enginerd's geek heaven - FULL (Page 2)
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() treehugger - 2009-04-09 8:36 AM Thanks, Donato. I was planning to do a running-focused plan (after I recover from Big Sur) since I enjoy running the most, but would you recommend doing a cycling-focused plan to improve my weakest discipline? I haven't done Big Sur before, but signed up for it for the privilege of running through that beautiful scenery. It's been a great motivator through the long, grey Midwestern winter! Also, I didn't mean to be presumptuous in my earlier post - okay if I join the group? Oh yes, absolutely you're in, not presumptuous at all. You'll love the Big Sur marathon. It's beautiful, of course. Windy and hilly course though, so challenging. Where in the midwest are you? I'm originally from St. Louis and my wife is from Wisconsin. re: your question about cycling/weakest discipline, it depends on your goals. i think all of us have a favorite discipline, so it's natural to skew your training that way. As I mentioned in a previous post, cycling is the biggest component in a tri, so it definitely helps to develop that (will likely give biggest gains). If it's your weakest discipline, then that would go doubly so. That being said, it is also the most time consuming. So, it depends on your goals, but it sounds like more cycling would help. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() NAME: kkcbelle/Kyla STORY: Live in Bellevue, WA. As I mentioned before, I'm a former swimmer (from age 6 through college, swam for Kenyon College [DIII] and was member of NCAA Championship team 4 years running; I swam distance and the mile was my best event). Took up running after college, always curious about triathlon and joined a group with my Y two years ago, and the rest is history! I like going long and slow much more than short and fast! FAMILY STATUS: Married, age 41, two kids (9-year-old boy, 7-year-old girl), one dog (18 mo. Flat-Coated Retriever), two rats (Kermit and Scabbers) CURRENT TRAINING: Doing the BT Silver HIM training program. I'm pretty dedicated to this and have a very anal personality so I am trying to follow it closely. If I need to give something up, I try to have it be the swim since that is my strongest suit. Biking is my limiter for sure. 2008 RACES: 3 (?) sprints, one Oly, 1-2 half marys 2009 RACES: Victoria, BC HIM (not an m-dot, and actually a wee bit shorter) on June 21, and whatever else the schedule allows. Will likely log some local sprints, would like to figure out another HIM, am slightly toying with the idea of an October mary (Portland). WEIGHTLOSS: I am happy where I am. It wasn't until after the birth of my 2nd child that I finally, for the first time in my life, started to feel OK about my body. I love dessert, but I exercise a ton so it's OK. I weigh myself (mostly) daily and try to stop any slow creeps before they start! OTHER: I ran my first mary in 1998 (Napa), then ran 3 in 2003 the summer my 2nd child turned 1 (Big Sur, San Francisco, Chicago). In 2007 I ran the North Olympic Discovery, and in 2008 the Phoenix Rock n Roll. I really want to do an IM but haven't figured out when it will best fit into my life (maybe it's like having a kid and there is never a "right time" and you just need to DO IT). I'm a stay-at-home mom and try to keep my training from impacting my family (too much). Oh, and for the geeks out there, my posts are previewing with my text centered and I don't know why, so I apologize if it looks weird! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Hi everyone! Name: Kelli Story: Live in NYC, although I love San Francisco and would love to switch coasts later this year as long as the job market is nice to me. I've run on and off for years and have always been active. A few years ago I watched a friend complete her first triathlon. Almost instantly I knew it was something I wanted to do. It took me a couple years, but after teaching myself to swim properly, and drinking gallons of pool water in the process, last year I did my first tri and was instantly addicted! Family Status: Single Current Training: I'm in my third week of training for my first HIM (Timberman) and loving every second! I have a great plan that I'm following and currently training 10-13 hours a week....S/B/R each 3x/week. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Hi Chris. Welcome to the group! Looks like you're doing some serious training volume already. What's the Everest Challenge? www.everestchallenge.com It's a 2 stage race in Eastern Sierras. Both days add up to about 200 miles and 27k feet of climbing. I'm on call that week so unless I can find a replacement I wont be able to do it. Its the closest I'll get to a TdF mountain stage but I somehow don't think there's going to be much tactics or anything that resembles a peloton. Just a sufferfest. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() We're getting very close to filling up our group. Here's a quick a table of our group so far with links to everyone's training logs (if I did it correctly). Speaking of training logs, some of you are using this feature. It's useful for keeping track of your training progress and also provides an opportunity to leave Inspires for each other to provide encouragement, comments, feedback on each others training (and life) which tends to be one of the best parts of BT. So I do encourage you all to make use of the logs and the inspires to help support each other. I'll be sure to check in with everyone a couple times a week too. Once the table is complete, you can paste this into your Goals section of your Display Settings so that you have easy access to each other's Training Logs (you can also do this by adding everyone as a friend)
Edited by enginerd 2009-04-20 7:24 PM |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() What about me? Will you take me too? I won't be any trouble I promise... I just like to post a lot! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() crea0029 - 2009-04-09 11:30 AM What about me? Will you take me too? I won't be any trouble I promise... I just like to post a lot! Hey, Pam. It'd be great to have you in the group. Post your background info! |
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Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Hello, I'd love to join this mentor group - if possible. I will add some additional personal info. later on. Thanks, Ronen
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Ronen - 2009-04-09 1:26 PM Hello, I'd love to join this mentor group - if possible. I will add some additional personal info. later on. Thanks, Ronen
Sure thing Ronen. Welcome to the group! |
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Elite ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() As a not quite so newb tri person attempting to up my training for my first IM, how in blazes do you do 2 IM in the same month Donato? You must have some insane base going there. |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Baowolf - 2009-04-09 4:18 PM As a not quite so newb tri person attempting to up my training for my first IM, how in blazes do you do 2 IM in the same month Donato? You must have some insane base going there. Yeah -- I was wondering that too. And feeling envious!! I'll add in a question for the group... I know (have "heard" or read) that a good cadence to shoot for/maintain is 90rpm. (Yes, I know everyone's different and that's just a ballpark...) Was wondering what is the "optimum" cadence when you're cranking away on a long hill? Is there a line of thought on that? I had a 2-mile hill at the end of my ride today and found my cadence hovering around 75. That felt decent, so I tried to keep it there as best I could, which led me to wonder and ask about it. I'm looking forward to getting to "know" our group. I love that we have some great experience out there and some newer triathletes as well. Seems like there are quite a few endurance runners too. It'll be a fun spring!! ~Kyla |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() kkcbelle - 2009-04-09 2:47 PM [I know (have "heard" or read) that a good cadence to shoot for/maintain is 90rpm. (Yes, I know everyone's different and that's just a ballpark...) Was wondering what is the "optimum" cadence when you're cranking away on a long hill? Is there a line of thought on that? I had a 2-mile hill at the end of my ride today and found my cadence hovering around 75. That felt decent, so I tried to keep it there as best I could, which led me to wonder and ask about it. I'm looking forward to getting to "know" our group. I love that we have some great experience out there and some newer triathletes as well. Seems like there are quite a few endurance runners too. It'll be a fun spring!! ~Kyla I would say 75 up a hill is pretty good. You dont want to mash below 60 (though sometimes you dont have a choice) as it will tax your legs too much. The best analogy I've been taught about spinning is its like weight lifting. If you have 1,000 lbs to lift, it will be less taxing on the body to lift 50 lbs 20 times than 250 lbs 4 times. It makes sense but there are still people out there that do well on the flats with a 70-80 cadence, such as Jan Ullrich. Edited by furiousferret 2009-04-09 5:07 PM |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() furiousferret - 2009-04-09 3:06 PM
The best analogy I've been taught about spinning is its like weight lifting. If you have 1,000 lbs to lift, it will be less taxing on the body to lift 50 lbs 20 times than 250 lbs 4 times. It makes sense but there are still people out there that do well on the flats with a 70-80 cadence, such as Jan Ullrich. x2 on all this. I really like that weight lifting analogy. I spin, but on a big hill (and we have plenty around here in San Francisco), I don't always have a choice/gearing so may have to mash. I have a buddy (who is also here on BT) who is doing tris, but was a weightlifter in previous years so he has a lot of fast twitch muscle and so he always prefers to push a bigger gear at slower rpm, but he can't sustain that with power (sorry for the run on sentence...). |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Hi everyone! I am so glad to join into this group! I think there will certainly be a lot of interesting conversations and I really hope to learn a lot about how to make my first Ironman experience memorable and successful. Name: Pam/ crea0029 Story: My story is kind of interesting. First off I am 23 years old. I was as anti-sport as possible all through high school and during the summer of sophomore year of college, I found this book in the library called Slow Fat Triathlete (check it out... it is funny and awesome!). All of a sudden after I got done with this book, I started trying to run. I couldn't run more than a quarter of a mile, I could bike but not a lot and even though I could swim, I hadn't been in the pool forever. My first 5k was slow... 39:15, but I wanted to finish that first one bad and I kept at it. I bought my bike that spring and in July I finished my first sprint distance triathlon at the Door County Triathlon. I was hooked and I started trying to figure out how to get faster and stronger. This was also when I decided that someday I would do an Ironman. The next year I just let things slip and had a year where I barely competed, a bad half marathon to blame that burned me out. Last year I decided when Door County added a half Ironman course, I would use that to decide if I could get fit enough to complete it and strong enough to sign up for Ironman. The race went well and in September I went to volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin. That is actually were I met Donato. I spent from 5 am to 12:30 am at the race site and was back in line at 7 am to sign up for this year. In and out of all that, I graduated from college with a degree in child psychology and now work at a hospital in the impatient child psychiatric unit as a counselor. The job has weird hours but I only work 4 days a week which is doing well with all the training. Family Status: Single, but somedays it feels like I am married to my training and I am sure it is only going to get worse. Current Training: I'm currently on a 36 week Ironman training plan that is modified to accommodate my race schedule and my running and biking weaknesses. I am averaging at least 10 hours a week but it has been creeping up to 15 and will only get higher as the main race gets closer!
I have already completed a few 5ks and a half marathon. I will be adding in a few other 5ks because I love racing and my friends and I love to just have fun with these. May- Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon June- 100K Diabetes Bike Ride and Bellin 10K July- Door County Half Ironman August- Jerabek 4 miler turned into a bike/run/bike duathlon, 92 mile Race Around the Lake Bike Ride, and maybe another triathlon... maybe September 13th- Ironman Wisconsin!!! |
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Veteran ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() enginerd - 2009-04-09 1:31 PM Ronen - 2009-04-09 1:26 PM Hello, I'd love to join this mentor group - if possible. I will add some additional personal info. later on. Thanks, Ronen Sure thing Ronen. Welcome to the group!
Thanks! About me: NAME: Ronen AGE: 39 FAMILY STATUS: I am married with 3 children (13,10 and 6). CURRENT TRAINING: Swimming: Masters program with a great coach. 3 times a week - at 5:30AM. Bike: I take 2 spin classes a week. Running: Well, not as much as I should or want. 2009 RACES: Jan 25th - Carlsbad marathon (Done) Mar 14th - St. Patrick 10K (Done) Apr 26th - La Jolla half marathon (with my DW) Oct 26th(?) - SOME HIM - planned
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Baowolf - 2009-04-09 10:33 AM Hi all I would like in if there is still room. NAME: Baowolf/Steve STORY: I too have been to the land of too much education and work and not enough exercize landing me at 180 on a 5'9" frame a year and a half ago. I was where I wanted to be job wise and well the combination of finding myself 40 (well the age didn't have anything to do with it 8)), overweight, and without any life goals that I had not yet accomplished eventually lead me to BT and training for omgosh a first triathlon. My exercize history was basically fun stuff, waterskiing, windsurfing, wresting in high school, rollerblading, snow skiing, etc., but no s/b/r experience of any note. So, short story long, I did my first sprint 12/07, then last year I did a 5k, 10 miler, half mary, 30k trail run, Oly and a HIM oh and learned to do freestyle in 6/08. I am now down 40 pounds, did my first full mary in January and have plans for a HIM in June and a my first Full IM (Vineman) in August. FAMILY STATUS: I will celebrate my 20th wedding anyversary at the Boise HIM, have 5 children, 1 cat, 1 dog. CURRENT TRAINING: I currently workout daily 1-2 times for 10-15 hours a week. I am currently trying to get less slow, so more intensity less distance. 2008 RACES: Parkcity 5k, NorCal 10 miler, Avenue of the Giants half mary, Whiskeytown 30k Trail run, Triing for Chidren Oly, Las Vegas HIM. 2009 RACES: Redding full mary (done), NorCal 10 miler (done), Boisie 70.3, Vineman Full IM and well that is all for now, we will see if anything else comes up. WEIGHTLOSS: I am down 40 pounds and dropping another 10 would be ideal, 5 would be fine as training picks up and the snow goes away. I am lone wolf because I live way out in the sticks with no facilities, no one who exercises and 100 miles from the nearest McDonalds, Stoplight, bikeshop or swimming pool in the winter until the lake temps get above 50, then its only 50 miles. Congrats on the Redding mary. How was it? I grew up in NorCal and then lived there after college until about 4.5 years ago. There are lots of great marys (and tris!) there that I never did. The Boise HIM is the week before mine. Happy training! How many of your 5 kids are still at home? How do you find the time to do all that you do??! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Baowolf - 2009-04-09 2:18 PM As a not quite so newb tri person attempting to up my training for my first IM, how in blazes do you do 2 IM in the same month Donato? You must have some insane base going there. Well, I haven't done it (yet), so I can't be positive I will (I have to admit that I like to come up with new ways to torture myself - the challenge and uncertainty is part of the thrill); I do think I have built up a pretty solid base. I often use races/centuries as training for other races, so two IMs 4 weeks apart doesn't sound too bad (and first is sort of training for the second). What was hard last year was racing/events on consecutive weekends (e.g. 4 in a row and on another time 4 in 3 weekends). |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() furiousferret - 2009-04-09 10:26 AM www.everestchallenge.com It's a 2 stage race in Eastern Sierras. Both days add up to about 200 miles and 27k feet of climbing. I'm on call that week so unless I can find a replacement I wont be able to do it. Its the closest I'll get to a TdF mountain stage but I somehow don't think there's going to be much tactics or anything that resembles a peloton. Just a sufferfest. Wow! That basically is 2x the death ride. You'll have to keep the cycling advice coming. i suspect Mauro will appreciate some info since he has IM Lanzarote (8500' elevation + 20mph head winds on the bike) coming up in about 6 weeks. |
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Elite ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() So all of my 5 children are at home with ages 3, 8, 11, 14 and 17 (only girl). |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Baowolf - 2009-04-09 5:03 PM I totally want to do the Door County HIM one of these years, almost did it last summer, but the timing was off and I wasn't quite in shape enough for it. I grew up a lot in Oshkosh WI and summered in Minoqua, WI where I waterskiied in shows starting at age 12. It was great fun. Door County HIM is a very well run race (Pam will concur I'm sure), in some ways better than some of the ironman-branded races I've done. post race food was pulled pork sandwiches (compare that to the cold Little Caesar's pizza at IM Cal!) and corn on the cob (dunked completely in butter of course). |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() enginerd - 2009-04-09 7:45 PM Baowolf - 2009-04-09 5:03 PM I totally want to do the Door County HIM one of these years, almost did it last summer, but the timing was off and I wasn't quite in shape enough for it. I grew up a lot in Oshkosh WI and summered in Minoqua, WI where I waterskiied in shows starting at age 12. It was great fun. Door County HIM is a very well run race (Pam will concur I'm sure), in some ways better than some of the ironman-branded races I've done. post race food was pulled pork sandwiches (compare that to the cold Little Caesar's pizza at IM Cal!) and corn on the cob (dunked completely in butter of course). Oh I totally agree... not to mention the killer bluff climb towards the end of the bike and then the two huge hills on the run course. The swim isn't a piece of cake, with temps normally being so cold the RD makes wetsuits mandatory. The food is great and so is the goody bag. I know the RD and he has made it a two day event now making half IM capacity to 1000. I think he wants to get picked up by WTC and become a Ironman 70.3... it would make a fantastic addition since it is the only one in the midwest and great timing for IM WI. Totally think about it sometime... you won't be disappointed... I am doing it again this year! |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Baowolf - 2009-04-09 7:03 PM It is nice to have another as my kids would say psycho ologist in the group. My job titles under my current job include, School Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Program Specialist (and other duties as assigned). In a previous job I did 900 is ER psych. evals, so I can totally relate to the hours. In graduate school round 2 at one point I was doing an internship 7:30 am to 3:15pm, then going straight to the ER to work until 1am 4 days a week and then do classes the rest of the time. That was when I put on a lil weight, not much time for exercize in that schedule. Ah, see you have more education than me. I just have a BS in child psychology and am probably going to go down the double bachelors route and get my nursing degree but stay in psychology. You did have a crazy work schedule. I work 8 hour shifts, either 7-3 or 3-11, but the schedule sometimes create 5 days in a row or double backs when I work the late shift at night and then the next day work at 7. That is crazy and draining. |
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![]() enginerd - 2009-04-09 12:12 PM Oh yes, absolutely you're in, not presumptuous at all. You'll love the Big Sur marathon. It's beautiful, of course. Windy and hilly course though, so challenging. Where in the midwest are you? I'm originally from St. Louis and my wife is from Wisconsin. re: your question about cycling/weakest discipline, it depends on your goals. i think all of us have a favorite discipline, so it's natural to skew your training that way. As I mentioned in a previous post, cycling is the biggest component in a tri, so it definitely helps to develop that (will likely give biggest gains). If it's your weakest discipline, then that would go doubly so. That being said, it is also the most time consuming. So, it depends on your goals, but it sounds like more cycling would help. OK, cool. This is looking like a fun and inspiring group. I've bounced around a lot, so this is my 2nd stint in the Midwest, and I'm in Indiana. I consider the West Coast home, though, as I lived in Seattle and Bay Area for 15 years. Running Big Sur will be so worth the challenge, and those hills will be a challenge after my training in the corn fields! But the best view is from the top, right? Thanks for the advice, I'll do the bike focus to build that area. I'm sure I'll have many cycling questions once I get going... |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() treehugger - 2009-04-09 9:09 PM enginerd - 2009-04-09 12:12 PM Oh yes, absolutely you're in, not presumptuous at all. You'll love the Big Sur marathon. It's beautiful, of course. Windy and hilly course though, so challenging. Where in the midwest are you? I'm originally from St. Louis and my wife is from Wisconsin. re: your question about cycling/weakest discipline, it depends on your goals. i think all of us have a favorite discipline, so it's natural to skew your training that way. As I mentioned in a previous post, cycling is the biggest component in a tri, so it definitely helps to develop that (will likely give biggest gains). If it's your weakest discipline, then that would go doubly so. That being said, it is also the most time consuming. So, it depends on your goals, but it sounds like more cycling would help. OK, cool. This is looking like a fun and inspiring group. I've bounced around a lot, so this is my 2nd stint in the Midwest, and I'm in Indiana. I consider the West Coast home, though, as I lived in Seattle and Bay Area for 15 years. Running Big Sur will be so worth the challenge, and those hills will be a challenge after my training in the corn fields! But the best view is from the top, right? Thanks for the advice, I'll do the bike focus to build that area. I'm sure I'll have many cycling questions once I get going... Big Sur is, indeed, a treat. It was one of my "Life Goals" (before Bucket Lists came to be!) and I relished every step of the way. It is so gorgeous and well-run and has great post-run eats. I remember being pretty stressed about the elements -- would it rain? would it be windy? would it be cold? I was blessed with one of the clearest, sunniest days when I ran it (2003). Sometimes I feel like maybe I need to run it again just to experience the element challenge. But I think life is too short to do the same marathon twice, as there are so many great ones out there! That said, Big Sur will always tug at my heart strings and I hope I make it back someday. Harder now that I'm not living in the Bay Area, but not out of the question! The race is coming up soon, no? Like within a week or two? |
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Master ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ![]() Here's a question of the day for everyone to answer and get us talking about a common subject of interest. I'm hoping all of you will be able to come up with questions of the day in the future to ask something training related or something just for fun or curiosity. QOTD: What do you do for your nutrition pre-race and during your races? |
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