triOK's group - The best group - Closed (Page 35)

Sarah, thanks for sharing your story.  It's very telling that you decided to do triathlons because you'd been laying in bed all day in pain for 3 months.  I know many people who would've just resigned themselves to an "I can't" attitude.

I'm curious:  What sparked your interest in tris?  Did you see a news story, read a magazine, etc.?

Lora

Wow that sounds like a good book title..."How a Six Pack took me from couch to Ironman in a year"...pretty awesome accomplishments...and motivational for those us just starting to put down the beer and get up off the couch! 

Since we're swapping stories:

Sarah:  Good for you for giving this a try.  You're absolutely right that this sport is for us "late entries."

David:  That is a very unique way to have gotten into this.  That's cool that you got into it so enthusiastically.

Heather:  So sorry for the loss of your baby and your dog.  I'm glad your new furry buddy helped bring you out of the funk and into this group.  We're glad to have you on board!

Lora

Hey Kids!

OMGoodness Lynn!

That was so funny I was laughing so hard my son came in to see what I was laughing at.

I have some training questions.  My first tri of the season will be the Lonestar sprint in Galveston March 29th.  I have 36 days until then.  I crawled into a cave (figuratively) from the 7th until the 19th. I'm back on track and actually trying to push a bit harder. I'm doing the 16 week Olympic plan (2x) and have been pseudo keeping up with it and am back on it now. I started Jan 1 and am now in the 8th week.  The week before the tri will be week 13.

My questions are:

How much longer should I continue to push it hard? I hear a lot about tapering.  Is it necessary to slow down just the 7 days before or should I start to taper in week 12? What actually is a taper? Should I use the last two weeks of the 16 week plan to replace weeks 12 and 13?

I  am so impressed with all of you.  I love the survivor mentality of you guys! It is so easy to take the role of the victim and you guys have chosen to persevere and focus on positive action. 

I'll write a bit of my story later...I chose to be a survivor too.

With respect and awe,

Les 

Those are some great stories, I'm completely impressed with everyone's background and motivation.  I hope when this tri-group thing ends we all stay in touch, it's been great being in this group even though I've done more reading than writing.  Sorry about that by the way!

Hey Lora, interesting story on seeing Rocco on the Today show.  I was actually in that triathlon he did, what are the odds you'd mention that race.  Great race by the way.

Les, if I can offer my two cents on the tapering process, I go with a 2 week taper.  2 weeks out I start to back off on the mileage a bit, but keep the quality of the workout the same effortwise.  And instead of doing say 2 harder workouts, I'll just do one.  The final week of the taper I back off on the mileage even more, and take a couple days off entirely.  Gives your body a chance to reenergize and let any aches get some rest.  If your race is on a Sunday, maybe go out Friday or Saturday for a very short easy workout, just to relieve some stress and anxiety, it's a good way to hit the starting line more relaxed.  But most importantly, just smile and have fun with it.  Don't worry about any nerves, cause as we've all shared, you can bet every single person in the tri has the same nerves.  You'll do great.

I'm off to my marathon tomorrow, thanks for the well wishes.  You guys have shared some great motivational stories here, that gives me lots to think about during the 26.2.  Have a great weekend.

Jay

Go Jay Go!

Thanks for the info on the taper. The info on the intensity/frequency made a lot of sense.

Have a great time tomorrow.

Les 

My story:

Long story short, I was running a "Toys for Tots" 5 K back in November, and rolled my ankle, breaking my foot. While I was stcuck at home, and hobbling aorund on my in my airc ast, I picked up a "triathlete" magazine, and started reading. ( I had already read Running Times, Trail Runner, and Runner"s World) and I thought, "hey, they got these sprint things...I might could do one of those with some serious training...and  a bike...and a set of goggles, and a helmet...and a wetsuit...and a...and a......  Then I found out they have these sprints down in Panama City Beach, which is only about 70 miles from here. This is the same place that I have visited since I was a small boy, was stationed at while in the Coast Guard, and have done about 90% of my offshore fishing from. So I am quite familiar with the area, (although it is changing way to fast!)  It's also the home of the Florida IM...so since I am so wrapped up this stuff now, I'm gonna at least try and vol. for it this year.

Oh, And I just got back from spending the weekend down there with some friends, I got do do some bike riding while I was there...

I will be away from my desk today, but I will get to the taper question tonight when I get home. 

Great job with the 26.2, Jay!  Congrats!

And some very inspiring stories.

Stayfocused qualified for Boston on Sunday, and our group is on page two???  WTF??

Way to go Jay!!!!

I am sick as sick can be, and hopped up on loads of OTC cold medicines....  At least I am in San Diego for the next 9 days.  Hopefully I can at least kick the fever soon.  I have a lot I want to do while I am here.  Keep training everyone!!!

Wow, it seems like several of you have tri's lined up in April, and many will be your first tri, that's awesome!!  April huh?  Hmmm, that tells me many of you must be in nice, warm weather climates.  I can only dream of stepping in open water in April, brrrr.... !!

Just wanted to say thanks for the many "congrats" I got for the marathon, you guys are very supportive.  Shows why BT is such a great place to post your workouts, chatt with others, learn, offer advice and get support.  It sucks we are all so far apart though, a group bike ride with all of you would be a blast!!

Jay

So we have a BQer amoungst us!  Impressive!  Way to go!

So for the taper question... taper is just a period of time before your "A" race that you back off on the intensity, take time to rest up, and rejuvenate yourself to get ready to give it your all.  The length of your taper depends on the distance of the race and how physically fit you are.  For someone that is training 10-14 hours a week for Ironman doesn't really need to taper that much for a sprint (if even at all), but for most everyone a race does require a little bit of rest time beforehand in order to race at your best.  Its *really* hard for me to spit out a taper time that would work for everyone.  For your first sprint I would take an easy week leading up to the race, no intensity workouts, and go a little lighter on the volume.  Take the day before off and use it to make sure that you have everything lined up.... or maybe practice your transitions that day. 

Things I would suggest NOT doing before the race

1.  Freak out.

2.  Freak out and cancel the race.

3.  A hard workout

4.  Buy new race gear

5.  Eat fried chicken

6.  Eat spicy food

7.  Injure yourself falling of your bike

8.  Freak out.

9.  Get a massage

10.  Run a marathon (or any other race)

I am sure there are many more that I am forgetting, but I will let you know as they come up.

The main thing you want to remember is that you want to be rested for your race.  Some people start to feel guilty when they don't work out, but you are honestly doing yourself more harm than good at that point.  You will have put in the time up to the race to be able to do well, so rest up so that you can be at your best.