Stickyrunner01's Group - The bus is FULL! (Page 15)

I was motivated to do triathlons after I had a second knee surgery because I had been training incorrectly.  My PT recommended cycling and swimming to help strengthening my weakened quad (VMO).  Since beginning those other disciplines I have very, very few problems with my knee.   I have learned to train safely and avoid injuries since my beginning days of running as well as learned and practiced safe tri training.

I am fairly self motivated once I have a competitive target.  I can motivate myself to become better without having to win a race.  To me winning is becoming faster and staying injury free.  I have seen relative success with my races, whether they be running or triathlon and this continues to be highly motivating for me.  I also know I am not past my prime for my (very old) age and that means I can get faster than I am now.  (Not that I am Craig Alexander or anything.)

Lets see I started doing triathlons about two years ago, I have no idea what motivated me at the time. In fact I am not sure what is motivating me now. You think that might be a problem?

Probably just don't remember why I started, at my advanced age, I forget why I was motivated yesterday ...hmmm not good.

What I do know is that I get up in the morning and start thinking that I like the way I feel when I am in shape. I guess my motivation is trying to beat the clock of life, well maybe not beat it but cheat it a little, and have some fun while doing it.




Edited by bfwhitt 2011-02-02 9:27 PM

I got into triathlons via a bit of an odd route. There was a 3k fun run in aid of Help for Heroes in my local park one weekend which, for some reason I can't remember, Adam's wife convinced me I'd be able to complete. After an approximately 50/50 run/walk split I finished in 19:07 (I'm pretty sure the course was only 2.5k to make matters worse).
At the end of the run they were handing out leaflets for a 5k run a couple of months later, so I decided to look for a training plan which lead me to this site. That put the idea of trying triathlons into my head (almost failed a 3k run, but suddenly determined that I could finish a tri!).

As for the motivation to actually do the training, that comes from the fact that it was winter when I started training and I made sure that I went out regardless of the weather. This meant that if I could go run when it was snowing and bitterly cold, I'd have no excuse to miss a session any other time. That plus the fact that once I set my mind to something I either get distracted by something else fairly soon or I commit myself to it pretty solidly.
So far I haven't been distracted

Edited by sicone 2011-02-03 3:54 AM

I've always been a very active person until I took 4-5 years off of everything to help my husband thru tough times.   Finally all the inactivity wasn;t doing my back any good (injured it when I fell off a horse many years ago) nor was it good for my sanity either. Didn't want to do any of the things we had done together (scuba,kayak,climbing) it just didn't feel right.   I began to ride my bike and rollerblade again but without purpose so I thought I would give triathlon a try....I was hooked. 

What keeps me motivated is the simple fact that I am happier in motion than not.   Must be all those endorphins.....thus making me an endorphin junkie!  I like going long...the longer the better but sometimes my body doesn't want to cooperate like in the run! 

We haven't had a question of the day lately.   So, here's one for you.  

What motivated you to start doing triathlon and what motivates you to get those MANY workouts in? 

I feel like a whole new person when I'm in shape, so I try to stick to an exercise routine at all times. I started to get a little burned out and started running again, did a 5k. loved the excitement of racing so i started to look for other races and found a sprint triathlon. I guess I had always thought of ironman type distances when I thought of tris so I never paid much attention. I looked at the sprint distance and thought hmmmm....I can do this. started training and never turned back.

Motivation? I am a very driven person when I have a goal in mind.This is something that I enjoy and the training is the best part! Just to see how far and how intensly I can push my body. I like what PP said, trying to beat the clock of life.


Okay my winter woes. swam in 75 F water yesterday. Only lasted about 40 min. my ears were burning!!!!

Motivation for me?  beating Sicone :P  because i know he will finish the tri and his training is constant so i need to put the effort in.

I am considering taking a little time away from swimming, not much but just enough to rest my shoulder.  I have had numbness in my left delt for a week now.  It doesn't cause any numbness to anything other than me mid to rear delt and has not caused any loss of function or strength.  It reminds of how my leg felt/feels after my knee surgeries.  A slight tingling feeling and absence of feeling to anything touching it very lightly.

I think it's a strained muscle because I have had some pretty intense burning sensations a few times in the area that is troubling me.  Those burning sensations have been caused by some pretty ridiculous movements: opening doors, brushing my teeth, packing my clothes (f/ice storm travel), etc.

I am probably going to go get a short easy swim in this morning to see what happens and make a determination from there.

Well I had an appointment today with a PA at a place that specializes in orthopedics and sports medicine.  They took an x-ray and confirmed what the other physical therapist had said (the one I went to see for free for like 10 minutes)- I have a pelvic malalignment.  The right side of my pelvic bone is not the way it should be aligned, and the muscles attached to it have had to overcompensate, and eventually it's what gave me (is giving me) the troubles I'm having today.  So with a bit of physical therapy, there's a "90%" chance that it could make me better; which would mean putting my pelvis back in place the way it should be so it won't be putting any unnecessary stress on the attached muscles.  He also said it would probably be like 3 months to get this better... although there are people who have taken 2 years to recover.  Even 3 months, that seems soo long... But, I've decided to go to some physical therapy sessions to try to get this fixed.  Really, I should have gone to see someone months ago, but better late than never I suppose.  I'm glad I didn't wait any longer.  Dirk, I need to give an individual thanks to you, because it was your words of saying maybe I should see someone that gave me that extra push to actually make the appointment.  So thanks for that!!!  The longer I would have waited to see someone, the longer my recovery process, given my problem since my hip isn't just going to realign itself.  Now the challenge ahead of trying to stay positive through this all!!!!  Oh yeah, I was also told I had tight (not flexible) hips, so I also think I'm going to be putting extra focus on flexibility as well...

You are quite welcome!  Going to see someone now rather waiting may have saved you a lot of pain and frustration.  It may have even driven you away from a sport that you have fallen in love with.  If you hadn't went now you may have found out later on in life and been disappointed and wondered "what might have been" during your triathlon career.

I am very happy that you went.  AND, I would never place you in the 2 year recovery zone.  You are obviously in shape and have a strong work ethic as proven by your constant desire to continue to work through this issue and do some of the workouts you have done.  You are most definitely in the short term recovery group.  Just don't get more aggressive than your PT wants you too.

BTW, here is an excerpt from my own log today:
"This was an unscheduled easy workout. My left shoulder has been numb for a week. The numbness seems to follow the mid-line of the deltiod to the rear deltoid. There is no apparent loss of strength and it does not hurt most of the time. I have had a few bouts where I have had very brief, sharp pains, primarily at the mid-line, but nothing that last more than a few seconds Nothing that has bothered me on a regular basis."

I think this is a muscle strain but I am not used to numbness like this.  I have had similar numbness before but that was post-op ACL reconstruction that is still the same after 6 years.  I was told pre-op that this would likely occur because of nerve damage when making some of the incisions.  I am planning on a week off swim to see what happens and then determine if I should see a doc.

What are everyone's thoughts for my injury?  BTW, Samantha I may need you and everyone else to help hold me accountable to my own recovery advice.

I agree, I think you should take it off for at least the next week.  I know there are no prolonged bouts of pain now, but if you continue to swim (even if it's easy), it could be a situation where it does become worse.  The way you described the shoulder earlier was kind of similar to how I felt my shoulder was at times, although it seems like it was a different location- for me it was more on the anterior side.  Doing certain everyday movements you can really feel the problem spot in an abnormal way.  But, on the other hand, with the numbness that you are experiencing, I do wonder if it could be nerve damage???

Just be careful even after you take your week off... you may *think* it's all better because you no longer feel any problem with your normal movements, but that doesn't mean it's completely healed. I would think it would take longer than a week to heal something that has been bothering you for a week in the way that you describe. Upon your return, even what you think is easy effort may be enough to cause irritation, maybe even irritation you won't notice until later.  As you know, it will be much better for your triathlon future to get it fully healed NOW, rather than wait until the injury has exploded!!!

Do you think upping your swimming may have something to do with this?  I know you had said at some point you were going to try to keep your swims no less than 3xxx meters/yards. (don't remember the exact number.) And it seems like your swim frequency is low, so I wonder if going for all of your distance in one, or two, workouts per week has caught up to you?  I know people say swimming is different from running, but just as you wouldn't do all your running (or biking) mileage on 1-2 days, maybe all that stress on your shoulders at once finally took on toll on them? 

Just some food for thought!  You know your body best.

I decided of the numbness continues into next week I will be seeing a doc.  I have shoulder issues in the past but none like this one.  It is likely I developed these problems when I was a power lifter, lifting large loads several times a week.  I don't remember anything particular from those days but I had a few injuries that kept me from lifting here and there.

I am worried that I have some deeper issues that might require more than just rest and recovery.  I have had enough surgeries and I am not excited about having another one either.  Obviously I don't know what is wrong with my shoulder but I have thought about deeper damage.  I know 3 people that have had shoulder surgery and one of them had to have 3 surgeries to get it fixed correctly.

Honestly, I don't think it is that serious but I am going to make sure it get healed right and checked out if need be.

Wheres everyone at? 

I got another brick in yesterday before the super bowl.  I would have liked to run in the morning but with all the fresh snow I decided I would allow some time for it to get packed down and maybe melt a llittle.  With all the new powder it was more difficult to run than it has been for a little while.  i tried to keep my pace a little slower to allow for something easier too, my bike was harder than I usually do during a brick.

I'm here :-)

I got all of my planned workouts in last week, although several of them ended up being at different times and places than usual--some due to weather and some due to travel.  Got both a swim and a run in while visiting my daughter at I.U. over the weekend.  

Swam this morning and will run tonight.  I'm falling further and further behind at work and have a lot of things to catch up on around the house.  Being gone was fun while it lasted :-)  Wonder why am I ALWAYS tired?   

Think Spring!!

Edited by jfought 2011-02-07 5:49 AM

Sounds like (at least from the lack of posts) that everyone had a busy weekend.

I am starting my Build 1 Phase this week. Not much difference to the prep phase. Continue working on endurance and technique. The only real difference is to adjust my weight training to increase power. After reading about my body weight to what I should be lifting, I am good in some areas and need work in others.

Core - Good
Bent-arm rows - good
Step-ups - need to increase but doing curls at the same time so I may have to adjust this
Leg Press - suck - I have weak upper legs, so I need to continue building, not going to be able fix this over night, this will take some time over this season
Chest - good
Squats - suck - I have not done these at all, never liked them but may go back to doing them today.

Squats are tuff!  I hate doing the too but the are the king of all primary movers.  I do most of my weight lifting in the 15-20 rep range.  I figure I am not out to "get big" but in fact get stronger which will translate over to faster!  It took me awhile to get in to this mentality...coming from competitive bodybuilding  but I think I effectively made the change over. 

I am getting ready to register for my first mountain hill climb on the bike.  Its not til June so I have plenty of time to attack hills.

My achilles has calmed down and is ready to run again tomorrow.   Coach has me doing fun drills this week.....butt kicks, high knees, biscuit drills, etc...

Happy training everyone!

Have you tried aqua jogging,elliptical or stairmaster. I know its not running but it will keep you in shape

Still here
Spent most of the weekend trying to upgrade my girlfriend's pc, which almost resulted in completely losing everything she had on the old harddrive (got there in the end, but it was a close call!).

Last week was a rest week for me so run volume was down from x5 (25miles) - x4 (16miles) and swim was meant to go from x3 to x2. Unfortunately, due to other stuff, I only managed to get to the pool on Sunday. Not all bad though as I spent the session experimenting with breathing (breathing on weaker side and tried changing from breathe every 2 strokes to every 4).
After a few lengths breathing every 4, I noticed I was less out of breath when pushing at a moderate pace so I tried an all out 25m - 24secs (previous best was 30)!
Guess I know what I'll be practicing on my next swim on Tuesday.

I'm here!  School, work and training are keeping me really busy.  I had a great week of training last week, started to incorporate "long bike ride" Sunday which has been going well.  Got all my runs in last week and even managed my fastest run ever Swimming's a different story.  The pool's still closed but I asked around the SC forum here and found out about another pool in the area.  I looked it up on google maps and it's about 2 minutes from my apartment complex!!  I didn't even know this place existed and it's within walking distance!  Going to go check it out this week sometime.  Probably won't swim more than 1-2 times a week since it's $7/day but at least it's a way for me to get in the pool until the Clemson pool has been fixed.

Yesterday I volunteered at a local 5K race which had about 1500 participants.  It was 10 minutes from home which is about as close as a race is going to get around here.  It was the first time I had volunteered for packet pick-up and that was eventful.  I've volunteered at quite a few races, and in my experience, course marshal is the most boring position- unless it's just a matter of the locations I've been assigned- so now I never sign up for that.  But registration was cool, as was finish line, and I've had fun volunteering at the aid stations too.  I did get a $30 voucher to use towards an event put on by my local running store, and among the events they put on is a sprint triathlon series, so of course that's a bonus.

Today I had my first appointment with a physical therapist, which was an initial evaluation appointment.  I'll probably write more in depth about it in my training log to help me remember things for the future, but basically she gave me a few stretches to do.  She also did some exercises which I guess places my hips in line as they should be, but it's something that will have to be maintained, and hopefully eventually it will just stay... or something.  But for now I think I'll just stick with yoga or something and hopefully some good will come from this physical therapy.

Unfortunately those will likely aggravate the groin.  Basically, I feel like I can do no cardio.  It's okay, I think I've accepted it. (maybe.)  It is also amazing, I am now convinced the swimming wasn't exactly doing me any good either!  I haven't swam for a week now, and there's definitely a difference in my groin (as in less discomfort), so I think the kicking was in fact setting me back... again, thanks Dirk!!  I do however feel that I can probably swim with the pull buoy but I'll still hold off on that too.  I'll just take a break from all things cardio for now.

My week is starting off well.  I swam this morning and there's nothing significant to report.  I just keep plugging along getting a tiny bit stronger every week.

Tonight I added 2 minutes to the total run time of my intervals--from 21 to 23 min.  I ran outside in 29 degree temps, and on a completely snow-covered path at one of our county parks.  It was nice not to worry about slush/ice/traffic, but it certainly was more challenging than running on dry pavement.  I was able to run all of my intervals without stopping.  I think I'm going to continue the 23 min this Wed and Fri, and then add 2 more minutes again next week.  That magic 30 min is getting closer and closer.  

Hey folks! I am so sorry for disappearing this past week! 

Monday night I was logging onto the wireless system at my school's library and my 2 year old MacBook froze up. I restarted and got a blinking folder with a question mark in it. UH OH.

Come to find out I blew out my HD. I was without internet during the entire ice storm last week! AHHH, Drove me crazy.

All I have to say is THANK GOODNESS for AppleCare. I paid 183 (plus tax) for it on 2/3/2009. Just under two years later, it saved me the costs for labor and a brand new 160 GB hard drive.  

Needless to say, I am installing all of my stuff back onto my computer as I type this. The only bad thing is that all my data from the previous HD was lost. Over 6000 songs. All my school paperwork... financial data... etc.  

In the words of my Daddy: Get an external hd and backup your computer once a week. (or like once a month if you're like me)

Seriously though that really sucks!  I don't know what I would do if i lost all my schoolwork and music.   

In another group we have been discussing the "100 push up" challenge and I thought it would make for a little bit of discussion in this group as well.  Have any of you ever taken the challenge?  I have not.  I have done push up type workouts but never done 100 push ups in one set.  I really don't have the desire to work up to 100 push ups for one set either.  Sure, you could get some bragging rights but I don't think there are any other benefits to doing them.  I would rather train s/b/r.

I did the 100 pushups last year but lost momentem when I had a mole removed from my chest.  I wasn't able to do pushups for 2 weeks while the stitches were in and I never got back to it.  I had worked up to 50 pushups.  It was a fun program but I didn't see the benefit from continuing.  I had accomplished what I needed.