Women Ready to Tri - OPEN (Page 2)

Three bike sessions and 2-3 swim sessions per week is great!  Do you have a trainer, or is all of your riding outside?  Do you have a heart rate monitor or do you base your efforts on feel?

As for running, I am of the opinion that twice a week is just too little.  If you are willing to run 4-5 times a week, that would make a huge difference, I think!  Not all runs have to be long....and certainly should not be hard.  If you could manage to do two runs at 15 minutes, two at 30 minutes, and possibly one more run at 45 minutes, that would put you squarely in the "I'm going to race this sprint and finish strong!" category, versus "I hope I survive!"  The short runs could be immediately after biking or swimming, so it still feels like one training session and doesn't eat up your whole day.

Though I suspect morning training may become a necessity.  I know it did for me!  I train before work five days a week, and most days are double sessions, so I also train after work.  But I fully admit that I train a lot and that's not everyone's cup of tea. 

Funny how different people prefer different things.  I absolutely HATE lunch workouts....admittedly, I'm a heavy sweater, so if I were going to train, I'd need to have a shower available.  And if I'm going to keep lunch to roughly an hour, and need to waste time on a shower and getting to/from wherever my training is, all the sudden I only have time for like 15 minutes of training.

I love my morning workouts....it sets my day off in a good trajectory.  My evening workouts are usually decent as well, with the exception of when work is crazy and I can't get out anywhere near on time.  Because of that, I generally do my intensity training in the morning, and easy stuff in the evenings....can cut the easy stuff a bit short if necessary.

I totally get what you're saying!  I pack a healthy lunch for work every day.  A few times a month, we have lunch meetings, where they cater lunch (usually with crap I don't eat, like fried catfish or Mexican food with tons of beans and cheese).  Literally every single time, someone comments on my eating habits (like, "Oh, what's Nicole eating today?" or "You have such strong will power" or "I wish I could do that")....and last month, I was responded by saying, "I'm glad we can discuss my eating habits all the time....can we schedule a meeting to do so again next month?"  Guess what -- no one commented this month!

I also work long days (not shift work, though) and have a demanding job.  If I let myself, I could work many additional hours, but I choose to make my training a priority.  I value my work-life balance and I'm certain it makes me a more productive, healthy, well-balanced employee.....and if anyone were to ever call me out on it, we'd have a very serious discussion if this was the right position for me.

As for having the energy and potentially losing weight, make sure you are fueling yourself with healthy options and that you are hydrating sufficiently.  If I'm ever falling behind on either of those, I can tell.  If I'm feeling sluggish, I look at what I'm eating and make sure I don't have crap in there.....I find adding good fats (think avocado, almonds, EVOO) really turns things around quickly.

Originally posted by anime_lover1992 Hello Kate, My name is Angela. I have the goal of completing the Iron Man 70.3 in July. I was in XC in college about 5 years ago. Having my weight creep up has been discouraging. The biggest journey aside from the physical distance and endurance, is the mental grit that you need when you are an overweight athlete. I have a full-time desk job at a non-profit, but I also work out in the evenings after work ends ( about 9 p.m.) I work out late and then my post-run meal is usually even later. My schedule is what I struggle with. I did advanced swimming classes in college (where stroke and form was the emphasis), so I haven't actually been spending a lot of time in the pool, but the most I have swam in one sitting was one mile. I have two half marathons under my belt, countless 5K's and 10Ks. While it is cold outside I have been indoor cycling at the gym and on their indoor bike, have about 4 minutes a mile as my average speed, while keeping cadence of 85-95 rpm. Figuring out how to match my training schedule ( which starts in March) with my work and family life will be a feat. I also consider myself a Yogi Weight loss is a goal of mine. Even when I was 40 pounds lighter, I still always felt fat. The hardest part is choosing to love yourself, when you are still working on being the best version of yourself. My goal weight loss is to lose 50 pounds. I've always been bigger, even as a kid. The frustrating piece is wanting your weight to drop down, while you gain muscle mass. Gaining muscle while loosing fat is a hard uphill battle.

XC and swimming background?  You're gonna kick butt!  Welcome!

As I mentioned in my last post, make sure you're eating good, healthy, nutritional food and hydrating sufficiently.  Working until 9pm and then training and eating after would definitely not be ideal for me (I'm a morning person....I'm literally getting into bed when you're getting off work!).  What time do you get up in the morning?  Do you have time for lunch training sessions?  Make sure you're getting enough sleep....recovery is a severely undervalued component of triathlon!

Swimming 1.2 miles in 24 minutes is like pro-level fast!  Where did you swim this?  In the pool or open water?  How did you determine the distance?  I'm only asking because that kind of time is very (VERY) good and generally people swimming that kind of time won't be asking "is that good or bad?"  But hopefully everything checks out because that's really awesome!

Biking 4 min/mile = 15 mph.  Assuming the course is similar to where you're riding and you've put in the work to sustain that (plus swim before and run after), that would put you at about a 3h 45m bike split.

You get 8.5 hours to complete a HIM, so it sounds like you're on your way.  Keep up the training and you'll continue to make progress.

As for run training -- imo, your best bet is a lot of easy running on flat surfaces.  Don't worry about hill work or speed work or anything like that....keep the running easy (conversational, low HR) and consistent.  The worst way to "prepare" for a race is to overdo it and get yourself injured.  Just know that when you race, you may have to walk some of the hills, but that beats not making it to the start line!  Keep the Achilles happy in the meantime.

I had some blood work done last week and it turns out I'm slightly low in Iron (not at the point of being anemic yet), Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12.  I'd like to get these levels up by adding nutrient-rich foods to my diet, rather than using supplements, but I'm also cognizant of the fact that some supplements may be necessary.

Anyone else get blood work done regularly?  Anyone make changes to their diets as a result of the results?  Anyone have supplements that they like / recommend?

I don't eat a lot of red meat, but I'll be adding it back into my diet (started today even!).  I generally eat a good amount of nutrient-rich foods (leafy greens, yogurt, milk, eggs, good fats), but the seafood around here has left a lot to be desired, so I don't eat much fish and haven't been eating much red meat either.  Will be experimenting for the next several weeks and may see if I can get another round of lab work done and decide if I want to supplement. 

I'm not Kate, but I'm sure she'll welcome you, so I'll just say "welcome to the group!"

Where do you live?  Which races are you looking at (the Oly in June and the HIM in July)?  Do you have any other options?  The reason I'm asking is that if you know your schedule will be packed and you may not get adequate training in during the months of April through June, maybe these two races aren't the best ones to target.  Do you have any options for, say, September?

What are you doing to treat the piriformis issue?  Have you tried foam rolling (or rolling with a softball)?  Certainly not pleasant, but it goes a long way to clearing up piriformis issues!

Most people will swim freestyle.  Some people will breast stroke (or breast stroke for part of it to catch their breath and/or sight), but if you choose to breast stroke, place yourself on the outside so the wide kick won't impact others.  Some people will flip over and backstroke a little bit to catch their breath, but it is nearly impossible to sight in open water doing backstroke, so it shouldn't be your primary stroke.

Do you have access to a masters group?  Or any private instruction?  If not, youtube has lots of videos on freestyle technique and you can even try to get some video of yourself from the deck (though I'm not an expert by any means and probably cannot provide much meaningful feedback....but I do know people who can!).