ATLrunr's IM/HIM group CLOSED and training!! (Page 2)

aavella - 2012-01-08 10:17 PM

Hi Bethany...thanks for getting back to me.  I hadn't really thought about doing any shorter races.  I'm not against it; just don't know what races are available.   Where can I find more info about shorter races?

Rubant - 2012-01-09 9:37 AM

Hi Bethany - I would like to join this group if you still have room. 

NAME: Scott

STORY: I have always been a big guy.  I swam competitively all the way from grade school through high school.  Once I left for college the exercise stopped and I gained a lot of weight.  January of 2009 I was at my biggest (around 260) and joined a gym with my wife and was committed to getting in better shape.  I got down to about 219 in a year while working out with a trainer.  In March of 2010 I ran my first half marathon . . . it was actually my first of any run distance race.  From March 2010 to last summer I just kept working out at the gym on a regular basis but had no real goals until the beginning of last summer.  I was inspired from a collegue to do a triathlon so I bagan training for a Sprint at the end of the summer.  I joined the masters swim class at my gym and bought a good entry level bike and the training began.  I hadn't rode a bike since probably high school but it didn't take too long to get used to riding again.  Like they say it's as easy as riding a bike.  Anyhow, I did my first sprint tri last October and finished at 1:27.  My goal was to break and an hour and a half so I was happy with the results.  Once I finished the race I decided that the following year I would do a HIM.  So here I am looking for some mentoring and inspiration. 

FAMILY STATUS: Married with two kids (7 and 5) and a dog.

CURRENT TRAINING: With work and kids my training schedule is hard to do sometimes.  I go to Masters swim 2 mornings a week (5am) and do strength training 2 or 3 days a week.  I also run either at the gym or at home on the treadmill.  I have not been riding much lately but am looking at buying a trainer to do some inside training.  Finding time to go on outside rides seems to be a challenge for me.

2012 RACES: Augusta 70.3 is the goal and before that I plan on doing some sprints and olympic distance races.  Maybe 2 of each.

WEIGHTLOSS: Right now I am about 227 and my ultimate goal is to get below 200.  I have not been in the 100's since high school.

Thanks and looking forward to the group.

Scott

Stone Cutter - 2012-01-09 10:22 AM

I'd also like to join the group- I'm getting back into training and need the focus and camaraderie that a mentor group provides.  I'll pass along my full bio and a bit more detail later this afternoon...

Thanks!

Jayequadrozzi - 2012-01-09 2:04 PM Bethany. If you still have openings I would like to join. A very short bio so you know what you might be dealing with: I am 48 year old woman. Distance running has been my focus for about 8 years, but last summer I became interested in tris. I have done a bit of bike touring over the years and was a swimmer in high school so I had some background in those areas. I have done several sprint tris and one hybrid (called Battle of Waterloo here in Michigan). I just came off my marathon training (Marine Corps in October and just finished the Goofy Challenge at Disney). I'm signed up for my first HIM at Welland in June and have about a month before training starts for that. Hope this is the right info. Jaye

Joey Blankenship - 2012-01-09 9:01 PM Cycling is going good.  I live in a pretty hilly area and holding around 18mph thru 30 or so miles.  Looks like mother weather is going to keep me on the trainer for a little while, but I'm slowly ramping up the distance.  I'm doing distance wise on the bike what the two plans (both from triathlete magazines past issues)I'm using as guides are doing.  Nutrition is going to be something I know I'm gonna need help with cause it seems everyone has their own opinion on it, and I'm trying to slowly use it in my training.

ATLrunr - 2012-01-09 9:50 PM

 

What state do you live in? Active.com and trifind.com are pretty good, but if you are in the southeast, I can provide a few other resources.

aavella - 2012-01-09 9:13 PM

I live in Toronto, Canada.  Will the sites you noted provide me with races near me?

 

ATLrunr - 2012-01-09 9:55 PM

 

Welcome! Congrats on everything you have accomplished so far! I love Augusta.. it's an awesome race and a great goal. Are you planning on using a training plan? I would definitely recommend purchasig a trainer as it's the best training you can get if you can push yourself!

ATLrunr - 2012-01-09 10:02 PM

Alright! I think we are plenty full! Welcome everyone, and it has been fun reading everyone's stories.

I would like to hear from you all on the following:

What do you think your biggest barriers are to success and what are some of the ways you have dealt/or are planning on dealing with these issues.

A couple of you touched on lack of time, weight, lack of experience, etc.  I think sharing our own struggles and ways of coping can be immensely helpful.

 

ATLrunr - 2012-01-09 8:44 PM

 

alright.. good for you. So which plan are you using? Love how you have the picture of  your dog in the family pic. My dogs are my children so I appreciate other dog lovers!

ATLrunr - 2012-01-09 9:02 PM

Alright! I think we are plenty full! Welcome everyone, and it has been fun reading everyone's stories.

I would like to hear from you all on the following:

What do you think your biggest barriers are to success and what are some of the ways you have dealt/or are planning on dealing with these issues.

A couple of you touched on lack of time, weight, lack of experience, etc.  I think sharing our own struggles and ways of coping can be immensely helpful.

 

Rubant - 2012-01-10 8:21 AM

Time is my biggest barrier.  As I mentioned in my other reply I am reading The Time Crunched Triathlete.  The book so far is very good and the books purpose is to get you in competitive shape using the books principles and only having to train 8 hours a week.  The training consists of a lot of high intensity training in shorter times.  And a lot of the workouts are similar to "brick" workouts.  The plans are also 8 to 10 week plans.

My other barrier is nutrition.  I am bad about what I eat.  If I ate better I would be in better shape.  I need to do a better job of eating healthier foods.  

bar92 - 2012-01-10 8:33 AM

I will be using Don Fink's Be Iron Fit competitive plan.  That is what I used last time and it worked well for me, so that is what I will use again.  Official IM training for me won't start until the end of April.  In the meantime, I'm using a HIM plan I found online in hopes that I will be able to do the Lonestar 70.3 in Galveston April 1 (depends on sons soccer schedule, which we don't have yet).

I think for me my biggest barrier to success is not enough time on the bike outside.  I don't mind doing a 4 hour run by myself (even starting at 4am), but for some reason I do not enjoy riding my bike outside by myself longer than an hour or so.  I do have a good partner to ride with that can usually ride according to my schedule, but the schedule is the other issue.  When volleyball or soccer tournaments take up much of the day, there sometimes isn't a lot of light left in the day to get outside.  It helps once time change hits.

Stone Cutter - 2012-01-10 9:10 AM

NAME: Mike

FAMILY STATUS: Married to college sweetheart. 

STORY: Typical story: quite active in my youth and as a young adult (swimmer + cyclist), got lazy in my early 20s and then became busy with work, life, etc;  before I knew it I was turning 30 and was seriously out of shape.  A failed stab at a marathon four years ago (an injury forced me to give up training during the last month) righted the ship and I've been leading a more active life ever since.

I became interested in triathlon two years ago, completed one triathlon (won my AG in a local sprint) and spent the rest of the season dealing with injuries. Last year was spent running and biking in a very unfocused fashion.

CURRENT TRAINING: I'm back on the bike after taking almost three months off; have been running on an ad hoc basis since the fall...haven't touched a pool in ages. 

2012 GOALS: #1: to get focused and committed in my training; #2: to train intelligently and avoid injury; #3 learn to like the pool again; #4; race a sub-5 hour HIM.

2012 RACES: Come hell or high water, I will race a HIM this year.  Due to travel plans in spring and summer I'm looking at an October race- either Waterman Half in MD or B2B in NC.  I might do a late spring long Du or Oly to get comfortable with the race environment, but otherwise my focus is the HIM.

WEIGHTLOSS: 5 to 10 lbs to get into race shape.

 

Jayequadrozzi - 2012-01-10 9:49 AMI have two issues/barriers to training. First, the coordination that training for a Tri requires. I have done two marathons a year for a number of years using 18 week training plans. So for the HIM, the time commitment is not hugely greater than that. But I have to be very organized about the training. I can't just put on my shoes and go outside. I live in Michigan so I can't bike or swim outside now. That means I have to get to the gym and that means I have to schedule carefully. Second, I really like to strength train. I like to do that at least twice a week. I'm concerned about how to fit that in to an HIM program. I'm planning to use a 20 program from Matt Fitzgerald that a friend of mine used last year (Level Two). Any thoughts on how strength might fit into an overall plan? And Goofy was great. Honestly the worst part about the weekend was the 2:30 am wake- up required two days in row. I also wonder how to get this particular forum to be on my easy to get to list. Is th a way to subscribe or be added so it will come up when I log in?

Syrvelo - 2012-01-10 2:04 PMI have trained the last two years using GUs and Powerade or Gatorade for my longer workouts. I end up using this same stuff for the races, and I know the GUs have worked pretty well for me except for the fact that I wait too long to take them. I have not had any plan on timing and that has really been a problem once on the run. By then I am already in trouble and cannot catch up on what I need.  So this season I plan on testing Infinit custum formula drink and see if I can cover all my nutritional needs.  My 2 questions for now are ..is it worth the investment to order a couple different mixes now to try on medium to longer workouts, with my long races not until June and July, or wait until a month or two out and figure it out then.  Can Infinite or Carbo pro 1200 really eliminate gels or bars?  Thanks for any opinions...

Joey Blankenship - 2012-01-10 2:13 PM

I'm not a super biker with a power meter and all that high speed stuff.  I use my cadence sensor and heartrate for pretty much everything.  One of the workout plans I'm using as a guide breaks many of the things down by intensity and heart rate zones, so that fits great with how I train.  When riding on the trainer and not doing any drills, I attempt to keep the HR 65-80 percent.  Outside of course that may elevate some when climbing, but Doing my best to work on keeping it below 80 so I don't bonk out on the run.

Nutrition: I like to train like I will be doing in a race. For example, when I'm doing long runs, I drink every 2 miles just like it will be at the water stops in a marathon.  I've began reading articles about how some people eat bars, some just gels, some salt tabs, electrolyte tabs, Infinit, drinks etc.  Seems everyone has their own opinion on it. My big thing is I want to ensure I've got enough in my system when I get off the bike that I can put out maximum effort on the run.  Just wandering what you do for HIM distance. 

Barriers:  Since I've never done a triathlon before and starting with a HIM, I just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row since I will be lacking experience when it comes to race day. To combat this, about a month out, I will do a race simulation that will hopefully help me in getting ready. 

In terms of overall nutrition, I think I do a pretty good job.  I do use whey protein after workouts greater than 90 minutes to get a jolt of protein to my muscles for rebuilding as soon as I'm done.  Not sure if this is the greatest thing, but it helps me with the soreness and recovery aspects (or at least it makes me think that )