Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 3)

Stu

And now for a brief public service announcement regarding administrative doodads...

1) Heidi and I want to encourage everyone to log their workouts using the BT logs on the site.  It's fairly easy to use, well organized, and will allow all of us to follow your progress.

2) When you have the chance, please make sure you add everyone in the group as a "friend" in BT.  This is especially important for those who have restricted logs, otherwise we can't follow your logs or send you "inspires".

3) As soon as we fill up, I will put together a summary table of everyone in the group.

4) As those of you from our January group know, I'm a big believer in setting goals and keeping track of your progress and reflecting on them along the way.  Take a gander at my training log for one approach you might use (a mixture of 1-2 year / long term and monthly goals).  Anyway, with each new month we typically share our goals with the group and reflect on how we did on the previous month's goals.  Setting goals is not for everyone as for some it takes the fun out of the process or one might have a negative reaction to setting expectations.   I totally get that and I leave it to your judgement as to what is best for you.  This is your journey and we're all here to help you... let us know how best to do that :-)

5) Just a reminder - the biggest obstacle to having a great training and race experience is injury.  Don't go overboard in the first couple of weeks... ease your way into the training if you're just getting started.  Establish good routines.  Enjoy the process.  Create new habits.  #1 cause of injuries is overdoing it, so if you don't have a beginner to X plan, think about getting one.  If you're just starting to run, do a nice mix of run / walk (and make sure you are fitted for shoes - not just a cheap RackRoom pair - I speak from experience!).  Remember to stretch, warm-up and cool down... make it part of your routine.

6) Those of you who are new to BT - welcome.  It's a great place filled with fabulous people and resources.  When I think of it, I'll try to point you to some of those resources... but don't be afraid to ask!

- Stu

Yes I did notice in my first swim session already that it felt like a good workout for my back.  So I'm looking forward to getting more swim time in for that added benefit.  I have done PT in the past but it's been a little while.  I remember all my exercises though so it probably would be a good idea for me to start doing those again.

I did debate a little at first if I should take some time off yoga to allow for an extra day of swim, bike or run but I figured the benefit my body gets from the one day of yoga would probably be far greater than having an extra day of one of the other activities.  It's definitely really great stuff, I highly recommend it to all.

Hello all!

I just got back from a night at Urgent Care with my 8 year old. She jumped off the swing at it's highest point (Because her cousin told her girls are too afraid to do it), and fell directly on her face and wrist....She makes her Momma proud.  

It looks like she might have broken the growth plate in her wrist (x-rays aren't conclusive, but physical exam shows it's a good possibility). No serious injury to face, neck or back. Just a mouth full of wood chips, and what looks like rug burn on her face.

Anyway, I missed my planned workout, as a result. And, that's the perfect example of why we're all MOP's.

And, I'm sortof tired. So, I'll respond to all our new MOP's tomorrow. good night all.

Erin -

Welcome aboard! Yes, I did the Tri for a Cure last year and I had a great race. One of the things that I didn't do, and hopefully you won't make this mistake, was practice enough in the open water. I am very comfortable in the lake, but there is something about sticking your face in the freezing cold Maine ocean water that made me uncomfortable. It was also my first experience with a large swim wave (waves were split up by age group), and I didn't have great positioning in the lineup, so I fought through the crowd until halfway to the first marker.

The bike portion is beautiful, and the run as well. There is an excellent amount of support from the crowds the day of. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer the year prior, so the race was emotional for me. In a good way!

I took some great advice from a friend and entered into the Norway Tri, it is a small, well managed, very laid back triathlon. I highly recommend it for your first time. The swim waves are small, the lake is usually warm (no wet suit), and there is no pressure. I will be doing that race again this year.

I too find it difficult to find pool swim time, right now, I swim at the YWCA in Lewiston and they have opened up several afternoons of lap swim. I'm sure by early June I will be looking for more open water experience.

Welcome again, it's nice to have another Mainer in the group.

Christine

Oh No, hope she is alright.

Story time…

I was 11, my brother was 8, and my mom was a stay at home mom at the time.  I come home from school and mom and brother are not there, which is unusual.  It’s getting later and now dad should be home, he’s not there.  He I am wondering what happened to everyone, it’s getting dark, and no dinner is being made (I know, but that is what I was thinking).  Finally get a call from my dad that my brother had an accident at school and they were at the emergency room and will be home shortly.  OK, at least now I know my family wasn’t abducted by aliens (just roll with it).  In comes my brother with BOTH arms in full casts.  Yes, he was playing superman by jumping off the swing at its highest point.

Part 2, which I didn’t fully appreciate until I had my own kids.

Question: How long does it take to convince the insurance company that; no we are not trying to double bill you and yes the boy did break his LEFT arm and RIGHT arm on the same day?

Answer: 6 months

Part 3:  A little brother with two broken arms is highly amusing.  Imagine eating, dressing, bathroom, etc without being able to bend your arms at the elbow.

-Steve

Thanks for the input Rachel. I agree,  my goals at this point are more about showing up for training and get a minimum amount of minutes, and don't worry about distance.  I listen to my body (and heart monitor) for level of effort and I have no problem going to a walk or start spinning those lower gears.  I trust the miles will come in time.  I will head to the running store Friday to get the right shoes.

-Steve

Heidi - hope your PF Flyer is not in too much pain today and that you can get a good round of training in.

I had a good spin class this morning and now I begin my mini-taper for Sunday's race which basically means taking Saturday off and only a swim tomorrow.  In order to taper you have to have something to taper from, and I've been mainly out of commission in April.  Anyway, I'm psyched for my first tri of the year (Sprint).  This is kind of a cool one where you race for an "Angel" and they announce their name at the pool start.

I know Andrea has a 5K this weekend (in Litchfield - beautiful area!).  Anyone else racing this weekend?

The weather in Virginia has been crazy recently... more tornados last night and early this morning, but looks like things are clearing out now :-)

I don't think I ever answered Rach's great question about favorite and least favorite parts of triathlons/training.  Favorite part I had to think about for awhile, but on Tuesday I realized what it was.  I had one of those days where I accomplished absolutely nothing at work/home.. and it wasn't for lack of trying, but various technologies kept frustrating me... however, thanks to triathlon training I did accomplish something - and that really helped my outlook.  So, my favorite part of it is always feeling good when I log a workout.  Least favorite part is transitions.  I hate them... and because I hate them, I don't practice them.  So, I am going to practice on Saturday for a change.  I have maybe 1 min in T1 that I could capture if I focused better.  As my mentor last year always reminded me, "that's free time" to gain in the transitions.  I'm always BoP in my T1 ranking.  Time to change that!

How about the rest of you?  Fav/Least Fav.  Maybe for some it is too early to know, so perhaps you might let us know your inspiration to do tris rather than something like mud-wrestling or ambulance chasing (speaking of mud, have any of you seen/done those Muddy Buddy or Warrior Dashes?  They seem to have an appeal for my BIL).

Have a great day everyone!

Stu

Heidi - wow, I hope your daughter is okay.  I broke my arm/wrist a couple of years ago (snowboarding - I was doing something insane!), and I'd forgotten up till that point a) how painful it is and b) how difficult it is to do stuff with one arm.  But like Steve, I know someone who's broken both arms at the same time, so I guess it can always be worse...

As predicted I've had a weird week for training.  I managed a 12 mile run yesterday around the holiday village where we're staying, which was great (and really flat).  Unfortunately I've come out of it with some unexpected heal pain, which I'm trying to work out how to deal with.  I guess I'll be speaking to my physio again in the next couple of days. 

Today i got to do some "open water swimming".  They've got a water cable ski set up here, where you can do knee-boarding, wakeboarding and water skiing on a cable system.  I decided to try it out.  I'm fairly certain I spent more time swimming back from the various places I face-planted in the water than I actually did on any of the boards, but never mind.  I also landed up with an impressive split lip when I went under and managed to come back up with my face against my board.  I think I scared a few people when I walked back to the start with my chin covered in blood (I hadn't realised how bad it looked until I saw the photo Kevin had taken!).  So I guess wakeboarding isn't for me.  But it made me a lot more confident about swimming in a lake.  The temperature wasn't as bad as I was expecting, and the only reason I didn't manage some proper swimming was that I had to drag my board back with me each time.  It's good that I'm feeling good about lake swimming because our open water swim sessions start on Tuesday (bought a wetsuit last weekend), and the first tri with an open water swim is in june, so rapidly approaching.  The open water swim is probably this year's biggest unknown, and so the thing that's scaring me the most, but hopefully the training will sort that out.  Anyone got any useful knowledge to share?

I want to join!!

NAME: Matt

 STORY: I'm a total tri newbie with my first being this August 27.  I turned 35 this month and decided that I wanted to start running so that I could finish a few 5k races with my kids this summer.  After running jogging a few months, for some reason tri sounded like it could be very rewarding if my body will hold up.  I have competed in several diffent sports in the past which have taken a toll on a few of my joints but none of them were endurance sports.  I am looking forward to the challenge of finishing my first tri and enjoying the adventure! 

FAMILY STATUS:  I am married with 4 children so you can imagine how crazy our schedule can be with all four of them in different sports!  Two boys at the age of 13 & 11 and girls aged at 9 & 3.   My boys run cross country in Middle School and kind of got me started on this crazy journey.

TRI EXPERIENCE (if any):  Nothing yet

CURRENT TRAINING: I started doing a slightly modified verison of the "Your 1st Sprint Triathlon Plan" by Lance Watson that was published in the May edition of Triathlete magazine.  Started on Monday.

PLANNED RACES FOR 2011: Bear Lake Sprint

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS (if any): This has not been a problem for me yet. 

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE MENTOR GROUP WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU and WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP:  I will need help with commitment to train as well as asking people questions that are facing some of the same challenges or have already been there and done it.  I'm hopeful to bring support and a positive attitude to the group.

Hi Matt and Welcome to MoP (and BT).  The things kids will get you into :-)  I'm thinking that you and your wife must have quite the taxi service going right about now!  Glad you've got a plan to follow - that's really helpful for 1st timers and you've got plenty of time to prepare.  Maybe you'll be able to keep up with your boys by August (or who knows, they might join you).

Whereabouts is Bear Lake?

-Stu

 Hi Stu and the group,

I have been out of the loop with a crazy work schedule but I'm back! I can't remember how to join the training group so can you let me know if I'm already in the group or I have to do something? Once the weekend gets here I will fill out the list of items and tell you all where I am with my training. Short story is I'm a professor and this is hell month! It will all be over soon and hopefully my achilles tendon issues will be healed soon too!

Joanne

Welcome back Joanne - good to see your smiling face again.  Good luck with hell month.  Think of it as mental training for long course ;-) 

Stu

P.S.  You've just joined.  Now get that achilles healed up.

Christine and Rach were asking about HIM nutrition.

Here's a link to an article by Matt Fitzgerald which I think is a good place to start - primarily because he is advocating a very simple approach. I think it is a good place to start before getting all excited about the various products out there.

HIM Nutrition

The most important advice (which I think Rach mentioned as well) is to train with what you race with so there are no surprises on race day.  Surprises on race day due to nutrition are generally not good surprises if you get my drift ;-)

Also good to check with the race director with what they'll provide on the course.  Nice to know if that will work for you as well.  In my HIM we had Heed bottles on the bike (two stops)... would have been helpful for me to have tried that out in advance.  As it was, I found out on the bike that I wasn't a particular fan of Heed :-)

Stu

P.S. Fitzgerald's book on "Racing Lean" is a pretty good general nutrition book for training.  As I do with most books, I borrowed some general ideas, but didn't follow it :-)

Welcome aboard Matt!

-Steve

Thanks Stu! I can appreciate the minimalist approach to nutrition during the race. I am one who has been prone to issues, specifically with regards to nutrition, less may be better.

Last year a group of us ran Ragnar NY (185 mile relay), and we had two seriously ill runners after their first legs. We have determined possible causes were heat, overhydration, and food consumed during the race. Our approach this year will be nutrition focused. One of the more memorable quotes from the relay was, "If someone pukes in the van, that's a game changer." Fortunately, that never happened. :-D

Everyone - I am thrilled it is Friday, work is much more relaxed! It looks like I will survive my Week 1 1/2 IM training without issue (134 days and counting). I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Well, I did my first swim training yesterday afternoon.  Last time I did any swim training I was 18 (26 years ago).

The Good (I think), I was timing in at 50 sec for 50 yards.

The not as good (or opportunity for improvement), I could only swim 50 yards at a time and needed a 1 minute break between 50’s.  I did get 8 50’s in before my muscles just couldn’t go any more.

I found that I didn’t really want to slow down or I would be chopping my stroke.  I thought it would be better to have good form (long, slow full stokes) and take more rest breaks.  Am I doing that right?

Anyway, the goal was to show up and put some minutes in.  So I pass.

-Steve

Congradulations Christine on Week 1,  job well done.

and TGIF everyone

-Steve

Rach, no doubt your open water swim sessions will be a huge benefit.  A couple of thoughts on OWS vs. the pool:

a) The wave start to the first turn tends to be (for me) the most problematic part of the swim.  Everyone is jockeying for position, etc. and then at the turn buoy a group that might have been spread out by 100 yards or so at the beginning is now heading for a 3 ft wide tight corner on the buoy.  This part of the race is where you tend to get kicked and/or swum over.  From what I understand, women are generally much more orderly and nice about it than guys :-)  Anyway, my approach has been to go out to the deep water for the start (ours for some reason are not usually beach starts) and start toward the back.  It seems that the better swimmers are out there.  My biggest concern is getting kicked in the head.  It seems that once I get by the first turn things space out pretty nicely and then I can enjoy the swim.

b) Sighting.  Unfortunately, there's no lane at the bottom of the lake or ocean to follow, so you have to learn sighting skills.  As soon as I learn them, I'll let you know ;-)  Seriously though, if you don't do breaststroke (which tends to be slower and prone to kicking someone in the head), you'll have to work on sighting.  Not taking a more direct route on the course can add alot of time and effort.  So, if you're swimming in a pool, take one of your sets each week and add swimming with your head out of the water where you can focus on something on the other side of the pool and keep moving forward without losing too much momentum.  It's not that easy to do for most people at first, so it is worth practicing before the race.

c) RELAX.  Okay, given all the issues above (plus plenty of others) it is easy to get anxious on the swim, especially if that leg isn't your strength.  I've been doing some experiments in my pool workouts recently and I've found that I can swim really hard and come in about 15 seconds faster on a 300 than if I just take it very easy with long, slow strokes.  So, the difference at the end of that 300 yards is I can be 15 seconds faster and gasping for air or I can come in a little slower and feel like I just warmed up for the bike.  This is an easy trade-off.  I'm guessing that at 700 yards (Sprint in lake) it would turn out that my relaxed approach would actually be about the same in terms of time, and at a mile (OLY or HIM) it would actually be faster.  But this is just a working hypothesis at this point :-)  I was a sprinter swimmer in high school and it has been tough to get that out of my system.  I'll let you know on Sunday if the strategy pays dividends.

Have a great day everyone... speaking of swims, that's what's I've got on tap for lunch.  What's the plan for the rest of you?

Stu

Hi Grisel,

Are you logs up to date for 2011?  (just want to make sure I know what your training has been up to now)... and what is the length of the triathlon in June?

I've got to run to work, but I'll check back with you later today :-)

Stu

Stu and Group,

Thanks for welcoming me to the group.....I am loooking forward to this.  You are absolutely spot on about the Taxi service!!  I usually visit thi site late at night unless I have a few minutes at work during the day.  The Bear Lake sprint is in Garden City, UT.  Here is the website: http://www.bearlakebrawl.com/index.html 

I've got a swim at lunch today then a run tonight.  Nothing on Sat except driving all over the area for my Mom (airport) and son (soccer game, swim lesson, birthday party)!  5K on Sun.

-Andrea

Hi Stu and Hiedi,

I am still here alive and kicking....have my first race this weekend in Napa!  Can't wait, spending today getting ready and packing.  I attained one of my goals and survived Pre-cal!  Whew what a releif!

NAME:  Cynthia Olivo
STORY: I started this crazy tri sport last year. At the end of the summer in 2009 my daughter while visiting us with our grandson convinced me to swim a lap in the pool at the Naval base here in Nevada.  I about died it was so hard.  At the same time I was watching those Ironman Championships replay all summer long.  So many amazing people doing this, I was in awe of their spirit.  By the beginning of fall it was Sister Madonna who was the one that really spoke to me.  Watching that Ironman, sitting on my bed eating potato chips, she moved me.  Throwing down my chips, I said, "Alright Sister Madonna! I'll do it!". 

I really did not know how to swim, I hated running...calling it running is a stretch, it really is a jog and I did not own a bike for the first 8 months of my training, I used the stationary bike at the base gym.  I did eventually buy a pair of running shoes, purchased my bike about  2 weeks before my first race and watched a lot of swimming videos.

And so it began this fun, hard but great adventure. I also work at the University of Nevada, Reno...been there about a year.  I took the job, which is about 70 miles from home, to help pay for my training gear.  Benefits?  I recently purchased a pair of Sedi bike shoes! Cons? High stress job and I am away from home for twelve hours a day!  Still working out the kinks on training and timing.  I also took two courses at UNR and only have one final to complete and that will add more time for training.  Looking forward to better weather, this week is our spring, three days of low 70s and the fourt we'll be in the 80's.  This So Cal girl likes one season all year!

AMILY STATUS: Married 26 years, hitting 27 this July!  He is amazingly supportive.  Chris gets the training and desire, he was a competive bodybuilder in his 20s.  We have three daughters, one married with a son (my g-son is a punk and a half but the love I have for that kid is overwhelming).  Two  daughters that rebounded from college and are back at home... they are fun and great but they need to get out of my house.  Actually this summer they will be going to Florida, one to go to school and play basketball the other for moral support. Woo hoo!

TRI EXPERIENCE (if any): I have competed in two triathlons and one century ride.  All were amazing and very positive experiences.  I did our local tri, which was my first, The Dust Devil, and I even podiumed for our age group! I got third...okay well there were only three of us in there but whatever!  Then I did the IronGirl in Tahoe!  That was a beautiful race!  Then the night before the century ride, here in Fallon, I decided to do the ride.  At the time I had never ridden over 25 miles.  Mister supportive, my husband, told me to just do it and when I can't peddal anymore just call home and someone will come get me...he knew all along I would finish the race!

CURRENT TRAINING: I recently up'd my training for an Olympic distance.  Maybe did a bit too much and the first two weeks were great, hard but good, and then I got sick...I think I have an infection, Dr. thinks I was working too hard...I have no medical degree but we'll see!  Long answer short..still adjusting my training for my Olympic distance in June.

PLANNED RACES FOR 2011: Napa Tri, Dust Devil, Iron Girl, San Francisco Olympic,(that is my A race this year) and then I can't remember what else.

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS (if any): I would like to lose 15 to 20 well actually, I have loss 5 so 15.  I am told I look really athletic and I would like to be as athletic as I look.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE MENTOR GROUP WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU and WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP:
This group is great!  During the last season I feel I made some great friends and had a place to go to hear about others and their ups and downs....my kids do get tired of hearing about my training.  And Mr. Supportive would love to hear about it and discuss nutrition but our schedules are oppisite and we really don't see eachother enough to discuss nutrition all the time.

Happy racing everyone!

This is a recovery week for me, so I've had shorter workouts and today I tried to combine a swim & bike (on the spinner at the gym) for the 1st time. The pool at the gym is a weird length (22.5 yds, so you may notice that my distances are usually multiples of 45 - it's not a miscalculation).

As I suspected, I definitely need some different clothing because it took me a solid 3 minutes (and multiple attempts) to get the sports bra over my head & pulled down over my partially dried off self/swimsuit.  I was just glad I was alone in the pool area & the teenage lifeguard wasn't paying any attention to me since I'm sure I looked ridiculous (I felt it).  Given how long it took to get the extra stuff on after partially drying off, I had to cut my bike super short so I could still make my 9am appointment. 

However, my training week starts on Saturday, so I'm supposed to do my "long" bike tomorrow anyway and I'm hoping to do it on my real bike - and maybe even on a road.