Gary's Mentor Group - Re-OPENED for Training (Page 111)

Hey all! Fixin to head to bed. Last night before I can hopefully call myself a triathlete. Race starts at 7:30 in the morning. Packet pick up and race meeting today. Will post results tomorrow afternoon.

Sorry folks, been out of town for a few days. Brett, Good luck tomorrow!!! Have Fun!!!

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to join the group.

I'm 34 and live in Minnesota. Married with 2 and 4 year old kiddos. I'm just getting into triathlons after I started running and picked up biking and swimming to take some heat off of my knees as I'm getting into the swing of exercising and dropping a few lbs. I've got my first sprint scheduled in about 3 weeks. Hoping to do at least an Oly next year for my A race with a stretch goal of a HIM. We'll see how things progress over the off season.

I'm hoping to use this group as a home team for some mutual encouragement/accountability and to have some regulars to get advice from.

Rensink - Welcome!!!

And the answer is.......?

All,
off to my long (or at least what I now call a long) run. Would like to hear from everyone on how their training is going.

Finished in 3:22! 14 of 19 in my age group. I will post race results on Tuesday when I get to work and can use a regular computer. I am super stoked and am already thinking about what races I want to do other than the Mercedes Mary in feb.

Woohoo!!! Nice job! Congrats!

Way to go Brett! I'm guessing maybe an Oly?

Edited by jrensink78 2013-08-25 9:35 PM

I have been doing training to do a mock sprint race with a friend in about 3 weeks, most of the race season is over here in Indiana. Any advice as to what I should do for training after that?

Hello GMG folks. I would like to join your training group if there is still room. It is almost time for the evening run of gathering up children and putting supper on the table, so I will stop in later tonight or tomorrow and post biographical information. Thank you and catch you later.

Really would depend up on your goals for next year and what you have done this year. Season here doesn't end until Oct/Nov then I typically take a week or two off, then a week or two of doing what I want, then back to a plan. Does your body need a break? When does the season start again? If not for awhile take a little time to concentrate on your weaknesses before you start another plan. Hope this helps.

Squirrel - Welcome! Post a bio introduction and join the fun!

Race report is up and public. Everyone should be able ot see it. If not please let me know.

I don't really need a break, the season starts in late spring, april/may. I am from Indiana and it stays cold until March. I am looking to do a sprint in the early season and an Oly distance in the late part of the season. Thanks for any feedback.

I'm finally back to post a bio intro.

My name is Howard. I'm a 47 year-old male, I've been married for 23 years, and I have two children (one in college, the other in high school). We live in North Texas and have been here for the past 5 years.

I've been athletically active off and on for most of my life. I played several sports in my adolescence, doing well enough at most but excelling at none of them. During late high school and early college, I spent a fair amount of time on a road bike and raced in several USCF Category IV events. As with the team sports, I did well enough but I am no Greg LeMond. As life rolled on, I became progressively more sedentary. The past few years have consisted of not much more than 6-8 weeks in a gym, usually in January and February (resolutions that didn't stick, go figure).

Since my mid 30's, I have struggled a bit with keeping the weight off. I am 5 feet 11 inches tall and maxed out in weight at 250 pounds in May of this year. While it could be worse, that height/weight combo puts me firmly in the obese BMI category. Additionally, there is a ridiculous amount of cardiac disease amongst the males in my family. In fact, if I can make it past age 50 without having a coronary event resulting in a cardiac bypass procedure, I will be the first in three generations to do so. Basically, it is time to get serious about my physical conditioning if I want to stick around long enough to watch my kiddos graduate from college, get married, explore their lives, etc.

I am currently in my fourth post-operative week following an open left hip procedure to deal with a Femoral Acetabular Impingement syndrome on that side. I have one more week of non-weight bearing followed by two weeks of progressive weight bearing on crutches before I am fully ambulatory again. In May, I jumped back onto a bike for the first time in years and was able to lose roughly 25 pounds prior to the surgery. My main goal at the time (other than just flat needing to lose the weight) was to lower the risk of undergoing general anesthesia in an obese state. I guess it worked on some level since I'm sitting here typing this.

I was introduced to the world of triathlons through talking with the dad of one of my son's friends over the past year or two. I did some basic research which lead me here. I plan to get back on the bike and start swimming at the beginning of October if recovery and rehabilitation go as expected. Due to other ongoing joint and back problems, I will be limiting my workouts to biking, swimming, and light weight lifting (machines instead of free weights). Due to the recent surgery, I will be unable to run for many months and, in fact, have been unable to run for any extended period of time for over a decade due to significant multi-joint pain when doing so (turns out playing football and rodeoing as a youngster wasn't so cool in the long run). As a result, I will probably be limited to only Aquabike (Aquavelo) events through 2014. Hopefully that doesn't make me too big of a "weenie" around these parts.

My goal for the remainder of 2013 (once hip rehab is complete) is to build a decent fitness base with biking, swimming and light weight lifting. Hopefully this will provide me with a decent foundation from which to launch into serious training in the spring of 2014.

My goals for 2014 include:
-reach a daily "walk around" weight of 160-175 lbs (will wait and see where my body decides to "settle in" at my age); currently 220 lbs
-progress to swimming about 2 miles per week, including a weekly workout of at least 1 uninterrupted mile of steady, endurance swimming
-progress to 150-200 miles of biking per week, with the focus being on steady, endurance riding with a weekly long ride of at least 62 miles
-get over my dislike of open water swimming (I grew up in semi-arid geography, no real lakes or rivers to speak of)
-enter and finish at least 2 sprint distance Aquabike events
-body willing, enter and finish a sprint distance triathlon where I will simply walk as fast as possible through the run segment

I'm excited to be a part of your group and, while I don't have much to contribute at this point, I will be soaking up as much as possible from your posts and from the BT site in general. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about me.

Squirrel

Great! My advice is that since you have some time before you need to be on a structured plan for your next race I suggest taking some time to work on your weaker skills. If swimming is not your thing then spend more time in the pool working on it.

Good luck!

Squirrel, great bio! When you say northern Texas (east or west side). I have some relatives near Blossom, Tx up somewhat near Texarkana. As for the heart issues I know that also. Dad passed away at age 50, younger brother is gone also. I to Tri's so I can live long enough to know my grand kids (my oldest is a sophomore in high school so I have a ways t go).

Welcome to the group!!!

As for me I had my first good run in awhile. Only about 3 miles but with the temps back in the 70's it felt great. First mile dead slow but my last mile I was starting to pick it up. Got 6 miles in on Sunday which weren't too bad.

Welcome to the group! Since I too am new to tri's I won't be a whole lot of help but I can offer moral support!
Gary glad to see u are getting back to normal. When is your next race?g

We're in the greater DFW area out on the fringes, so I guess North Central Texas, more-or-less. Sorry to hear about your father and brother. The cardiac problems are definitely a topic of regular discussion at holidays among the males in our family. It's a part of our family history I don't want any part of, thank you.

I'll keep the group updated intermittently until I can return to regular workouts and then I'll try to jump in more regularly.

Take care, be safe, and train hard everyone.

Squirrel

I am looking at getting a road bike and don't want to spend a ton of money. What are some brands that are good and some things to stay away from? I am looking at this being my bike to race on next year, but don't want to spend a lot on a new bike.

Heltonjjh-
This is my first year in triathlon and I went to Walmart and purchased an inexpensive road bike. I I have since put roughly 400 or so miles on it and have had no complaints. The only things I have done to it are head/tail lights and added some clip on aero bars. In fact if I purchase a new bike the end of this season I am going to keep the old bike just as a back up. Grand total I think I have maybe $200.00 in it.
Hope this helps.

Thanks, I know there are bikes that I could spend lots on, but I just want one that I don't have to work on all of the time. I think I may check craigs list over the next few weeks, just not sure what brand and size I need, I am 5'9" so I think I need a 54-56 cm. I was looking at the one on walmart, just wanted to see if someone is selling a used one and get more bang for my buck.

Craigslist is a good place, also check with your local tri/cycing clubs and see if anyone is selling. FYI, not sure about your comment about working on all of the time. A good bike should not need extra work except for regular maintenance. If I had to tinker with my bike every week it would drive me mad. I have a QR Seduza and monthly maint is wash bike and clean chain.

Training starts Monday morning for the marathon in February. Planning a long run of about 12 miles. Hopefully before the heat of the day sets in.
Hope all is well with everyone and seasons are going as planned.

Edited by Brett's 2013-08-31 8:05 AM