McFuzz's Group - FULL

Hi Mike,

I would like to join the group. I am a 44yo working mom and wife. I have a husband of 20 years and 2 teenage sons, ages 13 and 15.

I was an avid and somewhat competitive horseback rider in my teens and have flirted with running on and off throughout my life. I participated in a mini-tri last June and really liked it. However, I fell off on training and have not done a whole lot since then.

I have always had a hard time building up wind and speed in my running and get discouraged eventually and quit for a time. I can't ever seem to run more than two miles. I am pretty good on the bike but I can't get much past four miles without back pain (herniated disc). I am sure core exercises and weight loss, plus a good bike fit, would help with that. I am most comfortable in the water. I have always been a strong swimmer, though I never participated in swim team. I have a pretty good freestyle stroke and have worked on technique a little.

I have a few goals. Firstly, I am overweight (5'7" and 175lbs) and have just learned that my cholesterol is going up. I don't need medication (yet) but I see this as a wake up call to lose weight and get more fit.

Secondly, I want to be able to participate in a Sprint by June, if this is realistic. I am not worried about time so much. I just want to finish without crashing and burning.

I hope this group will help me stay motivated and disciplined. I am exited and can't wait to get started!



Edited by susanp 2006-12-17 11:55 AM

Hey Mike,

Would like to join your group. Sounds like we kinda have the same things about gear on a budget and swimming (of lack thereof). A little about me (Zach).

I am a 24 yr old police officer in Northern Iowa, married no kids and a yellow 7 yr old lab and a 6 yr old Alaskan malamute. Grew up playing baseball and soccer in HS and soccer through college. Got a BA in History, married and moved to Arizona for a law enforcement job. Have always been a fairly decent runner and big into lifting weights and while in Arizona Law Enforcement Academy was running 15-20 mi/wk for about 18 weeks. Ran a couple of 5-10ks last year but have been getting back into the weights pretty heavy to maintian 162lb and hit my target weight of 170lb at 5'11". I try to keep a pretty set schedule for working out with a crazy work schedule (6 on, 3 off) and am currently lifting 4-5/wk. and running 1-2/wk. when the Iowa winter is not so unforgiving. Love to bike but dont do it that much, still searching for a decent seat, and have next to nothing for swimming background. I still play soccer about once a week but was looking for something challenging to fit my competitive nature.

I dont have any weight goals except to not loose any cause I cant afford to . Love the tidbit of finding gear on budget, exactly where I am since all I have is a great pair of running shoes.

Would love to eventually work my way up to doing full tri's but am taking it one step at a time from ground zero and need some good insight to get my feet wet onto the world of triathlons


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There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.
"If all else fails, stop using all else!"
"Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal. Suck it up."

Susan,

Welcome to the group! I think we'll have some fun times.

Zach,

Welcome to the party.

We've been through Northern Iowa once or twice (if you call Mason City "northern").

You bet thats "northern" I am actually not far only 8 mi. over in Clear Lake.

I would like to join your group. I'm not real good at the swim part and hoping that you might be able to help me with that aspect. (I did buy the Total Immersion book and am reading it ) I hope to start focusing on the swim portion after the holidays.

I am 35 y/o. Nurse. I have 3 teens (13, 15 & 16), my husband (who is 'OK' with my tri'ing) and Roger, my one year old beagle-terrier mix to keep me busy. I am also back in school for a career change to Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound, on my way to become a Registered Vascular Tech. I enjoy my workouts, they help me keep my sanity.

Check out my logs!

How is that Total Immersion book? I was just looking at purchasing it to improve my swim. Like you Im not very accomplished swimming distance

Sure Stephanie, I'd be glad to have you as part of the team as long as you aren't a Wolverine BTW, this is the sarcasm font

I just got Total Immersion, so I can't really comment on it much (maybe we'll learn together).

Hi Mike,

I'd like to join your group. We have quite a bit in common. I spent most of this last summer hiking and camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. I am an avid hiker, with plans of doing more back country backpacking. I really love standing on top of a mountain and seeing everything for miles. I am hoping to climb Longs Peak, Gray's and Torreys this summer in between my triathlon races.

I decided this year just before my 36th birthday to become a triathlete and to do an Xterra race this summer. Then I set the bar with Ironman on my 40th bday. It's the ultimate goal for me to be an Ironman in Kona. Don't know if it will happen, but that is the long range goal.

I started training in August and lost 15 pounds in 3 months. (My goal is to be 178) I felt great, and then my knee started giving me a lot of trouble. I had to back off and see the doctor. I got worried about losing my dream of becoming a triathlete. Long story short, it was an overuse injury and I have arthritis in my knee from an old college injury. Had to realize I'm not 18 any more and when you have pain, you have to take some time off. I forgot that I've been working at a desk for the last 4 years without much activity. I ran cross country in high school and can run pretty well. I've been mountain biking quite a bit. I road my favorite 35 mile route yesterday. My problem is swimming. I'm really frustrated and having trouble breathing and feeling relaxed. I'm thinking of getting total imersion. Would really like some advise on the swimming stuff. I'm a beginner and have discovered that I need a plan and have to learn to pace myself. I'm planning on starting the Sprint 20 week swim focus plan on January 2 to get ready for my first race on June 16. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

If you get out this way, maybe we can hike together in RMNP.

Michael

I'm only into chapter one...
I am getting a free swim card tonight (to use the local pool - 4miles, you have to own property in the development/pay taxes, etc) the other option is the high school 20 miles away...
I won't be able to use it tonight, have the office Christmas party to attend.

Mike,

How old are your boys? My two are in scouts also but they aren't very motivated! Oh well. It keeps them out of jail!

I am starting the couch to Sprint 12 week plan. We'll see how it goes. I have to go to Annapolis, which is about a 1/2 hour drive, to swim. I am heading up there this morning. (I live in Southern MD by the way.)

I don't know about the rest of you all but I frequently have to change the workouts on the training plan to suit my schedule. I have a very squirrely work schedule. It is never the same from day to day so it makes it hard to be able to plan too far ahead. I hope that, by the end of the week I will have done everything, just in a different order.

Do you have any advice on increasing wind/endurance on the running side of things? In the past, I have just run until I am tired, sometimes with walk breaks. I have a hard time being consistant with a workout schedule so I'm sure that is part of the problem.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Mtskibum,

I'll add you to my list.

IM at 40 sounds pretty reasonable (but what do I know, I've only done a half...) If Kona is a goal, how hard are you willing to work at it? I'd say that 95% of the population COULD get to Kona, but 95% of those aren't willing to make it such a high priority.

My boys are 19, 16, 13, and 13. My oldest was a life scout before he quit scouting. My second son is a life scout kinda/sorta working towards eagle. My 13 year olds (twins) are first class (almost star). The three younger boys went to the National Jamboree in '05. High adventure is one of the hooks that keeps boys in scouting, what kinds of high adventure does your troop/council do?

Thanks for adding me. I agree with you. You have to be willing to work at it. It will take sacrifice. Finding the time to train is the hardest part, but I've made it a priority. I spoke with a guy who did Ironman Canada this year and he told me the 34-39 age group was one of the hardest to qualify in. A lot of fast guys in that group. But 4 years from now I hope to be one of them.

I'm also looking at the Xterra world championship in Hawaii as well. I just want to get to Hawaii somehow.

Hi Mike,

I would like to join the group as well. I am quite the newbie at swimming and have difficulty going more than one length at a time. I'm 43, have a wife of 9 years, and two kids (daughter almost 5, and son 1 and a half.)

I started running back in 2001 when my sister posed a marathon challenge to me. I went from no running whatsoever in June 2001, to completing the Baltimore Marathon in October (4 months later). After completing that, I went back to my couch potato ways and did not run again until May 2003, when I started training for the Wineglass Marathon in October. After hitting my goal of breaking 4 hours, I have more or less ket up the running, never reallly taking more than a month or so off.

My goal, if I can ever get this swimming thing down, is to do a couple of sprints in the early summer, and finish up with a couple of Olympics in the fall. I'm in western upstate NY (where we have bad winters), so I am pretty much doing all of biking on the trainer in my basement.

I've got the Total Immersion DVD on my Xmas list, and will start with that after the first of the year...

Derek

Derek,

Done, you make #5 for me.

OK all!

We're off to a great start with five people.

Susanp (Susan)
Maverick_zh (Zach)
Steph883 (Stephanie)
Mtskibum (Michael)
boyddr (derek)

Please add each other to your blog list.

I'll start some discussion here about goals, expectations, and attitudes.

Attitude:
Do you have some mental picture that defines "success?"
Since most of you are looking for swimming help, here is a start.

What is your mental image of a SUCCESSFUL swim?
This may change based on whether you are facing a swim workout or a race, but you should have some picture before you step onto the pool deck, beach, or dock what a good result will be. It may be to swim 50 or 100 yards front-crawl without stopping. It might be to complete 2000 yards in 30 minutes using bilateral breathing. It could be to go the first 200 meters (OWS) without a panic attack.

How is your attitude? Who is in charge of your life? What are the things you can change and what are the things you really cannot change? Do you plan for success, or do you plan for failure? (Any golfers, if you approach a hole where you're hitting over or near water, do you play the hole with your good ball, or do you pull out one of your x-outs "in case you hit into the water"? If you pull out the x-out, you're planning for failure and your mental image will be hitting that ball into the water.)

Expectations:
Expectations are a realistic assessment of how you will perform (a workout/a race) based on recent experiences. If you have been running 11 minute miles for the last 2 months, you can reasonably expect to run 11 minute miles on your next run of similar distances/terrain/environment.

Goals:
Goals are long-term desires that you set or identify with enough time to develop a plan to achieve them. If your goal is to run 8 minute miles, and your expectation is 11 minutes per mile, then you'll need a plan to get faster (base training, maybe strength, and speedwork).

The biggest difference between goals and expectations is that goals should drive your current and future behavior.

Many sources talk about "SMART" goals. SMART is an acronym for Specific-Measureable-Achievable(or Action Oriented)-Realistic (or Relevant)-Timely. At the end of the effort, you ought to be able to say whether you did or didn't achieve your goal. "Finish my tri" is a pretty vague goal. Would you feel good about finishing if you had to walk the entire "run"? (Maybe, maybe not.) If you wouldn't feel good about walking, then your goal might be to run at a certain pace or a certain percentage of the run, and your training leading up to the race should support this goal. Please try to avoid goals that rely on others, like "not finish last" or finish 1-2-3 in my Age Group, since you cannot control who else shows up at the race!

Having said this, don't get too hung up on whether you do or don't meet your goals and expectations. You may not realize how hot or cold it will be that day, or whether the wind is blowing at 30 mph and the water is frothy.

Mike

My oldest (15) had quit last Spring but after he dropped Lacrosse as well, we told him he had to be involved in something so scouts seemed the easiest. He is a Star scout at the moment. Some of the guys in our troop have done the Philmont trek, but we haven't really done too much high adventure otherwise. I think we need to because the meetings tend to be the younger guys doing their requirements and the older guys playing football in the parking lot.

My younger son (13) is Second Class and is not so much the high adventure type. I think he has stuck with scouts because his best friend still participates. There are some activities that he enjoys but the friendship is what really keeps him going. Whatever keeps him in is fine with me.

My older son did the Mountain Man high adventure camp a few summers ago and liked it a lot. I am hoping I can get both boys to do something like that again next summer.

McFuzz,

Awesome start to the discussion. I really thought about what you said with regard to attitude, success, expectations, goals, etc. I re-evaluated my goals for the year and tried to clarify them into something that can be measured and planned for in my training. I know my attitude affects my training quite a bit. When I first got back from my knee being injured, I ran great and was really moving, mainly because I couldn't wait to get back to running. However, when I'm tired and not feeling up to par, swimming is very difficult. I've been trying to relax on my swim and I seem to not make much progress. But, when I go in with a specific plan in mind, it works better. Thanks for the reminder to be intentional in our training.

Question, what membership here would you recommend? Bronze, Silver, or Gold?

Thanks,

Part of my ideal starting with that kind of post is to keep people positive about themselves and their actions. It's OK to swim slow, ride an old bicycle, or jog/walk along the "run" (ever hear people talk about the "ironman shuffle"?). It is even OK to not want to swim or bike or run faster if that isn't your goal. For most of us, we want to be faster. Many times, people are intimidated by the gym regulars or the athletes they see as "hardcore" and don't figure their recreational efforts are good enough. This is probably one area where the triathlon community excels. I can race with Kona athletes and not be competing against them! (One of our local triathletes was third at the X-terra finals this year.)

As for the membership level...I've had Gold, Silver (now), Bronze memberships and really used them about the same (meaning, I didn't really take advantage of the additional coaching available to Gold members). If you would like on-line personalized training support from an expert, then get the Gold membership and start asking questions. I did use the Gold Half-Ironman training plan last year (if I can have a liberal version of "use"...).

Great point on attitude and setting attainable, concrete goals. Since I have been in sports since I was 5 I have seen both sides of attitude and what it can do to achieving goals. Everyone is able to compete and be competitive but the mindset that you CAN be is most of the battle.

I have found that my runs have been solid by concentrating on my breathing and pace (steps per min). I have been able to go farther and a little faster, getting me to goals of being confident in running over 10k.
Swimming is thne biggest monster to conquer. I have little background in it and right now I am looking to get longer and longer sessions without stopping. Just ordered Total Immersion the other day which I think is a good base for my swim training, athough I have hit a another big obstacle. The local pool is closed for 8 weeks for "repairs" and next nearest pool is an hour away.
Biking I have always enjoyed but mostly been mtn biking. Need to find a good road bike and concentrate on distance and consistency.

McFuzz, Dont tell me you are an Illini fan?! Go Hawkeyes! Another question thsi one is about equipment. Tomorrow I am gonna go look at bikes and kinda of see what size iof bike and get the scoop on road bikes. Any basic Bike 101 wisdom you guys have I could use. Any thoughts for places for good used equipment? Thx

Edited by maverick_zh 2006-12-22 11:55 AM

Hey guys,

I bought the total immersion book and dvd. It should be here today. Although, the snow is still 3 feet deep, some of the roads are becoming passible. Spent 4 hours shoveling yesterday and 3 today at a friends house. My arms are toast.

Maverick, I have a trek mountain bike. I spent about an hour talking to the guy at bicycle village the other night. He was more than happy to show me the ins and outs of the tri bikes they had on sale. Then he gave me the best advise of all. Tires. He said tires make the most difference even on the totally expensive bikes.

My first Tri will be an xterra race, so the mountain bike will work fine for that, then my second Tri is a regular sprint tri. I'm just going to put some different tires on my mountain bike and possible some aero bars. Most of the riding I've been doing has been on the Cherry Creek bike path. It is paved. Just cause I have a mountain bike, doesn't mean I can't pedal fast.

I'm going to see if I like the road tri's or off road tri's better and then start saving money for getting a tri bike next year. I figure if you really love to do something, it is best to get good equipment that will last. It costs a little more up front, but when you are putting on miles and miles, you gotta have good gear. It will make things that much better and more fun.

Merry Christmas!