Manatees Roar into the 20s! CLOSED (Page 18)

Jayne,

I haven't disappeared - been a bit more of a spectator here and on the Strava group, just learning the ropes. A quick update - training is going well as I gear up for Oceanside 70.3 in the beginning of April. I'm pretty much halfway through a 70.3 plan and this is my last of 3 consecutive "up weeks" before an easier week next week (which I am really looking forward to).

Sorry for the ghosting and I'll be a more active contributor to the great community you've built here.

Rob

They are totally customizable. Feel free to modify the calculation for your challenge.  See also, Nate tracking hours slept instead of distance traveled.

The other thing to remember, is that we each define what movement means.  Maybe it means S/B/R.  Maybe it means x number of steps.  Maybe it means doing yoga.  Or any of those things.  I think that we can agree that it does not mean binge watching Stranger Things on Netflix.

Edited by jmkizer 2020-01-24 12:58 PM

I have taken the JoGo to be moldable as well. I am pretty new to being super consistent about keeping things moving, but I recognize I need "rest" days for recovery. My original plan was to at least swim on my rest days, but more lazily swims rather than training type swims. But our public pool is a bit of a drive for me, I've done some travel for work, and other issues that led me to realize I simply can't get to the pool as often as I'd like. So I changed up and on the rest days I am still putting 30 minutes in to a dedicated walk on the treadmill with some stretching afterwards to count as my 'keep on moving' stat.

Glad to have you here Rob. Would love to hear more about the Oceanside training and the event itself once it's here.

Here are my own thoughts on the retention issue. Most of you in this group have been here a long time. Some of you came to this group already triathletes and just wanted to join in with other triathletes. I imagine there are some here though that jumped in without having ever done a triathlon, but really wanted to do one, and thought this would be a great group to join to get them to that goal. It seems to me this latter group would be the folks where retention is lower, for all sorts of reasons, including the rush and excitement of the idea of doing a triathlon, that quickly fades with ideas to do other things in their life. Someone mentioned New Year resolutions - sort of the same idea.

For me, I have been fascinated with the idea of doing a triathlon for years. I have a number of books on the subject, I watch Kona every year, etc. I even signed up on this website in 2014. But I really wasn't committed to turning the idea into action. I didn't even do my first post on this website until the end of 2019. One of the reasons for that was because over the years I have read various posts in the Triathlon Talk forum where someone posted a new thread titled "I'm going to do X triathlon..." What I observed about many - perhaps even "most" - of those posts was that it was the person's first or second post ever on the website, and then they never posted again. Over the years I had questions or comments about certain things, but I also realized that I might ask the question or make the comment knowing I may not come back to the website for 3-6 months. I didn't want to be one of those guys. If you go through Triathlon Talk you'll see what I mean, there are so many threads in there that are years old where the original poster hasn't been back to the site since the day they made that post. So I simply lurked on the forums.

A year ago I moved to a new town and started a new job. In November I realized I had put an another 20 lbs in that year from working too much and not moving enough, and simply knew that I really didn't have a choice - I had to start doing something different. This triathlon fascination of mine took center stage and I knew I had to commit. So in December I posted a comment in a forum. A small step, but huge for me because I knew when I made my first post, then I had to do more, I couldn't let that be my only post.

At the end of December I started looking at the mentor groups. I had a little bit of hesitation from the triathlon experience of the members here, but mostly, I was afraid of joining and quitting in a few weeks or a month. I didn't want to be that person, and figured it was better to never join than to join and then quit. But I still knew I had to change things for my own health, and ultimately figured if I committed to the group, maybe that would really help me make those changes. I looked at different groups, and considered joining a couple others. But I found the others had fewer members, posts were more occasional. I don't want to say there was less commitment in the other groups, but I found the daily check-ins in the old threads with this group to be far more in line with what I needed. And I'm really glad I ultimately chose this one. Some of the posts certainly go over my head because of the time you all have been together and me being the newbie. Sometimes it can be overwhelming, but far more often it's super supportive.

Importantly, I am really thriving on checking in on this thread daily, being able to post new stats to my training log and Strava so that I can get the kudos, and to check in others' workouts for the day. I love seeing James' lunch runs knowing his hectic schedule in the legal field like mine. I think of the possibility of pulling off swims like Jen at 2600 yards sub 2 minutes/100. Overall, for me I just think I had to ultimately decide to do this. I'm not a die-hard Star Wars fan, but I think Yoda's "do, or do not - there is no try" comes to mind. I've always thought it would be great to "try" to do a "tri" (word play intended). But overall the last few months, I've just come to the realization that this can't really be an attempt. I need to do this to make sure I'm around for my kids and family and all those other things you come to the realization of when you are not healthy.

So as to the retention issue, I think many - including myself over the past few years - toy with the idea of doing this crazy thing called triathlon. And some will jump right in and join a group out of the gate without realizing how crazy it is, or with simply moving on quickly to other ideas. I lurked for years but never committed. When I made the decision that I needed to really jump in, well, here I am.

A couple of thoughts, one on new member retention and one on Yoda.

As a new member of the group, I found the moderator and the members extremely proactive and welcoming. The volume of messages was a bit overwhelming and figuring out where to insert myself and how was challenging. It was almost like double dutch - when do I jump in to this group of folks who seem like they know each other and have a rhythm. I joined the group because I want to be a mentor and this seemed like a happening group (which it is). That can be intimidating but best to make the leap and engage. I'd also say the message board format is a bit out-dated and it would be great if BT were able to invest in updating technology to a more group-friendly platform. I'm sure they're on a shoe-string budget and doing all they can.

As for Yoda - "do or do not..." I toyed with a triathlon for close to10 years before finally doing a local sprint. Don't wait as long as I did. My two suggestions are: (1) Do a self-supported tri, even if it's at a gym in a pool, stationary bike, and treadmill and (2) sign up for one, even if you feel like you're not ready. Good luck!!

Edited by rmschwartz418 2020-01-24 6:13 PM

Retention is an interesting subject. As this is my fifth mentor group. The first was during the hay day of BT and there were over 30 mentor groups! My first group was a good group, I'm still friends with the core of the group, even though I am the only one still on BT. I learned a lot! That's when I started the Runch, started using The Sufferfest and learned to use a heart rate monitor (which probably kept me in triathlon). Our mentor went Ghost on us and four of us tried to keep the group alive, sharing mentor duties and reinventing the group. Over the course of a couple of years it fell apart.
I then tried another group and I was a poor fit for the group. The group not longer exists, probably because thet were not nice nor inviting. I gave up on the idea of a mentor group and just did my own thing. I found myself missing, not the opportunity to learn, but instead the comradery of the group.
I tried another group, no longer active, they were ...nice, but carried the flare of warm water and white bread.
Then I landed in the world of the Manatee! It was awkward and weird to start (or I was awkward and weird) as I tried to understand the tone and tenor of this group. I stuck it out, and discovered that this is what I need now. A nice, supportive, positive group. The group keeps me engaged and motivated to keep training and keep my eye on the ball or maybe the road or the bouy marker.
My very long road to the very short point is people will come and go from the group, depending on their needs, but as long as the core remains the group will continue.


Edited by JBacarella 2020-01-24 6:49 PM

I am!

I am definitely enjoying the ride so far.

Out of curiosity, what happened to BT that it went from 30 groups to about 4-5? That's a pretty significant decline. Send like there are still plenty of people new to the sport and continuing to join.

Im off to run so I can get my credits for today.

Edited by alaskatri 2020-01-24 11:15 PM

Sadly, i opted out of doing the race today. I am trying to figure out training with my knee and hip issues. Pounding out a 10 k when i have been only treadmill running for a year seemed a bit silly. Someday I'll recount my adventures with BT and my reasons for staying and jumping into the Manatee pond.

Edited by ceilidh 2020-01-25 10:40 AM