Mav's Massachusetts Mentor Group/Full for the Season

Hi mav! I'd like to join your mentor group.

I'm Erin, 41 y.o., mom of 2 busy little boys, and 'retired' veterinarian.  I'm excited about 2012, my second season of triathlon.  I'm grateful for the mentoring I got last summer. Group workouts were fun and very encouraging!  Last summer I had a borrowed road bike - which didn't really fit me - and the generous loan of a wetsuit for OWS practice and races.  I did two sprint races (in Douglas and Webster MA) and had a great time!  

I'm interested in nutrition (maintaining my 2011 weight loss and fueling well for training), making a whole lot of improvement in my [S L O W] running, getting used to my new road bike, and moving up to some Oly-distance races.

Maybe some CT/RI folks would join us too ?

Cheers

Hi Mav!

Name: Peppah/Nancy

Story: I'm interested in training for a triathlon for a variety of reasons: getting in shape, losing weight, having fun and putting some focus somewhere besides work. I'm 53 years old, and work as an editor at a daily newspaper. I used to be a competitive swimmer and diver in high school, as well as a lifeguard. I've also taught swimming, so I have something to offer in that area. An open swim in lake or ocean does not scare me, but biking is a little scary for me. My town is really hilly so I don't ride very often. I began running last year, but stopped after an achilles injury. So I am really at the very beginning here.

Family Status: I am married for 26 years and have 4 children, 25, 24, 23 and 18. Just one left at home and everybody is very supportive, but probably won't join me in training.

Current training/Races: I am starting at square one with the 22-week triathlon plan I saw on BT. The first few weeks look very easy, really too easy, so starting out this week I have done a little bit more than the plan says. As far as races go, I think the She Rox Mav mentions sounds good and nearby; the Marlborough Tri is a good one, too. Some friends do that one and the swim looks doable. I was also thinking of doing one in my native New Jersey or Florida where I have family. Slow and easy is my plan. I really want to avoid getting injured. I have an old road bike that I had somewhat refurbished about a year ago, but I'm told bike technology has changed a lot since then.

Looking forward to being in this mentor group, building up my endurance, and learning from some experienced people.

-- Peppah

can y'all mentor each other?    seems neither of you lacks for great tri-wisdom

LRR, I have read The Book and I am a great fan of yours!   are you coming out to central Mass for our OWS practices??

Welcome Nancy! Good to have you here in the group!

Even if your plan seems slow now it will build and you will feel the challenge. Where swimnming is your strong sport you can always swim a little more on days where you feel the need for more training. BE VERY CAREFUL when increasing your running mileage/time. Follow the "10 % rule" Never increase your time/mileage more than 10% /week....it will likely lead to injury. As we get older our bodies are less excepting of the extra stress of running. Be super careful.

I would also suggest you pick a race and register. Then tell everyone you know!!! You will be fully committed at that point, no turning back. You also will be far less likely to skip a workout because of fear!!!!!!!

Thanks for the compliment Bryan!!!

Just so the group knows Bryan has been my mentor on BT for the past 4 years! he was also featured in the book "You Are an Ironman" by Jacques Stienberg.This is a great read !!!!

Bryan has been so supportive of my journey from the couch to becoming a triathlete and I am doubtful that it would have been as much fun without him!!!! His advice was priceless as I moved from doing sprints, olys, HIM and an IM. He actually suprised me and showed up at the athletes dinner two days before Ironman Arizona. He gave me some great advice for that race! I was there this year in Arizona when Bryan competed in the Ironman...unfortunately he visited me in the medical tent where I was volunteering. I was glad that he was OK and I could give him the boot!!!!

The mentor group forums are a great place to get advice and have the support of a group of like minded people!!!

Hope you are all ready for a nice winter weekend! I actually was able to ride my bike outside today! It was really nice.

One of the hardest things for me is to follow a good diet and drink plenty of water. SO I am going to begin with a group challenge.....Try to drink 64 ounces/day. This will make you feel full ( hence less grazing) and will help maintain hydration.

Let me know how this goes for you!!!!

M

My first week of the 22-week plan has gone pretty well, I think, despite some challenging things happening at work. Today I met a guy at the Y who showed me how to adjust one of those spin bikes, which I have never ridden before. Wow, what a workout, it is a huge difference and more like a real bike. I am off to Florida on Saturday, and look forward to doing my run/bike/swim outdoors! My mom, who lives down there is a swimmer, too, so we can do our laps together. She's 80 and amazing! Will get right on trying to drink the 64 ounces of water. I just put the BT app on my phone so I'll try that out while I'm away.

Nancy

Great job Nancy! You might want to sign up for a spin class. Cylcing on a staionary bike with others while music is playing makes the time go by a  lot faster!

Have fun  in Florida. I am jealous. Although temps here yesterday make winter quite tolerable.

Welcome Erica!!!!! Thanks for joining.

Cant wait to read your bio!!!!!Just so Nancy and Erin know...Erica has been on Bt as long as I have. She is a super woman! She goes to school full time and has 3 small children. AND she still manages to find time to train! So if you are having a day when you dont think you have enough time to train...think Erica...and think again. No excuses!!!!

Hows the water challenge going???? I did my 64 yesterday no problem. I took a 2 hour bike trainer and core class and I drank a ton...also sweat it all off ...so I drank 64 when I got home!!!

Its too quiet in here

Okay, I have a little time to write up a bio so here goes.

Name:  Erica

Family Status: Married for 12 years to a Navy guy.  We have three kids, Alex (10), Cole (8) and Liam (7).

Story:  How much time do you have?  I'll keep it short and sweet.  I got into triathlon because I had seen Kona on television when I was in high school and always wanted to do a tri.  But then life happened and I got married and had three kids and was majorly overweight (220 on a 5'8ish frame).  I got to the point that I was tired of being fat so I dropped about 75 pounds over time.  I was rapidly approaching my 30th birthday and I decided that it was time to revisit my goal of doing a triathlon before I was 30.  My husband was deployed so training gave me something to focus on instead of him being gone.  In June 2008 I completed my first sprint and I went on to do one more that year.  I then switched my focus to running half marathons.  I ran on in Oct and then one in Feb 2009 (this is where MAV comes in).  After the winter half marathon (which was a blast), Marianne says to me, "hey, you should do Patriot HIM with us, there are a bunch of us MA BTers who are doing it."  Sounds like fun so I signed up.  Long story short, I went into it grossly under trained but I completed it.  While I was cursing MAV during the bike leg of the race, I was very grateful at the finish line.  To this day, it remains my favorite tri experience (poison ivy on my arse and all).  After a year of injury and life happening in 2010, I completed two sprints in 2011 and had a blast.

As Marianne mentioned, I have an extremely busy life.  The kids schedules are nuts!  My daughter plays sports for her school and rec so I have her schedules, my 8 year old is special needs and his schedule is off the chart crazy and my 7 year old is in the process of being evaluated.  So, between doctor appointments, therapy appointments, basketball games/practices for the kids and my school schedule (I graduate in May), I am insanely busy.  But I train when I can.  It keeps me as sane...sort of. 

Current training:  I am only running right now.  I try to following BarryP's 3:2:1 plan when life allows.  I love running and winter running is my favorite.  My race schedule this year is undetermined.  My husband will be deploying for a year in May so I am not sure what races I'll be attempting.  I am hoping to get a sprint or two in but we'll see.

That is me in a nut shell.  I look forward to getting to know you guys.

Hi Peppah and Erica!  Nice to meet you. 

@P - I vote for Spin class too; I usually go twice a week at our Y; it can be a great workout

@E - I hear you on the special kiddos; my 5y.o. has specialists, 3 prescriptions, IEP, PT, OT, etc, and daily life is challenging with him.  My 2 y.o. is, well, just 2 (=wild!).    Kudos for managing your busy family and studying! and surviving spouse deployments!  My heart goes out to you-

The water challenge is OK by me; I start drinking water in the morning next to my coffee, and I carry a sports bottle around all day every day and drink a lot.  I've been tracking my calories in/out for the past year and note the water too. 

I did yoga+bootcamp+run+family swim on Saturday and a (rather crummy) long run today, so quite worn out now, and probably should take off tomorrow. 

Cheers,

Erin

I just registered!  Anybody else in for the New England Season Opener sprint?  This is in my town!  All BTers welcome to brunch at my house afterwards!

http://www.maxperformanceonline.com/neopenerrace.html

I am probably going to do this race. If I dont do it I will volunteer for it. I am hesitant to register for a race too ealry as I have forfieted lots of $$ from not being able to race due to injury

Come on Erica...you can sleep over the night before...we can drink beer. It will help us sleep

Im coming for brunch Erin

Nancy this can also be done as a duathlon if you dont want to swim in really cold water for your first race. Run bike run...come join us.

Nancy I am jealous that you are in Florida.....even though we have had a mild winter I miss riding outside.

I completely missed the water goal yesterday. Life was busy and I forgot to bring enough with me.  Today is a new day.

I am looking for a good 10K to run in the next month or two...any suggestions

Hi Mav,

I've been lurking here and was wondering if I could join.  I don't live in MA, but I REALLY want to.  Does that count?  (I really live in upstate NY, but I have a house in Truro so I spend a lot of time driving through MA) I was in a mentor group last year and really enjoyed it.

Here's my info:

Name: Courtney (tribeagle).

Story: I’m almost 41 (March) and have been a runner/swimmer since I was a kid. I bought my road bike at the end of the summer in ’06.  Did my first tri in ’07.  I’ve done a bunch of sprints, a few duathlons, and two Olympics.  Friends somehow convinced me to sign up for the Pittsburgh Marathon in ’09, but that attempt ended in a stress fracture.  I did manage 2 sprints that summer, but the first one back was more of a swim/bike/hobble.  I started 2010 with a round of P90X (loved it and dropped ~15 lbs).  Coming into marathon training stronger, lighter, and with a better base, I successfully completed the Twin Cities Marathon that year.  Somehow I went a little marathon nutty and ran four in 2011!  I also managed to squeeze one sprint in there though my bike training was essentially zero!

Family Status:  Married, no kids, just dogs (beagles if you didn’t guess from the screen name)

Current Training/Races:  I just started P90X2.  Somehow those 15 lbs I dropped before found their way back, so I’d like to get rid of them again!  I’m still on the fence right now, but I think I would like to attempt a HIM in July (Musselman inGeneva,NY).  I said this last year too but I thought about it for too long and it filled up.  I need a push off the fence!  After that, I am thinking about a late fall marathon in which I would try for a PR.  I went 4:09 at Twin Cities and would really love to get under 4:00.

I have been trying to drink more water!