Kim's Krew of Newbs CLOSED (Page 2)

Happy  New Year, Ladies! I'm excited about the new start! Still feeling pumped after my 5k this morning, which went pretty well, even though my knees were still aching from overdoing it last week.  I finished just over 40 minutes, so not nearly breaking any records, but I could tell a difference from my race last month, so I was happy.  Broke my new Brooks Adrenalines in, and those felt GREAT!

To answer Kim's questions:

1. I am about half/half on the consistency of my workouts right now.  Both hubs and I travel intermittently for work; I feel like between the kids and my elderly MIL I'm always headed to or from the doctor's office; and we've always got SOMETHING unexpected hitting our schedule.  That said, I try to swim Tues/Thurs at the pool (due to their schedule, make it easy), and run at lunch one day during the week and after work one evening, then get in at least 1 long run Saturday or Sunday morning.  Biking, I have consistently not done yet.  Still getting my bike back in working order.  And my motivation.

2. I swim at a local physical therapy location that offers free swim hours at their pool a couple days a week - it's the only place within 40 minutes that has an indoor pool.  When the outdoor pools open for summer, I will add some weekend time as well. I run most of the time on the roads near home, but occasionally hit one of the two city parks. I do that only when I have to run during high traffic times, have the kids with me, or at night... I despise the repetition of circling a path or track. Ugh.  The bike I plan on riding on a lot of the same roads I run.

3.  Support.  My husband is great about making time when I need for training, and I try to pick times like my lunch hour or early on the weekends that minimize the difficulty in me being out of pocket.   As the days get longer, he's promised me that he and my daughter will start joining me at the parks in the evening, while I run with our son and the stroller.  Having the family there should offset the dull factor of the repetitive path. 

Well, off to get the munchkins to bed! Happy, happy, everyone!

That's great Jennifer...it really sounds like you have plenty of access to training tools and a great support system--so important!  I love your last line there...'the only person who stops me from training is me'.  I have had that battle as well.  Hopefully we can get you to the consistency you would like!

Welcome Kelly!  I do indeed have room for one more!  Sounds like you have been bitten by the tri bug!  Looks like you have lots of goals set already...I love it!  Welcome to the Krew!

That's great Dara...loads of support and training tools on your end too.  I love that your husband has so much confidence in your winning the race...does the prize involve beer somehow? Ha!  

Great Sara...lots of training available and great support as well--terrific, that's a huge part of the lifestyle!  I love that you're going to do a Spartan 5K.  This past June I did the Super Spartan and looks like this June I'll be doing the Spartan Beast...so excited!  They are a total blast!  Hard, but a blast all the same!

Great race this morning Bonnie, and what a way to kick off the year!  Like the others that have answered the questions, it sounds like you have great support as well and plenty of training opportunities!  We'll get that motivation in working order in no time!

Hi.

Is there still room for another?  I will post my bio later.

Dee

Hi Kim,

I have a couple of questions about my training log. There is no real option to input "walking" unless you put it in as a sport but then it doesnt calculate it in your weekly totals. I also noticed that if I put it in the "run" section I am unable to specify how much of that time I ran and how much I walked. What is the best way to input this information?

Also, I added everyone in the group to my friends list but I am not sure where their logs appear. I found a friends section under the BT blogger area but thats about it.

Thank you,

-Sara

As promised...

I am a 46 yr old female. I was always fairly athletic and lived to work out and play hockey. For some reason that love has been missing for many years. Every time I try to get back into a groove I seem to sabotage myself. I have yet to do a triathlon tho every year i tell myself that this will be the year. Have done a few duathlons (12 yrs ago!), few half marys and a number of 5k's.

I am in a common-law relationship with lots of four legged kids (one of which is my avatar).

I have not been doing any real consistent training for a long while.  I started karate classes in November and I love it !!! I will be starting the C25K yet again this week (if you look at my training log there are a few W1D1 entries, but nothing after   )  I have researched some local pool schedules and hope to get my butt there soon.  I recently bought a sexy new Cannondale which I am looking forward to riding when the weather gets nicer. 

For 2012 I have been eyeing a 5km at the end of March as well as a few try a tris and possibly a sprint in the summer tho  I am scared to death of the swim.

I wasn't going to sign up for a mentor program this year as I have done so in the past and then  not really followed thru with the training.  I have a real hard time with consistency. After reading some of the bios in this group tho, I felt that this was going to be a good group for me.  I need people to kick my butt when needed and hold me accountable.

Kim, in answer to your questions:

1.  When do you work out? (if it's inconsistent at this time, tell me that as well) - I have karate classes Mon and Thurs in the evenings.  Other than that I work out whenver I get the idea and the energy.  I am the poster child of inconsistency.  When I was exercising consistently I was getting up early in the morning and getting the workouts done.  I wish I could get back to that but I am just always so tired in the mornings (think I neglected to previously mention I have been a shift worker for the past 20 yrs)

2.  Where do you work out? I have an awesome gym in my basement.  I have a treadmill, trainer for my road bike, full dumbell and barbell set, various benches, and various cool pieces of equipment (ie bosu ball, kettlebells etc).  I also have various exercise dvd's such as p90x, different yoga and pilate programs and some jillian michaels workout which kicks my butt.  So I have absolutely NO excuse no to workout.  When I do go outside to run or bike I live about 2 km away from the Niagara River parkway which is just upstream from Niagara Falls.  Absolutely beautiful place to bike and run.

3.  Tell me about your support system.  My partner has always encouraged any athletic endeavours I wish to pursue.  I am lucky in that I don't have to squeeze my workouts in around anyone's schedule other than my own.  I would very much like to join a local bike and/or run club though I am very uncomfortable in group situations.  This stems mostly from the fact that I am almost deaf in one ear and have a hard time following conversations.

Sounds like this is a great group for you Dee!  Welcome...and you better believe I am a good butt kicker!  Your setup sounds very similar to mine.  I love having all the training stuff I need at home.  Well, hold on to your hat, and get ready to go!  I smell a 5K in your future!

What I would do is put your walks under the run category--add in time and distance.  Underneath that there is a space for comments.  There is where you could note your run/walk ratio.

At the bottom of everyone's posts, there are all sorts of buttons...if you click 'logs' you should get to that person's logs.

You're one step ahead of me...I've got to get the Krew into my friend list!

Hello Krew!  We are set at ten ladies!  I love it!  I thought I would give you some basic info on the site for those of you that are totally new to beginnertriathlete. 

If you click on settings up above, this is where you can customize your information--spend some time playing around in there.  You can load an avatar, set a signature line, customize your log, etc.

Speaking of logs, another reason I love the logs is that this is where we can leave each other inspires:  little 'way to go!' type messages.  When I was a newbie, I would get so excited to log on and see a little red number by the inpires in my user information up top.  *One tip:  if you are replying to an inspire, make sure to use the 'reply' button rather than just type in the window available.  If you just type, the inspire stays in YOUR log and who you are replying to won't see it.

Another thing I'd encourage you to do is to spend some time in the forums looking at all the threads available...they get fairly specialized.  I love Triathlon Talk...this is where I learned the most.  You'll see there is a daily workout thread...once school starts up again Tuesday I'm usually the one who starts the thread since up I'm so darn early.  Please feel free to post your planned workout there as well.  It is a great way to stay accountable as well as using your logs!

Wow, I could have written that !!! It sums me up perfectly.

Hey Dee,

It sounds like we have similar issues! I am more determined than ever to make it work this time around, though. I hope that we can keep each other on the ball! It's now or never!

Good luck with training!

-Sara

When: Before work generally, but the winter hours are tough it's so dark and cold. I have to work out either before work or at lunch because I will not go at night, except for pilates once a week. Scheduling me time in addition to family time can be difficult so I try to do it when I generally wouldn't be with them anyway. Kindergarten starts in the fall, so I'm curious about how that will change my schedule, but I'm sure we will adjust. 

Where: At my local gym mostly, there is a pool and spin class and of course the treadmill. I enjoy running outside much more than on the treadmill and also have access to a gym during work hours, which I generally use for the locker room after running outside. 

Support System:  My husband is wonderful support, as well as my 4 year old son (who got me 4 party medals for my birthday, since there was such a focus on racing this past year). One of my best friends is also my workout/racing buddy. She runs a lot faster than I do and I always feel like I'm slowing her down but she promised that she doesn't mind.  

Ok ladies, here is what I am thinking.  This week will be all about exploring BT and taking a hard look at your week.  What I would like for you to do as you go through this week is figure out what days you know you can consistently do what.  At the beginning of next week, Monday, I thought we could all post a quick rundown of our workout week which we will continue to do every week.  I know things shift around and life happens, but I always start my week with a plan written out.  For you techy types, maybe you input it into your phone or tablet.  However you do it, let's just get a plan in place.  Here is what my week looks like:

Monday: OFF...but took dogs out for a two hour hike through desert. Even my off days, I still try to move.
Tuesday:  8 mile run with 4 miles at race pace
Wednesday:  60 min trainer spin followed by 4 mile easy run
Thursday: 10 mile run
Friday:  60 min trainer OFF from running
Saturday:  4 mile run
Sunday:  14 mile run

Tuesday and Wednesdays runs will be on the treadmill at 4am before I go to work.  Thursday is going to be a challenge--I will leave my house around 4am bundled up with a headlamp and my running buddy and we will get those ten miles done in the dark.  Saturday and Sunday should be outside.  That is my plan and I will stick to it come hell or high water.  It might not be pretty or fun at some moments (Tuesday runs on the treadmill are brain numbing...but I can best control my pace and Tuesdays are all about pacing). 

So, this week, look at your days and begin formulating a plan that you can post next Monday.  If you have a plan for this week, by all means, post it!

Another tip: the training log I use (where I write everything down) is called The Triathlete's Training Diary by Joe Friel--it's excellent.

Oh, can I post my plan for this week.? I mainly do it on a bit of paper, but rarely do more than a week at a time which may be a problem.  - and I rarely achieve my plan - perhaps airing it in public will be a motivator

Today monday - rest day apart from my back exercises

Tuesday - 48 mins on bike on trainer in garage - fast rate rather than high resistance I think. I can't measure how far I go on it though 'cause the speedo thing is on front wheel and I don't know how to change it onto back

Wednesday run, 40 mins in the morning before work (ie before 11am - not such an early start!)

Thursday swim 24 mins - that'll be a challange - to get down to pool for about 7.30 as I'm in work for about 9 am today!

Friday another day off :-)

saturday  5km time trial at parkrun. I am trying to get to under 30 mins on that -but sometimes i just bimble around talking with my mates - I admit it

Sunday 80 min bike ride outside preferably - depends on weather - on trainer if raining - in the afternoon.  In the evering 40 min swim with club - hoping to do at least 1000m then 1 hour of core strength stuff with club and coach.

Now, if I achieve all that I'll be very very pleased.

I look forward to see what everyone else is planning - and achieving.

Jennifer

Well let's make sure that you're pleased!  Looks like a great week of training planned out.  When Saturday rolls around I'll remind you 30 MINUTES...no chit chatting!    I think that's a great goal for the week! Well done.

Tomorrow I am back to work--back to my 7th and 8th graders, gotta love 'em.   I admit there are a few faces that I've missed...and a few, well that I didn't quite miss as much. 

Now that I will be back to a regular routine, I will be posting early morning (I'm on mountain time) and in the evening...and when I can during the afternoons.  I will always do my best to be as punctual as possible, especially if you have questions.  I would also encourage you all to start posting to each other...many of you have similar goals and are in similar places in your training/weight loss adventures!  We're all here to help each other....I hope to learn from you as well!  We have so much yet to discuss!

This week's plan:

Monday (today)- Bike 30min (spin at gym) and stregth training (upper body)

Tuesday - Bike 30min (gym) and walk 25min (treadmill)

Wednesday - Bike 48min (gym) and stregth (lower body)

Thursday - Bike 30min (gym) and walk 30min (treadmill)

Friday - OFF (Except for walking around on my 12 hour day shift)

Saturday - Bike 30min (gym) and stregth (upper body)

Sunday - Bike 45min (gym) and walk 30min (treadmill or trail)

All of the bike and run workouts are based on the programs I found on this site. I will also try and fit in a cardio boxing class here and there if I feel up for it (they are 1 hour long and very intense). I might also do more walking as the dog needs to go out for hikes.

I really hope I can stick to this. It seems very do-able! This is a great idea, Kim. I actually had not thought about my week until now.

Hope everyone can achieve their goals for the week! May the force be with you

-Sara

Looks absolutely doable Sara!  You got this!

Happy Tuesday Krew!  Well I survived my 8 mile treadmill run this morning at 4:15am.  I have to admit I had a few moments where I just wanted to jump off...the name of the game is endurance though...enduring those moments because they always pass. 

Have a great Tuesday...go out and get after what you want!

Way to go KIM! 8 miles on a treadmill sounds just plain awful!

I read in Runner's world recently a good way to conquor bordem for the winter time.
Make a playlist 30-35 minutes long,
1st Song-Warm up
Mid Songs - start every song, with a 60 second 80% max pace (can't talk), for the reminder of the song go back to a talking pace
Last Song - Cool down

I think I'm going to try that today. My weekly plan:

M 01/02 - Spin bike @ gym
TU 01/03 - Treadmill song farklets @ work
W 01/04 - Spin class @ gym
TH 01/05 - Day off
F 01/06 - Swim @ gym
S 01/07 - Spin @ Gym

In the winter months, it's so cold outside it's so hard to think about going to the gym and getting into the pool, which is heated, but overall not warm. Anyone else? What do you do to motivate yourself to get into the pool?