Gary's Mentor Group - Re-OPENED for Training (Page 61)

Good swim this morning.  Went 100M x 10 with 45 secs rest in between.  50M warm up and 50M cool down.  Probably should have cut the rest to 30 secs.

Joined up with the old man wolfpack over lunch time.  Bunch of older guys who leave the Y for a run everyday.  Went 4.04 in 37 mins, with lots of steep climbs.  Felt good.  Foot is still sore, but lessening.  Just going to push through it. 

Supposed to get the bike back today and have a ride scheduled for the morning.  We shall see.

2 more days Gary!

Can I be so bold as a newbie in thei group as to pose a group question?

What did you do before you Tri'd?

I started running in 2008 at the age of 37 and Tris a year later.  It totally defines me now.  After husband and father, triathlete/runner is how I would describe myself.  I do not remember what I did 7-10 hours a week.  I know I was overweight, out of shape and not nearly as happy, but how I filled my spare time escapes me.

It has been a great week of training.  Hope everyone is hitting their training goals.

Rob

Ask away!

As for me back in 2007/2008 I got back into running only to injure my knee in a non-running related incident.  Had high hopes for a 1/2 marathon and even was considering BQing at some point.  Knee surgery and Dr said cut distance running.  Moped a bit as speed and BQing was out but a couple of exrunner friends had turned to triathlons and encouraged me to do that.  Dr said riding and swimming would be good for the knee.  So in Dec of 2008 I was started to learn to swim and March 29th, 2009 was my first Tri and have been with it ever since.

Three years later and my running is finallying coming back.  I can't do 5k's as fast as I did before but my 10k speed is about the same as it was.

Got my race packet and am packing for tomorrow!

Rob ... I was a huge couch potato.  I played golf and mostly hobbies around the house.  I'd get to the gym Sept-Nov to get in shape for skiing, but that was the extent of my exercise.  About 2 years ago I stumbled into the spinning studio at my gym and hung on to the end of the class.  I was totally wasted, but knew I'd be back.  So I started hitting the spinning classes each week, which transpired into cycling.  Too, my youngest daughter married a young man who cycled and I thought I'd take it up too.  I've never looked back with the cycling.  

From this I've dropped 60 lbs, competed in 4 races last year and have 6 on the plate this year ... 2 are oly's. 

I got in some swim time at the gym this morning which proved golden.  Last swim I did on Tuesday was very disappointing.  It felt like I was hardly moving although I was working my tail off; turned in some of my slowest laps time this year - totally frustrated. 

I talked with one of the trainers there and as it turns out he teaches a masters swim class on Friday, so I joined the class today for some help.  After a couple of laps the trainer says I have a fairly good stroke, but showed me the fingertip drill to help arm recovery out of the water and help body rotation; i.e. not swim so flat.  Soon as I started with this I saw immediate results.  I kept at it and it worked as I turned in my fastest 300y swim time ever.  Sweet!

Gary-

Have a blast.  Hammer on. HTFU.  And what ever else one says pre race.  I am totally jealous.  Must find a Tri in April or May.

Rob

Hey all!

Thanks, loading up and heading out in a little while.  Should be fun!

Hey all!

Well, not a great swim, okay bike but a great run.  Will write RR later.  Several mistakes and a couple of mechanical issues.  Glad I got that out of the way before NOLA.

Very tired and still have to load hay into the barn.  Later!

Nice job Gary!

Had our annual auction at the Church last night.  It is quite a big event and they typically have tons of stuff.  My wife and I (and most everyone around us) had a few (many) too many cocktails and were walking around through the silent auction rooms.  She couldn't find anything, and she told me to just start bidding on some stuff.  Well, it just so happened that the local LBS donated a bunch of gift cards, and a Garmin 210.  Told her that was a nice watch and we both could use it for runs.  A few bids later and I ended up winning the sucker.  Probably could have bought at least the 400 model for what I paid for it, but she wouldn't have let me just go out and order one anyway, and it was all for a good cause.

My gear is starting to load up.  Actually going to order my first pair of tri-shorts this week.  Was looking at some Pearl Izumi's.  Any recc's on shorts?  Probably would like to stay at or under the $60 range for a first pair.

Broke in that watch with a 5 mile run tonight.  Furthest I've been in over 15 years.

Watch is nice, but rather intimidating.  I previously ran with a GPS run app on my phone, which I had in an armband.  Press start, run, press stop.  Never knew what was happening until I was done.

With the Garmin on the arm though, every time I looked down I knew how far I was (and scarier, how far I had to go to get back), and my pace.  I felt pressure to increase the pace a bunch of times, but never relented and just stayed in a groove.  Something I'm sure will work out over time.

I like your prioritization of roles.  I agree that I am a father then husband then triathlete/runner.  I cannot remember what was third before.  Probably my profession, but that got bumped and I am all the better for it.

I can see by others responses that MyTri isn't high enough on my priority list and that is why I consistantly miss my training goals. On the other hand, I weigh 40 lbs. less than 3 years ago, eat healthier and generally have more energy. Husband, Father, Grandfather easily fit at the top, but it gets murky from there. Paying the bills, refereeing basketball, umpiring baseball, volunteer work, yard work, golf, reading, gardening, work/hobbies such as voice acting and residential building jump up pretty high at times as well as helping out elderly parents. So as you can see, MyTri has a lot of competition, but one thing for sure is before tri there was way too much couch time, guaranteed!

We all bring something unique to this community.  I was competitive HS then college athlete.  Got out of shape and in a rut, and then once  I found my middle aged athlete in running/tri, I went all in.  The first year of Tris I was a little too into it and my wife would tell you it was 1) Tri, 2) Father, 3)Husband.  Since then I have reorganized, but there are days when I go out for a long ride or run and should be home playing catch or drawing with chalk on the driveway.  

I was never a serious athlete but would jog a couple times a week off and on.  I slowly gained weight over time.  Over time I cut out chips, afternoon snacks, ice cream and breakfast.  I was still slowly gaining weight until 4 years ago a friend talked me into doing a half marathon.  That was a huge accomplishment for me and then decided to try a tri.  I was hoping to do a late season sprint that year but it took me 6 months to have a swimming breakthrough so my first sprint was over a year after I set out to do one.  I'm down about 25 pounds from my peak weight and have another 5-10 to go.

Love all these stories about how everyone got started in tri's.

I haven't done one yet, so I suppose I can give a better account when I do.  I will says this though.  It involved a bar, a metric ton of drinks, lots of crap talking, and ultimately a bar bet I'm going to win.

Hey all!

Just back from a business trip from Michigan.  I have the RR written and just need to post it.  Will catch up with everyone soon.

Welcome Back Gary!

Great run over lunch today.  5 miles.  47:18, and I felt strong at the end.  Probably could have gone another 2 miles or so.

Made it official too.  Registered and paid for the KC Sprint Tri on May 20.  No backing out now!

Hey all!

Race report is finally up: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=432691&posts=1#M4122016

Let me know if you can't access it.

DW - Hey, I did stop by but no one was home so I just made myself a sandwich!  Quite a whirlwind trip but did manage a run in while I was there.

I need to get out on the bike and ride but just no mojo right now and thinking maybe a SRD. 

CC - Congrats on the run and signing up!  Make sure its on the calendar.

Have to say I love everyons stories, very inspirational!

Coaching my daughters Y softball team and yesterday was the first practice.  Lots of first time players so should be another fun season.  Will be my last time coaching for this as the age limit is 11 and my daughter turns 12 this year.  It starts getting competitive at that age and I am not up to coaching that level.

Congrats, always fun reading the RR. Sometimes we just overthink things with technology and science when in the end we just want to go out and push ourselves a little and have some fun.