triOK's Group - CLOSED

Welcome Leslie!  Glad to have you along with us!

It looks like we are going to have some of my mentees from the January mentor group also with us so ask away with any questions you may have.  I will do my best to get the answers for you!

Hi Erin!  Welcome to the group!  Do you have a race in mind that you would like to start training for?

Yeah, everyone is going to think you are crazy, but you get used to it after a while.  I do most of my training by myself, and most of the time I prefer it that way.  I rarely ride my bike alone but that is for safety reasons.

So if you have any questions at all, feel free to ask!

Yeah, I guess.

I’d like to join up again!  In addition to the advice, the camaraderie and encouragement is fantastic.  I’m definitely further along now than if I wasn’t in Robyn’s group through the Spring! 

My name is Bob and I just turned 40 in October.  I had really let myself slip over the last couple of years, so finally at New Years, I decided it was time to do something.  For a few weeks, I just started exercising at home.  My plan was to lose a pound a week for 30 weeks to go from 210 to 180.  Then I remembered that I always wanted to do a triathlon.  After a search, I came across this site and haven’t turned back! 

I’ve just about hit my goal weight, about 2 mos early.  The way I did it is cutting out all the junk food and virtually all fried, except for the occasional cake for a birthday or something, and consistency with the training.  Now I don't really think about the weight, just the triathlons.  Once I hit 180 on my official Monday weigh in, that stuff will get wiped out of my logs! 

I first started on the Beginner Exercise Program, which was fantastic for starting out.  During the 3^rd month, though, I realized it wasn’t aggressive enough for me for the triathlons.  So I switched to the Run Focused 16 week Sprint plan.  Again, not aggressive enough since there were only 2 days of swimming and biking.  I’m now on the 3x 16 week Sprint plan.  That one fits what I’m doing perfectly. 

My plan is a Sprint tri in August and another in September.  I’m comfortable that I could do one now, but I’m going to keep going with the plan and hopefully be more successful!  After this year, I’m planning on continuing with them and going into longer distances.  Olympic definitely for next year.

If you check your workout log, we will all leave you inspires... which are daily notes to remind you to do your workouts!!!  You can also leave inspires for other people which are really nice to see when you are having a bad day or just need some extra motivation.

I bought clipless pedals with my mountain bike shoes two weeks ago - of course I haven't put them on yet.  My original thought was to get toe clips, but the pedals were only $25 more.  They had me try them out on a bike in the shop, and I couldn't believe the difference!  It definitely made pedaling much more efficient.  It was quite a step up from tennis shoes, to mountain bike shoes, to mtn bike shoes with toe clips, to mtn bike shoes with clipless pedals.  Each of those made a nice improvement!

Gator - my thoughts are that you should put them on to try it out.  If you get used to them, then great!  If not, take them back off before the race - no harm done (unless you fall and break your leg because you can't get your foot out).

Here's what I've done (and am still doing) for weightloss.

My normal weekday routine is getting up and going to the gym first thing (arrive by 5:45 or so).  After my workout, I fill up a 32 oz bottle of water and drink most of that with a serving of healthy cereal and a banana as I drive to work.  The cereals I have are usually either Go Lean, or one of the ones from Nature's Path - Rebound, Slim, or Power (the Slim is not as filling, so I've been staying away from that).

By mid-morning, I've had two cups of coffee already, then have more water and a PowerBar - high protein (at least 10g), high fiber, low fat.  Don't get ones smothered in chocolate.

For lunch I usually have a grilled chicken sandwich and water, or else sushi rolls.  No combos (i.e. no french fries!)

Mid afternoon - more water, and fruit

Drive home - water

When I get home, if I'm hungry I'll have a handful of peanuts.

For dinner, I don't go crazy with health foods only, but I do make sure it's low fat, and I keep the portion size down.  I won't eat again after dinner, but of course I'll have more water!

Keys to my diet - no fried foods, plenty of water, 3 small portion sizes for meals and 2 snacks so I don't go hungry.

That's half!

The other half is consistency in training.  I did start heavy on the stationary bike which definitely helped (just no random program!).  That built up my endurance and enabled me to move on to running, swimming better, and regular biking.

I also do somewhat light lifting.  Definitely not bodybuilder quality, but enough to build muscle mass which has also helped quite a bit.

Definitely read articles posted on this site.  That's where I learned it all from!