Dirk's Junkie group - CLOSED (Page 5)

I actually have no idea why bike and swim are normally together.  I have seen the same thing.  For the typical athlete, we are all time crunched in some way and don't have seven hours a day to workout, except for Jeff, because he's superman.

I like doing my swim/runs on the same day because my runs during the week are never longer than 45 minutes and then my pool sessions are never longer than an hour or 1:15.  On the other hand, my bike workouts are always an hour.  So if I swim and bike on the same day, I would have to workout for over two hours, but if I run/swim, it's only 1:15 - 1:30.  That way I can actually eat dinner and get to bed at a decent hour.

I also want to add that swimming helps me flush out my legs after running.  If I run first and jump in the pool to do my swim, it gives me a long cool down to shake out my legs and then I'm able to stretch and not feel my run the next day as if I just ran, ate, and went to bed.

mambos - 2012-01-09 11:43 AM Jeff: that is one busy race schedule! Are you going to be able to fit some training in around those races . If I suggest more than 1 or 2 races a month I get a frown from the wife.

I won't be able to do them all for sure.  For instance on the weekend of May 20th, there are 4 races I was considering.  I could theoretically do 2 of them, but don't know if I'd want to. 

Also, at some point during the summer I will want key weekend workouts and am bound to feel emotionally drained.  So the total race count should be similar to 2011.  Those are just the races I'm considering.

And you can bet that I'll train right on through most of them.  For a Saturday race, only a couple would have me change my Friday training routine (which would be Master's swim, 5 mile run in the AM).  That's a fairly decent and easy pre-race workout anyway as long as I don't bust a lung on the swim and just trot the run at 130bpm.

The 2012 Tennessee Bike Racing calendar isn't out yet, but I was also considering the state TT championships because TTs are fun and it's really what triathlon is all about.  Last year I chose a triathlon over the TT and feel conflicted about that.

Just for the record, I've had many 2-race weekends and even a 3-race weekend before (which was disastrous).  2 races I can usually do.  These are usually a tri on Saturday and a bike race on Sunday.  If they were 2 triathlons it would be more challenging physically for me. (seems like almost nothing leaves me feeling bad for cycling).

This is VERY cool.  We are also blessed with a "bi-racial family" but through marraige.  It's great when the entire family gets together.

This is EXACTLY what you'll get here!  but in all seriousness, you know what gets me back at it?  Signing up for a race!!

If this is really a goal of yours, we can help you.  NO PROBLEMO!

Same here.  I'm lucky to have an abnormally large frame, so it doesn't show that much, but extra weight to carry is extra weight to carry, right?  My goal (that I just decided on while typing this) is to loose 5 lbs by valentine's day.  You with me?

YES, absolutely!

Hey guys, I hope you all are still accepting members, otherwise I'll take my hastily written bio elsewhere!

USERNAME: Guitarfrk75 Name: John

STORY: This time last year (New Years) I was a smoker struggling to quit and rarely did any running unless I had to take the trash out as the truck was coming down the street. About July 4th, I started running to deal with the nicotine withdrawal. I in high school and middle school I was a strong swimmer, so I started going to the community pool and doing a little swimming. I entered a mini-sprint triathlon over Labor day weekend and got hooked.

I've been a horse rider since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, so I was always pretty active. I was encouraged to keep up the running, biking, swimming schedule because they help my primary sport - Polocrosse. It's a full-contact horse sport like lacrosse played on a horse. It's a ton of fun and very exciting to watch. It takes up a good proportion of my summer, but I've found a schedule for next year that has my first half marathon and my first an Oly level triathlon.

I got a kick of motivation this week after finally getting new running shoes and a new bike. In my old shoes I couldn't run more than about 3 miles without a mild injury as they were about five years old and pretty beaten up, and I'd been borrowing my Dad's bike or using the stationary bit  in the community gym.

FAMILY STATUS: Married as of May 2011.

Job: I work for Marriott International as a revenue manager.

CURRENT TRAINING: Half marathon training plan has me running 3 days a week. Now I have my own bike I'm alternating in some long and slow rides to build my endurance back up.

2012 RACES:

5/6/2012 - Frederick Half Marathon, Frederick, MD (HM)

6/3/2012 - Asserteague Triathlon, Ocean City, MD (Sprint)

7/22/2012 - Hagerstown Spring Triathlon, Hagerstown, MD (Spring) OR

8/5/2012 - Fort Richie Triathlon, Fort Richie, MD (Sprint)

9/9/2012 - Nation's Triathlon, Washington, DC (Oly)

Oct/Nov - Possibly a 10 miler or HM, although I've been thinking about giving Cyclocross a go!

WEIGHTLOSS: I was 180 when I entered college, and 195 when I graduated. I'd like to be back at that level, but I'll take fitness and a healthier lifestyle!

bswcpa - 2012-01-09 2:56 PM JONATHAN - You make me laugh. You're absolutely right about signing up for a race gets one motivated. And I'm to the point of frustration with my swim - having dumped hundreds of dollars at coaches and videos, etc and not seeing any speed improvement. I'm into year 6 of trying to get faster and it just ain't happinin'. The funny thing is, once I force myself to get to the pool, I really, really enjoy swimming. I'm just sooooo slow. Valentine's Day challenge....hmmmm.....isn't that a day for eating chocolates and eating dinner out? But OK, you're ON! Congratulations, BTW on being picked for the W Ink Elite tri team. Impressive!! JOHN - Welcome! Great job on quitting smoking! You're a champion already!

Brenda, I think we both know that EVERY DAY is a day for eating chocolate...but we gotta do it.  So here's the deal...you don't have to tell me your weight.  Let's say both of us weighs 10 lbs and we need to get to 5 by valentine's day.  Update every week.  Sound fair?  This will keep me honest.

Thanks for the congrats, I'm not elite, so don't let that name fool you.  I just fill out an application like a champion.  Hope it's fun though.  Looks like a solid group of athletes.  If anything, I might have a house to stay in for a destination TRI!!

John,  Welcome to the group.  I second the congrats on quitting smoking.  I love to see that!

Brenda and Jonathan: Thanks for the congratulations on quitting smoking. I had no idea how much it messes you up until I tried to quit! More congratulations are due to those who never started in the first place!

Jonathan - Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. My wife and I got married in May and it was one of the best weekends of my life!

John

I'm racing at 50 this year, so there's a few of us "more experienced" folks.  And Jeff looks like a teenage body builder, but he's no spring chicken either.  50 is the new 20.  Don't sweat the fast/slow, if you're enjoying it and staying after it, that's enough.  We'll help get you over that swimming hump.  Is there any chance you could get a video of your swimming for our perusal?

Though I didn't list weight loss as a goal, I also add on a few extra pounds this time of year.  My problem is I love to eat, and my wife loves to cook, and my mom loves me to be fat, so there you have it.  And if you haven't noticed I am great at making excuses and I'm an elite rationalizationer.  I'll join your weight loss fray, but I'm more like 15 pounds and need to get to 5 by Valentine's Day.

Welcome and huge kudos on quitting smoking.  I can't imagine how hard it is to kick a habit like that.  I'd say training will be easy compared to that task.  And yes, sarcasm goes a long way around here.  How else do you think Jonathan gets called elite?

I definitely can vouch for good/proper/new shoes making a huge difference in running.  I have found that after a certain amount of miles in a shoe I can really start to feel my knees and joints on longer runs.  I have no idea if it's placebo or not, but it works for me to move to a new pair.

And horse lacrosse sounds nuts.  I'd like to see it sometime.  We have some polo around here in Hamilton/Wenham, but I've never heard of Polocrosse.

Hey there - 

I would love to join this group. I just signed up for my first tri in June. I will complete a bio this evening when I get home.

Thanks!

Brady

I found this on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jhoNQ5SsX0

If I were to do polocrosse I would want a horse like this: http://www.nurturalhorse.com/images/Shire-Horse.jpg

You could try a horse like that, but you'd need a ladder to reach the ground to pick the ball up!! Mine is a LOT smaller. Good polocrosse horses are like sports cars - short wheelbase, good acceleration and nippy handling... That horse is more like... er... a semi...!

The video is spot on though, that's exactly what I do!

Brady - Welcome!

Certainly Brady you are in.  Get that bio up when you get the chance and get ready to roll.

Also here's is who I have in the group.

1. Jonathon
2. Jeff
3. Warren
4. Matt
5. Heather
6. Allison
7. Paul
8. Joanne
9. Stan
10. Brenda
11. John
12. Brady
13. Myself

Is that everyone?  I hope I have not missed someone.  If I have missed another person I apologize and add yourself to the list.

Okay, we are getting close to the limits here so I'll go ahead and cover a couple of things. 

1. I am going to let about 2 more people in the group before I shut it down.  I am already a bit nervous about the numbers but I'll survive
2. Warren already made mention of this but I think it bears repeating.  Make sure you set your training log to public and keep it up to date so we can take a look at it from time to time.  This will help provide accountability, measure progress and allow us as mentors to provide some insight into where you would like to go and how to succeed in getting there.
3. While this group is primarily a training aid I believe (with past personal experiences) that this can be a place to air other difficulties you are going through.  Obviously it would be up to each individual to provide whatever they chose to air.  I would also suggest that you find someone within the group you feel you have made a deeper connection with and use the messages/email link we all have to make some of those personal communications.
4. Everyone needs to provide encouragement to others throughout the mentoring session.
5. Provide honest, yet hard to hear feedback when it it is required.  this should be done with respect to the individual to support them in becoming a better athlete and person.

Lastly, There are 5 of us that just got done with the last mentoring session that are hanging in here together.  Many of us have been around athletics in general for sometime and some posses more knowledge than others.  These particular people are myself, Jeff, Jonathon, Warren and Matt. 

• Jeff has the most experience and practical ability to provide guidance overall (he was the mentor for the last group).
• Jonathon has a great amount of cycling experience and can provide strong insights there. 
• Warren is a great encourager and has a well rounded ability to communicate with everyone.
• Matt is the newbie that stuck to our last group through the entire session and, probably is the more wiser for it, is being prepped to be his own group leader too.  (Surprise Matt!)
• Me?  Well.....I am still very much in the learning process but I have learned a lot from the mentoring groups I have participated in.  I consider my strength to be an encourager within the group.  I also have done well with my run training and I feel of the 3 disciplines that is my strongest followed by a fairly decent swim.  I believe I can help pprovide some advice that will keep each of you on track to a better training cycle and some pretty stellar races BUT I will not be able to do it without the support of the above people.

Finally all, welcome to the group and lets get started! 
Oh yeah, another thing Warren suggested.  Read up on some other races that others have posted in their race log.  This can be a huge tool to learn from as those of us that have raced and completed various distances.  (My race reports can be pretty wordy so if you read mine make sure you have a good hour.

I have said enough! (I told you I was wordy. LOL)

1. Polocrosse - After watching the video full contact is totally accurate.
2. Umm?  Yeah, I would imagine you were having problems when running in 5 year old shoes.  The new ones will make you training much safer and easier on you.  I suggest you track the mileage and replace them every 350 to 450 miles.  I replace mine about 350-ish.
3. That's a pretty aggressive race schedule.  I have heard the Nations Tri is a pretty good one.
4. Awesome!  I think you will fit in just fine.

Ok this has to be a shorter post.  I'm about posted out for tonight.

Jeff and John get the awards for most aggressive race schedule this year.  I hope to complete about as many as John this year but I will have a pretty fair mix of running and triathlon this year, leaning a little more to tri's I hope.

Jonathon and Brenda, I think I may jump into the 5lb weight loss thing by Feb 14.  I could stand to lose about that.  I was supposed to do that last year by June but I love ice cream.  Especially Zesto when it opens in the spring.  Do you agree Brenda?

Brenda, we'll work on that swim.  Have you done a 500 TT?  If so what was your time?  How many times do you want to swim each week?

Jonathon, I am going to give that W Ink team a try next year if I can remember.

I was a little hesitant to do it, but I went ahead and made my training log public.  I have to admit I am quite intimidated by looking at some of yours.  I don't know what all of the abbreviations mean!  I seem to have made up my own lingo for my workouts that probably only I understand.  I'll try to get more onboard with proper terminology. 

This year my goal is to compete in at least one race each month (some running, some tris).  I plan to stay close to home for most of them.  Here's what I am planning and/or considering:

Jan: Snowflake 5K
Feb: TBD
Mar: Kilt Run 5K; maybe Tri Force Indoor Triathlon (do you know anything about this one, Dirk?)
April: TBD
May: Oahu 5K (yes, I have to go to Hawaii for business )
June: Morse Park Summer Triathlon; Sunburst Half Marathon (Heather, you did a Sunburst race- right?)
July: KPC Sprint-Distance Tri or Valpo Tri
Aug: Muncie Aug Tri (Oly) or Tri Indy (Paul, maybe we can push each other to train for this one!)
Sept: Popcorn Panic 5 mi; Fort-4-Fitness Half Marathon
Oct: TBD
Nov: Veteran's Marathon??
Dec: TBD

I hope to meet some of you at some of my races this season! 

Dirk

thanks for the review - I do consider the HM a basic distance and maintain fitness thru the year to that level. Good to hear you have used the OLY train plan  - gives me a bit of confidence it will get me in the right place. Changes here at home may open up time in June/July to look at a Muncie OLY - but at this point I will set goal for Tri Indy. I walked the swim last year after the race (I did the sprint) and the swim looks daunting. I want to be ready, since swim is my weak link.

thanks

Paul

Don't be intimidated by anyone's logs, you have no reason to be intimidated.  Everyone starts somewhere and some of us started a little sooner than you did.  You'll be right up there with everyone else soon enough.  With your past dedication to fitness I already know your gonna be pretty good.

I have not heard of the Tr Force tri.  I may research it though.  Is it here in town?

Tri Indy is AWESOME!  I will be there again this year because I love it and so does my wife.  Do the oly if you do Indy.  I hope to get closer to a podium there this season but it will be a very long shot.

Another race to consider is the Warsaw Optomist.  That is a really good race too.  I plan on doing it again this year.  It is a national qualifier and I hope to make it this year. Brenda, are you doing the Optomist again?

I would imagine that many of us can meet since there are several of us from Indiana.

I have not heard of the Tr Force tri.  I may research it though.  Is it here in town?

It's at Spiece (indoors).  I think it used to be called something else. 

Another race to consider is the Warsaw Optomist.  That is a really good race too.  I plan on doing it again this year.  It is a national qualifier and I hope to make it this year. Brenda, are you doing the Optomist again?

I forgot about the Optimist.  I'll look into it! 

My evening advice before I go pass out:  DO NO TAKE 3 MONTHS OFF FROM SWIMMING.

I'm also hungry as hell.  This fasting for medical exams bologna is for the birds.

Goodnight.