BHannahs's Group - FULL!

Hi Brain-
I am interested in joining your group.

NAME: Sterling – screen name utahrunner

STORY: 40 year old man living in southern utah.  Married with 3 kids (9,8 & 4) so training is also sporadic but I do get in 4-6 days a week pretty regularly.  Looking to got to 200lbs by the end of the year (currently 235).  I did 2 sprinter last year, and enjoy it so much I’m hooked.

CURRENT TRAINING: I have committed to myself to s/b/r   2x a week. I swam in high school and started back year ago and like the swim best,  just started biking last year and have enjoyed and seen the most improvement.  Run I just hate, but getting faster (10 minute mile). 

2010 RACES:
May – St. George Tri (sprint)
Jun – utah summer games (oly)
Sep – Kokopelli Tri (sprint)
Oct – St. George Marathon
          Pumkinman Tri  (oly or 1/2)

2011 Silver Man 1/2
2012 St. George Ironman

Welcome, Sterling!  I look forward to working with you.  You are right - it's easy to get hooked after a couple of sprints. I see Silverman on your calendar for next year.  I hear it's an incredible race - hopefully, I'll be able to share my experience this coming November with you as you prepare, from one Clyde to another!

Edited to add:  Looks like you are familar with the BBSC races - they do a GREAT job.  Pumpkinman is one of my favorites - I've done the Olympic twice!

Let's get a little more conversation going as we wait for some others to join in.  It looks like your next race is coming up in mid-May (SG Tri).  Do you have any goals set for the race?  Are you following a structured plan, or are you just doing training sessions as your schedule allows? 

Hello, and welcome!  Even though four months is a short timeframe to prepare for a 1/2 IM, it sounds like you have a very strong base to work from (at least in swimming and biking), so the goal strikes me as reasonable.  Do you have a race picked out?  The goal is especially manageable considering your desire looks to be finish rather than a defined time goal (which is what I always recommend for the first attempt at a new distance).  Four months is a long enough timeframe to bring your run up to where you want it, considering your starting point of overall fitness. 

Even though I am not a coach, and therefore wouldn't be the best source of a training plan, I think I can steer you in the right direction.   There are plans available on BT for 1/2 IM distance, and they can be imported directly into your training log.  If you don't see a free plan you like, you might consider one of the memberships - they include additional structured plans to select from.  I can also recommend a book - Training Plans for Multisport Athletes, by Gale Bernhardt.  I used one of her plans to prepare for Ironman Arizona last November and it worked very well for me. 

Training for your 70.3 will definitely assist you with achieving your other goals of fat loss and physical and mental shape improvement.  I have found nothing better than setting and reaching tri related goals to help me feel in the best shape of my life and that I can conquer anything that life throws at me. 

I'll keep track of your training and help you along in any way that I can.  Ask plenty of questions, both on this thread as well as the other forums - BT is a huge wealth of information and there are fantastic, helpful people who can answer questions on nearly any topic imaginable. 

Once again, welcome to the mentor group - we'll all help one another reach our goals this summer!

Hi, Dave!  Welcome!  Great to hear from a fellow Clydesdale and a huge congratulations on your podium finish in your duathlon!!

From what you have written, it sounds like your training is going very well.  I also really like how you have your races scheduled with a steady build toward Redman.  You are already well on your way to getting there with your long bike distances and swim sessions.  Now to September is plenty of time to gradually (and I emphasize gradually - us larger athletes especially run the risk of injury if we try to increase our run distances too quickly) build your run distances to get into that 10-15 mile range for a long run.   Your rate of increasing 1/2 - 1 mile every two weeks is ideal - right on target.

I undestand your transition from 'just finish' to 'want to do better'.  I went through the same thing my first couple of years. Once you see that you can complete the distance, you want a new goal and improvement becomes the benchmark.  Even though you seem to have a pretty good handle on things, it sounds like you want a group to serve as a 'collective conscience' to keep you on track.  Good news - you have come to the right place!  Within our group, we'll track each other's training and inspire one another.  Over the years, I have found that logging my training on BT and knowing that my friends would be checking in daily has been an incredible way to remain consistent.  I look forward to logging every training session so that when someone looks, they can see what I did that day.  It's been very effective for me.  Even though you track elsewhere, I encourage you to log here.  It will allow the group to see your training and encourage you.  It also will help me to answer questions you might have about training, as well as assist people with answering your questions on other forums if your questions are outside the scope of my experience. 

I'm excited to have you as part of the group - once again, welcome!!

Just wanted to start a list so that everyone in the group can add the other members as friends on your training logs.  This will allow us to follow each other's training and inspire one another.  So far...

bhannahs

utahrunner

flip18436572

dmwill37

Logging your workouts here isn't a necessity, but it is helpful for a couple of reasons:

1)  It gives a basis for others to give feedback when you have questions, or just to encourage you.  I find the logs to be a great motivator.

2)  It lets you look back to analyze your progress - not only for totals, but trending as well

If you can't get online often, you could write your training down and enter it when you get a chance to online - just a thought...

Hi, Erica, and welcome!  Before I say anything else, I wanted to recommend that you see a doctor to discuss your injuries, if you haven't already.  It is important that you are able to determine the difference between training through pain and discomfort and doing further damage.  That said, there may be a couple of things that you can do to minizmize the impact that your injuries have on your training. 

With your swimming, is your shoulder injury troublesome with freestyle only, or with all strokes?  Freestyle is the fastest way to get through the water, but if swimming breast stroke or back stroke is more comfortable, you might consider doing one of them instead.  As far as your knee injury goes, is it painful constantly?  Every time you run?  Building distance and speed slowly is the most effective way to avoid and/or lessen the aggravation of an injury.  There are also some run methods that many people have recommended that may be effective for you - POSE, Galloway, and Chirunning.  You can do a search on BT or on google to find more information about these methiods.  Proponents of these running styles believe that they are able to run further with less injury by using them.  By trying them, you might find one that allows you to run with less or no pain. 

Please provide some additonal information, and maybe I can direct you further.  I would love to hear that you are able to continue training for your goal races.  Welcome to the group!    

poolgirl1963 - 2010-04-19 5:43 AM My name is Susan and I just completed my first sprint tri yesterday.  The open water swim nearly killed me and I am a swimmer.  I just need help !  Please let me know if you still have space.

Hi, Susan, and welcome!!  I hope that the rest of your event went well after you got out of the water.  You are here, so that at least indicates that you're hooked enough to keep trying! 

You certainly are not the first experienced swimmer who has had trouble in open water, so you have plenty of good company.  Personally, I struggled with open water for a long time before I was comfortable - my comfort in the pool just wouldn't translate to my open water events.  What, specifically, gave you trouble?  If you can tell me what you were feeling and experiencing, I can give you some specific tips that helped me.  In all cases, however, open water practice as often as possible is a good approach.  Looking forward to hearing more about it.  Welcome to the group!!  

Every race is an experience, isn't it?!?  I think I have learned something new in every race I have ever done!  It's tough to set a time goal the first time out - you don't know what to expect.  Like you, I remember vividly something that I learned in my first race - your first tri is not the best time to do your first open water swim.  I freaked out at the opening gun and it was a STRUGGLE!    Getting used to the wetsuit can take a little practice, but it sounds like you have a good plan of attack now.  Also, upping your sessions to 2x/week for each sport will pay huge benefits.  You also have made a great decision to preview the bike course by riding it.  You'll know where to push the pace and where you'll need to conserve.  It sounds like you're setting yourself up for a much better experience the second time out.  You don't need a structured plan to be successful - just running, riding, and swimming as often as you are able can get it done.  It can be a long process, but you will see improvement over time.  Can't wait to see how you do on the same course this year!

Very true.  I have been a little bit afraid each time I have tried a new distance.  Everyone is different, but I always like to do each distance (or close to it) in training at least once during training - just not together on the same day.  This removes some of the fear for me, and takes some of the mystique out of that particular distance.  But I am also living proof that you don't NEED to put in 20 hours/week of training to complete any distance, including IM.  My plan maxed out at a little over 13 hours in my biggest week.  The caveat here is that I just wanted to finish - anything under the cutoff was just icing on the cake.  Those that want to finish at a particular place in their age group or are chasing a slot for Kona would likely have a different approach.  It's also true that moderating intensity during training sessions is a good way to improve - throwing in some intervals at higher intensities has helped me to get better training sessions out of less time. 

Hi, Carly, and welcome!  Doing a sprint this year is definitely doable based on what you have written.  And don't think that you need a tri bike or anything fancy when you are just starting out.  For a first sprint, any bike that you can ride safely will do.  Your spin classes ahve gotten you started on getting some bike fitness, but it would be helpful to find a real bike and get out on the road for some practice.  If you have an old bike collecting dust in the garage, take it into a shop and have it checked for safety.  If you don't have one at all, start looking at garage sales, Craigslist, or other classifieds.  Once you have done a sprint or two and decide that you really enjoy tris, then you can start shopping around for a bigger investment (and believe me - it has happened to a lot of us once we get hooked)!

Start slowly with the running, if you haven't already.  Walk a little and run a little, trying to run a little more each time out.  You'll find your running distances increasing each week, and if you take it slowly, you should be able to make moderate increases without getting hurt (a general rule of thumb is the 10% rule - don't add more than 10% to your time or distance each week). 

Keep checking in with your progress and any questions you have as you get going. Welcome to the group!!

Updated group list...

bhannahs

utahrunner

flip18436572

dmwill37

Jax32709

poolgirl1963

daisyzmom

Hi, Fernando, and welcome to the group!  Congratulations on all of these positive changes.  We'll do everything we can to help you get ready for June.  It sounds like you already have the bike endurance down!  Being part of our group will help you with consistency.  The group members will be listed as friends in your training log (look at the next post for instructions for how to add people to your friends list) and we'll be checking in to leave you 'inspires'.  I have found that knowing people will be checking in helps to motivate me to be consistent.  So, have you started a swim or run program?  Given that your target race is in June, I hope that you have begun to swim and run.  Let us know where you are and we'll get you going from there. 

Once again, we're glad to have you aboard!

Someone asked the pertinent question regarding how to add people to your friends list.  Here are instructions.  I hope that you'll all add each other to your list...

From your training log page, click on settings at the top.  Click the tab for training log customization.  You will then see a friends tab.  When you click on it, you'll open a list.  You can enter the screen names in the blanks.  Then you click on update friends at the bottom and they will appear on your training log.  Let me know if you have any trouble.  Thanks!