ChrisM's Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 2)

NAME: Kimberly Smith

STORY: I have always been athletic but mostly doing team sports like basketball.  Then I found marathons.  The first time I started training for a marathon I lasted two weeks.   But one year it just stuck and I've been running ever sense.  Somehow I morphed from mountain biking to road biking (although the mountain bike still does see some action), and that lead me to some century rides and eventually to duathlons.  I'd always want to do the tri's but just couldn't bring myself to swim.  One day one of my friends signed up for a race, partially due to my influence, so I said I'd join her.  And then I had to learn to swim...  I still only due a few tri's a season but try and get as many running races in as I can.  ETA: I almost forgot my age.  I'm going to be 40 in a few months and as such I've just aged up. 

FAMILY STATUS: In a committed relationship.  4 kids but all the furry kind (2 cats, 2 dogs)

CURRENT TRAINING:  Currently my training is a bit light, just finishing off a training cycle for my duathlon.  After my mountain bike race I will be starting up my HIM training.  The "goal" is 3 swims, 4 bikes, 4 runs.  We'll see how well that goes.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: 
I imagine I might add some more running races to this schedule.
03/12/2011 - Seroma 5k (R) (doing this for my virtual Christchurch run)
04/09/2011 - Catalina State Park Trail Run - 10.35 Miles (R)
04/30/2011 - USAT Duathlon National Championship (R)
05/01/2011 - Warrior Dash - 3.4 Miles (R)
05/07/2011 - Elephant Head Challenge Mountain bike race (R)
09/25/2011 - Elephant Man Long Course Tri
11/19/2011 - El Tour de Tucson - 109 Miles

"A" RACE: 
09/25/2011 - Elephant Man Long Course Tri
This is their first year for the long course but they are building it off the Oly so I think it will be good.

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR:
I just want to be consistent with my training and have a good solid HIM.  I have a few time goals that I do not believe is too big a stretch.
Sub-8/Mi for a 5k
9/Mi for a 10k
Sub-2:00/100yrds swim consistently

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY:
I'd love to lose 5 more pounds but not too stressed about it.  I just seem to like my chocolate too much.

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP :
I am looking for some general encouragement and some advice.  I'll take anyone's advise when it comes to me asking a question.  Throw it at me even if your not sure.  I'll filter through it all and make a sound decision for myself.  I also tend to like talking things out and just looking for suggestions. 

I've been on BT for a while now and have been into endurance sports for a while.  I've tried different things and have seen what others have tried so I feel I have advice I can offer up and I love inspiring folks, giving general encouragement or simply leading by example with some steady training.

Oh, and I have my Canadian ITT to offer up (although I live in sunny Tucson now).

I feel like I can relate to everyone in this group. So I'm going to give this mentoring thing a try.

Name: Patrick

STORY: Where to begin?? Let see well I'm 44. I've lived in sunny Florida since I was I was five. I played football from the time I was nine through high-school. I had enough injuries in the sport to not continue into college. I played basketball, ran track, did a numerous 5ks. Played intramurals all through college, flag football, basketball. After college I became a software engineer, not your typical geek though. I did exercise, but got bored with it since there wasn't the thrill of competition to keep me motivated. My sister has been doing Tri's for about 5-6 years now and has been pestering me to get involved. I decided to take her up on it this past January. I started exercising again I went from 6'2" 240 down to 210 in two months doing P90x, running, going to the gym. I finally signed up for the Battle of the Bridges Health first Triathlon sprint here in Melbourne. They have an Olympic distance as well, but baby steps first.

FAMILY STATUS: I have two boys 8 and 5 and I am currently going through a divorce. I found out about that in February. So needless to say the stress has also contributed to my weight loss as well.

GOALS: Well originally it was to get into shape again. I think now its just to compete and complete and to see if this is something I would like to do on a regular basis. Also to show my boys that sitting on the couch watching TV and playing video games is not a healthy thing to do. They do play soccer and flag football.

BIKE: Just bought a new Bike, not just for doing triathlons, but to add something different to my exercise routiine. I did 5k plus run in the morning last sunday followed by a 21 mile bike in the evening. I'm new to biking, but I don't feel like I'm weak in this area.

RUN: I've been running 5k plus one to two times a week. I've always been an O.K. runner currently running 9 minute miles.

SWIM: Well you would think living in Florida I would know how to swim. Well I can just not competitively. I used to surf all summer from junior high through high school. I just started sufing again. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. I had been going to the gym and swimming in the pool, but I recently had surgery on the inside of my nose and the E.N.T. doctor said to stay out of the water until it healed. Swimming at the gym was a little boring. I've read a lot of the stories on here about the swim and how people were intimidated by it and that you should also do some open water swims before doing a triathlon. I'm not intimidated by it, but I respect the swim. I do plan on swimming the course a few times before the actual race which is in the river and will probably do some swms in the ocean since I only live about 6 miles from the beach.

Well thats me. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Patrick

Hi Chris, You sound like my kind of mentor! I've just turned 50, live in Iowa and have committed to training for a half-ironman in Branson. I've been active my whole life, but have decided to actually get this goal checked off with the hopes that it will keep me honest with my workouts. i work part-time as a pta and massage therapist, married to a great guy who travels and thinks I'm crazy to do this, have three kids 1 in college, one in high school, one in middle school, so we are busy with life.

The swim is my weakest event, so will be interested to here your thoughts. Training sked officially begins (a 20 week program) May 10 for me. Looking forward to sharing ideas on staying motivated and healthy and to finish my first half IM in Sept.

Nora

hello all!  Welcome to all the new members.  For those that are swim deficit - me included - I found Swim smooth.  Very informative website and you can download Mr. Smooth onto your desktop and just study the "perfect" stroke.    www.swimsmooth.com     I usually average 2 min/yard. 

Running is definitely my weakest - went for a 30 minute run yesterday AM with really no issues...YAY!  I have been having trouble with the archilles tendons and tight calves.  A couple of weeks ago my coach changed my running form.   I was running with my hips behind me.  He has me envisioning an invisible rope tied to my hips, pulling me along.  It keeps my hips under me and helps open up the chest. 

Then I went for a 3 hour hike and now I am a hurting puppy.  Today is supposed to be a long bike ride but I am in serious need of a rest day.  I will push the ride off until tomorrow. 

Sorry double post!

NAME: Serenity but call me Seren.  The only time I use Serenity is when I am working as a nurse. 

STORY: Always been athletic from high school on up...swim team, gymnastics, horse shows, bodybuilding, rock and ice climbing, kayaking, scuba...   I took 4 or 5 years off from everything to nurse my husband back to health after he sustained a head injury.   When he reached a certain level of healing, I tried doing the things we used to do together..but alone. But there was always  something missing.  Thats when I turned to triathlon.   It kept my sanity!   But I injured myself in season 1 beach running and have been paying for it ever since.  But that hasn't stopped me from becoming totally and irrevocably addicted to the sport!  This will be my third season

Being in the mountains for days at a time, or on a 1000 foot cliff rock climbing, showed me that there is something magical when you push yourself beyond what you think you can do.  YOu can smash thru the ego and get to the pure being.    For this reason, I have my sights on Challenge Wanaka (iron distance)in 2013 and then  will be looking towards ultras...but thats a story for another day.

FAMILY STATUS:  Married 18 years - 2 kids of the furry kind - cats

CURRENT TRAINING:  I am a training freak!  I am currently unemployed and can train like the pros - I often train 2X day everyday - taking a day off only when needed

THIS YEAR'S RACES:  

• May 28 - Coast Guard Duathlon with the hubby (his first race)
• June 18th - Whiteface Mtn Uphill Bike Race
• July 10th -  Newton's Revenge - uphill bike race on Mt. Washington - A Race
• August 6th - Top Notch Off road sprint - last leg runs up ski mountain - doing as a relay with the hubby
• Sept 3 - Burke Mountain Uphill Bike Race
• Nov 6 & 7 ( Not sure of this year's dates yet)  Porky Gulch - Cyclocross, criterium and time trial - This one I am thinking about - I have wanted to do this one for 4 years but life always has a way of getting in the way.    MY HIM training will start sometime in November after a brief off season Sept/Oct

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR: 

• Turning my weaknesses into strengths.  Running is my weakest so I hired a coach to help turn that around.
• Have always lost a lot of speed and power on hills (bike-wise) So i thought this year I would tackle hill straight on by racing up mountains

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY:  You cant lose weight and increase performance at the same time.  No, I am not at the bodyfat % that I would like to be but I am unwilling to jepordize performance at this stage of the game.   Bodyfat loss will come in September - in the off season

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP :

I like the comraderie of a group....being able to help and inspire my fellow mentees, getting inspired by others and getting new perspective on things., i.e. Whats worked well for others, etc.....and just generally meeting like minded new friends!

Hey everyone. I thought I would refine my earlier post by answering Chris M's questions for us all.

NAME: Mike

STORY:

I am a 42 yr. old determined male that loves trying new adventures and pushing myself to learn new things. This is where my quest to complete a full Ironman has started. I started training for my first sprint in January with the fear that the swim would be my biggest hurdle. Guess what? It has definitely been my biggest hurdle. Even though I completed my first sprint 2 weeks ago I am still struggling with the swim portion. Thank goodness my first tri swim was in a pool.

I am 214 lbs. and started at 230 in January so I plan to compete in the clydes. group as long as I am over 200 lbs. I plan to complete another sprint June 25 and another in Sept. I would like to find at least one more before the end of the year. My goals for next year will be to complete one if not two Olympic distance along with a few sprints. For me to be able to do this I will need to become a lot more efficient in the swim. By the way it sounds we are all in similar positions.

One of my other struggles is that I travel to Boston almost every other week which makes it difficult to keep my training regiment consistent. Luckily I found  YMCA that allows me to use their pool. I hope my travel will slow down soon.

FAMILY STATUS:

Married with 3 incredible kids.

CURRENT TRAINING:

I just finished the book and training program from the book "My first triathlon"

I am in the process of creating a training program from Joe Friels book "The Triathletes Training Bible". I am finding that this program is very intense and detailed which is what I really need to stay on track. I keep telling myself that I just need to check the boxes from day to day and when I am ready to race I will be prepared.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: 

Completed Carmel, IN. sprint tri. April 17

June 25 - Warsaw, IN. Optimist club, Sprint tri.

Sept. (?) - Syracuse, IN. Sprint Tri

"A" RACE: 

June 25 - Warsaw, In. - Sprint tri.

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR:

My number one goal is to become a better swimmer and be able to swim 600 yds. without stopping.

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY:

I would like to be below 200 lbs. before my sprint tri. in Sept.

This meas I will need to lose another  14 lbs. in the next 5 months.

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP :

I am looking to gain some little pearls for not only the swim portion of the race, but also looking for some tips in the transition portions. I am very slow in transition.

I can offer  a newbie's insight to what  everyone might be wondering, but afraid to ask. I am also very determined and motivated so I will be a good resource for helping come up with solutions or suggestions. I am willing to offer anything I can. Unfortunately I am only into my triathlon training 5 months so it will be limited.

I look forward to working with all of you and seeing everyone meet their goals this coming year.

Welcome to the group Seren. I just wanted to tell you about a little book call "Run, Less - run Faster". You can google or find it on Amazon. 

This book uses very specific methods to make the most time for running workouts. They only run three days a week and with their workout can reduce your run times and help you reach your goals. I am just now starting this for my run training sessions, but a friend of mine ran 5-6 days a week last year to prepare for a half marathon and was not ready when race day came. this year he is only running 3 days  a week and is already well past where he was on race day last year. He feels refreshed and much faster. It will be interesting to see his time this year. The race is in two weeks.

Now, this is not an easy program because when you train you train with a focused intent and everything you do is focused on making you faster or increasing your endurance.

I just wanted to tell you about this in case you are having a hard time fitting all your workouts into each week.

No, I am not selling this book. lol I am just trying to contribute to this group and hope this might help .

NAME:  Brent Dyrness

STORY:  Weekend warrior.  Always been fascinated with Triathlons.  Athletic my whole life.   Had back surgery in 2008.  Started running again to get fit and lose some weight.   Did (1) sprint triathlon last year but started to do a lot of biking and running.  Started off 2011 with 2 sprint triathlons, Race at the Base and Pasadena Triathlon.   I placed 3^rd in the Pasadena Tri in my division (Clydesdales) out of 33 other Clydes.   That was the motivating fact to push harder.   Did the LA Marathon in March.  Next week, I am heading to NY/NJ for the Police Unity Tour.  We ride from New Jersey to Washington DC.   When I get back, I leave 4 days later for Fargo for a ½ Marathon.  I hope to do 5-6 triathons this summer.   My swimming really sucks and I hope to improve on it.

FAMILY STATUS:  My G/F (also getting into triathlons) and we have 3 daughters, 20, 17, 14

CURRENT TRAINING:  At the moment it is all running and biking.  I hope to start a full triathlon schedule at the end of May

THIS YEAR'S RACES:   Strawberry Fields (Oxnard) , LA Triathlon, and 3-4 others (don’t know exactly what ones.  Planning is a big pain!!

"A" RACE:    LA Triathlon, Sept 25^th

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR:  My ultimate goal is the California 70.3 in March 2012.  So start training for that this year

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY:  Currently 233 lbs, would luv to get down to 200-205.  I would be pretty lean.  I ll never be under 200 lbs.

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP :   New Friends, I think by doing this I will learn new things and ideas of training and better preparing myself.  I need a ton of help swimming maybe Chris can help me with this!! Also, I think this keeps you accountable in your training.  I am looking forward to this!!!

Thanks for the info! My run issues right now are about form.  Left to my own, my hips are behind me and I land on the outside of the forefoot on the left - causing an extremely tight calf.  I have seen the book and have been thinking about picking it up.

Hello everyone!

Chris, I still haven't decided which will be my 1st fast. Actually, I'm a little afraid of trying it before losing some weight... I believe I'll try it only by november, so I'll be more confident... But who knows, maybe you guys make me change my mind!

As per the questions, here are my answers:

NAME: Helena S. Margarido

STORY: Was a smoker for 14 years and gave up 1 year ago. Now I'm trying to "keep clean" by trading one unhealthy adiction to something that is not only good to myself, but may also motivate other people to try to do the same.

FAMILY STATUS: Single

CURRENT TRAINING: Running 3x/week, bike 2x/week. No swimming yet.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: None.

"A" RACE: Thought about the Short Distance Pirassuninga (Brazil) on Nov/2011, but I'm not sure yet.

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR: Finish a short distance Tri

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY: not overweight, but my body fat percentage is WAY too high (31%). I've been trying to improve in since last year but was not sucessful yet.

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP : Basically, motivation, tips on training, equipments, etc. I don't know anyone in real life who has ever done a tri, so I count on you guys!

You'll see people of all shapes and sizes and all different level of fitnesses.  I vote you pick a race near by that looks interesting to you and sign up for it.  Then get swimming.    Overcoming that fear is tough but nothing like signing up for a race to force the issue.  Then pick a training plan (the BT ones will get you to the finish line feeling good) and start at it.

Hey guys, sorry had a busy weekend so couldn't get to the thread over the last couple days.   Sounds like we have a good group going and everyone that has posted is in.   I think I'll leave it open until tonight, then close it.  I have some ideas on some of the questions raised, and will respond specifically to those.

So, unless someone else joins, the group is:

1. Chris
2. Bret
3. Serenity
4. Brent
5.  Kim
6. Helena
7.  Mike
8.  Lisa
9. Patrick
10.  Jennifer
11.  Nora
12.  Hunter
13.  Stephanie
14.  Pauline

Do you have room for another?  Also a Clyde, swim is my weakness, so any and all help would be appreciated.  I have a lot of events planned for the year including a HIM in August.

Thanks,

Brandon

Whoops.   DP.    So I'll use this to ask questions of those looking for swim help.  Unfortunately, it's hard to give a ton of help on swimming "remotely."  With running or biking we can suggest approaches or training plans, but swimming is so fundamentally technique oriented, it requires one on one coaching

Have you worked with a swim instructor/coach?

Do you have access to a masters group in your area and/or do you swim with a masters group?

Thanks, Chris.  I am glad to be a part of the group.

NAME:  Brandon

STORY:  Started riding a road bike back in 2007 to keep in shape over the summer.  In 2008, I started running in the fall when it was too cold, or so I thought, to ride.  A friend invited me to join him in doing a sprint last year, and I accepted.  I hated the swim, but the overall experience was a blast.  Followed that up with 3 dualthlons last summer.  I am determined to get this down, I have taken some swim lessons, and signed up for the Boulder HIM to give me something to train for.

FAMILY STATUS:  Married with a son (11), and daughter (9)

CURRENT TRAINING:  I created a custom plan using this site to train for the Boulder HIM Aug. 7th.  I usually get the bike and run miles in during the week, but struggle to get the swim yardage in.

THIS YEAR'S RACES:

HRCA St. Patrick's Day 5K - 3/12 - completed in 28 minutes 25 seconds

HRCA Heritage/Adventure 10K - 4/9  - completed in 63 minutes 43 seconds

Barking Dog Duathlon - 5/7

Colfax 1/2 Marathon - 5/15

Considering - Boulder Sunrise Olympic Triathlon - 6/4 to get more OW swim practice

Big Sky Duathlon - 7/16

Ironman 70.3 Boulder - 8/7

West Side Duathlon - 9/5

"A" RACE: Boulder HIM

GENERAL GOAL FOR THE YEAR:  Improve my fitness level.

WEIGHTLOSS ISSUES IF ANY:  I am 37 now and have always struggled with my weight.  In 2001, I peaked at 275, and got down to 205 in 2002.  I had been hovering around 225 - 230, but am currently 242.  I had knee issues last fall, and surgery 12/21, my knee still causes me issues, but when I keep on top of icing it, I do much better.

WHAT AM I LOOKING TO GET OUT OF A MENTOR GROUP, AND WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP:  I am relatively new to the multisport world, so am looking to be part of a group that will share their experiences so we can all learn what works best.  I want to see everyone reach their goals, so I am here to be your chearleader, or motivator, if needed.