Destination MoP is FULL (of motivation!) (Page 7)

Melanie - I echo Steve's comments - I have to say I laughed (& worried a bit) as I read it... I've actually been dreading my Aug Iron Girl in Columbia, MD because of the algae/seaweed and goose droppings that are supposedly super prevalent in the lake.  But I'm doing it for charity & with a friend, so no backing out...

- Jen

Who even knows...thought I ran to my bike and changed my shoes but guess I must have gotten distracted by some shinny object and lost time....I"ll work on it though...have til june 26 get really good!   Since I am never vieing for first I don't think I really rush through the transitions but I did not like seeing a dead last placing in transitions...thats the easy part of the race!

Hi Juneapple and team-

I hope I got this forum down now.  I just started training for my second sprint tri and am not as excited as I was last year.  I was really into it last year and motivated b/c I didn't know if I could do it.  I guess now I know I can do it and getting myself to be psyched about running, swimming and biking all the time is harder.  Any tips?  Also, I did a good workout today with a 30 minute swim followed by a 20 minute run.  I do this to get in shape and lose some weight.  I ended up eating crap tonight!  I need to get out of the mentality that I worked hard so I can have ice cream etc.  That obviously won't work if I want to lose weight.  I'll use tonight as my lesson learned and try to stay focused going forward.  

Colleen

Ick Jen.  Hope you are better soon.  There are all kinds of derailers (haha) in tri training... the best ones, of course, are on your bike... we try to keep the rest at bay.  I do think it is helpful to remember that a day or two here and there is not very significant in the bigger picture.  Even a week shouldn't set you back too badly.  It's frustrating at the time, but it shouldn't discourage your long term aspirations at all.

Stu

Colleen, glad to see you found your way back.  That's a great question and I bet several people in the group have ideas.  I think that is one of the reasons why people move from sprints to OLYs to HIMs to IMs... they seek a new challenge.  But I think there are other things that can help motivate you.

Find a friend who hasn't done one and help them through the training process.  Getting caught up in their excitement can help your motivation.

Are you doing a different race this time?  I think it can be a little more interesting/exciting to do a different course.  Not all sprint tris are created equal.  For instance, if it was a pool swim last time, try an open water swim.  Maybe it was a short flat bike course... try a longer or more hilly one.  Make the race a destination... visit a city / area that you'd like to see and make a weekend of it. 

So that's the advice for the person who needs something new each time.  If competition is a motivator for you, see if you can improve on your time... or on your percentile finish (x% rank of total participants).  Or maybe it is small things like not walking on the run, or some other "tough it out" goal. 

Personally, I'm always measuring my progress and I'm very competitive with myself (not so much others).  One of these days my age is going to catch up with me and I won't be able to improve anymore and that will be a difficult moment.  But it ain't happened yet!

Hope something there helped :-)

Stu

Oh my, a Tri joke.  I'll admit that it did take me a minute.  But, i get jokes .

Steve

I'm a day or so behind, but here's my goal summary:

April goals were to run 3x/week and swim and cycle 2x/week.  This is the level (roughly) that I've been working on since February, but I added "try not to miss" to the swimming and cycling, because i'd previously decided that the running needed priority, so if I missed a swim/cycle to fit those in it was okay.  Now I want to try to be more consistent with all three areas.  That went pretty well.  I got all of my runs in, except the week after the race, and although each week wasn't exact, I got about the right number of swims and cycles in over the month.

The next goals were daily stretching and daily swissball.  These are important because I've found that if I don't do them I get a lot more aches and pains, particularly running.  I did really well at sticking to this for the first couple of weeks, but then got tired and started to let it go (it only takes 5 minutes a day, but I was lacking motivation).  I really noticed on race day that my back was much stiffer, which I think was because of that lack of motivation.

Finally I decided to try cycling to/from work once during each block of shifts (this works out just more than once/week).  This was a good goal in theory - getting more miles in (it's just over 18 miles each way), and I managed it twice.  However, I realised that the times that I start and finish work just aren't good cycling times.  I landed up cycling home at 2am one night, which meant really nice quiet roads, but I was scared most of the way home that something would happen and noone would be around to help (my husband would have his phone on silent, so wouldn't answer if I was able to call for help), and I was also hyper aware that at that time most drivers are somewhat less "on the ball" than during the day.  In the end I realised that I was dreading cycling, and decided that I was better off doing my cycling at a time and in a way I would enjoy (or at least not hate).

So, goals for May are similar, but with some clarity gained from the above and also from the first sprint of the season:

Continue running 3x per week
Swim/cycle 2x per week. Try not to miss.
Daily stretching/swissball exercises
Bike training one session per week on trainer to work on power
At least 30min per week on aero bars (trainer or road) to develop the position and the right muscles

Yesterday was my first ever open water swim session.  I've been looking forward to the weather improving to the point where they'd start, partly because I feel like the open water swim is going to be my biggest "unknown" challenge of this year.

The coach started all the novices off really slowly.  Gave us some tips on getting wetsuits on right, getting into the water making sure noone freaked out etc.  She then got us all to do a short swim near to bank of the lake to get used to having our faces in the cold water (I think it was about 13C - not sure what that is in F).  After that she had us swim out towards a buoy with our eyes closed to see whether we swam in a straight line.  That was quite funny as all 4 of us went in different directions!  We then worked on sighting for a while, which is going to take a little practice.

As I expected, I had no problem with actually swimming in open water (I know someone who freaks out as soon as he can't see the bottom), although the water is very clear, so realising one of the buoys was attached to a sunken boat which had dolls attached to it was a little creepy...  The biggest problem for me came when she had us try swimming in a group.  She had 6 of us swim out to a buoy, and try stayinng close to draft.  I was fine on the way out - put myself at the back and stayed on someone's toes.  On the way back in she told the slow people to go at the front - including me.  At which point I found that I was trying to swim in a space that 2 other people then decided to occupy, while kicking, scratching and generally not really caring that I was there (the fact that one of them was my husband just made it worse).  REALLY didn't like that.  I spoke to the coach afterwards and was told "you'll feel completely different by the end of the summer".  Which somehow didn't make me feel any better.  I'm suddenly very aware that my first tri with an open water swim is in less than 6 weeks and I can't get to every session due to work.  And the big event is 3 weeks after that, so I really haven't got very long to "get used to it".

So I'm feeling better and worse about open water swimming than I was before the session...

Any tips/thoughts/previous experience very welcome!

Steve's May Goals

1. Complete my Planned training and use the BT logging/blogging features to make notes.  I think i have a realistic plan, now its time to execute.  Note: My planned training is more time oriented than effort oriented for this month. (this is my first month of Tri training (ever)).

2. Document any variance in the plan.  Changes are OK, just note why and see if there is a pattern for future planning/goals.

Hi Jen,

I am doing Iron Girl in Columbia too!  Both my daughters are doing it with me.  Open water swims around here = yuck.  We will have to meet up there somehow.  It looks like a very big race.

- Melanie

I am glad you are not cycling at 2:00am.  Sounds scary.  I'm a dedicated bike commuter.  Cycling @ 2:00am would be pretty darn scary.  Also an 18 mile commute one way!  That's pretty darn long.  I'd be pooped at the end of the day after that.  Is there any way to drive to a car drop off point if schedule permits?

- Melanie

NAME:  Colleen
 
STORY: busy banker that travels frequently that tries to balance fitness with her family, work and social life

FAMILY STATUS:Married with two boys - 8 and 11

TRI EXPERIENCE (if any):  did my first tri last june, a women's only sprint and loved it

CURRENT TRAINING: following Hal Higdon's tri training

PLANNED RACES FOR 2011: June 12 Sprint Tri

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS (if any): yes, yes and yes

WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE MENTOR GROUP WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU and WHAT WILL YOU BRING TO THE GROUP:

I'll try to bring some humor to the group.  I have a friend at work that is in a training program, but I need to do my workouts independently b/c of work travel.  I could use a few pep talks and that girls once in awhile!

Any ideas for open water swimming around here (here being DC/Baltimore area - (I'm in Laurel & work in Columbia (McLean, VA one day/week) for those familiar with the area)?  Team Fight had an OWS last Sunday at Sandy Point State Park, but water temp was below 55 &, in addition to having a conflict, I don't have a wetsuit (& was hoping to avoid getting one for a while).

Yes, I think it is huge - website says 2400 slots. I guess it's fast approaching & I need to send out my plea for fund raising soon...

- Jen

Good progress Andrea, keep up the good work.

I'm soo envious! I haven't had an outside ride yet this year! Weekend weather has been horrible-or the two weekends that were ok, were packed with other commitments. I'm so done with the trainer.

What a great experience! It sounds like you have a coach who really knows her stuff. My advice: Keep going to these sessions. Keep getting kicked and scratched. It's going to happen in the race, and if you're prepared, you'll do much better.

May Goals:

  run 3x's per week

 Swim each week.

I'm keeping my May goals simple, because I'm organizing a half marathon for June 4. I've never organized a run before- and although it will be a small event, it's a huge commitment with a ton of work involved!

She sounds like a great coach as she hit on all the key issues on day 1.  Keep in mind that you'd do fine on the swim, she's just going to help you do better.  I am still not fond of the swim starts and hearing about the size of some of the other races (3000+ instead of 600 or so that I'm used to) must make for a very interesting swim.

A few things to highlight for the group when getting ready for 1st OWS:

a) If you're swimming with a wetsuit in a race, make sure it isn't the first time you're using it - it takes some getting used to and practice the logistics of getting out of it (but it does help with buoyancy and speed).

b) Also best not to have an OWS portion of a race be the first time swimming outside of a swimming pool - it is different.

c) Practice sighting.  Few of us swim straight naturally.

d) Be prepared for jostling especially to the 1st buoy / turn.

Andrea, do you run with a visor / cap?  Might help on both fronts if you don't.

Also, in my summer races, at the water stops I take two sips and dump the rest on my head to cool me down.  At first I was a bit self conscious about it, but it really helps me.

There are clinics around.  I'll have to dig through my emails on OWS clinics in the area.  I also think the IronGirl will host one practice session at some point.  

I wear a headband (bondiband) for the sweat and sunglasses.  I have a visor, but don't wear it much.  I'll give it a try.  As for the water, I do the same.  I'm not really self conscious when exercising, LOL!  I'm putting in the effort, if you don't like how I look while doing it, tough!

Their site used to say a July 30 dress rehearsal, so I'm planning to do that.  I'm just hoping I can find some clinics that fit in my schedule (& don't require a wetsuit) before my 1st tri on June 25th!  We shall see...

Also, to those who recommended the sports bra under a suit, I switched to different of each this morning & was good with it for my swim, so now, if I can get shorts to go over while semi-wet, I'll be set (at least, I think I will, but we'll see what happens when I practice). Thanks for the recommendation - enough suggestions & I adapt and try again!

Have you considered tri shorts? They're more expensive. but the trade-off is that you can wear them for all 3 sports.

Now that I'm writing this, I apologize if it's already been suggested- I have a vague memory of some one else saying it in an earlier post.

-Heidi