tcovert's Winter 2009 Mentor Group - FULL (Page 2)

Yes, I recently joined a gym with the Expresso bikes and they are too cool.  I feel like I get a really good workout and I'm not so bored being forced indoors.  Ice storm coming tonight.  Even the IceMan doesn't like that.

 For swimming help, try the Masters Swimmers Asso. in your area.  Inexpensive and great coaching.  Mine took me from a 100-yard plower to a long distance swimmer in 6 short weeks just focusing on form.  As he says, there is always something to learn.  That's what makes this so fun for me.

Ice 

Todd,

That's really weird ... I thought I pulled my hamstring last night on a similar turn off the wall.  Very short sensation, and I chalked it up to a quick cramp.  Sorry to hear about yours.

Also, I just realized that I'm going to miss out on both Wildflower and Vineman this year.  Board of Directors meetings in May (I'm in non-profit, too) and a summer trade show in July (a non-profit trades show organization, no less!).

So, my longer distance goals might be a problem ... anyone know of any good California Oly distance races in the summer? 

Susie,

I'm in the same boat, so mind if I jump in?

First, I've got a wife and two kids, 5 1/2 and 2.  My wife works as well, although she does it out of her home office.  Still, time and scheduling are important, and I cannot and will not sacrifice time with the kids.

Luckily, I work close to home.  When the weather is nice (it's an icy-cold 50 or so degrees here in SoCal), I ride my bike to and from work 3 times a week.  That's about an 18 mile round trip.  Since it's colder in the mornings now and getting dark early, I bring my bike to work with me and squeeze in a 45 minute ride at lunch twice a week.  I've got a shower here at work, which makes it easy.

Beyond that, I'm a dad in the evenings.  Get home, make dinner and do the dishes, help get the kids in the bath, help with daughter's homework, get the kids to bed by 8:00pm.  After that, I head to the local YMCA and either swim, run on the treadmill or cycle on the stationary if I've missed a workout.  If I've got enough time (the Y closes at 10:00pm), I'll do a brick.

I also try to meet up with a group for a 2000m open water swim every Friday morning before work, but it's getting harder and harder to wake up that early during the winter months.  It's also cold, and I'm a baby

Saturday's are typically my days off, and if the weather is good I'll do a 35 to 50 mile ride on Sundays.

It's tough.  I want to step up to Oly distance as well but it's hard to find more than an hour or so a day to train, and I need the volume.  One thing I've done, however, is to try to fit in as much as I can in the little time I have.  Only 30 to 45 minutes to run? Well, then pick up the pace and get more miles into the time.  Actually, this has been great in terms of conditioning.  Not huge differences yet, but noticeable.  

Home by 10:00pm and time with the wife.  We're both typically up until about midnight, so we get our time together.  

What specific challenges do you face? 

Aloha all

Damn so much happening and I only got 10 mins battery life left so I'm jotting this down and then I'll read thread & catch up at work tomorrow.

Couple of disjointed jottings from the triathletes desk......

If you want to remember how hard it was when you started out cop a look at my log. It's going to be nostalgic for some of you. Perhaps it will frighten you in to keeping on the sacred path to Kona or where ever or perhaps inspire you as you think I was there once and look at me now.

When I was out tonight on my jog/walk (Oh I feel such a newbie all over again - oh well I keep remembering what the outcome is and that patience is a virtue.) I remember my days of my youth when I would run 100 miles per week.Then I started to ponder about coaches and the like and it occurred to me that it isn't the volume of training you do or the time you or the 110% all the time every time etc, etc, that gets you to your goals. It is training smart that does it. That means sometimes a bit of volume, sometimes a bit of time, sometimes 110% but; sometimes resting the right amount. There is always a danger of getting it wrong and doing too much. You can easily train too much but (relatively speaking) you can never rest too much.

Well just a thought or two.

Take care and Mahalo all. - Paul

Hello to all

 Lot's of great stories told and great journeys being started. Nice to meet you all! I'll add you to my logs. I hope we can all help one onother to reach our goals, whatever they may be!

 Jake

I'm doing my first sprint in June at the Tri Sharks Classic in Hudson, Il about 10 miles from Bloomington Normal June 6.  Then an Oly in July 18 at the same location.  After that, I plan to evaluate what I can do...a half somewhere by the end of the year?  I don't know.  I'd also like to try a long distance run, like a marathon, but those are bold words for a guy who has yet to race 10K. 

I'm enjoying BT and this group has lots of enthusiasm and good experience. I appreciate your help, all of you. 

Ice 

For me:

Early Marathon April (hopefully if my knee heals quick)

Early Summer HIM

Bridging to Aug 30 IM Louisville (registered)

Maybe a sprint or Oly, or a bike ride mixed in, but not a lot of races overall

Basically my year is going to be a journey to Ironman, which has been a secret dream of mine for quite a while. Now I just have to put one proverbial foot in front of the other.

At this point I have no idea what races I will be doing. I could actually use some advice from you guys in that respect. I tend to set goals that are nearly impossible to reach so I need to find some races that are definately doable for me even if i have a few set backs in training.

Im currently doing the couch to 5k, which at some point i am going to roll into a Gallowalking training plan.  I recently got laid off from my job (thank you housing market, prolly shouldnt have gone into civil engineering) so I really cant justify paying for a gym to swim until I get back on my feet again. I have a mountain bike i need to dig out and start riding again, but for now i think I am going to focus on running. I have never been a runnner so I know it will be an uphill battle for me.

 My biggest issue is dropping some weight before i start training hard. In the 10 weeks of good exercise I did over the summer, i managed to drop weight really fast at first but had a hard time once I hit a certain volume of training. I want to keep my training manageable until i can drop another 20 pounds or so.

 Any advice would be welcomed. I log all my workouts so you can see where I am at. Ive found some local races, just need some opinions on how long you guys trained until you started getting out there.

Thanks everyone,

Matt

Trail of Turmoil 10k - San Diego, January 4

Surf City 5k - Huntington Beach, February 1 (see you there, Todd!)

UCSD Tritonman (sprint) - Mission Bay, February 21

Encinitas Triathlon (sprint) - Encinitas, May 17th

Need to find that Oly ... I like the looks of the one in Ventura, but registration is not open yet. 

Aloha Susie

I just wanted to put my two cents in for what it is worth.

In spite of my current state I have covered considerable time training from time to time I am married with 2 small boys and consider myself (although the family may disagree) a 'good' dad. First I discuss my training plans with the family so they are aware what I intend to be doing. They get a chance to suggest better ideas and times etc.

My plans are always adaptable so that if something comes up there is not a problem rescheduling a session and they are more understanding in helping me do so. As a rule birthdays, anniversaries, Xmas and special days (each month each of us has a day where we decide everything the family will do so we all have a special day every month) I plan no training... but they usually specify I go anyway as it happens. I must be a grouch if I stay in.

Also having a younger family they are usually in bed by 22:00 hrs and so is my better half so I tend to schedule training late night or early morning. If I go to bed at 22:00 I can be up at 05:00 no problem and get out then before the family is up. So much of my training is done out with this family's time so to speak.

My partner goes to the gym and so she gets to go 3 days a week and I get the kids and do the school run and I get to go 2 days. That's when I get my gym and swim work done. On my day off I get another swim in while my wife is in the gym and we do spin class together and then have a lunch 'date'.

If you can do some training as you commute to places so much the better.

Also indoor trainer (worth getting a really quiet one) is great for dark night and mornings and when the other half is watching TV. They can watch and you can watch and ride.

Good luck and Mahalo - Paul

Offthegrid - 2008-12-18 2:37 PM Someone posted a video on the main tri forum that has really made things click for me with what I was doing wrong. It feels completely unnatural for me at this point, and I kept forgetting to breathe because I was focusing so much on "early vertical forearm." I thought I had decent swimming form -- I took like 12 weeks of lessons and even had been videotaped. But I am realizing that I don't know the first thing about it. So I am very hopeful that with all the drills and improvements I'm making now, that I won't be one of the last ones out of the water any more.

Many thanks for the vid I linked to the training site and a lot of good stuff there. I got another distinction from this video so I am ever so grateful.

By the way, on the subject of swimming, I am awful so far. Despite training frontcrawl I have done all 3 of my open water swims breast stroke and more or less last. However it is a well known maxim in tri circles that you don't win by coming out of the water first. You win by finishing the run first. Makes little difference to those of us at the back but puts it into perspective perhaps.

Paul

 Thanks for the swimming video.  It's right where I'm at, working to get the proper anchoring point and stop the gliding.  I can do the distances, but I need to build stroke efficiency. My coach was talking to me about that point on Tuesday. 

Anyone else feeling hurried in their workouts over the holidays?  I noticed it starting last week.  It feels like as soon as I get to the gym, I'm supposed to be somewhere else.  Still, I've done OK...even went to the gym last night to add a swim and bike to my Thursday after the Masters Swimming Asso. pool turned out to be closed for maintenance at 5:30 a.m. My wife has been a dream. (Married just this year. She cycles and understands and accepts her husband is insane.) I feel like I've got to keep moving through the holidays to help make the right food choices.

I'm getting in 4- 5 bikes a week, swimming 3x and running 3x.   Total workouts an hour, 90 mins or two hours.  During good weather, I ride 30- to 70 or even 100 miles once or twice a weekend.  The real decrease during winter is in the bike so I increase the intensity and do intervals on the cycling machines at the gym. 

As for when we jumped into the workouts during weight loss, what I found was the intensity and time increased as if on its own.   When I felt better, I went longer and harder. At 57 and a cancer survivor who's lost enough time on the side lines, injuries are a major concern for me so I listen to my body.  I don't "tough it through" pain.  Most of what I've read from Ironmen competitors says to stop when you hurt or you will just make the injury more severe and increase recovery time.  I also try to seek advice and ask for help (which is why I'm here.)  For example, Kathy got me an iPOD headphone for my birthday in September and I immediately downloaded an interval training session with Lance Armstrong - and started doing it every time I ran, every other day for a week.  Ouch.  When I mentioned it to some triathletes around here, they told me no wonder, do intervals like once a week or even once every two weeks.  I took it easy on the runs for 10 days and now absolutely no problems. 

Still not fast enough, but hey, it's not even January.  In August, I was starting by walking two minutes and running one.  I've come far already.  Someone mentioned they were comparing themselves to others in the pool.  I had a chance to interview Terri Schneider (Ironman competitor and author of the new Triathlon Revolution, great book) who warned that once we get a little experience at triathlon skills, we will tend to do the comparison thing.  Our minds tend to focus on what we lack, not how far we've come.  Our self-speak should be positive.  Takes work and practice but positive thinking is the key.    

Aloha Matt

Couple of thoughts:-

If you are carrying extra pounds (and lets be honest I should know) it makes some sense to take the running easy and go heavy on the cycling. Cycling will provide some run conditioning and give less likely hood of injury if you are carrying extra.

As you are doing couch to 5k I would stick the plan and NOT add in extra just know. Instead get used to riding the bike. It'll help the running and be easier on the body.

Also if you are intent on dropping those extra pounds why not consider joining a weight loss challenge in the tri ing for weight loss thread. If you want and would like to join in one together, give me a kick and I'll join with you for some added support. I will be joining one by the 22nd.

Any how just thoughts. Paul

Aloha

I got an ipod mainly for the trainer but I do wear it running to - (okay I'm a rebel) only one ear plug though - honest. However there is a load of stuff on the istore podcasts tri related. You might want to have a look. Great for inspiration, learning etc. Again just a thought. I'd be happy to share the podcasts I listen to (many ain't my thing but many are good). Makes a change to music blaring and so probably a little safer to I guess.

Paul

Races this year

May - Stansberry Park (Sprint)

June - Battle at Midway (Modified Sprint)

Aug - Oly Maybe?

 Austin