KathyG's 2012 Awesome Mentor Group-Full up (Page 3)

I swam.....almost fell getting into the pool and getting out what challenging. I was happy to be in the pool other than confirmation that my shoulder impingement is still an issue.

Bike at Y felt good. I hope to get my bike on CT in next couple days.

Great Tracy....glad to have you here to play with us.

Ann, thanks so much for the links, have put them at the top of my logs.  Here is me

NAME:  Daisymouse/Gwen - I always hate 'Gwen' growing up - it was so old-fashioned and unromantic.  Now though, it's really cool as all my son's kids are into Ben10 (who's cousin is Gwen) and they think it's a great name.  Daisymouse was my Dad's nickname.

STORY:  I'm 49 next month and plan to kick and scream my way through middle-age, no way I'm taking it lying down.  I was brought up in Scotland and have lived in Australia for the last 10 years (part of my middle-age crisis, if you haven't already had one, I can't recommend them highly enough).  I have always commuted by bike and did a bit of mountain biking but mainly climbing and skiing were my big interests.  Moving to a flat hot city meant finding new interests and I did some gym work before falling pregnant against all the odds at 41.  My pregnancy was tough and I put on 27kgs and my adorable son arrived almost 8 years ago.  I found Motherhood particularly challenging and with a baby who slept for no longer than 3 hours for the first year, there was no energy for exercise or even eating properly and the weight never went away.  By the time he started sleeping well, I was back in the gym and trying to decide what to do when a friend mentioned a women's only triathlon, a mini-sprint that she was planning to do and did I want to do it with her?  I had no idea triathlons this short existed; I had heard of Kona but thought it was a sport of crazy super-hero types, not for fat mums.  I hadn't swimmed since school (and in Scotland, I was just taught how to not drown and even that was half-hearted as they knew the hypothermia would get us first) so took some lessons and the tri was a total blast.  I remember looking at the women doing the sprint distance and thinking they were amazing.  I kept up the training, lost weight and did a novice course with a total tri club.  Last year, I did my first sprint distance and marvelled at how far I've come.  I work as a laboratory manager at our local hospital for a lab doing medical research.  Background in science where I was a lab rat for 20 years before doing an MBA (which one day I will finish) and moving into management.

FAMILY STATUS:  Married for 9 years with the Munckin who will be 8 next month.  No pets.

CURRENT TRAINING:  Coming to the end of an Olympic program but not doing the tri as I am still have issues with panic attacks in the water.  Luckily, a local coach has started doing OWS sessions in the river that gives me the screaming heebee jeebees and having done a few last year, I am signed on for the next three months.  The Olympic program only has another couple of weeks to run and then I'll do maintenance at that level for the rest of the season.

2011 RACE:  I didn't do any races in 2011, I started back to work and after 7 years off, found it exhausting and completely lost my tri mojo.  

2012 RACE:  Feb, I have the women's tri which I will always do as it's an amazing atomosphere, doing the sprint distance.  In March I have my tri club's race which is held in a beautiful forest resort, 500m/15km(all hills)/5k trail run.  In October, I have the Ride to Conquer Cancer - a 200km ride over 2 days.  All profits go to the medical research charity I work for.  Triathlon is massive here in Perth and there are about 20 races of varying distances I could do locally over the season.  Main goal is to celebrate my 50th in 2013 with an HIM.

WEIGHTLOSS:  I love my food and having been brought up on a steady diet of fried junk and candy (Scotland in the 60s - there is a reason it's the heart-attack capital of the world) I still find it hard to maintain good habits.  Having a child has made my diet way better though.  I need to lose about 7kgs to get down to my target weight.

LIMITERS:   Every year, we return to the UK for an extended period and my training just goes out the window.  This year we will be away for about 10 weeks, the longest ever and I am trying to work out how to still keep up the workouts, I normally manage to keep running but that's about it.  Other problem is a hubby who works 80 hour weeks (academic who is passionate about his subject and brilliant at what he does) so cannot contribute anything towards domestic duties.  As I refuse to sacrifice time with my son, my house is normally extremely messy but I manage to keep it above the dysentry line.  The garden is way sad though.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOREE:  I totally believe that every day is a learning experience and the best way to learn is from those who have done the hard yards and understand the pressures and compromises necessary.  I have always found Kathy to be very wise with her comments and I know she has an incredible range of life, as well as triathlon experience to draw on and I look forward to soaking it all up.  We seem to be a diverse and interesting group of people who I look forward to getting to know better.  Being here at the bottom of the world, I hope I can help maybe give a different perspective on life and triathlon.

Thanks Kathy!  Glad to be here!

I'm going on a 10 mile run today.  Not sure where I'm going to go, though.  May try to convince the family that it would be fun to visit a local trail.

I'll post my bio later today.  Cheers! 

Hi Kathy,

I'd like to join your group. I've always enjoyed exercise, but was never fully committed to one discipline. Recently, there have been a few changes in my life. I turned the big 4-0 and moved into Manhattan after living outside of the city. It amazes me how fitness focused a metropolis such as NYC is! I made a new friend this year who has done a Sprint tri and is doing the NYC triathlon in July 2012.

As fate should have it, the lottery opened up for the NYC tri, I entered my name and was picked!!  Now, I'm in the "oh " mode. As I'm not a swimmer and have started taking swimming lessons. I've also started to read up on tri's, but not entirely sure when and how to begin training. I'd like to do a Sprint triathlon before NYC tri to get my feet wet. 

I stumbled upon the Beginner Triathlete website and it seems cool, but I'm not really sure how this program works. It's nice to know I'm not the only newbie and I'm also impressed with all of the tri veteran's experience and diversity.  I'm all about trying new things, meeting new people, meeting this challenge, (I kinda like how "I'm a triathlete" sounds) and having fun!!!

You seem awesome. I'd love in to join your group. What's next?

Andrea

Hello,

 I am interested in being a part of this group!  I'm new to triathlons, I just got hooked last year.  I'm 100% addicted and love the sport.     

I have (another) long trainer ride that I'm splitting in two so I can run a 5K with my friend Erica.  Erica gave birth on October 5 th and this is her first post-pregnancy race.  Its an easy run for me but I'm going to see how hard I can push her. 

Andrea.....welcome to the group!

We'll share more what's next later today. Off to duckpin bowl with my family now.

Great to have you with us.

We have room for one more person.

Josh, we'd love to have you part of our group. We'll get you working out again. I hear you got a new job...do you like it?

We are now officially full.

New table for you! (I have no idea why we get this big space before it appears, but there you go:

Ann - thanks a million for the table - included in my blog.

This was a great training weekend for me, capping off a 4 weeks away from the office and classroom.Yesterday we rode 5+ hours in the mountains and finished with a little over 8000' feet of climbing. Temps were mid to high 40's (at the top of the gaps it was a little chillier) and it sprinkled rain off and on all day which made the descents a little slick but not too hairy. Today we had a 3 hour walk (turned out to be 10 miles) and just beat the rain back to the house. I get a long walk thrown in here and there instead of a run simply to get the time on my feet without all the pounding. For me I have found that running longer than 2.5 hours is counter productive - just too much wear and tear and injury risk for me. This was my first 21+ hour week in forever, and I feel great!

This coming week is a recovery week, but work will take the focus once again - so the timing couldn't be better.

Welcome to all the new folks - I look forward to getting to know you all over the next several months!

NAME: Tracy

STORY: I started running when I graduated from college about 15 years ago.  I had some extra time and I just needed a way to release some energy.  I didn't have any thoughts of racing due to a demanding and very physical job as a wildlife biologist.  (Yep, that's where my BT name comes from.)  At some point, I decided that I wanted to run a half marathon.  Not sure why.  I tested the waters by running some 5Ks and 5 mile races.  I discovered that I didn't suck at running.  I finished my first half marathon right on the 2 hour mark with very little formal training.  Right around that time, I decided that I'd like to up the ante and do a triathlon.  I didn't know how to swim any better than a doggy paddle and I didn't own a bike.  Then my life turned upside down.  Bad relationship.....blah, blah, blah.  After I regained my sense of self and moved and new job, I bought a road bike and started taking swimming lessons.  I discovered BT about a week after my first sprint triathlon and the rest is history.  I've been doing that particular sprint tri every year since 2006!

FAMILY STATUS: Finally found a great guy that understands my impulsive nature.  He's a runner, too.  We've been married for 4 years and we have a wonderful 2.5 year old son.  We also share our little bit of paradise with 2 dogs, 1 cat and 6 chickens.

CURRENT TRAINING:  I mentioned I'm impulsive, right?  I'm a bit OCD about my training schedule, too.  I do not vary from my schedule due to childcare constraints.  I'm a stay-at-home-mommy now.  I teach a few Spinning classes and do some personal training but I only make enough money to fuel my triathlon obsession.  Anyway, my self-coached schedule includes 3 swims, 4 bike rides, and 5 runs on most weeks.  If I miss a workout, I skip it and don't worry about it.  I tend to skip swimming a lot.  I HATE swimming!  I SUCK!  Hmmmm....let's follow that up by saying that I will be completing my 200 hour training in becoming a yoga instructor in February.  I hope to bring yoga to all of the athletes and inflexible people in my life.  Namaste.

2011 RACES: We have a wonderful running club in my area.  I did a lot of running races.  I did my annual sprint tri (Deschutes Dash) in Bend, OR and ended up with the second fastest women's bike split.  I ended up with second in my age group, too.  I also came in middle of the pack in the swim at that race for the first time EVER!  (I hate swimming.)  I did another local sprint tri and took first female.  I attribute my tri success to the bike split.  I wish I had discovered cycling earlier.  Sometimes you never know where your strengths are going to arise.  I also did a couple of bike time trials and secured my age group records.  I, also, did a few 100K rides/races.

2012 RACES: I plan on doing lots of local running races again.  (Once a runner, always a runner.)  I'm going to do a couple of time trials and try to secure the women's course record.  (I need to shave about 30 seconds off my fastest time on the course.)  I'll do that same sprint tri as usual in Bend, OR.  I might throw in an Olympic distance and a HIM if funds are available.  I try to make sure my running and cycling are over-distance for Oly races.  I'll, probably, do those 100K rides again this year.  I might throw in a criterium in the fall.

WEIGHTLOSS: Wow!  This is kinda loaded!  I've never been "overweight."  I've almost always been higher than racing weight, though.  I gained 38 pounds when I was pregnant.  Currently, I am 13 pounds less than when I got pregnant.  If I lost 5 pounds, I would be at a weight that I think would be good for me.  If I lost 10 to 15 pounds, I would be at racing weight.  I'm not stressing, though.  I'm super happy with my current weight.  I eat healthy stuff most of the time and bad stuff occasionally.  I like the balance.  I do not diet.  I love food too much.  That's why I'm OCD about running and cycling.

WHY WILL I BE A GOOD MENTEE?: I love BT!  I'm on here just about every day.  I'm looking for a group/mentor that can kick my arse and get me to somewhat enjoy swimming enough to make me want to go for higher women's placement at big triathlons.  I love Kathy's input on threads.  I know she has a lot of beneficial knowledge that might help all of us mentees' bust through our training and or weight loss issues.

Hey Kathy - I am afraid that the answer to your question about bike numbers is not very exciting - I really have not had that many, unless I count all the ones I had as a kid! My tri bike is 4 years old (I *might* get a new one next year - IM training sure takes a toll on a bike...). I do almost all of my own wrenching on my bikes (and just about everything else we own, for better or [mostly] worse!) So my bike frames last a reaaaaallllly long time - even though I upgrade and swap out stuff on them all the time. I purchased my most recent road bike in 1994~1995, believe it or not (Trek OCLV - probably the last bike to win both the Tour and Kona). I have gone through a few mountain bikes and would love to get a new one, but I have recovered really well from my crash at Lake Placid and the doc has warned me that another crash and I may not be so lucky - probably would mean shoulder surgery. So that will wait until I change my focus from this IM thing. I would love, love, love to get a cross bike - you ride cross some, don't you?

Now all that said - it is funny that you asked this question on Friday, because I had literally just ordered a new road bike about an hour before. My trek was almost always set up as a tribike, and it never really fit me well as a straight-up roadie. I haven't done any group rides in about 3 years, and my coach wants me to start again through the spring. I looked into what t would take to bring the trek into the 21st century, and it was just way to much money for a bike that still would not be a great fit. So I pick up a new bike next Friday if I can get back to town in time. It is a little traumatic putting a bike out to pasture, I am embarrassed to admit. It is silly how attached we get to those things. Just imagine if we had the same attachment to our running shoes???

Would enjoy talking with you about architectural education and the profession. It is not for everyone, but I would do it for free if my wife would let me! PM me whenever you have time and we can email and/or speak on the phone.

Rusty,

What type of road bike did you order? Parts?

New bikes are so much fun

I wish I had a friend like you local that could teach me to wrench more. I do what I can and try to do more each year.

Tracy,

I love that you found your inner biker chick. Being so close to setting more bike split/time records is wicked cool (sorry a bit of Boston talk).

Looks like last year you made some swim gains despite not loving the sport. For some of us swimming just comes harder than others.  I have had many swim coaches, private lessons, group lessons and still not much better. I sort of except it is the way it is.

Do you do running races during the winter and spring while tris aren't an option or do them all year long?

With self coaching, how do you set up your workouts with intensity or how they are structured within the 3S/4B/5Rs per week?

How did it go?