SBR Endurance Group - CLOSED

Hello i would appreciate being mentor'd by you:

Name: PhilipRay/  Philip Cockrell  46 yrs old

Story: I was always a decent athlete growing up, I went in the Navy after HS, My training from that has keep me employed my whole life since then, I travel ALOT for work all over the country and occasionally overseas. Last year, really not last year but last year I decided after MANY unsuccessful attempts at losing weight to have LapBand surgery, I was 315#'s and Im 6'1". i had lost 50-60# many times before but life would come along and slap me in the face and i would fall off the wagon, well this past year with a focus on triathlon training and the "help" of the lapband i have managed to lose 105# so far.

Family Status: I've been married for 20 years, we have 4 children, 26 (D), 24 (S), 23 (S) and 17 (S).  My wife is supportive and is trying to catch the bug, but so far not happened.  We did a sprint tri as a team this past Aug where we finished 5th.

Current Training: Im recovering from Hernia surgery(Dec 5th) so since Oct2011 my training has been limited see my log. I LOVE the bike, always have, it has always been apart of my weight loss in the past. i do not love the swim, I am getting to like the run!!

2011 Races: No Individual races.

Planned 2012 Races: I had planned to do the HITS Corpus Sprint but that has had to be cancel because of my surgery, currently I plan to do the Granite Man Tri (July) and the Lake Minneatoka tri (June). I will gage my results from these to see if going to OLY distance is for me by the end of the year.

Weightloss: I would like to lose about 20 # this year while picking up some strength, I did no strength training during my weight loss in 2011 so I dont feel as strong as I once did.

I would like to join your mentor group

Name: Jaelinfunk/ Jaelin Funk 18 years old

Story: I have never really been into sports until this august this just past I bought a road bike and starting riding with University of Florida's cycling team. Longest bike ride before this was probably 10 miles tops. 2 weeks later did a century, bonked after 40miles of stupidly trying to keep up with the 25mph front pack but I kept going through the pain and finished like 7 hours. 4 months later I have multiple sub 5 hour century rides under my belt. I am probably the definition of overtraining but because I enjoy the activities so much. I am continuing with cycling with a brevet series in 2012 but I have also started swimming and running in persuit of triathlons (luckily I live in florida so I can still swim outdoors comfortably). I cannot front crawl to save my life (though I am working on it) but I can comfortably brest stroke for hours on end. I have no open water experience and little running experience past 5k~.

Current Training: I am dabbling in front crawl because I know I want to use it when my races start but until my spring semester of college starts and I can take swim lessons I am doing the bulk of my swimming breast stroke (I mean bulk distance wise not time), I am running with a tri group in my town 3 days a week and because I am home for 3.5 weeks with nothing to do I am training alot everyday but that is only a temporary circumstance. During the semester I am putting in average 350 miles of biking a week but I find it mentally and geographically challenging in my home town to put in any serious milage. 

2011 Races: Did a 1mile adventure race as my official "first race" this past weekend and placed 4th. Racing a 5k on new years eve

Planned 2012 Races: a mini sprint on feb 5th will be my first. hopefully many sprints and olympic distances.

Name: Mark Burghart, 25

Story:  I've been involved in sports throughout my life, just not endurance sports.  In HS, I played basketball and baseball, and kept up with weightlifting in college.  I've done pretty much every fitness fad, from p90X, Insanity, and crossfit, and eventually got bored.  Last December, I started training for a triathlon.  I've never done a 5k, could barely swim, and didn't even own a bike.  Almost a year later, I am absolutely addicted to the sport, and train year round.  I was so surprised at the amount of dedication, motivation, and consistency it takes to be successful, but really have enjoyed the journey.  I am very interested in getting others involved in the sport, and a healthy lifestyle! I started a blog back in May for my friends to follow my training, and now also love it!!!

Current Training:  I am currently in my "offseason", with a focus of increasing my cycling power and running speed.  I train about 8-10 hrs a week now, but will kick it up to around 15 come spring.  Now, I am doing 4 rides a week on my trainer (winter sucks), 3 runs (2 interval, one long), and 2 days of resistance training. Swimming is on hold for the moment, due to eye surgery. 

2011 Races: 

-Jewish Community Center Indoor Mini Sprint- February 27, 2011

- 40:04 time (500y swim, 8 mi bike, 2 mi run) 

-1st in AG, 15/75 place overall
-Heritage Park Bike Source Triathlon- May 15, 2011
- 1:16:20 time (587y swim, 11.5 mi bike, 3 mi run)
- 6/13 in AG, 47/115 place overall
-Topeka Tinman Triathlon- June 18, 2011
 -1:13:30 time (400m swim, 13 mi bike, 3 mi run)
 - 6/25 in AG, 43/201 place overall
-Shawnee Mission Park Triathlon- July 10, 2011
 - 1:03:40 time (500m swim, 9 mi bike, 2.4 mi run) 
 -2/15 in AG, 37/298 place overall
-The North Face Endurance Challenge Series- August 28, 2011
 -49:02 time (10K Road Race)
 -16/58 in AG, 54/463 place overall
-The Cerner KC 15K at Livestrong Stadium  
 -1:11:50 (15k road race)
 -17/83 in AG, 125/975 place overall
-Waddell and Reed Kansas City Half Marathon- October 15, 2011
 -1:43:27 (13.1 miles)
 -47/317 in AG, 301/1981 place overall (Men)

Planned 2012 Races:

I'm so excited for next year, and hope to have the motivation continue throughout the winter!  Hope everyone has a great 2012 planned!!!

PhillipRay, glad to have you on board. First of all congratulations on your weight loss! That's awesome. Hope you are healing well after your recent surgery. Take some time off, enjoy the holidays, but not too much if you know what I mean. Be ready to hit it after the new year.

Please tell me what goals you may have. If not it's OK, but setting goals can really help you accomplish a lot. You kind of eluded to it in your bio as you mentioned possibly participating in an oly later in the year. That's great and very doable. As you know already, traveling as much as you do, it is a little tougher when it comes to fitness, but it also very doable.

Do you have any kind of diet plan? Your weight loss seems on target. You mentioned 20# this upcoming year. Shouldn't be a problem as long as we don't wait too long. As you may know, losing too much weight to fast can compromise your strength/muscle. A pound a week starting in January would be on target for your goal race weight in June. Again, very doable. Strength training is important in triathlon, especially the core. But don't think bulking up too much is a good thing. If big muscles are what you want, then you may want to find another sport. Don't get me wrong, like I said strength is important, especially core strength, for people of our age, but with more muscle you have to feed it more nutrients, and more oxygen during your race. You won't see a lot of "muscular" triathletes out there. Fit yes, Swartzeneggeresque, no.

Hopefully your wife will catch the bug with you. My wife and I enjoy training and competing with each other. The only downfall is cost. 2 bikes, 2 race entries, 2 everything. Hey, it's only money.

I'm glad you decided to join my group. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Let me know when you plan on starting up training again (after getting the go ahead from your doctor), and we'll go from there. You picked a great sport, one that will test your will and determination.

Roger.

Roger - I'd like to join.

jrhesq/Joe

I'm a 47 year old attorney in St. Louis, MO so several of us are fairly close geographically and age-wise.  This will be my fourth year of triathlons although I've never competed in more than 2 sprints and 2 biathlons in a season.  My race buddy and I are moving up to an Oly event in 2012.  Probably Memphis in May.  Besides a very busy law practice, I'm married with three boys (20, 17 and 13).  In addition to the challenge of moving up (doubling!) my distance this year, I still hope to improve with each event.  My biking has improved considerably the last two years and I treated myself to my first tri bike this past June.  Love it and rarely ride the roadie much any more, including group rides.  I now have my sights set on a carbon roadie, however.

The swim has always been my biggest challenge and the OWS in May should prove so once again.  All my tris thus far have been in the pool.  I recently began following a swim program which takes you from zero to 1600 meters in 6 weeks (assuming you can commit to 3 days a week).  Started 2 weeks ago and feel fairly comfortable so far.

I'm a slow runner, constantly looking to increase speed but have not been too successful thus far.  Still run a pace of around 9 -9:30/mile.  Have been building up my base over last 6 months to the point I run 5-6 miles several times a week.  Try to mix in some hill or tempo workouts each week as well.  I've downloaded a couple of different 16 - 20 week programs which I'll need to start in earnest in a couple of weeks.

In addition to the Memphis Oly, I'll do several local sprints and biathlons, two century rides (May and October) and will keep eyes open for another Oly in September or October.

Look forward to sharing motivation, strategies, etc. over the next several months.

JRH

Roger, I would like to join this group if there is still room.

Name: John_S/  John Kerr 44 yrs old

Story: 9/11/11 I cheered on a good friend of mine in their first Ironman and it was an absolutely awesome event.  I did the bike leg of a few team TRI events almost 23 years ago and never anything else (multisport).  Now in my mid-life years, I've been fighting weight issues and an undiagnosed medical issue (for the last 5 years) which have somewhat sidelined me from the level of physical activity I'd like to have in my life.  Watching my friend do this event absolutely inspired me to get back into training in the gym and to start participation in TRI events.  I've been keeping up with the training log since joining BT in September.  

Family Status: I've been married for 23 years to my wife Sheri, we have 2 daughters 22 and 20 years old respectively.  My wife is supportive and I'm working on getting her involved as well. 

Current Training: I presently am training 4 or 5 days per week, mostly 4 because Saturday has been a challenge lately.  Jog/Swim Mon and Wed. RPM on Tuesday and TriSpin on Thursdays.  I am a type II diabetic and so far training has not caused any diabetes related training issues that I can identify yet.

2011 Races: A few 5Ks.

Planned 2012 Races: 4 Lake View RecPlex 5Ks already signed up and paid, Lake in the Hills sprint June 10th, Pleasant Prairie Oly June 24th signed up and paid, still looking for my July and August Oly events so I'll have a total of 4 TRIs (1 sprint, 3 Oly) and the 4 5Ks.  I'll probably pick-up some more events as the year starts to shape up.

Weight Loss: I would like to lose about 20-30 more pounds this year (before June).  Down 10lbs since starting in Sept. 

Regards,

John

Hi Roger, I would very much like to join your mentor group if possible.

Name: kruzmeister / Simone Byrne 43 yrs old

Story: I have a history in martial arts competitions (Taekwondo) since I was 12 yrs old and competed in a few open water Triathlons about 18 years ago. I have always been reasonably fit and healthy, up until about five years ago when life hit me hard and I was diagnosed with a mood disorder. Since then I have struggled with depression and anxiety on and off and have put on a stack of weight, this year has been particularly bad. A couple of months ago I decided I needed to find a goal in life again to get me out of my emotional funk and get me re engaging with the world again. A friend of mine just completed the Hawaii Ironman this year, it was something I dreamt about when I was doing Tris all those years ago and so I decided to get back into Triathlon with the goal of one day becoming an Ironman and a dream of competing at Kona.

Family Status: Single, no kids

Current Training: I have only just joined BT today and am yet to log any workouts. However I have been back training now for nearly 4 weeks. I run and do weights 3 days a week and bike and swim on the other 3 days with one rest day. If I feel over tired or sore I will have an extra day off. At the moment I am just trying to build up endurance. I do not care where I finish as long as I finish.

2012 Races & Beyond: I plan to do the last two races of the current Sprint Tri season with the Bendigo Triathlon Club, my first race being Feb 2012, and then the full 2012/2013 summer season with them. 400m/15k/4k distance. I would like to build on my endurance for the following year and enter a couple of half ironman races in 2013 with the goal of doing the IM Melbourne in 2014.

Weight Loss Goals: I started out being 28kgs overweight, but have now lost 4.5 kgs (the chocolate binges are history!!) and I am really loving training and have found a new lease on life. So far I have met most challenges that have come my way and broken through the anxiety.

Thanks very much for your consideration,

Kind regards,

Simone :)

Hey Mark, welcome to the group! Looks like you have a good base going into next season. I like your goals you have set for yourself. Just wondering what kind of training plan you have for your HIM? I'm assuming this will be your first season of long course. For that matter, do you have a plan for KC? Let me know some of your split times if you have them available and maybe we can figure out your limiter and come up with a strategy to overcome.

Your off season workouts look awesome. When will you be able to get back in the pool? Hopefully your eye is healing well. It will be fun having somebody here who is planning some of the same races I have planned also, even though you are in a much younger AG. I'll try to stop by and read your blog soon. Keep it up, it's another great way to keep yourself in check and stay motivated. It's a very addictive sport with the only downfall being expense as far as I can see.

Shoot me a message sometime with your splits and specific plan if you want, and I'll give you my opinion FWIW, if you want it. If not, that's OK too. Just keep training, keep improving, keep health!

Roger.

Welcome Jealin, I not too sure about the "overtraining" yet, but being 18 you heal and recover much faster than us old dudes. I know you probably want to get as much training in, in as little time as possible, but it just doesn't work that way. Hopefully you will stay healthy and injury free. Looks like your biking has much improved and congratulations on that. Swimming does eat up a lot of time to become proficient at. As with all 3 disciplines in triathlon, efficiency is the key, and the swim is where you will learn that lesson first. There's an old addage in triathlon: You can't win it in the swim, but you can certainly lose it. Relax in the water and try not to use up too much energy, or it will catch up to you later in the race. The longer the distance, the greater the affect. Anyway, congratulations on getting started. Come back to BT soon and let me know how it's going and if you have any questions that I can help you with.

Roger.

Hi Joe, welcome to the group. Looking to up your game a bit, great! Memphis in May is a great race and is very well ran by the RD. It's also flat and fast, and as you may know, takes place in Tunica, MS now, this year being the first year there. One nice thing about MIM, especially for first time OWS, is that it is a time trial start. If you're not familiar with TT start, it's everybody lines up according to race number, and one swimmer goes off every 3 seconds. So it's really nice if you don't have a lot of experience in OWS not being in a large wave of swimmers to start. You will have a little more elbow room and it's not so much of a kung fu fight. I'll be doing the Kansas City tri which falls on the same week end as MIM. Not too sure how a century ride will fit in with your training in May, but good luck and have fun.

Sounds like you have a pretty hectic personal and business life. Hopefully you will MAKE time for yourself. No doubt about it, there is a sacrifice, especially when it comes to family. There is a payoff though. You'll be healthier and have more confidence in yourself to name a couple of  things. I love being out there training, it's part of the journey. In my races I look back on all of my training and what it took to get to where I am.  Everybody has a different reason for doing this. One thing is for sure, it's addicting. I can't explain it.

Let me know what I can do for you, I'm here to help with any questions you have, any question, I don't care what it is. I'm sure the training plans you have will get you where you want to be. There will always be modifications to the plan, but stick to it as best as you can. Consistency is the key.

Again, welcome to the group. I look forward to hearing from you again in the near future.

Roger.

Hello John, plenty of room for you. Is that Kenosha, WI? My wife grew up in Burlington which is fairly close to Kenosha if I remember my WI geography correctly. Anyway, welcome! I think you'll find, as you may already have, that triathlon is challenging and rewarding. I don't know about your current weight, but I do know that if you continue to train like you are and watch your caloric intake, the weight will continue to drop off. Just don't try to lose it too fast. You mentioned 20-30 pounds by June and that's is a very realistic and practical goal. A pound a week is all you need to do. Dropping too much weight too fast can lead to an array of problems, but as far as triathlon is concerned, you may lose too much muscle if it is dropped to fast. Adding a little strength training this time of year is important and should be considered.

 I do like the fact that you have already signed up for some races which kind of commits you to finish what you've started. Do you have any kind of training plan for your scheduled oly? Don't sweat it if you don't, but a training plan can really help you reach a desired goal. Everybody is different, and a lot of people self coach themselves based on feel. Do you have a specific goal in mind?  The main thing is to stay healthy and keep improving. Heck, you might even cure your diabetes if you keep dropping weight and eating right. Triathlon is a great way to do it. You will find that the only limits you have, are the ones you place on yourself.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Shoot me a message anytime.

Roger.

Simone, welcome to the group. Man I'm glad you decided to come back to triathlon. I'm sure the motivation you received from your friend who went to Kona is tremendous. I dream of going to Kona one day too. I may not qualify until I'm 75 or 80, but hell I don't care. Where are you located? Not in the US I'm assuming. If you are in the southern hemisphere, lucky you! I wish I was somewhere I could train outside right now, however I can still run outside without too much of a problem.

Keep up with your training. Consistency is the key as you probably know. Just be careful and don't overdo it. You know us 40 somethings don't recover and heal as well as we did in our 20's.  You will finish, I have no doubt about it. Given your background you know what it takes to get there. It's just a matter of letting yourself do it. Focus on your training and soon you will have tangible evidence of your hard work. I know it is a slow process,  just keep doing it. There is sort of a fine line between training and overtraining. It sounds to me like you have a good handle on that with rest days added into your plan.

Congratulations on making the decision to lead a healthy lifestyle. Feel free to speak your mind here, or send me a message anytime. I'm here for you. 2012 is coming soon, and it's going to be a great year!

Roger.

I would like to join your mentor group as well.

Name: James Omphroy - age:32

Story: I have always been a fairly athletic person; however, not always active. In high school and college I played soccer and was pretty fit. The next 10 years I have mostly done weight training with running sprinkled in. I realized that I put boundaries and limitations on what I think I can do or become, and I am in the process breaking those down. Anytime I think or get caught saying I can't, I'm trying to make it a point to do it. Had a family member mention Ironman and thought there is no way, so now my goal is a 2013 Ironman. I am looking forward to becoming more active and becoming a competitive endurance athlete.

Family Status: I have been with my girlfriend for 9 years with a 9 year old son. We bought a house in Arizona about 5 years ago and are loving it. We have 2 dogs which I run 3 miles nightly with the exception of the past 2 weeks.

Current Training: My current training consists of swimming 2-3 times per week 700m -1000m (with breaks), biking 2 times a week roughly 10-12 miles or spin class, and running 3 times a week (not including running my dogs because that is at a leisurely pace.) My arches recently started hurting a couple of weeks ago, so running has been on hold though. 

2011 Races: No Individual races.

Planned 2012 Races: I haven't signed up for any yet, but my goal is to get a couple of sprints and a couple of olys under my belt and tackle the Soma 70.3 in October.

Hey there Roger.  Like Mark, I am from the KC area and am planning to do alot of the same races you have on tap.

I can start immediately.  joncolbybohnsack  email [email protected]

I am 33 Years Oold, married with a 17 monh old daughter.  I  started running two years ago and triathlons this past year.  This past year I did an indoor tri, two sprints and 1 oly.  I also ran 3 HM(PR 1:38:36), and my first full Marathon(3:45:06).  This is the first year I have really been on a bike since I was a kid, so that is my weakest area, and I am working hard on that right now.

Next Years plans are:

1-21 Topeka to Auburn HM

4-14 Rock the Parkway HM

4-22 Kansas HM

5-12 Running with the Cows HM

5-18 Kansas City Tri 5150

6-10 IM Kansas

8-26 IM Louisville*

I might throw in SM Park Triathlon (1000m swim, 19 mile bike, 5 mile run) in July. 

*I will decide on Louisville in the next 2 weeks.  I am 90% there.  After that, I will take it a week at a time.

I was doing well logging all of my training here until I finished my marathon, then I just stopped.  I will pick it back up again this week.  Mark and I have the same coach here in KC so our training is very similar, except I am swimming one day a week on a "maintenance plan". 

Hi James and welcome to the group. Sounds like you have a pretty good grasp on fitness and tri training. You may want to have your gait (and shoes) analyzed and see if there are certain factors affecting your arches. Tackling a HIM your first year in tri is a lofty goal, but very doable especially someone of you age and fitness level. I would suggest getting a good HIM training plan (20+ week plan, no less than 20 weeks) and stick to it a closely as possible.

An IM in 2013 would be a very nice goal. IM Arizona would be a great first IM race also, not only is it close to home for you, but is a relatively flat and fast course compared to all of the others with the exception of maybe IM Florida. My wife and I are actually driving down for 2012 IMAZ and volunteering so we can sign up on site for 2013. The race sold out on line this year in 6 minutes! If you like to read, I would suggest getting a copy of "You are an Ironman" which chronicles 6 athletes that trained for and competed in IMAZ a couple of years ago. Pretty motivational. Anyway, glad to have you on board. Take care of those arches and have your gait checked if possible. 2012 is going to be a great year!

Roger.

Hi (is it Jon?), welcome. It's going to be fun having other athletes here who are competing in the same races. Looking forward to meeting you and Mark in May. IMLOU WOW! They've been pretty lucky down there the past couple of years as far as weather goes. Louisville in August just sounds miserable. I hope the good weather for that week end continues in 2012.

I think you're right on as far as identifying your limiter. Get on your bike ASAP and get a trainer to ride on if you don't have one already along with a computer that measures your cadence and speed at a minimum. I'm sure you're well equipped though prepping for an IM. August will be here before you know it, let me know what I can do for you, answer any questions, etc. Keep up the good training, these upcoming months will be the hardest to get through. I hate winter, but you can still get a lot of quality training in. My training plan for IM Coeur d'Alene started in January (June race) and there were times I thought I'd go crazy sitting on a bike trainer for 3-4 hours at a time. Caught up on a ton of movies though. Have fun with it and as they say, enjoy the journey. It truly is a life fullfilling event. Good luck and stay healthy. Talk to you soon and see you in May. GAME ON!

Hey Roger,

I actually went to road runner sports to have my gait looked at and get some new shoes for training. Found out I was sold a shoe that was not best for me with orthodics. I think the orthodics are what messed me up. I did return and talk to someone else and they got me all straightened out. My next step is to do the HIM training plan as you suggested and join a master swim group.

My base is there for the short races, but not quite for the 70.3 distance yet.  I'm training by HR, and my offseason plan is focusing on improving my anaerobic capacity right now, along with sustained leg strength to help with the hills at IMKS.  The swim has surprisingly been my strongest discipline, so I'm not too worried about the lack of pool time. Plus, there's not a whole lot I can do about it...  

I don't necessarily have a plan for KC, just taper a few days prior to the race.  My A race is Kansas, but KC is a B+/A-... I want to excel in both!  I'm hoping for a top 5 spot in my AG at KC, which would get me a automatic race entry to Hyvee.  I'm shooting for a total time of 2:20 right now, but would like to see that fall.  My only goal for KS is <5:30, and enjoy the day.  

Along with Jon, I have little experience with race nutrition.  I am familiar with electrolyte drinks and gels for the run, but HAVE NO IDEA about the bike... And I should be good for the swim.  I swallow enough water to stay hydrated

I use EFS too, and don't need to replace the extra electrolytes with salt sticks/tabs. But that's just me. I'm planning on using a bit of IM perform, since that's whats going to be on the course.