Gray Guys/Girls Maturing Triathlete - Always OPEN (Page 2)

Yeah, long rides on the trainer are not especially fun.  I did a 2 hr one yesterday and I'm really glad today is just an easy 20' recovery ride.  I do find though that as long as I'm doing an actual workout and not just "riding" it goes faster.  I've also discovered that I enjoy sprints/intervals a lot more than steady state/tempo riding.  It keeps me more "in the workout" so to speak.  

I also hate the treadmill so for the few runs that I've been doing when I can't get outside I've been using the indoor track at the gym.  It's not much better though - supposed to be 1/10th of a mile but I know it's shorter than that.  And going around in constant small circles doesn't really help my knee/hip issues.  I'm really hoping to get outside for a short run or two this week while the temps are actually above freezing!

Janet

Scott have you already done Kona?  I am guessing yes since it seamed that seeing other people that you knew do it and feeling that you could have done that was part of your motivation for doing triathlon. 

I age up this year too...it is temping to jump up to the 140.6 distance to do IM Texas this year for my "better than normal" chances at a Kona slot but I am sure the competition will be brutal for slots and I am don't even think that the IM distance is something that I would be be as good at or enjoy as much at the shorter Olympic and 70.3 races so I will stick with them until they loose my interest. 

It looks like you have to win your AG to Kona Qualify at IM Louisville. I hope thinks go you way. 

Hey Bryan,

Obviously I don't know you beyond a couple words on a screen and certainly have no idea where your fitness is at.  I can just share with you the "reader's digest version" of where I was a number of years ago.  I swam competitively for a very long time.  Some might say I was an elite swimmer at one point.  When I stopped swimming I took up triathlon.  Without banging my own drum too much suffice to say I was in VERY good shape.  Then life happened.  I was still "working out," but definitely not training with a purpose.  Ironically I was coaching swimmers and helping triathletes improve their swimming.  Yet, one day I woke up and realized I was nearly 100 pounds overweight.  Like you, I had an epiphany one day, in my case when I went to the Grand Canyon and couldn't walk from the parking lot to the canyon rim - less than half-a-mile.  I knew deep inside that the 100+ temperature had nothing to do with my inability to walk for even 10-minutes and vowed that day to get back to my athletic past.

I figured I'd just start running.  All that did was cause frustration and nearly derailed my effort to return to an active lifestyle.  Then I discovered a "Couch-to-5k" running plan.  The plan started with mostly walking and a little bit of running.  Over the course of 12-weeks it gradually went from mostly walking to all running.  It was truly my athletic salvation.  Now days they have Couch-to-5k plans that are available as apps for your phone.  Makes it incredibly easy.  You plug in your ear-buds, start some music, press start, and before you know it, you will be running.

The key for me was a) I had a plan, and b) I was having fun.

If your fitness is above that level, there are more advanced plans available that work much the same way.

Don't feel bad about not starting.  In the words of Vince Lombardi, "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, what matters is how many times you get back up."  Every journey begins with a first step and the really cool thing is, if you stumble, you can take that first step again.

I'm not sure I'd like running around in small circles either!

It's supposed to be tickling 60 degrees here come mid-week.  It'll be raining but I will certainly be running outside.  Might even get my bike off the trainer and go for a ride just because it won't be cold and icy.

Speaking of icy, we had an ice storm last night.  I was suppose to be at swim workout this morning at 5a but there was a quarter-inch of ice on my truck. I couldn't even grab the door handle, let alone open it.  Looking forward to Spring!

Curtis,

Yes, years and years ago before you had to qualify.  My inspiration to do an Ironman was watching Julie Moss doing her epic crawl across the finish line.  I'm sure that inspired many others but for me, it was and continues to be the most heroic athletic achievement I've ever seen.  I told myself if I truly wanted to call myself an athlete, I had to do an Ironman.  Looking back, my time on Kona was really nothing more than a young twenty-somethings excuse to go play in the Hawaiian sun.  As I got older I began to realize I had to go back and compete not just complete - except now you have to qualify.  I have a friend who had done Kona when he was younger.  Of course when I found that out I told him I was going to go back someday.  I guess he got tired of hearing me say that as one day he said to me, "You're going to die saying you are going to go back to Kona or you can just do it."  He then challenged me to beat him back to the island.  That challenge was enough to get me back to serious training.  A few years of medical issues has slowed my progress but I'm hopeful this will be the year.  My buddy has since had hip replacement surgery so I'm carrying the torch for both of us now which serves as additional motivation.

I'm aging up to the 60-64 age group (I can't believe I actually had to write that big a number).  There aren't all that many competing in that age group, at least relatively speaking.  If memory serves you're still a baby  and are in a much larger age-group - meaning that much more competition.  I know in my case it will take winning my age-group.  I think in your age group there may be at least two slots available - still a tough get.  In any case, personally I think everyone should go long, but then, it's been suggested more than once that I am crazy!

There is undoubtedly value in having training partners.  That said, it would be pretty difficult for me to go for a ride with you in Sweden, join Steve for a run out in Washington, or jump in the pool with Curtis down in Oklahoma.  Even joining Janet over in Missouri would be an all-day challenge.  But we do have a training group right here - we have accountability and motivation.   At the end of the day, isn't that the real valuable part of having training partners?  I doubt few of us train at the same paces or do anywhere near the same workouts, yet we all share the need for motivation and having accountability.

To that end, I swam this morning.  I stayed up late last night watching the College Football Championship game. I knew when I went to bed at 1:00a that a 3:30a wake-up call was going to be difficult.  I grumbled all the way to the pool.  But when I got done, I felt good.  Not just because I did the workout, but because I could SAY I did the workout - ACCOUNTABILITY - the true motivator.

I missed my workout last night due to having to work late.  At least it was just an easy recovery spin so I don't feel as bad about it.  Good news though is that I get to take off work early tomorrow (no overtime allowed ) and it's supposed to be near 60* so I am going to get out for a run!  That's assuming the weather cooperates tomorrow.  Today was supposed to be a high of 44* and so far it's not made it out of the mid-30's.  I'll probably go out no matter what the weather - I need the time outside.

Rollergirl - sorry I missed this earlier - glad you're OK after the bike crash.  

Janet

I think in your age group there may be at least two slots available - still a tough get.  In any case, personally I think everyone should go long, but then, it's been suggested more than once that I am crazy!

Hi Mitzi,

Welcome!

Sounds like you're going to have a busy year but you've gotten an early start so you're on your way so success!  The trick is to pro-actively avoid the aches and pains in the first place.  So often, we forget the value and importance of recovery, especially as we get older.  I know for me, the temptation is always there to go "just a little bit harder," or "just a little bit further."  Inevitably, when I do that, I end up with aches, pains or worse.  Just remember to listen to your body.  Pain is the bodies messenger and if we listen, we can generally avoid the serious problems.

You've got a good outlook - one day at a time.  

I look forward to having you in the group!

I don't generally keep track of how many KQ slots are available as I don't like outcome goals - especially in the context of a KQ since you have no way of knowing who else is showing up on race day. That said, this conversation peaked my curiosity so I just looked - in 2017 there were 3 M40-44 slots at Louisville and 10 M40-44 slots at Texas.  At Louisville the final qualifier was at 9:20:00 while at Texas the final qualifier was at 9:49:36 (M60-64 had one slot at Louisville and last year's qualifier was at 10:54:09; Texas had two slots and final qualifier was at 11:40:46; which is kinda cool since I've always figured I'd have to go sub 10:00:00 - aging up is a wonderful thing in the context of KQ'ing!).  The times are nice to know to figure out if you are even in the ballpark of a serious KQ attempt.  A KQ attempt is one of those things, you and your family have to be "ALL-IN" if you are going to go for it.   In your case, you're right, if you are on the cusp of some special things in the shorter races, even though I think everyone should go long at some point, you will know when the time is right for going long and staying on your current path is probably the best bet.

Kris - Welcome to the group!  We've all been where you are - none of us was born a triathlete .  But anyone can do it with the right mindset and the right training.  Hope we can help you along with both.

Mitzi - Welcome to you too!  I would love to be able to do a race in your area - my husband's mom and 3 sisters all live in Connecticut (Meriden area) so it would make for a nice race-cation for us.  

I bailed on my run yesterday .  Temperatures were nice (mid-50's) but the wind was awful!  I can do cold, hot, rain, snow, even ran in sleet once, but I hate running in 20mph winds.  So I used it as an excuse to skip the run.  Now I'm feeling a little guilty about it.  I haven't been running much anyway due to my knee issues, but I can't keep skipping it "just because".  I've found some motivation and accountability to do my bike workouts this winter, just need to find something similar for my running.  

Janet

 https://my.davisphinneyfoundation.org/fundraiser/1235009

Kris,

Welcome!  You are in the right place.

Every single person in this group, indeed on this website, was exactly where you are at some point.  We all made the decision to become more active and ultimately ended up focusing on triathlon.  Truly there is nothing to be "scared our of your mind" over.  I remember my first race where, like you, I was terrified.  Then the race started and I realized my fears were unfounded.  Triathlon is a journey and you start with a single step, you follow that step with another, and another.  One-step-at-a-time!

As a beginner, you will need a couple of things - a bike, appropriate clothing, a pair of running shoes, and maybe a pair of goggles and a watch/heart rate monitor.  Beyond that, you don't need to spend massive amounts of money unless/until you decide you want to stand atop the podium.  Even if you decide you want to do that, you still don't need to spend the massive amounts of money some of the manufacturers want you to believe you should spend.

Bike - you need a bike.  It doesn't need to be a triathlon specific bike.  Indeed it doesn't necessarily need to be a road bike.  Many have done their first triathlon on the equivalent of a mountain bike or "K-mart special."  A road bike would be faster then the mountain bike or K-mart special options, and a triathlon bike would be faster then a road bike.  You can spend as much or as little as you like however my suggestion would be not spend massive amounts of money until you a) decide you really want to continue doing triathlons, and b) you get a better sense of what you might need/want.

Appropriate Clothing - You need something to swim, bike, and run in.  Some people have a swim suit of some sort, a separate cycling "kit" that has padded shorts with jersey and use running shorts/shirt for the run.  There are also triathlon specific clothes available that you can use for all three disciplines thus eliminating the need to change clothes in transition.  As with the bike, you can spend as much or as little as you like with the same caveat I offered on the bike.

Running Shoes - This is one area you don't want to "skimp" on.  Get a quality pair of running shoes.  You don't buy running shoes at Walmart.  Find a running store in your area and seek their assistance and recommendations on a good running shoe.  A good running store will be able to analyze your gait and make the appropriate recommendations (We could spend the next couple of hours talking about the value of stability shoes vs. neutral shoes vs. highly cushioned shoes - the list goes on and on.  I'd go with a running store's recommendation to begin with until you have learned through experience what you need).  Expect to spend $100-150 or more for a quality pair of running shoes.

Miscellaneous - This is going to be things you arguably don't NEED to complete a triathlon, but they are nice to have.  Back when I started swimming we didn't have goggles so in my mind this is still a luxury but admittedly, it makes swimming much more enjoyable.  You can get a good pair of goggles for very little money so this is pretty much a must have now.  A watch that has a heart rate monitor is a good investment so you can quantify the training you do.  A step-up is a GPS watch that will record your run and heart rate data, allowing you to keep a record of your workouts.  The next step up is a multi-sport specific watch that will record data for all three triathlon disciplines as well as HR data.  Here is a link to a website that discusses all the various "toys" you can consider and looks in-depth at the various watches - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/11/winter-technology-recommendations.html.  You'll see a number of other things discussed on that website - power meters, cycling head units, trainers, etc.  I'd suggest you get settled into triathlon before you concern yourself too deeply with all those other toys.

Next step will be training.  I'll post some thoughts on training "off the couch" in a little bit.

Hope that helps.  Again, WELCOME!

There you go!  Nothing like Jillian yelling at you to get you motivated!

(jillian2.gif)