Baowolf mentor group is [ Closed ] (Page 2)

This looks like a lively group! Can I join?

Name: Beth

Story: I'm 46 and live with my partner who spends all his free time on a road or tt bike.  My 20s spent in grad school: sitting in libraries hunched over books, smoking, drinking coffee, eating little. In my 30s, got a clue, quit smoking, and started exercising and doing yoga. In my 40s, fell in love with a road bike and cycle like crazy on the flat roads of Minnesota and improved my diet.  At 44, I started swimming for the first time since I was 12; started running soon after.  I love training for races and racing. And I have an awesome running and tri club to do it with.  This will be my 3rd year of mostly sprint tris. I'm a teacher, so I can increase training after May.  Weakness is running--I am an injury magnet. Did my first HM in the fall and hopefully will run another in 2 weeks.

Family: Supportive partner, cat, no kids.

 Current training: Finishing up training for a HM in 2 weeks--what feels like a severe groin pull is putting a kink in it. Ouch.

Next up, I'm starting training for my first HIM in mid-August.  I'm leaning toward the Trifuel plan because it's easy to follow and looks like a do-able challenge in terms of volume.  But, poor me,  10 days in Italy in May without bike or swim. I've been in master swim about twice a week since Nov. Bike--hate trainer, occasional spin class since Nov. because I've been working on my running.

2011 Races: Five triathlons--mostly sprint or slightly longer distances. My first HM in October (2:01:28).

2012 races: My "A" race is a HIM on August 18 in Duluth MN; other races include a HM in April, 2 sprint-ish distances in June, and 1 in July.

Weight loss: Not usually an issue.  More of a concern that I eat enough of the right foods and especially need to work on nutrition during training and races.  I don't fuel properly at all and I have real problems with cramping in quads, calves, hamstrings, pretty much any muscle in the legs.

 Goals: Stop getting injured from running; train smart and consistently for the HIM; manage nutrition during training and races. Have fun!  

I would like to join you all, if that’s ok.

Name: SlopezUCSD/Sandra

Story: I’m a longtime lurker of BT but haven’t been much of a poster. I’ve learned a great deal from everyone here and hopefully pass along any tips that I’ve learned along the way to others. I was a NCAA All-American swimmer in college, but spent 8 years after college doing absolutely nothing exercise wise.  I never enjoyed running, in fact I was the anti-runner in college, always complaining when our coach would make us run (“We’re swimmers, not runners!” ).  For some reason, in 2010 I decided I wanted to run a marathon. I spent 5 months training, starting with walk/runs in the beginning, but finished my first marathon in October 2010 (4:37:21). During my training, I hopped in the pool a couple times and on a whim, entered a beginner triathlon, where you could pick which disciplines to do. I did a swim-run-swim and LOVED it. After that, I bought a road bike and did a sprint triathlon in the month before my marathon. I was hooked. After I finished my marathon, I signed up for my first HIM and a few weeks later, volunteered at Ironman Arizona, “just to check it out”. Next thing you know, I was standing in line signing myself up for IMAZ for 2011. 

Family status: Getting married next month (5/12/12). We’re probably going to start a family next year, so this might be my last year of focused triathlon training/racing for a while. But then again, who knows.

Current Training: Just did the HIM in California last weekend and I’m in relax/recovery mode this week. I will start up training again next week, but my focus for the next month will be on the wedding so training may suffer a bit. IM training will pick up again after the wedding.

2011 Races: IM Texas 70.3 (A race-6:03:24), Aquathlon National Champs, 5430 Boulder Sprint, Boulder Peak, Aquathlon World Champs (Beijing, China) and Ironman Arizona (A race-12:00:56)

2012 Races: IM Oceanside 70.3 (5:54:26), 5430 Boulder Sprint, Boulder Peak, IM Boulder 70.3, Ironman Arizona (A race)

Weightloss:  Since I started training for my marathon in 2010, I’ve lost ~20lbs. I typically fall between 138-135 but dropped down to 126 for IMAZ , by cutting out alcohol and sweets.

Goals: Not sure how feasible because I’m coach-less this season, but I would really like to go under 11hrs at IMAZ this November.  I know there’s lots of room for improvement on my bike (6:26:22) and my run split this weekend (1:54:11) gave me hope that I can get faster on my run too.

Yes Infinit is a powder and I put 6 scoops in 28 ish oz of water.  When you concentrate it that much you need to take like 3-4 swallows of Infinite (or whatever) and then like 5 swallows of straight water.

Beth welcome, we need some female influence to ballence out the type-A male thing we have going in the group so far.  It sounds like your legs are bugging you.  What did your run build up look like (are you doing too much too soon), are you stretching, using foam rollers or a marathon stick, icing, compression, etc? You also have some big goals for the year so you are going to have to find a nice routine in your chaotic life to be able to fit it all in.  Your base looks ok but lots of building to do 8). 

Sandra welcome.  I need you to teach me how to swim, definately my weakest sport.  Sub 11 hour IM is really fast.  Would it be possible for you to log your workouts on BT so I can see how you are doing.  What were your IM splits from your last go?  The bike is pretty hard to speed up on for the full 112.  An 11 hour IM is like swim 1:10 (1:35/100), bike 5:40 (20 mph with 1 short bathroom break), run 4:00 (8:50 mpm with 1 short bathroom break) transition 1+2 10:00.  I think we currently bike about the same speed and high 17s to 20 mph is massive for that distance.  It is great that you have a history of good fitness.  What can you advise me for my amazing 1:55/100 swim pace 8)? It looks like you live near Bolder CO?   I will likely be doing a HIM in Fort Collins at the end of July. 

This is going to be an awsome group!  Everyone here is stretching with some really big goals and some awsome experience.  Feel free to share what you know as this is an extremely strong group of triathletes thus far.  Lets talk plans for the weekend.

I am up for an 8 mile run today, 2000 yard swim, short 40 mile bike tomorrow and then 12 mile run on Sunday.  I am tapering for a HIM in just over a week. 

If folks can keep their logs up to date that would be great. 

McMillons Run calculator is a great resource for figuring out paces for races or workouts.

My general philosophy is to build base before doing speedwork.  You will get some added speed by building up sufficient base and then you can add in speedwork.  For the HIM/IM crew, run speedwork often looksl like half mile or mile repeats and hill work.  Bike speedwork looks like short duration higher effort sections followed by recovery and repeat.  So 10 min warmup, 30 seconds at highest sustainable speed, 30 seconds comfortable recovery speed, rince repeat x 20.  Then you have 1:00/1:00 repeats, 5:00/1:00 repeats, 10:00/3:00, 20:00/5:00 etc.  Ladders are fun on the bike start at your base speed and then add .5 mph for 5:00, keep adding every 5:00 until you top out then drop down to original speed and rebuild to top speed again. 

It is important to not work intensity every workout in every event, some runs are just slow recovery runs, etc.   

Hey Everyone! Is there room for me?

Name: Butters_NC / Jeff

Story: I am 27 years old. I've been a lurker on BT for a couple of months now. I first started thinking about participating in tri about a year ago. I never pulled the trigger and let life get in the way. The idea popped back into my head in February and that is when I found BT! This community has been a wonderful inspiration to me and now I can say that I have fully committed to triathlons. I have been a runner on & off for the past 2 years. I have run a couple of 5k's and am comfortable with running. It has been a long time since I have ridden a bicycle on the road, but I have always enjoyed cycling and been fairly good at it. I have tried to attend spin class at the local YMCA to keep my bike fitness in check. Hopefully I can get my bike tuned up and on the road soon. My swimming is virtually non-existant, but I have tried to be persistent with my pool time. I'm glad to say that I am slowly getting more comfortable in the water and have been improving with my breathing. I think this is the last big obstacle before my first sprint tri.

Family status: Getting married in 2 weeks! Currently have 2 cats and a dog I'll be back from my honeymoon in the beginning of May. The plan is to focus on training much more once the stress/expense of wedding planning is behind me.

Current Training: I have been training hard for about a month, but the last-minute wedding prep has thrown if off this week. After the honeymoon it's back to work! I have been trying to get in 3 workouts in each discipline each week with some extra sessions in the pool just getting comfortable and working on my stroke.

2012 Races: My goal was the Cane Creek Sprint here in NC or the Tri for Abbey in SC on 9/22. However, once I started training I don't want to wait that long to have my first race. I am going to try to be ready for a race in early August.

Weightloss:  I feel like I have at least 50 pounds to lose. I'm 5'11" and 236 lbs. My build can make the numbers seem wrong as many people tell me that I don't look like I weigh that much. I have very wide chest/shoulders. I haven't had much luck lately, mostly due to the stress of wedding planning and finding the write eating plan.

Goals: I would like to complete at least 2 sprint tri's this season, stay injury-free, and build some positive momentum going into the winter to encourage me to train hard for next season.

Is everyone here training for a HIM or longer race? Sure seems like it!

Steve -- thanks for the clarification on the mix. I'd never considered a super mix and a water bottler for nutrition/hydration on the bike. Something to consider, and I appreciate the info!

Today I have a 1 hr run, tomorrow is a 2.5 hour ride/30 min run brick, A PM swim (3k yds), Sunday AM is a 1:30 run, then looking for chocolate bunnies! . I have a full weekend ahead.

Welcome everyone. I, too, think this will be a fun. group.

When is everyone's first/next race??

Mike

Welcome Jeff.  You are in good company here, a lot of experience.  If your life is crazy, early morning can be good for workouts or a short run during lunch at work if possible.  Most folks do longer bike rides on the weekends.  Us night owls can get in a workout after the kids/wife/significant other has gone to bed/sleep.  For the sprint distance your time commitment is not huge and you can work off some of that stress. '

For our beginners, how do you know that you are running in the right shoes?  Having a bad shoe fit is a quick way to muscle issues and shinsplints. 

Mike, I have an aero bottle that has 2 chambers (avoid the puffy yellow sponge bottles that splash you in the face.  I added camelback mouth pieces to the end of the straws to further avoid splash and getting jabbed in the mouth on my bumpy roads (they are like $5).  The one is 28 ish oz for calorie mix and the other is 16 ish oz for water.  For HIM/IM I just refill the smaller one with water every 15 miles or whatever, often I am just topping it off if the weather is not too hot.  I then have a premixed 2nd bottle in special needs for the IM and I am gtg.   

 I also have a Neverreach on the back of the seat as I live in the middle of nowhere and need to bring a lot of water with me for when temps are 100F.  I can carry roughly 140 oz on my frame. 

Steve,

Shoes are a concern, I try to stick with Asic, or Nikes. For years I was a size 12. A number of years ago I had numbness in my toes. The doctor dismissed it as back problems but i have since resized myself and believe I had a bit of hammer toe from small shoes. I now wear size 13 and plan on visiting a running store to get a more thorough evaluation in the near future.

Being a beginner with my first Sprint Tri the end of July, my eye is on expanding the distance next year. I feel like a bit of a rookie among all you veteran distance triathletes. My big concern is the run and plan on talking it slow. I'd be happy with a sub 30 min 5K. I have run a few in the past and plan on running in one 4/21, and another May, maybe one in June.

This has been a busy week for me and plan a rest day today, a run followed by a swim saturday, and then an early bike on sunday.

Hey guys, I hope you have room for another!

NAME: Ironjim / Jim

STORY: I've been doing triathlons for many years! I started doing triathlons in 1995 and instantly fell in love! I broke my leg in 2007 and put on over 50 lbs from a year of inactivity. I also moved back to California that year. Stopped training for about 3 years! At one point I found myself weighing over 300 lbs. In October of 2010 I reconnected with an old friend that I hadn't spoke to in about 12 years and that was Mitchparadise. We talked and in conversation he told me it was his dream to do Ironman. We committed to doing Vineman Ironman. It was an amazing journey to prepare for it. We live a little over 100 miles away from each other so we took turns training in each others area! Mitch finished Vineman (which was his first triathlon ever!) I had tremendous foot pain throughout marathon so I had to drop out!

FAMILY STATUS: I've been happily married for 14 years.  I have 2 children 8 1/2 and 11 1/2.

CURRENT TRAINING: Currently I am training for Superfrog HIM which is the end of Sept. I am 6 months out and feel like I am in a very good place. I went through a dozen different shoes to find a pair that I can run in without pain and I FINALLY think I nailed it! My running is finally coming around and I can now run without 10/10 pain!! I am also planning on doing the HITS in Lake Havasu in Nov. I am registered for the half but considering upgrading to full as long as I am able to remain consistent and injury free, and I gotta be able to talk Mitch into doing it with me!

2011 RACES:   Vineman was my only race in 2011 and honestly my first race since Ironman Canada in 2005. I had a descent swim (1:45), I had a come apart on the bike (I weighed 275 and the hills sucked the legs right out of me) and finished 2 of the 3 loops of the marathon!

2012 RACES: My first race of the season was to be Oceanside 70.3. Note to self "Spring triathlons never work out as well as you think they will!" I wasn't planning on doing it because I couldn't train all winter long because of my foot. I felt bad I was leaving Mitch hanging so I said heck with it and did it any way. 2nd DNF of the year!

WEIGHTLOSS: My biggest goal for the year is to get this weight off me! It sucks being an overweight triathlete! Years ago if you needed to lose weight you just worked out more! Not that way for me now, I have to be very very precise what I eat and how much! Now I'm tracking every bite I eat and drink on Myfitnesspal.com. If anyone else is on there let me know, I have no friends yet :-( !

Joe, the main things to look for in shoes are the size and the amount of stability.  Some shoe stores have a teadmill where you run on the treadmill and they videotape your footstrike to help determine whether you pronate or whatever and how much stability you need or don't need for your shoe.  They will of course also try to sell you inserts and every other toy they have, but knowing what level of stability is the main thing you need to know.  Often they also let you try out running in various pairs of shoes to see how they feel.  Basically how much padding the shoe has, how much flexibility, etc.  I buy shoes online because they are cheaper for me that way.  I usually stock up on shoes at the end of December and get last year's model for $50-60 instead of $100 to 110.  Some shoes such as asics gt2150s run a half size smaller than the size marked on the shoe, so sometimes you do need to buy a half to a full size up. 

Jim, Welcome.  I ran the Vineman with you in 2011.  I am glad you found the right shoe fit for you.  A HIM definately requires more training for most than you would think.  Sorry about the DNFs.  Lets find a slow steady build and keep you healthy.  Your focus should probably be on getting in the miles more than on intensity until you get your base back to being solid.  I hear you on the weight loss, my motabolism is very very efficient.  I can put in a 25 hour week of workouts and not lose weight on what most folks would consider a deficit of calories.  If I take in any sugar outside of workout replenishment I will not drop at all. 

No worries about being newer to triathlon folks, you belong here, this group has so much experience that you will learn so much, don't be shy.  Socks.... do not run long distances in COTTON socks.  Get some socks that will wick moisture away.  And wool socks own for running in snow and slush.  I go thin rather than thick.  Jim tell us about your shoe journey as some are going to be trying to figure out how to find the right shoe for them and you have to be the expert on shoe shopping of our group.

Thanks, Steve! Hi everyone! Lots of inspiring folks in the group and I am looking forward to learning a lot. Today I did 1800 yards in the pool for master swim w/a pull buoy for the whole thing because of this groin pull.

I've been having terrible cramping in my legs for a few weeks and realized I need to do more than water on my longer runs. Finished up a week of training with a 14 miler that felt awesome for 9 miles and kind of crappy with calf cramps for the last five. Did zero working out for a full 5 days because of work--that never happens. But I had a good base, so on the 6th day, I did a slow 3.5 mile run. Next day did 10 miles at a good clip, wore compression tights, had a Gu at mile 5. After the run, I had the worst cramps--quads, calves, hamstrings, even abs when I bent down to take off my shoes!   I stretched but when one muscle loosened up, another cramped. Took it easy for a couple of days, went for a short run and felt pain in left groin muscle--thought I could work it out in the run. Nope. After another day off, and tried again. Still pain. Today I can feel the pain when I walk.  I'm icing and hoping that it will start to feel better in a few days. Argh.

I spent over 10 years coaching swimming (college to learn-to-swim),  but it’s always tough to correct a stroke without seeing it. Here’s my simplest advice to everyone who wants to make little changes to get faster.

“Keep your right hand on the right side and your left hand on the left side.” Imagine a plane running down the center of your body, dividing your right and left side. Your hands/arms should never cross that plane.  Right stays on the right. Left stays on the left.

“Fingertips down.” When your hand enters the water, you want to think about keeping your fingertips pointed to the bottom of the pool. This will keep your elbows up and help initiate your pull sooner.

“Get as horizontal as possible.” You want your body position to be as horizontal as possible, staying as close to the top of the water (especially your lower half) as you can. There are a lot of different ways to get horizontal (kicking, pressing down with your chest, lowering your head position, etc. ) and will vary based on body type and what your stroke looks like.

It's great to see so such a variety of experience levels joining up here! I'm looking forward to this.  

My training for today:

The weather today has been nice enough to get my bike out on the road...unfortunately I had to cut it short because of a family thing, so I only went 17.45 miles (time 55:30:44).  My route was pretty tough, had myself riding into a steady 10mph headwind for about 5 miles.  I wanted to die. My average HR was 142 though so I feel good about that. 

I plan to work a run in tonight after the kiddies are in bed, I've got 6 miles on the ticket. I'm feeling a bit tired though (up late last night/early this a.m.) so I'm not sure if I'll make it.  If I don't I'll work it into my swim workout that's scheduled for tomorrow. 

Love taper weeks, had a nice 8 mile run 7:46 pace today.  It is still snowing most nights up here, bike is solidly on the trainer until race day lol. 

Swim 57:28
T1 4:49
Bike 6:26:22 (which included ~12min of breaks – potty and SN)
T2 3:04
Run 4:29:13

WOW! Your swim soo rocks.  That is a professional triathlete level swim right there.  We bike about the same speed assuming hills were the same, you have me on the swim by like.... 25-30 minutes oh my and my run is 50 minutes faster, but I did my hugs after the finishline. So I came in around 11:40.

I would think you can take 30 min off the bike and 15 min off the run this year , maybe an 11:20-30 this year and and 11:00:00 next year (although...your HIM run puts you at around a 4:05 IM marry currently).  IMAZ is a flatter course so if you get lucky on the wind that helps.  Too far out to make pace guesses yet, but yes the bike and run have some room for improvement given that world class swim.  The best thing to do for your run is 1 mile repeats increasing 1 each week and of course the total run miles with the long run building to 3x 18 ish in your final build before race day.  If you look at Jeorge's winter bike program, that would give you a very structured bike program to work on speed and you have time to do that before race day while just extending the long weekend ride for IM training.     

I think you will feel the extra 2500 feet.  You will start out fine for like 1 mile and then bam... you will feel fatigued and be like dang what happened.... From sealevel to my 4500 foot above home it takes me about 10 days to reaclimate and then going up 3000 feet to 7500 I have to adjust again.  Stay hydrated.

 Mike, I love me some headwind.  I can count on 10 to 20 mph winds daily here even if I start at dawn sometimes.  Nothing speaks mental toughness more than biking 60 miles into a 20 mph headwind....It looks like you have some nice bike legs though, that puts you around 19 mph with a stint of headwind. 

NAME: Robb / Ball6135

STORY: I have been doing triathlons for about 6 years after my youngest daughter was  born and I hit a horribly high weight.  I've always been active and athletic through high school and college. 6 years ago, I couldn't swim 25 yards, now I'm a ~1 hr. IM swim guy.  My bike is second in quality and I really don't like running.  (Makes for some long days in the tri-world!  lol)

FAMILY STATUS: Married to my wonderful wife with two little girls.

CURRENT TRAINING: Training with a Coach this year and following our plan based on some early season 1/2's with an "A" race on August 12th.  Typically 7 days a week with a day off every 3-4 weeks.  Currently in a build phase.  I need to start tracking training here on BT again. 

2011 Races: everything from sprint to IM Wisconsin (major nutrition issues, but "finished") 

2012 RACES: Staring off with a 1/2 marathon in early may, some Du's later in May, 1/2 in June, Oly in July, 1/2 in August with TC Marathon in October (1st marathon without a bunch of swimming and biking in front of it) and then R&R Marathon in Vegas in December.  (with a plan to do Leadman Vegas in April of 2013)

WEIGHTLOSS: Yes!! I need to... lol

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR OR GOALS:  A bit of accountability and a group to learn from.  No matter the experience, or number of races, I find it amazing that I look over at someone doing their first triathlon getting ready and see them doing something really cool, just because they don't know how "you're supposed to do it"... 

Thanks for the welcome!  As promised, below is my bio:

NAME: squirt (Carol)

STORY:  I'm 45 (46 in triathlon years) and have run off and on for the last 6 years.  I would normally fade in the heat of the summer and have to start over again and again.  I had several injuries/issues along the way and let them deter me instead of proactively addressing them.  As a result of that and getting out of touch with "calorie reality" for a while, I packed on some unwanted pounds.  But in early 2011, I decided enough was enough.  Our pastor talked one day about not living life with the emergency brake on, and I felt like that was exactly what I had been doing with my training (or lack thereof).  I realized I was afraid to really try hard and fail, so I always stopped short of giving it my all.  I had done one tri in 2009 as sort of a dare with a friend, liked it, and decided to go "all in".  I got professional help with my recurring injury issues, joined Baowolf's BT mentor group, got a lightly used road bike, and set a goal of doing 12 races in 12 months in 2011 (tri's and running).  I did it, and now I'm ready to get better at it!!  I also have the added challenge of having type 1 diabetes (the kind the little kids get), so balancing insulin, carbs and exercise is...well...neverending.  But we all have "stuff" of one kind or another, right?

FAMILY STATUS: Married to my best friend for 23 years, 5 furkids (4 dogs and 1 very tolerant cat).

CURRENT TRAINING:  I've been run focused over the winter, training for a few half mary's and now my first full (4/15).  I took my first ever swim lessons with a local tri coach in January/February and learned what a proper swim stroke should look like.  Now just need to take the better form up in distance.  Bike is VERY neglected, and the part I struggle with most.  My logs are updated.

2011 RACES:  This was really my first year of tri's other than one sprint back in 2009 (sort of a dare with a friend).  I did four sprints and two OLY's in 2011.  Also did two half mary's, three 10K's and one 5K.  Had big (for me) run PR's after tri training all summer and losing some weight. 

2012 RACES:  Set progressive PR's in a couple of half mary's in Jan and Feb, and did one sprint tri in March.  Next up is first full mary on 4/15.  Oly scheduled for end of May.  Considering doing Redman 70.3 in the fall, and want to get better at the OLY distance over this summer.  Longer term goal is to qualify for Boston at age 50, if not before.    

WEIGHTLOSS: I've lost 25 lbs in the last year and am at a weight I'm fairly content with (122 lbs - 5 ft 3 in).  I'd like to maintain that and possibly drop to 115, but am not in a big hurry about that.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:  I know I have a LOT to learn, especially as I try to get faster and go longer, so I'm open to any and all help!  Having participated in a mentor group in 2011 and done a few tri's already, I also hope I can help to encourage others.  Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can!  You will also save my friends from me rattling on quite as much about all this.

That would be great if you log your training on BT.  I'd love to see what the coach has you doing...