Tri-Meds FORMERLY medic0020's Group - CLOSED

Hi! I would love to join your group!
Like yourself, I also work long hours. I'm in the third year of my surgery residency and work roughly 80-hours a week. I used to be an active triathlete in medical school (about 5 years ago) and have since fallen away from training for them. I ran a half-marathon last year and felt great, but I reallllllly miss triathlons and am eager to get back into them. This is my hardest year of residency and next year I hope to have a lot more free time.

Just a little about my background....I live in a cold climate (Buffalo, NY) with my very supportive husband. No children yet.

My goals for this year....a few 5Ks early this coming year and a few sprint distance triathlons over the summer.

Ultimate goal...the big one!! Ironman.

What I need help with....motivation to get out there when I'm post-call, tired and lazy.

Thanks for considering me!!

Glad to have you...now you just need to specialize in orthopedics so that you can pay us back later!

I would like to join your group. I too am a paramedic. I am a 40 year old (41 in Jan) mother of a 22 year old daughter. In January of 2006 I weighed 320 pounds, had gastric bypass surgery and have lost 140 pounds. I made the decision this fall to prepare for a triathlon. It is something that has always intrigued me, however, I was never physically fit enough to accomplish that goal. I decided to complete a triathlon as a challenge to myself. I will be racing against no one else but myself. I really don't care if I come in dead last so long as I finish. It will be such an accomplishment for me. I also have difficulty fitting in my training time because of my work schedule. Besides my full-time job as a paramedic, I also work several part time jobs as a paramedic and EMS instructor and I volunteer as a firefighter/paramedic. I hope to gain insight here into training strategies. I have never been a runner and that is the aspect of tri that concerns me the most.

Thanks
Wendy

I would like to join this group!

Like two of you I'm a Paramedic. I work in Oregon as a paid firefighter/ paramedic for the city of Medford. Love doing long hours and trying to train early or on duty. Got rope into doing a half ironman with a good friend from High school in March. I'm married and have two great kids.

I'v have been cycling for the last two years and grew-up surf and running. Last summer did about 150 miles a week on the bike. I hope to get fit and to get down to 190-195, I started Last month at 217, I've tried to keep a good log on my work-outs and food intake.

Last week found a sun spot and been out of the pool for this week, waiting for steches to be pulled.

Kevin Watt

PS, I hate writing and can't spell sorry.

Ok, I'm not a paramedic or anything like that, but I work in healthcare...does that mean I can join this group?

Name's Peggy. 28, single, living in the armpit of Wisconsin (seriously...take a look at where Kenosha is on a map).

Truth be told, I was inspired by triathlons for the FIRST time probably about 10 or so years ago. I was over at a friend's house and somehow we ended up watching IM-Kona on TV. I thought it was so cool, and that the people were completely insane. It did not occur to me that it would ever be something I would be able to do, at any distance. At that time, I weighed well over 300 lbs and was about as athletic as a slug. Keep in mind that I was in high school at the time (senior year-ish) and wasn't popular or pretty. Book worm/music geek was me.

Fast forward to last summer. A friend of mine did a sprint tri (Subaru Women's Tri in Naperville, IL) and told us about it. At that point, I was into my 3rd year of weight loss and was down about 60 lbs from my all time high. She really inspired me because she'd lost over 100 lbs and had totally changed her life and went for doing a tri. I thought it was so cool, so I started doing research (told you-bookworm uber-geek) and started a couch to 5k program (that's how I found this sight...the program was less aggressive then others I'd seen...didn't scare me as much).

So, all in all, I've been pondering and researching and trying to work on training for the past 5-6 months. I had a really bad ankle sprain in September that really put a crimp in my giddyup, but it's better, so I'm back at it. I've done 1 2-mile race, 1 5k so far. I'm really slow and I still have about 60 lbs to loose (I've lost 75 thus far). Honestly (I have this in my blog), I wonder if I can really do it. I took a tri-cycling class last night at my gym and really just wanted to quit. I'll try really hard not too...I have swim lessons starting January (I'm basically as bottom rung as you can get as far as being in any sort of condition), and I'm getting a bike on Saturday (a borrowed one-mine was stolen in September...Sometimes I wonder if that and the sprain are God trying to tell me something...) and I'm working my way back up in my running. I honestly don't WANT to quit, but I wonder if I can actually do it (perfect person in need of a mentor/inspires...HELP!)

The first tri I'm looking to do is the Danskin-Chicagoland Sprint.


Ps...sorry this is so long...I talk too much in real life, too...


Edited by maggyruth 2006-12-20 8:58 AM

This is great! I'm going to put you all on my "friends" list on my training log, so please feel free to critique, inspire, etc! I'm really excited about all of this!
I think we need a team name! OK, I'm a complete dork.

Missy

Hello everyone!

I think this might be the right group for me. I am 32, married mother of 2 busy kids (3 and 5). I'm an E.R. nurse married to a full time firefighter/paramedic. He works 24/48s and I work my schedule around his so that we don't have to use day care. This is a wonderful solution for the kids, but it means that I have to juggle what to do with my kids when I need to work out. My schedule is very different from day to day as I work 8, 10, and 12 hour shifts ranging anywhere between 6am until 2am. I have never been extremely heavy, but I have a constant 10-15 pounds that I need to lose and a love of junk food that I struggle to control. I've never been athletic, and most of my friends would burst out laughing at the thought of me doing a triathlon. I am known as a clutz and a bookworm. None the less, I have been thinking about doing a triathlon for a couple of years now. I am sure that I will be finishing DFL, but that is OK with me as long as I finish.

I think that my biggest problem is going to be the swimming. I have never taken a lesson in my life. I am capable of swimming well enough to keep myself from drowning, but not much better. I can ride a bike well enough to stay upright, and I can run slowly for 1-2 miles, so I will also need to work on my endurance for those.

We are going to be traveling for Christmas, so I am hoping to start training soon after. I am about as new a newbie as you can get, but I am really hoping I can accomplish this! I hope that this group will be able to help steer me in the right direction.

Thanks!

Mary

It sounds like we've got a really interesting mix of people, experience, and even goals. First, I'd suggest that we all use the Friends links to keep up with each other. Second, feel free to either post comments under our group or PM me if you'd prefer a more private discussion.

I guess a good start would be to list out our goals for this next year, whether they be races, weight loss, or even just a time/distance goal. I've been fortunate to have a coworker who is a former professional fitness trainer and triathlete who has been able to help me thru the first year. I still wouldn't have gotten hooked without this site though. I didn't find it until July (my first race was July 22nd), and it has made me much more accountable to myself. The best thing I did was to download a training plan. That was a great start. Recently, I've picked up a coach and having to send her my logs has made me even more accountable. I think that using this group can help provide that accountability in a positive manner. We're not going to send nasty messages when someone misses a workout---believe me, I miss my share as well. But--I think you'll find that having someone else see your numbers keeps you honest.

So--let's hear your yearly goals for 07. Also, let's start with setting a goal for one sport for January. I'd say pick your worst one because that's the one we all neglect. Set a number that's reachable but will require persistence on your part to reach.

For Me--

3-10k Race by May
Half Mary by Sept
5 Sprint Tri's 2007
**MAP March 07 1:23:00
**White Lake or Clemson May 07
**Latta June 07
**JF Hurley July 07
**Lake Norman Aug 07
2 Olympic Distance Tri's
**Over the Mtn May 07
**Lake Logan Aug 07
1.2 mile Dammed River Swim
4 Endurance TT's at Speedway Break 25:00
Half-Iron Man 2007???
**SC Half Oct 07
or **Great Floridian Half Oct 07

January--Run is my weakness. I'm shooting for 3 runs per week, totaling at least 12 miles per week. I'm shooting for one if not two 8k races in January which will be my longest "official" run ever.

one last thing I forgot about---curious where everyone is from--

I'm from Charlotte, NC

Hello again,

I plan on doing the following;

March 31, half Ironman, oceanside, CA
April 14, 10 mile, Medford, OR
June 23, half ironman, Bend, OR
July 14-15, 205mile ride, seattle to portland

and still looking for later.

I hope to also lose about 15 pounds.

I'm from Talent, OR, just outside of Medford, southern Oregon.

Lot's of great races posted for this up coming year.

My goals this year are all time related.....
1. Actually stick to an exercise routine and fit it into my schedule
2. 2 x 5K's by May
3. 2 Sprint distance races this summer
4. Maybe an olympic distance event at the end of this summer


I really need to focus on biking this January...it's definately my worst.

By the way, I'm from Buffalo NY and my stong event is swimming. I was a varsity swimmer in college and swam competatively for most of my life. I also coached swimming for many years. If anyone needs advice, let me know!

Ok, thought you guys would appreciate this--

I've spent all day today dealing with huge issues with my ex-wife and trying to make it to my two childrens' holiday parties. All day, I've been trying to figure out how to get my swim and run in today. I finally got back to work, spent some time behind the desk and then went for a swim. I had to cut the swim short (1450yds) because I had figured out exactly how much time I had left to travel back to work, change clothes, get on the treadmill, get cleaned up, eat, and then jump on an ambulance for an 1845 shift tonight. On the way back, I hear a call go out and I'm 3 blocks from a cardiac arrest. I jump the call and end up pronouncing this poor guy dead. He's been down for a few hrs but his wife just found him. So, the whole time I'm sitting there frustrated because this screwed up my time schedule. I had decided to bag the run when I realized that if I just didn't eat, I could squeeze in about 3 miles...So...that's what I did. Now, I'll just have to try to catch some food whenever I get the chance tonight. I've officially decided that I'm fully committed to this triathlon thing now. I knew I was hooked, but tonight has really shown me how much my lifestyle has changed since July of last year.

Eric

Ok, here are my goals for 2007:

Weight loss-
**Be closer to 200 lbs then to 250 (I still have to break out of the 250s)
**Train consistently (starting w/ 3xs per week and moving up from there)

Time goals-
**Run a mile in under 15 minutes (see, told you I'm REALLY slow)

Races-
**2 or 3 5ks before tri-season starts
**Danskin Sprint Tri (7/07)
**Pleasant Prairie Sprint Tri (8/07)

What I will concentrate on in January:
**I'm at the complete bottom when it comes to all the disciplines...really. I would say I'm going to concentrate most on the swim portion in January and into February. I've signed up for adult swim lessons that start the 2nd week of January. I figure the swim is the one part where I could really die (ie, drown), so I'd better start working on that ASAP. I would just like to be able to swim w/ my face in the water without hyperventilating.

We had a suggestion to come up with a name--Anybody want to start us off with a recommendation?

I hope everyone had a good holiday. It's always hard to find time to fit in a workout around family obligations. I'm looking forward to things slowing down now, so that I can keep my rhythm going with my workouts.

OK, this is going to sound hokie, what about the The Tri-Med's.

Hope your all doing well and had a good x-mas and have a happy new year.

Kevin

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a great holiday. Now I'm anxious to get back to work...training and residency (I've been on a two week hiatus, which was wonderful!). Just a small plea for some support over then next few weeks...will be working my tail off and studying for an exam at the end of January. Please send some words of encouragement my direction. By the way, Tri-Meds is a good name! I certainly don't have anything better.

Missy

Happy 2007 Everyone!

I am finally done with all the Chritmas craziness and now I am ready to get working on some training! I am really not in very good shape, but I know from experience that if I am even a little bit consistant, I make pretty good strides. I was out really late last night and had a bit to drink, so when my children woke me up at 7am today, I decided that today is a good day to be nice to myself.

My goals for today are to figure out how this site works so that I can make the most of it. I also want to figure out how to add you all to my friends list so that I can try to be encouraging. I also plan to make a meal and exercise plan for this week. If I don't have exercise actually figured into my schedule, I don't do it. I also need to shop for the week, or I will find myself eating fast food. I am afraid that my only exercise today will be house work, but I have enough vacuuming and mopping to do that it should count as aerobic activity.

My goals for January are to:
- Develop a consistant, planned exercise program and work out 3-4 days per week
- Develop a meal plan and eat out a maximum of 1 time per week.
- Focus on swimming correctly with rotary breathing. By the end of January I would like to be able to swim 4 laps with proper breathing and without stopping.
- Work on flexibility. I currently have none, so anything I do will be an improvement

My goals for this year are:
- Get comfortably into a size 8 - 10 and maintain my weight in that range.
- Do a 5k in April.
- Do the Naperville Sprint Triathlon in August.

I really appreciate the fact that I have all of your support! I can't wait to see what we all can accomplish!

Oh, I'm good with Tri-meds. It really seems to fit us!

There's a couple of common themes among all of us. Whether we're participating in races for competition or just to prove something to ourselves, we're all battling time demands placed on us by our families and our careers. The biggest thing that I've learned, and continue to re-learn the hard way, is that consistency is the key to success. Even if you have to cut a workout short, just getting it done is important. I know that not everyone wants to pay for the BT memberships, but I'm a big fan of downloading plans. It gives me something to compare myself. I've learned now how to customize these plans and set my own schedule for the week. I feel even more strongly about meeting those goals, since I know they were designed specifically for me.

Happy New Year!

*Tomorrow's a big day here in NC. The company that puts on most of the races in NC/SC opens up their registrations for all of their races tomorrow. I've got to drop a pretty good chunk of change tomorrow on my commitments for the year. Three of my nine races close out on the first day of registration historically. Paying that money up front will definitely keep me on schedule!

Eric

Happy New year!!

Hope is all going well, been very busy for our family lately, been staying up with the work outs while at work, love holidays at the fire station, other then all the goodies people been dropping by, will power right, well will power not to eat all of it. Don't get to start the work outs till 1600 and usually dark when I start my running part, just got a lcd arm band and head light, stay safe out there and keep having fun.

Looking into a wet suit any one have any type they like or use?
Kevin

I bought a long john suit, Blue Seventy Reaction, at the end of this season. It's been sitting in the box on a shelf in my office...just itching to use it. I keep saying I'm going to take it to the Y for a 5am swim one of these days for a test run.

It took me a bit to find the group...nifty name.

I just signed up for my first tri. I'm going to be doing the Spirit of Racine Sprint tri on July 21, 2007 (athena catergory). Ack!!

Lucky you--we just crashed the system here in NC. All the NC/SC/VA races were supposed to go up at noon for the first time, and we killed it.

Spirit of Racine registration has been open forever...I just got sick and tired of waiting on Danskin to open theirs, and decided to go for this one...I'm going to try to volunteer at the HIM the next day, too...

Congrats on sign up for your first tri, hope all your training goes good.

I'm trying to get into the him in Sunriver, Oregon and can't get anyone to call back. I believe it may be full, but can't tell by there web site.

kevin