Cav's Group - Closed

NAME: Stavros (most people just call me Stav)

STORY: I’m 33 and currently living in London, though moving to northampton soon (hopefully). My background is a little different to most. I entered a 3k fun run in July to see if I could complete it and was thoroughly unimpressed with my result (19min which I walked for at least half of, and it turned out to only be 1.5miles). This motivated me to find a training plan for a 5k run later in the year and found this site. One thing lead to another and now a mate and I are entered into our first sprint in April.

FAMILY STATUS: I’m soon to be living with my girlfriend. No kids.
 
CURRENT TRAINING: I'm just starting the final week of the Agressive Couch to 5K plan, then I'll be moving on to the Sprint - 3x Balanced - 16 Week plan.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Just a 3k fun run.

2010 RACES: My first race will be in April (Duston Sprint), followed by Northampton Sprint in June and (hopefully) the London Sprint in August.

WEIGHTLOSS: I've never really be concerned with my weight as it has only changed once in the last 15yrs (went up from 126lbs to a healthier 147bls).

Hopefully I can get my mate (username:Blinddave) to sign up to this group too when he wakes up (he works nights)

Hi Cav.

Name: Chris Mollitt, also 44.
Married with two children.
Paramedic by profession, now retired after a car crash left me with bad neck injury. Now full time house husband.
Living now in exile in  Southampton but a Yorkshire man by birth.
I am just starting my Tri training and have a place in the Southampton Sprint in Aug. I also have a place in a 5k in Feb.
Martial arts were my passion, but age and injuries have caught up with me and was looking for a real challenge to replace them, and also lose about 2 stone
I am focused and not afraid of hard work, my main worries are, 1) I can only breaststroke, crawl is not really an option because my left shoulder dislocates really easily. 2) Although I can cycle a fair distance, be it at a social pace, I have very little experience of cycling in traffic and worry about turning right ! :-)
I am currently following a 5k plan and building volume on both bike and in the pool. I will then follow a dedicated sprint plan from the site that will lead to my race day.
My goal for the year is to enjoy the experience and simply finish the Tri (I honestly don`t care if I am last)
Looking forward to training with the group,Chris.

NAME: User name is FeakingPuertoRican, My real name is Oscar Cruz

STORY: I am a 26 year old man, living in arizona.  I am currently opening my own business.  When I was 24 I decided enough was enough I was 5'6'' and 235 pounds.  I changed my diet and lost 50 pounds in 6 months.  I then tore my ACL and during rehab I gained 20 pounds and kept that for the better part of a year still healing from the injury.  When finally healed I decided I needed to do something to motivate me to lose the weight again.  I decided to do a triathlon.  I did my first sprint this past sunday and finished in 1hour and 26 minutes.  I am excited to keep going.


FAMILY STATUS: I’m married and have a 4 year old daughter, and a son on the way in march.  My wife is extremely supportive. 
 
CURRENT TRAINING: Training is currently hard but I do what I can when I can. 

THIS YEAR'S RACES: This year I completed a sprint triathlon in California.

2010 RACES: I plan on doing some short 5k races and bicycle races throughout the year.  My main goal is an olympic length Triathlon in arizona.

WEIGHTLOSS: I currently weigh 165 and still looking to lose some more.  My main issue is my strength, I am not very strong and have cronic sholder problems.  Need lots of help with core and upper body work.

I am excited to be part of this group, and look forward with talking to everyone.

Hi. 

I'd like to join your group if at all possible.  I'ma 28yo female living in South Wales (the Gower).  Full time shift worker, which can make it hard to train but not impossible.  I have a boyfriend, but we don't live together, he has one 3yo child, and he is very supportive of my training. 

I have completed one triathlon so far, the Mazda London Sprint Triathlon, in a (slow) time of 2:05, however this was due to injury and lack of training due to aforementioned injury.  I was originally aiming for 1:30-1:45.  I have since been diagnosed with two crumbling disks, one of which has slipped, and i have been told that it is degenerative, so i can't run at the mo, or bike, so will start back to training with swimming initially (which is my favourite anyway).  Itb makes me REALLY grumpy too when I can't train - lack of endorphins I think!

I aim to do the same tri next year (and possibly a few others too, but definitely that one) and get that 1:30 I wanted the first time (and not panic in the OWS!!).  Have no real sports background, except for the fact that I have ridden horses since I was eleven, just not competitively.  So it was pretty much from the couch that I started training (although it was going REALLY well til the injury in april). 

Bit gutted at the moment, as due to the fact that I have been on GP-imposed 'TOTAL rest', I have put on about 10lbs, which i want to try to shift.  Anyway, I hope you can help me, and look forward to your input.

Hi Cav,

Id like to join your group if it's still open. 

NAME: Matt

STORY: I'm a 33 year old British guy currently living out in Port Moody, BC, Canada. I used to row while at school and after years of not being able to balance a busy work life with any kind of fitness decided last year that I would do a sprint triathlon just to see where my fitness levels were.
I decided last minute to enter a sprint which would ahve given me 3 weeks training but out here in BC last summer we had 10 days of 35^oC weather which killed any training plans I had. I turned in a decent 1hr30 time and caught the tri bug at the same time :)

My ultimate goal this year is to place at enough races to qualify for Elite but realistically I think I'd be really happy getting my sprint time down to 1hr 10 mins & post an Olympic time of 2hr 15.

I know I can knock at least 2 mins off my time as I wasted this much time in T2 trying to get my badly cramped legs into some running shorts the wife demanded I wear to hide my bits haha...


FAMILY STATUS: Married to a very supportive wife with one amazing daughter aged 14 months.
 
CURRENT TRAINING: Sporadic and dis-organised at best. I try to cycle to work at least once a week (50km round trip with a killer 1300ft grade 7 climb to get back to my house up the mountain.) The bike is set up on the trainer with Coach Troy ready to give me a kick up the arse. I try to run once or twice a week in my lunchbreak at work doing interval training and lots of fartlek.
I have no real set plan to speak of and is probably the biggest reason of all to join this group.


THIS YEAR'S RACES: 1 Sprint tri @ Walnut Grove, Langly, BC. Did better than expected as per notes above.

2010 RACES: I've earmarked 4 or 5 races I'd like to take part in, just sprints and oly's. As some involve travel and overnight stays it's dependant on if we have the time.


Thanks,

Matt

STORY: 39 years old who, at 37, realized I was getting out of shape to an unhealthy degree. Did my first Sprint Tri in 2007. I caught the bug this year and did three sprint tris and want to do my first Oly (BOP is fine for me, I just want to finish). Hurt my back in 2007 (herniated disc), and it is a frequent source of pain (though it is managed fairly well with the exercises my PT gave me).

FAMILY STATUS: Married, wife is a marathon runner.
 
CURRENT TRAINING: Base training, trying to just not lose everything from last year. Reading Friel's work I am starting to set my heart rate zones.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Three sprints, I'm a proud BOP who moved to MOP in the swim.

2010 RACES: April 2010 my first Olympic distance, and if I survive I'll do two sprints to prepare for a final Oly in August.

WEIGHTLOSS: Exercise is my goal, though I want to stay between 190-200 pounds (I'm 6' 4").

NAME: Ferretracer, but my real name is Erik

STORY: I'm 38 years old, living in Fleetwood, PA, USA.  I am a former athlete trying to regain some form.  I spent most of the '90's doing over 100 bike races and playing rugby while in college.  I then spent most of the past decade sitting on my butt.  Sept '08 I decided to do something about it- I cut junk food, deserts and high sugar stuff out of my diet and with the help of exercise lost about 5 inches and 45 pounds in 9 months. This past Sept '09, I did my first Triathlon (a sprint) and I'm hooked! 

FAMILY STATUS: I am married with an awesome wife and two great kids- a 4 y/o daughter and 5 y/o son.  I am a 2nd grade teacher who is also a photographer.  My wife and I are actually considering turning 1/2 of our garage into a studio!
 
CURRENT TRAINING: Right now I have not been doing much except getting chiropractic release from my sciatic pain.  I have been doing pull-ups and push-ups regularly.  I'm hoping to get back to running in 2 weeks.  Eventually I'm hoping to run 2-3x per week, bike 2-3 times per week and swim 1-2 times per week during

2010 RACES: My first race this season is May 22nd- a sprint called 'Got Nerve' in Mt. Gretna, PA  I am hoping to do 2 other sprints and maybe an olympic.

NAME: Pattie

STORY: I'm 42 and this is was my 4th season of triathlon.  In '05, I was overweight and facing the prospect of being  a "fat 40-yr old".  I started walking for weight loss, got bored, and tried to run.  That was hard.  I built up to my first 5k in '05 then got a stress fracture.  I used the bike for cross training, threw in some swimming and that was it.  I did my first tri in June of '06.  Before tris, I rode and showed horses.  During show season, we did 2-4 shows a month.  That kept me pretty busy.  My show horse retired in '05 which freed up time for tris.  Now the horses are enjoying their retirement while I train. 

FAMILY STATUS: I'm married to a triathlete.  He did his first season in '08 and did his first HIM in August.  He's pretty fast and I can't keep up with him.  
 
CURRENT TRAINING: I did my first half marathon in Oct and took a month off after that.  Not totally off; I did weights, swam a bit and got back into the bike workouts.  Dec is about bringing back some run fitness and continuing with November's work.  January starts base training again.
2009 RACES: This year I did a 3 duathlons, 2 sprints, 2 olympics and a 1/3 iron (strange distance) and a half marathon.  There were also several running races in there too.  Yes, I like to race.  A lot.

2010 RACES: Yikes!  My schedule is kind of full.  The highlights include a 3 week block of Olys in June, my first HIM in mid July and a half marathon in Oct.  Insanity.

NAME: Jamie

STORY: I’m 36 and I live in Chicago, IL. I've run a lot of local 5 k runs and a few 10 K's, have done a few duathlons over the years.  This year I did 3 sprints.

FAMILY STATUS: Single.
 
CURRENT TRAINING: I'm in month 1 week 4 of the 2x 16 week Olympic Training Program that is posted on this site.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: Milwaukee Sprint, Chicago Sprint and Lake Carrol Sprint.

2010 RACES: Miami Olympic in March and New York Olympic in July.  I'm undecided on doing Chicago.

Hi Burak - good to have you on board!

Wow looks like you are in a great space 2.37 was awesome last year, 2:20 will be a hell of an achievement. Joe's book is great, I'm starting a belated prep phase now due to my back injury and the off-season is great for focussing on improving the swimming techniques. This is a great site for swimming http://www.swimsmooth.com/ 

Hi Stav, welcome to the first fellow Brit on the team! I had a similar story about 5 years ago when I went on for a run on January 1^st (another new years resolution) and was able to ‘run’ for only about 10 minutes. I needed motivation and built up to do the Lincoln 10k 3 months later and the rest as they say is history!

Good to hear you’re following a plan it helps enormously, don’t beat yourself if you miss the odd day and don’t double up to compensate it can do more harm than good. Having a mate in your camp too is a real bonus and well help keep you motivated.

Hi Chris, once a Yorkshire Man always a Yorkshire Man, I’m sure you full of Yorkshire grit and determination and 44 is a damn good age!

Regards your worries, first advice don’t be worried about them. You’ll find a fair few breaststrokers when you do your sprint tri, indeed it was my stroke for my first sprint in 2008, I’m still mastering crawl. Turning right will be no problem, also you’ll find that because most triathlons are early morning events and also as a slower swimmer you’ll be off early and on the road before most people are out of bed. Of course best thing to do is get used to it and once the course is published have a ride around it. Coming last is neither here nor there, you will have won your own race and can tell people you are a triathlete, makes a good dinner conversation. Good news regarding following the plan, as I said to Stav , don’t beat yourself if you miss the odd day and don’t double up to compensate it can do more harm than good

Welcome to our Welsh buddy, great to hear from you on congrats on completing your first tri this year, and hey don’t get hung up on times, you made it across the finish line. Interesting one re the disks, will you be able to pick up the running and cycling in time without further damage, what sort of timescale is involved. I know what you mean about not training, I’ve had to rest for the last 4 weeks to get my back in order and have just started to again, god I’ve been a grumpy person in the meantime. Let me know re the back and lets see if we can find a programme to help you.

Hi Oscar good to have you in the group. Fantastic news on the sprint last Sunday, well done, tell me how good it felt when you crossed the finish line, a great buzz!

I guess trying to get a regular training plan going when you run a business can be tough. I’m employed but travel a fair bit so its similar for me, I try to get something done very early in the morning to get the box ticked and not be derailed by things that come up during the day. Sounds like you have a good approach lined up, I’d throw a couple of 10ks in there too to get used to running that distance before the Olympic event. Core work is key, I’ll post a few exercises shortly, also if you can find a pilates or core work class near home it could help. How does the shoulder impact the front crawl, is it a limiter?

Good to have you in the camp Matt, and if you’re knocking out a 1hr 30 in that heat with no training then I would suggest there’s a fair bit of fitness in there buddy! Good to have a target but make sure its realistic, knocking 20 mins off is a tough goal, start thinking about where you think you can pull this back. I know what you mean about T2, I’m hopeless in transition, may as well sit down and have a cup of tea. Tell your good lady to relax, I think there’s an unwritten rule in triathlon that allows you to leave your dignity in the locker room! Re the plan if you are going to hit your aspirations you’ll need some structure, lets dig about and see what we can find.

Hi Eric glad you joined the team! Well done on your sprints and the move from BOP to MOP, I know how good that feels. Its good to have a fellow athlete in the house too and full respect to her as I know how tough marathons can be. Looks like your setting a good base for next year, I like Friel’s work and it makes a lot of sense. The winter is all about getting that base layer down and improving technique. I’m personally worried as I’ve missed the past 4 weeks due to injury so have missed a big chunk of base. Using heart rate is a great measure too, make sure you use it effectively and not like me sometimes who likes to see how high he can get it off the scale, not big and not clever!

Hello Erik, wow seems like there’s a lot going on in your world, nice one! I’m in a similar position on the back situation, but have light at the end of the tunnel now, hope you have too. Interesting name for the sprint, is it a tough one? Hell of an effort on the weight loss and now the cravings have gone that’s a massive positive. Looks like a good plan forming there once the back is sorted, guess I’m stating the obvious but sometimes it needs to be stated, take it nice and easy when you get back to training, I’m going to really have to hold myself back maybe we can support each other here.