Allison and Ryan's Beginner Mentor Group - FULL (Page 24)

Congrats Wushunut!!!!!! You are setting the bar awfully high for the rest of us..lol. Well.....your success is in no danger from me.......judging by my first OWS in Lake Michigan yesterday, I'll be happy to just survive the swim on Saturday. I'll continue working on swimming in the pool this week and babying my tired legs.....the 100 mile bike ride over the weekend kicked my butt. Happy training all!!

Dan

Well back to training. Did 5 mile run this morning and boy did that hurt after taking a solid week off I hope I don't have to do that again. I am sure I will be feeling it tomorrow. Also, I found a Tri club here in AR, so I plan to ride/run with them this weekend.

Happy Training All!

Thanks for the comments everyone. It was definitely a very fun race! Highly recommend it if you guys find yourself on the Gulf Coast of Florida in June! I am now, however, a certifiable addict.  Had a lot of fun...well fun until the run. Haha.  I knew running was going to be the thorn in my side but atleast now I know what I need to focus on until my next race.

Oh yes, there will be a next race! Am now going to register for the Santa Rosa Island Sprint Tri on Pensacola Beach in October. A little longer but I think I can get it done now. And this one seems to favor a longer bike leg with a shorter run!

Training has already started. Went for a 4mile run today. Still don't like it but now I'm doing it with the attitude that every step is helping me to get faster, build endurance and lose weight!

@Dan re: OWS.  Don't let your first OWS get to you too much.  My first OWS freaked me out so much that I actually lost of bit of confidence in the pool.  Just kept at it and kept swimming.  Went for three more OWS before the race, never for distance, just to get familiar with the environment and it seemed to helped.  Each OWS was easier than the last that by the time of the race it didn't really phase me.  It took me a good bit of introspection though.  I had to ask myself why I was freaking out so much. I could swim. I could go the distance. So why not in OW? I finally figured out that my mental block was that because I couldn't really see anything it seemed like I was swimming but not moving. That's what was freaking me out.  But after getting used to it, sighting better, and knowing that "yes, I am actually moving" despite not having nice pool markers to see, it got easier to swim.

If this clyde can do it, you can too.

Congratulations triathlete!  How does it feel?!  And are you now addicted? Also, that is some nice looking hardware that you get to take home to put on the mantle

I am back.  I wrote a post last week, but it just posted without a message.  I made it through college orientation with my daughter, graduation, relative visit and the tri.  It has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks.  We move this weekend and I haven't packed one thing.  Don't even have boxes.  So the craziness continues. 

My tri was great, but I really didn't have time to think about it.  Just went out and did it. I am very competitive but in this situation my goal is to survive with reasonable times.  The weeks before were busy and I didn't train that much.    I will do a race report after this.

I will tell you about my daughters first tri since many of you have talked about fear of open water swim.   She is 18 and just graduated on Friday. She had so little sleep the week before the race.  She is a runner.  She had ridden a bike outside once before the race and that was only 6 miles.   She chose not to do an open water swim before the race because she knew she would hate it and feared she wouldn't do the race after one open water swim.  She is a fan of the tv show river monsters which might not help matters any.  We swam in the potomac and you couldn't see anything underwater at all.  She said she closed her eyes under water the whole time and opened them when she breathed.  She can only breath on one side and it was not the side she needed to see on so she would breast stroke to look around.  She said she had to take a breath every stroke because she was in such a panic. She also thinks there were "things" brushing against her legs.  However, her swim time was good.  I think the fear of getting eaten alive made her move fast.

She swam 800m in 16:09 (1:51)

biked 12 miles in 47:04  (15.8) on a mountain bike

run       37:06  (7:59)

total time.  1:46:58

She thinks she could be good if she would train, but she definitely doesn't like the swim or bike so she will stick with running. She did not enjoy the tri experience and does not plan to do it again, although she is glad she did it.  She said when she layed down to sleep last night she still had pictures in her head of the horrible water.    She did great and I am proud of her.  

My husband also did the race and he didn't love it either although he will do more races with me I am sure because he is fun like that. 

They both broke the rule of not trying any thing new on race day.  They bought new tri shorts at the expo  the day before the race and both wore them without any problems.  At 430 am we stopped and they both had a cup of coffee and a krispie kreme donut.  They both now swear by this as pre rerace food and said it fueled them nicely. I tend to be nauseous and the thought sounded terrible to me.

It was a very fun family experience.  

Looking forward to race report Jeannie and "wow!" your daughter rocked it with so little training and just a MTB.  She could be a beast with more practice and a bike more suited for the race!

Jeannie - I am looking forward to reading your race report! It sounds like you had a good time out there and it's great that your family gave it a shot too. So now they know what you go through during these races. Sorry to hear that your daughter and hubby didn't like it too much. It sounds like your daughter is quite an athlete though.  And I understand her fear of the water especially after watching River Monsters because I too love that show.  Maybe she can do a race in the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean...sounds like a good excuse for a family vacation

Finally posted my race report. 

When we got home we looked at our bikes in the back of the truck and mine had a flat tire. I feel very lucky I got through the race without a flat.  Not sure when it happened, but I am glad I wasn't one of the unluckly ones working on their bike at the side of the race.  I had a spare tire with me, but no air or tools or knowledge of what to do. 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=257681

Hey All!

I've been totally MIA and horribly inconsistent with my training. 3 weeks out from my 1st tri and trying to keep from freaking out.

Had my first on the road bike last night (been only on the trainer so far) with the hubby. This was also my first on the road clipless trip. Hubby made me practice in the front yard and thankfully I didn't wipe out on the ride at all. It helped my confidence some but I still have a bit to go. Starting off the ride last night, I felt on the nearly verge of tears and told my husband that I think I have made a mistake trying this triathlon thing, I just won't be able to do it at all. Working on the trainer I forgot how scared I get of speed when outdoor biking. I'm scared going downhill, scared of turns, scared of gravel, scared of wet pavement. BAD combination for a race where I'll be in a group situation and will surely encounter most if not all of these things. Thankfully, by the end, I was feeling much better. Still a ways to go on training and building confidence, but I do feel a bit better.

Hoping the weather holds out so that I can hit my first OWS tonight - we had quite bad storms here last night. We actually had to hide out under a bridge to allow quite strong rain and lightning to pass over us about the first 1/4 of the way into our ride. When we got home, and my wonderful husband was hosing off the bikes, the tornado sirens started going off. I was thankful we decided to do 15 miles and not 20 or 25 )

Feel completely fine with the running, didn't have any worries there, as I've been running since high school and have done marathons, half marathons and a real marathon last year for the first time. Do need to practice the run off of the bike and my transitions.

Plans to finish my last 3 training weeks super strong and have fun in my first tri despite my growing panic and fear.

Need to catch up on everyone else's progress. Sounds like all are doing pretty super!

Shannon -  Good to hear that you were finally able to get outside and bike. Hopefully you are able to do a few OWS in these next few weeks as well.  It sounds like you have the right idea of things to cover in training (transitions, brick workouts, etc).  Confidence is important and it sounds like yours is growing. But also remember do go out there and have fun in your first race too. Soak in the atmosphere and have a  good time. 

I'm Baaaack...

Just finished reading up and it looks like we have a very accomplished group.  Congrats Wushnut awesome job podiuming your first race!  Got back from the trip yesterday and am back to work today, going from 50's in Ireland to 115 heat index will wake you up.  Hope to get back into my training tonight or tomorrow, still slightly jet-lagged and getting over a spot of food poisining I got on the trip, although it did not stop me from going to the Guiness factory sometime you gotta just take one for the team haha.  One of the Dad's on the trip was also a triathlete and was able to do some training, running mostly, but I wasn't able to join him as the kids had to take precedence so it has been a month since I put any serious work on the S/B/R routine.

But I feel good and am ready to go although I did discover that my running shoes are too small during the trip, I had been only wearing them when running and then switching back to sandals or what  not after post run shower.  Wore them most of the trip and ended up with blisters on the tips of my toes.  Run today or tomorrow long ride on friday and really get into it this weekend.

I actually also had a flat tire on my bike when I got back from my Tri, weirdest thing huh?

Well....this is the home stretch. Been taking it kinda easy this wek. Did a little 2 mile treadmill run at work last night. Going to swim tomorrow and Friday then Saturday is race day! I figure if I don't drown, the rest will be a cake walk...LOL. A little jittery, which I'm sure will get worse until the race.....but I can't wait.

Dan

Awesome Dan!!! So excited to hear how it goes!

I completed my first OWS last night. Definitely helped with the confidence. Posted a long comment in my training log. Have to still double that distance almost for race day, but I'm starting to believe I can do this now

Feeling good that I got out on the road with the bike and in the lake this week. Doing that for the next 3 weeks, I will be as ready as I can be

Finallly caught up on everyone! WOW wushunut you are crazy fast!

Couple questions that popped into my mind:

sports drinks - in the past, I've had them a couple times during a race and they really turned my stomach so I've never used them. I have used gu and gel without issue, but mostly stick to water. Am I doing damage by just sticking to the water? Last year training for my first marathon, I don't think I started doing gu/gel until I was over the 15 mile mark. Pretty sure, in fact as I never had anything but water in all my half marathons.

swimming and foot cramps - does anyone else get cramps in the arch of your foot when swimming? How do you combat that?

insert fit - any advice other than wrapping my feed in band aids before every run over 4 miles? I have high arches and pronate a lot. I've had calf and shin splint issues in the past and last year got some inserts in my shoes and voila shin splints are gone, almost no calf issues. On my left foot, I get a blister where the insert meets the inside of my shoe. Not on the right at all. Anything else I can do to deal with the gap?

I wouldn't worry about sports drinks/salt intake unless you starting doing long distance tris (half-iron +).  But you can always get those electrolites from the gu and gels too.  I love the taste of sports drinks after I am done working out but when they are warm they make me wanna puke on the bike so I stick to all water as well.

So exciting Dan!  Just remember to have fun out there and don't drown   What distance is your race this weekend?  And remember to get plenty of sleep tonight since it may be harder to sleep on Fri with pre-race jitters.  You will be just fine! Remember racing is easier than training

Are you typically swimming in cold or warm water?  Foot cramps are horrible when you're in the middle of swimming.  You can try to relax your foot while you kick and not point your toes as much. Before you get in the water to swim make sure you stretch (particularly your lower legs and feet). Hopefully that will help some?!

I try and mix up between water and sports drink, but usually higher amount of water. As far as nutrition goes, doing my half marathons I usually consumed 2 maybe 3 Gu at the most, but usually just 2. I try to go with the 35 to 45 min range on nutrition as long as I know I will have another 35 to 45 mins after consumption. Waiting too long to wait and consume at the point of bonking is useless. The idea is to keep a healthy amount of fuel (calories) in the gas tank to keep you going. I know I have waited before to consume after and hour or so and really never recovered. My performance just dwindled. Everyone is  is different I'm sure or has different schedules or theories, this just seems to work for me. Just be sure to wash your Gu down with plenty of water.

Hey Dan - GOOD LUCK! I know you will do GREAT!

We are doing our first tris on the same day-so I will for sure be thinking about you!  Boy I was super nervous, since I had gone on vacation and missed a lot of training in the process, then pulled my back and had not done an open water swim and didn't have a wetsuit - was it going to be too cold? - and ... and ... well, I was just a mess.

But I got in the open water once this week and it wasn't nearly as bad as my fears made it out to be. Alot of info from other people helped prepare me for what would be weird about it. Then I got a note from Keye (wushunut) that was EXTRA helpful. about just taking in all in. Now I'm not nervous, because it all supposed to be about fun. And all I have to do it finish it to be successful!

I know that I will wish I had done more training, but the fact is - I have done a lot of training. I'm in better shape than I have probably ever been in (that may not be saying much given my pre-tri life style... but still). So I'm excited.

Thanks to everyone here for all the support... it really had made a huge difference to me- having a place to ask questions and be comfortable as the newbie. It's really been great! Of course, I have another race, so I'll be back, but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone.

Mary

Have fun out there this weekend Mary!  There is nothing like your first triathlon and then you'll officially become a triathlete when you cross that finish line! I hope you have great weather and a great race.

Good luck to Shannon, Dan & Mary this weekend!

Mary mentioned a note I sent to her about my experience with anxiety and jitters leading up to my first tri and how I dealt with them.  She thought it would be good to share so I'll do that here.

I encourage all of you to think back to why you're doing this in the first place.  For me it was about getting back in shape and having fun doing it.  After the many months of training we've all done it's easy to get caught up in the "event" and the competition.  It happened to me.  At some point I forgot about why I was doing this and got caught up in the whole performance aspect of it.  I started getting worked up over times and "who can I beat" and "who won't I let beat me" and in the end it stopped being fun.  I got a pretty good wake-up call when I dropped by the local tri shop the day before the race to pick-up some last minute supplies.  Some of our top local triathletes were there and were trash talking each other (in fun) before the race.  Needless to say, listening to them got me really intimidated.  I went home discouraged, sheepish, and very intimidated.  It made me think long and hard about why I was doing this in the first place. 

It was good for me.  It forced me to go back to my original reason for doing this. Get in shape and have fun.  I'd forgotten about the "have fun" part. I made that my focus for the race. I didn't care about my time or place during the race.  My mantra the whole time was "have fun!"  I channeled a bit of Chrissie Wellington and forced myself to smile.  The forced smile became a real one and I had fun!  I didn't care if I was being passed, or was boxed in.  I was just having fun.  It helped.  Lots.

Have fun this weekend!

Mary,

You've mentioned biking to work. How do you manage with bringing your stuff to change and get cleaned up and lunch and so forth. I've been considering maybe biking 1 or 2 days a week but am flummuxed by how I'll get all my STUFF to the office.

We have a locker room with showers, so that's not a big issue, and I do leave some stuff in my locker, but change of clothes, make-up and lunch - not to mention the normal purse stuff. How do you manage it?