McFuzz's New Athlete Group (CLOSED) (Page 3)

I'm a bit unusual myself.  I've done two iron distance races on a mid-90's Klein Aeolus.  Aluminum frame, 650C wheels.  My "race wheels" are a set of Bontrager Selects that I got for $100 (I wanted a rear wheel with a free-hub so I could get a different cassette.  My Klein has the old freewheel and finding a cluster that had the gears I wanted at a price I was willing to pay was a challenge.)  My buddy was telling me I should upgrade to a new(er) bike. Modern bikes may be a lot lighter and have better features, but that bike isn't what limits my performance and it's nice to show up with something distinctive. 

Hi Lannne,

Welcome! I don't know how fare the season runs in Australia but having a PT for running is a great deal. OD should be possible for a non-runner i think if you have a couple of months to spare to take it easy.

I have not been training for 2 days now and I feel bad about it. Tuesday was a planned resting day. Yesterday I planned a biketraining in the morning but it rained and it was too cold and windy to go out. In the evening I could have gone for a run after 8pm but i wasted the evening playing computer games. And on top of that, for some reason i'm gaining weight the last 2 weeks allthough i'm training more and eating about the same. This really sucks.

Time to put some more willpower into it and watch my food a bit more. There must be something I do wrong. :D Anyway, tonight i'm planning a swimtraining and i'm gonna nail it hard!

@rita

I work in law enforcement too! And also in a non-traditional schedule.

Originally posted by Lanne Hi I would like to join, I am 36 years old did my first Tri last year with minimal training to encourage and support a friend. I went on to do 2 short distance Tri's last year and am now concentrating on a series of sprint Tri's this season, oh might add I am from Perth, Western Australia so we are in the thick of it at the moment. I was hoping to do my first Olympic distance this year but have dropped down to sprint this week, just cannot RUN! but I have started interval training with a PT so hoping to be better and ready for next year I am a mother of 2 and own /run my own business so time is some what limited but i do manage to get out about 5 sessions a week, looking to give and recieve support and encouragement.

G'day Mate!  I spent 2 weeks in Oz back in 2005 and met some wonderful people.  Welcome to the group. 

Is Lanne your name?  If not, please share your first name with the group. 

Wow!  So much activity in the last few days.  Semester finals are upon us so I have been busy this week but plan to catch up on all the new joiners!  The common thread I can see from skimming all introductions is DESIRE...to change, to lose weight, to train, to experience something new.  You've found the right sport for all of that! 

Originally posted by Want2TriCT Hi, I would like to join your mentoring group. My name is Stacey, and I live in Connecticut. I just recently turned 41 years old. I was a runner in high school and very fit throughout college and early adult life but I had always been dealing with body image issues. I had wanted way back then to try to do a triathlon, but never got around to it. I started a slow but steady weight gain about 14 years ago while pregnant with my first child, and while I've dieted periodically off and on since then, I hadn't really stuck to anything diet or exercise-wise. At the end of 2013 I had a few "ah ha" moments where I realized it was time to change and get back to healthier weight and lifestyle. I remembered my desire in early adulthood to complete a triathlon, and thought this would be a great way to get back into shape while having a much needed feeling of accomplishment about achieving a lifelong goal. I also know old college friends who have completed triathlons at the Athena level, and they raved about the experience. So I went online and found this website, and here I am. I just signed up for the forums and I have been reading the various plans. I confess to feeling a little overwhelmed about where to start. I have been working on healthier eating for the past two weeks, but I have not yet had the courage to get on the scale. I am going to my YMCA today, and I will be facing that reality. I have 3 kids aged between 13 and 8. I work about 25 hours per week in a largely sedentary job. I volunteer with my kids' Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, PTA, and my church. I tend to park myself in front of the computer when I get free time. I have not really participated in a lot of physical activity over the past 10 years, so much as I hate to admit it, I am really back at square one. As far as goals, weight loss is a key goal for me. I am approximately 250 pounds at 5'7". I don't want to fixate on a number, but I think it would be great if I could get down to 165. I realize that isn't going to happen overnight, and it likely will take a couple of years. There is a women's triathlon in Farmington, CT in September that I would love to be able to participate in; I've heard it is very supportive and welcoming to newbies like myself. I am contemplating signing up for it now as an incentive. I am really in need of direction as far as where to get started given my current out-of-shape-ness. Thank you!

Welcome Stacey!  I'm happy to have you as part of this group.  I'm still getting familiar with everyone who has joined this mentor group.  Mike and Dimitri have both lost a lot of weight.  Matt is trying to lose a lot of weight too.  Dimitri and some of the others have weight loss goals still to achieve.  There are forums for weightloss where people post before and after pictures. 

In addition to the scale, take some body measurements.  As you get more active and replace fat with muscle, the scale doesn't give you a good measure of progress. 

If you haven't, please get checked out by a doctor and consider doing a blood profile.  You can be encouraged by changes in blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc. as much as smaller clothes and lower numbers on the scale.  I'll also encourage you to consider a local coach who can help you train without injury. 

Hi, another one who's going to do it in 2014! I really like the face there are others who are going to do a first time triathlon in here so we can follow up on each other!

I have no idea at all how your condition is though i have the feeling that startin to run will be the first thing you want to retry seeing you once were a runner. I have a program called start to run and its made for people who are at square one where running begins and who are overweight. It's aim is to get from 0km to 5km ~ 3.1miles in less then 30 minutes over a period of 10 weeks.

It starts out slow but this is to prevent injury's as people with the extra weight put a lot of stress on their joints when they start to run. After that program, there is a start to 10km ~ 6.2m in another 10 weeks. It's a really good program and a lot of people in Belgium and the Netherlands have used it. So much even running has become one of the most popular sports around here. If you are interested, i can put it online or e-mail it to you. It's in Dutch though so you will first give me the time to translate it a bit.

OK all,

I've consulted with Kim and we're going to close the door but leave it ajar.  We can take a few more, but it is time for this group to start coming together.  And while the title is "McFuzz's New Athlete Group" it is really YOUR group, not mine. 

If you have not done so, please add each person to your friends list on BT.  The easy way to do that is left-click on that person's name and select "Add to friends."  Go to that person's log (you can get to friends from your blog page, or select the "friends" option in the drop-down menu under "Community" in the blue banner.  Test that you can get to their log, and leave them an inspire.  (I'm sneaky...)

Feel free to post questions and updates in this thread, but the real benefit comes from inspiring one another, so please visit the other blogs and leave that person an inspire.  As you post or inspire, please respect the other person and try to leave a positive message.  If you want to connect with one another on Facebook or other social media sites, that's fine, but the more fragmented your communications, the easier for someone who's not involved in one of those exchanges to get left out.  (I'm not on FB.) 

Here's one of my goals:  I'll visit the log of every person in the group at least twice a week.  I will leave them inspires. 

If you feel compelled to share something that may not be well received, draft it as a message and think on it.  If you still feel it should be sent, go ahead and deliver that message privately.  You can include Kim and me in the message, but neither of us wants to play referee to a bunch of adults. 

Use your blog!  Record your workouts and share in your blog how you feel about what you have done or are trying to do.  There is nothing wrong with saying "I dread my weigh-in tomorrow because I had pizza and beer last night (and it was sooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood!!!)" 

Here is another goal:  The group will have at least 10 out of 12 people still active and using their BT blog at the end of March.  I'll leave you inspires and I'll send you private messages if you're not active.  (If you won't be able to post, say so in your blog so I and the others don't get too worried over your absence.) 

I added the group. In the next few days i'll be having an eye on everyone and visit their log and leave an inspire. I uploaded my workouts from the last 1,5 month. From now on, i'll try to keep it updated. I don't know if i'll write a lot in my blog because i often feel that i would just repeat myself if a training went as usual. Any unusual facts i'll try to share.

I guess we're really getting started! :D

What kind of pedals do you have?  I have SPD (mountain bike pedals) on my tri bike and Speedplay Zero on my road bike.  The tension on the SPD pedals can be adjusted, and I'd recommend setting the tension to be as light as possible so they are easy to engage and release. 

If you have a trainer, you can practice clipping in/out on the trainer. 

Some people recommend practicing the clipless pedals in grass or something soft.  I don't like this approach for two reasons.  1)  You are subconsciously telling yourself to fail (I'm going to fall, so I'll do it in grass where it's soft.)  2)  It really is harder to ride in the grass so you're far more likely to fall. 

I recommend a different strategy.  If you normally put your left foot down when you stop on your bike, install the right clipless pedal and spend some time riding with one bike shoe (clipped in) and one regular shoe.  You can practice clipping in/out with your right foot while you can easily move your left foot on/off the regular pedal.  Once you're comfortable with the right foot, swap the pedals and practice clipping in/out on the left side.  Then you can put the clipless right pedal back on.  Does it look silly to have two different pedals/shoes?  Yea, but not nearly as silly as laying on the ground with a bicycle stuck between your legs.  (And yes, you will eventually fall over...I've done it as recently as last summer...)

Welcome Jo-Anne! 

I had 3 trips to South Africa in 2012 (Joburg-Whitbank).  I was signed up for Comrades Marathon in 2013, but changed jobs and couldn't justify the trip.  I'd still like to do that. 

Clean eating was a challenge in South Africa (not that I'm overly pristine with my diet).  WIth the body building, it's important though as you get to the point end of the distribution.