Fred D and Jason's (Tri808) Half Ironman Mentor Group CLOSED! (Page 3)

Name, etc: Arend, age 38, married for 12 years to Tabatha.  No kids, 3 dogs.
Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada
Job: I sit at a desk all day doing IT work.  Senior Technical Adviser is my official title...

Story: I was a swimmer as a kid, up to when I was 21 or so.  Somewhere near the end I got a bit of burnout and pretty much quit cold turkey and didn't really get in a pool again for about 12 years.  During that time I did very little that could be considered exercise, just the occasional bike ride and some golf (I walked at least, no cart - lol).  Then at some point I looked at the results of a local triathlon and saw that a couple of my old swim buddies had done the race and it made me think I should try it too.  I set a goal of doing that race the next year.  That was a year of frustration for me as I could not figure out how to run without my knees and shins being in agony.  I finally ended up at a sports physio who straightened me out - literally, as I was running and walking with my feet pointed out about 45 degrees.  As a result, I did not do the race that next year.  Once I finally was able to run some, I started racing and haven't looked back.  I've done lots of sprints and olympics and last year I tackled IMMT.  It went about as well as I expected, great swim, bike was right on target power and then I suffered horribly on the last 10k of the run - having never run longer than 26k in training.

2013 races: I ran a HM in Feb (1:38:02 - 10 min PR), doing a 5k/20k/5k duathlon this weekend, Mont Tremblant 70.3 in June (watch out Fred - lol), another HIM in late august or early Sept - likely Rev3 Olde Orchard Beach in Maine.  I will also do some local shorter stuff in there as well, exact races TBD.

Weight loss: I raced at 165 last year, this year I am trying 160 and am there now.  Well, maybe not this morning after the burger, fries and ice cream I ate last night.  

Current training: I hired a coach (Shane - gsmacleod here on BT) in Sept to see what I could accomplish in racing this year.  So far it has been going fantastic - the 10' PR in the HM in Feb was a great indicator.  I am very excited to see how the work I have done over the winter will translate into results.  My typical weekly training right now is 2-3 swims, 3 times on the bike and 6-7 runs.  Swims are mostly done with the local kids swim team - they push me pretty hard to say the least.

Thanks for having me in the group.

5 mile run on the path yesterday working with RPE and a HRM to find some comfortable pacing. Felt like I could've run all night. I'm going to perform a LT test soon to get my zones dialed. Right now I'm melting off the snow on my legs from the Winter. I keep VERY VERY VERY active with skiing (I'm not your average recreational skier) but I always seem to go out too hard in the Spring and get injured from running. So I'm starting off slow and steady. Got a great 30 minute core workout in too.   

My boss forgot his keys and sent me home for an hour, at which time I should have gone out on the bike, but was looking for another job instead (boss is closing the doors to his business). Will get out today. Need to swim too, but I think I'll do that Saturday. I can't wait for the lakes to warm up so I don't have to train on the pool schedules. For now it's trying to go swimming when lap time and life schedule line up just right. 

Would love to join you this year!

Name: Melissa, 31
Location: Chicago
Profession: Magazine editor

Story: I raced my first triathlon, as a relay with my mom and sister, 4 years ago and got hooked. Did short course seasons in 2010 and 2011, and then made the jump to a half ironman last year (Racine).

Family Status: Married for 3 years and we have one dog (you can probably guess the breed)

2013 Goals: Three HIMs – one in Ohio in May, back in Racine in July (this would be my A race) and then one in Iowa in August. I bought a tri bike back in January and have completed Jorge’s winter
bike program on the trainer, so I’m hoping to see some improvement in this distance this year. Other than triathlon, I’ve done a marathon relay a few weeks ago, which was super fun. I’m not signed up for anything else at this time, but I’m debating adding a late season Oly and some half marathons. Not sure yet.

Weight Loss: I currently weigh 129 and would like to get down on the low 120s this year. I raced last year at 124 and I put on too much winter weight, I’m afraid. I’m having trouble getting lower than 128. Every time I get to that weight I just balloon up again.

Current Training: I do group training. Group swim on Tuesdays, group run on Thursdays and then
group bike/run on Saturdays. Our coaches give us a training sked for the rest of the week, which I usually do on my own or I may buddy up with another person for a long run. I’m getting over a case of plantar fasciitis in both feet, which I developed back in Aug/Sept. last year, continued running and made it worse, and then took some time off. I’m coming back to running and my endurance
still seems to be there, but the speed is not. My limiting factors to training would be that I live smack in the middle of the city (lots of traffic, stoplights and the flattest land you can imagine) and I don’t have a car/don’t drive, so my bike routes take a while before I have some open roads.

Looks like were live!

Welcome Charles and Melissa.

Sorry about my paragraph-less post. I posted from my phone, and the returns somehow disappeared. Tried to edit on my computer, but it's been more than 30 minutes.

I promise to use paragraphs in the future and look forward to everyone's race input.

After taking a few days off post-HIM (more due to work commitments than to recovery), I've put in a couple of swims and will have my first run this afternoon.

My first question.  What are the benefits/downsides for using an IM training program for a half vs. a HIM specific plan.  Just intensity? In the past I have used Oly programs to get ready for a sprint, and it seemed to work well at the time.

Last year I used a HIM plan from here.

This one I believe:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=52

I was thinking about using Fink-Be iron fit for my Oct HIM. Maybe I just like the long build and the day specific workouts?

Thoughts?

Keep in mind that I have never done an IM, but IMO, I don't think using an IM plan is the best idea for HIM prep.  I do however believe that HIM plans tend to work well for Olys, and even HIM plans for sprints.

The reason for my thinking is that 95% of us never really "race" an IM (we race against ourselves, but not really putting the hammer down the whole race).  And most IM training plans are designed to just get you across the finish line.  Even those who are going sub 11 hours for an IM are likely doing a bit of walking during the run and are running well below their open marathon pace.

I think it's perfectly fine to add volume to an existing HIM plan as you see fit, but I think at a certain point you're better off adding intensity to a HIM plan than way more volume that an IM plan would involve.

Thanks Jason, that makes sense!!!

Conversely, keep in mind that I have done an IM but not a HIM...

What Jason said makes sense.  I don't think the plan that I followed for my IM would have properly prepared me for the intensity level of a HIM.  It sure as heck would have been enough to complete it (obviously) but I don't think it would be the best option.

Nice PR!!

I'm looking at Old Orchard as the possible late season HIM, should everything go well leading up to it (will decide early August).  Any idea if Rev's sell out quickly?  I'm not familiar with the series other than the name and that they don't go as quickly as IM branded races, so wondering if it's worth it to drop the coin and preserve the option...

Also interested to hear more, as we go along, about your experience with the coach.  Sounds like we have a couple different perspectives in the group (self-org, work of a generic plan and self-customize, work with a coach), so I'm looking forward to learning how it works for people!

Matt

Interesting question.  I'll start out by saying that the IM plan I followed last year probably was not the right one for me at all. I think it was designed for someone who was already a strong runner, which I am not.

That said, a lot of my IM bike rides were pretty much just long rides in Z2 with a small mix of intensity thrown in.  It also made it difficult that it was an HR based plan and I use a power meter (did I mention it was the wrong plan for me? LOL) so I had to do some guesstimation quite often.  So far this year I've managed to get two outdoor longer rides in and they have been at a much higher intensity - something much more in or above the range I would likely do the HIM in.

Fred/Jason,

Are you still accepting entrants to this group?  I ask bc my logs are also semi-private only to my friends.  Once we have a final list of everyone in this forum, I'll add everyone into my friend list so that they can see my blogs.

I'm pretty sure it didn't sell out last year (might have been the first year for it?).  I think they post updates on their Facebook page if something is getting close to sellout status though.

Disclaimer - haven't done a HIM (heck, haven't yet done an Oly!), so take my tuppence for what it's worth (tuppence is likely an over-valuation).

My general take on the group activities is that they are:

- Fun.  Social motivation is a great thing, IF you're put together that way (I am, sometimes)

- Great for pushing me.  This applies on the bike for skills and ballistic efforts, the run for motivation (I think races during training are good examples!) - and I haven't done swims yet, but plan to soon

- Impediments to hitting your target workouts, if they don't mesh perfectly with your plan (and the NEVER seem to).  Trying to win town line sprints or crack people on hills is quite different than riding 235W for 90' or 3x10' intervals...

So, I try to balance the three factors above.  The ratio is likely different for everyone, but for me the occassional group ride/run (or even just a long one with my wife, even though we're slightly different paces) is totally worth it.  It's like dessert - great in moderation and not something I'll skip just because I do tri's - but that's just MY balance point.  YMMV

Matt

Awesome!  Congrats - how was it?  Interested by what the first one was like...

And as for responses to mid-life crises, as expensive as bikes are, this is one of the cheaper kinds I've seen. 

Matt

AFAIK, we are still accepting.  I think we anticipate this to be a fairly large group, but I don't know if we actually have a cap number in mind. 

Are you guys still accepting entrants?  If so, I'd like in!  Otherwise at least the below will be written up and I can copy/paste elsewhere

Name/Bio: Joe, 30, married with two kids (3 year old daughter, 1 year old son)

Location: Fresno, CA

Story: Got into triathlon with my first sprint in May 2011, initially it was just a goal to see if I could do it, and I loved it.  Did an olympic in July 2012, just wanted to finish and probably didn't push myself as hard as I could, also I was still riding a mountain bike...Just did another olympic (HITS Napa Valley) in mid-April, went much better, I was pretty happy with how I did.  I did a HM last November, though I've never been much of a long distance guy, I wanted to see how I could do.  I felt good about it, so I thought this year I'd push it further and try a 70.3.  I'm signed up for the Folsom Long Course (with USA Productions) on August 11.  I'm really excited but definitely there's some nerves too.

Weight Loss: I'm not overly concerned about weight loss.  I'm 6'2", about 205lbs right now.  I guess I could lose a few pounds but I work in law enforcement and my job requires me to have some muscle, so I'm not looking to turn into a lean mean triathlon machine.  So I try to do some sort of muscle routine after my S/B/R workouts, especially on days where I'm only training one event.  I'll do some max sets of pullups or pushups and a core workout or something like that.

Current Training:  I pushed it about as hard as I could have (though life did get in the way towards the end) physically for this olympic I did about a few weeks ago.  Now I've cut down on some of the speed work and I'm working on building up my mileage.  I was doing about 15 mi/week running on three days/week.  Now I've added a day to make it easier to build up the miles, and I'm working on getting to 32-35 miles/week, with Tuesday medium, Wednesday short, Thursday medium, Saturday long.  Typically one of the medium days will be a tempo day.  After I build up the miles (hopefully in the next 10-12 weeks) I intend to add in the speed work again, which will give me about 1-1.5 months of speed work at the long distance, with some recovery time thrown in, and that will bring me to taper and race.  I swim with a masters group three days per week, and I'm comfortable with that aspect of my training.  The bike is probably the toughest part, it is difficult to fit into my schedule with work and family.  So I have to stay flexible with the bike, I can't schedule it the same way I can the swim and run.  I need to get out on the road a lot more, and I intend to do so.  I have a great route that starts very near my office that includes rolling hills and one cat 5, so I do that as often as I can.  I'm going to start trying to do it twice in one go next week.  And eventually three times in one go, hopefully.  But I want to get out on the road at least 4 days per week, and I think I can.

Hi FredD and Jason:

Still accepting?  I'd love to join for the knowledge gains, some accountabillity, and community aspect.  Finished first half in March, HITS OCALA, in 6:30.  Florida 70.3 is coming soon (2 weeks) and anticipate it beign a bit slower due to heat and a bit a training fall off due to work schedule.  "Raced" a OLY in April and improved by 12 minutes from previous year's time---so the HIM training was paying off at for the OLY distances as well. 

Anyhow, let me know if still open and what is expected requried (logs, etc.).  I currently use Garmin Connect. 

Thanks!
-Leon