Slornow and Wannabefaster's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 6)

The weather here in Dallas took a turn that I wasn't expecting ... my wife told me we will have snow on Christmas Day and I told her to stop dreaming ... so what happens ... it rains all Christmas Day morning and around 1 pm it starts snowing like crazy ... what? The low in Denton was 16 degrees last night! I have not had that kind of weather since moving down here from Chicago in 2007. 

So the drive to the office this morning was not too bad and luckily there isn't much going on at work ... hopefully I can sneak out of here early the next two days ... 

I have been eating like a pig and I am going back to clean food and training tomorrow ... I am considering tomorrow the official start to my "off-season, base building" training. 

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and got something you wanted. My wife got me the TRX Suspension Training system that I wanted for quite some time ... can't wait to get started on that tomorrow morning. 

Fortunately, everything was fine at my office. A good bit of damage about a mile down the road. Today is cold and windy now that the front has moved through.

Consistency! Jason's 100 mile run month streak is fantastic. I'm especially envious since I have run only 4 times in the last 5 weeks What is more important than any actual number of miles per month/week/year is the consistency factor. It takes the body time to build fatigue resistance to handle the type of training triathletes do. Don't discount that 15-30 minutes of time where a short bike/swim or run are possible. It all adds up and even those short workouts help the body adapt.

I've started thinking about some changes I would like to make heading into the New Year.  Its easy to say things like eat better, drink less, exercise more etc... But, those are such BIG things I think I am going to pick 2 or 3 specific things and try to do them. I am terrible about snacking after dinner. I can't eat one peice of candy or 2 cookies....it has to be handfuls! So, I'm thinking I might set the goal of limiting myself to 100-150 calories after dinner. I can still get my sweets fix but have a defined limit.  I'm pretty good with my eating during the week and on weekends so this seems to be a reasonable (I say that now) way to try to work on eating too much junk.  I'm thinking about a couple of other specific things.  What about ya'll? Any resolutions in the making?

Heading out for a swim.

Randy     

We are making changes to our New Year plans. Basically, I want to train long and on moderate scale. So I can do 3hrs on the bike or 2hrs on the treadmill and not burn myself out. Yes in time I'll want to race faster, but as I'm a beginner I just want to finish my races. That will be my acheivement

As my 1st biathlon is on April 28th, I'm wondering if anyone thinks that maybe it's too soon? I WANT to do it, but I have to register soon and I'm just wanting some seasoned triathletes opinions on that.

Im off to buy some running shoes today which is going to turn into a laughfest as my feet are 3 sizes apart from each other. This will result in me doing some serious poker face discounting with the shop staff so I don't end up having to remortgage the house to pay it off.

Still annoyed at my University gym is not open till the 2nd. I have to use it simply because I live on a main road edge and the nearest sidewalk is 350 yards away. And as I'm British, I'm always looking the wrong way as I cross the road.

Today's exercise will consist on walking 2-3hrs in the shopping malls then.

BEST of Luck!!  HOORAY!!!

Paul-might be to late for this info but there is a great running store in Chattanooga. Fast Break Athletics, Cherokee Blvd on the North Shore. Very knowlegable staff that will fit you correctly.  Nice folks too!

Nate-good luck! Very exciting.

Randy

This made me chuckle a bit.  I feel like I'm so far outta my league here talking tris with everyone - but a regular road bike is something I think I can hold my own with.....especially on the hills  Them Tri bikes aren't geared nicely for big hills!

Paul-any luck with the running shoe search?

Randy

Really glad to get my bike workout done. Purpose of workout was to establish power level for a 5 minute all out effort. Did this on my trainer/rollers in the garage and boy did it suck. First 2 minutes were not too bad. 3rd minute started to drag. Last 2 minutes made a root canal look good! UGH, had to stop and get off the bike at the end as I was about to fall over and wet myself. I've done 20 minute tests in the past but haven't tested in 2 years. I suspect a 20 minute test will show up in my training plan within the next week or two since power levels are often set based on a calculation using 5 and 20 minute tests.

AP338/NP343 watts for 4.70 watts/KG based on current weight of 161 pounds.

All of this may seem like a different language....sorry. Its all based on the use of a powermeter while cycling. The powermeter (typically built into the rear hub) tracks your watts and allows you to set certain training zones/intervals based on your watts. Its a great tool for pushing yourself on the bike....but unfortunately they are a bit expensive. Several people in the group use powermeters including Jason and Rene. Its a tool but by no means a necessity. 

Glad to be home and getting back into a schedule.

Randy

Impressive! I've never used a power meter, but I did a long ride with a group a month ago, and one of the riders had just done a LT test, and he was fried. He could normally ride circles around me, but his legs just didn't have any power left in them! 

Just got done with a quick run with my dog Gus, anyone else here run with a furry pal? I don't take him that often (I get worried about his knees), but his face just lights up when I get his leash out!

Yes! I bought a pair of Saconey running shoes for $113.07 ( For two pairs to fit my size 12 left foot and size 7 right foot )

I also saw a fairly decent deal on a new road ( With no tri bars ) it was $300 but I didn't want to push my wife too far on Dec26th!

Story: My name is Blanda, 40 years old, from Guam. Retired Guam soccer player finally able to venture out and enjoy other sports. I've run for years in addition to soccer training, but that's the only other activity I had time to enjoy. A good friend of mine already active on the tri' scene invited me to train for and compete in the 2012 Xterra, and I've been enjoying the struggles since!

Family: Married to an awesome guy and we have 3 children. Oldest girl is 21 and attending University of North Florida. My boy is 11, and the littlest girl is 6. I'm proud to say that I have finally inspired my husband to give distance running a go. He's currently training for his first full marathon and absolutely loving every minute of it. Now he understands the long hours, the tired, and the fun of logging in your miles and watching your progress!

Training: Swimming 2-3x a week with a "swim team" (they don't compete, just train like they do), mountain biking at least once a week, and try to take the MTB out on the road for some miles. 18-20 miles of running a week, at least. I need to get more bike training in.

2012 Races: I did a bunch of sprints, attempted Xterra, and a half marathon. Sorry, I'm awful about details.

2013 Season:The big one is the Xterra in 2013 that I'm training for. I will be doing all the sprints between now and then (not sure of the dates yet) and I think I'm actually going to do a few bike races in 2013 too. Oh, and the big 2 mile swim called Cocos Cross. You get dropped off at Cocos Island and you swim back to Guam. Also, looking for a new PB in the half marathon distance.

Weightloss: I'm fluffy. Working on dropping at least 10 lbs before Xterra 2013 in March.

Good work Nate! Congrats.

Randy

Woo hoo! Congratulations!

Ok I have a "weird" question! I have never owned a carbon bike before and I am kind of handling it very careful. So what am I going to do about storage? Should I hang it under the ceiling by the wheels like all my other "normal" bikes? Should I get a wall mount and put something fluffy on the wall mount to make sure I don't scratch or ding the carbon? Its weird because the bike is sooooo light! How are all of you storing your bikes?

Nate - Congratulations .... !