Baowolf's Beginner Banquet -Sorry all tables are full no room.. (Page 3)

Carol-I just recently got bike shoes that click onto the pedals as well.  The guy at the bike shop told me to click out (or is it clip out...gosh I'm a newbie) anyway to get off the pedal before you come to a stop.  So like at a approaching red light I'll click out (just one shoe) say two car lengths before.  But I'm with you, it is hard to click back in.  He told me to practice over and over so I can do it with out looking down.  Still not there.  But to answer your question, I'd say go for it.  Don't use the running shoes on the bike.  I trained for about 2 months prior to getting the bike shoes, now that I have the bike shoes I see a huge difference in my legs.  You can "pull up" with your legs when you get tired thus using different leg muscles...save legs-must for us Triathletes.

But I am not an expert, so listen to what others say before me. -Karen

Yeah I have done a good bit of traveling Karen and I hope to do so much more   You might say I work to travel.   South America is next on my hit list as soon as I graduate from this blasted college!

Welcome Troy!  I hope you find this group to your liking and if your wife has any words of wisdom for us be sure to throw her two cents in.  I think that you will be fine starting tri training for the end of June since you have a running background as long as you put in some serious time swimming and biking until then. 

Squirt I think you should definitely use your clipless pedals and shoes for the tri.  You are so much more efficient using them than just pedaling with your down stroke in running shoes.  When coming up to a red light I always unclip at least one foot most of the time both just in case I am caught unaware and leaning the wrong way.  Haven't fallen once *knock on wood*.

Marcus

The plan I am following for my sprint-tri in July is the 13-week plan I found on this website. I decided it was a good start since I don't really know what I am doing. I start it officially on Monday. I am know I will not be able to run for the entire time, and possibly may not be able to bike or swim the entire times either. It is really giving me something to shoot for every day and a way to understand how to spend my training days. I am going to include strength training with it also. You mentioned getting 3 workouts of each in every week. The plan I am using is only calls for two. Do you feel that will be adequate. I am not looking to win the sprint, but I do want to be ready for it. Know what I mean?

Question: Since you mentioned it, what is BOP? Also, what stance do you take on food and calorie intake? I understand the value of eating good carbs, good fats and keeping fueled for training, which maybe I just need to stick by what I know. However, I am not sure if there comes a point when I can over eat or under eat. What are your thoughts?

I am still not able to use the inspire option. Maybe it is my computer.

Hi,

If it's not too late I would like to join.

First name: Markus

How long you have been training for Triathlons: Just started last week. Tried to get going about 4 years ago but decided that adopting one of my daughters was more important than doing a Triathlon. After that with all the personal stuff and work related stuff it fell of the radar, but now I'm back and want to finish a Tri.

I did gymnastics up to age 14 and then did a variety of things, from Martial Arts, Ice Skating, Inline Skating and just about any other recreational sport you can think of.

Family Status (married, single, number of children) Married, 2 daughters 14 and 12 and one baby boy at 10 weeks.

Date of upcoming race and type of race: June 26th/Sprint Tri 300m/11m/5k

What your base run/swim/bike distance are per week: Haven't found my true base yet, but probably somewhere around 15m/60m/3000 yards

Do you have a weight loss goal: Not really but I'm sure it will come with it

Are you run/bike or swim focused: Bike is probably the one where I need to work the most on.

Whew, I almost thought I wouldn't make it in.  Thanks all.  I am glad I found others that are new to this as well. 

Toughest thing to do for me was getting thru my actuarial exams.  Took me about 11 years (average time is about 6 years).  But I finally succeeded - Sept 2009.  When I finished that I needed something to fill in my extra time.  Wife started to run tri's and half marys, so I decided to run.  I liked it so much, I decided to run even more.

The inspire thing doesn't work for me either, but I can inspire all of you who are first starting out in this adventure: Wait till you feel the endorphin rush, the running high, or step on the finish line.  Once there, you will realize it is just another starting point.

I would like to join at the last minute.

First name: Dennis

How long you have been training for Triathlons: Just starting out, 3 weeks.

Family Status (married, single, number of children): Married 13 yrs. with 2 childres (3 & 5)

Date of upcoming race and type of race: May 20, Sprint Tri.

What your base run/swim/bike distance are per week: Currently Run 13 miles, Bike 50, swim around (4500 yds.)

Do you have a weight loss goal: Already lost 50 and down to 165 @ 5'11".  Maybe get to 10% bf (around 11.5% currently)

Are you run/bike or swim focused: balanced pretty much but I need a lot of practice on the swimming since it is my weakest spot.

Welcome Steve, Marc, Nate, Markus and Dennis!

Also I can't believe we have a Marc, Markus and Marcus in this group, this could get confusing haha.

Yeah Steve, what is a BOP?!

Marcus

Welcome to the group Steve, Marc, Nate, Markus and Dennis!

Well thanks for the welcome everybody. I am looking forward to learning lots and hopefully having a good time as I take on this challenge.

Steve-- working out daily has become a bigger challenge than I thought. The desire is there, just sometimes life doesnt accomadate. I am working on getting more in each week though and making sure the days I do that I am working on doing more and getting better. In Jan, I started with simple 2 mile walks and now would say I am up to 2-3 mile runs about 3 or 4 times a week. I am an accountant, so now that tax season is over, those numbers should improve. I am not massively genetically gifted or younger, 38 now but that wont hold me back.

I do not have a walk to run and tried to create a tri program on her but was surprised. It just seemed like the distances were pretty low for now... start with running 1 mile? Trust me I know not that long ago that was a challenge, but to be ready for an OLY tri I would have thought the distances would have been a little more to start. That is my big question, without over doing it and understanding the need to work up to it, what is a good base for the week of running and biking. I hope to do more of that the first month or so and then start adding the swiming.

I feel pretty new to the site, so any advice on what to use or how is appreciated.

My easy question is what is GU?

Welcome everybody!

Steve--thanks for the great race report.  Sorry it was so cold and miserable, though kudos to you for still making a BQ time anyhow.  The time difference between the coasts is hard too.

Hardest physically challenging activity?  Being pregnant, hands-down.  (Probably not what you had in mind, but it's true.)  I had nine months of hyperemesis (extreme morning sickness that doesn't stop even with anti-emetics) both pregnancies and the kind of physical toll that takes is really amazing.  Both pregnancies I'd been determined to keep running through the pregnancy, and both times it was simply not possible because I was so exhausted, in part because I couldn't keep down enough calories to function normally.  There were some other complications as well, but that was the worst.  It's left me with a sort of PTSD about throwing up.  Unfortunately, my 13-month-old caught a stomach bug on Monday and yes indeed, both my husband and I ended up with it last night.  Miserable. (On the plus side, 8 hours is a lot easier to deal with than 9 months.)

Anyhow, if I had to think of an actual activity that would fit that category, it's probably the first half-marathon I ran, which was the Georgetown to Idaho Springs 1/2.  I knew it was downhill but I wasn't prepared for the amount of "rolling hills" on the course.  And I'd picked an overly zealous training plan.  A few weeks before the race I'd realized it was taking its toll and dropped down to an easier plan, but that wasn't enough to solve the problem before race day.  I ended up with some severe muscle strains, to the point where I couldn't walk normally for about a week.

First name:  Brian

How long you have been training for Triathlons:  Completed my first in 2009 (Sprint).

Family Status (married, single, number of children):  Married for 16 years with 2 kids (15, 11)

Date of upcoming race and type of race:  Derby 1/2 Mary April 30th, IronMan Muncie 70.3 July 9th

What your base run/swim/bike distance are per week: 20-25/5-7.5M/70-100

Do you have a weight loss goal:  Since 2008 I have lost 115 pounds, I recently experimented with my diet and promptly gained 10 pounds.  I am now at 185 and plan to try to make a push to 165 before Muncie in just under 3 months.

Are you run/bike or swim focused: I am ADD, focus...could you describe the focus?   Hah, if I had to pick I would say running because of it's simplicity. 

I already have a plan that I am following and it can be viewed on my blog, see link below.  I am trying hard to follow it but I do get sidetracked and often busy.  Mostly it's just a guide that I am using to prepare.  I figure if I can hit my milestones I will be OK by July.

http://batlou.blogspot.com/p/half-ironman-training-plan.html

Thanks in advance for offering your time.

Alright we got 4 new members while I was writing my race report for Boston.  I am going to close the group now so we can all get to know each other.  I'll go do that and try to catch up.

BOP=Back of Pack (last 1/3 of finishers), MOP= middle of pack, FOP = front 1/3 of pack.  DNF (did not finish), DNS, (did not show) DQ (disqualified).  And DFL (dead finish last) > DNF > DNS. 

When I talk about calories in I usually mean during a race.  For a sprint we are talking maybe 100 calories 200 max depending on your time, for an Oly we might be up to 300, for a HIM it is more like 1400-1600 and for an IM I take in around 3000 to 3200 calories during the race. 

Folks usualy use a gel such as GU or whatever during the run and may use a powder mixed into their water such as Infinit on the bike.  Gu's are 100 calories each and you can mix a single bottle of infinit up to around 1100 calories. 

As for eating during the day, pretty much eat what you normally do try not to hit a lot of junk or you really wont burn enough off to lose weight.  I didn't lose any weight the first 3 months of training.  It was only once my workouts got longer than 1 hour that I started to lose a pound or 3 a month.  The most I have lost in a month is 4 pounds and that was with taking in only 1700 calories a day and burning around 700 calories a day. 

To do an inspire, left click on someones name (Baowolf) the cilck on Logs, then click on inspire to the right of a calander day say Wed and then type in your message.  You can do this unless the person has locked their logs so that only friends can look at their workouts.  I'll try to catch up on some posts now from page 4.

Most of the group is newer to training for triathlon and preparing for a sprint.  You are building from walk or low mile runs as well as building a lot of swim and bike miles.  Your training hours are going to go from like 3 hours a week up to maybe 8 hours a week.  In your first year of training most folks don't have the time or physical stamina to do much weight training. 

By the way I am trying to cover a lot of posts so if I give some advice and it sounds like I am wrong or being too blunt or directive, just call me on it, I am probably just being to succinct and not explaining enough.  I am just trying to give the most information I can and help everyone to not make the mistakes I have made or I have heard about others making.  I woudl love for no one to ever freeze again prior to runing Boston.  I would also love to not have anyone get dehydrated in a HIM with 105 temps or to underdue calories and bonk during a race.  But there is a really lot of information to learn, and you don't need to learn it all at once.  So I will just share everything and then take what you need, test it out, if it doesn't work for you post here, it may work for someone else or we can learn from what you did. 

Ya the women who have had children... even a full IM will not top that.  That question is just to focus you.  During my Boston run I coudl have walked any time after mile 20.  I was in that much pain, but I knew what an IM marathon felt like and I knew that my body had the training in it to get the job done.  So I had faith in my body, in my training and knew where the edges were and that I could do just as much as I did and no more or risk going boom and walking. 

Part of harder races is getting to that point.  I am not talking about your first race.  A first race should be a sprint, it should be short, fun, kick your butt and leave you wanting to do it better, faster, longer and leave with a smile on your face.  Undertraining for any event can leave you sore, walking in a bad way and never wanting to do anything like that again.  I knoe a guy from work he undertrained for a marathon got really worked and has not run a day in the past 8 years. 

I see triathlon as a lifestyle, so you build slow, establish habbits and then eventually build.  I started at a 10:30 pace and could jog 1 mile.  Those first 13 miles at a 7:15 pace at Boston felt great, I will get 26.2 there at that pace, eventually. 

You don't have to be competitive in triathlon, everyone is very supportive and just completing the thing, even dead last is really cool and not at all someting folks will mock you for.  Your friends will consider you a hero, it is really pretty cool.  But you do have to get into the habbit of doing something daily run swim or bike.  My days typicaly include two workouts or even 3 in a day. 

To get better at any sport you need 3 workouts a week.  You can maintain a discipline on 2 and can maybe inch swiming ahead on 2 workouts a week, but not running or biking.  I would consier a 3x3x2 a minimal plan for any triathlon.  But, I realize folks have time constraints and if you only have time for 2x2x2 than go with it for your first sprint.  They are short enough that it won't hurt too much, but as you build to an Oly or HIM you can't fudge it. 

Steve - congrats on boston - I really admire how you pushed through! I finally updated my training logs for you to bug me about.  This week was lighter than expected due to work/schedule conflicts and Friday I will be doing the half sprint at the gym (1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 1.5 mile run) as a pre-cursor to the full sprint on May 13th.

As far as hardest physical challenge, I had the same thought as Lisa - childbirth - no comparison!  Haha.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome - Samantha or Carol asked - I'll be 40 in January, so I have a few months to reach my goal.  Since I've started really training - I feel so much younger than I have in years!

One problem that I've been having is that now I'm STARVING all the time and because I workout so much more than before I guess I justify that indulgence - so I think I've started to gain again!  On the flip side - I've been noticing actual muscle, especially in my shoulders (swim?) and legs (of course)

I did have a question about getting fitted for shoes - absolutely necessary? or do it if having problems?  I'm not a runner....yet, so I've never really thought about it.

GU is a company that makes Gels. Powerbar, Hammer, others make gels.  A gel is a small roughly 1.5 oz packet of jelly like substance that has 100 ish calories of sugars, as well as salt, potasium and needed electorlytes.  You use thse typically on runs that are longer than 90 minutes or bike rides longer than 90 minutes.  You need no extra calories during a workout of less than 90 minutes, but for workouts longer than 90 minutes you typically start a gel around 45 to 60 minutes and then one every 30 minutes to 45 mintues there after. 

In the Boston I did 1 GU 15 min before race start, 1 at 45 minutes, 1:15, 1:45, 2:15, 2:45 and could have hit the last one at 3:15, would have if not for the side issues. 

You take water when you eat a gel so you digest it better.  If you do not drink a couple ounces of water with it your gut will take the fluids  out of your blood to help digest it which is bad, or can be if it is hot out.

Yay got my first post mary workout in tonight, a nice easy 2000 yard swim.  Gentle bike ride scheduled for tomorrow and hopefuly I can start walking a bit more fluidly by Friday or Saturday to add in some 2-4 mile walks. 

K I'm done typing for tonight, catch yall tomorrow.

To Carol, Samantha, Marcus, Lisa, Kate, Cheri, Dawn, Ceril, Kenzie, Karen,  Steve, Marc, Troy, Markus,  Dennis and Brian I say hello and thanks for inviting me in Steve.

The hardest thing I've done so far is maybe one of the crossfit workouts, the filthy 50, that I modified to make it unbearable. It's pretty bad as it is. Nothing compared to childbirth though so yeah ladies you most definitely have me beat there.

I had had a question and somebody sorta kinda answered it. But is frestyle what you would consider to be the best stroke in a tri? A follow-up to that is how do I get better at my stroke?

I have been entering my workouts in the training log so if you can't access them let me know what might be wrong and I'd be glad to fix i so you can bug me. If you can see them you'll notice that I am continuing to weight train a little bit. Old habits you know. Is that going to interfere too too much with my tri training? I do have good cardio so...since I can run and bike decent distances already I wasn't going to cut those workouts out until closer to my race date.

And yes that sprint is that one we're talking about, with the longer than normal bike portion. Also much shorter swim.

So, I will read y'all's posts and reply and respond to them. Just running outta time and gotta finish up a few things and get to my training session.

Carol-I’ve roofed in the heat and it really is no joke. I like your enthusiasm-it really shows in your posts. It is very inspiring and gives me a lot of hope!

Samantha-you and I have a lot in common as far as being new to tri, weight loss goals,  having smoked and age…and I too am really excited about being in this group. I can feel good things in our future! We are gonna accomplish a lot with our training and races!!!

Marcus- you’re a beast! You’re being modest I think with your accomplishments and starting point. And you seem like a very motivated individual so I may be asking you how to stick with it when things get tough

Lisa-I applaud you including your kids in your workouts. I know sooooo many people who use that as an excuse.

Karen-thank you so very much for the warm welcome. Your son has an awesome name! Yup I’m a total newbie but totally motivated at getting into the triathlon lifestyle. I’m only a couple days into my training but am excited like I haven’t been in years. It’s gonna be awesome!

I will definitely get to everyone as I would like to get to know you all and have you all get to know me. Until later…nate

Hello all, I would like to join the group.  I have run a couple of tri's and want the additional motivation of a great team.

First name:  Ken

How long you have been training for Triathlons:  I have been training for about a year. 

Family Status (married, single, number of children):  I am married with 3 children.  2 boys and a girl.  25, 21, and 14. 

Date of upcoming race and type of race:  4/30 Sprint Tri, 5/20 Gladiator 5k and many more. 

What your base run/swim/bike distance are per week: My swimming is the worse.  I swim about 1500m, Bike about 40 miles and run around 20 miles. 

Do you have a weight loss goal: Weight is not an issue, nutrition is a different story. 

Are you run/bike or swim focused: Need to be more swim focused.  But that is much easier said than done.  I am not a swimmer at all.  This is a major area of concern for me.  I have been trying to make a concerted effort to improve but I am so totally frustrated.  I would like to step up in competition level but I can not if I can not compete in open water swims.  The distances on the bike and the run are not a concern, but I have to be able to at least finish the swim.

My blog is:  triken318.blogspot.com