Tri Mommy Tri Beginner Mentor Group - OPEN (Page 8)

Right now, I"m getting ready for a 15k run the wife and I will be doing in March.  After that event, there's a sprint tri in April  I want to get ready for.

I'm going to be getting back on my bike this week, I haven't ridden in over two months.  Then the following week getting back in the water.

I learned a lot on my first tri, I wasn't looking for anything other than to finish and take it all in.  Now with one under my belt,  I want to be more competitive with the next one.  So I will be concentrating alot on my swimming, that was my weakest discipline, not that I don't swim well, I just wasn't mentally prepared for how much I was kicked in the face.  With that said, I plan to train harder in the swim so I can get away from the crowd more. 

We'll see what happens.

Thanks for the letting me in btw.

AWESOME JOB Ruth!!! Woot! Woot!

The very first time I did all three at one go was in my first tri race last November.  I wasn't fast but I finished (800 swim/14mi bike/4.5 mi run), and I wasn't dead last. AND, I started training from couch-potato status last July, gasping for air on my first 60-second runs.  So you'll make it--the first few workouts just make you FEEL like you'll never get there. Just be careful with the runs, though, because you can build cardio endurance faster than your muscles adapt, and that puts you at risk for injury (which is what I'm dealing with right now). Adding strength training to your regimen will help a LOT, and it's especially important for those of us in the 40-and-over set, I think... when we get injured it takes more time and effort to heal, so better to avoid as many injuries as you can. 

And on that note... I'm finishing my first week of intensive physical therapy for Achilles tendonitis, and my therapist, Jimmy the Energizer Bunny, has me on a hardcore program to build my leg, hip, and core strength.  I haven't been running in about two weeks, but I've been walking a fair bit and then hitting the bike and pool on alternate days to keep up my endurance. So my biking and swimming will improve, even if my running is set back a bit. I can live with that.  I'm also discovering that when you do this you develop a whole new perspective on pain--I'm sore pretty much all the time from the P.T. and workouts because every time I go we're pounding muscles I didn't even know I had. BUT... it's that kind of soreness that I recognize from when I first started training, and I can live with it because I know it's because I'm really pushing myself.

In a couple more weeks the plan is to get me back on the treadmill and work on my running form--I tend to push off from the outside of my foot, and I put more emphasis on lower-leg propulsion than I should, given that our upper, larger leg muscles are better equipped for the loading.  The irony in all this is that if I do all this stuff right, then my injury will have led to me getting in better shape than I might have been if I kept to my previous habits. So, maybe it's a blessing in disguise.

Take care and have a great rest-of-the-week!

Congrats! Awesome accomplishment! You did it and you can do it again, you can do it outside, you can go slower, faster, go longer even!

I still have vivid memories of how awesome it felt when i achieved new distances when i was first starting out.  I just felt AMAZING! Just bask in it for a while knowing you did something you've never done before!

Welcome! I think yoga is great! But as to how it fits with training that will be up to you - are you doing a specific kind of yoga? I know for me the ashtanga or power yoga is too intense for when i am building training but I love a less strength, more stretch oriented yoga to keep me limber while still a good workout but i am not nearly as sore ... hahaha

Does the plan you picked have strenghth training? because maybe you want to do the yoga in place of the strength in order to see how you feel?

Thanks! The yoga class I attend is very strong so suggesting I swap a strength session for a yoga class may work! Good idea. The plan I picked doesn't have a strength session but the notes say to try and add 2 x sessions per week. I'm going to start with one and see how I go. I'm more concerned with my swim at this point than anything else so some great beginner tips on conquering this fear would be most welcoming!!

Karla

I rode my bike inside for the first time tonight... I was going to do an hour but decided to stop at 40 minutes... 40 very sweaty minutes. For the first time I think it was OK... sure beats the outside since it's snowing today.

Ruth

I would love to join this group! I am a 48 yr old mom of 3, ages 17, 18 and 19. I sent my oldest to college 12 hours away from home this year, my dad died after the first of the year and kid#2 will leave in the fall.  I am an RN in a very busy pediatric ER working 3 or 4 12 hour shifts/week.  Been married to my sweet, supportive husband for almost 25 years (Hawaii here we come for ann anniversary trip sometime this year!!)  He hates to exercise but supports me in whatever crazy scheme I come up with...

Decided to become an athlete at 40 and since then, I have run 12 half marathons, done a century ride, run as a team member on an ultra-marathon (shore to shore from west coast of FL to the east coast), and one full marathon.  I am super slow but always cross the finish line somehow  I decided last year to do my first sprint tri.. Trained hard for  8 months and then, finished but was really unhappy with times and overall effort. So... this year, I am ready to try again.. 

What I learned last year with all the training is I can't do it by myself!! I need the accountability  and support of some people who are doing the same thing.  So I am excited to be a part of a group..Thanks

Got my new Spinervals DVD's in the mail yeserday and tried out the Technique Building one, 33 I think is its number. It was 50 minutes of tough but doable drills. I was wore out but still felt ok by the time it was done. On Monday Im going to try to pop in the Pain Cave one and see if I can survive that one.

Sounds like everyone is doing well so far.

Beth

How was everyone's week?  I had my first really solid week in a really long time. 

Monday - 1.5 hour swim

Tuesday - 4.4 km run

Wednesday - off

Thursday - 4.5 km run

Friday - 1 hour yoga

Saturday - 1:15 trainer ride

Sunday - 5.7 km run

oh how the mighty have fallen.  4 months post IM and I consider 5.7 km a long run   I guess I have a good excuse though.

I have a very long body and have been focusing on longer races for the past few years.  I use two peices.

I like the two piece as well- I had a sugoi top and craft tri shorts I used for my Half IM and disliked them- too short on top and plastic on the grips on the shorts caused major chaffing. I switched to Zoot 2 piece for my IM and it was like I was wearing a second skin- they were wayy more money but worth every penny!!! The top was long enough and didn't ride up, the shorts had no band at the bottom and still didnt ride up. Well worth it for the bathroom breaks too!

Do you buy them through spinervals website?? I really like them but they are soo expensive so I always try to get them on sale at the local store if I can. I've looked on amazon too but still so expensive!!

It's so true!! I finally did a 10.4km yesterday which felt great but feels so long now and so much harder!!! twice the work that's for sure!! good job keeping active!

Ashglass - 2013-01-20 6:36 AM I swam 3 times this past week with the master's group at the pool and although I am much slower than everyone else, I did it and kept up for the most part. In the past, the most a could swim straight was 300y and a total of 1200y for a session----Friday, I swam 1650 straight!!! I gave myself permission to stop if I needed to, but I kept telling myself "you can do one more lap..." I was still slow -- 100y pace was 2min, but I am so excited. One of my goals for 2013 was to swim a mile, and it is only Jan!And I rode the spin bike for 10 miles at work--- most I'd ever done was 7. It felt good. I didn't run at all this past week--- too much rain! This week made me feel like I might actually be able to do this whole triathlon thing. I hope everyone else had a productive week too!

Awesome job!! I love workouts like that, so nice to be ahead of your goal hey!!??

Tried out the Spinervals 33.0 Pain Cave. It is a tough workout but doable also. My legs felt like jello by the time I was done. I took two wobbly steps over to my bed where I collapsed for several minutes. I would recomend these DVD's for those who are stuck on the trainer this winter and want a good workout.

Beth

Awesome!  You know it doesn't seem like it at the time but that kind of training will really help your cycling by the time the spring rolls around!

The Hubby and I downloaded the 'Sufferfest' series for indoor training as well but sadly we haven't used them yet, and I expect I won't until after the baby is born.  but they were highly recommended by a few of the tougher cyclist types in my previous mentor group. 

Hey guys - it's frigid here this week and I totally weenied out of swimming last night.  I take public transit everywhere and didn't really want to go out in the cold and come back with a wet head and everything. 

I rationalized it that i have spent several winter seasons slogging it out it in the bad weather in the name of various races and training goals that I could sacrifice this one time and let myself off the hook. (I trained for the Ottawa Marathon back in 2008 starting in January without a single run indoors running 4 days a week!)

Anyway, I feel like i am getting back into a bit of a routine.  I have used my shiny new treadmill three times and found that i have to wear the polar heart rate monitor because the hand sensors understate the reading by a lot - or i just need to hold on for a long time.

For the mamas who trained while pregnant did you use any HR guidelines? The midwife said that the 140 is generally used as they think you shouldn't go above the baby's HR - but even before being pregnant my HR is high in training (being a younger female) so the guideline seems low. 

Planning to get the run/walk on the treadmill going 3x a week ... and i want to fire up the pre/post natal yoga dvd I picked up.  If anyone else has any pre-natal workout video recommendations I would love to have them!

Not a mamma yet, but I did look into this when I first found out I was pregnant.  From what I can tell, the old rules regarding heart rate are out.  I wouldn't plan to do anything that feels very hard, but you don't have to be a slave to the HR monitor (for example 171 is zone 1 for me when I am running, very high!).  It is more important to make sure that your core stays cool.  I think that you are supposed to keep your body temp below 101F, so if you feel like you are getting hot running on the treadmill, start taking your temp when you are done to make sure you temperature isn't going too high.  I talked to my doctor about it at my first appointment and she thought that I wouldn't have to worry too much about body temperature unless it were really hot outside because pregnant women are much less tolerant to being hot naturally, we would naturally say, this is too hot, I need to stop.

Agreed- from what i've read and prenatal fitness instructors the HR thing is an old theory. Studies show some people naturally have a higher heart rate- I am one of them- A recovery run for me will easily get me 150-160bpm, normal run 170-180 and for sprints and speed work easily over 200. So if i went with the old theory of under 150 i'd never be able to do anything more then walk. My prenatal fitness trainer friend advised me keep core cool, don't workout to exhaustion and no more then 4 days a week not including yoga. And make sure you keep hydrated! This is all of course with the understanding there is no underlying concerns!