Tri for fun - Full up, closed (Page 4)

Happy birthday John!!!!

When you say runner all your life do you mean competing or for fitness or????

Good for you for weight loss!! I used to weigh 250 and am working to get below 190.I feel best around 170 but haven't been there in a long time. Keep truckin!

I would say that I have run for fitness and to compete over the years.  But it depends on what your definition of compete is.  I have always enjoyed running road races but I am not elite or anything like that.  Just enjoy the races but enjoy the social aspect of training with friends more. 

How about you?

Hey Everyone,

This morning I heard on the radio that it was  -38 before the windchill in International Falls.  January 16, they hold the Freeze Your Gizzard Blizzard Run.  Anyone wanna' go?

Got two great workouts in today!  Ran 1 mile and swam 24 laps-which comes out to be 848 meters.  I am glad to have the accountability of the group.  Knowing I will report to someone does motivate me some.

I think what motivates me the most, though,  is that I can handle the stress of life much better when I exercise.  I can figure out solutions to problems easier-don't find myself feeling overwhelmed as much.  My 3 year olds' crying because I got him the wrong cup does not bother me like it might if I didn't have the natural drugs from exercising! I like feeling strong and the challenge of a workout or a race.

Nichi
p.s. My main reason for exercising is not weight loss, though I have lost 9 pounds since I started running in April.  That means I am averaging 1 pound a month!  It is a nice result, even if it isn't the main motivation.   

Thanks for the input....but I finally decided today and picking up my new bike Friday and getting fitted.  I am getting a new Specialized Tarmac Elite Compact....i was tempted to get a better one but knowing how i am, if i get the tri bug bad, i mostly likely will be looking for a tri bike for next year.  the money i am saving now i can put towards nexts years bike.  and if the tri thing is not for me, then i good road bike to ride.

I can't wait to get it!  it is supposed to be in the 40's this weekend so i am hoping to get out and ride!

what motivates me....wow that is a loaded question!

i think what is driving me to attempt a triathlon is the challenge.  I have always done things to challenge myself...back to my barefooting days to motocross racing or snowmobiles...i always went after more than i thought i was capable. 

After i watched this years Ironman, i was like...hey, i have never pushed myself to the limits...an Ironman will do that...i wanna try!

I have worked out off and on for the past 10 years and never really felt better, i could see results, but i never felt like i had more energy.

just in the few days i have been training, i can see that i have more energy all ready!

My kids are stoked that i am gonna do a triathlon and the first one planned is on my oldest birthday in April...he is pumped for me!

I also love hte shape i will get into too!

Sorry for the long winded response, but there you have it!

OK...so i finally got my swim in this morning....i did 400 yards...stopping after every 50 to catch my breath!  Man....please tell me it will get easier!!!

I am excitied to see my progression with swimming.  I have never swam and that is my weakest area!

After work, i went and ran 2.5 miles....still working up but starting to feel better.

Tomorrow is an off day but i do have a hockey game...so that will be good cross training!

I saw a few questions about workouts and missing or counting other things as your workout. I figured rather than address this several times I would just do a catch all here. These are just my thoughts on it. Take it for what its worth.

My thought is that cross training is very important, especially in triathlon. Because you are doing 3 different events that work different parts of your body you can benefit greatly from doing different activities. That being said I try to be careful that cross training doesn't take the place of my regular workouts very often. I have a hill that is 2 miles and 1500' elevation gain.I do the climb every once in a while but I try to just add it to my workouts for the day instead of taking the place of one. It is important to train your body to adapt to the specific exercise that you are going to be asking it to do later. We will get more into the physiology of exercise later but thats my thoughts for now.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this????

Leclerc457,  

I understand your swim situation.  Swimming has been very hard for me.  I sink like a rock.  I was extremely happy that I got in 800 yards the other day but it was in sets of 100 yards at a time but I started out doing 400 yards at a time.  I am still working on it.  I have been really working on getting my breathing down and trying to work on my swim position.  I have a really good swimming friend that is helping me with my form but half way through my workout, I can feel my form going.

Good morning everyone. Whats your plan for the day????? I am in school all day but IU think I will go do a lap swim tonight with my family. I swim for 30 minutes while my wife and kids swim in the kiddie pool, then we switch and I hang out with the kids so she can get a workout in also. First time trying it tonight so we will see how it works out.

Just a note or two about your training logs:

It would be great if you log your workouts or if you don't workout just put a little note up on your page so we know how to encourage you. Please know that no one is going to punish you if you miss a workout. Life happens. If you put a little note though as to why you missed then we can maybeinspire you or encourage you or whatever we can do to help. (sometimes thats just sympathy, whatever works)

Also if your log is set as private then we cannot interact with you at all so you might double check your settings and make sure they are set as public so we can all see how each other is doing.

Once we all start checking out each others logs I would like to offer a note of caution from past groups. Pleasesetyour success based on your goals and performance. If you see someone else's log and their times are faster than yours it does not mean you are less successful. The best thing you have for comparison is your own training log (which is why I love this site).When I first started trianing I ran 1 mile and it took me 15 minutes and I was sore the next day. That is my measure to see how far I have come. I encourage you to do the same. You should feel great because of the effort you are putting into making yourself better no matter what your current conditioning. You will also improve.Trust me. all you have to do is get out the door and the rest will follow. Okay enough soap box.
Have a great day!!

Plan for the day-well, I have already done 5 miles this morning.  What helps me is that we only have 1 vehicle that is working, so if I want to go anywhere I have to take my husband to work.  It's about a 15 minute drive and the wellness center is there, also.  If I don't take him in, I have to wait until the evening to work out.  Works to get me out of bed.

Spelling, History, Science, Reading, Writing and Math, with laundry, dishes and cleaning up.  My husband, oldest son and I stocked the wood last night from the porch, so won't need to do that.

I have to go pick Troy up at 5.  I will go to the wellness center and swim this afternoon beforehand.  If my daughter gets her schoolwork done, she will go with me and maybe the younger two.  My older son doesn't like swimming, but he might come to run on the track upstairs.  It's a little bit tricky if my younger ones come along.  Scott, we do the switcheroo and that usually works fairly well.  I swim about 10 or 15 minutes and then we switch.  With my daughter I don't get to swim as long, but it still works.  We have learned to be creative.

It's warmer here today-7 above at 10 am!

Have a great day everyone!

Nichi

Scott - that swim sounds nice! Fun for all!

Motivation question: I agree, this is a loaded question! I guess my most honest answer is "unfinished business". I used to be quite a competitive athlete, and then burned out when I went to college. Looking back, I wish I had embraced that gift differently, but I understand why I burned out. But I've always been left wondering what I would have been capable of, and so that's where I am now? What am I capable of?

Today, if I'm lucky, I'll figure out how to stick my bike in the trainer (my husband has always done it) and I'll try to spin a little while my youngest takes her nap. Tomorrow I will tote my daughter to the cross country ski area and stick her in the tag along sled and get a few ski laps in.

Honestly, I don't know much about what kind of workouts one should be doing for base building in the winter. I have much to learn!

Suzanne

YES!  IT WILL GET EASIER!!!

I checked back on my logs and I started training(swimming) on June 29th. Previously, whenever I swam my goal was not to get my hair wet!!!Ha!  Now, I worked on keeping my head down and breathing out the whole time my head was down.  I swam 3 x per week I think and ended up being able to swim a mile by August 31st!!  The key for me was to relax and not worry about speed but making sure my form was good even if I was(am) terribly slow! 

Keep working at it-you will get better and be able to go further!

Nichi
p.s. I watched a lot of videos of swimmers with good form to try to have an understanding of what my form should be. 

Okay, the swim question made me realize another motivator for me.

progress!  I can see and feel progress that I make.  I can look back on my logs and see how far I have come.  It's a great feeling!

If you keep getting out there and doing it, there WILL be PROGRESS!!!

In my parenting, in my marriage, things are not so simplistic.  With exercising, I know what to do and I do it.  It does give me confidence that if I can do this thing, maybe I can clean my house!  I jest, but it has been something I have struggled with for years.  It doesn't come naturally like exercising.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses and it really makes me feel good to be able to be good at something when I feel like I am not very good at this other thing that is staring me in the face all the time.  

Back to what I am supposed to be doing!
Nichi  
 

We are going to talk about goals next,then from there we will talk about how to reach those goals. Honestly it sounds like your biggest hurdle is the weather. Thats stinkin cold. Winter is a great time to 1 assess weaknesses and 2 build base. We'll get there.Do you have any specific questions I can help with?

Scott

If anyone has a trainer and are looking to improve on your bike this winter, may I suggest you check out hte Challenge Me section of the Forums.  There is a Winter Cycling Challenge near the top.  It was put together by Jorge, a USAT cycling coach.  It is 3 workouts a week, about 1 hour each.  Very intense, but all targeted to your current bike fitness level as tested in week 2 by a LT test.  All of the workouts are based on HR/RPE, or Power.  I have noticed huge gains.  Nice way to fall in love with your Trainer. 

Good word cause I currently hate my trainer :-)

I imagine everything will become clearer for me in the near future. If I were to list all the hurdles I perceive in my training it would be long. Actually it's not so much the cold that's in my way, but daylight. My husband leaves the house at 6am, and doesn't come back until almost 6pm, and I don't have any kidless daylight for running. I'm going to slowly work into trying to "love" my bike trainer in the meantime, and try to take advantage of the days when I'm at school and have daycare issues covered. I may have mentioned before that I'm going to try to get a teenager a day or two a week to watch the kids for an hour so I can get out.

But I've always wondered how to get the most bang for the time I have available, and learn what workouts make sense and will be beneficial to me in the long run. Otherwise, I see it as just activity, which is good none the less, but I'm not as driven to make it happen. If I simply want activity I'll just stick to walking or jogging with my dog and wouldn't be adding the other sports in, at least during the winter. I know the other sports of cycling and swimming are beneficial to keep up over the winter (even though I haven't been doing them), I just don't know the quantity of that benefit and how hard and how much I should be trying to incorporate them into a busy time. Spring will be much easier on me.

Nichi - I don't know how you do it!!! But you do, so right on! Thanks for the empathy .

Success today!!!
I set up the bike trainer (without breaking it or my bike), and rode for about 35 minutes. I worked up a good sweat, it felt good! Then I also did a brisk dog walk, and now I can feel a few muscles that got their wake up call today.

Thanks guys and gals for the motivation!
Suz

Hey Team,

Good News=the Y has a 6 week swim class.  I am calling tomorrow to see if I can get in.

I am excited to get better at swimming.  It's a sat am class.

Have a good night!

Nichi

Nice work!!!

Swimming is where most triathletes have the most difficulty. Good for you for getting pointers.