Clyde/Athena Tri-N-4- Weight Loss Mentor Group -OPEN AGAIN!! (Page 10)

Are you all really open? I am with another mentor group but here is where I need to be.

I was supposed to be working with my son-in-law on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, but his Monday schedule got changed, so I swam by myself for the second time in many years.  I used to swim free style/front crawl 2.5 miles at a time four years ago, and currently was happy that I could do a half mile without stopping, but was doing the breast stroke and using the pull buoy for my swims.  I know that my form is bad, so I have to leave the legs out of my front crawl right now and work hard on my breathing and stroke.  But, a half mile is a half mile.  I will NEVER be front of the pack in swimming, so I just need to keep working on my form and endurance and just keep pushing myself to get better.  Plus, the times I swim in the pool are much faster than my open water times.

My workouts currently are swimming on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, but I found out last night that I can't use the pool on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday at the only time I can get to the pool.  So, I will be doing Monday-Friday-Saturday/Sunday in the pool.

Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday will be treadmill work to get back from the couch to half marathon distance.   Hopefully in the next 30 days, I will be done with the treadmill and be able to start walk/running outside.  I really dislike the drainer and the dread mill (trainer/tread mill for those of you that don't know my sarcasm) and want to be outside, but I refuse to get hurt when there is still the chance of ice on the roads.  But, I also have a really nice room setup in my basement where they are setup with a nice TV and stereo system, so I can watch DVD's/TV and either use wireless head phones, or just crank up the stereo.

Hi all!

NAME / username:  I am Robin, (Ceilidh) That is pronounced Kay- Lee. It is an Irish/Gaelic word meaning a spontaneous music gathering. Used as in, "I hear there is a ceilidh tonight at the pub".

STORY: I am an :"adult onset athlete". In early spring of 2008, when I was 48,  I decided to take my weight in hand and get rid of it once and for all. I started a weight loss program and long the line started running. Someone mentioned triathlon and somehow my curiosity was piqued. I had never even considered that triathlon was something that mere mortals could do. I have always loved to swim, I fairly regularly mountain biked but other than that was pretty darn sedentary. Well, I lost the weight, (50 pounds) and went through the progression of my first 5K, 10K, then Sprint that August. I have never been so proud of myself, ever! I found BT somewhere in the process and became friends with a bunch of supportive people and continued on, not doing any more tris for a while but doing a couple of half marathons and other races. Since then, I had some minor, but persistent health issues that kept me from having the will to be good about eating habits. Most of my weight found me again. Last year, I started getting my gumption back and went ahead and actually did some tris and other races. The extra weight was a pain in many ways so I vowed to get rid of it for this years races.

FAMILY STATUS: I am married 17 years, with two step kids who are out on their own now. (mostly). I have a full time job and my husband and I run vacation cottages to be able to keep our (his) family land, so we are pretty busy and I use that as a justification to be lazy with training sometimes.

CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently training for an Olympic distance race this year. I have been sidelined since November because I had some foot surgery. It has taken longer to heal than I had anticipated. Not longer than they told me, just longer that I had thought I am able to use a stationary/ spin bike and walk./run on the "dreadmill". I am also working up to using my bike on the trainer as my foot allows being in my bike shoes. Swimming is starting to ramp up this week.

2013 RACES: NYC triathlon (my first olympic distance and I LOVED it), Lake Lure triathlon, 24 hours of Booty (gotta love that name) and several running races.

2014 plans and RACES:I am signed up for a half marathon at the end of March, but I'll have to miss that one. My foot is NOT ready for prime time yet. Over Mountain Tri (olympic distance), NYC triathlon (olympic) and the Lake Lure sprint tri. I have a couple of 30 and 60 mile bike rides (not really races) scheduled and a couple of up hill running races.

WEIGHTLOSS: I would like to get rid of that ugly, painful 40 pounds that I found and have kept around for the last 5 years.

I am just frustrated with myself.  I was able to complete a 70.3 in 2010 and then I let my work get in the way of my life and my weight sky rocketed.  I have never been this overweight.  I should have made time for swimming and biking and running, instead I did beer drinking and eating.  I took the month of January off for drinking and decided that I would only have a drink on the weekend, or one at our weekly band practice.  Working on the food intake and tracking and getting back to working out again.  I want to do a century ride, this year, but I want it to be like it was 4 years ago, when a 60 mile ride was a great ride for the day and a 100 mile ride was still no big deal.  I want my 40 mile loop to be a 2.5 hour maximum ride, instead of 3+ hours.

I have a long way to go, and I know it.  I just have to work on it day by day.

See you there Patrick!