recovered from a back injury that disabled me from cycling and running for about 2 months. I am still considering myself a newbie and always have a ton of questions. I am here to learn more, improve my knowledge and inspire others. I have been on another group till now and still keep in touch the great folks I met there.

Family Status: I am married for 15 years and have three kids. Finding the time to train is pretty challenging but I have no other choice.

Current training: Nothing special. I train with a swim group twice a week, I may join a cycling group in two weeks (still awaiting reply) and run on my own. I like following training plans - but have nothing to follow at the moment. I need  to complete my race plan for the season - as I have not done it yet.

Weightloss: My second challenge... I started off at around 240 lbs. (I was 246 lbs at one point). I have changed my diet and focus on healthier food. I am now 219 lbs which spread over 6'6". My weight goal is 215 lbs.