lkagop's Training Group (Page 18)

Hey, thanks for the welcome

I come from competetive sports background(soccer,hockey.baseball) and have always enjoyed running and mountain biking which there is plenty of up here in Vancouver.

I went and watched my brother compete in Ironman Canada in 07 and was absolutley inspired by the athletes and there unwillingness to give in to obvious fatigue that was on there faces, I WAS IN AWE!

So I decided to test myself, never swam a lap in my life, lots of lake and ocean swimming. Started an Olympic program from this site, Olympic beginners. My firs ttime in the pool last Jan, 25 m at a time with 30 seconds rest I was exhausted after each lap. By the end of the first week (4 times)I was doing 500 mters in 45 minutes, I thought there is no way I can do 1500 meters in under 45 minutes by July. Well when July rolled around I was doing 2km in the lake by my house in 50 minutes, I was smiling in the water I was having so much fun, my wife said I had a mistress now, Triathlon traing. I was addicted to training.

I did my first Oly in July in just over 3 hours. I was so proud I finished it.

next year I will be doing Van marathon in May, and another 2 Olys in 1 in July and  1 in Aug.

My ultimate goal is Ironman 2010 in Penticton.

A heady goal for my 51st birthday, it actually is on my birthday. I amd so excited and glad to have found this sport. At my age hte competeitive juices have petered out to play other sports against younger athletes who still have visions of playing pro somewhere, when everyone knows they never will. way to competeive. In this sport its just me competeing against me and my will.What do I have left and how far ca nI push myself.

I love this sport.

talk to you all later, time for my long run!

Hey sorry I'm late, but welcome Jose, Mina and Dave! 

Hey, guys!  We're at mid-month for our Ironman Challenge.  Where does everyone stand (if you're doing it, of course), how are things going, any particular difficulties (or easiness, Michelle ) given the change in weather?

Bike:  I have 23.5 miles left to go out of 98.  Getting half of it done before the weather turned colder was very helpful.

Running:  I'm only at 14 out of 40.  I'm also doing a running challenge w/ my local tri club, and this month's goal is 75.  I think running so much last month burned me up for a while.  I'm going to try and at least run 3 miles today.  I WILL at least meet our goal.

Swimming:  For me, it's 5 hours of strength training and I have 4 hours to go.  If I ST 4 times a week for the next two weeks, I'll reach my goal.

I can easily say that the colder weather has completely affected my motivation.  A part of me is still in denial about there being no warm weather, and I think once it stays cold consistently for a while, my disposition will have then resigned to this new reality and my motivation will increase.  Does that make sense?  

Your turn...

Ok, here's where I stand:

Bike:  I have done some city biking (2.5mi daily + another 5-7 here and there), but little by way of training and although my trainer is due to arrive Wednesday, work travel and a weekend class mean I don't use it till Sunday at the earliest.  Without a bike computer, how do I translate the goal?  I'm going to call it ~2.5hours biking before month's end and adjust once I finally get to play with the new trainer.  Does that sound reasonable for a newbie on the bike?

Running:  I'm at at 17 out of 40.  I have a 4 miler road race on Turkey Day and should be able to pull out the other 19 this month with 2-3 runs a week.  To add to my challenge, I'm making myself do at least two of the runs in the *GASP*... MORNING!

Swimming:  For me, swimming in a 25yd pool is like running on a treadmill.  Unfortunately, at the beginning of the school year, the college pool I swim at turns their lanes from 50meters to 25 yards and I dread going.  Goal is 2.4miles, and I know I could knock that out in two visits.  Going to try for 3 swims at 1mile a piece.

I second the weather and motivation issue, and yeah, Lora, that totally makes sense.  There is definitely both a physical AND a mental adjustment to the temps... but I think the part that really gets to me is the early night fall.  Before I get used to the days getting so much shorter, I leave the office and think that it's much later than it is and think I have no time to go out for a run or hit the gym, but instead need to go home and cook and hybernate.  I need to take advantage of the morning hours again, and also need to find my reflective gear for running at night.

Swimming: Completed

Biking: Completed

Running: 6 miles left (finish it this week)

The cold weather is great for me. I love getting bundled up and going out for a run or a ride. I think it is all determined by how smartly you dress. When I go running, I wear long tights, tshirt, long sleeve shirt, gloves and skull cap if needed. Since it has gotten dark earlier, I bought a headlamp so aid me in seeing things and in being seen. As for biking, I wear about the sale things except I add my toe covers for my feet. Once you get going and get heated up, it really does not pose a problem for me.

Wow- a headlamp is a great idea!  With uneven brick on some of the sidewalks and roots under the asphalt on the path around the river, I'm always afraid of taking a spill.  I'll have to look into that.

Mina, it sounds like you could be right on track with the swimming and running.  That totally sucks about them shortening your pool length, though.

It's a personal preference on how you want to track your bike miles, but I know other users count their commuting miles and go ahead and log them.  If you can backtrack your commuting bike rides to the first of the month, it would be perfectly allowable in this challenge to include them...but only if you want.

With regard to no bike computer, I'm not sure how you could track your mileage.  You could go to Wal Mart and drop 20 bucks on one.  Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

The darker evenings are totally messing with me, too.

Be sure to let us know how things go when you get to use your trainer this weekend.

Wow.  You've really kicked some butt!

If you don't have a bike computer...you could try calculating your avg speed on your commutes.  Or go out for a 1mi ride and see what your time is.  Let's say it is 5min for 1mi, then you are avg'ing 12mph.  I've heard that on trainers you usually go faster than you would on road...so I would then bump the speed up to 15mph or so (james rides a trainer so he might be able to say how much faster he goes on them).  Then when you ride for an hour on the trainer that could translate to 15 miles.  It's definitely not exact, but could work. 

My monthly totals so far:

Run - 20.55mi

Bike 30.36mi

Swim .85mi

I am a little under the weather so I am missing a good day of training (but hopefully just today).  

PS - Oh and James has agreed to give us all his extra miles since he is SMASHING his monthly goal totals!!    j/k

I actually find that riding on a trainer gives me a different kind of workout vs being on the road. There are no downhills or coasting on a trainer, but a constant pedaling motion. Once you get the resistance set right, it will give you a good workout. I usually watch a football game and then kick into a tougher gear during commercial.

I move my bike computer to the back wheel while on the trainer also so I can judge the mileage, but I also try to set a time goal, meaning I am riding for 2 hours today. I still prefer riding outdoors, but that is not always an option for me.

Hope that helps!

I have done around 6.5km swim so TICK for that one.

I have done around 35km running so next run I can tick that one.

Have done 2 hours 30 minutes in weights as an extra.

I am only about 1/4 of the way there on the bike (48km) and can't see that increasing much as I had anticipated.  I'm in a bit of pain due to my hip so whilst I am running and swimming I am planning on putting the bike away till after the marathon so I am running a bit fresher as this seems to minimise the pain. 

I am determined to finish up the Team goals TODAY! Only needing 2.4 miles of ruuning, then lookout Thanksgiving dinners!  LOL  Kidding!!!

Let's go team, anybody need me to bug them in ispires to get them going?

Ugh!!!  That really sucks about your sore throat.  Good luck Saturday!

Guys, I just placed my order for a Road ID ankle bracelt to wear when running or biking. It gets dark so early now days that it can get scary. I went to the RoadID website and read the testimonials and there are a wide variety of reasons that we all should have ID when we go out running.

Just an FYI

Such a good idea.

Did you finish up your goals today?

Yes, I completed my monthly goals of 2.4 miles swimming, 112 biking and 26.2 miles running. Using my times, I did a little "let's see what the total time was" calculation and came up with me finishing an Ironman in 11 hours 20 minutes!

How cool would it be to finish in that time? I know it is not possible for me right now, but maybe someday!

That is pretty cool.

Also pretty amazing to think it takes us a month to do what they do in a day!

X2.

Hey, Jose.  Be sure to let us know how your 5K goes today, and, if you haven't already left, good luck!

- Lora