Clyde/Athena Tri-N-4- Weight Loss Mentor Group -OPEN AGAIN!! (Page 43)

Chirunner: KILLER job!!!

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Sunday (+1) update

Last week was a bit unusual for my schedule. I did miss, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Both swims (Mon & Fri) were cancelled due to scheduling issues, but I did manage to sneak away on Wed for 500, 4x50 (faster with limited rest) and 750. Going out of town messed up my Sat bike. The roads in Longton, KS are partially paved, but the gravel is smoother and since my Mt Bike is out of commission.... I only managed my Thurs group ride. I am sticking steady with my runs. I hit Tue, Thur, Sat like clockwork. On Sat I slowed it down a bit and managed a 25 min continuous run, so I am improving a bit. The gav1n shoes and cleats came in to compliment the SPD pedals sent by Peter. I tried them out this morning. I'm having more issues clipping in than out. I did notice a difference, we will see what happens on Thurs.

On a side note, I've bounced back up to 255 after a couple weeks of iffy diet and family reunion (my family can COOK)

Ok a week late but here is my full race recap and narrative, it is WORDY for sure but that is how I like to write. I hope you enjoy and please keep in mind I didn't really edit this at all, kind of first pass out of my mind, check for spelling and major grammar so just roll with it.

Oh My Goddard, Sprint Triathlon 6/22/14 Goddard Start Park, Warwick RI

The alarm chirps to life at 4am, but doesn’t wake me as I was already awake staring into the darkness. At 9:30pm the night before I knew I was unlikely to sleep much and not surprisingly my sleep was a half consciousness riddle with anxiety of bumbled transitions and hardware failure on the course. I quickly jumped out of bed and stumbled through the dark to find my slippers and make my way down to let the dogs out and begin my morning routine. I wouldn’t say I was anxious about the upcoming day, excited maybe, fidgety definitely, but the anxiety seemed to be at bay. I had trained, I had put in the hours, I had swam and biked the course and even did my best to walk the run course although after found out we were not on course! There was nothing left to worry about and it was time to go into auto mode, I had prepped my breakfast the night before and it was now time to just execute.

Yogurt, dark berries, toasted wheat germ, almond milk, out of fridge onto blender cup base; check. Ucann prerace drink powder, ice, water, into blender, grind to slushy mix, into large mouth bottle back into fridge to chill; check. The morning was going off without a hitch, bam, bam, bam knocking things off my carefully and probably over analyzed check and to do list. My racing partner arrives a HALF HOUR early, I haven’t even showered yet, her nerves rattled, she hadn’t slept she felt utterly unprepared and was terrified of the swim. I let her in, talked her down, sat her down and proceeded to get back on track. Shower; check, Tri Suit on; check, final items on check list; check, check check… and we were off. The ride to the event was about 50mins away, for the life of me I struggle to understand why sprint tris start at 7am, but it is what it is and while I am no morning person I make the best of it. We watch the sun rise as we drive closer to the venue on what is predicted to be an amazing day. We pull in and park at what seems to be miles away from transition, for whatever reason EVERYTHING this morning seems to be hyper enlightened. Unload our gear grab our bikes and begin the walk to transition. By this point sun was up and the temp was already perfect, not a cloud in the sky and the day was shaping up to be the pick of the week as promised. Stop at transition entrance and get marked, walk down the aisles and find our rack, begin to execute my plan of setting up my area, it was all just clicking! Bike racked, towel down, shoes laid out in order, helmet set, water filled, sun glasses placed, I step back and exhale… this was it, I was set, it was now time to wait. I helped Bonnie set up her area, gave her tips, and tried to keep her focused on the fact that she too had trained and was ready for this. I hit the bathroom and as the minutes ticked by the day on continued to become more perfect, no clouds, no wind, no humidity, on its way to high 70s. Wetsuit half on, body glide applied and watchful eye on time so I know exactly when to drink my prerace super starch. I begin to visualize the transitions, I run though where my rack is, how I plan to remove wetsuit and rapidly change to what I had planned for the day. My mind was shifting gears like a precision tuned Ferrari as I imagined each and every step of the course.

It was finally time to go get wet, have a little swim, stretch it out a bit, my cheering squad had arrived bearing signs that made me life and smile and seemed to melt away any bits of nerves that may have been around. Made my way to water and hoped in, it was surprisingly comfortable and almost soothing from the heat that was building in the wetsuit. 20mins, 15mins, 10mins, time to get closer, 5mins and I stood there at the beach, turned to Bonnie to calm her one last time and simply said, “NO MATTER what, just never stop moving forward… just keep moving forward.” A hand grasp, pulled in for a hug and pat on the back, that was it from here on in we were both alone. 3mins, 2mins, 1…. Standing on the shore, the water lapping on my feet I exhale and stare down. The world around me quiets and with laser like focus I just wait for that horn. Even though I heard the time counting out 15secs, 10secs… time felt infinite, I felt like I was in the flow. BAHRRRRRRRRR, horn goes off and so do I, 5 long strides and long forward dive and I was in the water swimming, however I was doing EXACTLY what I told myself not to do. I was going HARD, crazy hard and was first around the first turn mark when it hit me like a wall! GASPPPPP I couldn’t breathe, I had gone way too hard and made the most rookie of rookie mistakes that I had read about time and time again. I quickly moved to breast stroke and tried to calm, “keep moving forward” I said over and over in my head. I could relax and alternated between side and breast stroke and panicked when I tied to drop my head and get back into groove. “Keep moving forward…” I just repeated over and over knowing every breast and side kick burned my legs out just a little more with every stroke. 1 Person passed, then 2, then 5, I wasn’t in my crawl stoke but had found a rhythm and kept moving forward. I rounded the last mark and headed to shore, the water was shallow so I would plant my feet and dive forward gliding underwater and through the shallow regain some precious time I had lost with every leap. My breathing was still labored, my heart pounded in my ears as I rose to my feet and begin to walk out of the water. The race came to the beach and then provided you with about a 200yd beach run, up some stairs, across the timing mat and parking lot and into Transition area. I began laboring step by step up the beach feeling like I had blown my whole race because I didn’t listen to my. After about a 200’ I heard a man’s voice from the crowd yell out, “You can breathe on the bike, come on, lets go!” I never saw his face or even turned to acknowledge him, I just put my head down and started to run! Even while writing this recap I can here that voice as clear as my own, “You can breathe on the bike, come on, lets go!” words that got my first triathlon back on track!

Swim: 11:02 (quarter mile swim, 200 yard beach run, 6 steps to timing mat) 144 of 247

With military extraction team precision I entered T1, turned right, 1, 2, 3, 4 racks down turn right, wetsuit down, off and over railing. Water bottle on my towel, squirt left, squirt right, feet quickly dried, socks on, sunglass on, helmet on and clipped, bike off rack, down the chute, out of T1.

T1: 1:53 – 44 of 247

Instantly up a slight incline and quickly into my stride I took off like someone was chasing me. Still gasping for air, I kept telling myself at this point, “just settle in and calm down”. I got into a stride, cadence was high, legs felt strong, HR was around 162, everything was going to be fine, just stay focused and keep a rhythm. 1 person passed, 2, 5, 10, I was moving now, wind in my face, legs alive with vigor, HR stabilized and breathing while still labored was manageable. Out of the state park I shot onto the main roads that were open but being watched by local police, up a long gradual climb to a sharp left downhill U turn into the back roads. Strangers shout encouragement from the sidelines, volunteers cheer as the pass in what seem like a blur, I had found my flow again and just started pushing. It was only about mile 5 I realized I had yet to take a drink of anything and while I didn’t feel parched I knew I was sweating and it was hot enough out that hydration was key, I just didn’t want to stop pedaling long enough to grab bottle. My mind kept telling me, “you blew that swim, this is your chance to make up time!!!” I found a decent downhill and while I could have geared down and pushed even harder my Garmin told me I was at 31mph and felt it was time to let the legs breathe and grab that drink. Hand down, bottle up, 1 squirt; swish and spit, 2 squirts; savor and swallow, 3 squirts; gulped down, bottle reracked and legs right back at it. I began to find myself no longer in the moment but thinking ahead, recalling on my competitive sailing days when I would have already planned 3 moves ahead and be executing my plan in a robot like automated state. I found myself visualizing T2 and the run and I quickly began to make some considerations for what I will need left in the tank once I am off this bike. Mile 8 passes by, mile 9 clicks off, mile 10 rapidly comes and ago and then bam before I realize it, I have made the final turn back into the park for the final mile of the ride head towards T2. I called upon my knowledge and training, got into a higher gear and spun faster to get blood flowing, stood up in saddle to open hips, drank more water as I saw the final descend approach. I knew exactly where I would pull me feet out of shoes and pedal on top of them, boom left out, bam right out, feet on top and back to the pedals without missing a beat. Down the hill I sped as I saw my girlfriend and father on the sideline cheering and chanting me on! Energy surged through me, all doubts were extracted from my mind, I COULD DO THIS, I WAS DOING THIS, and then I stepped off bike… My legs trembled like jello as I got my footing and quickly went back to, “just keep moving forward…”

Bike: 38:24 (11.4 miles, transition in and out to my rack approx. 300yds) 92 of 247

Cross mat and like a baby deer taking first steps I say out loud to myself, “left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot” head down and focused my legs started to come around and my pace quickened to a brisk trot. 15 racks down, turn left, rack bike, helmet off, hat on, number belt on, sneakers on, final mouthful of water, and then get the hell out of dodge! Legs felt like concrete tubs but I quickly got into a short stride jog and made my way down and out of T2… smiling while I was doing it

T2: 1:17 – 51 of 247

Out of T2 lifting legs one after another that felt as if they must be glued to the ground! Ever step was deliberate, focused, planned and meaningful. Out of T2 a U turn back down parking lot and past the area where bike in/out was. I made my way down to quickly realize I had left my watch on my bike and was now without data, I thought quickly is this good or bad? And honestly even in hind sight I’m not sure what that answer is. The course took a hard right where my cheering squad stood, I heard my name loud and proudly yelled as I passed and again my soul came to life. Up a flight of stairs that I admittedly had to walk after about 4 of them, and into the woods for a beautiful 5k trail run. I focused on my cadence, I kept looking ahead, I kept talking to myself but never for 1 second did it ever seem to get easier. I had NO idea what my pace was, it felt so slow and so labored, side stiches came in and out and at time I did indeed have to walk for moments. When I did I would only allow myself a count of 10 and then back to it, I found a “running buddy” to pace for a while and even joked as we got side by side going up a cpl small hills. The course was relatively flat, but was soft and sandy in place and grossly enough covered in horse poo on a fairly regular basis. The course made a figure 8 type shape without actually crossing itself but just coming back to a bride that crossed over the bike in/out area. As I emerged from the woods, yet again my voices of inspiration rang through the trees as my name, “COME ON PETE!!! GO PETER” rang through the trees. I crossed the bridge and threw up the sign for I love you (thumb, point and pinky up) to my personal fan club and again got a much needed spiritual lift as I yet again entered the woods for the final half of the run and what was now looking to be certain my first sprint triathlon finish! The course again entered the beautiful woods and trails of Goddard State Park and this half seem to have less “obstacles” to maneuver around. People passed me fairly regularly but at this point the Olympic and Sprint distances had come together and shared the same trail so I kept reminding myself to run my own race and not be concerned with the numbers on their calves. The last mile felt like an eternity and to be honest I believe the course was mismarked and this may be the only regret I have for not having my watch, but I crossed my 2 mile mark and then passed the Oly 5 mile mark a short bit after. I then passed the Oly 6 mile mark and a greater distance after finally passed my 3 mile mark, so who knows. However when I did pass that 3 mile mark I knew this was it, I knew I was close, I could now here the intercom and names of finishers being called off. I knew any second now I would see the glorious arches outlining the finish through the trees and my journey would be complete. I navigated a sketchy root and sand filled downhill chute to the lot (several people bit it on that) came out of the woods, hit the pavement, heard my name being yelled and just went for all my worth…

To be honest I don’t remember hearing my name as I crossed, or any noise for that matter, I remember just feeling so focused on myself that I felt infinite. After a couple seconds it all rushed back and I was handed a metal and a water and was stumbling through the end of chute chaos as they panic to get their chips back before you even have a foggy mind thought of leaving with it. They cut off my timing chip, they guy pats me on the back and give me a heartfelt but obligatory, “great job!” I stumble out of the finish area and am greeted with the warm embrace of my loving girlfriend gleaming with pride followed by my proud father beaming with what only felt like the same sense of accomplishment I had. I quickly inquired about my training partner and learned she was on the run course and had successfully finished the bike. I made my way up to the snack area which was conveniently located near that bridge, grabbed a recovery drink, and sat and waited for my turn to cheer. Bonnie made it through the woods and over the bridge, I ran with her for a few hundred yards, giving her encouragement and reassuring her she was well within her goal time of 2hrs to finish. As she disappeared in the woods, I stretched and meandered my way down to the finish and waited for her to come across to celebrate what we had accomplished as a team.

Run: 33:25 (distance not really sure but assumed to be close to 3.4 miles) 161 of 247

Last August I turned 40 and weighed almost 270lbs, I was not ever a runner, biker or swimming any more than a kid who like to do those things with friends, I never thought I could finish any 1 of these event better yet putting all 3 together. I ran this race at about 222lbs, and utilized a 12 week training program. This was a life changing and affirming accomplishment for me and I hope anyone that takes the time to read it that may be questioning their own resolve, embraces what I tell you here today and finds the inner warrior, competitor, animal, whatever you want to call within themselves to push harder and continue to accomplish the impossible (or at least what your mind tells you is

Overall: 1:26:02 – 4 of 9 in Clyde division – 116 of 247 overall









Edited by diablo243 2014-06-30 2:03 PM

Peter,

Great job, my friend! Your recap was great, but your story is inspiring to so many! It's funny that as I read your recap, I got excited about my next race. It renews my energy and makes me remember why I started down this road. Triathlons are full of individual stories, yet we are bound together as a community. I'm thankful that we could travel this road together and I look forward to your next race report. Congrats, triathlete!

P.S. - you showered before the race? Really?

You did awesome man, very nicely done and good report!

I can totally relate if you read my report about the swim. I feel like it was a major lesson learned and I am ready for the next one.

Side not for me, I have now gone from 285 down to 253. The 240's though are starting to feel like the 250's always have for me, so close I can taste it but I just can't reel it in yet. Still have a long summer to go and things are on track.

My next race isn't until Aug 3 and I am kinda bummed having to wait another month for it. I should prob relax a bit and not go so hard but that doesn't sound like much fun.

I DO have a 4th of july 5k this friday, I would LOVE to break into the 25:xx but I don't see it happening. But I'm going to give it hell and

Thanks guys!

My next race is the 8/3 as well and just ramped up my 5 week program today to start in on it. This race is a half mile swim so I NEED to really be focused on pace and tempo!

My 5k time is pretty steady at 9min miles now for just a 5k, in fact I ran a Electric Eve 5k Friday night at 9pm in a complete clown costume and giant afro wig in 9 min miles, so maybe I have 8:45 in me

Yes at 4am that's better than caffeine to me!

Yeah it is so hard to reel yourself in at that starting gun! I just wanted to go!!!! Lesson learned and NOT forgotten

Yeah I have hovered around the 222 mark for a few weeks now and the plateau is annoying at best

Stick with it, I am going to give a new menu a try which consists of 30grams of protein within 30mins of waking. There is solid and reputable science showing just doing that exponentially increase fat loss and burn, I'll report back on that in a few weeks.

Let me know how that works. I'm stuck at about the same point. I broke 220, but now I'm floating in the 222-225 range. can't seem to get below 220 and stay there.

My next race is 7/19. we'll be on vacation from 7/3-7/12. We're going on a cruise. I'm going to have show great discipline to eat right and drink in moderation, while still getting some training done on the ship.

Also, I wish I could get my triathlong run time down. I can't seem to find my legs coming off the bike. I brick train, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

So I got some bad news today about my current bke. I finally got in to get it fit, turns out the guy told me it was a 58 and actually its a 56 which doesn't fit me. Being a noob at the time, I had no clue what I was looking at. So, we basically maxed it out and i'm gonna just have to deal until I can find a cheap(ish) replacement.

Good news is with the adjustments I was moving pretty decent and felt good. Did 30 miles tonight and it only took me 5 min more than it took me to do 25 last Monday. Just gonna keep plugging on and hope something pops up on CL or ebay

Well I got down to 327 race day morning. 2 lbs heavier than my heaviest marathon so that was promising.

I finished in 2:15:35

It while to get the wetsuit zip up. I felt like a girl in a corset. I had to hold my breath while my girl tried to get the zipper started. As soon as I started swimming my goggles fogged up. I could not see all race. I could only keep them unfogged for about 5 seconds at a time. I used the shore line for sighting but I kept drifting to the shore too so I swam a lot more I am sure than I should have to get around the bouys.

T1: the long was really long. I suspect it was well over .25 miles the Chicago marathon has. I took my time. I used it as a breather. The run to T2 was almost as long. You had to run the far side of Transition so you always entered on one side. With 4k people in the race it was really long. I guess it was fair that way though. We all had the same distance to travel.

Even with all the turns and 3 180 degree turns on the bike the Bike was a lot of fun. First time on the Road on a bike in 2 years. It was a lot fun flying down lower wacker drive. I felt like I should put on bat ears and a cape up hey its the ITU so no funny business . I was slow on the 180 degree turns but felt comfortable. I almost had a turn hit my wheel. I yell at her to get moving after the turn. She did and we did not crash. I was really scared because I did not even get practice the weekend before because of my back pain. I did let a girl finish up on the bike before me because I knew I would catch her on the turn but figure best to be safe and get plenty of room to turn. funny think I saw on the bike. A guy tried to mount but some how lost control and blocked people starting the second loop. Lucky he was able to get out of the lane of traffic and did not hit anyone.

Run was incredible hot. I tried to run a first and decided best not too. The race went red and figured I better move fast and safe. I had definite signs of heat stroke coming on. I started getting goosebumps. Good news I kept my fast walk/slow run pace I do a lot at work up. I felt very good about that.

Finishing was amazing and a real high light of my racing.

When I got home I was down to 320 lbs. 7 lbs of water lost in the race. That is a lot.

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Peter and Chirunner - Congrats (again) to both of you! Reading race reports like that have me chomping at the bit for my next race too (9/6)! I just started my 10-week training so we'll see where it goes!

Rick

Great job Chi! Well done!

Ummm I'm loathe to post this until I have definite answers, but my nerves are fried at the moment...

Y'all might remember my ice storm idocy in March when I dumped my bike on the ice. I tweaked my back a little. Remember, this was 2 months before my sprint. For the last 2-3 weeks my back has started killing me unless I'm on my feet. Standing is OK... sitting or laying down is torture. Oddly enough, the only time I am completely pain-free is when I'm training. Swim, bike, run, weights... All good... Go figure.

This last weekend I had 2 10+ hour road trips. As of 2 days ago I've lost surface feeling over my right quad. The skin is numb. I feel the muscle when I stretch out before and after a workout. I'm not sure if I'm more worried or wierded out over this.

I am seeing the Dr tomorrow, and we'll see what happens...

CHI,

got a question for ya, sending you a pm

Great job Chi! Way to finish with a SMILE!!!!

Web what was the prognosis!??!

I'm in a good mood. Luckily it was a pinched nerve. I'd rather have that than actual damage any day! Pain killers and a muscle relaxer for a week and we should be good to go!

That's good news. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery!

I'd like to wish the entire group a safe and happy 4th of July holiday! Train smart and race hard. Be careful on the roads.

P.S. I'll be in vacation and will not have much internet access, so I'll catch up when I can if when I get back next weekend.

NAME / username: leatherneckpa

STORY: Me, an athlete!? ROFLMAO!! Not hardly. I absolutely hate to run. Sure, I was obviously in pretty good shape when I was in the Corps. And I like to tell myself that I was in better than average shape when I was on the SWAT/RIOT teams for the prisons. I weighed around 285-300 lbs at that time, but still managed to run my 2 miles around 20 minutes in full riot gear. Couldn't do a pull-up, but I could drive a pile of battling inmates to the ground and wrestle them into submission. That ended in 2008 and I drifted up to a max weight of 396 pounds. Started Weight Watchers in 2011 and lost about 25 lbs that first year. Then got the crazy idea to do a triathlon. Trained with that old Marine Corps mentality and managed to drop another 30+ lbs. My first tri (Blueman, Bernville PA), in October of 2012 was changed to a duathlon because of unusually cold temps that week. But they wanted us to "get our money's worth" so they changed it to a 5k run, 25k bike, and ANOTHER 5k run. 3h 7m 23s later I was the next-to-last finisher, but that's better than the 14 people who did not finish.

For 2013 I had plans for an April sprint, a June Olympic and the Beach-to-Battleship Half in October.. Then Mom died the week before the sprint. A "practical joke" by one of my brothers resulted in a torn bicep that weekend and I spent the entire summer in a sling. Morale went straight down the crapper. Training disappeared, weight crept back up to 375. Last week I finally emerged from the fog of whatever dark place I had been in and went for a walk.

FAMILY STATUS: Married 33 years (all to the same lady), 1 daughter, 2 grandsons, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and 23 chickens.

CURRENT TRAINING: Three days of walking so far this week.

2013 RACES/ results: None. I was in a sling, remember?

2014 plans and RACES: It's really short notice, but I hope to do the Lumberjack Triathlon (sprint) on August 10th. It is essentially my hometown course. And maybe I will return to Blueman in October again. If I can pull both of those off the season will be a success.

WEIGHTLOSS: Starting 375.6 at the meeting last night.

Welcome........

Good news is you have all those chickens which make a great protein diet fuel :D

leatherneckpa nice to see you back. Hang in there. I feel your pain. I got up to 350 in January. I been suck at 330ish for the last 2 months. I did a sprint tri this last weekend.

My biggest suggestions. Bike lots and swim even more if you can. I hope you can have a nice win this year like I just did. Its not easy but you will get there if you try.