Consistency Equals Success - CLOSED (Page 5)

Originally posted by chapfallen

Mitch has very kindly said that I can jump into the group as I was a previous member. I'm going to catch on posts today. For those who don't know me, here's my bio:

NAME: Chapfallen/Rachel

STORY: I started triathlon in 2010 with my husband, who had this hair brained idea that he wanted to do a triathlon before he was 30, and had found a sprint race the week before. It was intended to be a one off... A series of events led us to the local tri club, and then it all snowballed. Originally we decided to do an OLY in 2011, which felt like a massive goal, but somewhere along the way it got bumped up to a HIM. That race was probably a defining moment in my triathlon career, not because it was impressive in any way, or even a particularly good race, but because when I crossed the finish line I realised that anything is possible. 2012 saw us complete IM Zurich, and I had found my triathlon happy place. For whatever reason IM just feels right for me - probably because I'm just not fast, but I can do long... 2013 my husband and I entered Outlaw which is an independent iron distance race. Around April my husband hurt his back and had to withdraw, but was an absolutely amazing support team for my training and I improved my time by about an hour and a half on the previous race. All of this was interspersed with a number of sprints and individual swim/bike/run events. One of my favourites was actually a charity bike ride in September 2013 when we cycled from London to Paris over 3 days.

Last year everything changed. I found out I was pregnant on the 2nd January, and had great plans to continue being fit and healthy through my pregnancy. By some standards I succeeded - I continued doing parkrun every week, although I had to walk from quite early on as my knees went, then my hips. I also continued swimming all the way through, and cycled until around April when I started to get nervous about the possibility of falls. I had my son at the beginning of September (I managed labour under the IM cutoff time, but only just!), and have been gradually trying to increase my activity levels from pretty much nothing to something resembling actual training.

FAMILY STATUS: Married with a 4 month old son, a dog and a cat.

CURRENT TRAINING: As the primary caregiver for our son it's obviously quite restricted at the moment, so I'm still walking parkrun most weeks, but with the baby in a sling. I've been swimming once a week with the tri club for the last couple of months, and am working on a 2nd opportunity to swim at the moment. A group has recently started a track running session for mums local to me, so I'm going along to that and it's suitable for pushchairs, so I can take the baby along. I really want to get a jogging stroller so that I can get a bit more running in, but at the moment we're having to be a little careful with our finances, and also the baby is still a little young for it, so it's on the wishlist. Hopefully by the time he's 6 months he'll have the strength and I'll have the money to be able to put that in place. Cycling is the thing I'm struggling to figure out. I've never really enjoyed cycling outside on my own, but I can't cycle with my husband at the moment as one of us has to look after the baby. I'm going to try to start doing some with my Dad during the day while my Mum babysits, and he's about the right level of fitness for me at the moment, so fingers crossed that will fall into place. It's very much a work in progress!

THIS YEAR'S RACES (2015): I haven't signed up for anything yet, but there's a sprint at the beginning of May that was our season opener 3 years in a row. Entries open in 8 days and I'm intending to sign up. I do better when I have something to aim for, and the distance is short enough that even if my training goes horribly wrong I'll be able to complete it. At this point that would be a real success. At the back of my mind I've got a marathon I'd like to do in September, but that will absolutely depend on how well I get back into training and whether the running is there. My husband has entered Outlaw again this year, and I have agreed to prioritise his training for that, so anything else I do will have to fit around him.

2014 RACES:Absolutely nothing.

WEIGHTLOSS: Im currently sitting around 20kg/45lb above my Outlaw race weight. I have no expectation of getting back there until I can resume long distance training, so not for a while, but I'm hoping to drop about 15kg of it this year. I find healthy eating is linked with good exercise so I'll be working on both together.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I've been a very active member of a number of mentor groups in the past and enjoy the relationships that can be built in these groups. I also have a fair bit of knowledge that I've picked up along the way, and enjoy sharing that. I intend to be an active member of the group, if only so that I've got something to do during feeds other than checking facebook!

Originally posted by JoePetto

Mitch:

Do you mean FTP/KG? That is currently 3.79. Not sure how to measure watts/kg on an overall basis, but for the 20' VO2 Max interval yesterday it was 4.0 on the button.

Originally posted by killingtime1229[/

I need some advice guys and gals situation is this
first ever sprint tri is early june either the 7th or 13th depending on the race i choose. I can run anytime got a local track plus great sidewalks and roads here in east tenn when the weather is decent treadmill coming asap been running around 2 miles regularly anyway. Cycling on a trainer now till end of march then i will hit the roads wide open for my normal cycling season doing charity events, training rides special races etc i usually average close to 80-150 miles a week and close to 2000+ on the year! My main issue is the swim i will have to commute 30min in the opposite direction of home in the evenings after working and pay to use the aquatic center. The swim portion of my tri is around 400-600m again depending on the race. The one on june 7 is just 300m i am so limited on the amount of time i have in a week to get to the pool. I was wondering if i could start swimming at around mid February or march and do one swim per week till june and build enough of what it takes to do a decent sprint tri. I have 2 other races this season later in the summer but in summmer our local outdoor pool opens up and i can use it and the lake after june 1st

Originally posted by microdoc

I have to thank everyone for today's 30min on the trainer - had to make sure I put up a point, I'm competitive that way

Originally posted by sawyer1206

My question is: Does the amount of time I spend in the pool swimming some how have an effect on my calf muscles on the run? Am I doing something wrong during the swim that could be effecting my calves?

Originally posted by killingtime1229

Thanks... maybe i should just stick to centuries, metric centuries and 5k races i always wanted to try a tri, but also am not lucky enough to live close to an indoor pool to train year round! I know how to swim, but have never competed in any aquatics event.