Mtskibum's Group - FULL (Page 3)

Greetings to the group!

The Good: I got up and swam which is a good start. I'm planning on going this week on Tue and Thu. I also started a new job, which is turning out great. Now I have a better idea how I can start planning workouts.

The Bad: I didn't run or bike. I REALLY need to get on it.

I'm posting more regularly which I believe will lead to me actually getting in more workouts, even if it is because of guilt. I'm feeling good about the job and things in general, so once I get a couple of days under my belt I think I'll be good. Of course I've been sick for over a week so I'm not being to hard on myself.

Happy training!

Almost at the bottom of Page 2, where's the group love?

I was temporarily out of commission yesterday with a migraine but I plan to get back on track tonight with a run, albeit a short one. Baby steps.

What's everyone else up to?

Thought for the day:

I was stuck in a rut of "having" to workout or train. Yesterday, I took the day off from work to get some perspective on life. I took my Mountain bike out for a spin. My tri bike is in the shop and we had 6" of snow on monday, so I had no idea how snowy the path would be. I didn't wear my Heart Rate Monitor. I just went for a bike ride. I didn't "train". I haven't done that in quite a while. It was very enjoyable and I actually had fun. Then I was in such a good mood, I decided to go for a run. The whole time I was running I just focused on having fun and relaxing. What an amazing difference! I ran basically the same times I've been running, but I felt good afterward.

Bottom line, Make it fun! When you get locked into a training routine and you aren't enjoying it, take the time to do something different and have some fun! Life's too short to not be able to enjoy it.

I would have to say that things are going well for me. My running is progressing - have just done the second day of week 4 of Couch to 5K, which seems to be the first week of running more than walking. Still enjoying it! I'm a day delayed on the running as my schedule had some issues.

I started swimming this week. Had meant to start last week, but there was a lot of snow, my road wasn't plowed, and I wasn't going anywhere I didn't absolutely need to. So this week I went to the aquatic center, nervously, and figured out where to go to practice the total immersion drills. I really enjoyed it, and looking forward to lesson 2! The time just went by so quickly.

Bicycling - started again on my stationary bike. Too much snow outside for biking outside, and this will help with muscles and endurance.

Weight loss - working out more is helping me get back into weight loss, after the holiday season in which I put on about 5 pounds. Important thing is to get back on track, and I feel that I am.

Next step - looks like registration is starting soon for local triathalon - must put money down on this!

Hi Fifthcircle:

I lost about 80 pounds last year, so thought that maybe I could help with a few ideas about the weight loss question!

I put my weight loss down to three factors:

#1 eating better

#2 moving more

#3 keeping on doing items #1 and #2 - and getting back to doing them when I had difficulties

For #1, I found Calorie King very useful (a food tracker). I tracked everything for almost a year, and it was great. Just having the mindfulness kept me on track. Other tools may work for you as well, there's certainly a lot of tools out there. Books were also very helpful - Volumetrics, Eat This Not That (think that might be very good for you) - lots of books have helpful information.

For #2, I don't think you'll have much of a problem, given which group this is in. Something fun is good!

For #3, that's where I found a group situation really helped me keep on track. For me, this was SparkPeople, and specifically a SparkPeople team that was holding a challenge with weekly weigh ins. There was personal support, and there was the knowledge that one had to log in week after week, and helped would be offered if requested. Kept me going.

Best wishes!

Sarah

Well, I'm in with you guys on the weight loss too! I have really let my diet slip, and since I'm almost 40, my metabolism is slow. I just got bloodwork back from the doc, and my cholesterol is high, so it's time to get serious. A couple things that have helped me in the past.

1. Write down what you eat for a week. I was shocked. I thought I was eating good, and when I wrote it all down I was suprised. Also, it helped me find what i needed to change. Through research I've done, I found out I need about 120 grams of protein per day when I'm training. I was only getting about 50 with my old eating habits. Now I supplement with a protein shake. Protein is very key in building muscle and burning fat. If you don't get enough of it, your body doesn't process things as well.

2. Use the tools on this website. You can track your workouts, your nutrition and then after a week you can look back and see how you did. I'm trying to stay within a certain calorie range. Portion size has been my biggest downfall. I usually eat 2 servings. Watching that really helps me.

Sarah has some great ideas. Does anyone else have a plan or program that has worked for them?

The nutrition log for me was a little confusing at first. But once you put the foods you eat the most in there, it will save them and you can just click on them each day. I usually have a yogurt everyday at about 10:30. So that is saved in there.

But, to get started, I think you are right, the easiest way is just to write it down and calculate it. At least that way you can see how many calories a day you are eating.

Keep it simple. It will work.

Speaking of that, is everyone comfortable with logging their workouts? I see posts in here saying that you are working out, but your logs are empty. Let me know if you need help posting.

If I may...

Simple is sustainable.  Just keep a simple log of the foods you eat for the week.  Don't worry too much about exact amounts and calories.  After a week or two, look over the log and make some simple assessments of where you're getting too many calories.  Snacking?  Seconds?  Desserts?  Alcohol?  Eating out? 

Now that you've identified where the extra calories are showing up on a weekly basis, develop a plan to manage the worst areas.  Make small adjustments (so 3 Oreos instead of 5) and sustain those changes for several weeks before making more changes. 

If you are keeping accurate logs and still cannot identify where the extra calories are coming from, look at portion size.  If you eat dry cereal, measure out a serving and put it in your bowl (and be surprised at how much extra space there is in the bowl).  Now keep measuring until you get what you normally put in the bowl for your "serving."  Again, make small, sustainable changes to your habits, so if you're normal "serving" is really 3 servings, cut back to 2.5 or 2 servings (buy some smaller bowls if you need) instead of all the way to one puny serving.  (Just eliminating that one phantom serving each day can be 150-200 calories or 2 pounds per month. ) 

Well, it's monday and we are a couple weeks into this journey together. Time for some accountability! I'm not seeing much in anyones logs. I'm not sure if folks don't know how to post in their logs, or if we have some folks that have dropped out. Let's get together and get back on track. The best part about this site, is it can be very encouraging for you when you need an extra boost! Let's all commit to sending an inspire to each other as much as we can for the next week. Make sure you post whatever you are doing so that you can track it. Even if it is something you don't think is very significant. Post it so you can track it and so we can encourage you.

If anyone has any questions, please post them also so we can all help find the answers.

I'm going to get back to my normal plan this week. My cold is pretty much gone and I'm ready to get back to it.

How's the first couple weeks been? What adjustments do you need to make to hit the goals for this month? What's your goal for February?

I'm seeing some good stuff. Keep up the good work for those of you that are posting and moving forward! I'm hoping everyone will post something in their logs this week.

Mentor!  Help!

Ok...My first Sprint is on April 18.  My weakest area is the run.  I can only do (barely) 2 12-minute miles without stopping. 

Since August, I have done the "Couch to Sprint" and the "Original Sprint" BT programs.  Actually, this is the last week of my "Original Sprint."  So, what program do I need to do now to insure that I succeed (finish without too much shame) in my race?

Thanks!

VA 

Virginia,

Don't panic, if you've complete the Original sprint plan, you have a good beginning and a good base started. You can do this! If running is your limiter, we just have to focus on that for a while. I would try to run at least 3 days a week. Start where you are at right now with time. Bump it up no more than 10% per week for 3 weeks, then back it off 25% on week 4. Remember, it's not just being able to run the distance, it's being able to run on tired legs. So, before your race, I would recommend doing a brick or two just so you know what it feels like and you don't freak out. First time I did a bike / run brick it was really weird. Now, I actually run faster off the bike because my legs are warmed up and my pace is quick.

Ideally I think you should be training so that you are doing more miles than what you have to do in the race. For example, build your training distances up to a peak about 10 days out from your race. If your swim is 500 yards in the race, you should be able to do 750 comfortably in training. If your bike is 12 miles, you should do 18 comfortably. If the run is 3.1, you should do 4 comfortably. If you do all that and a couple bike / run bricks, the race will actually be easy for you and you'll have a great time!

Tell me where you are at right now for distances and time and we can build a plan or find one that will work. This is the fun part!

Hi - did the C25K week 5, day 3 yesterday - managed 20 minutes of running non-stop. Wait, don't laugh, that's pretty awesome for me!

 I've just updated my training log. This is getting pretty silly - my training info is tracked separately through:

* garmin connect, for workouts in which I've worn my HRM and footpod

* spark people, for the points

* list of exercise minutes for a sparkpeople challenge

* map my run/bike/tri - started tracking runs there to track shoe usage

* and here! 

That's a lot of data to input, and I'm not sure how useful it is having it multiple places. 

Meanwhile, in training, my running is on track, and I've started using my stationary bike more. My plan is to get in the mileage on there before the snow goes away, so bike 2/3 times a week and also get the cadence up. Am planning to get in another swimming workout this week - couldn't last week due to sick kids at home (and spouse away).

 best to all!

Mtskibum a/k/a/ MENTOR,

thank you so much!  i am printing out your response.  i will post my times in each category so you can help me plan...i feel very relieved knowing that i have a supportive mentor. 

talk to you soon.

va 

You got it Virginia! You can do this!

Hey everyone, I had a thought this morning while I was running. One thing that really helped me when I was training for my first tri and still helps me to this day is getting inspires for other people. I love this site because you can inspire people everyday.

If you don't already have the people in the group listed in your friends section, I would say Git R done. That way, everytime you post your workout, you can click on the other people in the group and send them an inspire.

Let's see how many inspires we can send for the next week! Ready, Go!