IronAnneKidd's Mentor Group - Closed for business! (Page 6)

Longest run of the year, so far: 3.26 miles. Not fast but the knee held up & I felt pretty good throughout. Looking to go longer this weekend. Happy weekend everyone!

Great job, George!
My plan is to go for my long run tomorrow morning. I'm aiming for 6 miles.

Sleep tight everyone!

Got in a 4 mile run outside today. Was about 20*F and colder with the wind. Ran with my yaxtrax on a snow covered forest Reserve trail. Was slow as heck but there is something very fulfilling about running outside in the winter.

wasn't able to run/bike last night.  going for a short run tonight at the gym and get on the bike for a bit tomorrow.  picked up a 2010 specialized allez triple from a local bike shop today.  hopefully the weather cooperates tomorrow for is maiden voyage.  hope everyone had a good friday.

Edited by eurasn1 2011-01-15 12:42 AM

WOOT! 

I made the mistake of running outside last year when it was 17 and I had been swimming first. I have a hat that I can pull my pony tail out the back. When I got home I had frozen hair. 

Shout out to the folks who joined but haven't posted in a while. Jump on in, the waters fine! Cmon back!

Hi guys, do you still have spaces?

Here's my deal:

36, married mom to 1, tri virgin

Background: completed 1 marathon and lots of other shorter distance races including several halfs, 2010 = year of the overuse injury, totally craptastic, couldn't run for three months this fall and missed my second NYC marathon, started cross training instead on dr's orders

Progression: Crosstraining = swimming & cycling = "hmmm, triathlon is cool"= lots of books = I've paid up for my first entry, a mini on 4/23/11, yay! Saving for a bike (I currently use the spin bikes at my Y and have a decent cannondale MTB, need an entry level road bike).

2011 goals: I want to do several sprints in addition to a few shorter distance road races, mostly 5k to 10k. Since I'm a slow fat athlete, I'd like to get faster and thinner I'd like to complete 1 olympic distance event this year but haven't picked it yet. In any case it'll be late August at the earliest.

OK, off to the Y and maybe Trader Joe's... good to meetcha!

 

Hi, Katie, and welcome! I plan on doing more running this year (have a 10K & half marathon coming up) & hope to do my first sprint triathlon.

Today I ran 6.5 miles with some great negative splits. I'm getting faster & it feels great!

Nice job on the run.  Took the bike out today before the rain started and was able to ride for almost 40min.  Feels pretty good.

Fantastic job!!!

Welcome aboard!

So, here's a question... I am searching for my 'first sprint triathlon' to sign up for. I would really prefer a pool swim,but I'm not sure that'll happen. With my running, I often go by myself to race. After all, I just need myself and possibly some water & 'food.' But, there is so much more to think about with a triathlon! I'm nervous about going on my own. And yet, I'd want the right type of person there to help me.

So, if you've done a tri already, do you have someone with you? (spouse, friend, etc?) Or, do you go on your own? And, if with someone, what can they help with?

thanks!

Any Space Left?

ME: My name is Anthony. I'm 45, married with 2 kids (5 and 2 years old). I work a lot of night shifts so my workout schedule is strange - I have some days with limited/no time, and some days with a lot of time to train. My wife is also gearing up to do a triathlon this Summer. At this point I am more fanatical than she is. Another limitation is that we are both very involved in our church, so no Sunday triathlons for us.

HISTORY: Neither my wife or I have ever run a triathlon before. She ran cross country in HS and college. I was never much of an athlete and 5 years ago I was 300 lbs. I've lost about 60 and would like to lose another 20-30. I have been doing a fair amount of bicycle commuting/errands and family rides. I enjoy running, but I've been injury prone in the past and I do a lot better if I do 90% or more of my running on a treadmill. I have a great spin class with an awesome leader who is a triathlon coach. Most of the people in the spin class are hard core triathletes (by my standards anyway - they're podium dwellers). I guess my wife and I caught the bug from them. My wife and I both started swimming lessons in October to get ready for tris. I am really enjoying the swimming - and adding the extra dimension to my training has helped my weight loss and overall endurance. In the past few weeks I have felt like things have really taken off.

TRAINING/PROGRESS: We do not have cycling friendly Winters here, so spin class will be my only cycling workout for at least 2 more months. I do the 60 min spin class mentioned above as much as I can, usually 2-3 times per week. I try to get in 1 or 2 weight lifting workouts each week, focusing mostly on upper body and core. Whenever I lift weights I use the times between sets to stretch. I run on the treadmill 2-3 times per week. My "standard" run is 30 minutes, and I do this at 5.7 or so mph (skoshe slower than 10 min mile). I do this run a lot on days that I work long night shifts. When I have time, I like to extend this to 40 or 45 minutes at a slightly slower pace.

My current swimming regimen is a bit strange. My swim teacher was having me do this very slow stroke rhythm, where one arm waits for the other one complete the stroke before beginning the stroke on the opposite arm. The good thing about this is that I feel like I have good mechanics with this rhythm, get a good body turn, and really finish my strokes well. I can easily swim 1500 or 2000 meters like this, but it's slow. I also practice swimming with a more normal rhythm, but I always feel like it's sloppy and ineffecient. So right now my swimming routine is 50 meters kick board, 50 meters fast (my fast, which isn't very), and 100 meters slow. I then repeat this cycle four times for a total of 800 yards. Then I just switch to swimming slow, continuously without recovery time, until my arms go numb or I run out of time. I am still working on all this with my swim teacher.

GOALS/PROJECTS: Probably most important is to continue losing weight, getting healthy, and having fun. Eyeing a Sprint triathlon early in the Summer and an Oly later on. Long term would like to try HIM/IM but not realistic for this year. Will need a new bike at some point - right now my only bike is a Fisher hybrid with a kid seat and trailer on it.

Welcome Anthony! It sounds like you are well on your way! I just started swimming lessons last week. I started running last June & completed a half marathon in October but I'm slow...fastest 5k was 37:48 though I think I could do it in 35 now. And, I just started cycling & am slow with my longest ride being 10 miles. I have started spinning at gym with a machine, though, and it is warm enough here for me to cycle year round.

I love that you & your wife are doing this together! And congrats on the weight loss!

Welcome Anthony! Whereabouts in Indiana?

Dana & Ed, thanks for the welcome!

Ed, I am in Carmel IN. It is a North Indy suburb.
I see you are living in Chicago/NWI area. I lived in the Medical District in Chicago from 1998 to 2002.

Thanks for the welcome & welcome to Anthony!

Just got home from my swim lesson at the YMCA. I'm signed up for an adult advanced class, but I'm the only one so it turned into a private class - sweet! Did about 1200 yards, which is huge for me. My teacher also told me people pee in their wetsuits to keep warm in open water.

WHAT???

What have I signed up for???



It's been a lame training week for me (snow + cold + work + laziness), but I have a 3 day weekend so I'm hoping to get some time in on a bike trainer, lift some weights, AND get a run in on the treadmill, not necessarily in that order. Wish me luck!

Katie. My group class turned into a private lesson, too. And, pee in their wetsuits? Ewww! Had a great week (workout wise) & long run yesterday, but probably won't be able to get a workout in today!

You will find a lot of people on this forum go on their own. You will also find a lot of people have someone go with them. I know that didn't help, right? I'm fortunate that I've never had to go alone. I think I'm going alone, I'm prepared to go alone, then my BFF ends up going with me. I have great friends.

As far as doing it on your own, you'll be fine. If you get there and you have questions just ask someone, they are more than likely to help. If you are going to do an open water swim try to get some open water practice in before hand, it will help calm the nerves.

Welcome aboard Anthony!

I'm fortunate in that we have a lake house. So, when the weather gets warm again, I can get plenty of open water practice!

Dana: re: lake house: ridiculously jealous!

Speaking of wetsuits, I was just looking at a few online... I think I'm going to rent one then buy it, but aside from finding the right fit, what do you guys think about sleeveless vs. long sleeve? I'm really into staying cost effective so naturally I'm attracted to sleeveless, but are the buoyancy / warmth gains in a sleeved model worth the added cost? I never wore one so I have no clue one way or another. Thanks!