Tri Ritter's Mentor Program "Smashin' it 2011" CLOSED

adubtri - 2010-12-24 9:30 AM Hi William, Adam here.  I'd lke to sign up for your mentor group.  I've been following you this season and could benefit from your knowledge and expertise.  Next season will be my second and I plan to focus on the olympic distance.  I'm doing a 70.3 in April but only to show support for a friend who passed away from cancer.  I've done the swim-bike-run thing my whole life just not all at once, and not to compete.  Plus I'm a sprinter so this long distance running thing is sometimes difficult for me to match.  My main goal is to get faster on my run.  SO I'd like some mentorship to focus on improving my run times.  Thanks for you consideration.

Adub

flygal - 2011-01-05 4:12 PM Hi William

I'd love to join your group but am feeling a touch intimidated by all the seasoned triathletes!

I'm a 41yr old mother of 2 boys (18 & 15) and have just moved from South Africa to North Carolina, the stress of it all has brought me down with a severe case of the flu. I love exercise but haven't done much for the past year, I'm a complete beginner to this sport but I bought my first bike today and am feeling very excited about getting going. I haven't signed up for any races yet but will be doing so over the next few days. 
I have no training program in place, yet, but plan to rectify that this week. I don't work so I have plenty of time to concentrate on my training and I'm very excited about entering my first race.

Could you cope with having a complete novice on your team?

Regards
Shevaun

 

kussmaul - 2011-01-05 8:10 PM I want to join your group.  My name is Teddie.  I have never really been athletic.  As a kid I swam and ran a bit but stopped as an adult.  I rode horses and competed in dressage as an adult, but stopped that about 5 years ago when I had to retire my horse.  I then took up biking and loved it.  I was riding a couple of times week with long rides on the weekend.  Then I 'upgraded' my bike, and ended up with a bike that did not fit.  I when from feeling great after a 70 mile ride , to almost being in tears after 10 miles.  So I started to ride less and less.  I am a former ICU RN and now work as a consultant for a diagnostic company.  That means I travel a lot for work.  And eat out a lot.  Travel picked up around the same time I slowed down the biking, so I gained about 30 pounds .  Last February I joined a boot camp type program which got me motivated and helped me get back in shape and lose about 35 pounds.  I bought a new bike and started back up cycling.  I also started to run.  A friend of mine I worked out with does tris.  I have always been fascinated by the concept, but never thought it was something I could actually do.  Then after learning more, I jumped in!

Hey Teddie, Glad to have you in the group. I also see you are from Dallas. I live an hour from Dallas and will be there this weekend spending time with girl friend Jenn. I am trying to get a job in Dallas and I am going to talk to a guy at Larry North Fitness this weekend about a personal training position and trying to make that full time. I hope you have a correct bike fit now. If not, may I suggest you get one?


FAMILY STATUS:  Single (but looking )

There are a lot of single triathletes so be patient, be very patient as most are wierd lol.

CURRENT TRAINING: Right now I am kind of random.  Travel makes it difficult.  Running is the easiest to fit in.  Typically I run about 3-4 times a week (usually about 5 miles per run).  I'm pretty slow, but working on it!  I've always had running issues, this past year I have had achilles tendonitis and calf problems that shut me down for awhile.  In the past it has always been shin splints/stress fractures.  Even though I swam as a kid, ever last bit of swim ability has left my body.  I am working with a swim coach and it is helping.  But I am still really, really, really slow.  I usually swim about 2-3 times a week.  Since I have more of a cycling background, I tend not to work about it/work on it as much as swimming and running.  I have not been on  my road bike in about a month an a half.  To cold!  Prior to that I was riding 1-2 times a week for ~40 miles.  I have been mountain biking, which is fun, but not really a work out.  I do strength training twice a week.

You may want to meet my gf Jenn as she might can address some of your biomechanics issue that are resulting from your injuries. I have had similar issues and always struggle with shin splits and lower leg injuries, especially on my right leg. It could be a weak muscle or other underlying issue. Your shoes could be a bit too heavy too and you could also be over striding or landing too much on your heels. There could also be the whole overtraining syndrome too, but running too much too soon after a long day or not being able to recovery fast enough between run sessions. A thing I do to keep some injuries at bay is to do an ice bath after all hard runs and elevate my legs by laying on the floor with my legs up on the wall for a few minutes. This becomes more and more important as my training intensity picks up.

Last year's race:  I did my first sprint tri a week after my 40th birthday!  It was lots of fun and I did better than I expected and finished 4th in my age group (out of 15).  I also did a 5 K race and a 5 mile race (the 5 mile was 1/1 so I guess it technically should be in the 2011 races).

Congrats on your first tri that is pretty good, which one did  you do?

2011 races:  
Feb - Cowtown 10K in Ft Worth
March - Sprint tri in Palm Springs, CA  (my coworkers live all across the US.  When I first decided I could do a triathlon, I talked a bunch of my coworkers into it as well.  This is what we picked.  It was supposed to be our first, but I kind of cheated!)
April - Olympic Gateway to the Bay Tri in Kemah - I signed up without really thinking about it, hopefully I can be ready.
May - Muddy Buddy in Austin - fun run/bike with a friend 

Sounds like I will get to meet you soon. I may be at the cowtown 10k this year and I am for sure in for Gateway to the Bay, it's gonna be fun race.

WEIGHT LOSS:  I would love to lose another 5 pounds

how tall are you and how much do you weigh now?

WHY I WANT TO BE YOUR MENTEE:  I need all the support and direction I can get!!  And being part of a group is motivating.  I have joined a local tri club and train with a friend, but with my travel schedule, I end up missing most of it.

triritter - 2011-01-06 6:34 AM  

Hey Teddie, Glad to have you in the group. I also see you are from Dallas. I live an hour from Dallas and will be there this weekend spending time with girl friend Jenn. I am trying to get a job in Dallas and I am going to talk to a guy at Larry North Fitness this weekend about a personal training position and trying to make that full time. I hope you have a correct bike fit now. If not, may I suggest you get one?

My new bike does fit, it's fun to ride again!  Makes a huge difference.

You may want to meet my gf Jenn as she might can address some of your biomechanics issue that are resulting from your injuries. I have had similar issues and always struggle with shin splits and lower leg injuries, especially on my right leg. It could be a weak muscle or other underlying issue. Your shoes could be a bit too heavy too and you could also be over striding or landing too much on your heels. There could also be the whole overtraining syndrome too, but running too much too soon after a long day or not being able to recovery fast enough between run sessions. A thing I do to keep some injuries at bay is to do an ice bath after all hard runs and elevate my legs by laying on the floor with my legs up on the wall for a few minutes. This becomes more and more important as my training intensity picks up. 

I definitely  need help, so I would love to meet her.  I think the issue might be a combo of all of the above,  I have had issues with my calfs/splint and running since high school.  I also know I overstride and land on my heels.  I went to a POSE running seminar a few weeks ago and it was interesting.  I've been trying to work on some of the techniques.  I think if I could just chop off my left leg I would be good!

Congrats on your first tri that is pretty good, which one did  you do?

Sounds like I will get to meet you soon. I may be at the cowtown 10k this year and I am for sure in for Gateway to the Bay, it's gonna be fun race. 

I did the Cooper Fall sprint.  It was fun.  Cold, but fun.  I alternate between being excited about the Gateway to the Bay and thinking I jumped in too soon.

WEIGHT LOSS:  I would love to lose another 5 pounds

how tall are you and how much do you weigh now?

I am about 5'4" and 138.  I know it's silly but I just don't like the number!  I'm pretty small despite how much I weigh, I wear 2/4 and really don't want to get much smaller, I just want to weigh less.  (Yes, I know that does not make sense!) 

which club did you join? please, you and everyone else, ask questions that you may have.

I joined North Texas Multisport.   I went to my first event last night, it was track work at a local high school.  We worked on pacing.  It was good and something I really need.  I'll have lots of questions, don't work!

Good luck moving to Dallas.  I have lived here on and off for about 15 years and love it.  I did live in Houston for about 4 years, but moved back.

smoore3 - 2011-01-06 8:43 AM Hey Everyone.  I'm interested in joining this group.  I started triathlons 1 1/2 years ago and running only about 2 1/2 years ago.  Right now I am in a triathlon club that practices almost everyday, all of these practices (that I attend) I log on my training log. 
I would say that swimming is my best event, followed closely by cycling then followed from a long distance by running.  I do not like running at all and it pulls me down in the standings on every one of my races.

Last year's race:  I did three sprints and two olympics, along with several running races including 5, 10 and 1/2.  The 1/2 marathon ended up being embarassing as I didn't do very well for me (didnt train enough at all - but I thought I had, I burnt out at about 13k).

2011 races:  
March - St Patricks Day 10K
April - Glencoe 10K
April - Mount Royal Sprint Tri
April - Calgary Police 1/2 Marathon (Possibly)
May - Mothers Day 10K
June - Gerricks Wasa Olympic Triathlon
August - Ironman Calgary 70.3 (Possibly - have not commited to it yet)
August - PEI Triathlon (Sprint or Olympic - TBD)

WEIGHT LOSS:  I have gained 15 pounds from what I weighed two race seasons ago.  This is all mainly from eating garbage. I would like to get back to my old weight  by April if possible.

kussmaul - 2011-01-06 10:53 AM I have a question about running and type of workouts I should be doing.  So far when I have been running, I pretty much go at a steady pace with no stopping/walking and have gradually built up my distances.  I have gotten faster by doing this (from 10 min/mile to 9 min/mile) but is this the best way?  I did a track workout with a tri club last night and we worked on pacing.  I actually went faster than I thought I could (~8 min/mile) but we took a 20-30 sec break between each lap.  I am pretty sure with I could not sustain the pace without the time to recover.  So is this something I should be doing on a regular basis?

kussmaul - 2011-01-06 7:14 AM

adubtri - 2011-01-06 8:05 AM That is correct.  This will be my first 70.3 race so my objectives are pretty simple - like finish!

kussmaul - 2011-01-06 11:42 AM I have been running since last May, but I had ~ 6 weeks off due my achilles (Aug/Sept).  I think part of the problem is I know know what my 5k/10k pace is.  I think I do not push myself enough when I run on my own, and can actually go faster.  I have only done 2 5 k's (one in my tri) and one 5 mile race.  I was faster in all of them than I thought I would be.  When I run on my own, I do not work as hard.  My heart rate stays fairly low throughout.

roadrhino - 2011-01-06 1:15 PM NAME: roadrhino/Tif/Tiffany

STORY: I'm 33. Was an athlete all of my life until I made a career move in 2004 that completely drained me and wore me down until I became lazy and complacent. I finally made a decision and the committment to change that in October '08. What started as a quest to get "me" back has now become a quest to realize some lifelong goals of completing triathlons and eventually a marathon. I have been a competitive swimmer (& a summer games state gold medalist when I was 9)...collegiate/professional bowler, played softball, basketball, volleyball, track, weightlifting.....anything active I did it. On a whim in January of 2009, I stumbled on a message board that was discussing triathlons. A light went off in my head and I began strategically planning which training plan to follow and which race to make my first (I settled on the race with the shortest run distance). I'm now looking forward to my 3rd season and the training and racing that go along with it.

FAMILY STATUS: I have a SO who is going through this journey with me...EXCELLENT support system! We have 2 adorable Boston Terriers who would do triathlons, too if they could.

CURRENT TRAINING: I've been following a half marathon training plan since November and have also incorporated weekly swim training for variety and to not lose too much swim fitness. In the next couple of weeks I will concurrently train for the half marathon and a Half Ironman, and then focus on the HIM after the 13.1 at the end of January.

2010 RACES: Ironman 70.3 Texas; Tejas Sprint Tri, Y Freedom Sprint Tri, Bridgeland Sprint Tri

2011 RACES: 01/30- Houston Half Marathon; 04/10- Ironman Texas 70.3; remainder of race schedule dependent on work schedule. Will definitely include several sprints...hoping to add an Olympic or two and one more HIM.

WEIGHT LOSS: Since October 2008 I have lost about 60 pounds. I've gained a little bit the last few months, however, I'm really good at reigning myself in. I feel like I could lose 5-10 more, and I'm aiming to be at 130 by the 70.3 this season. I have discovered that training for triathlons keeps me focused and motivated with several short-term goals so that it's not a battle over the scale, but of the bigger accomplishments along the way.