Athena/ Clydesdale Official Mentor Group (Page 2)

I think building up the walking (and eventually running) is a great way to get going.  I also think it's important to base your expectations on prior race results.   Each event is unique, so looking at averages is informative.

I DO personally really believe in using a professionally put together training plan.   It helps with focus and putting effort where it will have the most impact.   Perhaps once you feel more confident with the walking, you can find a short plan to follow in the 8-12 weeks leading up to your 10/13 event.

Further, when you're ready to work on running, I highly recommend the couch to 5k plan on Cool Running.com.   I have known many folks, myself included, who used that to get started.  They do a gradual build up and you can repeat weeks if you need some extra time.

I'm all for adding events into the schedule if it works out.  Go for it!  And enjoy that new bike.  I love bikes...

You are off to a great start - keep working!  Be careful with your rotator cuff injury as you try to start swimming - you don't want to set yourself back by starting off with too much, too soon.  A sprint tri (Blueman) by October is a great goal.  Don't get too focused on average times for your AG for your first event.  You can keep them in mind as you train as benchmarks, but your main goal for Tri #1 should be to finish and have fun doing it.  Welcome to the lifestyle!

Logging workouts has a positive result for me in a few ways.  1) I can easily see when I worked out, how long/far I worked out, and I can add a few notes about the workout or the day  2)Seeing the totals along the left inspire me to try to hit a certain number, like run 15 miles in the month (running gets the least amount of attention from me so this was actually a goal of mine for June )  3) allows others see what you have done and allow them to motivate you/cheer you/etc.

Anyone can feel free to add me as a friend!

Absolutely - I love the feedback I can get from logging.  I will look at what I did over the month, what I did in previous months to set goals.  I often look at my training from before a big event and compare it to the year before for same/similar events so I can say "hey, I did better so I will do better" or sometimes "I didn't feel prepared last year, but I know I did the same and was just fine.".   The graphs and reports are worth the logging.   I am SUPER religious about it, and it's paid off in spades.   I also love seeing how many miles/yards I have covered at the end of the year!

I tried to do the run - for you guys!  I got a little over half completed, but the blanket of heat and just feeling kind of crummy got to me today.  It did make me realize I need to promise myself to do long runs on weekend mornings, when I can be successful.

How did everyone else's training go?

I'm in, but I have no idea what a mentor group does, this is my first.

I love the BT training log, it is my concrete pat on the back of progress. I log as immediately as I can.

I am right now in a custom made (by this site) HIM program for Beach 2 Battleship. I also have a half marathon Sept 8 and a 5k swim in August, so I will be upping those sessions appropriately.

I am so glad I did my solo bike this morning.  Things went exactly as expected when Cindy got home, "It's too hot.  I'm too tired.  I'll get up early tomorrow morning."  So she missed her workout today, but I got mine in.  Granted, she's not planning on doing a tri, I am.  Tomorrow will be interesting.  1 mile walk with her at 6 am and then my solo 2 miles around 8 am after she leaves for work.

Found a video on youtube this afternoon about adjusting my rear derailleur.  I'll give that a try tomorrow as well.

<grump>I'm feeling a bit disgruntled. Arranged to run/bike with a friend tonight. Usually I am solo, so this was a departure. Well, it's raining, so she wanted to just run. Okay.

But her dog got out and wouldn't come back. And it was cold. And she didn't like running, even on intervals. And it was wet. So we walked, but the total walk was 2.something and there was no real running. Nothing worse than a wasted workout.

</grump>

Nice workouts!

Calluna - sometimes working out with a friend is just the ticket, sometimes it totally derails.   I have a friend that I run with and sometimes we finishing thinking "I'm so glad we did this together, or I wouldn't have" and other times I get totally thrown off and it's miserable.  

count me in, only problem with this thread is it is too popular so hard to keep up with everything, but that is an excellent problem to have!

I'm in base building mode before trying an IM in fall 2013 (haven't decided which one yet but will have to decide in the next couple of weeks, or my decision will be made based on races filling up).

Today i a rest/travel day, spending the weekend at parents cottage with some friends, generally not super healthy weekend but I get to do some OWS!

I'm so not a morning person and I have a daily 730am meeting so I'm generally into the office by 7. There was another thread where people with similar schedules were talking about getting up at ~430 so they could get workouts in... crazy! I wish I could will myself to do this because it is much easier to have things come up that interfere after work than before

Just finished my actual training walk for the day.  On the one hand, I was a little disappointed that it was almost exactly a minute slower than my first effort at two miles.  On the other hand, I expected to be a little slower, having already done Cindy's walk at 6 am.  So in reality I've walked three miles today instead of just two.  And I'm sure we don't see improvement every single day, there are ups and downs and plateaus in everyone's log I'd bet.  So all things considered I'm satisfied.  2 miles - 19:06 out and 36.30 total.  Arms down, normal loping walk out; arms up and shorter, quicker strides on the way back (downhill).

As for the morning workout question ,,, I learned to do that at Parris Island and prefer it right now because, as you all know, heat really knocks it out of a wide-body like me.  But given my druthers, I'd rather workout after work.  It helps me to decompress and I feel great afterwards.  When I was still working at the prison I would go to the fitness center at 1000 or 1130 pm after my shift.  Now that I'm retired I suppose I'll have the luxury of picking and choosing my workout times.  I'll keep doing 6 am walks with Cindy because she won't do them alone.   And maybe I'll try to schedule my workouts to coincide with COB at the bank, that way I might motivate her to leave the bank at a reasonable time.

Good morning folks!  I had a really great swim this morning in a local lake.  I found a great shallow water spot that is boat free and you can see the bottom the whole time (I am swimming with a real beginner, and he feels safer when he can see bottom).

Just had to share.  My next race is in two days!!!

I depend on the morning workouts - it's a good feeling to have the workout done before the day really starts, and I don't have to worry about work or something else interefering with getting it done if I plan to do it later in the day.  It's a control thing, really - I like to make sure I work out while I still have control over the time.  I'm really not a morning person - a lot of times it's like a kidnapping situation - the workout is halfway over before my body wakes up and realizes what is happening.