Matt Gilmartin's Group- CLOSED~ we're swimming! (Page 37)

That's indeed great news, Aaron!  I love how you say you have to take it slow @ 8 min/mile

As far as the shoes go, all good bike shoes should help keep you in alignment.  There's a reason why Sidi, LG, and Specialized cost so much more than some other brands.  Keep us up to date- glad to see you are back and ready to rock it again!

Awesome news! And I'll take your "slow" any day lol

I agree - an 8 min mile for me is SCREAMING FAST!!

I had a terrible dream the other night.  I should preface this by saying I was watching the "Know the Rules" video on the front page of the site.  They were talking about the officials not giving directions while out on the course. 

Well, I my dream involved me out on the bike course of a triathlon and I had no idea where I was going.  There were lots of roads going this way and that and the course was very poorly marked.  I There was no one to ask which way to go and people were asking me about the route and I was clueless.  The frustration of now knowing which way to go fear of not finishing the race finally woke me up. 

Perhaps this is all symbolic of something...

Best of luck, with the race and the rain!

Just wanted to check in with a weekend greeting.  No big developments to report on this end.  I've been struggling with motivation issues the past couple of weeks and, as I look at my training log, I think this can be attributed to the fact that my focus has been predominantly on running lately.  Triathlon training has felt very abstract since my first one still isn't until May.  On a positive note, the wetsuit that I ordered arrived yesterday and I'm feeling renewed enthusiasm for my triathlon preparation.  I'm going to be running in the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in DC this weekend (a very popular race---this is the first year that I got a lottery number)---should be fun, though it's going to require dodging allot of tourists.  Once that's out of the way, I'm planning on scaling back on the running and kicking things up a notch with the biking and swimming.  My first triathlon is scheduled for May (Tri Rock sprint in Annapolis) and then I'm doing another sprint in Delaware in June (St. Andrews).  I had my sites set on the DC Triathlon in June as well but just learned that it has been cancelled because the US Park Service denied them their permit---quite a blow to the local tri community.  As an alternative, I'm considering doing the Nation's Triathlon on September 9 (an international distance).  Part of me wonders if this is packing too much in with two marathons scheduled for October (Chicago and MCM).  Having spent 40 years in this body, I know that I get complacent when I don't have goals to work for and I'm starting to think that it might be a smart strategy to ensure that I continue to cross-train during the summer and don't get burned out from just the running.  Though I despise anything that remotely resembles a "diet", I also want to really focus on better nutrition and smarter food intake.  I've put on a few pounds over the last couple of months that I really want to shed, both because I know I'll feel better AND it's a sure-fire way to get faster!  I've been reading allot about paleo lately---anyone else try this approach before?  While I don't think I could go paleo cold-turkey, I'm going to try to gradually implement some of the principles.  Thoughts or feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

Best of luck to everyone on your weekend endeavors whether they include racing or training.  I'll pass on a ten-miler report after the race.  I'm very grateful to this group for keeping me motivated and engaged even when my enthusiasm runs low.

Sounds like the wetsuit and more swimming will be just the change of pace you're looking for. I was born in DC and grew up outside DC in MD and I especially love hearing about your races. I have the Nations Tri bookmarked for next year as a possibility. I would love to run and bike around the city during a race one day.

I think that's one of the hardest things to learn, or accept, that some days are just not good racing days. You can do all this training and pay a lot of money weeks in advance and then get there and just not feel it. Or have an injury or something like horrible allergies. But it helps to know that it happens to everyone.

This morning I biked to a 5k and back, meeting a friend at the race. She's always faster than me and sets the pace. Today was the first time that I paced her and finished ahead of her. She just wasn't feeling it, while I was feeling pretty good. I'll probably never finish in front of her again Lol. I think it's probably harder for kids to accept the whole "bad days will happen" thing.

That's awesome that he could stick it out for 6 miles though, I'm impressed!

Boo!

Hi everyone, after a very long absence.  I have not been enjoying life lately.  Work has been hectic (underpaid, under appreciated and over worked - like most people), uni has started back and doing Math and Chemistry as well as full time work and trying to train and have a social life has taken its toll on my mind and body.  I ended up with a gastro bug that was hard to shake, but I have finally done it.  Now I am working on de-cluttering my mind.  I burst into tears at work on Friday evening so I knew that changes needed to be made.  Uni wise I have dropped Math for this semester and am focussing on Chemistry. Work wise I am going to start 'working to rule'.  I am only paid for a 7.6 hour day so why the hell I have been pulling 10 - 12 hours is beyond me.

Yesterday I woke up at 6am (Fairly early for a Saturday) and did a 10km ride in just under 30mins.  I am super happy with that effort as I haven't been on my bike in about 3 weeks.  I quickly racked my bike back on my car and then took off for a short run/walk to get my legs back into the swing of things.  Both my fannies and my ankles hurt like hell today, but that is the price I have to pay for stopping my bike training for 3 weeks!  Yesterday afternoon I went for a 10k walk along the foreshore with a friend who has decided to take up walking/running with me on the weekends and twice a week in the mornings before work.  I am finishing up my study for today (yes... study on a Sunday   and going to head back over to the bay for a walk to clear my mind.  Luckily I have been keeping up my swimming training - been going in my lunch hour.

I am looking forward to the Easter break starting this Thursday.  I am heading to the Snowy Mountains for the Easter period to check out where my Dad grew up.  Awesome bushwalking there, and perfectly clean mountain air... I can't wait to fill my lungs with it and clear my head.

ps - the weight loss is not going well at all!  I have put on 4kg!!!!!  Super cranky about that one! But not going to let it get me down.  Today is a new day and I can see broccoli cauliflower and carrots on my horizon.

Also, last race of the season is in 21 days!

Had my second indoor race on Saturday morning.  It was put on by the college's triathlon club.  This one was based on time - 10 minute swim, 20 minutes on a spin bike, 15 minutes running on an indoor track.

Race started and 9 and was in town, still woke up about 6:30 to start to eat.  Ate a lot of heavy food on Friday, so I didn't eat a lot before the race - small pork chop, hard boiled egg, carrots, lots of water and some Powerade to get some sugar in my body.  Stomach still felt a little weird.  Got to the race site, ran around the block a few times and then headed for the pool.

Pool swim was alright.  Went out way too fast - some nervous energy getting let loose.  Started strong and faded down the line.  Stomach felt weird the entire time.  Managed 650 yards in 10 minutes.  Probably could have done 50 more if I hadn't stopped a couple times to let my stomach settle. 

10 minute transition period and then off to the spin studio.  Bikes were set to a really low resistance so I just pounded it out.  The on-board computer was telling me 120-130 RPM's at 160-170 watts.  They didn't have the fans turned up, so I was just pouring sweat all over the place.  Took on some water, but probably not enough.  Finished the 20 minute bike with 12.1 miles.

Run took place on an 1/8th mile indoor track.  Started out pretty strong, but after the first mile I started fading a bit.  I haven't done any brick work so far this season and it shows.  Definitely some room for improvement.  They only counted full laps around the track and I missed making the 2 full miles by about 100 feet as the 15 minutes expired.  After the run I had to find a garbage can and hover over it for a couple of minutes.  My stomach had come unsettled during the kick, but luckily everything stayed put.

Scoring was a little bit different for this one - First place for each discipline earned 100 points.  Everyone else earned points based on the percentage of the distance they covered compared with the top finisher for the discipline.  For example:  First place swimmer covered 850 yards and I covered 650 yards - First place swimmer ears 100 points, I earned 76.5 points for the swim. 

I managed a 4th place finish over all - there were no age groups or male/female divisions.  There were 18 particpants, the vast majority being college students.  I think I finished 7th or 8th in the swim, first on the bike and third on the run.  Overall a pretty decent performance.  I want to blame it on my stomach, but I really have to blame myself for poor pre-race restraint.  Should have known better than to eat what I did on Friday evening (lots of fried food).  However, there is work to be done.  Stamina seems to be the name of the game:  Swim stamina and now practice with sighting in the pool will bring new challenges to workouts.  Running off the bike was a challenge for me last year and needs some additional attention this year. 

So far so good - 5K run in two weeks (Doughnut Run) and half marathon two weeks after that.  Then the real fun starts. 

We got archived already??? I tried looking for us this morning, but couldn't find us. I decided to look again in the archives and it looks like everyone's group has moved...

Anyway, anyone participating in the National Day of Suffering with Sufferfest?

The site admins archive every quarter- kind of an April Fools joke.  Ron likes keeping the site fresh, and archiving doesn't mean this is dead.

We can either update this thread, and I've also started a new stub for our Q2 group.  You guys can decide what you prefer, both work for me.  

I'll keep an eye out for which way the group goes! 

Great weeknd of training...oh my, how my muscles are reminding me where they are located.  But the best was trying on the wetsuit!  I did get it on, twice even!  Next weekend I will try to find a pond somewhere to try it out.  Valiant husband will come with me to make sure I am not alone.  Shiver me timbers!  It is still cold and rainy in Seattle. 

Also swam with the big kids (i.e. the local tri club) early Sat. - kept up with the rest of the slow lane except for one 50 yard sprint.  Totaled a little over 1500 yards - this was really good for me.  I've actually come a long way since dabbling with training in August.  First sprint tri is June 16th and the swim is 400 yards.  Think I am on track there!

Hope you all had great weekends!  Melinda

Hi Mariah,

We've moved over to the second quarter site:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=432939&posts=7&start=1

Hope all goes well for your husband and that you have lots of bags of frozen peas on hand!

Cheers,

Robin

mmez - 2012-04-04 7:56 AM Looks like things have been quiet lately. We got back home pretty late last night - my mother-in-law passed away and had about an 8hour drive to and from the funeral. My husband was there for about a week helping his dad get everything taken care of and I drove down with the kids on Monday. My husband is having a vasectomy tomorrow, so I'll be trying to keep the kids entertained and off of their father (my daughter feels the need to be hanging off of him whenever he's sitting down. Needless to say, this week has been a wash for any kind of training hope everyone has a great weekend!

mmez - 2012-04-05 5:56 AM Looks like things have been quiet lately. We got back home pretty late last night - my mother-in-law passed away and had about an 8hour drive to and from the funeral. My husband was there for about a week helping his dad get everything taken care of and I drove down with the kids on Monday. My husband is having a vasectomy tomorrow, so I'll be trying to keep the kids entertained and off of their father (my daughter feels the need to be hanging off of him whenever he's sitting down. Needless to say, this week has been a wash for any kind of training hope everyone has a great weekend!

Rough week, I'm sorry, Mariah.  I hope Mark is doing OK on all accounts.

And yes, we're moving into Q2 so let's go into the live section.  Robin posted the link.

Matt