CactusTri's Group -- RECLOSED (Page 2)

Hey folks! Just doing a quick pulse check to make sure none of you are floating in the pool or fell of your bikes.

Question of the Day: Are you on track? (any answer is fine, we are here for you whether you are ahead of or behind your plans. I just want to know if you are still here.)

My answer: a little behind my plan. I'm finding it hard to get my bike rides in, but hoping that gets better after a major project goes into production this weekend.

Question of the Day: Are you on track? (any answer is fine, we are here for you whether you are ahead of or behind your plans. I just want to know if you are still here.)

Answer: Im doing pretty good... sorry i havent been tracking ... my time is spread really thin! Besides having a tough course load and i am pledging a frat i also joined a masters swim team ..!!! so things are going well but are going to be very very busy.. i will try and catch up on posting again

Well, 2 out of 5 is not that hot.

I understand about life getting in the way sometimes. I have been a bit erratic in getting in here at times as well. But, that is one of the reasons for these groups, so that someone takes notice when you're missing and gives you a shout out before you forget what triathlon is.

Well, I will be checking the team's logs later this weekend, but I will be busy before Sunday evening as I am taking my oldest son skiing tomorrow morning verrrry early. It is a recovery week and I'm going to call it cross-training .

Have a great weekend folks, whatever you are up to.

Well, in light of how little activity most of our group has, in terms of questions or discussion, I am reopening the group in case there are latecomers to the program that would like to get in.

I have tried to nudge and prod everyone to log their workouts, post questions and comments, but it seems that is not enough motivation for some. Since I can't actually come to your house, carry you to the pool or bike and move your legs and arms, I will resort to simply looking at your log and making comments on your inspires. If you have workouts or comments posted, they will be encouraging. If not, they will reflect the effort that I can see.

If anyone wants to ask questions (even if you are not "IN" my group) please feel free.

Hi Cactus,

I'd like to join the group if you still have room.

I've done 3 sprint tris over the last couple years. I'm a middle of pack age grouper. In December I decided what the heck and signed up for a Half Ironman in September. My goal is under six hours, but I'd like to come in under 5 1/2. I'll have to see how my training is going.

I'll probably also do an olympic and a sprint race this summer.

I need to drop some weight. I'm about 210 right now and that's too heavy for me. I'd like to be down to about 185 by the end of the summer.

Just a little more history. I've ran 3 marathons since 2000. My race times are right around 4 hours. I need to figure out how fast I can run after riding a bike for 3 hours.

I'm married with an 8 year old and a 5 year old, so I do almost all my training in the morning before work.

Welcome (Scot I'm guessing?),

We have room! It was getting pretty quiet in here, so I reopened the gates

Congrats on joining the triathlon revolution and on stepping out boldly to do a HIM. I did a HIM last summer. It was quite a challenge since it was at a higher elevation than I am used to (over 6000 ft) and had lots of hills on the bike and run course. I finished dead last in my age group, but several in my age group DNF'd, so I am ok. My goal was simply to finish and I did that. Take a look at my race report from that race to get some idea of what I went throgh. http://andertfamily.net/20070602DeucesWild.aspx. I have been doing a lot more BRICK workouts, in fact this morning was my first long run without a bike ride before it in quite some time.

I've heard that for a full IM, you can plan on roughly 20% slower than your marathon PR as being a good pace. That is the number I am planning on for my IM in 2 months. I'll let you know how that works out in about 65 days. .

Please add me to your friends list and make sure that your logs are visible and you can expect me to drop in with an Inspire comment from time to time. Please feel free to send me a pm, comment here in the thread or a comment on my workout log.

Welcome

My Race Log

Thanks for the welcome and making room for me in the group.

Yes, my name is Scot. When I decided to signed up for beginnertriathlete I really wanted to start logging my minutes, so I signed up and chose the first name that popped into my head. Now I wish I would have came up with something a little more witty.

I read your race report. It was very helpful. I liked the Lessons Learned section. I kind of pulled the 6 hour goal out of the air. I'll have a better idea of what to shoot for towards the end of the summer. It's a pretty flat bike so that should help.

I'm impressed by how many minutes of training you're putting in on a weekly basis. It looks like there are a lot of quality workouts also. I'm struggling to hit 7 hours/week. The fact that it was -5 F this morning doesn't help. Our 1 week of summer is really nice though.

I'm following the beginner Half Ironman 20 week plan.

Good luck on your Ironman.

Scot

Hello Steven,
I'm a "Janie-come-lately" and would like to join your group, if you still have room. I recently discovered BT this month and have only logged a weeks worth of workouts so far. I like using the log very much, but was looking for more interaction with others when I stumbled onto the Mentor program just this morning. This is exactly what I was looking for! Somewhere to ask (what I think) may be silly questions, but get straight answers and advise.

Last summer, I volunteered at our Tri-fest weekend and was rewarded with the coveted transistion area spot as a marshal. From that day on, I've been rolling around the idea of a Triathlon in my head. I have been working my way up to "officially" training for the Sprint distance this year at our local Stoneman Triathlon on July 27th.

I, too, am struggling to juggle family, career, and training. Would greatly appreciate your guidance, enthusiasm, and support while I attempt this new obsession of mine.

So,....what do you say? Can I play with you guys?

Hi Jenni! Welcome aboard!

I know how "connected" the mentor program made me feel. I still exchange pm's with some of the people from the group I joined last year. It is a big deal since most of the people I know don't quite "get it". I have also found some "real people" locally to me through this site and we try to get together for runs/rides/swims. I don't live too close, so I am not always there, but it is fun to get together with them for some workouts.

The mentor group gave me a great place to bounce ideas off of and ask questions. There are no silly questions, so fire away.

Kudos for volunteering. I have volunteered at a few events, including IM AZ last spring. It is a great time and everyone seems to be so appreciative. The events would certainly not be as good if there were not enough volunteers, so "thank you" for your help.

If you are already logging your workouts, great! If not, try to keep them up-to-date, because reviewing them is one way we can encourage the others in the group. If you add me (and the rest of the regulars) to your friends list in the Control Panel, you can easily jump over and see what people are up to and drop them some words of encouragement (or challenge) using the Inspire Me links.

Welcome.

Cool. Hey is there a way to earmark this thread in my training log or elsewhere on this site? I guess I mean instead of going to FORUMS, 2008 Mentor Programs, then scrolling to find cactustriathlete, etc. I marked the "get email notifications" box, but didn't get notified to your reply. I must be missing something.

Anyway, thanks for taking me on, Steven! I will try to log faithfully.

Any tips on beginning training plans? I was intriqued by the 20 week sprint beginner found on this site. Right now, I need swimming practice. BAD! And if I could ever get my indoor bike trainer delivered and set up, I probably need bike practice, too! Any suggestions?

Hi Jenni,

I checked out your blog and the River to River Relay. It looks like it would be a blast. Have you ran it before?

Scot

Hey Scot,
This will be our first attempt. We were lucky to get in! They have to limit the field to 250 teams and registration closed in 15 minutes! We aren't running to place, but mostly for the fun and experience. It's wildly competative and many of us on the team are middle to back of the packers. We are ooozing excitement!

Eden Prairie, huh? I was raised in the Minnetonka area, Wayzata and Mound, MN. Hear its pretty cold there now, eh? Do any ice fishing?

It has been a pretty brutal winter so far. It was a balmy 5 F this morning so it's not too bad. Running outside is doable, but biking is just too chilly. I grew up in a small town on the Canadian border by International Falls. I see they hit -40F yesterday. It makes 5F seem almost tropical.

I've been known to drop a fishing line through the ice every once in a while. How'd you end up in Illinois? How could you leave beautiful Minnesota?

Scot

Dad got a job transfer. Sometimes I miss MN's winter, but I never had to work, or shovel snow back then. Just play in it. We have been gone nearly 30 years now. Illinois can be beautiful too, just a different kind. Good to know ya, Scot!

Hey guys, my indoor bike trainer came today!! I'm setting it up in a few minutes and going to go for a spin! Can I call this day a BRICK day if I do a little of all three disciplines?? Even tho my swim was pretty much a joke. I'm still learning the basic stroke and having ALOT of difficulty relaxing and getting a clean breath (sans water up my nose).

Want to hear something funny from a newbie? When I first started this swim class, I was practicing exhaling thru my nose and inhaling thru my mouth while I was driving home one day. I was breathing so hard, I started hyperventilating and getting dizzy! I thought I would have to pull over before I lost consciousness! Pretty pathetic, huh? I have to say I have a new found respect for swimmers since trying it out myself. It's like being on Mars for a runner like me. Different breathing, different leg motion, everything! There are so many things to try to remember all at once, it's like a GOLF stroke or something.

I saw this post in the General Discussion-> Triathlon Talk. The headline was "Pool Dork Alert". I thought it was hilarious.

----------------------------------------------------------
My second season of triathlon got off to an embarrassing start. I recently purchased a winter pool pass at a local college and was anxious to get my season started.
I arrived for my first swim of the season to find that all but one of the lanes had multiple swimmers. The lady swimming solo was very fit and obviously an experienced swimmer. She was very nice...she saw me scanning the lanes and asked if I wanted to join her. I said sure, and as I stepped to the edge of the pool both feet flew right out from under me! I landed hard on the edge of the pool; my right butt cheek (now sporting a nasty bruise the size and shape of a banana) took the entire impact. I guess I had built up some momentum because I bounced slightly and fell to my right landing on the lane divider. I don’t know if any of you realize this but a taut lane divider can also be used as a catapult! Sure enough, it flung back into the air causing me to fly back the other way, landing directly on top of the nice lady who had offered to share her lane with me. I was so embarrassed!
---------------------------------------------------------------

It just shows swimming not only has the danger of drowning, but now car accidents and wounded buttocks are things to be worried about.:-)

Hi Cactus

I'd love to join your group!

I've FINALLY signed up for my 1st sprint triathlon! yeah! My goal is to complete two sprint tris this season.

I'll be competing in the Kirkland, Washington Sprint tri on 9/21. Also planning to compete in Manhattan Beach, Ca (if they have it this year) in Oct 2008 or different one (maybe Chelanman or Kaiser Permanente in LA).

A couple of stats:

I live south of Seattle Wa, single with 2 kids, 15 yo boy and 5 yo girl. Work full time.

Competitive swimmer through college and dabbled in Masters swimming, recreational group biking and 10K's over the past 20 years. Pretty much a couch potato since early 2004 until I started playing tennis again this past summer - LOVE IT! started getting into a little better shape and feeling better so got motivated to lose some weight and get back to it. I've lost about 10 lbs so far and have about 8 more to go. Currently work with a personal trainer twice a week on strength and plan to continue that through the end of March. I play fairly competitive tennis 2 - 4 times per week. This is my first official week of tri training. Going to a spin class tonight which will probably kill me then swimming on Thurs AM, walk/run on Saturday.

My plan is to cut back on Tennis (to 4 days) and train 4 days per week for a couple of months. Running will be my weakest link and I'm a little worried about my knees, will start slow, mostly walking. Also worried about the bike at this point, but I think once I get on the road again, hopefully I'll feel a little more at home. Severed my Achilles in 2005, so my right leg is still not as strong as I'd like it to be, but I'm able to get around the court, so hopefully on the run/bike it'll be OK.

Logging my activities in the training log and once I figure out the nutrition site, I'll get going on that a little better.

Thanks for doing this! I know I'll need advice and encouragement!

Karen

That is pretty funny! And seems like something I would do!

Had a pretty good session in the pool today. I can tell I am starting to improve, but the road is SOOO long. No light at the end yet. Just gotta put in the time and commit to getting better. My mother-in-law was telling me about cupping the hands and pulling thru the water. I tried to focus on that today as well as streamlining (and breathing). Lord, I can't even imagine open water swimming at this point!

Hi Karen and welcome! Congrats on signing up for your first tri! I find that having signed up for a race makes me more committed to do the training.

Sounds like your swimming will not be your weak event like it is for many new triathletes. It sounds like you were a couch potato for a lot less time than I was before getting back into fitness (10+ years and 50+ pounds for me). Also, you spent some time doing more running than I ever did (I nearly quit swimming when my coach made us run for 2 weeks while the pool was closed) which puts you ahead of me just a few years ago when I couldn't even run a 5k. Good idea to start slow on the run. A sprint is only going to be 2-3 miles, so no need to kill yourself running. I think that tennis is probably harder on your knees and ankles than running.

Good for you to be working with a trainer. I am sure that would be a huge benefit.

I'll be checking in on your logs. Feel free to add us to your "friends list" and check in and see how the rest of us are doing. We will be doing the same to keep tabs on you as well so we can provide encouragement as needed.

Stephen

yes, any time you do one workout after another, it can be called a BRICK.

Don't worry about swimming, it will get easier, espp if you get pointers from other swimmers or a coach.

Hi Stephen and Kim (and everyone)

Thanks for the welcome. I can already tell this forum is going to be a big help in staying motivated.

Went to spin class last night and loved it - it was really tough but great. I have ALOT of work to do! Glad my sprint tri isn't until Sept!

I have a question about technique - way back when i was doing group rides i was told to keep my toe pointed down - i was watching some other folks and it appeared they were more flat footed on the pedal. What is the right technique? I also had a little bit of numbness in my right leg on and off, i pulled my foot farther out of the toe clip a bit and that seemed to help, but was wondering if my seat height or something else may have been off.

Thanks for your help!

Steven,

What is the run distance on IMAZ? I noticed you were scheduled to run 9 miles tonite and it made me wonder what distance you were training for in April?

Hi Karen,

According to my spinning instructor and what I find on the web, your foot should be flat when you pedal. I've heard it described that the motion at the bottom should be similar to scraping gum off you shoe.

I found this at http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/biking/expert/stroke.htm.

Ideally, your pedaling stroke should be fluid. You should be able to follow the full stroke through four different motions corresponding to the four different parts of the full-circle revolution. They can be summarized as follows:
* the down stroke (approximately two o'clock to five o'clock), when you should push down
* the back pull (approximately five o'clock to seven o'clock), when you should feel like you're scraping your feet on a welcome mat
* the up stroke (approximately seveno' clock to eleven o'clock), when you should pull up slightly but relax a bit since you will be on the down stroke of the opposite foot
* the forward pull (approximately eleven o'clock to two o'clock), when you should pull slightly forward.

Scot