TRIFOR40's Group - Full (Page 2)

I teach 5th - 12th grade band.  I have 3 different bands, a beginning, intermediate and advanced band.  The High School band is the smallest.  I love it!  I taught 7 years or so in public schools, and being a band person it was crazy because you had to travel from school to school.  In 7 years I taught at 14 different schools.  I love being at one school, being a part of a faculty and having roots, so to speak.  My students are really into me being a triathlete.  I also teach a music appreciation class to 7th and 8th grade students.  I teach them, and then go work out.  They can usually tell what I am going to do by how my hair is fixed...they ask anyway - Hey Ms. Gray, what are you going to do today?  How many miles?  That sort of thing.  I have coached girls basketball in the past, but I took this year off.  I also teach private lessons on all the wind instruments in my spare time (!!!). 

Merry Christmas everyone!  I am so psyched!  I got a swimp3 for christmas!  I really wasn't expecting it - my parents asked me for an idea for my boyfriend and I told my Dad to get Don one that it was really cool and swimming laps is about as boring as watching paint dry.  I was very excited and suprised that he bought one for me too!  Now I am waiting for the pool to open!

Kelly

Did everyone have a good day? 

Hi Jen!

Thanks for the introduction! How old is your daughter? I can't imagine having a new baby and a new puppy at the same time--What a hoot!

I didn't get a paid membership right away;  I started with one of the free beginner sprint plans. Your plan of starting with the couch to 5K plan and adding swimming and biking in later sounds good; you may find one of the beginner sprint plans will work for you at that time. Just don't overdo it by adding too much too soon!

Just import your c25k plan, and then enter your workouts from the C25K plan. (when you get the chance to figure out the logging feature!)  As for the photos, at the top left of the screen, you will see a box with three headings across the top: Home, Control Panel, and Help.  Click on Control Panel and scroll to the bottom. You will see a spot to upload a "profile image" or somthing similar. You need to use a pretty small photo-- it tells you if it is too big.

Hope this helps-

Jenna

Hello Everybody--

In case you are bored with all your new toys already (not likely, I know) here are some good threads/ articles I found really helpful. 

• The Newbie Bumpable Thread http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=18656&start=1  Good overview and set of FAQs
• If you still want more, or for those of you ready to start training using your heart rate zones, or who are drawn to the math-y, science-y aspects of the sport, go here.  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633  (This is indespensible information for some, and way too much for others. Don't let it scare you away.)
• For wintertime nutrition info, this is a great article:  http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1034 but I think it may be a performance member article. If you can't see that one, cruise other articles in the "Nutrition" section.
• For Mike Ricci's  core-strength workouts go here: http://www.d3multisport.com/articles.php and click on the "Core Strength" links under "Weight Training and Core Strength."

Happy Reading!

Almost forgot-- we had one person switch groups last week, so if you know of somebody else interested in giving it a go, we have a slot open in our group!

Thanks,

Jenna

Jenna, I see that you still have room in your group.  Can I join?

Name/user name: Meredith

age:41  I have 5 boys and I want to lose weight and do a sprint or two this next spring/early summer.

I worked out really hard about 6 months ago and when it came time to do my tri I could not do it due to money (long story...won't go into...short story...I found out at a late date that I needed a wetsuit and did not have enough money on such a short notice to rent one and train with it in a week)

I really want to get back into it and I know that in order to lose weight I need to work hard.

meredith 

Of course, Meredith, welcome!

That must have been a real dissappointment last year-- but it looks like you picked the right time to get back to it!

Jenna

Hi!  I have that same issue with doing things that are not goal specific.  For this reason I chose to not be on the church softball team last year.  It doesn't really take that much time away, but who wants to risk pulling a muscle when you have races that you have already paid for?

 I did finally(!) work out today.  I took nearly 3 weeks off from working out and I could really tell a difference!  I had to force myself to make it 3 miles on the treadmill and lifted weights for 30 minutes which at the end, I was shaking and exhausted!  Yay!  It still feels good to be back sweating again. 

Any one else doing much?

Kelly

Hi!  I have that same issue with doing things that are not goal specific.  For this reason I chose to not be on the church softball team last year.  It doesn't really take that much time away, but who wants to risk pulling a muscle when you have races that you have already paid for?

 I did finally(!) work out today.  I took nearly 3 weeks off from working out and I could really tell a difference!  I had to force myself to make it 3 miles on the treadmill and lifted weights for 30 minutes which at the end, I was shaking and exhausted!  Yay!  It still feels good to be back sweating again. 

Any one else doing much?

Kelly

Hello Everyone!

I've slooooowly started to get back into my training-- I got socked with a bad cold over the holidays that took all my energy and motivation away.  I've started back up with some little 2-mile jogs and, like you Kelly, really felt the effects of my time off! Anyhow, I agree that it feels good to be back- or almost back in the training groove.

Also getting back on track with my food choices. The holiday treats taste so good, but really, eating clean makes me feel so much better. This week, we're going veggie here for dinners just for the change. I made a pretty good chilis rellanos cassarole last night-- not e best recipe but not the worst-- and my 6yo ate 3 pieces, and my finicky 8yo daughter ate two! You never know....

Anybody interested in the 30-in-30 challenge I put out there a few posts up? 30 min (or so) of exercise every day for 30 days-- could be anything, includng walking the dog. Takes 30 days to make a new habit-- (according to all the experts, which I am NOT. )

Jenna

Hey training group!

Ann and I were talking about swimming workouts in inspires, and I thought this link to a 6 week swim workout program (that has been posted here at BT in the past) might be helpful: 

http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/e/x/exk7/SwimWorkouts.html/ZeroTo1mile.html

There are also several helpful swim related pages linked to that one-- scroll to the bottom of the page.  Also, don't forget that you can mix and match elements from a wide range of plans here at BT-- the swim from one plan and bike and run from another for example-- and import them into your training logs.  Let me know if I can help--

Jenna

Jenna,

I think that will be a great workout, thanks for the link!  I cannot seem to import anything with the free membership. Is that true?

Sorry, not too interested in the 30 day thing, I guess because somedays I just need to do NOTHING!  Yesterday's rest day, I'm afraid to admit, I didn't even get out of my pajamas all day....

Ann

Ann, I just took a look at some of the "pick a membership" type articles and it looks you gotta have a bronze or better membership to import. It looks like you can print minutes-only free plans and use the logs, but to import, and get the workout details (that give you specific things to do in a workout) you need to do the paid thing.  The minutes-only plans will definately get you to the finish line, but honestly, once I got the other features, I wondered why I waited so long. (That will be a free 6 mo. membership, please, BT. LOL)

Yeah, that's what I figured.  I'm not sure I would use it enough, since there is a lot on the web that you can get without paying for it..  Speaking of that, I found an awesome swim site - www.swim.ee - which has videos and stills of each stroke, workouts, drills, and everything you could EVER need short of a real person next to you to help you improve techinique and stroke.  It's pretty nice.

Also, my gym has a Triathlon Training informational meeting this Saturday.  They have a tri club, which is HORRIBLY expensive ($200+ to join), so I'm pretty sure it is just a commercial for that.  But I'm going to go and see what they have to say. I met a couple of girls at yoga last night that are also training to Tri and we are going to hook up at the meeting.  It would be great if I could get with them for some group training.

 I also saw community MAsters Swim classes, but I'm not sure I can do those twice a week without having my husband turn inside out from taking care of the children 2 or 3 nights a week just for me to train.  We go to the gym together right now, but the swim classes would be somewhere else where daycare is not an option.  So, probably not doing that.

 Ann

Hi group,

 Jenna made me think of something tonight that I would like to share with the group.  Tuesday I started a spin class at my LBS (Local Bike Shop).  Some do it, some don't - but most bike shops have group rides when the weather is nicer.  I have had a bike trainer for a year now and it is really hard for me to make myself get on that thing, yet riding outside when it gets dark so early is impossible.  To just get some biking in, I joined this class.  I am going to try it for a month and see how it goes. 

I guess the thing that I wanted to share was Tuesday after I did the ride, I later did a 'boot camp' class where the teacher had us warm up on those spin cycles that they have in the gyms.  It was amazing the difference!  The spin cycles were good, but I would submit that it should not take the place of riding a real bike.  Earlier that morning when I was taking the LBS spin class, I could hardly make my stroke smooth (I had clunking big time) on one legged drills and standing up drills.  In the gym later on the cycles, my stroke was smooth from the momentum the bikes create.  I was able to get my heart rate up on the spin cycle, but it certainly didn't do anything for my cycling technique. 

I just thought I would share that little experience.

 Have a great day!

Kelly

 PS This makes me wonder if I am doing myself a disservice by doing 98% of my running on a treadmill.  Any thoughts?

Kelly, your post got me on my trainer for the first time in a while-- tried some one-legged drills. Yikes...

The difference in bikes is interesting-- I was going to take a spin class at my Y-- on spin bikes-- but think now I might just keep it simple and stay on the trainer. Of course, in my case, something is better than nothing and if I'm not getting on the trainer, I may just try the class! LOL

Ann and everybody-- we've had someswimming-related questions, some on Total Immersion. Lots of info on the web and forum about TI techniques-- here is a repost from earlier in the thread--

I am using the Total Immersion book to "re-learn" swimming. http://www.totalimmersion.net/
There are many, many threads in the forum about TI swimming drills and technique, and almost as many opinions about it. I have found the TI drills extremely helpful. I am a much more aware swimmer now, and I am beginning to feel stronger and more efficient. TI basically breaks down the essential movements of a crawl stroke, and teaches them step by step in a series of drills. By the end of the series of drills, practised as suggested in the book, the student is not only supposed to end with a better, more efficient stroke, but the fitness to swim many lengths using bilateral breathing. I am not there yet, but I am making progress. You can do a search in the forums for Total Immersion to get more discussion, but you may want to check it out of your library or put it on the Chrismas List.
Hope that helps,

Anybody else have swimming info to share- TI or anything else?

OK folks--

I haven't posted here in weeks, and haven't even PM'd or written and inspire in about a month.  I have been a sucky mentor and I feel bad about that.  I have just come through about a three month long depression (the kind where you can't get out of bed for days), and I gotta say, I'm feeling a whole lot better about that. So, if you care to read more, I wrote a bit about it in yesterday's log. I've managed to put together two training days in a row, and I can literally feel this depression lifting. It's amazing. I'm pretty suprised by all this-- I haven't had a real bout of depression since fall of 2005.  Unfortunately I didn't recognize the signs in time to do any good for myself this time around.  I think it's pretty clearly related to fall/winter-- always lifts around the end of February.  It's not situational, as crisis is not the trigger as much as season. 

Anyhow-- hope you all are doing well!  Anybody feel like posting daily workouts here-- what you've gotten done or plan to do for the day?  It might make it easier for those not logging their workouts.

How about races? What have you signed up for?

Take care-

Jenna