mndiver's Group - FULL

Can I join? I am opening the year with a half mary and want to do the SC HIM on 9/29 to end the season, with sprints and maybe an oly thrown inbetween.

I am 34, married almost 12 years (in March) and my husband and I are currently waiting for the referral of our first child. We are adopting a baby girl from China and hope to be over there picking her up this time next year!

Last year I was 197 lbs and miserable. I signed up with TNT and started running. I completed the RNR marathon in June in a whopping 6.5 hours. I loved running, but it was too much wear and tear on my body, so I started tri training to vary it up a bit. I am a pretty good swimmer, having lifeguarded, taught swimming lessons, and even did some competing in my younger days. I have never done an OWS, and that kind of concerns me. I need to practice that, but with no wetsuit, I'll have to wait...Biking is new to me as of this past summer. Running- I am getting better and faster.

I am now about 144-146 and will be starting my husband's "boot camp" on January 2nd. He is going to take my tri training and add weight lifting into it to help me gain some muscle and strengthen my core to help with all my tri sports. I also want to drop that last 20 lbs and have a smoking hot bod! We plan to follow the abs diet, as it seems like a very healthy approach. I was doing weight watchers but realize I was not getting enough calories for all the training I was doing and I was not getting enough protein. Hopefully this will change!

I would love the encouragement of a team and would love to cheer on others in the same boat!

Bryan, I'll ask him for sure! He's an ex football player guy too, and trying to drop weight (the story of our lives!) as well.

I'm just maintaining status quo until the New Year with the exception of my training for the half mary. This week is a recovery week, so my long on Saturday will be less this week.

Tues: trainer ride, 30 minutes (only 30 'cause I have lots of baking to do as well as Christmas cards to finish, not to mention laundry and cooking dinner- spaghetti)- you know, no rest for the weary!

Wed: get up early for my run- will do 3 miles, should take about 35 minutes including warm up and cool down. Have a nail appt in the evening. Priorities peeps, priorities! Got to have pretty hands for opening up all my presents!

Thurs: trainer ride- 30 min- have to take my MIL (she lives with us) to get her hair fixed, so there is a slight chance this may not happen or may not be all 30 minutes, but I'm going to try!

Friday: off- going out with dear hubby to dinner- we got a $50 gift card to a local steak place! woo hoo!

Saturday: 7 mile run in the morning- better lay off the salad Friday night (LOL)

Sunday: off, cleaning house for Santa- he likes a tidy house!

Monday: 3.5 mile run in the evening (yes I'm gonna run on Christmas day- got to keep with the schedule, and it only takes 45 minutes!)

Tuesday: another trainer ride, 30 minutes at least.

Bryan: I think I will check out ebay and Neosport after the holidays- probably February after my bank account has had time to grow a little! Yes, the weather here is perfect for outdoor running, but I only get to on the weekends as I am leery of running in the dark. 2 weeks ago, it was 27 when I finished my run. Yesterday it was 76 when I left work. Go figure...

Good to know that you know a lot about weightlifting. I am getting excited about my husband's boot camp. I know my strength and flexability is an area I need to work on, and I am ready to see some improvement! He said his main focus on me will probably be shoulders, back, triceps, abs, hip flexors and quads. Wait a minute, that's just about everything...

Scott: from a woman's perspective, shoulders and chest are the first thing I notice about a guy- my hubby has very nice shoulders and chest

Dave: I bought a Trek 1000C( same as pilot now) and love it, although I think I've already outgrown it somewhat. I will probably add clip on aerobars this summer and who knows what else. By the time you add on the seat I had to replace, the clipless pedals, the shoes, the helmet, the biking shorts, etc. I probably already have $1200 wrapped up in this bike, even though the bike was less than $600. So I'll be keeping it for a while unless I come across a super super duper deal. BTW, I ride a 50cm bike, but could probably use a 48 or 49 if you see any good deals!

Have a good week everyone!

I second this... go to Craigslist and your local paper. You should be able to find a good bike for your price range that's used. Here's the thing, people who sell their good road bikes are doing so for one of 2 reasons.

1. They are upgrading

2. They never ride.

So, if #1 is the case, you are most likely getting a well maintained bike, and if #2 is true, you are getting a bike with very few miles on it- practically brand new...

The only thing I would recommend is getting a professional fit from a local bike shop. Since I started at a LBS, I got fitted with my purchase, but I understand getting fit for a bike can make all the difference. Maybe go and see what size bike you need, tell them you are going to get a used bike but that you will use them for the pro fit (usually around $100- if you find a bike for $200 this will work) and/or for the accessories. (Bike helmet, bike shorts, etc).

Oh and by the way, you can get by without clipless pedals but they do make a difference. And there's a huge difference in the comfort level of a walmart helmet and a good helmet. And trust me you want the shorts with the padding in them. These you can get online for a decent price. I started off with one pair and just washed them a bunch, but 2 pair is a luxury....