Baowolf's Winter training is FUN group..no really it is!! (OPEN) (Page 2)

Hi!

I'd love to join this group too

NAME: Steph

STORY: I’m 30, Brit living in Texas. Had major knee surgery in end of 2013 and did my first tri (sprint) about 6 weeks later - yes it was a mistake, no I didn't do anything else for several months. I did several tris in 2014 but with various knee pain and problems. Touch wood I seem to be past that now and just need to lose the weight I gained post surgery (about 20-25lbs). I love being active and have found myself a great group of friends who are all on board. To date I've only competed in Sprints, I've signed up for a couple of Olympics and Galveston 70.3 end of April. I'm also doing LA marathon in March (my first). Cycling is my weakest area at the moment because I just lay my bike down each year after the MS150 and only pick it up again when it's cool enough outside in the summer/autumn. I'm a teacher and I coordinate an outdoors programme for my school - in the process of trying to set up a tri club for them.

FAMILY STATUS: Live with my boyfriend (supportive) and our dog and cat.

CURRENT TRAINING: Running (need to do more), cycling, yoga, some strength training and some swimming.

THIS YEAR'S RACES (2015): Houston HM, Austin HM, LA full marathon, Kemah Oly, poss Devil's Backbone Oly, Texas 70.3 HIM, Jeff & Bredes Sprint. Toying with Full distance towards end of year or maybe IMTX next May... (I volunteer on the run course normally so I'll be out there cheering you all on in May!)

2014 RACES: Lots - All Sprints and 1 HIM relay (swim), MS150, some 10ks & 5ks . 2013 RACES: MS150, Houston HM, 1 sprint, various 5k

WEIGHTLOSS: Also a big yes, please! I have picked up 20/25 lbs since knee surgery 2013. (I'm very good at the eating part)

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I love helping others and motivating other people. I am pretty good about getting up and doing stuff when I am ACCOUNTABLE to others... (I know, I should just do it because I have to but I don't always seem to work that way).

Just asking to grab a spot! Will post my info soon!

Hi. I'd like to join the group please.

NAME: Chapfallen/Rachel

STORY: I started triathlon in 2010 with my husband, who had this hair brained idea that he wanted to do a triathlon before he was 30, and had found a sprint race the week before. It was intended to be a one off... A series of events led us to the local tri club, and then it all snowballed. Originally we decided to do an OLY in 2011, which felt like a massive goal, but somewhere along the way it got bumped up to a HIM. That race was probably a defining moment in my triathlon career, not because it was impressive in any way, or even a particularly good race, but because when I crossed the finish line I realised that anything is possible. 2012 saw us complete IM Zurich, and I had found my triathlon happy place. For whatever reason IM just feels right for me - probably because I'm just not fast, but I can do long... 2013 my husband and I entered Outlaw which is an independent iron distance race. Around April my husband hurt his back and had to withdraw, but was an absolutely amazing support team for my training and I improved my time by about an hour and a half on the previous race. All of this was interspersed with a number of sprints and individual swim/bike/run events. One of my favourites was actually a charity bike ride in September 2013 when we cycled from London to Paris over 3 days.

Last year everything changed. I found out I was pregnant on the 2nd January, and had great plans to continue being fit and healthy through my pregnancy. By some standards I succeeded - I continued doing parkrun every week, although I had to walk from quite early on as my knees went, then my hips. I also continued swimming all the way through, and cycled until around April when I started to get nervous about the possibility of falls. I had my son at the beginning of September (I managed labour under the IM cutoff time, but only just!), and have been gradually trying to increase my activity levels from pretty much nothing to something resembling actual training.

FAMILY STATUS: Married with a 4 month old son, a dog and a cat.

CURRENT TRAINING: As the primary caregiver for our son it's obviously quite restricted at the moment, so I'm still walking parkrun most weeks, but with the baby in a sling. I've been swimming once a week with the tri club for the last couple of months, and am working on a 2nd opportunity to swim at the moment. A group has recently started a track running session for mums local to me, so I'm going along to that and it's suitable for pushchairs, so I can take the baby along. I really want to get a jogging stroller so that I can get a bit more running in, but at the moment we're having to be a little careful with our finances, and also the baby is still a little young for it, so it's on the wishlist. Hopefully by the time he's 6 months he'll have the strength and I'll have the money to be able to put that in place. Cycling is the thing I'm struggling to figure out. I've never really enjoyed cycling outside on my own, but I can't cycle with my husband at the moment as one of us has to look after the baby. I'm going to try to start doing some with my Dad during the day while my Mum babysits, and he's about the right level of fitness for me at the moment, so fingers crossed that will fall into place. It's very much a work in progress!

THIS YEAR'S RACES (2015): I haven't signed up for anything yet, but there's a sprint at the beginning of May that was our season opener 3 years in a row. Entries open in 8 days and I'm intending to sign up. I do better when I have something to aim for, and the distance is short enough that even if my training goes horribly wrong I'll be able to complete it. At this point that would be a real success. At the back of my mind I've got a marathon I'd like to do in September, but that will absolutely depend on how well I get back into training and whether the running is there. My husband has entered Outlaw again this year, and I have agreed to prioritise his training for that, so anything else I do will have to fit around him.

2014 RACES:Absolutely nothing.

WEIGHTLOSS: Im currently sitting around 20kg/45lb above my outlaw race weight.I have no expectation of getting back there until I can resume long distance training, so not for a while, but I'm hoping to drop about 15kg of it this year. I find healthy eating is linked with good exercise so I'll be working on both together.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I've been a very active member of a number of mentor groups in the past and enjoy the relationships that can be built in these groups. I also have a fair bit of knowledge that I've picked up along the way, and enjoy sharing that. I intend to be an active member of the group, if only so that I've got something to do during feeds other than checking facebook!

Hey all -- I am back from my wander in the desert, and am actively training again. If there's room, would love to jump back into this great group. Will post Bio later.

Happy New Year to everyone!! Good to see Steve, Carol, Pam, and everyone else. Any Jay sighting yet? So much to catch up on with everyone.

I'm so excited to be a part of this group! I'm nervous about all the physical and mental training I'll need to do in order to reach my goals!

Carol, I don't have a bike yet. I'll have to research and purchase one. For now I have a cheap bike and a stationary bike to start training on.

Cathy, I believe it will be warm enough by April. Only the running and biking will be outdoor. The swimming will be outdoor.

NAME: Mary/ Waverly

STORY: Totally brand new to triathlons, though always relatively active since childhood. Soccer and horseback riding are my true loves. Soccer has been my best lesson in stamina, and horseback riding has been my best lesson in discipline. Truth be told, I would be thrilled to learn/ master fencing and shooting to be able to compete in a pentathlon at some point in my life. Triathlons call to me because I want to push myself to run again, period. But I also wish to develop/ define muscle, see how far and fast I can go, and especially overcome some emotional/ mental blocks that I feel running will be key to helping me to overcome. I am also quite interested in improving my terrible form in swimming, and get back on a bike again for the first time in over a decade! I have a long history of anorexia, requiring 2 hospitalizations in my early 20's. I am almost fully recovered, just have a few triggers left and an understanding that I need to train lightly at first, building up speed and distance over time. My first sprint triathlon is 9+ months away, and while I would love to be ready to do one before the one I have in mind, I will not force it. Easy does it and consistency will be my motto!

FAMILY STATUS: I live with my awesome boyfriend and his identical twin sons, both on the autism spectrum. They will be cheering me on at the finish line with the extended family, no doubt! We also have way too many pets, including a horse and 2 macaws (parrots)!

CURRENT TRAINING: As mentioned, I am easing into training rather slowly, so that I will be consistent and stick with it. Easy 2-3 mile walk/ runs are my base, pool workouts will start at 500 meters, but I suspect that will be too easy soon and increase the distance quickly. I need to buy/ borrow a bike, will determine my cycling abilities then.

THIS YEAR'S RACES (2015): A sprint tri in September, though will likely be ready to enter one before then!

WEIGHT: I need to tone! Though with my history of anorexia, I need to be careful to eat well for training and not for weight loss. I am at the higher end of a "normal" weight for my height, so no real worries there. I would love to be 200 pounds of pure muscle!

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I am a great cheerleader (I actually used to cheer professionally)! I am good at taking suggestions and will incorporate input into my workouts. You will see me improve, which is an awesome motivator for your own training! I am friendly and enthusiastic and will leave you "inspires" once I find out how they work.

BONUS ROUND: CHALLENGES AND TRIUMPHS: I have mild asthma, nothing I cannot push through but my breathing during workouts needs a lot of work. I am also prone to "beating myself up", which is another reason I want to gradually increase the intensity of my workouts rather than force too much too fast and then feel like I let myself down when it proves too much. I have had some health issues, including chronic pain in my right lower abdomen, but the obstacles at this point are largely mental rather than physical. I am a special education teacher and love my job! I work part-time so should have more time to train than most working folks here. I have a great support team at home!

Just finished a 100x100 dare. Started with 8 people and 2 people finished. I'm done with swim training for the year.

Gauge, congrats on being 1 of two to finish!
Mary, I'm very new to the group too! Once you figure out how inspires work, you should let me know.

GAUG3 - nice! congrats. What is that....almost 6 miles?

For those asking about inspires - you go to a person's training (b)log, and click the inspire button for that day and write whatever you want.

I was hoping to see the Garmin display 10,000 yards when I was done. However, it flipped to 5.68 miles. It sounds worse than it really was. We pushed off the wall @ 2:30. Didn't want to go faster because we had some that just wanted 5k. We had a few PRs and that was worth it to me to see the excitement.

Who all uses the BT training log? I guess I should add it to along with Garmin and Training Peaks.

I do!

I've just started to use the BT log because I saw others using it. I like having a paper record of my training (just keep it with me everywhere) and nike+ for running.

I use the training logs as well. They are easy to use. I also use Garmin Connect and Strava.

Having a blonde moment I guess. I use garmin connect (sadly not consistently) but I use strava to record my outdoor bike rides. I just won a wahoo kickr so I might try to sync all my records into that.

Hello Steve. I would like to join this group as well. Here is my bio:

NAME: Don

STORY: I spent the last 3.5 years living in Japan. I got into the sport in 2012, got injured the first year, then attempted my first triathlon, olympic distance, in March of 2013. I wasn't on any specific training plan, but I felt I was training enough for it. I ended up not making the swim cutoff time and walked away with a DNF, which was a HUGE wakeup call for me. I then finished the year completing three local sprint distance tris. I put myself on the free BT HIM plan the following year. My 2014 races were ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama (the same race I DNF'd the previous year), Yokohama Seaside Triathlon, and Ironman Japan 70.3. My goal for the year was to finish all three phases of Ironman 70.3 before the race officials asked me to sit down and turn in my timing chip. I'm proud to say that I finished the 70.3, but it was close. I was in so much pain afterwards that I called it a 'one and done'. "I'm never doing that again..." Six months later, I registered for Ironman 70.3 Boulder. My goal now is to cut an hour off my time and finish within 6:30. Doesn't sound like much, but that's my goal and I'm sticking to it.

FAMILY STATUS: Married, one child.

CURRENT TRAINING: I'm attempting to create my own training plan this year using the Triathlete Training Bible. Although I didn't follow the BT HIM program to a "T" last year, I feel like it wasn't enough hours to prepare me for Ironman Japan 70.3. The training program I wrote for myself increases my previous years hours by over 50%. I haven't been able to keep up, so I'm hoping to get a little motivation and tips from working with this mentor group.

THIS YEAR'S RACES: The only one is Ironman 70.3 Boulder. If I find some good (when I say good, I mean cheap) sprint or olympic tris, I may sign up, but as of now I only have one race...the A race!

2014 RACES: ITU World Triathlon Series Yokohama, Yokohama Seaside Triathlon, 3 sprint tris, a half marathon, and Ironman 70.3 Japan.

WEIGHT LOSS: After the HIM, I've been sedentary and gained all my weight back. The goal is to lose those 15 pounds again.

That's my story in a nutshell. I look forward to working with all of you.

Wow lots of you racing in Boulder! YAY! I work in Boulder, and live a few miles away. Are any of you in CO?
Amazingly beautiful here

I live in Colorado. Just moved to Fort Collins 5 months ago. It is very beautiful...and bike friendly.

To answer the previous question, I also use the BT logs. They're user friendly.

Hello there!

I am Jimmy, 25/m and I just moved to New Hampshire.

If there's still room in this group, I would like to join. I only have one sprint tri under my belt, but I have done a lot of running races. Nothing over a half marathon so far, but if I don't commit to this now, I'm just going to get busy again .

This year I have signed up for a few races (and I plan on filling in some free time with some shorter distances).

5/3/15 - Flying Pig Marathon
5/31/15 - Raleigh half Ironman
11/7/15 - Florida Ironman

My current workout schedule is not verity consistent, but I try to swim 3x week, run 2x a week and bike at least once.

I hope to qualify for the Boston marathon along the way if all goes well , but that's more of a stretch goal than anything.

I have been using strava to log all of my workouts, but I'm going to try to use the BT logging as well.

I'd like to join in!!

Let me introduce myself in short: 45 years, married to Marissa, three kids, two cats. I am a physical education teacher with children who have some learning or behaviour difficulties. Great job, stupid paperwork...
I'm from the Netherlands, and my aim is to compeed in the IM Maastricht 2017. Yes, it's a new one!!
It's really a bucketlist thing. I always dreamed of doing this and now I'm ready to do the hours. My plan is to get used to the three disciplines, read a lot for half a year. Then I still have two years to get into the wright shape to tackle this iron man...

I love the movie braveheart. This sentence comes along: Your heart is free, have the courage to follow her.
It's time...

Michael Dunk

Hello fellow mentees, new and experienced! Great to see the energy from the group already percolating. Steve, our mentor is on vacation, but once he returns, I'm sure he will have some wisdom to share. He also said that all are welcome, so anyone who has posted is "in".

In the interim, we are all on the right track with using the logs here on BT to record workouts. I've been a member of Steve (Bawolf)'s group for several years, and I know he likes to see that because it enables him and others in the group to provide more constructive feedback. And as for me, logging workouts in general keeps it real since I have a tendency to think I'm either doing more or less than I really am otherwise.

100 X 100, wow!!!!! My fingers are pruning up a bit just reading that.

For anyone at an earlier stage of the game wanting to complete a first tri...for those wanting to focus on shorter tri's/run's/etc....or for those of us wanting to rebuild fitness and lose weight, please know that you are also in good company here.

OK, I have a record to share as well. Hubby & I are training for his first half marathon. The weather has been cold and rainy here, so he talked me into doing our 10 mile walk inside the local mall yesterday. I just might be cured for life of wanting to shop at the mall! Hmmm....thinking I have a pretty smart hubby.

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone,

I'd love to join your mentor group! I haven't yet done a tri, but I'm scheduled for a mini-sprint in April.

BIO

Kathy Stevens, 49 years old (can't believe this!), married for 25 years, 2 daughters ages 8 and 16. I have been running for a while, my longest race is a 10K. I'm slow, but I finish. I decided to challenge myself with a HM before I turn 50, and I added in cycling and swimming for cross-training and then decided to try a tri.

I look forward to getting to know y'all!

Hey all I am back home now will have to catch up on the posts tomorrow. Everyone is in no problem. I ask that you post once a week just so we know you are still with us. Try to hang out and give it a try for a month as many drop out after a week or two when the newyears newness wears off. I will be checking n regularly when not out of town etc.

10 mile run 55 mile bike and 2200 yard swim for longs this week. Hoping to be feeling in shape at some point here.

Here are 2014s totals feel free to put yours up if you want, it is game we play to see how the training is coming or not. It doesn't always turn out in real life like it does on paper.

Swim: 104h 48m 01s - 247974 Yd

Bike: 291h 26m 38s - 5319.18 Mi

Run: 190h 32m 37s - 1252.63 Mi

Edited by Baowolf 2015-01-05 1:35 AM

Hello everybody!!

Second post from me, I really think this is great!! I'm learning a lot, thanks to you lot! Cool to chat with people from all around the world, about the same stupid hobby...I really believe that I' m hooked for life, all though I'm just getting started.
I agree that it's not a sport, but a way of life.
Does somebody have advice for a good helmet, which brand is good, and regarding price- quality.....

Off for a swim now!!