Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 2)

I think we have room for two more participants.  Here's our list right now:

Wittycitygirl - Sara

Twhittum - Tracie

Silverback25 - Simon

pyroman1_1 - Dave

cbarnes1 - Chet

sashaosa - Alicia

jayhawkrichie - Tim

50andgettingfit - Johanne

nadaswimmer - Laura

I have found that it's helpful to put the members of our group in the dashboard of my BT training log.  Sometimes it's hard to remember names when I send inspires, so it reminds me what the persons real name is.  I think it will be a great idea to also put in parentheses the date of our first race for the season.  It get's hard to remember who has a race coming up so this would be a good reminder. 

What do you guys think?

Chet,

How cool is it when you can do these things together. Hats off to you for your Silverman Race. It was our daughter's first full Tri and I gained so much respect for the athletes who participated. Also congrats to your wife for her 1st Marathon. We had some from friends from Kingman run in that marathon also and had a great time. I'm looking forward to really gaining great insight and inspiration from our group here and can't wait to get going. 

NAME: Johanne

STORY: I started running a couple of years ago to lose some weight and get in shape. I have horses which keeps me pretty physically active but I love to eat so I needed something a little more consistent  I have a few friends and family that have gotten into tri's and it all looked so fun. I did my first sprint this past year and it was a huge challenge. I was ready to quit during the swim but didn't knowing that my friends knew I was racing. I love the idea of a mentor group to help hold me accountable! My husband cheered me on for that first tri then decided to join me so we finished the year with our first Oly on our 28th anniversary. Overall, it was a great year of challenges and fun races. I'm looking forward to stepping it up in 2011 and do my first 1/2 IM and my first marathon. My main focus is to finish a race feeling good and wanting to race again. As long as it stays fun I'll keep going!

FAMILY STATUS: Married to the ever patient Dave for 28 years and Mom to 3 kids, a young man of 24 and young ladies who are 22 and 20. 

CURRENT TRAINING: Right now I'm following BT's 20 week HIM training plan for my first 1/2 IM in July. After that I'll look to see what I should do or when I should start the plan again for my 2nd HIM in October.

LAST YEAR'S RACES(2010): 3 Sprints (March Sprint, Silicon Valley Sprint, Santa Cruz Sprint) and 1 Oly (Triathlon at Pacific Grove). Added in 4 1/2 marathons and a 60K bike tour.

2011 RACES: 3/6 Napa Valley Marathon (Run), 4/2 Cinderella 100K (Cycle), 4/16 Tierra Bella 100K(Cycle), 5/7 Iron Gear Sports Rio Salado Oly Tri, 6/12 Silicon Valley Oly Tri, 7/17 Vineman Ironman 70.3, 9/4 Disneyland Half Marathon, 9/10 Triathlon at Pacific Grove Oly, 9/17 Jan's Ride (Charity ride using as a training ride), 9/24 Lighthouse Century, 10/9 Muddy Buddy, 10/23 Soma Half Iron Tri, 12/4 Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. I like to sign up for things

WEIGHTLOSS: I've lost about 50 pounds in the last couple of years and would like to lose another 20-25 depending on how I look/feel 

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: 2010 was my first year of tri's and I've loved it. This is my second group and I love hearing and keeping up with how everyone is doing. One of my favorite things about the sport is how supportive everyone seems to be of each other at races and I'd love to get my own sense of community here on BT. I love learning about this sport and am looking forward to being part of a group.

Johanne

Hi Kate!

Welcome to the group.  I think it's awesome that you are a part of a training group to get the basics down-it's so easy to jump right into triathlon and start racing without having a good idea of what to expect and how to get through the race-and still have fun!

Sara,

I know the being "Chicked" feeling. My daughter was a little worried I would beat her on our first sprint but I put her fears to rest in the swim. I can also tell you how proud I felt when she came back on the course and ran with me to the finish.? Then we both went back on the course and ran with Alicia to the finish. I could not have been prouder when the loudspeaker announced that this was "the third member" of our family to cross the finis line. BTW good idea about the names. I'm horrible with names anyway, so I've got everyone so far as friends on my Log Dashbord.

That sounds like such a special family moment!  I hope you all have many, MANY more races like that! 

As you can see from my post today, I lost my dad four years ago today to cancer and although we never raced together, we did spend a lot of time together hiking, kayaking, fishing, etc.  He taught me valuable lessons that I apply to triathlon, one of them being "when schitt gets tough, just push through it!"  We all will face our own challenges and we need to have the confidence that we can get through them, sometimes you just have to dig deep and find the physical strength and the mental courage to get 'r done!

I think that is a great idea.

I have found that it's helpful to put the members of our group in the dashboard of my BT training log.  Sometimes it's hard to remember names when I send inspires, so it reminds me what the persons real name is.  I think it will be a great idea to also put in parentheses the date of our first race for the season.  It get's hard to remember who has a race coming up so this would be a good reminder. 

What do you guys think?

Sara,

How do you pick between a psychology program and a nutrition program??? Plus how do you pass up New Zealand! Dave and I just got back from 2 weeks in Australia (the trip was my 50th birthday present ) and everyone we talked to that had just come from New Zealand couldn't say enough good things about the country. Sounds pretty exciting!

Tracie,

Good for you for taking so much weight off right after you had your babies. I kept mine on for years. You are way ahead of the game.

Dave and Alicia,

Good for you guys to do this together! My husband thought I was a little nuts when I signed up for my first sprint and then afterwards he started training too. We like to do our long bikes together on the weekends and we swim together but he's a faster runner so I'm solo for that.

Chet,

Which HIM are you doing in October? I'm with you on the marathon training. I did my first one in March and the last couple of months I was just in survival mode to get the runs in. I'm feeling so much better now that I'm back to a more balanced training plan.

Laura,

I feel for you with the swim. I just started swimming a little over a year ago and my stamina is better but I'm still pretty slow!

Kate,

You have a fun job! We just got back from a vacation and my husband was laughing at how many pictures of lizards I took. I like them!

Simon,

Looking forward to reading your bio

Dave and I are going on a long bike ride tomorrow. We signed up for a local 100K ride the following weekend so we're going to ride part of the course tomorrow to make sure we can do the climbs  

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Johanne

Sara -- As promised, here's my info.  Itzia and Mike will be here shortly if you still have room....  Really looking forward to your guidance in the swim area.  Let's just say that I resemble a rock when I get in the pool!

Name:  croixfan (used to tourney bass fish and love these fishing rods!)/ Curt

Story:  44 years old and just finishing up my first season participating in triathalons.  Back in 2009 my then 14 year old son did a sprint and I thought it looked like fun.  Fast forward to the following April and I decided to give it a try.  Growing up I played a lot of basketball and baseball where I could capitalize on my speed so I figured piece of cake -- WRONG.  This has been a HUGE switch / journey as I started with absolutely zero endurance base -- not to mention some serious atrophy in the left leg due to a blown Achilles two years back.  I'm looking to slowly develop in to a solid age group performer.  Confident that I can get there.  Realistic that it's going to take 2-3 years.

Family Status:  Married with 3 kids (all December b-days).  A daughter soon to be 19 that's in here second year of engineering at U of I (pulling straight A's!).  A son that's 16 years old and is one heck of an endurance athlete (his best time in XC this fall was just under 16 minutes for 3 miles, ran the mile today right at 5 minutes / finished FOP this summer in a sprint tri) who also pulls solid grades in a full set of honors courses.  And a 13 year old daughter that's a solid student who plays with XC -- for her it's a social event.  Currently we live in the Chicago area, but we've lived in a lot of places -- Central Illinois, Colorado, Dubai, and Brussels -- over the past 10 years.

Current Training:  Been playing with different programs.  Did one cycle of "The Time Crunched Triathlete" book -- was fun / book is very insightful.  Right now I'm doing lots of slow miles and trying to work in  with a Masters swim club.  I'm incredibly slow in all three events, BUT have gotten to the point where my cardio system is pretty solid.  My swimming absolutely sux.  Going forward, I'll likely be looking to get 3 runs, 3 bikes, and 3 swims in each week. 

2010 Races:  Did a mini-sprint in April where I was BOP.  Did a sprint with an OWS at the end of July where I nearly drowned.  Seriously 28 minutes for 500 yards and 5 stops on the surf boards.  My Mom was there and my wife let me know she was nearly in tears watching me flail about haplessly.  A very humbling experience where I was way BOP.  Two weeks later went after another sprint with a pool swim and finished MOP and had a great time.  That convinced me that I can do this!

2011 Races:  Likely will try and do four sprints this year (end of May, June, and July + mid-August).  The races are fun, but I'm looking to use the training to get in great shape.  Looking forward, may try and do some more events in 2012 (or may toss in a couple more this year!).

Weight Loss:  Stand 5'9".  Started out at 185 and am down to 180.  Very frustrating not to see any more loss as I feel great / can see the difference.  Would like to drop about 10 pounds to make the running easier on my body.  Will need to get serious about tracking intake to see any gains -- I love chocolate!!!

What Will Make Me  A Good Mentee:  I check in regularly and keep my logs current.  I listen to guidance and pursue new ideas with an open mind.  I've also spent a bunch of timing coaching kids and love watching others develop.  Like the fact that the group is targeted at beginners.  We'll likely be sharing the same hurdles / can help each other over them.

Goals:  By the end of the 2011 season I'd like to get to where I can do 1000m at 2min / 100m (currently around 2:45 / down from 3:30 in December) , bike a 20 mile circuit at 22mph on my road bike (currently aroud 18mph), and run a 5K at an 8 minute pace (currently around 8:30 minute pace / down from 9:00 in December).

Let the fun begin!

NAME: Tim

STORY: I was very active as a kid. I played basketball throughout high school, first on the freshmen team, but then just played pickup basketball at the local park.  I never had trouble running, in fact, when I graduated from Navy bootcamp, I ran 1.5 miles in 8:40.  I got married 2 months later and that started the weight gain.  Flash forward 18 years and I find myself 80 pounds heavier than I was when I graduated from high school.  Graduated at 117, currently 206.  I'm only 5'6", so I am way overweight.  3 years ago, my fitness became an issue, as I couldn't pass the fitness test for the Air National Guard.  I failed 4 consecutive tests over a 2 year period and that ended in January 2010.  It was then that I thought about triathlon.  I started training for a My First Tri in June 2010.  I followed the BT 22 week plan and completed the triathlon, but struggled with the swim and run.

Although, I completed the Tri, I didn't lose any weight.  Obviously, my nutrition sucked, and still does.  So, I failed 2 more fitness tests and was forced to retire.  I will officially retire in September 2011 on the same day that I hope to complete an Olympic Tri.

FAMILY STATUS: I'm 38, married with 2 kids, 17 and 13.  My wife wants to train for a 5K in May. We will do it together.

CURRENT TRAINING: Modified 13 week sprint plan with running everyday.

LAST YEAR'S RACES(2010): My First Tri, and 2 local 5Ks

2011 RACES: My First Tri (to see if I can improve my time), Crab Trap Tri, Beach Blast Olympic (A race)

WEIGHTLOSS: None, but I need to lose about 50-60 pounds.  Have to repair my nutrition.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I need mentoring and accountability.  I love this sport, but I often find myself making excuses to skip workouts.

It looks like we have a great mix of newcomers and experienced triathletes! This is going to be a great group!

Tim-I totally understand the nutrition issue-as well as finding excuses to skip workouts; those are things I need to work on as well.

Johanne-Yes, it is the best job in the world! It is so cool that you like lizards, I'm betting you got some great shots--lizards can be so photogenic!

Dave and Alicia-I have to agree with Johanne, I think its wonderful that you guys are doing this together...I tried to talk my husband into doing ANY race with me, he much prefers golf...hm, not my thing...although I will play hockey with him anytime.

Tracie-Way to go on the weight loss!!! That is AWESOME! Like you, I am not a 'swimmer'--but we are learning, right? We'll get there!

Laura-Another person I can relate to swim-wise...you, me, and Tracie--we can DO THIS!

Chet-Ironman and Marathons?! Nice...I am motivated by that--Although I can't say I would be interested in marathons, but I am in awe and inspired by those who do them!

Sara-Thanks for taking this on--I'm looking forward to this adventure!

Hey guys -- just created a table on my profile with all members names / based it on my last group.  Not an expert on web pages or HTML, but you should be able to cut and paste to your profile/blog.  Also a good idea to add group members to your "friends" list so you can view profiles.  Looking forward to the discussions and learning from each of you.

kgore -- Didn't see a name in your post / can you help me out?

Here you go!

Hi Sara!  As Curt mentioned, here is my bio.  I hope you still have room.

NAME: itziaol / Itzia
A real beginner

STORY:  I’m 45 years old.  In the past 5 years I’ve concentrated on working and studying, but after looking at my holiday pictures last Summer, I decided I had to do something about my figure and started dieting and exercising.  I also thought of participating in a sprint triathlon as a goal to accomplish in August 2011, but I don’t like running, so I tried that first and ran my first 10K race in November. 

I practically grew up swimming.  I’m a tropical fish by nature although I’m still working on some details in my technique and I have no condition at present!!  I trained with a diving team and a swimming team as a teenager, but my passion was always classical ballet.  I have next to no experience in riding a road bike and I’ve been waiting for a bike that I ordered from the US for the past ten weeks!  But I belong to a triathlon team where they lend me one every Wednesday.  The rest of the week I can use my mountain bike. I’m actually beginning to like biking more than swimming. 

FAMILY STATUS:  I’m married and have two kids, a 10 year old girl and a 14 year old boy.  My family is used to supporting me in my personal projects, which have always been ambitious and demanding.

CURRENT TRAINING: I was doing well until I injured myself walking down some steps at work in December (yes, it was not during training!!) Since then, I lost condition and my training has been quite erratic.  February was a great month, but March was full of b-day celebrations and I took a course in the US.  I’ve decided April has to be much better.  I only have 4 months to prepare for my first sprint!!

GOALS: Veracruz Triathlon (sprint), Boca del Río, Veracruz, 27th August 2011 and Huatulco International Triathlon (sprint),Oaxaca, 8th October 2001.

WEIGHTLOSS:  I’ve lost 17.6lb and my body composition has been gradually changing.  I still have to lose another 12lb to reach my ideal weight.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE:  I am very enthusiastic and supportive.  I’m also a good researcher, so even though I might not know much about tris, I can find things out and share them with the group.  I’m really looking forward to my first sprint!!!

So, let me be the first to ask a swimmin' question.  Most of the beginner swimming workouts I've seen, including the one on Sara's Training log, reference 25 yard laps.  The pool I have access to right now is a 50m pool.

Should I just change the 25 yard increments to 50 yard increments?

Thanks,

It has been great for our family.  We are doing the relay this weekend for our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was HER idea!

Johanne - I believe it is going to be Pumkinman here in Vegas.  Really tough bike course but a well run event.  It all depends on if I get into the lottery for St George Marathon.  We will see.

Tracie - Congrats an the weight loss!! Wow. 

Do you have room for 1 more?

I haven't actually committed to any tri's this year but would like to improve my swimming as I'm pretty hopeless at it, lol to possibly do some in early 2012 ( summer where I am.) I'm also a beginner in everything else as I'm currently only walking and don't get to do the bike that much. I am looking at doing the agressive c25k after I've completed the mothers day classic on May 8 though. I'm in Australia

If you say yes I'll post the rest of my bio

 Sara,

I am so sorry for your loss.  Sounds like your Dad left a fantastic life legacy.

Johanne,

Congratulations on your tri journey! Having fun, losing weight, having fun getting fit, Just having fun. We all have to be a little nuts to sign up for this Tri stuff. Its fantastic to be able to do these things together. Alicia and I go out on rides together but we do not always stay together. One thing is it is nice to know each one is out there.

Hi there!  I know it says full on the main board but I would love to join this group!  I will be doing my first tri a try in August.  So far this year I have completed my 1st 5k, will be doing my 1st 10k on May 1st and I'm looking at a few other races in the summer besides the tri.  I am really excited to begin this new chapter in my life and love how I feel myself getting stronger with every workout. I'm alternating running with biking on my husband's trainer for 6 days/week.  If I can join, I will post my bio later. 

Lori

Hi everyone.

NAME Silverback25/simon.

HISTORY I've taken part in 4 marathons and 1 sprint triathlon as well as 1 sprint duathlon. Have always been involved in team sports but after several little injuries decided i couldn't keep having time off work so stopped playing sport full stop.I then got very lazy and put alot of weight on. I then sat and watched the london marathon one morning and for some reason i thought to myself i could do that but i was never a distance runner more a sprinter. 2 years later i completed my 1st london marathon. One day i was on youtube and saw an ironman trailer and again a little voice said "i can do that" so in july i will be on the start line in frankfurt for ironman europe.

FAMILY I live with my partner julie and her 2 sons i also have an 11 year old son of my who i see every weekend .

TRAINING My training was going well through january and early february i then developed a stomach bug which i couldn't shake off so my training suffered alot. I have just found out i have crohns disease. should have been doing the london marathon next sunday but have defered my place to next year and was seriously considering pulling out of ironman. i have just completed a test week to see how i felt training and have come through it feeling strong so have decided to push on with my dream of becoming an ironman. Training will have to be altered at times when i have flare ups with my condition. This might mean doing alot of training on the treadmill or static bikes so i'm not far from a toilet but am determined not to let it get in my way.

looking forward to sharing everyone's journey towards there goals.

Regards

Simon