Runnerg1rl7's Group!! - Closed (Page 9)

Libby - We'll miss you!  Enjoy your time Down Under!

Jennifer - Getting back into the swing of things is tough.  All you can do is...take it One Day At A Time.  Hang in there & keep up the good work!

Mitch - I'll have to check out those books you mentioned...I need some motivation...I bet they'd do the trick!

I rode my bike to work for the first time this year...it's about time!  It was an awesome ride & I can't wait to ride back home and do it all again Monday (weather permitting).  This weekend I plan on doing my first CrossFit workout ever.  Tomorrow I'd also like to get a short, easy run in...short & easy cuz it's been a while...

Well, you probably won't see this for months if at all, but have a great trip, Libby, and we look forward to hearing all about Australia when you return (and while you're there, by checking out your blog)!!!

Mitch & Marcy - BEST OF LUCK at your races this weekend!!!

Sherist - Yay!  You're getting back into things - awesome!  I work from home now but if I worked elsewhere I'd love to bike commute.  I guess I can here, too, right?  Ride my bike around the block.  haha

Everyone else - have a great weekend!

Hi everybody. I've been fairly checked out of this thread for a week, but thanks for your well wishes! I'll check back in later this weekend to report on my race!

Have a great Saturday, everyone and happy training!

Hi everyone!

Hope the rest of your trip went well, Libby!!

Marcy - GREAT JOB on your race!  Everyone check out Marcy's race report (linked from her log).  Sooooo how do you feel today?

Mitch - Yeah, we're waiting impatiently here - how did you do?!!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone's off to a great week! I had my first tri on Saturday and had a lot of fun. I was really nervous at first, but as soon as I started the swim, it just felt natural and fun. Until I hit the run! That was a tough transition for me, so I went really slow and ended up just happy that I didn't have to fall back into a walk.

So now that its done I realized I've overdone it a bit and am forcing myself to take a couple days rest. I've been very exhausted and sleepy for a week, and ravenous as well.

I set some new short term goals for myself and posted them in my log. I really wish it were this fun and straightforward setting and achieving goals at work, too. Does anyone have any thoughts related to extending training discipline across multiple areas of life such as work, family, education, etc? It seems that tri training can teach a lot about discipline, balance and self-awareness. 

The fnal results aren't posted, but I did well (not as well as I hoped though...).  My time was 1:19:46.  That was good enough for 36/137 males and 40/240 overall.  In my age group I was I think 11/33.  For my 2nd tri ever I would be foolish to be upset with that.

My swim really held me back (2:34 pace versus 2:10 goal).  I swam today in a lap pool and I really think its just not being comfortable in the OW yet.

My first transition was really smooth and solid at 2:03.

My bike was strong and based on my cyclometer my avg. speed was 20 mph (right at target).  The race said the distance was shorter than my cyclometer said.  I made up a lot of time there.

My second transition was slow as I went down the wrong aisle in the transition area. 

My run was good as well with an avg. pace of 7:59.

With a better swim and a better second transition I would have been right where I wanted to be.  I guess that means I have things to practice on.  

I should have the race report filed tomorrow with additional details.  Thanks to everyone for your support! 

Thanks for the nice comment.  Below is link to my race report:

 http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=120660&posts=1&start=1

Marcy and Mitch Congrats on your tri's!

 Marcy, that had to be such an awesome feeling doing your first tri!!!  I cant wait to know what its like...not gonna happen this year, but next year for sure. 

Mitch , sounds like you were awesome, i have not checked out your lond details, just the short one you posted but i cant wait to read it. 

Its kinda crazy the amount of info you can learn on here from other people.  Thank you guys for posting your info, blogs and all that good stuff.  Its stuff that you guys know, but others like me dont.  I love reading everything you all post in hopes that i can take it all in for when i am amble to race. 

It does seem that people have a hard time with transactions, something i have not even looked into.  Do people just practice those??  It would seem like a good idea to me!  Alos, Do you guys break mentally break up you tri in your hrad and think ok, im just doing the swim and think about just that, then the bike then the run?  Not really sure on that as well.  Also, when you guys go your workout outs, do you so the swim then the bike, or the bike then run?  I'm new to all this so i really dont' know how the workouts shoule be.  I am just use to my strength training workouts so I would like to know how I can make some changes to what i do now to be ready!!

 Conragts again on your races!!!!

Jennifer,

Regarding transitions, yes you should practice them....so should I.  While I haven't so much devoted a block of time to transitions I have worked on components of the transition separately (i.e. getting out of bike shoes, off of bike and into running shoes).  I don't wear a wetsuit so that is one less item to practice.  The video on the home page of this site does a good job explaining how to do the transitions.

Regarding my mental process, I concentrate on one event at a time.  Especially for the shorter events you should be giving everything you have at that moment.  Therefore, on the swim you should be purely focused on swimming with good form and effort.  The same applies to every other part of the race.

Regrding workout, you should be doing some bricks (bike then run) so you get used to sensation of running after biking.  You will also see some swim/bike workouts.  On most days when I have two workouts scheduled I will do one in the AM and one in the PM.

Good morning, group!

Hope you are all doing well and training it up!

Marcy - Glad you had FUN, first and foremost, at your race.  The run is often tough, especially in your first race.  As you get more experience, you'll know how hard you can push it in the swim and bike and still have enough left in the tank for a smoother run.  You're right that tri training can definitely help in creating discipline in other areas of life.  I think for me it's a case of setting short-term goals and long-term goals just as I do in triathlon.  By short-term I mean on a DAILY basis.  Just as I set out to do certain workouts each day, I'll decide at the beginning of the day what else I want to accomplish that day (in work and at home) and WHEN I will do each.  (For example, this morning I will answer emails, after lunch I will finish writing an article.  I will also do laundry this afternoon/evening.)  Long-term goals can be on a weekly or monthly basis.  I don't always hold myself to them as solidly as I do in tri training, but I try.  I find it also helps if I write things down and mark them off as I do them.  It's not nearly as fun as tri goals, though.

Mitch - Fantastic job on your race!  For your 2nd tri ever that is AWESOME!  Way to go.  Once you get some more OWS experience, you will be smokin fast!

Jennifer - As Mitch said, it does help to practice transitions.  They're not difficult, but it's hard to think straight when you're in the heat of a race, so it helps to know what you have to do without even having to think about it.  Just lay everything out as you would for a race (bike stuff, running stuff) and go through the motions of running up to your "transition area", removing your swim stuff, throwing on your bike shoes, helmet (making sure it's snapped), sunglasses, etc., then running up again and removing that stuff and putting on your running shoes.  I, like Mitch, also just focus on one thing at a time during training and while racing.  During the swim, I just focus on swimming well and finishing that part.  Once I get out on the bike, I focus on getting that done and feeling good.  Of course in the back of my mind I know I have to then run, but I don't worry about that til I've got my running shoes on.  As far as workouts, it does help to do a swim-bike "brick" workout to get a feel for what it feels like to go from horizontal in the water to upright on the bike.  More important is the bike-run "bricks" as that takes the most getting used to.  Your legs naturally take some time to get used to switching from cranking the pedals to pounding the pavement.  It's also very easy to go out way too fast on the run immediately after the bike, so practicing those bricks is a good way to train yourself to hold your pace back a little early in the run.  In general, most training plans will call for doing one bike-run brick a week.  Other than that, just focus on doing each of your other swim/bike/run workouts individually.  In order to fit in enough workouts in each discipline each week, you will probably have to do some 2-a-days.  Doing an early morning workout and then a late afternoon/evening workout allows your body enough time to recover in between.

How's everyone else doing?

Thanks Mith and Laura for all the info. 

 As of right now, i have not done any "bricks"...i didnt even know there was a special term for them!?!  I need to get back in the pool as well.  Last week and this week i am only limited to 2 days of working out, but next week for sure i should be back in the swing of things.  It really hurt taking the full month off when i was sick ;( but i'm getting back on the right track!

I'm really upset that i was unable to do a tri this summer, but all the info that i learned has helped me out a great amount....i dont think i would have even know what hit me if i would have done one!  So i guess in the long run getting sick was someones way of telling me that i was not ready!! 

 But on the other side of things, i going to keep training hard like i would be doing a tri to get the feeling for next year!

You're welcome, Jennifer!!  I'm glad you're getting back into training.  Great idea to train this summer as if you WERE going to race - you will be WELL prepared come next year if you can keep that momentum going through the winter as well.  And, who knows?  Maybe you'll find a late-season sprint tri you're feeling up to trying.

How's everyone else doing??  It's just about the weekend again already - who has fun plans???  If you're not racing, you should be training! 

Laura,

I plan on doing some cycling, either indoor or out, tomorrow morning.  Holding true to my vow not to run for the week after my tri.  I'll be back in the pool on Monday and working towards a possible Olympic to end the year and maybe another sprint (with  longer swim) in between.

I'm also thinking of doing a long organized ride (One Helluva Ride).  It would be before the sprint I have considered doing.  So, I guess I'll have to think about it.

Also still thinking of doing a half marathon October.  I would have 5 weeks between last tri and the half mary. 

How was everyone's weekend?  I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to the long holiday weekend!

Mitch - Did you get that ride in over the weekend and a swim in today??  You definitely could handle a late-season Oly if you keep up the great training you were doing (and another sprint in between would be a great warm-up to that!).  You also have more than enough time to prepare for an October half-mary if you get back onto a regular running schedule and ramp up gradually.  I'm also planning on running an October half-marathon and am starting a 16-week half-marathon plan this week, mixing in swimming and biking 3x a week each for the next 2 months or so to get me through tri season.

It was raining on Saturday so I went to a spinning class with my wife.  Good workout though.  I swam yesterday, easy swim for about 30 minutes.  I did a tough spinning class (hills) this morning and will run this evening.  It feels good to be done the with the taper and the race and back into a regular workout schedule.  Got a new watch (polar rs400sd) and I'm excited but the running with the watch for the first time.  It utilizes a food pod to give you current pace, etc.

I think I'm going to do an organized ride in a couple weeks called One Helluva Ride (it goes through Hell, Michigan).  Its 76 miles and I think I can handle it.  That will probably result in me pushing my next Sprint back a couple of weeks (I originally planned on doing a Sprint that will fall one week after the 76 miler).  It might work good though because I found a Sprint with a longer swim, longer bike and longer run.  Good tune-up for a possible Olympic to finish the year.

I did sign up for the Detroit Half Marathon yesterday.  I plan on keeping with my training plan as is figuring I'll be doing 9 mile runs or so in the weeks leading up to my possible Olympic.  Then I can increase a bit over the 5 weeks between that race and the half-marathon.  Its a cool half-marathon in that you run in two countries (canada and the USA) during the race.

Now for a Public Service Message...For those pursuing the tri lifestyle as a means to get in shape and lose weight I can tell you it works.  I started working out 2 years ago.  My weight at that time was around 183.  I dropped the first 8 to 10 pounds pretty easily.  It wasn't until I started training for tri's that I lost the next 10 to 12 pounds.  In the last 2 months, since my base was stronger allowing me to workout 6 days a week, I've lost about 8 pounds.  So, I like to think of weight loss as a marathon.  Get in a regular workout routine, work towards defined goals, and eat sensibly and good things will happen.

Hi Everyone,

I am really excited about my upcoming vacation. I'm dubbing it the Single Mom Tri Camp! On Friday my daughter and I are going to northern Wisconsin to visit my parents' cabin for a week. There I will get to do some open water swimming- my first of the season- in several different lakes. There are great rolling bike trails, and the road that circles their lake is about 5.5 miles, the distance I've been planning to run lately. I can't wait! I'm bringing the jogging stroller, bike trailer and trail-a-bike for my daughter so she can join me (in everything but the swim....) But the cool thing is that she has recently started taking real arm strokes with face in the water during her swim lessons. So we get to practice that together, too!

It'll be really great to have as much time for training as I want and to do nothing but what I want all week. Yay! Does anyone else have fun plans for the upcoming holiday?

Mitch, that's really cool about how you've been able to take off pounds doing this!

Laura, its good to have you back online more often! How is Colorado? What a great place for outdoor sports! Any fun discoveries yet in terms of running trails, bike routes, pools or training groups?

Hi all!

Mitch - sounds like things will work out well in terms of getting in that long ride and then doing a longer sprint in preparation for an Olympic - good idea!  And congrats on your weight loss thus far!  That tells me you're not only working out a lot, but also making smart eating decisions as well (instead of using the excuse, "Well, I just rode my bike for 2 hours, so I can eat whatever I want".  Great job!

Marcy - Your Single Mom Tri Camp (haha!) sounds like a ton of fun!  That's great that you'll be able to practice swimming with your daughter and take her with you on rides and runs.  Enjoy!  I hope you have nice weather while you're there.

I am absolutely loving CO so far!  It really is a great place for all things outdoors, which I love.  Plenty of nice trail systems (many that are paved, making them good for riding my road bike on them plus running), real actual bike lanes on some of the major roads (where I lived in PA there was barely a shoulder in spots, FORGET a bike lane).  An awesome 50 Meter outdoor public pool is just a few miles down the road, so I've been enjoying swimming there.  There is a really nice, clean reservoir about 20 minutes away that you can OWS in anytime, plus every Tuesday night they've held Dip & Dash races there - 750 or 1500M OWS followed by a 3 mile run.  I've participated in those the last 2 weeks and plan to do at least 4 more.  Great training!  There are also 2 Irish pub running clubs in the area that DH and I have joined.  That's been fun.  I know there are also tri clubs and group rides from local bike shops, but haven't had a chance to investigate either of those further yet.  I'm also looking forward to checking out some offroad trails for trail running and mountain biking.

Don't have any plans yet for the holiday weekend - there's PLENTY to do, just can't decide what all I want to do yet!

I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend - take advantage of the extra time (and nice weather, hopefully!) and get in some good training!

Wow, I'm envious of your new locale.  Michigan is very similar to Pennsylvania...you're often lucky to just have shoulder.  I try to ride in groups most of the time as I hope a car will at least a group of 12 to 15 bikes.

I try to eat healthy but it doesn't work all the time.  The biggest thing was getting chips and salsa and pop out of my diet and eating breakfast on a daily basis. 

Thanks again fr all the ongoing support. 

Hi,

Laura, your life sounds so fun! I like the sound of the Dip & Dash! How fun to be trying out all this new stuff. 

So I am extremely exhausted lately. I've been about an hour shy of the sleep I need each night and my work/home/training schedule has kept me 100% on the go from morning til night. Even though I should be packing for the trip now, I am calling it a day and going to bed. 

I just ate about a million calories this evening and I realize now I'm doing it trying to get energy instead of just getting the sleep I need!

So goodnight and happy 4th everybody!