Tri Ritter's Mentor Program "Smashin' it 2011" CLOSED (Page 3)

This will surely be an interesting swim session! Thanks for the advice I'm gonna go around noon today.

We have a worout facility where I live and I would like to train there in the summer when I am off from school.  Also, I have intrest in adaptive PE in our school district.  The adaptive PE people travel from school to school helping the kids who are in need of specialized intruction through a highly modified curriculum.  Not to mention a masters pays and extra 1800 a year,

I may even want to coach people one day; when I feel I am highly qualified

Edited by TriPatrick 2011-01-08 1:46 PM

Tried the workout. Completed it! it wasn't pretty but got it done, some of my rest periods were longer but for my first set of drills I let that slide. It broke up the distance better than doing plain freestyle the whole way so thanks for the ideas.

Random thoughts:
The fist only laps made me thankful for my hands during regular swimming.
the one arm laps require a fast stroke and rythym to keep it going.
I couldn't get down the breathing on the catch-up strokes, my head just wanted to stay down.
Going to log the workout now!

If you have an opening I would like to join your group. 

Starting my third season of tri as soon as i finish the half marathon.

Name:  Matthew Patterson
Story:   Looking to increase fitness after a disappointing second triathlon season
Family Status:  married and 3 kids (5, 2, and 5 months), I am a CPA in Houston, TX
Current Training:  Houston Half Marathon training, then Buffalo Springs 70.3
2010 races: Lonestar Duathlon,  CB&I Sprint, CapTex Olympic Plus, Buffalo Springs 70.3, Bridgeland Sprint, Houston Olympic.
2011 Races:Gateway to the bay OLY April 4th, Buffalo Spring 70.3, Bridgeland sprint August, Houston Oly


Edited by mattpatt 2011-01-08 6:14 PM

Do you still have any openings?  If you do, I would like to join!

I am 38 year old female, married for 16 years, and we have three kiddos (13, 9, and 4).  My husband is in the Army, and currently on his 5th year long deployment (Bosnia, 3 years in Iraq, and now in Afghanistan).  He's in the process of FINALLY retiring, and I have no race schedule since we have no idea where we will be living by summer.  (Don't get me started on how the Army is giving him2.5 months to find a job when he gets home before he retires, after serving 25 years!)

Anyway, let me know if you have an opening!  I've done triathlons for two seasons, but because I plan them around deployments, I have just done 3 sprints and 1 Olympic.  I'm looking at the Longhorn 70.3 this year if we go back to Texas (where I am originally from).  I have a half marathon in May (here in Colorado), and I do crossfit 4 times a week.  I'm ready to add back in my swim, bike, and run.  The swim is by far the easiest thing for me, I stress on the bike, and my run has not been the best lately.  I just need to get it into gear!

Hi Tri Ritter--

I counted and it looks like you might be up to 10...if I am wrong, I'd like to join...

Let me know...and if not, no worries, I understand.  I'll wait to see what you say before I post my bio.

Regards,
Q 

I'd like to join as well if you still have room.

And if it makes it any easier, thndrcloud and I have nearly identical race schedules this year and roughly the same experience.  We sort of share a brain (half of one anyway).  So it's like a 2 for 1 deal... 

Q 

I try and do legs on days I run and upper body on swim days.  I usually do weights in the morning.  I have found that if I do legs in the morning and run, I usually don't have a great run.  Doing arms on swimming days has not seemed to matter (but I am a really slow swimmer so that may play into ti. 

That sounds good I wouldn't mind working out in the morning since I don't have to leave my house to do so. My body recovers pretty quickly as well. I'm hoping to decrease soreness in the upper back arms shoulders and just make my body a little more stable so to speak.

Hey guys, I am out of town for the weekend and will respond to each one at a time. I hope you all had a good weekend. Let me know how it went. I had a hard 3:15 hr ride with some guys in Dallas yesterday and they had it out for me. It turned out to be my hardest ride back since the WC's in Clearwater. I didn't have the legs to respond back to all their attacks. Anyways, it is snowing here in Dallas. Be Safe! Oh yeah I plan to post my "off season" blog tomorrow and show some pics.

Hey Steve, welcome the group officially now!!! Hope all is well. Man you are beast, killer times! Total Immersion is good for starting out but they teach slow turnover, you'll want to get away from that as you become more comfortable and efficient in the water. I struggle with all the treats too : ) I feel your pain!!! Keep in mind you can do strength training in the 3 sports. EXAMPLES: Hill repeats for running and varied inclines and times, over gear on the bike with a cadence of 50-65 rpm, and doing pulls with a pull buoy and maybe paddles in the water.

basic drills to do: catch up drill (balance and rotation), fist drill (working on high elbows so you see how much you pull with forearms), fingertip drag (High elbows in recovery), and sculling to get a feel for the water. Look these up as it takes some time to learn these. I may have a file on my pc to send you if you remind me later.

p.s. all new people who have posted you are in the group  ))) I'll finsih responding later. Only taking about 2 more people, before I close it off.

To the exercise science folks - and anyone else that wants to chime in.  I have some serious shin problems that seem to have lingered on since my college days (even after a long layoff from running).  I was fitted for orthotics in '97 or so and I'm still wearing them - they're probably completely worn out and worthless at this point.  I wear them every day in every pair of shoes I wear.  My shins are so tender if feels as though they're going to break and there probably are some minor stress fractures or scar tissue.

In college, I was doing a lot of stretching of my calves (wall humps... anyone heard of those?) and also icing after each run.  I try to do a little of both now, but finding the time to run - let alone ice and stretch - is tough.

Seems like I can't run more than a couple days in a row without giving myself a day or two off from the pounding.

Any ideas or opinions on what I can do so I can up my mileage?  Feel like my shins are holding me back.

Thanks

Hey Matthew - I'm a CPA too although I'm not in public practice.  I'm a controller for a local oil and gas company and do some "easy" tax returns from home for some extra income.  This time of year is tough for any accountant so good luck with your training.

I can give you my sympathy. I used to get them in high school so bad I couldn't walk up or down stairs without severed pain. We spent 6 days a week on the track sometimes though cause my coach was nuts. there are some compression sleeves specifically for this but not sure how well they work. Maybe just do 2 runs a week and focus on bike and swim more.

Hi everyone...I'll be putting you all on my friends list and looking at logs, I love seeing what everyone else is doing.  Feel free to stalk look at my logs as well...

Below is a detailed and possibly overly self-interested story of my tri journey (so far).  If you cannot stomach it (you won't hurt my feelings) here is the short version:  SAHM, 41, high school athlete, mostly runner, got fat, lost it, started running again, last year was first full season of sprint and oly tri's, this year is first HIM.  There, that wasn't so bad, was it?
______________________________________________________________________________
For those of you dont' bore easily:

My name is Quincy, I am 41 pushing 42.  Two children, 2 year old (tomorrow) son and 6 year old daughter.  DH is an ER doc, I am an out of work (AGAIN) airline pilot turned stay at home mom.  We live in downtown Chicago with our two pugs.

I was very athletic as a kid and thru college and my early adult life (Navy pilot, 10 years).  Mostly I ran and played soccer, but I come from a family of fanatic competitive cyclists and swam lots as a kid in CA...ocean, rivers, lakes, pools, etc.  I managed to start my career as an airline pilot mere months before the attacks of 9/11 and my work life has been a mess ever since.  DH and I were always what we THOUGHT was active (3 mile runs now and then, weight lifting, a class here and there) but as time went by and we had lots of fun as dinks in the big city, we both packed on the pounds.  I lost some here and there, but things got really bad after I had my daughter in 2004.  

I went back to work in bigger suits and never really lost the weight...then I lost my corporate flying job (second job loss).  I reached a new level of overweight, but weirdly also got interested in "racing."  I talked DH into a 5k (It's always me with the wacky ideas) and then another, then we went ULTRA...a 10K.  OMG.  I was pleased with my placement and never again forgot that I love to compete.  

Finally had that aha moment when I was planning on going back to work at my airline for the second time and got serious about losing weight...lost 40 lbs on weight watchers.  That summer I couldn't compete because of my flying schedule, but I got back into running and kept at it.  That next year was insane, but I managed to keep the weight off despite a horrific ruptured ectopic pregnancy, a horrid work situation, and finally a layoff.  Then I found out I was pregnant again!  

Anyway, I did one last 5k when I was about 8 weeks pregnant and SMASHED my previous 5k PR...it was a bit frustrating to get back into running and then have to stop.  In the meantime my DH ran his first 1/2 Marathon, and I was aghast...the distance was way too far and 1/2 marathons are known to lead to marathons, which I have always been opposed to (I still am, but you'll have to read the race report for that story).  

So I survived the pregnancy, had my awesome son, and in a fit of post-partum depression signed up for the inaugural Chicago 1/2 marathon.  Entry came with a free online "training plan", so I did it.  Stuck with it, only missed a few runs here and there and started doing my long runs on the lakefront.  During some astoundingly long distance like 6 or 8 miles, I managed to run by "tri beach."  It was warm out, and I saw godlike people with amazing bodies, standing around in wetsuits, chatting each other up and smiling like they had unlocked the secrets to the universe.  I knew right away what they were...triathletes...every last one of them.  And I wanted in.  Got a confidence boost from my 1/2 mary finish and I was off to the (tri) races.

A girlfriend was dabbling in triathlon that summer (she gave it up and went on to tap dancing...hope that doesn't happen to any of us) but the important thing was she was about my size...and had a bike she wasn't using.  A armtwist phone call later, I had a bike.  A quick scan of craigslist yielded a cheap wetsuit, and I found a late season sprint tri.  A week or two of swimming in the pool (hey there's nobody in this lane, I'll hop in here...oops that's the fast lane) and riding the stationary cycle, I was ready to go!  

Anyway, the rest of the story is your standard first triathlon buffoonery...redline in the water, stuck in the wetsuit, technical difficulties on the bike, but I did it.  With rudimentary understanding of the sport.  It was awesome!  Placed 5th in my AG, which I was VERY pleased with.  And so it began.

Last season went ok...definitely the good, bad and ugly.  Did my first olympic tri and my first marathon (I am still bitter).  Stopped begging for loaner bikes and got my own.  Had my first crash and my first "getting lost" experience, as well as an unhappy marathon experience.  (And it was all good, I am a huge student of failure and buffoonery...I hate making mistakes but I do try to learn from them)  Best thing is, I got my hubby hooked, so now it's a family thing and we've got our season planned (mostly) for this year. 

Without going into more detail, I'll just say that I am doing my first HIM (Racine) this year, with the intention to go for IM distance in 2012.  (unless I get drunk and sign DH and I up for IMCOZ 2011...it could happen...I'll keep you posted)

You can see my race schedule on my logs or you can just look at Alison's (thundrcloud) schedule...good thing we aren't in the same AG or I'd have to slash her tires or something...

Regards,
Q
 

Hello Fuffalo, what is your real name and where you from? Beginners are welcome. To make your "dieting" easier allow yourself a break at least on the weekends to eat what you want. Typically, I eat out on the weekends, because thats usually have a long hard workout, so I am starving and craving anything. I usually go out for mexican the night after a long training day. I have flat feet too, but I use some orthotics with a slight arch , but I also have a metatarsal pad to keep me from having foot fractures. I would look in  your area for a biomechanics specialists who sees a lot of runners or a podiatrist who deals with runners.

Timbell, welcome to the group!! Good luck in your endeavors. Let me know if you have any questions. Where will you live in the states when you are back?

Welcome to the group Matt! Are you by chacne in OnUrLeft? I will be at all the races you mentioned for your 2011 season. What happened last season? Let me know if I can help you out.