sdalcher Beginning Tri Group - Open

GROUP FOCUS
We will focus on the basics of triathlon with an easy Q&A for any questions about Triathlon in general. My fiance will also weigh in on nutrition questions as this is what she does for a living. Triathlon can be a very intimidating sport to initially start as there are many acronyms, jargon, rules and best practices. I was mentored by several different athletes and they made the sport so much easier and understandable. This is my goal for you, to help you understand the sport and enjoy every minute of it.

GROUP NAME
sdalcher Beginning Tri Group

Who am I?
I started triathlon four years ago (this will be my fourth year as a triathlete) because it sounded like a very cool sport and I love a challenge.I started with just sprint distance triathlons to gauge my interest and aptitude. After the first race I was hooked! I have participated in a lot of different sports over the years and the environment surrounding a triathlon was completely different from any other sport in a very positive way! In my experience triathletes are an awesome group of competitors. I am still constantly amazed at the level of encouragement that one receives in training and on the course from fellow athletes. It is very common for athletes to give encouragement as they pass you and as they are passed by you. In my experience I have only met one triathlete that I thought was a bit elitist, not to say that they aren't out there but by and large triathletes are a great group of people.

I did two years of only racing sprint tris. I wanted to go up in distance but I was still a little intimidated. Last year I decided to go for broke, I was going to complete a half-iron distance race. I raced about a dozen races last year and completed two half-iron distance races. I teach health, wellness and fitness courses at Ball State University as an adjunct faculty since 2004. My specialty is adult learn to swim. Adults are by far the most difficult group to teach as they have a lifetime of bad habits and perceptions that must in most cases be modified. My doctorate is in adult education and I thoroughly enjoy opening new realms of experience for adult learners.

FAMILY STATUS
I am engaged to an amazing athlete who also is a beginning triathlete. her name is Paula and she is a nutrition guru and she helps me with my day to day nutrition as well as pre-race nutrition. Paula will drop in frequently to weigh in in nutrition questions. I have one daughter who is 26 and is a crossfitt athlete and I have two other children 14 & 15 who to date have no athletic interest.

CURRENT TRAINING
I train 3-5 days a week as I can fit time into my schedule. Training for sprint distances really does not require a great deal of training, however as I am now training for full iron distance events in 2018 my training will be more intense. I will be training 12-15 hours per week and sometimes more. I will share my Garmin Connect Data as well as Strava data.

LAST YEARS RACES
I completed about a dozen races last year, mostly triathlons with a few other events thrown in. I completed several sprint races, an olmpic distance race and two half-iron distance races as well as 5K races and a half-marathon. I used the available races as training events for my one goal race of the season Ironman Muncie 70.3.. This worked very well for me as I treated the other races as brick workouts (brick is where you combine 2 or more disciplines into one workout).

2018 RACES
Like last year I am planning numerous smaller races as brick workouts as I train for my goal or "A" race for 2018 which is IM Florida 140.2. My schedule as set so far will be:
Boiler Sprint, West Lafayette, IN April 8
Spring Sprint Triathlon, Muncie, IN April 28
IM Gulfcoast 70.3, Panama City, FL May 12
MuncieMan 70.3, Muncie, IN JUne 9
IM Muncie 70.3, Muncie, IN July 14
Zoom Multisport Hueston Woods, Oxford, OH August 26
Zoom Multisport Columbus Tri, Columbus, OH September 16
My "A" Race for the year! IM Florida, Panama City, FL November 3
I will be adding other races in as time permits as I will add in a few half-marathons and several shorter events. I will also be incorporating several long distance rides; to include 2 century rides (100+ miles) and several half-century rides (50 miles).

WEIGHT LOSS GOALS
I medically retired from the Army in 2015 and through the two year process I had gained a great deal of weight through lack of exercise, medications and stress. I am 6'2" tall and weighed 250 lbs when I began my triathlon journey. I currently weigh 210 lbs and I am expecting to achieve a race weight of 190lbs. It is amazing how much difference dropping even 5lbs can make in your ability to perform in training and racing. For those looking to loose some pounds it is a combination of more selective eating and drinking as well as gradually increasing your physical activity.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTOR?
I have gained a lot of experience yet I am still fresh enough to vividly remember what it's like to start the sport, begin the first race and develop my own personal racing and training style. I have a great deal of experience teaching adults in the fitness arena and my specialty is the swim, which holds the most trepidation for many athletes. Most athletes just hope to successfully complete the swim, some hope to simply survive the swim, my goals is for you to exit the swim in a relaxed state so that you can begin the bike leg full of energy.