Mtskibum's Group - FULL (Page 2)

Sarah,

I like your plan. Stick with it and make sure you log your workouts! It's really an amazing feeling to be able to look back 6 months from now and see what you have accomplished. When I first started "training" I basically started by walking on my lunch hour. I would get out from my desk and go walk a mile or 2 for my lunch hour. After a while I started running and biking. I think if you keep walking and get to the pool and start working on your TI drills, that is an excellent start. Just remember to log your workouts so we can all cheer you on!

Are you REALLY full???

BAMBAM said I should ask anyway...

Mere, sorry to hear about your toe. It's definitely a set back for running but swimming for sure and possibly biking could be in your future. Take the time to heal up correctly and work on the things that you can. Keep your head up!

As for favorite sport, I really can't say. It changes around all the time. At certain points I love one more than the other. Right now I have no idea since I'm hardly doing any of them...lol.

An interesting note though is that I feel that my swimming is my worst discipline but every single race I've done I've placed higher in swimming than in both of the others. It's always swimming first, biking second and running second. That's why I had planned on running over the winter to get better, but that plan kind of went out the window.

I'm still not better from my cold so I haven't done anything. I did FEEL like running tonight which is a good sign. I think I'll get in a run tomorrow and I'm contemplating a swim before work on Thursday. Let's see if I can make it happen.

Jeff

Biking is definitely my favorite. It was freedom for me growing up as well. Funny thing is, I've never riden a road bike before I bought this one last fall. But oh do I love it. Something really cool about going 40 mph on a bike! I actually did that in a race last year. Crazy adrenaline.

I've always thought my swimming was the worst, but in all my races last year, my swim was great. I swam farther than ever before and actually got out of the water without thinking I was going to die. That was a major accomplishment for me.

So, do you guys think we have room for one more in our group? Steph would like to join. She was in my mentor group awhile back. Sounds like she is ready for a comeback.

Sorry about your toe, Mere.  How are you doing today?

The more the merrier in the group, bring on Steph!

Our group was on the second page....come on peeps....what's everybody up to? I actually got up and swam this morning. It was the first time in about two months. Practically a miracle!

Welcome, Stephanie! 

Question for Mtskibum:  What is a respectable time to complete the biking portion of a Sprint?

Thanks!

VA 

Hi there:

 I've been continuing my running, and added a new event - slogging through several feet of snow while walking the dog. While I had planned to go to the swimming pool this week to start my total immersion swimming drills, I wasn't going to drive any further than need be, unfortunately! 

Have other people done the total immersion swimming? How long does it take to go from the drills to actually swimming?

 thanks!

VA,

As for a reasonable time on the bike, it depends. Here's how my goofy brain works. I would go to the website for the race you want to do. Look at the results from last year for people in your age group. See what the bike split times are. Then, do a time trial on your bike. Do a good warmup, and then do the time trial for the same distance as the race distance. Then compare your time with the results list and see where you are. That way you can find out where you want to be and then work towards it. Does that make sense?

When I was training for my first tri, I had a time in my head before the race that I wanted to hit on my bike. I based it on results from the previous years and on my training times. That gave me something to work towards.

Hope that helps.

Pat,

Good luck on the time trial!

As for the time management, that is the trickiest part. We all have busy lives and we try to fit triathlon into them. I have had to sacrifice sleep to get workouts in and I also train on my lunch hour. It is the only way I can get it all in. I have my son every other day and every other weekend. I schedule my training around that. I've also included him on it. This last summer and fall, when I needed to run after work, I would run and he would ride his bike. It was good excercise for him and we had a little bonding time at the end of the day.

The other thing is morning workouts. I'm NOT a morning person, but I had to learn how to be to get my training in. One thing I also finally did was to schedule my life around my training instead of my training around my life. I put my workouts at the top of the priority list. That way, they got done. It's a balancing act for sure. You can get too extreme either way. My goal is to find the balance. Right now, family is more important, come summer, races get a little more priority and more focus. Just make sure you have fun and keep it balanced!

mw

Total Immersion is how I learned how to swim the right way. The drills are very important. They teach you balance. I have to be honest, I got bored just doing drills all the time, but I also know that it helped me get the balance I needed.

Personally, I think I spent too much time on the drills the first year. My first triathlon I had a tough time on the swim. So, looking back, I would say do the drills 2 times a week, and then at least once a week just swim as far as you can. Work up to where you are swimming farther than your race distance. That way, when you race, you will know you have swam that far. I didn't do this the first race and was a bit panicked at the beginning of the swim.

Week one, swim as far as you can without stopping. Then add a little each week. Keep doing the drills and try to incorporate them. For me, more time in the pool made all the difference. Swimming 4 days a week helps so much more than just 2 days a week.

The other thing is, the swim part of a triathlon is a contact sport. You need to be ready to get swam over and vice versa. It happens and you need to be aware of it so you don't freak out when you are racing. My first race I was so worried about hitting anyone around me, that I spent all my time with my head out of the water and not swimming. I wasted tons of energy and had a slow crappy swim. After that I made up my mind that I was just going to swim and it went much better. I've been kicked and punched and swam over. It's just how it goes.

mw

Hey everyone, Week 1 is in the books. How'd we do? Where are we at? What was the good the bad and the ugly last week? Time to look back and see what needs to be tweaked a bit.

Personally, I felt like I was out of shape and having to get back into it. I had a couple good days of training. Sunday was a great outdoor run. I've had to change up my schedule due to parenting time changes starting next week. I also have to focus this week and only eat what I need for fuel so I can be light and fast for my race this saturday. The bonus is, my back is finally feeling normal! That's a big plus.

I'm still waiting to see some logs from Mere, Babycakes8, trimomnewbe. and A Little Madness. Make sure you log your workouts or sports or whatever you are doing so you can track it!

I saw some good stuff from the rest of you guys, keep posting those logs and keep with the plan. It gets much easier as time goes by. It only takes 21 days to make a new habbit. Do a little bit everyday and you'll be suprised where you are in a month!