Crowny2's HR Redlining Group - MAXED OUT

David,

I am a 35 year old who did my first sprint tri in June and want to do more this year.  My goal is to do an IM by the time i am 40.  I was always in sports playing 4 in high school and 2 in college and was out of athletics for the past 12 years.  Started riding road bikes for Ride Without Limits in NC and wanted to do more, so I signed up and did a sprint.  My goal this year is do 3 olympics, 1 sprint, and a Double Century bike ride in september.  I am married with 2 boys (7 and 3) and very busy running a restaurant.  Training 3-4 hrs per week right now getting ready to crank it up to 8-10 in January.  Can use all the help i can get.  Want to lose the 15 pounds  I have gained since October with better eating (love the holidays).  I have never been coached on any o f this so it is all new to me!  Thanks for mentoring and I look forward to the input!

Thanks

Benjy Capps

Welcome to the Group Benjy.  I'm looking forward to talking to you as the season progresses. 

Hi David,

 My name is Joe, BlueCat on BeginnerTri, and I would like to join your group. I am 38 years old and have started training for my first Sprint tri which will be in May of 09. I have signed up for one in June and one in August as well.

For the past few years I have been playing lacrosse and biking to stay in shape. I have some issues with the swim portion of the tri as I know for certain that is my weakest area. Living in New England doesn't really afford me the opportunity to get out into open water and train. Most of my swimming will be done in a pool before that first tri in May.

I am married and have two daughters ages 3 and 1 month. My wife will be out of work until August so right now is the perfect time for me to start training as child care isn't going to be an issue.

I am not really doing this to be competitive with anyone but myself. I would like to finish the tri in May, lose some weight, ge myself into better shape, and have fun while doing it. 

I hope you let me join your group!

Take care.

David:

I am a 42 yr old father of three (17,12 and 6 yr olds) who has started (and stopped) training for sprint level tri's a few times.  Finding this site and post is just the thing I need to stay motivated. 

I have always ran (5k-10k) distances as well as logged 50-100 miles weekly on the bike.  However, the swim is new to me.  I look forward to logging and receiving input from the team. 

My goal is to run in 4-5 sprints this year.  Living in Southern California, should be no problem.  I also have access to a gym and have a bike trainer. 

I am going to use the BT suggested trainer (20 weeks, 2x/week) and will log everything in.  I also use a HR monitor. 

Thanks and look forward to progressing.  I am a competitor and ! 

Chuck 

Hi Joe.  Welcome aboard!

Hiya Chuck!  Glad to have you. 

Rob, you've come to the right place!

Alright Gents.  So far, so good.  There are 4 of you that have already made the commitment to making your life better, improving your health and having a bit of fun along the way.  We will get a few more in to the group and then we will be set.

Use this thread to ask all the questions you are too embarrassed to ask on the main boards.  And remember, there really is no such thing as a dumb question.  It is better to suffer a moment of embarassment and ask than a lifetime of ignorance by remaining quiet. 

I will be visiting your logs a few times a week to check in as well as this thread routinely to answer questions. 

I look forward to helping each of you reach your goals.

Excited to joing a forum!  I am a 34 year old sinlge female who thought why not try a triathlon.  I just completed my first outdoor triathlon this past summer.  I did very well...well, I thought so!  I swam in college (seems like a lifetime ago) so that is my favorite part of the tri.  I have no idea what I'm doing on a bike.  Running - well it is coming along.  I am very competitive when I'm in the race...not so good about training.  My goals are to win the indoor triathlon (like last year, but this year I'm mega out of shape) at the end of February, lose weight, and be more competitive in the Sprint triathlon at the end of the summer (I was 7th in my age group last year, but 15 min behind the overall top female in a 12 mile bike - sad really).   I really wanted to join your group because of how you wrote your description....especially that you give "tough love".  I was yelled at by my high school, all-year-round, and collegiate coaches - and I perform better that way.  I hope by joining a forum I will go work out instead of hitting the bar for happy hour!  I look forward to this. 

Alright!  Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you want to accomplish.  Welcome aboard and get ready to train. 

Hello Jerry.  And welcome.  Looking forward to helping in any way I can.

Hi David,

My name is Mark (OldeCity) and I'm 34 and new to the multi-sport scene. I was a high school and college athlete and ran 5Ks through my 20s and early 30s. I am looking to get into better shape and add some competitive fun to my exercise routine. I would love to join your group so I can prepare for a Sprint Tri in April/May. I don't plan on going longer than Sprints.

 I am running a 5K on Feb. 1st and plan ratchet it up from there. I just joined a gym and started going a few times a week before work. I would like to get into to better shape via running, spinning and some basic weight training, then get in the pool when I can focus on technique without wearing out quickly.

 Happy New Year!

Mark

Mark!  Welcome to the group.  And you will round it out for the season.  I think we have a nice cozy group and I look foward to getting to know you all more over the coming months.

Alright, Lady and Gents.

We are a group.  Looking forward to starting the new year off right.

Sounds like everyone has some great goals and together we can all make them.

So if you have started to train, how are you feeling so far?  Any interesting aches and pains?  Yes, you do have muscles THERE! 

If you haven't started training, when do you plan to start? 

Have a safe and happy New Year tonight and get ready to start next week hard and heavy as the 2009 season gets into full swing!

I have a few basic questions about training programs for beginners like me. I have been given two books:  Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals by Steven Jonus and Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week by Eric Harr. Each one has pretty good reviews on Amazon and basic beginner programs.

Would I gain more from the programs and access available to a Bronze member? $25 seems like a small fee to pay for something that could streamline and simplify the training.

What do you recommend for strength training? In terms of what how often and the types of exercises most beneficial to tri training and injury prevention?

Are there any other resources (books, magazines, websites) that you find particularly helpful?

Thanks very much and have a great New Year!

Mark

Excellent questions Mark.

You are correct.  The fee to get access to the pre-designed plans on BT is VERY small.  And it makes life so much easier.  I've been using them for a while now and it takes the thinking out of training.  I don't have to worry about what I'm doing, it has EVERYTHING spelled out for me.  Including strength training.

As to strength training, I would recommend hoping into the TriTalk thread AND the Strength Thread.  There are TONs of discussions and there are two very passionate sides about it.  Of course, one side is vehemently against, and one is passionately for. 

Me, I think there is room for it.  But if you do it, it should be very minimal weight and higher reps.  Some argue for no weights and only doing resistance with your body.  Like squats with no bar.  Again, lots of info, and not all of it clear.  In time you will make your own opinion.

Finally, other sources.  To me, BT has been one of the most complete sources I've found.  I originally started on Training Peaks, but found there was more support and more complete information here.  Not to knock Training Peaks.  Great site run by Joel Friel.  Kind of the father of Triathlon training.  He has written a few very good books too.  One of them called the Triathlete's Bible and for many it is.

BTW, HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thanks very much.

I joined up at the Silver level and am planning to import the 12-week 5k/30k/5k duathlon training program to start. It appears to have a good mix of weight and core training and gets me started without the swimming cpmponent. I want to attack the pool when I am in at least 10k shape (March/April).

Is there a way to save this string of posts to my home page? Or do I have to seek it out through the Forums link?

Thanks!

Are you a swimmer or are you at least comfortable in the pool.  Because the sooner you hit the pool, the better, if you are not.

Great question.  I know you can subscribe to the thread and get email notifications each time there is an answer to this thread.  Just go to your main control panel, and there is a button on the right that allows you to do it for different forum's. 

Happy Monday group.

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Years celebration and are now ready to get down to the business at hand.

So what are the plans?  What's up?  Talk to me. 

Keep in mind that nothing will replace training in each discipline.  Trust me.  Sure getting general aerobic fitness will make it easier to get fit running but aerobic fitness from swimming is radically different from running.  And there is a general saying in triathlons.  "You can't win a triathlon in the swim, but you can lose it.".

Seems like the swim is going to be easy for you. 

Last week of training was difficult with the holidays but today is the start of a new week so I went out to see what I had to set up a bench mark of where I am now and where I want to be come race time in 19 more weeks. Bike went well and run went well. I have to get to the pool tomorrow and start putting in some serious work because I know that is going to be my Achilles in the race. For details on the workout look at my training log. 

Quick question, I am thinking about stepping up to either the bronze or silver membership. Is there much difference between the two? Is everything in the silver completely necessary? I love all the tools in the free package so I think that if it was available then I would use it but still not sure. Also my race I have planned in May is enourmus. It is a pretty big club/individual event with an open water swim. I am thinking after the workout today I want to hit a much smaller sprint in a pool at the end of march. Would you recommend this? I know open water races aren't for the inexperienced so I just wanted to see everyones thoughts. Also I think I am going to catch a few tri's as a spectator to see what the event is like so there aren't too many surprise's. What are your thoughts on tri clubs? Worth the money? I am thinking about joining up the "Landis Tri Club" here in Arizona because they cater to beginners and experts alike.

One last thing, as a college student alcohol is in my life. I am 24 and a little wiser than I was at 21 so its not a great deal but a few drinks on the weekends are normal. What are your thoughts on drinking while being on a training plan? I plan to stop completely around the beginning of March so I can keep the empty calories away. What would you recommend? And I apologize in advance at the length and the large amount of questions in this email!