JFord Bradleyd3 2013 Spring Group- Closed (Page 2)

I'd like to join this group, hope there's still space.

NAME:  jjamesw12  (Joe)

GROUP FOCUS: HIM, sprint

STORY: I am a complete rookie when it comes to triathlons.  That being said, I have pretty extensive training experience from rowing competitively in college for 4 years and last summer/fall in Boston, MA.  This past fall I decided to step away from rowing as my current job location has made it difficult to train on a strict team schedule.  I am driven by competition and love to train so triathlons seemed like the perfect choice.         

FAMILY STATUS: 23 years old, single

CURRENT TRAINING: Since I finished rowing in November, I've been focusing on building a good base and I'll be using the 20 week Half IM plan from this BegTri as a trainnig plan guide starting in February.

2013 RACES:  I am currently registered for Syracuse 70.3 in June and Tmberman 70.3 in August.  I may throw in a local sprint triathlon between those two. 

WEIGHTLOSS: I'm 6'2" and usually sit at about 195lbs.  Ideally I'd like to be about 185lbs come race day.  This shouldn't be too difficult as I'll be cutting out a lot of weight training that I've been used to for the past 5 years.

WHAT WILL MAKE ME A GOOD MENTEE: I love competition and everything about it.  Love to train, am not afraid to put in the work and easily accept criticism.  I also tend to become a "student" of my sport.  I'm always reading up on something whether its technique, training or nutrition, I have to know what I'm doing and more importantly the reasons for it.

Hoping there's room for one more in the group.

NAME:  Nick

FOCUS: Sprint, Oly, HIM

STORY: I'm all over the place.  Grew up doing all kinds of running in high school.  My parents have been avid cyclists their entire lives and I've picked up some of it (although I definitely need some improvement).  Stopped doing any kind of real exercise for about 5 years.  Once I moved out to OKC, I got bored and restarted exercising.  Did an indoor tri for the first time in 2010 and have been hooked ever since.  I've been very sporadic with my training however due to several issues/excuses ranging from weather to family life to health.  Over the last few years I have completed a handful of indoor tri's, several Sprint's, 2 Oly's, and 1 failed attempt at a HIM.  I do not have a lot of money to invest in the sport, so have had to slowly upgrade my gear each year.  Luckily with my parents being cyclists, I was able to adopt one of their bikes as my own, saving me the biggest chunk of change in getting started.

FAMILY STATUS: 31 years old, married.

WORK STATUS: Finishing up pharmacy school (days: typically 8a-4p) and working 2 part time jobs (2-3 nights per week: 5-9p along with rotating weekends until 1p).

CURRENT TRAINING: Just finished 3 months of core muscle training/building involving mainly weight lifting back in November.  Have started focusing on cardio training for the last month and a half.

2013 RACES:  Have not entirely decided yet.  Likely candidates include indoor tri (Feb), a couple of Sprints, 1 Oly, 1 half or full marathon in April, and an ultimate goal of Redman (HIM) this fall.

WEIGHTLOSS: Definitely don't need to be losing weight.  I am currently at 140 pounds (on my heaviest days) after having gained a little bit of muscle mass.  If anything I could probably benefit from a few more pounds gained (in the proper areas, of course)!

WHAT I NEED: Reaching back to my high school days, I've realized that I need someone to keep me accountable.  Back then I had a coach to give me a goal, pat me on the back when I reached it, then give me a new goal.  Without that coach nowadays, I have noone to push me that can really keep me accountable.  I've tried self-motivation, but it's been hard to keep myself going, especially with some of this harsh midwest weather.  Having some one to bring back at least a portion of what I had in high school would be great for me.

Welcome to the group Joe! Hopefully you will find that this this group, there is alot of support, advice and experience to help you meet your goals. All we ask is that your logs are kept u to date! I have found that the HIM distance is my favorite distance so far!

Welcome to the group Nick! I am planning on doing the Redman full in 2013! So that is awesome it is right in your backyard! As far as accountibilty, we can do hold you to it! Just keep thinking that we all will be looking t your logs and encouraging you along the way!  that is what makes these groups awesome, so please let us know if there are any specific questions you might have and feel free to add to the conversations as we go along!

I have bought many bikes (raced mtn bike and road bikes).  Your best bang for the buck is to go used and buy more bike than you think you need b/c you will want 'that' bike in a year or so.  I totally try to support my local bike shop (LBS) and typically start there.  Most LBSs have a used bike or two and I also try to see what kind of close outs they have (may be able to buy new at a very nice discount).  If they can't get you a great value, check Craigslist, then Ebay.  But if we don't support the LBS, it will go out of business and then we are all screwed.

I literally just picked up my first TT bike tonight (used, from a local guy).  Paid $1300 for a 2012 Transition, but I checked my two LBS first and gave them a chance for my business.  They couldn't get w/in $450 for what I wanted.   My road bike was a closeout (new, from LBS).   I buy all accessories from LBS and pay them to install...they need to make money to stay open.

Be picky, study the reviews and you will find a good bike.  

First off, you did the right thing in getting the wife's permission!  LOL (been there)

And I agree that you should buy the bike you want, not just based on the price. there are alot of deals out there if you are patient enough. I ride a Specialized Transition Elite and love it, but it took me awhile to get it. I started out on a mtn bike!!! I then made my way through a cheap bike from Dick's, then a decent road bike I bought from a friend, then I finally was able to get Stella (my bike's name). So I would check for a used bike and the LBS for a great deal on the bike you want.

Is there still room in the group?  I can use a place to get feedback and support through this new journey in my life.

NAME:  David

FOCUS: Sprint and Olympic (For this year at least! )

STORY: I'm 37 years old and just experienced one of the greatest things in my entire life.  My wife and I welcomed our first child into this world.  To top it all off....IT'S A BOY!!!  I was the last in my entire family tree that could pass the family name on.  I have been struggling with fitness and weight ever since I started dating my wife.  I gained a bunch of "happy pounds" (40 pounds heavier than the day I met her) and have never been able to loose them.  I want to make a change in my life.  Loose the weight and make fitness a priority in the family.  With my new son, it's important to me that he always sees how important fitness is.  I also want to be able to be extremely active with him (Coach sports, etc.).  I have always wanted to do triathlons since I saw the Ironman Kona on Television when I was younger.  SO....I decided it's time to just do it!  On a whim, I applied for a spot on TheTriShop.com Racing team for 2013 because I knew I wanted to do triathlons this year.  Low and behold, I was accepted to the team!!!  I will be representing them this season and there is no turning back now!

FAMILY STATUS: 37 years old, married with a beautiful 8 week old son.

WORK STATUS: Work full time with a very demanding position in Information Technology.

CURRENT TRAINING: As cheesy as it sounds, I am in the middle of doing the Insanity Workout 60 day challenge with the wife (We are both trying to use it as a starting point of loosing weight).  Twice a month on my "off day" in the program, competing in Indoor Triathlons at my fitness facility (300m swim, 10 mi. bike, 3 mi. run). Once the Insanity Program is complete, I will begin a very structured triathlon training program.

2013 RACES:  St. Peters Rec-Plex Indoor Triathlons (Already completed 3) twice a month through April, St. Peters Rec-Plex Spring and Fall Sprint Triathlons, New Town Triathlon, Octomax Sprint Triathlon, Lake St. Louis Triathlon (Olympic).

WEIGHTLOSS: This is a HUGE goal for me.  Currently at 222 pounds.  I have lost 6 pounds already through Insanity (2 weeks in).  I would love to get back to the weight where I met my wife (187 pounds) by the end of the season.

WHAT I NEED: An additional group to help me stay accountable and push me to succeed.  I already joined a racing team, but the support and extra eye always helps me.  The more I can have someone giving me supporting words and feedback, the better I do.  I especially could use the advice from other triathletes on how they balance work, family, and training.

Here's to a tremendously successful 2013!!!!

Welcome to the group David and congrats on the new little guy! I have three boys myself and they are so much fun! Congrats on securing a spot on the team also!  That is very cool!  Now we need to make sure we represent!  LOL

Training and finding a balance for family and work can be tough, but I think this group will be very insightful and encouraging to you!

Question:

Which of the three segments is the most difficult for you? the one segment that if you could skip all together, which would it be?

I'm gonna have to be part of the 10% that says bike!  The swim is not my favorite, but it is something that when I put in the practice, I see improvement.  The bike however... I just can't find a groove I'm happy with.  Between the soreness in the rear end (that supposedly goes away with continued practice ), the crazy winds and weather out here, and the lack of daytime hours, I just wish I could not have to worry about it.  I'll have to start focusing on it soon, but I'm putting it off until the weather gets a little warmer.  For now I'm just putting in miles training on a stationary trainer.

For me, the run after the bike is the part I hate. I love the swim, I love the bike, but the run gets me mentally. I have issues running the speeds I know I can run. I can run  a stand alone run alot faster than I can run after a bike. And that is my focus this year. 

I want to run the run like I do a stand alone run!

So I am really going to focus on my bike fitness this year. I want to be strong off the bike so my run does not suffer!

As far as working on the swim, Stuart is right, drills help a lot! But doing them right is the key. I am starting a Masters swim class soon and that has helped me a lot because the coach is pretty good!

CONFESSION:

I missed my run this morning. I woke on time but did not feel 100%, it was raining and I was achy. I opted to have a decent breakfast, have my quiet time and enjoy the morning and I am kicking myself for not going out there.

So, I will leave work today and hit the treadmill for my 5 miler, then church, dinner and then I wil come home, put the kidos to bed and ride my trainer for an hour while watching Justified from last night.

I missed my workout this morning.  I didn't sleep well last night which then made it too easy to stay in bed.  UGH!  Now I will leave work a little early and head to the gym for a 4 mile run and 750 yard swim.  I have to get it done before 6:30 when the aqua class starts. (It seems they need the WHOLE pool.)  I didn't know there was an aqua class until I was in the midst of a very long swim and only had 20 laps to go when they asked me to get out of the pool!  Now I check the schedule every time I have to swim.  I won't let that happen again.

Pretty sure I have you all added to my BT friends list so checking logs should be a lot easier!

Since to day is an office day, I plan on working in 10 1 minute planks throughout the day, I just hope no one hears me grunting and wonders what is going on!

Okay, so seeing as multiple people have already mentioned morning workouts, I'm going to toss out my noobish question.  How do you do it?!?  I've always thought about incorporating morning workouts, but I just can't do it.  First off, I'm not a morning person.  Until I've had a shower and a can of soda (don't do coffee!), I can't even tie a shoe.  Personality issues aside though, how do you deal with nutrition and everything else?  If I try and eat and then go out for some exercise, I cramp up or get side stitches.  If I don't eat, there's no way I could do any kind of productive workout.  This puts me at a real disadvantage for all of the races I do that start early in the morning (90% of them)!  I've found that for those races, I have to wake up several hours early (i.e.- waking up at 4am for a 8am race) so I can eat, caffeinate, and digest, all before even starting to warm up.  And even then, I feel like some of those races have been sub-par.  Meanwhile the few noon/afternoon races I've done have been my best races.  I feel more relaxed, better prepared, and my muscles are much more cooperative.

What do you guys do for these early morning workouts?