Gray Guys/Girls Masters Focus Triathlete Forum--OPEN! (Page 36)

We had this happen a couple years ago.  It was like the oven just knew it was about to be abused.  Glad  you were able to get dinner out safely!

Wow!  Take a couple days for the holiday and all of a sudden there is breaking news!  I was honored when Steve asked if I would be interested in Co-Mentoring the group.  After a bit of back and forth on the phone, it quickly became apparent it would be a good fit.  I look forward to continuing the Gray Guys/Girls Group with Steve and hope all of you that have made the group so successful will return. 

Hi Vesteroid,

Been there done that!  Except mine was closer to 100 pounds.  And your right, the excuses don't matter.  In fact, how many times you fall down doesn't matter.  What is important is how many times you get back up.  Words of wisdom from Vince Lombardi.

Congrats on joining the gym!  Swimming is a matter of 'one stroke at a time' so don't get discouraged at the start.

Hey Daniel,

Beginners welcome and the learning will never stop on the journey you are about to embark on.  This group is a very diverse mix of experience and knowledge.   Most importantly, this group is more than helpful and willing to field your questions.  You can follow the move in the next couple weeks and join the fun!

Daniel,

Way back in high school and college I was a competitive swimmer and competed nationally and internationally at a fairly high level.  Then, like you, life happened.  The hardest part is recognizing that a change is in order and then having the courage to follow through.  Good for you as you have already done that!

As to going it alone or joining a gym  My first observation is that $175 a month at AM is expensive.  In my mind that much money implies a Triathlon coach as well as a gym.  There are any number of other gyms out there that are far less money.  For example, I joined L.A. Fitness for $39.00.month.  Every facility has the typical gym amenities: free weights, weight machines, cardio equipment, classes, and most importantly for me, a pool.  The really nice thing about LA Fitness is there are gyms across the country so when I travel, more often than not there is a gym close by.  What LA Fitness doesn't have is multi-sport coaching.  Sure they have "personal trainers" available, although their ideas may not be consistent with the needs of an endurance athlete.  AM will likely have effective multi-sport coaching but the question is, "Do you need that right now considering where you are in your triathlon journey?"  You have competed in endurance events in the past so you likely have some idea of what lies ahead.  At this point, you are probably at the point where you need to "train-to-train."  In other words you need to begin to build the endurance foundation upon which everything else will be built.  I humbly submit that you do not need to pay someone/someplace $175/month to do that.

Long SLOW runs, long SLOW bike rides, and SLOW swims are the order of the day at this point.  After you have begun to build a base level of fitness (at least a couple months although some coaches argue it takes years to truly build an endurance foundation), then you should move into a build phase.  At that point, there are a number of effective training plans right here on Beginner Triathlete that are free and were written by arguably some of the finest coaches available.

Today, you need a good pair of running shoes, access to a pool (and something to swim in), and access to a bike.  You don't need a $10,000 Triathlon Bike, you don't need a $500/month coach.  The big thing is don't rush it.  In very short order you will come to KNOW what is needed and where you should direct your resources.  Rome wasn't built in a day and likewise your triathlon journey will take an investment of time. 

James,

Haven't seen you in a while.  So glad to hear you will be with us again!

Seems as though a number of us are doing first marathons in the upcoming months.  I swam in some really big races back in the day but am far more nervous about the marathon than I EVER was for a swimming event.  Haven't figured out why yet.  Under-prepared?  Fear of the unknown?  I have no idea.  Just trying to make the run my friend!

I had a pair of Yak Trax when we lived in Indiana, still have them, not that they are doing me any good in Southern California.  I never really formed an opinion on whether I liked them or not.  I had a few falls with them, and had a few falls without them.  I found that paying particular attention to where my feet were going was at least as effective as the Yak Trax were.  I finally took an old pair of shoes, put some 1/8 inch screws in the bottom of them and was good to go - until I got to dry pavement.  I found that nothing really was a "perfect" solution to running on snow/ice.  My final opinion was that I prefer to run outdoors, regardless of the hazards, rather than submit myself to a dreadmill treadmill.  Of course, I was only having to deal with temps down to the single digits and a foot of snow on a bad day.  I imagine up there where you are that is tame by comparison.

Nice to see some activity in the mentor group.    No marathon plans for me.  I may be doing a bicycle tour next May with some old friends.  If we can pull it all together the plan is to ride from the south of Japan up to the north tip (30 days and 3000+ km).  I need to consider whether I can still get in enough run and swim time after that to do the same long course triathlon I did this year in early September.  

Hello Everyone!

I'm not really sure if we are "allowed" to do this, but I figure I am among friends here in the Gray Guys/Girls group so what the heck.

You may have noticed the website link - TriathlonSwimCoach.com - in my signature.  Had you clicked on it, you would have been taken to a page that said, "Coming Soon!"

Coming soon is here so I am really happy and excited to announce that we went live with the site earlier today. 

While the site is clearly centered on my love for swimming and triathlon, it actually grew out of my realization that a significant majority of triathletes struggle with the swim in one way or another.  If the site helps one person become a better swimmer than it will be a success.  Our goal was to have the site live before people really got in to base building so we have met that first milestone.  We have a couple dozen more articles ready to go, on topics ranging from Open Water Swimming to Energy Pathways, from Planning workouts to recovery and the aging athlete.  So look for those to be added over the coming days and weeks.

If you have a couple minutes, I would really like if you could take a look.  Maybe browse around the site and let me know what you think.  I welcome very critical comments.  If you are inclined to offer a comment, you can do it here or send me a private message.  We have checked and double checked to make sure there are no broken links, grammar and spelling are correct, etc., but stuff happens so if you find anything amiss, please let me know.

Thanks!