TexasMPGal/Smilford/Mattb1's "Faster and Stronger in 2010" Crew (CLOSED)

Steve and Brittany,

Can I join in?

My name is Pam and I am a 24 year old living in chilly, snowy Green Bay, WI.  I have been doing triathlons for 5 years and truly love the sport.  I am an counselor in an impatient child psychiatric hospital unit so that keeps me busy.

Family Status:  I am currently married to my job and nursing school.  Between the two it is like being married with 7 kids.  My job is very time consuming and rotates between the 7-3 and 3-11 shift with the ocassional overnight (11-7).  That is on top of studying and classes.

Current Training:  I am right now training for the Walt Disney World Marathon which is in 26 days.  I have not been running as much as I should have, but I will explain the trials of that in the 2009 races.

2009 Races:  I don't know where to start.  Last year, I completed numerous running races, two HIM, 3 half marathons, a couple of bike races, and a bunch of shorter races.  The big finish was to be Ironman Wisconsin.  Sadly  I was forced to drop out during the bike.  This was beyond devastating for me.  Here I thought this was going to be the greatest finish to my season ever and between all kinds of little problems, I crumbled under it and DNFed.  It is 3 months later and I am not back to normal.  I am running Disney in hopes of putting a solid race under my belt but am having trouble being consistent with my training.  I need help to get back on track. 

2010 Races:  I plan on going back to my roots of more triathlons.  I want to up my endurance base so I will be working with longer races and training.  I plan on doing two HIM, possibly the Chicago Triple Challenge, a couple of half marathons and a couple of full marathons with some sprints thrown in there for fun.  My goal is to build during this year and attempt IM WI in 2011 and be successful.  I learned a lot from that race and am now ready to do what I need to do to accomplish that goal.

Weightloss:  I need to lose about 50 pounds.  I was much closer to my goal just 6 months ago but the post Ironman DNF depression caused me to stop working out and start eating way too much.  I struggle with weightloss so it is not going to be easy but I know it needs to come off before I train for IM WI in 2011.

I look forward to being part of a mentor group.  I really need people to ride me for awhile and get me back on track.  Help me!

Much like my races, I'd like to bring up the rear and be part of the group, if you'll have me.  I promise that I'll work on my bio after my meeting at 9:30. 

NAME: Sulcus/Shawn

STORY: I am 33 year old ex-athlete who blew out his shoulder while playing baseball in College and then moved to New York City.  I dabbled in tennis (my serves were hee-larious as I tried to not aggravate my shoulder) and then did a fair amount of hiking when I finally moved back out of the city.  Since then, I’ve gotten the shoulder fixed, mucked it back up again by trying to do too much too soon and moved back to NYC.  This time I learned my lesson though and moved out near Long Island though. 

I took up triathlons last year as a challenge to myself.  I have always played team or competitive sports against someone, a scoreboard, etc.  Triathlons are only against yourself, which is a huge change for me.  I also always saw running as a means to an end (you run to get more fit so you can do your sport better) or as a form of punishment (drop the ball, that’s two laps!).  I am coming around but it’s been a long slow process.

My first season was very mixed, to say that least.  I signed up for 7 races and actually only did 3.  The first one, I spent 12 hours in a car visiting with donors (I fundraise for a living) two days before and somehow managed to get a cramp so bad that I pulled something in my back.  My second race had the swim rained out and I was not confident enough to do a duathlon.  This is probably my biggest regret from last year.

The 3^rd and 4^th races went just fine and I enjoyed them immensely.  My 5^th sprint turned into a duathlon due to rain but, with a little encouragement (not to mention big boot in the arse) from my now wife, I did it.  It ended up being great because I ran the longest distance in one day that I ever have in my life. 

I got really sick before my next race and then mentally spiraled downward until I just missed my next race because I had not trained enough (part of this was also my getting involved in online computer games again).  This was my second biggest disappointment of the season.

Since then, I’ve gotten married in Mexico (the planning of which took up much more time than I thought it should), honeymooned and gained back 10 lbs that I had lost.  Now, like the Six Million Dollar Man, I am rebuilding myself, making myself stronger, faster and better as I get back into training and look forward to 2010.

FAMILY STATUS: Just married on November 12, though we’ve lived together for over 7 year now.  We also have two foster care cats.

CURRENT TRAINING: I am currently doing an introductory sprint plan and then I will be moving on an Olympic bridge and the full Olympic plan to prepare for the Nautica New York City Triathlon in July.

2009  RACES: 3 sprint tri’s – out of 7 I signed up for (see above).  That’s just so embarrassing to write to but I have to own it if I want to move forward and not let it happen again.

2010 RACES:  I just began looking at my race schedule a little more fully.  Currently, I have sprints in May and June and an Olympic in July.  I am contemplating another Olympic in September and possibly even a half-iron in November, if my early season goes well.  I am also thinking of sprinkling in some duathlons as well since I won’t get any better at running if I don’t do it.

WEIGHTLOSS: I’m down 15 lbs from when I started but back up 10 lbs from the 25 lbs I had lost when I gave up/got too busy in the fall.  I really would love to lose about 50 lbs and need to commit to keeping a food diary to do so because triathlon training alone doesn’t seem to do the trick for me.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I had a great experience in my mentor group in the summer and learned a tremendous amount from them.  I think I am starting to get the basics of training and racing down but I want to learn more as well as have some folks that I can hold myself accountable to.  I also want some guidance as I make the transition from sprints to longer distances and I know that I can’t come up with all the questions.

Okay – I know that was a load to read but I thought I’d introduce myself fully.  I am really excited for this group and hope that I can gain a little bit of the enthusiasm that I have already seen in here!