Nob's Group - FULLl (Page 2)

I would like to join if you can accept another person. I have dabbled a little in triathlon but this year I want to complete my first half iron. I am 26 years old and live in Houston Texas. I have completed 3 marathons to date so my running is my strength and my biking is my weak link. I have signed up for the MS 150 as well this year. Last year I didn't do any triathlons but did a marathon.

sorry, dbl post

Edited by Nob 2007-01-02 1:24 PM

Hi Trey and welcome. Sounds like you have the running portion down as well

Looks like most are using the logs now and the blog. If not check them out it is a great tool. You guys are so motivating I actually thought about it and wrote down a couple of my goals for the new year. It is a good start!

Laura, 23, a strong swimmer, doing WT now
- a 5K
- Sprint race early in the season.

Chad, 33, an extremely strong runner in the past, a bit fragile from over training
-two sprint triathlons before summer
-1/2 IM before the end of 2007
-1/2 marathon before the end of 2007

Dave, 31, doing LS training with HR monitor. Still picking A/B/C races.
- Several sprints in April and May
- Oly distance - May-Sep

Kate, 40, I suspect a strong swimmer. One goal at the moment
- Danskin

Steve, 30, racing for about 7 years, 1st Ironman last year
-Lake Steven's 1/2 IM in under 5:40
-Mt. Rainer

Trey, 26, 3 marathons to date. Some triathlon experience
-1/2 IM

Dane, 53, very fragile from over use and abuse
-AG podium in a big local sprint
-AG podium MTN to Sound Adventure race
-1 day ride of Snoqualmie, Bluet, Stevens


Edited by Nob 2007-01-02 10:54 PM

So I haven't picked a race yet because I am not sure what a reasonable time frame is for the training up to a race... if I pick a race for April/early May, do I have enough time until then to be prepared?

Also, I might have the ability to swim once a week. If I did have that opportunity, what kind of swim workout would you suggest? I'm thinking long and slow...but about how long?

Finally, I'll explain the fungus thing. "Fliegenpilz" is the German name for the little red mushrooms with the white dots...kind of like what the smurfs lived in...I just have a fascination with them...

Laura, thanks for the update. Cool picture as well. For a sprint race with your swimming back ground I'd work up to a mile on the long slow. Not required but you are a good swimmer and being able to easily do a mile when the swim will be 1/4 or a 1/2 will give you huge amounts of confidence. Your goal should be to do each leg of the triathlon on its own as a work out.

"Sprint races are usually swim 1/4 or 1/2 mile (18 or 35 laps in a 25 yard pool). The bike is 12/14 miles and the run is 3.1 miles."

Long slow is good this time of year. The sprint programs here at BT have a 13 week program that should work for your time frame of 16 weeks. Use the extra 3 or 4 weeks to prep for your work out program. Prep by working on each sport to get as close as possible with your current level of fitness to the 1/2 mile, 12 mile, 3.1 mile distances in those sports. Just remember to go slow and don't get discouraged if that seems like a lot right now...just keep the numbers in your head as goals to attain not something you have to hit in the morning of your first hard workout.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/trainingplans...

"Original Sprint" 13 Week - (Import)

Available for: Free, Print Version Only

Duration: 91 days (13 weeks)
Our original sprint plan. Use this plan if you can consistently do the following: 30min run, 30min swim and 40min bike as a base.

Min Bike: 15m (duration) / Max Bike: 55m (duration)
Min Run: 15m (duration) / Max Run: 1h (duration)
Min Swim: 15m (duration) / Max Swim: 35m (duration)

I have BT open in four windows right now... so much stuff! I'm trying to add y'all to my logs so I can spy, I mean, get motivated.

Logs, blogs, 2 different control panels... whew!

Edited by dave699 2007-01-02 8:51 PM

Did everyone log today? It is a good habit to get into even if you didn't get a workout in.

How about givig us your really short term goals or current workout plans?

I had the first good run in weeks (read- no knee pain) on Sunday with Tracy and ZuZu. It was slow and only 4.5 miles. So I am going to very carefully ease back into running this week.

I suspect the cause of the knee pain was a change in bike fit and a ride on a really cold day without the proper protection for my knees. Really dumb move as I knew better but didn't have the right clothing for the weather while out of town. Should have stayed indoors on the trainer and limited the injury.

My goals this week (Monday to Sunday) are...
100 miles on the bike. Hopefully part of that will be 30 to 50 outside one day. If not I own the cyclops trainer 6hrs.

20 miles running with longest @ 7 miles..long and slow. Most of them will be 2 or 3 miles at a time to see how the knee is holding up.

One trip to the pool and 2500 yards. (100 laps)

What is everyone else up to?

Just started logging nutrition, but I don't know if I'll keep it up. Kind of a PITA, and I usually eat well anyway. We'll see.

Not much sleep last night, but that will change. Back at "home" now. For the record, my wife lives in Boston (while finishing school) and I am down in Virginia for work. Occasionally I will probably mention my roommates. I have two: one "geographical bachelor" like me, and one single guy. We are down here for a one-year school, so some people don't uproot their families for such a short period. So now you know.

So, I again have access to a gym, my bike, bike trainer, and a pool. Hopefully the work the gym was doing on the pool is done. If so, I intend to get some quality time in the pool with my NEW goggles that I bought at FastSplits in Boston (woohoo!). The wx is supposed to be good today, too, so I might get out on the road on the bike if I get out of work early enough. Otherwise, possibly the trainer.

I know it sounds like I'm a little scatterbrained vis-a-vis training right now, but I just got back and still haven't settled on a good training plan. I will straighten that out over the rest of the week and, in the meantime, continue to trash myself inefficiently.

Nob - take care of those knees!

last night was a bit poor in the sleep dept - had kids in the bed - restless ones
a major thing for me is going to be getting my sleep routine in order -
I work evening/nights 1P-1A - on the weekend then flip to getting up at 5:30 weekdays to do the kids to school routine.

the plan today is a run/walk - 30 minutes + a 1 hour ashtanga yoga routine.
this all seems pretty complicated to me - even the language is new. I'm planning on using the couch to tri guidelines - albeit the "aggressive" one. As far as tracking nutrition goes - well - right now I'll focus on adding the physical training. one thing at a time. I am a vegetarian with a healthy diet -

Hope all have an awesome day
Kate

Nob,

I have decided on my races, they are as follows:

March 24 - Duathlon: 3m run, 15m bike, 3 m run

May 28 - Sprint-Tri: 350m swim, 10m bike, 2.6m run

July 1 - Sprint-Tri: 800m swim, 17m bike, 4m run

Aug. 19 - Olympic-Tri: 1500m swim, 24.9m bike, 6.2m run

Sept. 23 - 1/2 IM: 1.2m swim, 56m bike, 13.1m run

Oct (date not determined yet) - Stump Jump 50k Trail Race

Any thoughts? FYI - I have signed up for 2 private swim lessons to improve my stroke and breathing techniques, and will be joining a traithlon swim course that runs every Tuesday morning for 1 hour.

I will now pull some training schedules together and try to put something together to build for these races. I pulled some schedules from this site (as you had previously suggested), but any guidance on which ones to use to accomplish the above would be helpful.

Thanks again for all of your help. I am truly excited to be doing this!!!!

I have a quick question. Would I be crazy to do a half iron in April? I haven't really been training but I can pick my running up quickly as well as my swimming. I will just need to focus more on my bike.

I think you can do it. Just keep in mind that running 13 miles may be "easy" for you given your background, but it is a completely different game after swimming, and biking. Spend time getting the miles on your bike in, and be sure to focus on your Nutrition. Play around w/ nutrition early, then once you find what works...STICK TO IT!

Morning Kate,
Man you are tough! The sleep thing is hard to get around. Sounds like you have that handled. Getting in two hrs a day for a working out is really good! Keep it up!

Morning Chad,
Your schedule looks pretty tough late in the season. Looks doable as long as you don't over train early on and are very careful about NOT over training from May on.

The free training plans go out as far as a 20 week for an Olympic race. With a little tweaking you could make that work for the 1/2. How you train will depend on what your A race is. If the 1/2 IM is the A race then many of the races will be C (or races done as training at a slower pace).

If the 1/2 is the A race I might switch the Oly with the 2nd Sprint to get an Oly in earlier.
Listen to how you feel before the half and get a good taper in. Listen to how you feel after the 1/2 and get some rehab/rest days in and you'll be fine. Your HR monitor and some good old common sense will be crucial to staying healthy IMO.

Start by thinking where your run/bike/ swim are at now and how do you get to 1.2 mile swim/ 50 mile bike/ a 50k run. Many small steps right now will build that base for the end of Sept.
Looks like you have it a great start with the swimmming covered.


Trey,
1/2 in April? Sounds like your running base is easily there. How is the swimming and bike?
1.2 swim and a 50 bike. 4 months to go. You said you had some tri experience. Sprint or Oly? As Steve mentioned nutrition gets more and more import as the distances get out there.
Most are looking at 5 plus hrs on a 1/2 IM. Pacing through the swim and bike are also more important as the distances get longer. Had any experience/discussions on that topic? I think an Oly race beforehand might really help you there. The I'd say go for it and keep us in the loop on how the training is going.

Guys/Gals,

I want to be the last person to ever tell anyone that "it is too much". I am a big believer in, "If you can imagine it, you can do it". I like pushing what I am capable of. I figure if I can walk a block one day, I can walk two the next and hopefully run that block the following week.

Some of you have waaaaay more experience that I do running, swimming or on the bike. The only one that really knows what you are capable of is you! When in doubt trust yourself.

This mentoring stuff is tough. I want to see everyone succeed with their own goals. But I also judge those goals by the limited info you have posted and my limited experiences/education. I figure if I can do this stuff anyone can. Next thought, "are you also willing to put up with aftermath or biting off too much, too soon". I generally am. After all no one generally dies in a Tri :)

There is a funny saying I like, "Pain is just weakness leaving the body". Not getting enough sleep hurts me. The last 6 miles of a 1/2 IM hurt me. The last mile of a sprint hurts me. But I like it or I wouldn't keep doing it.

I want you all to succeed. I think a big part of that means we all live a healthier life style. Staying involved with this sport will mean a little pain some where along the line. Just don't take such a big hit that you keep yourself from your real goals.










Edited by Nob 2007-01-03 2:01 PM

Beautiful day here, and I got out early - time to ride the beater bike to the gym for a swim! I will get out on the road bike tomorrow once the schoolbuses are off the road.

(Easy schedule for me today and tomorrow. I can't complain.)

This nutrition log is interesting. ONE, it's a lot of good stuff for a free website, and TWO, I will finally get a good idea of how my diet works with my training.

Question for those of you with the paid memberships - worth the money?

Hey lets talk about something fun!

Bikes!

The bike is the easiest place to gain time in a Tri. The bike stage s generally the longest stag of any tri. (unless of course you run like I do)

Some of you are new to bikes or the sport in general. You might be want to buy a new bike or trade up and get a Tri specific bike.

Couple of thoughts for you.

Skinny tired bikes are always faster. Skinny smooth tires on a Mtn bike will be faster than a knobby tired Mtn bike. Rd bikes will be faster than a Mtn bike because they have smooth, skinny tires on bigger wheels. Tri bike will be faster on a almost any course than a Rd bike because of aerodynamics. Tri bike geometry can help save your legs for the run.

After my first season training only a Tri bike I wanted more saddle time on the bike. I found that I couldn't easily get the kind of miles I wanted for training on a Tri bike. I live in a fairly hilly area and 2500ft climbs in a 30/50 mile ride is not uncommon, more the norm. So I spend a lot of time on a road bike with a different gearing set up than my Tri bike. (I more than doubled my training miles by adding a rd bike) I ride the Tri bike for the most part of July and August. Always (to this point) race the Tri bike. The majority of our races give a big advantage to the aerodynamics of a Tri bike. But I might use a rd bike on some of our really hilly sprints next year....if I drop enough weight to be competitive on a hilly course.

If you live in a flat area of the country you may find that a Tri specific bike is all you need. Many locals here do as well and don't feel limited by not riding the many hills.

You'll see everything from a Kmart Mtn bike to a $6K Cervelo P3C in our local races. Never let your current trusty stead keep you from having just as much fun as the next guy. But rememebr where the easiest place to gain speed and "rest" is, the bike.

Blantantly stolen, good referenece stuff from Danielle's group...

Planning Training and Recovery
Beginner's Training Schedule Five month training plan to complete an Olympic Distance race.
Planning a Week Great resource on why it's important to vary intensity in workouts
Planning Your Race SeasonTalks about prioritizing races, tapering, and planning recovery as part of your race season. If this interests you and you want more info, the Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel goes into this.
VDOT Calculator Great way to determine your run pacing if you don't have an HR monitor.
Google Maps Pedometer For measuring run/ride distances

Nutrition
The Athlete's Kitchen really easy to read basic nutrition info
Nutrition 101 motivation
Calorie-Count.com Good site for help in nutrition planning

Race Prep
Tactics for Open-Water Swimming
Triathlon Swimming Race Rehearsal
Don't Let Fear-Based Training Sabotage Your Next Race Must read for anyone who has ever done something like practice for a 5K by racing a 5K in training the week of the actual race. Also has distance planning for Olympic Distance Races

edit after training today..

We all have specific strengths and limiters in Tri. My limiter or weakness is running by a big margin.

This time of year you should be working on your limiters. We typically don't because by definition they are harder for us than the rest of the sport.

If you get as far out at your limiter as I do running you'll need a prep period for running that you might not in your other two events. My swimming is always fine. I could get faster but I use much of that training time to work on my bike (bigger time gains for the training effort). So it is a trade off time wise. You still have to maintain base so I'll do one swim a week until just before tri season and then start on speed work.

My bike now stays pretty steady and gets better as I put on the miles in the spring. But even then I want to be at a century level of fitness before March 1. So I have to keep up the milage (long slow) and get in a 50 to 75 mile ride as often as possible. Hopefully at least once every two weeks right now.

Good time to either get your bike professionally fit or if you have been riding for some time, get it refit (because you are in better shape than last year from all that hard work ) and allow yourself a more aero position on the bike. Your body doesn't like change. With winter here and lower milage and the bike on the trainer, now is a perfect time to retro fit your bike, add clipless pedals or change seat and bars. Do it now and let your body slowly to the new position injury and pain free.

The only way to know how you are doing fitness wise is to document where you are at today. Weight, resting pulse, your max HR measured by HR monitor or by hand are good indicators of where you are at now. Write them down or log on to BT and start keeping track every day

Stress? We lost power here for 10 days and then on and off for a couple more. My resting HR went from the low 40s to the mid 50s during that time and I wasn't working out very much and not logging past my nightstand log book. This morning is the first time in weeks my resting pulse is back in the mid 40s. Also had one of the best workouts in the last month today.

Stress in your life will promote bad eating habits, add to your body weight and eventually kill you unaddressed. I took a "holiday" when we lost power. But the little bit of data I collected says it wasn't a good experience for me physically. I was a surprised.






Edited by Nob 2007-01-03 6:30 PM

All in all, I ate a pretty good amount today. I didn't plan for the chicken cordon bleu at dinner, but my roommate cooked, and hey, easy meal. As far as the rest is concerned, I ate when I was hungry. My last meal was a quick snack before bed because I was already getting hungry again and I hate waking up hungry (which happens a lot).

Notes:
1) Not enough carbs - specifically fruits and veggies. I need to be better about that, and the additional fiber will help fill me up.

2) Most of the food was nutritious. I don't know my body fat, but I'm doing alright. Weight loss is not a concern; my main concern is maintaining the proper energy levels for training and life in general. I hate feeling like I'm dragging .

Must go shopping again tomorrow and get some produce.

(My nutrition log is on my training log if anyone remotely cares. Advice is always appreciated).

Man do you have any idea how much I like chocolate chip cookies with walnuts?
You know the ones you buy in the store and bake up in 13 minutes at 375?

Love'um but they are poison. Everytime I eat them now I wake up with a mildly sore throat.
Acid reflux, suger over load, walnut alergy..who knows. It is like a hang over. I know it isn't good for me. White sugar aint good for you is my thought. Hate that. Just about as much as ZuZu the killer rotty pup hates not getting chocolate.

Couple of thoughts on diet for the few of us in the group looking to drop weight and get stronger. Until I hit 40+ and started doing a job that put me at a desk most of the day I never worried about my weight. I got enough physical activity to burn the junk food I ate.

Then the job got longer and the activities got less and less. Bad combo as I saw the weight pile up. I remember one holiday season seeing the scale hit 205 and thinking wow that is porking out for me. That was 10 years ago. I didn't see 205 again until this summer and I am above it again now.

This is what I have found that works for me. First thing to realise is weight loss, just like a tri is easy. You need a couple of things to make them easy. A good idea of what you are getting into and a road map to get to your goal.

Hopefully your workout schedule and some of what we share here will get you through a tri.

Weight loss is even easier. To loose weight you have to work more or eat less. Easy as that. I find that eating less and working more at the same time works even better. But just like training you have to ease inot it or you will fail. The prep, base, build, peak mentality will work here as well. You know when you are over doing it when all you think of is food. I sometimes dream of food. (you have now over trained/ or gone too far on the diet) Time to regroup and rethink what you are doing when you hit that stage. The prep stage si really important in a diet..start slow adding some exercise and cutting dowwn on the amount of food in every meal. It doesn't have toi be a big reduction. The idea is to get your stomach use to having less in it at every meal. No one likes feeling hungry. It takes time ot retrain your stomach that less cna still mean full.

Sounds silly but I use diet coke and popcorn to get me through the serious food cravings. Low in calories, high in bulk so you feel full. I try to eat it slowly..which also makes you feel more full.

Don't make the mistake of trying to get stronger while tryiing to loose weight. While it can be done I don't know many who are very successful at it. Most just think they are stronger because their body weight has declined. Working out will add muscle anyway as you loose fat. It is why many peopel freak out as they work out to loose weight but only end up gaining wieght and stopping the diet. As you get in better shape you will lower the percentage of body fat and gain musscle. Muscle weighs more so you gain weight.

To do a fat burning workout you need to go 45 min or longer. To do it best you need to go slow with a HR in zone 2. That is below 40. More like 25% of max. Walking or a slow jog gets the work done. LSW...or Long Slow Workouts.

You need to know the amount of caloreis your biody requies everyday. That changes a bit depending what your work out is. But the basic required levels don't.

Here are some rough numbers to get you a start:

110# athlete needs 1800 cal per day
120# 2000
130# 2200
150# 2500
165# 2700
180# 3000
195# 3200

and bigger guys like me have to eat even more IF I want to stay big

Those calories have to be divided up into 60% carbs, 22% fat and 18% protien to stay healthy.

You need to figure out your max HR so you can figure out at what percentage of that max you need to be working at. Then you need to figure out just how much food you should be eating compared to what you are actually eating. One pound is 3500 calories.

A dbl Whopper with cheese is a 1000 cal.
A med Coke 215
small fry 400
hot fudge sunday 300

If you eat 2000 calories more than what you burn every day that is a 4# gain every week!
You can't loose weight and stay healthy dropping 4# a week. A maximium of a 2# loss per week is a better goal.

We have it easy as Triatheletes...we train. Activity is more than is half the weight loss battle. Train enough and you can eat anything you like and still loose weight

The basic guidleines on diet are from Carmicheals book, "Food for Firtness".

Train hard, but better yet train smart.

Edited by Nob 2007-01-04 2:57 PM

Carmichael is well-known for his firtness, it's true!

Since no one else is posting I was just checking to see if anyone here is actually reading this stuff

Ya that's it. This is a test!

Edited by Nob 2007-01-04 6:46 PM

Sure am! OT, I like BT already. Met another member for a ride today. Otherwise, it would have been me all on my lonesome, and I probably wouldn't have been as motivated. Good times.

READING WHAT????

Simple things like the questions people ask you..........

Oh.... In that case....

Hey gang!

YES, I am enjoying everyone's posts. I read them when I get a chance. As for the food, I tend to cut weight the quickest by simply training. It has always worked for me. Last year I tried turning myself into a vegetarian for three months. Whether it was the vegetarian diet or the training, something worked and I was able to lose the weight I wanted.

The vegetarian diet was fairly easy for me . . . my wife is a vegan-vegetarian. Talk about strict diet/lifestyle!!!! I wish I had the discipline, but I don't. I LIKE MEAT! And cheese, eggs, honey, etc.

Anyway, I'm feeling good about this group and looking forward to seeing everyone meet their goals!!!

Keep on keeping on!!!!

Don't get me wrong, guys - I'm not trying to lose weight - I'm trying to increase my power-to-weight ratio!

Nutrition got funky today due to two workouts. I am damn glad I took the time to EAT WELL after my run before going out to bike - Clif Bar, half a sweet potato, leftover mac 'n' cheese, bucket of water. On the bike - Clif Bar, 1 bottle of Gatorade Endurance, bike bottle of water. Post-ride - Clif Bar, half a bottle of Gatorade. Good dinner two hours later. Snack a few minutes ago... it doesn't end.

When I look at what I burned compared to what I ate, though, and knowing that I must be building some muscle in the meantime, I can't complain.

HOPEFULLY I will sleep through the night tonight...