kenj's group - closed with a great bunch of triathletes in training!!! (Page 2)

rTanja - 2009-12-30 7:55 AM Room for one more? 

NAME: Tanja
STORY: will turn 25 1st of january I'm from Iceland and live there. I started running last summer, something I thought I could never do, used to be a ballerina and running is not something dancers do, hehe. I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy and after I had my daughter. In september 2008 I changed my diet, and in january (a year ago) i started exercising. I have lost 32kg/around 70pounds. Last summer I was in a weekend seminar and without knowing it before there was a running course (I wouldnt have gone if I had known). I got inspired from the teacher, finally realized I really could run and ran 10k in a marathon race two weeks later It took longer time for me than most of the people, but at least i finished. I ran again two weeks later another 10k in another race and was over 5 minutes quicker. Now I want to train for 1/2 marathon and Triathlon, the Olympic length.
FAMILY: Not married, but soon to be. Mother of 21 month old girl. 
TRAINING: not a good swimmer, but I know how to. Just need a little practice. I only bike in the gym at this time of year. there is to much snow here at the moment to bike. Try to run outside at least 2-3 times a week. But want to get more serious and make a good schedule for all my training a.s.a.p. 
2010 Races: They have not given out dates for races here yet. But I plan to take place in as many runs as possible and one triathlon  
INJURIES: none so far. have some old ones, but they have not been bothering me. 

best regards
t 

Welcome Tanja!!!  Great job with the weight loss!  We will find a training plan for you that gets you ready for the tri!

Hi Geoff!  Your story of how you got from running to biking to tri's is similar to mine!  Welcome to the group! 

Name:   Asztrid

Hope I can join your group


STORY: I am 38 old female who is just starting to take better care of herself. I have 3 children one of which is getting ready to go of to college. I live in CT and as part of getting myself back into a healthy lifestyle I started to run. I have always dreamed of competing in a triathlon but had not found a way to blend it into my work life balance and after getting sick the goal or hope was lost.   I have gained about 70 pounds in the last 5 years due to being sick and have issues with my lungs. I feel that the treatment they gave me stole some of my life away because in order to treat my issues the meds I took made me gain lots of weight and then I felt worst about myself and the lungs got worst, big snowball effect. So in May when my girls asked if we could start to do some of the hiking trips and running that we use to do I was determine to get back in shape and  lose the weight. I started by running 5 min a day and felt like a fool going to the gym and walking out so fast, but hey it was about me not them. I keep going now I can run 4 miles and bike 8 miles. I love running and biking always have. Running and biking made me feel alive. I pulled out an old journal I wrote when I was 19 and in it was a list of things to accomplish before I turn 40 yrs old and on it was my goal of wanting to do a tri before I turn 40. Talked to a new doctor and he said go for it and remember it will not be easy but I bet you can do it. So here I am ready to go for my goal and by the way I lost 30 pounds since May and no longer taking as much of the meds. I am looking forward to crossing the finish line even if I am the last one. I just want to finish and go back to the first doctor that told me I will never be able to run and look him in the eyes and tell him to never say never to someone every person is different.

Wish List - to find a group that will keep me going even when I fell like giving up

Welcome to the group!  Great job on your weight loss!  We will do our best to keep you going!!

Could you either add the rest of the group to your friends list or switch your blog to open to the public so the rest of us can get to your page to inspire you!!!  Thanks! (At least I think that is why you don't have a link to your blog at the bottom!)

Welcome to the group!!! You have some ambitious goals, but sounds like you have a plan to get there!!!  Congrats on the weight loss and the upcoming nuptuals!!!

Good point!!! 

Welcome to the group to you as well Jonathan!!!  I am doing the Disney marathon as well!  Leaving New Years day to fly down and spend some time with the in laws before heading to the house of mouse!!!

Welcome to the group!!! We will do our best to help you reach your goal this year! One step at a time!!!

That puts us at 13 which I think is a good number for us!!!  So I will list us as closed!

I have the following people:
Dougj
selonimes
TriRsquared
IceManScott
niasa
lbishop
rtanja
Geoffqm
ctmom38
boomernj
hillman2000
chrisanthia
go4girl

We have quite a diverse group with an international flavor!! I am looking forward to helping all of us reach our goals in 2010!!! 

I would suggest adding all of us in your friends so you can get to each others blog easily to offer inspires and comments on workouts!  As I think I mentioned above, if you provided an e-mail address in your settings, you can click on the toggle notification button at the bottom of any of this page so you know when someone has posted. 

If you see a post and have some advice or opinion, don't be shy about offering it!  (Just keep all comments respectful!)

Welcome to the group Heather!! Lucky 13!!!!

Training by HR is a bit confusing.  Coming up with HR zones to start out with is not easy.  You should be doing most of your running in Zone 1 or Zone 2.  There is the 220 - age formula to determine, but that is not as accurate due to conditioning.  The best way is to run a 5k as hard as you can and use your avg. HR from that, but if you are just starting out that is dangerous as it risks injury. 

My suggestion is to use perceived exertion for a while and compare it to your HR.  For most of your efforts you should be able to have a short sentence conversation.  Not easy enough to recite the Gettysburg address, but not hard enough that you can't speak in sentences. 

I'll get some more info on this and post later on! (Work is getting in the way! )

Here are a couple of good articles about HR training.  It is a 2 part series. 

Part 1

Part 2

I think they do a good job at explaining some of the philosophy behind HR training and how to properly calculate HR zones. 

I currently am using the Garmin Forerunner 305, which is the predecessor to the 310xt.  I have had it for probably 3 years with very few problems, none that needed anything more than reading the directions again.  It is relatively cheap compared to the 310 right now.  You can get them at Amazon, e-bay, and I think Costco and Best Buy.  Personally, if I was buying today I would probably spend the bucks and get the 310. 

As far as the polar, I have one and for HR it works great.  I had to change the battery a while back.  If you have a small screw driver for fixing eye glasses you can get the back off and get a battery at Radio Shack or someplace like that.  I'm sure a jewelry store or watch fix it store at the mall would do it as well if you aren't comfortable.  I use it if I am only tracking HR like on the trainer or treadmill, but the Garmin will do that as well if you just set it to indoor use!

To clarify my position, HR training is great!  Although I am currently using pace and power, I would highly recommend it.  It just needs to be understood how to properly set the zones and what to do with them after.  Most people starting out have the tendency to work too hard and get hurt and give up!  I don't want that to happen to anyone!

One thing that I like to do is set monthly goals.  They may be as simple as following the training plan that I am on 100%, or specific run/bike/swim goals.  Just something to focus on for that month.  

If everyone would think about it and post a goal here we can all hold each other accountable encourage each other to reach the goal!!! 

Just some suggestions might be: 

Add a run sessions per week
Get to the pool 2 X's ever week
Find a plan and a schedule to start formal training
Start off season base building on the bike

I also post mine up top on my blog so I see them every time I log on!!!