Ernesto's group (4th season) - Closed (Page 4)

Greetings All-

About me...  I have been with this mentoring group for 3 seasons now and I swear it is the best group here.  I am still new to the sport, with only 3 Tri's under my belt in 2 years.  I started running again in 2009 after thinking I could never run again after an injury in college thanks to my husband.  I completed two sprints in 2010 in Charleston SC.  I married later that year and moved to Los Angeles California.  There I completed a short Oly distance and my first half marathon (2011).  We moved to Colorado Springs in July and my training started all over.  I took a very long time adjusting to the hills and the altitude (our home is at 6889ft or so).  I have 2 children ages 8 and 12. Both are very athletic and keep me busy!  Both have just started a running program and hopefully this summer my daughter will me able to improve her swimming as she just announced her plans to do a triathlon.  

This years race plans have changed slightly.  I decided not to do the Boulder 70.3.  With everything going on with the kids and still needing a swim coach I think it's best if I wait till next season.  I will do the sprint in June and the Oly in July.  I also still plan on the Denver HM but depending on training that may change to the full.  We will see what hubby says......

I will continue to catch up on the pages of the forum and get to know everyone.  

Yesterday was my first workout since we are back home...  I did 34minutes on the trainer.  Spinervals Intervals...7@90' hard effort with 90' recovery.  Today no workouts as all my plans have now changed and I'll be back in the pool tomorrow. 

Is there room for one more?  I am a complete newby to triathlons.  My prior experience is running marathons.  This year I am registered for three full and two half marathons plus my first tri, a HIM, in September.

I love swimming the most.  Currently swim three times per week and seriously love every second.  Work and family are hectic so running has lagged.  Am managing to get in about 25-30 miles a week, hardly sufficient.  Biking is for sure the give.  Spin at most twice a week. I figure after the June marathon I will kick biking into high gear. 

Family:  Mom of five ranging in age from 19 to three.  Married 21+ years.

Job:  In house counsel for major health insurance company.  Nothing exciting:  ERISA, tax, labor law.

I seem to swing so much in weight from day to day or even during the day.  One day I'll be 205 when I wake up and at the end I'll be 202 or if I have a long run or ride on a Saturday or Sunday I'll be 203 waking up and sometimes down to 198 or 197, so I never know which number to use. 

Do any of you go up and down so much during the day?

Same as the previous post, post your bio, let us know about you.

Hello,

If possible, I'd like to join as well?

I'll have to post a more detailed bio later, but I'm definitely a newbie.

I've never done a tri before, but have done a few running races, up to a half-marathon (slooooooowly!!), and am generally up to speed on the training time/commitments required to make progress.

I'm signed up for a couple of Olympic distance races later in the year (June and September), and I also have a spot in the Vineman 70.3 in July, but may decide to drop that if I'm not feeling ready by then (which is likely, given where my training is right now, but we'll see...).

Thanks!!

Justin.

Wow, just wow... 5 kids, a job, at least 5 days/wk of working out, 3 marathons, HIM and other smaller races... do you sleep at all?

Mike, it's perfectly normal for your weight to fluctuate during the day.  Depending on what you eat and drink, how well you maintain your hydration during exercise etc can really impact on your weight.

Generally it's a good idea to pick the same time/day to weigh yourself to try to take out some of those factors.  I weigh myself first thing in the morning because it tends to be the most consistent time, and as a group we selected Sunday as our weigh in day so that we're encouraged to be good on Friday and Saturday nights

[btw I wrote this post the first time, and just as I was finishing the cat leaned on my keyboard and someone I landed up closing the tab on my browser! ]

Still managed to get a 50m ride in the morning, that i used to try the aero bars for the first time. (Using a road bike for the 70.3 with aero bars... or not).

Any tips for riding in the aero bar's? Did not feel "safe", i could not get a clear line. Ended up using it only in roads with no cars, is it just a matter os getting time on them? Or do you guys have any tips for adapting better to the aero bars.

Great!

Name: Kimmax / Marcia
Location: Toronto, Canada

Story: As a child I was the nerdy musical kid that always had her nose buried in a book.  I liked floor hockey and swimming but wasn't really encouraged to do sports.  As I got older I got in to cycling and my bike was my main mode of transportation.  Some years ago I saw some pics of people doing the Malibu Sprint triathlon and thought "I might be able to do that!".  Started training (I didn't even run at the time!) for my first mini sprint in 2008 and did 3 that year - addicted!  The following year I worked up to doing the sprint distance, then an oly the following year.  Last year my plan was to ride a century (imperial) and beat my past oly time.  Mid year I registered for Muskoka 70.3 and completed that in Sept.  It wasn't the easiest race for me (go figure!) and so this years goals are to figure out what distance I like and improve upon that. 

Family Status: I'm fortunate to have a very supportive family: good hubby with one 9 year daughter, a puggle puppy and two cats.  Just started a new job in business development and it's keeping me really busy right now.

2012 Goals: I need to figure out what distance I enjoy most.  I LOVE the training that goes in to long distances but not sure 70.3 is for me.  Having said that - it's been suggested the race I did was one of the toughest and doing one in a terrain I train in might make a big difference so... My plan is to do a local half iron distance race in June but my training has been off and the volume isn't really where I'd like it to be.  I may have to revisit my goals at the end of April and reassess. 

Weight Loss:  I shed some weight last season and got down to 138 which was good but now I'm up again.  Now with the season I'm up again - goal is to reduce body fat and firm up. 

Current Training:  Not much.  Just got back from a holiday and now more focused.  Goal is bike intervals 2-3x/wk and my long ride, 1 track, 1 tempo and 1 long run and then 2-3 swims per week.  Would LOVE to get in strength training but haven't had much luck.

Lately this has started to feel a bit like work so saw your group and thought it might help motivate me and remind me of the fact it's supposed to be fun!

sirgab - 2012-04-04 10:47 PM Welcome old groupmates and new ones as well and glad to see that our mentor Ernesto came out ok from the tornados in Dallas a few days ago!Down here in Guatemala its Holy Week which is a big thing and long holiday, so Im trying to fit in my workouts as good as I can and to balance the partying as much as possible (not easy :-), especially since Im only 5 weeks away from my first Ironman tri. Last few days I trained in Antigua, the colonial city, today on the beach and tomorrow evening I move to beautiful Lake Atitlan. Salud to all!

Gabe- I can't imagine anyplace better (perhaps the Vatican) to be during Holy Week than Guatemala. I am on board with Lake Atitlan being one of the natural wonders of the world.

Uhoh, We have a ringer here ^^^^^^^^^ I have it on good authority that she won The Dream Chaser Mentors Group "Triathlete of the Year Award" last year

Had a nice race pace 3 miles this morning. For those new to the group, "Coach Ernesto" is a big proponent of the Mafetone training method (HR based). In January 7, before I "converted", I ran 3 miles at 9:31/mi pace (28:31). After that, I did all my running following Mafetone (which gives you a very conservative HR target - avg pace for me of 13 minutes/mi). I do one "race pace" run a month to gauge my progress. This are my results for the 3 mile test:

Jan 7 (pre-MAF): 28:31 (pace 9:31)

Feb 20: 26:55 (pace 8:58)

April 5: 26:21 (pace 8:46)

Granted that being a newbie, I probably would see results anyway with consistent training, but its nice to see positive results by following a method that minimizes the inherent pounding associated with running. At 43 yrs old, less pounding is a good thing. It was difficult at first to go that slow, but seeing results is a good motivator.

Hey, if I keep cutting 10 sec every month, in 2 yrs I should be running 4:46 min/miles...Olympics here I come!

WTG Sammy!!!!

This am I was going to do a time saver spin but that will have to wait until tonight.  Outdoor track season started and there is a meet here at the Academy that Scott and I will be officiating.  We are back at the finish line, so that is also nice!

Ernesto- Since I've pulled out of the HIM, I will focus on the Oly in July.  Do you recommend any specific training plans?  

Also- When my HR monitor flaked last week I contacted Garmin.  It looks like they are going to replace it for me.  I didn't realize how much I use that information until I no longer had it!