BigSkiesMentorGroup - COMPLETE! (Page 4)

Hi Steve,

I would like to join your group also. 

My story:  My name is Jessica and I live in western Colorado.  I am 38, married and have two wonderful boys ages 5 and 7.  Between family and working full time finding time to train is my biggest hurdle.  As far as my background in athletics, I am a former division I college basketball player who is now attempting to convert to be an endurance athlete.  I am in my second season as a triathlete and have really no back ground in any of the disciplines.  As of a year ago the only swimming I had done was with my kids and to avoid drowning.   I have a lot of experience on a mountain bike, but when I did my first triathlon I had only been a road twice.  I have done a lot of running, but never over 4 or 5 miles previous to triathlon training.  Needless to say I have really enjoyed the challenge of tri training and learning more about all the disciplines.  I am sure I will learn a lot from your group. 

My goals:  I’m not really sure.  I have 4 or maybe 5 races I would like to do this season.  Last year I competed in two sprint tris and one Olympic distance race.  I think I will stay mainly with sprint tris this year, primarily because I can’t find enough time to commit to training for anything longer.  I am interested in trying an Xterra or some other off road race just to see what that experience is like. 

I am also trying to lose some weight.  I have lost 12 pounds already and would be very happy to lose about 10 more.  Tri training seems to be a good way to do that. 

I look forward to getting to know everyone in the group.  Thanks for your help in advance!

Mind if I join you all ... I think I'm ready to get back to it after my attitude adjustment over the last couple of months!  More on that later when I post my bio.    Glad I'll be able to commiserate with some "southerners" dealing with the same heat and humidity issues as myself. 

For those checking out this group and deciding if they want to "sign up", Steve is a GREAT mentor and a wealth of knowledge whether you are brand new to the sport or training for an IM!

LISA

Steve,

The Cascade Lake Tri is a Piranha Sports race.  I had never done an open water swim before and found that being able to see the finish line was a lot easier mentally then just swimming lap after lap in a pool.  The bike on the other hand was horrible.  I had a budget of $275 for the entire race and the only equipment I went into this adventure with was running shoes, practice suit and goggles.  I ended up buying an $80 mountain bike on sale from Target and that bike was horrible for the hills of Western MD.  Needless to say, the poor bike portion of the race last year kept me from signing up again this year.  Up until 3 weeks ago I still had the $80 mountain bike and I really didn't want to tackle the hills again on that bike.  Next year might be a different story.

Tri rock Annapolis is a 4 part series.  I am contemplating signing up for the Gettysburg race in October.  The other two are too far to travel.  I wouldn't want to mess around before the West Point Tri and risk jinxing anything LOL!  I wanted to do the Iron Girl this year but it was long closed before I even looked into it.  Hopefully I'll sign up in time for next year.  I've heard that all the races they have in that area are a lot of fun. 

I'm on the eastern side of Baltimore County really close to the Baltimore City line.  Sparks is on the Northern side, up 83, I think.  I ride and run the NCR trail a lot and really enjoy the trail.  That is where I spent the majority of my time  training last year and the early parts of this season.  It's a great trail!

I don't play really tennis anymore.  I just fizzled out I guess after college.  It was hard to find people at my level to play with after work and on the weekends.  I stopped once I was pregnant with my son because of the joints loosening and not being able to play as hard as I was use to.  After that I just never picked it back up.  I have been teaching my son here and there when he wants to go out and play.  He's pretty good for his age and not playing all that much. 

Today is my first day with out soda and so far so good.  Hopefully I'll be able to continue the trend and slowly start lowering the amount of coffee to one or two cups.

Thanks for the warm welcome and I'm excited to be part of the group!

Steve,

I would like to join your group, i'm not a new beginner but would love to have others to help motivate me as the season progresses. The hard part to joining in is typing up a bio, I find it hard to talk about myself, which is probably why I have been anonymous on BT for so long. Anyway I would love to be a part of your group and below is what I got for a bio.  Thank you for leading the group.

Name: Veronica/aktri

Story: I participated in my first sprint triathlon about 16 years ago. I have continued to participate in triathlons, running, biking and other such events, mostly local or in-state. I have been on BT for about 6 years. Time sure flies when you are having fun! I have not been active in the forums or ever participated in the mentor groups but would love to be more active in the BT community and have a like minded group to inspire me.

Family:  I've been married for 23 years and have a son (21) and a daughter (16).  I live in Anchorage Alaska. My husband does not swim-bike-run but is very supportive. My son is in school at University of Nevada-Reno so my daughter is an only child at home being spoiled as she enters this fun age.

Current Training: I have been fairly lucky on avoiding injuries and I attribute this to the multisport lifestyle. Although I am one of the most consistent people you will meet, I have an aversion to mornings but that seems to be the best time of day for me to fit in my workouts. I train with a group that expects me to be there so that helps get me out of bed. If it weren’t for the workouts I would probably still be sleeping.  I downloaded a BT half IM plan but am not following it (yet) as the group I have been working out with goes through the end of May, they are training for sprint/oly distance.

2011 Races:  I have a couple of short distance time trial bike races, first one this weekend. And last weekend was the first weekend the roads were clear enough to ride outside. My first triathlon will be the Pink Cheeks triathlon in May in Seward, Alaska it is a casual fun triathlon. Then the annual Women’s Gold Nugget Triathlon sprint distance. Then another sprint distance triathlon in June. All of these are pool swims. We don’t hit the lakes until the end of June. Then the 4^th of July, I have participated annually in a mountain running event, the Seward Mt. Marathon race. Pretty legendary event around here. Then my “A” race this year will be the Sourdough Half Ironman in Fairbanks Alaska mid July. Then I’m headed out of state (to the lower 48) on vacation. I usually end the summer by participating in a Fall marathon but I have not “picked” my marathon yet. I usually try to pick a different state. I have run a marathon in 12 states, mostly western states. Anyone got a favorite?

2011 Goals:  Maintain fitness, participate in events, have fun and do the best I can on that day.

Weightloss:  The last couple of years, I have noticed that I am no longer losing that “winter weight”. I know it is my diet and am trying to be more diligent about eating better. I have a sweet tooth…

Kerri,

I just read your post and saw you were from Binghamton.  My parents live close by in Apalachin, Ny (Tioga County), right up 17, or 434 depending on where you are coming from.  It's rare that I "meet" or hear of someone who is familiar with that area that I just had to mention something!  

Sarah

STEVE -

2004 was the year I did Boston also! Grueling! I melted somewhere around Heartbreak Hill. I dont remember the hill being hard, I was just melting as they were pulling other people off on stretchers and sitting others down on the curb to take their blood pressure, etc... I think that part got to me mentally because of other things I had going on. The marathon is so mental. I had qualified at St George Marathon in Utah. The Trails marathon sounds interesting, I'll have to look it up. I was originally considering Marine Corp but somehow missed the signup date and it filled up.

Oh there is one injury I deal with, I forget about it because it doesnt flare up until I start running around 16 miles. I have a neuroma problem in my feet. I can usually get through it but it gets painful. Maybe I'll get myself to a podiatrist before I start marathon training this year. If you see me complain about it, remind me to go get it checked! See this group is already helping me.

And ya, for us northerners, still hoping it really is Spring. They said it was supposed to snow today but it is 46 degrees so I think we are good for another day. The roads are finally clear and the tracks (at the high schools) are mostly clear of snow. Gonna head to the track now. Oh, what's the time difference between Alaska and  Casselman, Ontario?

Steve,

You experiences and mine are very similar to typical groups here BT and if 13 is what you ultimately want then you are best taking in more.  Then again, from all the bio's that I have read this appears to be a pretty hearty group so hopefully everybody will stick with it (um... there is a challenge to the team, stick with it, I think Steve has a ton of experience in the sport that will help us all).

Going forward is there anything specific you would like from us mentee's in regard to what we post here on the thread?  OR... Do you want us to just fire away with the questions?

I'm just curious, how much time do you spend daily reading and posting in BT? 

Any group size that you think is manageable would be fine. I'm amazed at the time you spend answering all our questions / concerns. You read and answer each one of the posts! Impressive the work you do. Thanks for that!

That is so funny Not that many women dislike shopping. I'm the strange one between my co-workers. They can spend hours talking about brands, places, prices, fashion, etc. I guess I'll be soon doing the same but with triathlon specific things. And I'm sure, my co-workers won't understand why I need to spend money on cycling shorts for example.

Since Sunday I'm talking about shoes, foot types and running. So Gustavo came with me today and guess what: I bought the first pair of shoes that I tried on. Impressive. The lady was very helpful, measured my feet, asked me a lot of questions and recommended one of the shoes. She said that I should try them for a while and then come back for an appointment. I might need some extra raising in one of my heels. I have the arch a little bit higher than normal but not too much.

Now, I'm anxious waiting for my run tomorrow morning.

I'm pretty sure that I'll never be on the higher end with the $5000 bikes. But I still have to find my comfortable gear-price zone. Most of the days I'm happy and proud of the bike that I have, some other days I wish I had a better bike.

It's a Road 10 speed Raleigh maybe from around 1973 - 76. Last year Gustavo spent a couple of days trying to find the year that the bike was built but he couldn't find the exact year.