David Gillen's Group - FULL (Page 2)

Welcome kevdia.  Please let me know more about yourself when you get a chance.   

Welcome aboard, Matt.  Congrats on signing up for IMMOO.  As you probably read, I just did my first IM last September.  So, I can certainly share my experience of training and racing my first IM.

Please let me know a little more about your background, especially cycling, when you get a chance.  

Jonathan,  thanks for being honest with me.  I'm happy to try to motivate you in every way that I know how.  We all need that from time to time. 

First of all, I did CapTexTri for the first time last year and that was one of, if not the, best race I've ever done.  The bike is just so fast and fun.  You really feel like you're racing b/c the course is 4 loops and there is a lot of people on different loops, so you're whizzing by people and other people are passing you.  It's great!   It might be just what you need to get back into the swing of things.  

Secondly, it's natural to experience mood swings in training.  Lord knows I certainly felt burnout many times last year.   Most of the time, a day or two off helped me re-coup and then I wanted to get back to training.   Also, I've found that a change in training location really helps too.  Last year, I tended to ride and run the same route by my house all the time, and that got old quick.   But whenever, I found a new route or did a rally somewhere across the Metroplex, that helped.

Finally, since you're in the Metroplex, we should try to get together and ride sometime.  I can show you some of the nice horse country out here in Flower Mound.  I'm also averaging about 19-20 mph right now.  

P.S. I might not be the best person to motivate you to swim as it's my least favorite of the 3, but tolerate it most of the time and it is a nice break from the riding and running.  

Any hope for me????? (I also box in my living room for stress release, cardio and fun, so that's what the picture is all about. No real boxing matches yet, but the thought has crossed my mind to try the Tough Guy/Gal contest next March)

Pene,

Thanks for sharing.  You definitely sound like a very busy, but motivated individual.  I like it!  Although I do yet not have kids, I have learned a bit about time management and "how to fit it all in" in my 3 years of tri training.  Being a self-employed, single mother of 3 will definitely impose some severe time constraints, but I suspect that you're already pretty good at time managing other areas of your life besides training, right!?  Hopefully, I can help you find time to train and just as importantly recover.  Also, I know a little about periodization, so I can help you there too.

I love it that you have the IM dream like so many other triathletes.  I truly believe that anyone with the right determination and commitment can complete an IM.   It will take a lot of time to train, and it will push your physical, mental, and emotional limits, but that's what triathlon is all about.   Exploring your limits.  What are you truly capable of...

One of my favorite quotes is from T.S. Eliot: "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." 

David 

Matt, Thanks for giving me some detailed info about yourself.  You sound quite fast, and appear to have great potential.  It also sounds like you've primarily been focusing on sprints which is great.   However, since your doing IM Wisconsin, you'll probably want to slow down quite a bit and teach your body to burn more fat as fuel instead of just glycogen.  This aerobic "base building" process takes time and you should probably start now since IMMOO is in Sept. 

Do you train with a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM)?  If not, I'd really recommend getting one.  In fact, I'd really like everyone in this group to have one.  

To answer your question about "time trialing" this weekend, you're welcome to do one, but longer (3-6 hr) and slower rides are going to serve you better for your IM prep.

David 

It's probably a little premature for me to try to answer that question, but we have until Sept of this year to decide, right!?  But, IM Wisconsin is definitely the best choice for you if you're only 2 hours from Madison.  Being able to ride the actually bike course in training is a huge mental benefit.  I rode the full Redman bike course twice before my race, and I'm so glad I did.  It gave me the mental confidence to know that I could do it, and to know what to except out there on race day.  Invaluable!

It appears that we have a diverse group which I love.  I think we can all learn from each other.  Me included.  Getting faster is great and is an appropriate focus for a lot of triathletes.  However, I think most if not all of us, would benefit from working on becoming more efficient before trying to get faster.   Efficiency can be defined a number of ways but I like to think of it in 2 simple ways: 1) Slowly getting faster at your fixed aerobic heart-rate 2) Teaching your body to burn more fat instead of sugars.

Another one of my favorite quotes is : "Speed is icing on the cake, and you don't have a cake yet!"  You must build a strong, aerobic base/foundation before you should start worrying about speed.  Much more on this soon...

Kevin,

Congrats on the weight loss, and good luck with your first tri this weekend. Enjoy and experience every minute of it. You'll only get to do your first tri once! It's a special race!

About the wetsuit... Be sure to apply some vaseline or BodyGlide around your neck so that you don't get chafed. Also, if it's a full, be prepared for it to feel a little restrictive in your arm movement. However, this is counter-balanced with the fact that is makes you so much more buoyant. That's the best part about a wetsuit. It corrects a lot of our body positioning problems!

A couple of other pointers: Your race is more like an OLY distance than a sprint, and thus you should be pretty conservative in your pacing on the bike. Also, be sure to take in plenty of sports drink and/or gels/bars on the bike. You'll need the calories on the run. I don't know if you've done many brick workouts (run immediately after biking), but if you haven't, be prepared for your legs to feel pretty stiff and immobile after biking 24 miles. They should loosen up after 10-20 minutes however. Again, pace yourself, 5 miles is not a short distance after biking 24!

Please let me know if you any more specific questions.

David

I've used a Polar S625X for about 2.5 yrs now, and I still only use about 40% of it's capability!  So, don't feel bad about being confused.   However, an HRM is such an important tool in my opinion, and we all should learn how to use one to maximize the quality of our workouts. I can help with this. 

I'll be talking a lot about heart rates, HR zones, and lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR).   I really feel heart rates are the best way to gauge intensity until you have the years of experience to rely on your perceived exertion.

Matt, this HR training will be really important for you since you'll be training for an IM this year.  Much more soon...

Welcome to the group, Ed.  And welcome to your soon to be addiction that is triathlon!  I hope you'll love it as much as I do.  

Tell me more about your race.  Which race, When? Where? 

Don't worry about newbie questions.  That's why you're here!  Ask away!

HRM is a watch and strap worn around your chest.  It feels a little funny at first, but then you don't even realize you have it on.   It will tell you your instantaneous (and often average) heart rate while exercising.   Used appropriately, it can help pace you to ensure you're getting the most out of each workout.  It can be used on the bike and on the run.  You certainly don't have to have one for your first tri, but if you can afford the $50-$100 for a basic one, it could be a good investment.

You'll obviously need a helmet and a tire pump if you're friend doesn't have one.  You might also want some "tri shorts"  These are tight fitting spandex shorts that have a minimal, quick drying chamois (pad) in the crotch for a little extra comfort on the bike.  These shorts are nice for racing because you can swim, bike, and run in them!

David 

Sorry, HRM is just an acronym for Heart Rate Monitor, not a brand.  The Polar brand is pretty much the standard HRM manufacturer, and I've had 2 of there products and loved them both.  I'm not quite up to date with all their models, but their website is pretty good.  If you find one you like let me know the model number and I'll let you know what I think.

If you're talking about a HRM without any chest strap, then I would doubt that it would be as accurate as one with a chest strap.  I haven't seen too many without a chest strap.  Can you give me a reference? 

The chest strap really isn't a big deal though. 

Dave,

 I am curious as to the mentor program and what it is designed for. 

A little about me.  I was fairly athletic as a kid/young adult.  I played mainly basketball (1 year in college) and ran x-country in Junior High.  Gained some weight when my wife got pregnant 3 years ago but was nevery really large.  My max was 6'7" 240.  I am now down to 205 - 210 and13% body fat.  I still struggle to watch what I eat/drink but I have too many foods that I like. 

I ran my first race, a 5K, about 2 years ago and finished in 31:00.  I increase to my first 50K last November and finished in 6:30 with a bad knee.  I have done probably 6 races over a half mary distance plus several 5K's.  I ran a 5K yesterday in 22:30 so my time as dropped considerably in 2 years.  I did my first tri last October (Monster Tri) with very little training and placed 80 out of 280.  My swim was not good (230th) but I finished.  I did my 2nd tri (St. Patty's day) and improved a little (maybe 1 minute) and now am looking forward to OWS races this year.  I would say that I am generally in the top 1/3 of finisher but really am looking for a little more personal advice than the threads offer to help me out in my training.

I did my first OWS last week end and it was a disaster and I was wearing a wetsuit, which most of my races I want to do this year I cannot so I am worried.  My plan for this year right now is the Metroplex sprint in June and Ironhead Dallas olympic in July.  Depending how they go I might do a 7 week bridge type program and attempt the Praireman in September.  I am also hoping to to the CapTexTri next weekend (First Tri Sprint) just to get used to the swim.

Please let me know if you think the mentoring program would help me out.

Thanks - Ken