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enginerd's geek heaven - FULL
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 2009-04-07 4:01 PM |
Master  1588    San Francisco |  Subject: enginerd's geek heaven - FULLNAME: enginerd/Donato STORY: I live in San Francisco. I'm a big geek/nerd and, yes, I work in IT. In my past, I was an avid hiker/backpacker and an off an on runner doing races up to a half mary. I gained a lot of weight at one point (big work project) and decided to get fit again; triathlons sounded cool. I used to swim and bike in my youth, but hadn't done so for 20 years, so I bought a bike off craigslist, started swimming, and then found my way to BT. I started with a season of sprints and Olys back in 2006 and worked my way up to HIM, IM, and ultramarathons. In the process of all of this, endurance sports have very much become a lifestyle for me. FAMILY STATUS: Married, one 16 year old cat (turkish angora) CURRENT TRAINING: I bike to work every day and go long on the weekend, run 3-4x/week, swim 2-3x/week. I don't really do any speed work or intervals because I'm a simple endurance guy and just enjoy the long slow stuff 2008 RACES: IM Lanzarote, IM Wisconsin, IM Cal 70.3, Door County Tri, 4 centuries, 1 bike race, 3 marathons (Big Sur, San Francisco, Nike Women's), and 4 ultramarathons (two 50K and two 50-milers) 2009 RACES: IM Canada, Vineman (full), Escape from Alcatraz, Wildflower (long course and Olympic), IM Cal 70.3, and some ultramarathons for good measure WEIGHTLOSS: I've lost almost 35 lbs. (which is over 26% of my current body weight) since I started training for tris WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR: I've been a mentor here on BT twice before, most of whom I still interact with here on BT. I have a solid base of knowledge and experience. In the end, what makes a good mentor group is one in which the mentees actively participate and interact with the group and each other. My role is simply to help facilitate that (group discussion and individual training blog check ins), but it really is the mentees that make the group! Edited by enginerd 2009-04-09 3:57 PM |
| 2009-04-08 12:04 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
| , Arizona | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN I'm not sure if we are able to join the mentor program yet, but as a fellow IT geek I'd love to join your group! I'm currently training for my very first sprint tri in July. |
| 2009-04-08 11:09 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
Master 1591 San Diego, CA | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN .... so they talked you into being a mentor .... |
 2009-04-08 11:19 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. |
| 2009-04-08 12:04 PM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Member 43 Chicago, IL | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Yes! Thanks Donato. I'm happy to see you decided to start a mentoring group. Please keep me in mind to be part of the group. thanks! Mauro. |
| 2009-04-08 2:56 PM in reply to: #2070082 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Synon - 2009-04-07 10:04 PM I'm not sure if we are able to join the mentor program yet, but as a fellow IT geek I'd love to join your group! I'm currently training for my very first sprint tri in July. Hi Eric. Yes, we're open for business! Glad to have you as part of the group. Tell us a bit about yourself. What's your story/background, where do you live, what are you training for, what goals do you have for yourself, etc. |
| 2009-04-08 2:57 PM in reply to: #2071221 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN maurof78 - 2009-04-08 10:04 AM Yes! Thanks Donato. I'm happy to see you decided to start a mentoring group. Please keep me in mind to be part of the group. thanks! Mauro. Hi Mauro. The mentoring group is live, so welcome to the group! How about a little intro about yourself for the others in the group. |
| 2009-04-08 4:34 PM in reply to: #2071684 |
| , Arizona | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Thanks for letting me join! Well to start I'm 26 and live in Flagstaff Arizona. I've never done a triathlon before and I'm just starting to train for the Mountain Man sprint here in Flagstaff in July. I work for W.L. Gore & Associates (yes, the company that makes bikewear, but we don't make it here) doing IT support for a couple of our plants. No children and not married (I have a girlfriend of over 3 years though). I was 'middle of the pack' cross country running in high school, I haven't really done any running or any races since. I recently got a Marin Venezia road bike which I ride to work on when the weathers nice. I'm obsessive about tracking progress, so my logs have everything I've been doing. I like to mountain bike and practice Capoeira for fitness before I started training for this, disc golf is also one of my passions. I've just started learning to swim which is going to be a huge struggle for me. I'm currently working on swimming with my head underwater and trying to remember I don't breath like a fish, I'm out of breath after 25m too so it's going to need a lot of work. I printed out the 16 week Sprint - 2x Balanced training program, but I seem to not be following it and just training whenever I can (which seems to be working out OK so far). As for goals, I'd like to complete the race in less than 1:45, but it's hard to know what's realistic. Either way, I'm going to train hard and try and keep motivated over the next few months. |
| 2009-04-08 5:20 PM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Member 43 Chicago, IL | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Thanks Donato. A brief introduction about myself... I am 30 years old and live in Chicago, IL. I work as an IT Consultant developing applications with Microsoft .NET technologies. I completed my first triathlon in 2006. It was the Chicago triathlon Olympic distance race. I registered for the challenge of it and really enjoyed the experience, especially when I exceeded my own expectations by completing it much faster than I had anticipated. The same year I also completed my first marathon, the Chicago marathon. After that I started training regularly in mixed martial arts and one day got injured with a herniated disc. That kept me inactive for a few months and I was unable to train for the larger part of 2007. In 2008, once healthy, I decided it was time to achieve my dream of becoming an Ironman. I completed the Steelhead Half Ironman race, the Chicago triathlon Olympic, and the Chicago marathon as preparation for Ironman Lanzarote 2009. This is what I train for now. I got in contact with Donato through this site after I read his wonderful Ironman Lanzarote 2008 race report. He has always been very helpful, providing advice, and answering any questions I have. This is why I am very happy and eager to be joining his mentoring group. |
| 2009-04-08 7:00 PM in reply to: #2069077 |
Master 2404  Redlands, CA | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN If you still have a spot I would like to join. I signed up for IMSG, and will probably sign up for several triathlons this summer. I work in IT as well; been in it for the last 10 years. Since you seem to be more of an endurance guy I think I can learn alot and would love to get some pointers. FAMILY STATUS: Married 7 years with 2 Dalmations. WEIGHTLOSS: About 15 lbs overweight, more from a weeklong break and bad habits. |
| 2009-04-08 9:14 PM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Veteran 151 Coldfoot, Alaska | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN I'd like to join if there is still room and I'm deemed acceptable  NAME: sanhador/Erin STORY: I'm a 25 y/o who has gotten herself into triathlon beacuse my roomate wanted to, and wanted someone to train with. That was 6 months ago and she hasn't been to a single workout. So I've found myself in this and seem to be getting hooked even before my first tri. I work full time and am finishing up my degree - should graduate in December finally! FAMILY STATUS: Single CURRENT TRAINING: S/B/R three times a week. Trying to do Pilates and Yoga in evenings twice a week. when I'm not too tired. It's kind of my optional workouts. Also have Kettlebells three times a week. 2008 RACES: None 2009 RACES: Danskin SheROX Sprint - first tri ever - June 28 Wild West Relay - August SOMA Half Ironman - October WEIGHTLOSS: Not really any yet. Slimming down quite a bit - but no #'s coming off. I will be probably always be an Athena - at 6'1" I'd be pretty thin at 150. Would like to lose approx. 85 lbs though. Biggest thing for me would be watching nutrition. |
| 2009-04-08 11:07 PM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Hey all, I'd like to join your group. I'm not in IT, but wave my biology geek flag proudly. Here's my info: NAME: treehugger/Jules STORY: grew up swimming (age group and high school), took up road and mtn biking in college (no racing), and switched to running in grad school. I've been running ever since, with a handful of races scattered over the years (5K to marathon). I finally decided to put it all together and try a triathlon after getting back in the pool while recovering from a running injury a few months ago. TRAINING: I've been focused on training for an upcoming marathon, so plenty of running plus swimming 2-3 x per week for cross-training. I haven't ridden my bike much for the past 6 years, so that will be my biggest challenge. 2008 RACES: none 2009 RACES: Big Sur Marathon, Indy Triathlon (sprint) in June, Tri-Indy (Olympic) in Aug. WEIGHTLOSS: maintenance Thanks everyone - I don't have anyone to train with in person, so it will be great to be part of a group! |
| 2009-04-09 3:16 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Expert 938 Orange County, California | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN I would like to join. Have done 4 marathons and a bunch of half marathons. My latest half suggests I could beat my marathon time by over an hour, ( which would still leave me 8 minutes short of a BQ). Have done a half dozen sprint tri's. Could probably do HIM run and bike, the swim not so much. But the swim has gone from truly awful to merely bad. I teach indoor cycle a couple of times a week, run about 25 miles a week. Need to do more swims, especially open water. I can do decent distance in a pool, but need to get used to not having the comfort of knowing a pool wall is no more than 25 yards away. Cash |
| 2009-04-09 8:57 AM in reply to: #2072317 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN furiousferret - 2009-04-08 5:00 PM If you still have a spot I would like to join. I signed up for IMSG, and will probably sign up for several triathlons this summer. I work in IT as well; been in it for the last 10 years. Since you seem to be more of an endurance guy I think I can learn alot and would love to get some pointers. FAMILY STATUS: Married 7 years with 2 Dalmations. WEIGHTLOSS: About 15 lbs overweight, more from a weeklong break and bad habits. Hi Chris. Welcome to the group! Looks like you're doing some serious training volume already. What's the Everest Challenge? |
| 2009-04-09 8:59 AM in reply to: #2072662 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN sanhador - 2009-04-08 7:14 PM I'd like to join if there is still room and I'm deemed acceptable NAME: sanhador/Erin STORY: I'm a 25 y/o who has gotten herself into triathlon beacuse my roomate wanted to, and wanted someone to train with. That was 6 months ago and she hasn't been to a single workout. So I've found myself in this and seem to be getting hooked even before my first tri. I work full time and am finishing up my degree - should graduate in December finally! FAMILY STATUS: Single CURRENT TRAINING: S/B/R three times a week. Trying to do Pilates and Yoga in evenings twice a week. when I'm not too tired. It's kind of my optional workouts. Also have Kettlebells three times a week. 2008 RACES: None 2009 RACES: Danskin SheROX Sprint - first tri ever - June 28 Wild West Relay - August SOMA Half Ironman - October WEIGHTLOSS: Not really any yet. Slimming down quite a bit - but no #'s coming off. I will be probably always be an Athena - at 6'1" I'd be pretty thin at 150. Would like to lose approx. 85 lbs though. Biggest thing for me would be watching nutrition. Hi Erin. Great to have you here. Funny about your roommate not getting into it. I too started when me and 2 other guys at work starting talking about doing tris and I'm the only one who ended up doing them. Looks like you have some nice races already lined up and SOMA in the fall - awesome! |
| 2009-04-09 9:03 AM in reply to: #2072985 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Cashmason - 2009-04-09 1:16 AM I would like to join. Have done 4 marathons and a bunch of half marathons. My latest half suggests I could beat my marathon time by over an hour, ( which would still leave me 8 minutes short of a BQ). Have done a half dozen sprint tri's. Could probably do HIM run and bike, the swim not so much. But the swim has gone from truly awful to merely bad. I teach indoor cycle a couple of times a week, run about 25 miles a week. Need to do more swims, especially open water. I can do decent distance in a pool, but need to get used to not having the comfort of knowing a pool wall is no more than 25 yards away. Cash Hi Cash. Great to see you here. Sounds like you have a solid background to do the distance races. A lot of folks have concerns about the swim. Hopefully we can share some advice that will be helpful. Edited by enginerd 2009-04-09 9:03 AM |
| 2009-04-09 9:06 AM in reply to: #2072862 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN treehugger - 2009-04-08 9:07 PM Hey all, I'd like to join your group. I'm not in IT, but wave my biology geek flag proudly. Here's my info: NAME: treehugger/Jules STORY: grew up swimming (age group and high school), took up road and mtn biking in college (no racing), and switched to running in grad school. I've been running ever since, with a handful of races scattered over the years (5K to marathon). I finally decided to put it all together and try a triathlon after getting back in the pool while recovering from a running injury a few months ago. TRAINING: I've been focused on training for an upcoming marathon, so plenty of running plus swimming 2-3 x per week for cross-training. I haven't ridden my bike much for the past 6 years, so that will be my biggest challenge. 2008 RACES: none 2009 RACES: Big Sur Marathon, Indy Triathlon (sprint) in June, Tri-Indy (Olympic) in Aug. WEIGHTLOSS: maintenance Thanks everyone - I don't have anyone to train with in person, so it will be great to be part of a group! Hi Jules. Sounds like you have a solid background in all 3 disciplines and you just need to put them all together. As you probably already know, the biking segment of a tri takes up the majority of the time in a race, so it definitely pays to be strong there. I did Big Sur last year. Very typical california coast/highway 1 beautiful. Have you done that one before? |
| 2009-04-09 9:11 AM in reply to: #2072016 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Synon - 2009-04-08 2:34 PM Thanks for letting me join! Well to start I'm 26 and live in Flagstaff Arizona. I've never done a triathlon before and I'm just starting to train for the Mountain Man sprint here in Flagstaff in July. I work for W.L. Gore & Associates (yes, the company that makes bikewear, but we don't make it here) doing IT support for a couple of our plants. No children and not married (I have a girlfriend of over 3 years though). I was 'middle of the pack' cross country running in high school, I haven't really done any running or any races since. I recently got a Marin Venezia road bike which I ride to work on when the weathers nice. I'm obsessive about tracking progress, so my logs have everything I've been doing. I like to mountain bike and practice Capoeira for fitness before I started training for this, disc golf is also one of my passions. I've just started learning to swim which is going to be a huge struggle for me. I'm currently working on swimming with my head underwater and trying to remember I don't breath like a fish, I'm out of breath after 25m too so it's going to need a lot of work. I printed out the 16 week Sprint - 2x Balanced training program, but I seem to not be following it and just training whenever I can (which seems to be working out OK so far). As for goals, I'd like to complete the race in less than 1:45, but it's hard to know what's realistic. Either way, I'm going to train hard and try and keep motivated over the next few months. Hi Eric. Welcome! I can see you've been doing a great job with your logs. Some follow a strict structured training schedule and some just do what they can (I'm in this latter group as well), so either can work well and most importantly it needs to fit with the way you work. |
| 2009-04-09 10:04 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Master 2501 | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN I would love to jump in here if there is room!! I'm a former Bay Area resident (grew up in Cupertino back in the day... raised by an engineer geek), now living outside of Seattle, WA. Former competitive swimmer for a gazillion years, turned runner (have done 6 marathons, including a few that you have done!), turned triathlete when I finally bought a bike. I've done numerous sprints and one Oly and am currently training for my first HIM on June 21 (Victoria). Let me know if there's room and I'll post my complete bio!  |
| 2009-04-09 10:30 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
| Master 1209 New York, NY | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Hi Donato! Wanted to see if you have room for one more to join in the fun? After a few years of watching in awe from the sidelines and wishing I was out there, I did my first tri last summer. It was an instant love affair! I did 3 sprints last summer. I'm currently in my 3rd week of training for my first HIM...also planning to do a couple sprints, an Oly and hopefuly my first marathon this year. If you have room, I'll post my full bio later. Cheers! |
| 2009-04-09 10:33 AM in reply to: #2069077 |
Elite 5316 Alturas, California | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Hi all I would like in if there is still room. NAME: Baowolf/Steve STORY: I too have been to the land of too much education and work and not enough exercize landing me at 180 on a 5'9" frame a year and a half ago. I was where I wanted to be job wise and well the combination of finding myself 40 (well the age didn't have anything to do with it 8)), overweight, and without any life goals that I had not yet accomplished eventually lead me to BT and training for omgosh a first triathlon. My exercize history was basically fun stuff, waterskiing, windsurfing, wresting in high school, rollerblading, snow skiing, etc., but no s/b/r experience of any note. So, short story long, I did my first sprint 12/07, then last year I did a 5k, 10 miler, half mary, 30k trail run, Oly and a HIM oh and learned to do freestyle in 6/08. I am now down 40 pounds, did my first full mary in January and have plans for a HIM in June and a my first Full IM (Vineman) in August. FAMILY STATUS: I will celebrate my 20th wedding anyversary at the Boise HIM, have 5 children, 1 cat, 1 dog. CURRENT TRAINING: I currently workout daily 1-2 times for 10-15 hours a week. I am currently trying to get less slow, so more intensity less distance. 2008 RACES: Parkcity 5k, NorCal 10 miler, Avenue of the Giants half mary, Whiskeytown 30k Trail run, Triing for Chidren Oly, Las Vegas HIM. 2009 RACES: Redding full mary (done), NorCal 10 miler (done), Boisie 70.3, Vineman Full IM and well that is all for now, we will see if anything else comes up. WEIGHTLOSS: I am down 40 pounds and dropping another 10 would be ideal, 5 would be fine as training picks up and the snow goes away. I am lone wolf because I live way out in the sticks with no facilities, no one who exercises and 100 miles from the nearest McDonalds, Stoplight, bikeshop or swimming pool in the winter until the lake temps get above 50, then its only 50 miles. Edited by Baowolf 2009-04-09 10:37 AM |
| 2009-04-09 10:36 AM in reply to: #2073432 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN enginerd - 2009-04-09 10:06 AM Hi Jules. Sounds like you have a solid background in all 3 disciplines and you just need to put them all together. As you probably already know, the biking segment of a tri takes up the majority of the time in a race, so it definitely pays to be strong there. I did Big Sur last year. Very typical california coast/highway 1 beautiful. Have you done that one before? Thanks, Donato. I was planning to do a running-focused plan (after I recover from Big Sur) since I enjoy running the most, but would you recommend doing a cycling-focused plan to improve my weakest discipline? I haven't done Big Sur before, but signed up for it for the privilege of running through that beautiful scenery. It's been a great motivator through the long, grey Midwestern winter! Also, I didn't mean to be presumptuous in my earlier post - okay if I join the group? |
| 2009-04-09 10:52 AM in reply to: #2073649 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN kkcbelle - 2009-04-09 8:04 AM I would love to jump in here if there is room!! I'm a former Bay Area resident (grew up in Cupertino back in the day... raised by an engineer geek), now living outside of Seattle, WA. Former competitive swimmer for a gazillion years, turned runner (have done 6 marathons, including a few that you have done!), turned triathlete when I finally bought a bike. I've done numerous sprints and one Oly and am currently training for my first HIM on June 21 (Victoria). Let me know if there's room and I'll post my complete bio! Hi Kyla. Welcome to the group! Please do post your bio. Glad to have a swimmer here since I think many of us can use some advice!  |
| 2009-04-09 10:54 AM in reply to: #2073719 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN KelliD - 2009-04-09 8:30 AM Hi Donato! Wanted to see if you have room for one more to join in the fun? After a few years of watching in awe from the sidelines and wishing I was out there, I did my first tri last summer. It was an instant love affair! I did 3 sprints last summer. I'm currently in my 3rd week of training for my first HIM...also planning to do a couple sprints, an Oly and hopefuly my first marathon this year. If you have room, I'll post my full bio later. Cheers! Hi Kelli. Welcome to the group. Yes, please do tell us about yourself! |
| 2009-04-09 10:58 AM in reply to: #2073729 |
| Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's geek heaven - OPEN Baowolf - 2009-04-09 8:33 AM Hi all I would like in if there is still room. NAME: Baowolf/Steve STORY: I too have been to the land of too much education and work and not enough exercize landing me at 180 on a 5'9" frame a year and a half ago. I was where I wanted to be job wise and well the combination of finding myself 40 (well the age didn't have anything to do with it 8)), overweight, and without any life goals that I had not yet accomplished eventually lead me to BT and training for omgosh a first triathlon. My exercize history was basically fun stuff, waterskiing, windsurfing, wresting in high school, rollerblading, snow skiing, etc., but no s/b/r experience of any note. So, short story long, I did my first sprint 12/07, then last year I did a 5k, 10 miler, half mary, 30k trail run, Oly and a HIM oh and learned to do freestyle in 6/08. I am now down 40 pounds, did my first full mary in January and have plans for a HIM in June and a my first Full IM (Vineman) in August. FAMILY STATUS: I will celebrate my 20th wedding anyversary at the Boise HIM, have 5 children, 1 cat, 1 dog. CURRENT TRAINING: I currently workout daily 1-2 times for 10-15 hours a week. I am currently trying to get less slow, so more intensity less distance. 2008 RACES: Parkcity 5k, NorCal 10 miler, Avenue of the Giants half mary, Whiskeytown 30k Trail run, Triing for Chidren Oly, Las Vegas HIM. 2009 RACES: Redding full mary (done), NorCal 10 miler (done), Boisie 70.3, Vineman Full IM and well that is all for now, we will see if anything else comes up. WEIGHTLOSS: I am down 40 pounds and dropping another 10 would be ideal, 5 would be fine as training picks up and the snow goes away. I am lone wolf because I live way out in the sticks with no facilities, no one who exercises and 100 miles from the nearest McDonalds, Stoplight, bikeshop or swimming pool in the winter until the lake temps get above 50, then its only 50 miles. Hi Steve. Great to have you here. I see you are also signed up for Vineman, so I hope we'll meet there. A couple of my mentees from last year's group are also doing this one as well. Hey, being 100 miles from a McDonalds is probably a good thing  |
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