Beer Drinker Appreciation Society 2 - Closed (Page 7)

Ok, if the group is still open, I would love to join.  

NAME: George

STORY: Last year, I reached 239 pounds in June, was bursting the seams of my size 38 pants, and was in the worst shape of my life.  I was tired of not being able to keep up with my kids and was determined to not buy new pants with a size that started with a "4".  I knew I needed to find a way of becoming healthier and happier, while not ignoring the fact that I have bad knees - my left knee has been operated on 5 times (2 scopes and 3 reconstructions) and my right knee once (1 reconstruction).  So, I started bike riding with my neighbor (who competes in Iron Man events) with the goal of dropping the weight and getting in shape.  I made good progress over the summer - weight was coming down, pant size getting smaller, and overall fitness getting stronger and stronger.  

As the Fall went by, my neighbor suggested I try to do a Sprint come the Spring.  With the weight loss + some help from my physical therapist I was able to run without pain for the first time in years.  Next I started swimming. By April I had dropped 40 pounds, reduced my pant size to 34 or 36 depending on the pants, and signed up for not one, but two races in June (Holliston and Ashland).   

FAMILY STATUS: I have been happily married to my wife Randi for the past 12 years and we have two great boys - ages 11 and 9

CURRENT TRAINING: I have been swimming, biking and running for the past 5+ months.  I tend to bike 3-4x times a week while swimming 2-3x a week, and running 2x a week.  Recently, I have had to scale back my training a bit (especially running) as I have re-injured my left knee (it needs to be scoped again).     

THIS YEAR'S RACES: I haven't raced yet.

2013 RACES:  Holliston - Sprint,  Ashland - Sprint.  After that, I'll see how my knee is doing and determine next steps.  I would love to try and complete an Olympic distance by the Fall, but that might be too much until after I have surgery.

BEER PREFERENCE: I will drink just about anything but my favorite styles are IPA's, Ales, Weiss, and Stout's.  My favorite beers include the following:  

Russian River:  Pliny the Elder, Supplication, and Pliny the Younger

Stone Brewing: Ruination,  Arrogant Bastard

Maine Brewing Company:  Zoe, Lunch

New Belgium Brewing:  Fat Tire 

Dogfish Head:   Brew, 90 Minute IPA

WEIGHT LOSS: I have dropped 40 pounds since the end of last June and saw the scale hit 199 for the first time in almost 15 years!  My goal is to get into the 180's before the end of the year.

I look forward to learning from all of you and hopefully having a lot of fun (and beer) along the way.

George

Saaawwweeeet!

I am counting dancing until 3 in the morning as a workout.

Here are a few postcards from Banff, AB...

http://ab-banff.civicplus.com/Postcard.aspx

San Diego! My husband moved me from Coronado to the high desert...talk about culture shock...I vote yes!  

I used to live in the high desert now I live in SD. Yes that is a huge culture shock. Thank you for welcoming me!

try vrbo.com...hell stay for the whole weekend, I am sure the atmoshphere would be awesome!

Just found a way to have that Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie fix without feeling to bad about it.  Clif Bar Cool Mint Chocolate.  Had my first one that flavor for lunch today and it tastes just like that.  

YUM!

Good choice Bob.  I'm doing mine IMCDA in 2015.  Maybe we'll be here to spur eachother on while training for it.

Would love a little insight from the group on how to improve my swimming.

My current workouts look something like this, all supposed to be in Zone 2:

2 x 100m 45 sec rest

6 x 50m 45 sec reset

The first 100 is no problem but by the end I'm more in zone 3 than zone 2.  Second hundred is a little harder and I end up in zone 3 about half way through (side note this is actually supposed to be a 75m interval but the pool is setup as a 50m long course so it's hard to do 75m).  By the time I get towards the end of the 50s I'm really struggling. 

I guess my question is, what are some things I can do to keep my heart rate down so I'm not so gassed at the end?  I already feel like I'm swimming as slow as possible (about a 2:00 100m).

Any insight would be appreciated.

^^This.

2 months ago I couldn't swing 25 yards w/o stopping and walking some.  Then I did a bunch of n x 50 with 45+ sec rests.  Then when I could I moved to 100s at 1 min rest.  Now I'm up to around 12 x 100 on 10".  Still can only swim 500 straight but it's getting better.  I'm crazy slow (2:25ish/100) but it gets the job done.  More pool time fixes all.

As for zone 2 swimming...well I haven't been able to get it down to Z2 even when barely moving.  I think it's getting closer though.  It boils down to swim fitness.  From talking with the lifeguards if they take even 2 weeks off they have a hard time doing a 500 and have to build up again.

Take this for what it's worth: someone super new to all of this and this is only a repetition of what I have seen and heard.  It makes sense though.

I'm currently breathing every second stroke, I'll have to try stretching it out a little on the next swim.  Sometimes I do feel I don't have time to fully exhale before it's time to take the next breath.  Maybe I'm hyperventilating myself a little.  Thanks for your thoughts.

That makes me feel a little better.  I just seem to always be behind the 8ball with the swimming.  It might just be the 50m pool as my training plan is set up for a 25m pool.  That extra 25m per lap is rough for a beginner.

As for walking in the pool....the shallow end is 9ft deep so I'm SOL there. 

You are probably swimming too hard, too fast.  Slow down; think smooth.  I found buoy drills and pencil drills very useful starting out, just to find balance in the water.  

Though my swim is pretty weak, I can still pull off 1x2000 if need be, at 2:30/100.  I found a local masters group, which starts in about two weeks, and I'm looking forward to making some big progress in the water.

What is your swim background?

Either way what it comes down to is more pool time...

I wouldn't worry too much of zones. Based on looking at your logs you have just began swimming. It will take some time and consistency to get your swim fitness. Make sure you are getting 3 swims/wk.

You may want to skip the 100's and go with more 50's. I also thing 45 seconds rest is way too much, you could have a couple beers in that time...

Try water jogging.

good luck!

Ok, I am just over two weeks away from my first triathlon...

Thanks to the generosity of a local person (FlyTheBlueSky), I now have a wetsuit!  I hope to try this out before the race on June 2nd so I can see what it is like to wear one.

Do people just wear their tri suit under the wetsuit so that it makes for any easy transition?

Any other thoughts or wisdom for a first timer (besides have fun and finish)?

George