Artemis's Group - FULL! (Page 2)

Hi Jen,
My name is Kathy and I would love to join your group if there is still space!

I have only done a try-a-tri last summer after loosing about 80 pounds.   I had started a program in Sept of 2008 at 250lbs, and decided to use the tri as a motivator to keep me going.  I LOVED it and am looking forward to doing a sprint and maybe even an olympic distance this summer. I have lost almost 90lbs now, and would like to try and take off another 10-15. 

I don't have too much of problem with the swim, and love to bike, but knee issues have given me a problem with the run, so I definately need to work on that slowly to try and avoid more injury.

Looking forward to being part of the group and learning from everyone!

All About BT Part 1 – Training Logs

What is a training log and why should I use it?  The training log is a place to write down your training – how much did you run, bike, or swim today?  There’s a place to record all of those, as well as strength training, other sports (stretching, yoga, ice hockey, whatever!), your weight, and a blog.  You can write whatever you want in the blog.  You don’t have to write anything and you can write even when you don’t log training.

Using the training log helps other people answer questions you might have about your training, like “Do you think I could do this race?” If the person doesn’t know you, it’s hard to get a good idea of what you’ve been doing for the past few months.  Plus, it’s a great way for you to see how much progress you’ve made!  I’ve been tracking my training at BT since 2005.  I can do so much more now than I could then and it is great to be able to go back and see that.

How do I use it? At the top of your screen is a training log button.  If you click on it, you go to your training log.  By default, the past 7 days display.  Each day has a link for “training”, “blog”, and “inspire me”.  More on “inspire me” in a bit. 

If you want to add training, just click on “training” for whatever day you did it.  That will open up a bigger window.  You’ll have a place to write down your swim, bike, or run with the time and/or distance.  If you give it both distance and time, you can click “calc” and that calculates your pace.  Fill in whatever you want.  Make sure to click save when you are done!

If you want to only write in your blog, click on “blog”.  That gives you a text box where you can write.  After you save, this shows up underneath any training for the day you add it to.  I sometimes write multiple times in the same day and I put times by each.

How do I add fancy text or pictures? The easiest way is to have a text editor show up for you.  You can change your preferences to have this display in your logs (and forums) by following these steps:

1. Click on the settings icon at the top of your screen.

2. Click on the forum settings tab.

3. On the settings sub-tab, there is a column for “Use rich editor for blog and forum posts?”  Set this to “yes” and the click “submit”

Now when you go to your blog or the forums, you will have a toolbar with lots of buttons (kind of like Microsoft word).  There’s bold, italics, etc.  There is also a button with a picture of a little tree.  If you have a link to a photo, you can click on this button, enter the link, and the photo will display.  The button that looks like chain links allows you to add a web link.  Type some text, highlight it, and then click the chain link and paste in the web address. Now other people can follow your link.

How do I inspire someone? How do I respond to an inspire someone left for me? Inspires are a really great part of BT.  People can go in your log and click the “inspire me” link, type a short message for you and then you can see it later.  It’s a great way to wish someone good luck on a race, congratulate them on an accomplishment, or just say hi.

To leave someone a message, click “inspire me” in their log.  Type your message and click submit.  They’ll get a message at the upper left corner of their screen (it will say the number of new inspires in bright red).  To check yours, just click on the same link and it will display all of your inspires for that day. 

You can get to someone else’s log by clicking on the “log” button at the bottom of one of their messages.  Or, if it is someone you will go to often, you can add them as a friend and their picture will show up in your training log.  To do that:

1. Click on the “settings” button

2. Click on the “Training Blog Customization” tab.

3. Click on the “Friends” subtab.

4. Type in your friend’s name in one of the spots.

5. Click apply.

If you are in your inspire window and want to respond to a particular inspire, just click on the “reply” button.  That will take you to your friend’s log and quote what they wrote to you.  Now you can leave a message for them.

Those are the basics of the training blog.  There are some more fancy features, but they are not so important now.  If you are desperate to know all the ins and outs, check out the help docs: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/index.asp?catid=122