Athena/ Clydesdale Official Mentor Group (Page 16)

LauraLynne: Girl, if I had had that race I am not even sure I would have finished!  That's too long of a wait.  I would have been totally in the nutritional hole.  That's a bummer.  Good for you for moving ahead now.

The easiest option is using a plan right here on BT.  Click on "Programs" at the top and take a look.

I would do approximately nothing without a plan, so that works for me.

Walk - 3.79 miles - 1h 5m 23s -  3.5 mph

Thank goodness for that mapmywalk app, otherwise I'd have been bumming about taking longer than ever to cover this distance.  Instead, I also know that for some reason I covered slightly more distance than previous trips.  I'm not sure how that can happen when I'm walking the same route each time.  I guess it's just inside/outside corners and such.  But it added up to almost a tenth of a mile.  Times were comparable when looked at in that light.

Tomorrow, shooting for 9 miles on the bike.  Only 2 months to race date.

Reading Joe Friel's book Cycling Past 50 for education and inspiration.  Next comes Jayne Williams' book Slow, Fat Triathlete.  Friel talks about setting goals.  So now I'm trying to get down below 57m for my walk/run here at home.  The bike has to be faster than a 15 mph pace.  And my swim has to be under 58 minutes for the race distance.  I'll be honest with you, I don't know if I can hit those walk and ride times.  Only two months of training time available.

Thanks!  I'll redeem myself eventually - and it's guaranteed that my next Oly will be a new PR!!

Bike - 8.93 miles - 41m 22s - 13.0 mph

Yeah!  Back to 9 miles.  No complaints from the seat.  But the handlebars are not right yet, too low.  I am leaning too far forward still.  Spent most of the ride shifting my hands around to ease the discomfort.  The good news is that I managed to "attack" that little hill at the end of each lap without downshifting.  13 mph isn't my fastest speed at this distance, but I am happy with it at this point.

TY! I keep forgetting this site is useful for things other than irritating people in "Cup of Joe." I'm sure I can find a plan that will work for me.

Walk - 3.79 miles - 1h 3m 28s - 3.6 mph

Suffered from a SERIOUS lack of motivation this morning.  Didn't even leave the house until after 9 am.  Obviously this won't work once school starts.  But I did drive myself outside and I did get the walk in.  Once I got going it was a good walk.

56 days to Blueman

Hi all. Sounds like you are all going awesome (and I hope a certain amazing young lady has recovered from the sunburn).

My training has been very hit and miss with my work and my wifes, but I got back into some strength work again today (love the bars!), after finding a program I like. I have easy access to a gym, so I guess as much as I don't want to, I will be doing some of my bike and run work there.

On an up note, I have signed on to my first tri for the end of October! Just a sprint, but i could not be more excited.

Keep it up everyone.

enders, most of the schools I sub at start August 27th.  The main reason I can't wait is because I need the money.  I HATE being broke!  Don't get me wrong, my pension covers the bills, but my wife gets all that.  My sub money is my only pocket money.

scott, good on ya mate!  I believe registering helps you set goals and solidifies one's resolve.  You are committed now.  My Blueman tri is October 13th.  When is yours?

Bike - 8.92 miles - 39m 51s - 13.4 mph - A new PB

A solid 9 mile effort wearing tri shorts instead of bike shorts.  Must be getting "saddle broke" because there were no complaints from the hind quarters.  I tried tipping up the front of the handlebars just a little bit.  It helped a little, but not enough.  Will have to take the bike back to Kenny for an adjustment.

We've all done it, set these silly, meaningless little goals for some aspect of our training.  For me, breaking 40m was one of them.  That means I'm clearing each 4.5 mile lap in less than 20m.  Theoretically I should be pretty close to being under 60m when I step up to race distance of 13.5.  Of course, that means I will have to add a Hillside Dr climb as I improve to keep my times near 1h, which is my training goal, to maintain at  least 60m of aerobic exercise daily.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  First I have to complete three rides of 9 miles next week also.  THEN I can try the 13.5.

Walk - 3.70 miles - 1h 5m 33s - 3.5 mph

A full two minutes slower than my fastest time at this distance.  However, this was a pure walking workout and "in the ballpark" of the other three times I've done this distance.  I suppose I can't complain.  The fastest time included significant portions of trotting, and my knee did not appreciate that.

My wife ordered Joe Friel's book Your First Triathlon for me and it should be here tomorrow.  I can't wait to see how much I am doing wrong in my training right now.  I already know that I don't have any periodization, peaking, or tapering in the plan I wrote at the beginning of July.  Admittedly, that plan was slapped together by a complete noob (me) whose only plan was(is) to be able to complete 1.5X the distance for each leg prior to race day and then just reach deep for the determination to put them all together that day.

With only 53 days left to Blueman I question whether I have time to change things up.

I didn't start following this thread until it slowed a little, I just couldn't keep up.  Congrats to everyone who has either completed their first, their 100th, or is simply making improvements to their overall health.

Less than two years ago, I hadn't been in a pool forever, didn't own a bike, and couldn't run a quarter mile.  I completed a sprint tri a year ago.  Because of early season injuries this year, I missed tri season but got to ride bike a lot (over 1100 miles for the year so far) and yesterday I completed a 90 mile road race (report here http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=456686&posts=1&start=1).  I don't say any of that to brag but merely to say "set a goal, put in the work, and you can do it." 

Clydesdales (and by relation Athenas) are powerful folks who can do amazing things and I love it when the "clip/clop" of my hooves passes a show horse.

I also got that book as a gift.  It's not bad, a lot of the information you can pull together from this site and articles that people link to and such.  Most of it is general stuff on where to begin equipment wise and then there is also a training plan.  There's some good stuff in there for sure.  Not as many magic secrets as I would have liked to see though.

Things I learned today, I do not mind getting up early for a run, and riding your bike with the kids buggy thing on the back is hard work. My quads are going to burn tomorrow!

I got Joe's book as a gift as well, and I really like it. Very user friendly for a noob!

Sufferning a mental setback over the last couple days.  Life is hitting me hard from every angle.  I'm trying not to get wrapped up in the drama swirling around me but some of it is unavoidable.  And I'm reverting to old habits (emotional eating - binge eating - and all the self doubt that goes along with it).  I just want to crawl into bed and pull the covers up. 

I missed workout and swim team last night - I had other things get in the way.  Again.  This seems to be an ongoing problem.  And it's not the end of the world but it's missing one workout that sends me into a spiral.  It's hard to pull out of the tail spin it puts me in.  I know it seems simple enough - work out today.  it's a small setback.  Nothing major.  One workout.  But for some reason I really blow it out of proportion - I even KNOW I'm blowing it out of proportion...but I can't seem to stop. 

Today has been brutal already, tired, emotional and oreos.  And I still have a lot of work to put into get everything done so I can workout tonight.  And there's a good chance I won't get to workout tonight - too much to do. 

So yah.  That's my day.  Thanks for letting me whine

Bike - 9 miles - 39m 37s - 3.51 mph

A rather inauspicious start this morning.  The only way I can get my feet into the stirrups is to prop myself on the mailbox post.  I just can't seem to get it while rolling.  Finally get it set, push off, start pedaling, and suspect I have a flat rear tire.  Yup.

Can't get any air into the tube so I took the bike to Marty's for a new tube.  It was a double sided "pinch flat", two holes at the same point, on opposite sides of the rim.  Got home around 1100 and decided to see if I could do something about the handlebars before I went riding.  They gave me my original spacers back when they changed the stem.  Tried to install one, but the bolt that holds the head tube down wasn't long enough.  Drove in to Fastenal and bought a new one, slightly longer.  Back in business.

Finally saddled up around noon.  The raised handlebar is a little more comfortable.  I wonder if it's just a "break-in" thing, like the saddle sore?  Anyway, posted another PB.  Shaved 14 seconds off the ride, despite what I consider to be too much coasting due to being winded.  Averaged 14.5 mph for the first lap and only 12.5 mph for the second lap.  Still, it's my first ride where I actually went over 13.5 mph.  That's why I had to post it as 13.51 mph.

Now, can I get my second lap up to 13 mph on Thursday?  Oh, BTW, it wouldn't have been fast, but I felt like I could have gone for the third lap if I had chosen to do so.  (WHOA!  Back off there Big Guy.  Reign yourself in a little.  Don't overdo it.)

Got back from a 2 weeks vacation/work trip to Australia (Perth/Cairns) that was absolutely wonderful, and I still managed to get a lot of workouts in (gym treadmill/exercise bike, and pool and reef snorkelling/swimming), so I'm still on track with my training for my first Oly tri on 23rd September in Arizona.

However, my jet-lag is brutal at the moment (7 hours sleep in 3 days), even though I went all out in my spin class last night to completely tire myself out.  Swim tonight (hopefully I don't fall asleep in the pool!) and I'm just really thankful that this is a "recovery week" in my BT training plan

On the plus side, I managed 5.5 miles on a treadmill last week with absolutely no IT band pains.  This was absolutely HUGE for me as IT band problems in my knees and hips in both legs completely messed up my training in December last year,  but custom orthotics and new neutral minimalist shoes have got me back to where I was 6 months ago, so I'm very happy.

Leatherneck - glad you managed to get your bike ride in, despite the bad start.

Wartho - sounds like a great trip!  Congrats on the good run

I have been trying to do this boot camp class, that I paid for with a Groupon, but I had to quit. I am trying to do a fairly aggressive build on the run and also keep up with some biking for a duathlon in late September.  Boot camp had to go.  Honestly, I am not going to miss getting up early for the 5:45 am class! 

I am off to Las Vegas this weekend and aside from seeing a show and some good eating out, my husband and I will bike the Red Rock Canyon (ouch) and I plan to sneak in a short run regardless of the heat.   Then I will sit quietly in the shade, hopefully in a pool...

I can sympathize with how a hard day can zap the desire to do anything workout oriented. I know there's only so much time in the day, but if you can manage it, try to do something.  The power of the workout high is not to be underestimated!  If not today, don't beat yourself up, and make a plan for tomorrow.   Feel free to vent, but we then get the right to poke you

Swim - 1000 yards - 11m (or so)

Just in case anyone was wondering, first time back in the pool in 2 weeks.  That travel to VA really screwed up my schedule, but I got it back on track today, I think.

2x50 w/~30s rest
2x100 w/~55s rest
2x200 w/~45s rest
2x100 w/~55s rest
2x50 w/~30s rest