New Year New You...reopened for late comers (Page 25)

Respect Brian. Back to back events like that must be tough so well done!

Way to go Matt =)
That's great progress. Keep it going. Looks like you are right on track...

Excellent on the bike. Looks like an awesome deal =)
Sorry Rob, this is one area I don't know much about. I'm still riding with regular running shoes and no straps or anything on my pedals. There are a couple things that you'll want to keep in mind when looking for cycling shoes and cleats.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Content_10052_10551_-1_Cycling...

Also keep in mind about ability of adjustments and floating. Have you gotten fitted for your bicycle already?
Hope this information helps and sorry I couldn't be more specific on this one......

I use the older Look pedal. I few of my buddies use speedplay. Search Ebay or here on the forum for deals on used gear.

Hope it's not too late to join

Name: Tyler Clark

story: in college I did a sprint triathlon and loved it. Fast forward five years later and I am 52 pounds overweight at 6'3. I don't know what happened....well actually yes I do the Pizza Hut 10 dinner box is what happened, and a desk job. This last December I decided to do an Olympic triathlon. The first three months I lost 16 pounds but have since plateaued at 238 and I promise I haven't touched Pizza Hut for quite some time. Performance wise I am at 1 mile swim 38 min 10 k run 62 min 24 mile bike 105 min. Each week I feel stronger and am falling in love with the sport, but am getting frustrated that the pounds are not coming off.

Family: married to the love of my life with two little kids 3 months and 3 years. Don't exactly get the best sleep with the little one

Weight goal: 200 pounds I am a stockier build so this will be a good weight

2014 events: Rockford Olympic triathlon June 14. Some sprints here and there.

Tyler... Welcome to the group (Neil will make it official)
I wanted to get some comments in about your weight concerns and frustrations. And don't get me wrong, I have been majorly struggling with getting down to an ideal weight as well (according to medical levels, I am over weight) 5' 10" and at just under 200 lbs.

You shouldn't focus on weight as your goal. Weight loss is a benefit/side effect from doing what you enjoy, triathlons.
A pound of muscle consumes less area than a pound of fat. Let's just say you lost 1 pound of fat and gained 1 pound of muscle. You would be at the same weight, but consuming less area. (Losing inches concept)
You are making lifestyle changes that will take time to reverse. If it took yourself 2 years to gain the weight, it just might take two years to get it off.
Different workouts have different effects to your body. Interval training has been know to burn more calories during the time after your session. While longer endurance workouts tend to start burning fats.
When you lose weight, is it fat, muscle, or water? It's very hard to know when you use a device that wasn't meant to measure based on those variables.

There are some other things to keep in mind. Weight loss is greatest when a person starts a diet and slows down. Stay focus on your training and fueling your body right (difference between eating and fueling). Not only will you see progress with your triathlon goals, but you'll still see physical changes including weight...

Little story... I was at 210 at the time I signed up for my 1st 100 mile bicycle ride. I was so determined and set in my mind that I would need to be at 180 to succeed. I was so excited once I reached 195 and everything stopped. I started to get frustrated and was tempted to start other "diet" options. Then, I started noticing performance differences with my speeds and times. I was progressing physically without the weight loss. Just last Sunday, I successfully completed my first century ride, but it was during my training that I had a different understanding of my perception of weight loss.

I wish you the best on meeting and succeeding with your goals. Post, post, post anything/everything. We are all here to help each other =)

First off, great job Brian! That sounds like quite a couple of days.

How's everyone else's training going? Anyone have any events coming up soon?

I was out in San Francisco for work last week, so I got in some pretty good hill work - both running and on a bike (a tandem bike, but a bike nonetheless). The conference I was at had a 6am run on Monday, which seems like a great way to kick off a conference if you ask me. The group I was in did 4 miles in 40 minutes. Given the traffic and the fact that the last 1.5 miles were uphill, I felt great about it.

I just realized that my sprint is in 7 weeks, so I'm starting to add in more running and biking to get my pace down in both. I got in a nice speed workout on the track this morning. I ran 8x400 - aiming for 10 seconds faster than 5k pace, or 1:50, for each. (My goal is currently to get my 5k back to 8 minute miles). I somehow managed to run all of them in 1:40-1:45, which is faster than I've ever been able to do them, so I feel pretty good about accomplishing that.

Is there something I should be doing on the bike (other than just riding more) to pick up the pace there? I'm new to biking, so I've never worked on speed with that before. Thanks!

For the bicycle, interval training.
Also look into the route for your sprint event. If it's flat, train for all out speed. If it's hilly, do climbing in your training. Train for the route ;-)

Katie, to answer your questions...
After the century ride last week, I took a week off. Did everything but what I should of been doing including eating junk food like it was going out of style. I felt that I deserved a little break... LOL

My training is going to be interesting over the next 3 weeks while I train for the Fountain Valley Reverse Sprint that I'm doing on May 24th. I have to not only "officially" beat my oldest son, but I need to see about beating him badly; he knows that I'm coming after him hard and it's actually making him very nervous. It really is friendly competition, he beat me 2 years ago; he crossed the finish line last year first by about 2.5 minutes, but I did 3 bicycle repairs on the bike leg. Anyways, I want to make sure that there are "no excuses" LOL

My training is going to be focusing on running over the next couple weeks. I am a horrible runner and is where everybody is faster than me. Because the swim is only 175 yds, I will be getting into the pool here and there, but not really critical for me; it's like a warm down for me. I will be doing some more interval training on the bicycle to see about increasing my base rate along with spin classes twice a week to get my endurance needed for the less than an hour ride portion of the triathlon.

May 24th is my next event... After that, I have another bicycle ride in late October. I'm trying to see about getting other events in between. I am definitely taking Neil's suggested challenge of doing an Olympic Distance this year; however, financially I cannot do it; I'm saving money now, so I can see about getting the Nytro package (prior post) so I would have all the needed equipment. =)

The month of May is upon us and the "start" of seasonal allergy problems.

What do you do to keep your allergies in check? What methods work for you during your road to recovering from bad allergies?

And as Katie already asked:

How is everybody's training coming along? Is everybody on track to meeting their goals? Did everybody meet their goals from last month? Any events going on for the month of May?

If you are not quite where you want to be in your training or your performance is not up to your expectations, please post questions to our group. Your questions along with input from others might help one or more people with a similar problem/concern. I'll start by asking away...

Any suggestions on how to go from a 10 minute mile to a 7 minute mile (yes 7)? I know that I need to work on cadence for running and range in motion (stiff legs). Are there specific weight stations that would help with my speed and endurance for running? Are there any that I should stay away from?

Last night, I started my running training. It was a complete reminder why I don't run. LOL
Instead of just running, I did a number of leg drills. Each drill was more focused on specific muscles. In between, I did a couple sprints w/ a jog and sprint again... To say the least, I really mixed it up a lot. I still did about 3 miles total in about 35-40 minutes. So over all, it wasn't bad. I'm hoping to build up my sprint distance or should I be saying increase my race pace :-)

I've got a long ways to go and only 3 weeks to get it done... [gulp]

Hey David,
good for you, I know this is the hardest discipline for you. Remember to get the muscle group working and build slowly for running. You want to get the muscle groups used to the pounding and there is no shame in a run/walk at the beginning. As I've recovered from the calf problems I do lots of walking in the runs. Lots of stretching too will help (dynamic stretching before you run).

Sorry I've not been very active on the blog but work/life commitments leave little time. Training continues for me and I'm seeing some technique improvements in swimming and did my first 20k outdoors on my new bike this weekend. I'm about 4 weeks away from the first sprint tri and my goal is very modest; finish injury free and experience the process.

Hey Rob... Long time no talk =)

Thank you for the pointers. I need every single one of them... hehehe
I know that shooting for a 7 minute mile is realistically out of my reach, but if I push myself hard enough to try that goal, I will at least have an improvement from last year =)

That's awesome about the technique improvements in your swimming =). And that's a nice ride on the bicycle. From the sounds of it, you are training to survive and not really pushing for time/speed. Which is actually really good. Go at a comfortable pace and get through injury free. Once you understand what to expect and what you can do, the following year will be beating your time. And who knows, multiple triathlons in a year =)

[high five rob] keep up the great work of pushing yourself forward. I know your journey so far hasn't been an easy one, but it will be a journey that you will remember for years to come. You not giving up is success all by itself; crossing the finish line makes it a sweeter reward. Wish air flight and travel expenses weren't as high as they are, would be great to see you compete =)

[tap, tap, tap]
roll call... just curious who is still viewing the posts in our group.

Hope everybody is doing well and that their training is progressing to their liking.

My training isn't going too well. We've had a heat wave and haven't been able to really push myself like I would normally. I've been doing 3 miles every other night, but it's been at a slow 40 minutes. To say the least, I'm no where near the 7 minute mile mark LOL (only have one more week) [gulp]

what happened to Neil?

David......
I'm still here. Been pretty busy but still following along. Training is going well. Can't wait to move to outdoor pool next week.

First race was yesterday. Did a local sprint tri as a relay with some friends. Wanted to ease in before adding in the swim which is still a little intimidating. I did the bike leg. A very hilly 16 miles. Did better thAn expected. My buddy who swam has terrible knees and there was a 150 yd uphill to T1 out of the water. He gutted out the swim but had to walk the hill. I was the last rider out onto the course. Pretty lonely feeling but decided what the hell and just went for it. Caught the tail of the pack around mile six and started picking off stragglers. A strong run leg put us respectably in the pack. A ton of fun. Haven't raced in years and loved it. Was really just hoping my knee wouldn't come apart on me and am really pretty happy with result.

Next race in three weeks. Need to run and swim between now and then.

Hope every body is well.

Matt

I tried to post yesterday, but it wasn't working from my phone.

Neil is doing well from the looks of his Facebook posts. I know that he's been very busy as well. I'm sure he'll hope on here in a day or two to give updates; if not, I'll just have to message him and say, "What's up?!??!?!" hehehe

I know that he's also been progressing with his recovery. But, I'll wait for him to give details, etc.

Congratulations on the successful event. Way to go with the "not giving up" mentality; it really helps when you are out there on your own like that. Triathlons are not just physical challenges, but are just as much mental. Sounds like a whole lot of fun doing a relay. I'm actually signing up for one for me and my two sons in November. I just so happen to be doing the bike leg as well =)
My oldest son is the fastest runner out of all of us. My youngest son is "now" the fastest swimmer out of all of us. Some how, I'm still the fastest cyclist. LOL... Each of us is at about 1 hour 30 minutes for a sprint triathlon, so I'm hoping to be "very" competitive on that day =)

Three weeks for your individual triathlon... How awesome...
have you had a chance to look at the course/routes? Is there anything that concerns you with the routes? Will you be focusing on those areas?

Keep all of us posted on your progress and definitely how the event goes for you =)
GOOD LUCK!!!! =)

Everybody knows that I'm not much of a runner. I've been trying really hard to get up to speed (literally) with everybody and trying to learn new strategies and techniques. It's been a very long and painful (at times) learning curve. Here's what I've been doing; just hope I'm doing things right [gulp]...

* Monday and Wednesday runs
* Each workout includes at least 3 miles of running/walking/jogging
* First couple of sessions include stretching before/during/after
* Perform drills that work on specific muscles within the legs (like high kick, side stepping, high knees, etc)
* Last Monday's times
*** 1st mile was at 7:40
*** 2nd mile was walking only at 18:37
*** 3rd mile was at 7:00
* Last Monday's focus
*** Determine what pace I can run to "catch my breath"
*** Determine what pace I can run and for how long at a 6:00-6:30 minute mile
*** Alternate between the paces for a mile; then walk a mile; then alternate again for last mile

I'm hoping that tonight I can walk the 1st mile and see about mile 2 and 3 alternating my pace while still maintaining about a 7:15-7:30 minute mile.

Any suggestions would be welcomed. I'm seriously trying everything to get below 25 minutes for 3 miles; was hoping at 21 minutes, but I need to be realistic... LOL

Please share what you've been doing, what you've learned over the last couple months, and where your challenges are.

Let's help each other =)

David

Sounds like you are making slow steady progress with running. Doing the relay was fun. The best part about doing the bike was hitting the last mile and knowing I didn't have to run. Everybody else is sitting up and shaking their legs out and I was in my drops and out of the saddle in a full sprint. I'm sure there were some shaking heads behind me but when you start in last place I see no reason to hold back

A couple of thoughts on the run.....I have a running background (years ago) so my .02$. Instead of watching time think distance. For your run-miles don't watch the clock.....instead work on lengthening the distance you run so that the walk segment disappears. My old high school cross country coach used to yell at us that "if you can walk then you can jog!" Painful but true. Like cycling running is about building distance base. Speed always, always comes later. Get to where you can hold a sustained jog for three miles, then slowly build. When you can do double your race distance start speed work.

I've always liked/hated one mile intervals for speed. If you are building for a sprint in a few weeks spend the remaining time getting that walk segment as short as possible. Then do your race. You will be gutting out the run but with the advantage of a strong swim/bike while I will have suffered through those. Then spend the next few weeks slowly building to a six or seven mile sustained run. Then, and only then, get the stopwatch out. Start with once a week speedwork...... Something like 4x 1 mile intervals (on grass if you have bad knees like me). Use your best mile split from your last race as a target, then adjust. You should pace these so you have nothing in the tank after the last one. Give yourself a two minute jog to recover in between. Try not to walk though that becomes pretty hard . Pyramids are also great..... Use a track and go 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m, 800, 400, 200. The goal is to hold 1.5x race pace for the distances shorter than a mile, then pace the 1600 at race pace, then kick it back up. Use race pace from your last race, and put a 400 between each interval at a slow jog. You should get back to recovery heart rate before each effort just like in a swim set. This may need to wait a few months but builds burst and finishing speed. You have to have a good base to do these without getting hurt and make sure you warm up well. These are tough on calves and hamstrings for me.

There may be others with more run coaching experience out there. This is what has wored for me in the past.

You asked about my next race.....big concerns? Not drowning . My bike is fine. I haven't run because of my knees but can start that this week and know what I'm doing there. I've spent most of this week in the pool and seem to have had a breakthrough. I've struggled with getting comfortable but something clicked on Monday. It ain't fast but Did 600m as a nonstop front crawl and felt like I could have gone further. Up until now I've been gasping like a spouting whale after a 200. I won't be back in the water until Sunday but I think I'll see how far I can go.

Whew, long post. Hope you are well.

Matt

Thank you very much Matt for the information. It really will help. I'm taking 2 days off cause my event is this Saturday.

I like that you mentioned "if you are walking you can jog".

That is one thing that I was working on during my last couple workouts. I noticed that when I was at a 10 minute/mile pace, I was able to catch my breath even without walking. I then was able to increase my pace at about a 6.5 minute/mile for a short period of time and then drop down to a jog to catch my breath. This is a strategy that I've never done before or even knew about to be honest. I know that my speed is far from being where I can be competitive, but at least with these last workouts, I'm starting to understand my body's messages and seeing where my limitations are and what I can do and adjust. I can do adjustments on a bicycle for hours on end (had to for the century ride), but I don't have enough experience to see where those adjustments are for running (fingers crossed I'll learn soon)

I'm looking forward to the workout suggestions that you gave. Hopefully I can get myself up to a 10K run; Neil was encouraging me to see about doing an Olympic distance triathlon and a personal goal would be to do it. =)

I just read an article last night in the May 2014 issue of Triathlete and was overwhelmed with emotions. I'm not going to retype the article, but here is one that is similar...

Blind Triathletes Competing in NY Triathlon
(now I'm thinking, "wish I had the courage and confidence to be a guide")

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/sports/guides-show-the-way-for-bl...

Well... My triathlon is over. And it's time for recovery and rest.

I had three major goals (keep in mind reverse triathlon)

1) Get a realistic and fast time on my run to stay within 5-8 minutes to my oldest son.
#1 results) I got my personal best at 24.04 for a clocked 3.06 mile run. I was just under an 8 minute/mile. My sons (both competed) totally smoked me with my oldest breaking 20 minutes (he must have cause he was quite a ways ahead of me)

2) Officially beat my oldest son by crossing the finish line first. I was faster than him last year, but stopped to do 3 bike repairs, so it was unofficial.
#2 results) I officially crossed the finish line before him with no excuses from either of us.

3) Get within the top 50 overall.
#3 results) unfortunately having to wait for them to be posted. But, I believe I beat my time from last year by breaking 1 hour 30 minutes.

Now for some R & R before I start planning my next event.

Any time you PR, it's a job well done. I figure I keep getting older each year, so one year this PR stuff has to slow down.