Neweyes' Intelligent Trisign Group -- full (Page 2)

Any suggestions on what to look for in a bike trainer? Brands or models? I don't have any experience in this area. Looks like it is going to be cold for a while longer, so I'd like to get on the bike indoors.

Hoping there's still room
NAME: James

STORY: I’m 38, 18 months removed from Gastric Bypass and the chance to get control of my life again. I’ve lost 175 pounds and have plateaued, but have been working out and as a result, muscle mass has been increasing. I swim 2-3 times a week, and can comfortably do 1 mile in about 37 minutes. I bicycled around 120 miles last summer, with the longest being a 34 mile rail trail trip. Running is my absolute weakness, but I’m working on it and so far, I can run at 5.5 mph for around 2 minutes before slowing down some to recover. My best mile on the treadmill is around 13 minutes. I know this is where I need to focus. .

FAMILY STATUS: Divorced, majority custody of a 10 year old, travel for business 4 days every 2 weeks.

CURRENT TRAINING: Yoga on Sunday mornings, Swim 3-5 times every 2 weeks, usually, Wed, Mon, Wed, Thurs. no biking so far this year. Weights at the gym Saturday mornings, treadmill 2-3 times every 2 weeks. All of this is a hybrid of a plan found on here.

2010 RACES: none

2011 RACES: Cape Henlopen Triathlon & Duathlon Lewes, DE Sunday October 9, 2011 Tri: 1/4 Mile Swim~14 Mile Bike~3.1 Mile Run

WEIGHTLOSS: 275, with a goal to drop below 250 by race time.

WHAT I HOPE TO GET OUT OF THIS: Success – goal time is sub 2 hours.

Hey James - welcome. Congrats on your weight loss, that's awesome.

John, I got a set of rollers (Cyclops brand) a few months ago, and I like them quite a lot. They're supposed to be better for improving pedal technique, balance, and efficiency, and they keep it more interesting. With a trainer, you have, well, reduced risk of falling down or popping a tire as I did last week (I don't think that happens to many, and with a set up in a doorframe or similar, there's no risk of fallling over), and you can zone out and watch a movie or whatever as you pedal away. But, they're hard on your rear tire to the point where you basically have to get a trainer tire or tire-wheel set, and your bike can't wabble, which seems pretty unnatural/uncomfortable to me. I did quite a bit of research on the matter before I picked out my rollers, and I think it was a good decision. If I had gone with a trainer and could have rounded up the funds, I would have gone with the Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll which simulates the rocking motion of a free bicycle.

Elaine - glad to hear you had a good week. How did the long run go? How are you feeling after???

James, I was thinking -- that's a ways off. I feel confident you can hit that goal by then, both the weight loss and the time... the challenge is going to be staying focused for so long. Over on the ironman forum, folks were saying that the 30 week training plans were difficult to stay with for such a long time, and yours is quite a bit further out than that? Can you set some intermediate goals? Is there a 5k you could sign up for maybe in May or so? There's a good beginner's 5k plan on this site, and it leads nicely into a first sprint tri plan.......

Check Craigslist and the classifieds on this forum. I picked up a 1up USA trainer in great shape here, for about half of the original cost.

There are tons of threads about this stuff. You can search old threads using the search button in the bar at the top of the page. Check out reviews in the Gear Reviews section, too!

So, it was a 10.5 miler instead of 11 because I turned around at the wrong cross street! It felt great until the last half mile or so, when my legs just stated to feel heavy. I felt fine afterward. I spent about 5 hours on my feet at a festival, too!
This morning is pain free! I'm supposed to cross train, so I think I'm going to hit a local mountain bike trail. I'm sure I'll be dragging a bit, but that's ok.

Awesome! Congrats.

Hi everyone, Is this group still open for new joiners?

How about this:

Independence Triathlon

Sunday June 5, 2011

1/4 Mile Swim~10 Mile Bike~2 Mile Run Lake Nockamixon State Park - Quakertown, PA

Everything's a bit shorter - maybe a good mid range goal?

Yes! Welcome.... care to introduce yourself?

I'm looking at some plans on this website. The "couch to sprint" plans are 16 or 20 weeks, and say that when you start, you should be able to "consistently do the following: 20min Swim | 40min Bike | 20min Run." It sounds like you've got the swim and bike part of that, but not the run, right? But then I look at this one, which is designed for clydes, and it looks like the swim and bike part of it would be quite a bit too easy for in the beginning.

So you could use that second one, and just up the swim and bike workouts, and I think that would work well, and would have you ready to race around the end of June. Or you could start with a run plan, really focus on that for a few months, and then jump into a sprint tri plan after getting your running up to speed with your other sports. I think that's the idea here, where you'd start with either the conservative or aggressive run program, and then jump into a 16 or 20 week sprint program.

Do you feel inspired toward either of those directions? Cause if you do, it'll work, and if you don't, it probably won't.

Hi! Can I join?! My name is Missy and I am not new to triathlons. I used to compete in sprint distance and olympic distance triathlons when about 10 years ago when I was in college and after. Since that time, my life caught up with me...I finished my training for my career, had a baby, etc. I am now at a point in my life that I'm ready to get back into it. I'm psyched! My strength is swimming. I swam competitively for 12 years including college. I'm a horrible biker, but decent runner.
I started getting back into running this past summer, but I just started following one of the sprint distance programs. I have an indoor sprint distance planned on March 13th at the Y. It's going to be low-key, but I think it will be a good way to get back into it.
My ultimate goal is 70.3, then Ironman eventually. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Alright I'm in!!  I love the group setup you can learn from the vets and remember the mistakes from some of the nebies.  Hope we can cut off some of the mistakes if possible.  I have been racing for 3 years now in tri's.  before I ran adventure races and cycling races.  Tri's is my second love behind my wife and kids.  good luck all for this years training. 

finished my first tri of the year this weekend.  got a top 25 finish.  eyeing a win with my next tri in April. 

Its been a good recovery week for me. I put in 25 miles on the bike, 2.5 miles of running, and lots of stretching. I also did my first brick. Nothing big, 3 miles of a very hilly course, and then a 1 mile run. The previous 3 weeks of weight lifting had me very tight and sore. This week was a welcome relief. After all the stretching my confidence is much better. I had just become warn down the last few days of that third week. 3 more weeks and then a normal training plan. I started off strong today, doing 8-200m tempos at 1:00 each. I am stoked about trying to work some transition training into my schedule. Do people just remove the laces from there cycle shoes, and rubber band back the Velcro? I highly recommend watching the videos on this site. I am looking forward to the bike run video when it comes out. There are several good transition videos on the link below. Happy training all.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1757

Welcome Missy and hammer! Brian, that sounds like a good week - congratulations. I'm not sure exactly what you mean about the cycling shoes... mine only have velcro.

Was a good week for me too. Cycling is my weakness, so I'm doing a 16 week cycling program that will lead into and overlap a bit with my ironman program. I've now done the two "prep" weeks for that, so this week I do some heart rate testing and really get into it. Good training week all!

Do you still have some room in your group? I am a decent swimmer and a weak runner. I looking at doing sprints this summer and I have already done the distances indoors and back to back. The distances are doable, I would like to get faster. I have no idea how to train to run or cycle and I need some plans in the pool.

Thanks,
TJC

There are some great plans here! Some are free, some cost money, but they all give you guidance for training. Check them out under "Programs" at the top. 

So you could use that second one, and just up the swim and bike workouts, and I think that would work well, and would have you ready to race around the end of June. Or you could start with a run plan, really focus on that for a few months, and then jump into a sprint tri plan after getting your running up to speed with your other sports. I think that's the idea here, where you'd start with either the conservative or aggressive run program, and then jump into a 16 or 20 week sprint program.

Do you feel inspired toward either of those directions? Cause if you do, it'll work, and if you don't, it probably won't.

Hi there,

I'm doing my first triathlon in July.  I'm looking for some training tips for a complete beginner.  I have entered an Olympic distance.  I think the running and cycling will be fine, but I haven't been swimming for years.  At the moment I stop after each length.

I have missed the start of your training schedule.  Could I still join?

Matt 

Awesome. I like that plan too. In fact, I built a plan for my father based on that one. Right now, I'm doing something similar, where my cycling workouts are scheduled and structured, and I just sort of fit in runs and swims when I can and do what I want. It seems to be working well so far for me.

Can you hook that program up with your logs, so we can see your scheduled workouts vs. actual? I know that can be done, but I don't know how. Maybe Elaine knows how???

Welcome, TJ. There are good plans here. You can definitely get all you need from this website. If you prefer though, there are plans and good advice surrounding all things triathlon in this book, among others.

It sounds like you're in a really good starting position. To have the endurance and just be working on speed is a happy place to be. Welcome to interval training....

Matt, welcome to you as well.

Last winter I went from being barely able to swim 100m without stopping to swimming a 24min. swim leg in an olympic event. For me it was all about putting in the yardage -- 2-3 times a week in the pool, gradually building distance each time. I swam with a club team at my university, which was helpful. I've been called out on this website for suggesting that swimming improvement comes mainly from putting in the time, perhaps rightly so, because swimming is very technique intensive. If your technique is bad, you can train all you want, you'll always be exhausted after every lap. So find a way to work on your technique as you build your yardage. Folks swear by Total Immersion, though I haven't used it myself. Of course there's plenty of advice on the internet, here and elsewhere. One thing for sure, you'll want to incorporate drills into your swim sessions to get the technique.

I guess my shoes are funny. They have laces like a normal shoe, but they also have a flap that Velcros down. Then two Velcro straps that cover that. I was thinking of removing the laces, tucking in the flap, and using the two straps for the ride. I plan on trying this in the next couple of weeks if the weather permits.

Hi Michael, et al.  I hope it's not too late to join your mentoring group.  My name is Dan, I'm a 46 year old male (married) about 5' 10" about 183 lbs.  I've not worked out for years and have never attempted a race or marathon.  I'd like to do an Olympic length event this June, not sure where.  When I take my wife to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary in 5 years I want her to see me crossing the finish line in the Iron Man Triathlon.

 I stay somewhat active coaching my kids' soccer teams, played sports growing up and am very competitive.  My biggest downfall is probably my diet.  I never had to worry about my weight or dieting.   Until a few years ago I was 150 lbs so I've never watched what I ate.  My favorite food groups are chocolate, beer/wine and gummie anything.  I'm a picky eater, don't like a lot of vegetable or fish so the nutrition is going to be a challenge for me.  Well, nutrition and running which is my least favorite event.

I have access to a 12m pool 5 months a year and have a gym membership starting 2-1-11.  I think being accountable to the group will help me stay focused and keep me on track.  Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Dan