2015 Clyde/Athena Tri-N-4- Weight Loss Mentor Group - Open (Page 9)

I might get to tri this year after all. Moving in May or June but Work might too. If it does I can swim at work ideally and I might get into decent shape even with the baby getting in the way.

suzie

Do not worry about the nose plugs. I think I am the only one who wear them but I just not gotten used to swimming without them. I did 5k open water swim races with them.

Thanks Todd Can you tell me what kind you use? I looked at them online and there are a lot of different brands and kinds out there. They seemed cheap enough that I ordered 2 different brands, one by Speedo and one by TYR. I was a little surprised that they do not have a strap on them. I guess I wasn't really sure what to expect. I am still pretty much a "pool" swimmer at the moment but when the weather breaks I do want to get to the lakes to practice my swim. I was also told that I should wear ear plugs when I swim open water. Do you wear ear plugs? And if you do why? I am unsure why I was told that I need them, I mean I understand it is to keep the water out, but the person who told me this said it was to keep from getting nauseous? What do you think?

I prefer the Kiefer ones. http://www.kiefer.com/kiefer-synchro-nose-clip-products-447.php I tend to order them by the dozen. no kidding. I lose them all the time. I like to have couple of them stashed in places in my car just in case I lost the one in my swim bag. I lost mine right before a HIM and looked for about 15 on a beach for it right before a HIM. I did find it too luckily. Before one of the 5k swim races I did lose it and I did the race. It was not terrible. I think the chlorine is more an issue for me.

Well 3 days done with MFP and it seems to be working. always had to say because once you get going on the diet the water lose at the beginning can be so miss leading. Still I think I am at the lowest all of 2015 and not far from my 2014 low. I need that big push to below 300 which is 15 lbs away. Funny thing is the more I count the cals the more I want to make sure I get my exercise in too.

I almost made my goals this week. I got in the pool once, rode 5x for 50mi and my feet feel pretty good. Toss in a 247.0 weigh in and I'm calling a pretty darn good week. I'm breaking in a new laptop, so excuse any typos I may miss

Diet: Not as good as I hoped, but the results were there. A lot of getting things done out with the family means more fast food than I like. Found a workable meal at Chick-fil-a and an AWESOME meal at Red Robin. If you go to RR get the Ensenada Chicken (359 cal for chicken only) with the bottomless steamed broccoli (32 cal/portion). WIN!

Swim: Managed to jump in the pool once for a measly 1100yds. But any swim time is much better than none! Also the new goggles ROCK! Much more comfortable than my Wal-Mart specials.

Bike: 5 times for a total of 50.2mi. My only real hiccup was on Wed. I went 5.5 mi and started getting really light-headed. I did check my glucose and BP and everything was okay. Next week I start cadence-based training. Mileage may drop, but everything else should get better.

Run: Uh.... Nope! Another week with no foot work. Will start (yet again) the c25k program again this week. I may or may not hit my 10K goal by June, but I will be race ready.


Goal for this week: Keep the stress eating under control (The boss is on vaca this week, so it's on me), hit the bike hard, start running again and hopefully get in the pool

Edited by WebFootFreak 2015-03-08 10:09 AM

NAME: Harry

STORY: Always been on the heavier end of the scale played rugby in my youth, mountain biked and windsurfed through uni and just about balanced my weight around the 215lbs mark in my bachelor years post university living in Italy. Big food and wine fan, cooking is one of my primary passions in life. Moved to the US (Utah) in '09 to be with my now wife, got down to a pretty lean 195lbs in the first year of marriage and was climbing (sent 5.12b), skiing (90days at snowbird the 09/10 season) and mountain biking. Two kids and the "sympathy weight" gains (read: i found justification for being lazy and eating drinking too much).

2015 rolled in and i was at by far my heaviest ever, 257lbs. I realised that i wasn't enjoying the sports that used to be my passions as i was too overweight and out of shape to enjoy them. Decided i needed to make a step change, started local masters swim two mornings a week, quit drinking and cut out all carbs through the week (hard as boy do i love my Italian food!). So far i have cut 21lbs and 5 inches off the waist. With many of the swimmers in the morning masters group being tri athletes i figured scaring myself into training hard by committing to some goals not be a bad thing! Borrowed a road bike last week from a friend and put a deposit down for a bike on Sat!

FAMILY STATUS: wife, 4 boys (stepsons 14 &10, sons 4 & 8 months)

CURRENT TRAINING:
Masters swim twice a week (in the pool by 5.30am o_O ) - generally around 2500 yards per session mixing up speed work, drills, pulls and kicks.
2-3 short runs of 2-3 miles, pace has come down in the last month from 11.15min/mile to a reasonably comfortable 8.30min/mile
Mountain bike ride once a week - more for fun than training.

INTENDED TRAINING:
Master swim x2
Solo swim x1
Turbo Sessions x2
Short runs x2
Long ride Saturday
Long run Sunday

2015 RACES:
03/21 - Icebreaker Sprint (300m pool, 20km, 5km)
05/30 - Salem Sprint (800m, 20km, 5km)
07/04 - Thin Air (1.5km, 40km, 10km)
08/30 - Tiger Trout (1.5km, 40km, 10km)

Would like to set myself the challenge of a HIM in 2016 but have to admit it is pretty intimidating thought!

Welcome!

It looks like you've got everything mapped out pretty good. Just stick with it and party on! Just out of curious, what kind of ride are you getting your hands on?

I found a second hand kuota kaliber and got a killer price. Far moe bike than I can justify performance wise but another reason to get in good riding shape to avoid being 'all the gear, no idea'!!

Nice!

My bike inspires the exact opposite reaction. I love the looks I get on group rides when I'm keeping pace with the main group on a Wal-Mart special .

Welcome Harry,

Sounds like you have a pretty good plan in shape. And congratulations on the weightloss. That's great work.

I'd say that a HIM in 2016 is definitely achievable. I haven't publicly said it yet, but I also have a goal of doing a HIM in 2016. There's a lot of training days between now and then!

When do you get the bike? Forum rules clearly say you owe us all some bike porn pics when you get her.

Last week was pretty good for me, I ate reasonably well, and got 5/6 runs in. The high point of my week was getting a 40 minute run in. It's the longest run I've done since November 2013. It's a small step, but it is a step.

Weight wise, I was down 0.7lbs for the week. Again, not a huge step, but a step in the right direction.

That sounds like a pretty good week to me. Keep up the good work

I haven't picked the bike up but here is a sneak peak from when i put the deposit down.

Was listed for $1000, seller let me have it for $750.

Full Durace, zip carbon bars, frame is immaculate. Like i said, far more bike than my fitness or skill warrants but i hope to change that! Can't wait to swing my leg over her and start hurting!



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GROUP FOCUS: Getting in better shape, and reaping all the benefits that come with it!

NAME: Mel, 25, 5'10" and currently 340 lbs

STORY: Overweight but capable athlete when I was younger, pretty serious competitive swimmer until junior year of high school when a bad accident knocked out my left knee for a long time. By the time it healed, I had lost all motivation for sports/exercise and focused on other things. Been putting on weight steadily since then, up to almost 375 lbs in December 2013. Realized I was killing myself, took drastic measures, lost about 60 lbs, and have been gaining on and off since initial loss. With the encouragement of a friend, I started swimming again three times a week in late January. Also quit smoking on Feb. 7 (made it over a month, whoo hoo!) and have been watching the swimming get easier. I'm a born distance swimmer, and ideally I'd like to be swimming between 1400-1800 yds/session as my lungs heal. Biking is okay, running terrifies me and obviously puts a lot of strain on my lower body. Taking the running very slowly, will most likely run/walk the 5k portion of my first sprint.

FAMILY STATUS: Recently single, and feeling much better off.

CURRENT TRAINING: Almost entirely swimming with some yoga thrown in. I'm a born distance swimmer, and ideally I'd like to be swimming between 1400-1800 yds/session as my lungs heal. Biking is okay, running terrifies me and obviously puts a lot of strain on my lower body. Taking the running very slowly, will most likely run/walk the 5k portion of my first sprint. Starting with a personal trainer tomorrow focusing on strength and flexibility, especially in my core and upper body. Need to commit to 2x bike and run/week.


2015 RACES:
Planning on one sprint at the end of August, and another in late September.

WEIGHTLOSS: Currently stalled. Really struggling with the nutritional aspect of things! I find myself famished when I get out of the pool, and I'm struggling with balancing calories against all the stuff I should be taking in.

Edited by whichwayisdown 2015-03-11 1:32 PM

Thanks Robin! I have heard of C25k, my problem seems to honestly be that most of those start at my current upper limits and increase pretty rapidly, and I tend to get really discouraged when I can't keep up. My goal is to start with more walking in general and do the 2x a week speed/incline walks with jogging intervals thrown in (4 minutes walking steep incline, 1 minute run flat, etc.)

I have a lot of pain in my shins/soreness after I jog or even walk a lot so I'm trying to work on strengthening the muscles in my lower legs as well.

Once I get below 300 I'd like to be running more, obviously, but right now it feels like I'm putting unnecessary strain on my body.

And I did sign up for a race, the Columbia IronGirl, however I was just offered a summer job that means I will be several hundred miles away from the tri I signed up for, so I'm working on figuring out logistics.

Edited by whichwayisdown 2015-03-11 3:58 PM

whichwaydown.

Walking is good. I trained for my first marathon solely by walking and just walked it. Being able to walk at a decent pace is good too. I did no inclines or anything fancy. I just worked on slowly increasing my speed from at 18 min/mile to 13 min/mile.

Whichwaydown-

I use an app on my phone. C25K Free by Zen Labs. It starts off nice and slow and you can repeat sessions as often as desired/necessary.

Welcome to the group Mel.

With your swimming background you're going to do well. Swimming is the part of triathlon that frightens most people, so you're already ahead of the game. And as a former competitive swimmer, i'd guess your technique to be well ahead of the likes of us. You'll be one of the first out of the water, and use less energy getting there.

I agree with taking it nice and slow building up your running. I was also pushing 300lbs not to long ago, and it's hard on your body at that weight. The good thing tho, is that as you lose, your running is going to improve so quickly it will amaze. Stick to your walking with some jog breaks for now, I think you're on the right track, and when you're ready move up to the C25K. But don't push yourself to fast. You'll make more progress with slow but consistent increases than by pushing it to fast, getting injured and missing weeks, or maybe months.

Welcome Mel!!

So good to hear that you have kicked the habit of smoking! Proud for you!! I was @300lbs once to and I never thought I would be able to run. I used a 5k app that Jeff Galloway made. He is known for the walk run method. Even though it was hard for me and I felt it in my hips and knees, I knew if I could just shed some weight that it would help my joints. Of course the older we get the harder it is to lose weight and just working out. Some days my shins would burn so bad that I didn't think I could take another step. I started taking Glucosamine, I had read that it would help with my joints. I don't know if it was the Glucosamine or losing weight or a combination but I no longer suffer from the pain like I did. I still take the glucosamine, I figure if it does or doesn't help it certainly isn't hurting anything, lol.

Eating has always been an issue for me. I use myfitnesspal (MFP) to help keep me on track. I also am a big believer in "Clean Eating" but I know that it is not for everyone. The important thing to remember is that we all are different and just because one thing works for me it doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for you. You will find your balance and what works for you with your eating. Sometimes it takes awhile to find a eating plan that is meant for you. Don't give up, try different ones and you will know when you have found one that works for you. But remember, we can't eat prefect all the time, don't beat yourself up if you slip. Learn from it and move on. That's the one thing that I have learned.

Congrats on taking that first step! Keep posting and keep reading others posts. All these people are amazing and it is so encouraging and motivating to hear how others are doing and what they are doing. When you need a little pick me up, someone is always out there who knows what you are going through

Thanks so much for the positive words and welcomes, everyone! I had my first personal trainer session today and my trainer is AMAZING. I was able to push myself on run/walk intervals and did my fastest ever during the cardio test. I also held a plank in good form for 40s which is honestly unbelievable for me. After training I went for a nice 2.5 mile walk with a good friend who I normally drink/eat with, and it was a nice change of pace. I'm just feeling really inspired today and ready to get back in the pool tomorrow.

Training update: Finished rebuilding my bike with a full Ultegra drivetrain. Looked up the wrong stats and ordered new bull bars that were too thick for my existing aerobars. Had to then order new aerobars. Bikes been down a week and it'll be another few days before the new bars get here. Adjusted the derailuers to get it in high gear and back in the trainer at least. Spent the past week while the bike was down focusing on run training. Brought my mile pace down to 11:06, still far from my 9:28 I was at for my first tri in 2013, but I'm also 40+lbs heavier. Diet is still going well, though I have cheated (or threw it out the window) this weekend. I stay on diet much better during my work week as my job supplies food and makes it much easier. Plan starting this week forward was to stay with my morning trainer for 20 minutes and increase run distance in the evenings, then increase ride time and distance when I can. Start stretching out to 3+ mile runs and get in the pool once a week. Did swim Wednesday for the first time in months. Averaged 1:43/100yd without much effort. Just did a quick 400yd workout but it felt good. My wife was sick all last week and I was helping her as much as possible while trying to avoid getting it myself. Well that didn't work. So now I've dropped all training to try and get over this as quick as possible. RAGE triathlon is only 5 weeks away, leaving just 4 weeks of training left. I don't really have time for this. :-(

I know the feeling! Can't believe my first is in 8 days, it seemed so far away last month!!

Wow, 8 days. Gotta be getting those butterflies already. It'll be a blast and exhausting, and then you'll be hooked.