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enginerd's Group - FULL
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 2006-12-15 5:40 PM |
Master  1588    San Francisco |  Subject: enginerd's Group - FULLName: enginerd (Donato) Story: I'm in my late 30s, relatively newly married, no kids (I do have a Turkish Angora cat though). I am an engineer by degree and an IT manager by profession (hence enginerd). Before this year, I hadn't owned a bike in 20 years and I hadn't done a lap in a pool in for just as long. I had been an avid hiker/backpacker and a casual runner in the past, but that had lapsed. Through the course of a long project at work, I had gained over 15% body weight. As I gained weight, I purchased a whole new set of "fat" suits. Once my first "fat" suit stopped fitting, I'd had enough. So, 18 months ago, I started changing my diet and this year I started actively training. In this first season of triathlons, I completed 6 triathlons (4 sprints, 1 Oly and 1 Oly-ish distance). I got hooked after the first few and started signing up for longer events because the fun was over too quickly in a sprint. In this season, I also did my first 2 marathons, a handful of 10K/12K distance road and trail races, a swim/run race, and I biked my first century. Through training and racing (and eating more healthy), I managed to lose about 35 lbs. and I'm in better shape than I've ever been. I'm interested in doing longer distance events than I've done before, so I'm primarily targeting half IM distance events in 2007 and a full IM distance either late in the year or the following. Edited by enginerd 2006-12-18 2:22 PM |
| 2006-12-15 7:10 PM in reply to: #625451 |
Extreme Veteran 426 Bay Area- California | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Donato, Would like to join your group- we're both Bay Area folk! Gee's now for the bio... Gina, 33, married, one kid (2yr old girl). Grew up in Utah skiing, mtn. biking, rock climbing, the usual for such a place. Moved to California in my early 20's and got sucked up the career with no time for fun rut. A year ago I decided it was time to do something about the low energy so I asked a couple girlfriends to do a 5k ( I wasn't much of a runner). Signed up and started hitting the gym and running. After that first race I was so into "that feeling" you get when you cross the finish line, so after a few more 5k's I convinced a friend to do a women's only sprint triathlon with me. I had two months to learn how to swim. So I went to the Y every morning at 5 am to watch and then immitate the experienced swimmers and also read books on stroke technique. I took spinning classes till I found just the right bike to get. When I finally did the tri I was so excited and I knew I found my new thing ( a title other than wife/mother, a triathlete!) So here I am, anxious for next season. I'm already registered for Cancun Ironman 70.3 as my big race to work up to, so I have chosen the Beginner 1/2 Iron training plan and I've got a bunch of races I would like to do before Cancun. Don't need motivation for weight loss, just help staying on the focus wagon. Look forward to being apart of the group! |
| 2006-12-16 8:51 AM in reply to: #625451 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN I'd like to join the CA group! Last time I was in the bay area (Tgiving), I had nobody to ride with...now I have two new training partners, at least. I'm Gail, racing 40-44 this year in SoCal. Although I didn't consider myself an athlete, I did gymnastics (age 6-12), swimming (12-17), and ice skating (ages 25-35) while growing up, earning fame by claiming I don't like sports where you have to wear pants. I have been watching the Ironman since the early TV coverage but figured for some reason it was like pro football or some other sport where really skilled or crazy people do it and everyone else watches, but then in the late 1990s I heard the actress Alexandra Paul say "taking a year off from acting to train for the Ironman" and thought, hey, people actually TRAIN for that...next time I can take a year off from work, I'll train for the Ironman, which became a joking tag line for a while. At around that time, my sister asked me to do the Boston-NY AIDS ride with her, and although I started able to ride only 10 blocks, in 2000 I did the CA AIDS ride, too, on a 10-year-old, rusty hybrid bike that weighed about 45 lbs, wearing 6-yr-old worn-out Reebok aerobic shoes. I never ran at all, even as a kid, so that kept me DNS for a long time. In 2005 I was bored, working part-time, and figured that was as close as I'd get to taking a year off. I decided it would be fun to learn open water swimming (was scared of the waves), and a google search led me to the local triathlon club, where the head coach taught me to navigate the 53-degree Pacific surf and to use clipless pedals and aerobars, and ironically introduced me to Alexandra Paul, his wife! I also started running and did my first 5k at just under 11min pace. In 2006 I did a handful of sprint races and trained for the LAOly distance, but no matter how hard I trained I'd end up walking the run about a mile in, so I'd end up FOP swim, MOP bike, and DFL run, every time, and couldn't bear the thought of walking an entire 10k and being passed by 2000 people. Turns out I have chronic exertional compartment syndrome (have suspected that for 10 years, so no real surprise), and I'm now awaiting surgery on both legs, which may kill my entire season (hope that doesn't make me ineligible here). In the meantime I am on week 5 of an 8-week bike limiter program, and I just traded my 12-26 cassette for an 11-23, so I am learning a lot about gearing. I think after the new year I'll also join the local masters swim group, since I can't run for a while. I'd like to be 10lbs lighter and running a 10k in under an hour by September so I can complete the LATri this year along with my wonderful sports doctor. Edited by gailg 2006-12-16 8:53 AM |
| 2006-12-16 9:15 AM in reply to: #625501 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Gina. Welcome to our little group! Sounds like you've had a great start on your triathlon endeavors. Cancun should be a great race (and vacation!). Looking forward to working with you to reach our goals. What other races are you looking at for the year? I'm in the process of planning my 2007 too. I've found having all those intermediate races throughout the year helps to keep me on track with my training. |
| 2006-12-16 9:27 AM in reply to: #625667 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Gail. Welcome to our group. You sound like an athlete to me! Sorry to hear about your CECS. It sounds painful, but the good thing is that you have it diagnosed correctly and are taking the steps to address it. Here's wishing you a speedy recovery. I'm doing the AIDS ride in 2007 so I'd love to hear about your experience. Wish I could use more closely spaced gearing myself (are you using a triple, compact double, or standard double up front?), but for training, I'm surrounded by hills!  |
| 2006-12-16 10:01 AM in reply to: #625684 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN I had a good time on the AIDS ride, although I had IT trouble and knee trouble before I learned about spinning up hills (I like the big gears). I am going to try to attach some photos here. I ride a triple crank -- I live way up in the hills (over 10%) and am reluctant to shift to a double yet. It is a 52/42/30 that came standard on the bike, which has 650 wheels b/c I am short -- it's a 43cm frame. Eventually I may shift to a "standard double," which functions a lot like a compact on a bigger bike -- after much math and consults with the coach, I learned that a 650 bike with a 53/39 crank is slightly slower at the top end than a 700 with a 50/34 compact (31.6 vs 32.1 at 90 rpm on the 11) and slightly faster/harder at the bottom end (11.1 vs. 10.4 on the 23). Turns out a lot of people who advise compacts don't ask about wheel size, and a 50/34 on a 650 bike tops out at 29.8 on the 11, which is a big difference from the 32.1 that a 700 bike hits! (gailandbike2.jpg) Attachments ---------------- gailandbike2.jpg (12KB - 55 downloads) |
| 2006-12-16 11:33 AM in reply to: #625699 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Great bike pic. You look very triumphant and happy. I take it that was at the end of the ride. Re: wheel size, yes that definitely makes a big difference! On my road bike, I have a 52/40/30 triple, 12-25 in back, on 700 wheels, but on my tri bike (just bought 2 months ago on craigslist), I have a 53/39 (12-26 in back) with 650 wheels. I do have less on the top end and not as low on the bottom end. Lots of hills here too and I definitely miss the bit on the lower gear range when riding on my tri bike. I don't tend to miss the top end so much since I spin out on the really big downhills here anyway. |
| 2006-12-16 2:27 PM in reply to: #625451 |
Veteran 277 Los Angeles | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Im not from California but can an Okie join yalls group?? My Story: My name is Richard. I am 23 M and single. I am in my fifth and final year at Oklahoma State, studying landscape architecture. I am set to graduate in May and begin the "real world". Before the real world starts in May, I plan to really push my training amd become consistent. I have run a couple marathons and a handful of half marathons over the last couple years. I am running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April with the hopes of qualifying for Boston. Thus over the next 4 months that will be my main focus. Running in still my passion but I know that I must incorporate other sports to reduce injuries. I became interested in triathlons this summer while I interned in Los Angeles. There it seemed the "thing" to do as my boss and others competed in races and training. So before I left, I bought a road bike (Felt F-75) and am learning to enjoy the rides. THe tough part for me is the mental toughness I need to aquire since typically rides are 2-3 hrs. All to often (since I train alone) on bike days I make excuses to cut the ride short or not at all. The third discipline the swim, prevented me from starting sooner, but am enjoying my time in the pool. In January when I return from intercession I am going to start a plan that progresses to a mile in 6 weeks (though it might take me longer). I read TI but and consider my stroke decent but lack any sort of physical endurance. I have been working on the swim for 3 months now. Goals: My goals for this year are to do a couple sprints and maybe an olympic distance in the fall. Currently Im planning on doing my first tri (an indoor) in the middle of January and then another sprint (open water. yikes) a week before my marathon in April. I dont have any expectations but to finish. My ultimate goal/dream is to get into the longer races, but not for another year or two. Weight: Not a real concern but my "dream" weight is 15 lbs (well now 20 since thanksgiving and christmas coming) away and would love to be at it or closer by April/May. It has always been a issue since I love FOOD, but over the last 4 years I have lost 35 pounds with my running. Im hoping that while working with yall that I will become more consistent in my trianing and meet some new BT friends!!! Thanks a bunch in advance Richard Edited by rjl171 2006-12-16 2:28 PM |
| 2006-12-16 3:29 PM in reply to: #625842 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Richard. Welcome to our group. Looks like you have a very solid running base and sounds like you've done a great job with your weight loss already! Hopefully we'll all be able to help each other reach our goals with some mutual support and encouragement. |
| 2006-12-17 2:11 AM in reply to: #625451 |
Extreme Veteran 426 Bay Area- California | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hey Donato- Ok, here's my tentative race schedule for 07... 1/10 Embarcadaro 10k 6/24 San Jose International 2/4 Kaiser 5k, SF 7/4 Firecracker 5k, Pleasant Hill 2/17 Sequouia 10k trail run, Oakland 7/15 TBF Olympic, Herald 3/24 Napa Valley trail run, 1/2mary 8/4 Vineman Aquabike 1/2 4/15 IceBreaker sprint, Folsom 8/26 Luna Women's only sprint, Herald 4/29 Sacramento International tri 9/23 Cancun Ironman 70.3 5/5 Napa Valley sprint 10/21 Golden Gate sprint, Sac. 5/20 UVAS South Bay International, Morgan Hill I'm really gonna need some pushing early on to get me ready for the 1/2 mary in March! edit: it left off races from June on but thats ok, don't feel like retyping them all Edited by ginac007 2006-12-17 2:12 AM |
| 2006-12-17 7:50 AM in reply to: #626129 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN I can see the post-June races, Gina -- they're just not formatted well! I am intrigued by "Aquabike." That sounds like something I could do while recovering from my leg surgery (well, with any luck I will be running by August, but still). I'm going to look into joining you! Gail |
| 2006-12-17 9:53 PM in reply to: #626161 |
Extreme Veteran 426 Bay Area- California | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN gailg - 2006-12-17 7:50 AM I can see the post-June races, Gina -- they're just not formatted well! I am intrigued by "Aquabike." That sounds like something I could do while recovering from my leg surgery (well, with any luck I will be running by August, but still). I'm going to look into joining you! Gail Yes, I see how it all got garbled together. The Vineman Aquabike will be a prep for the 70.3 the next month. It consists of 1.2M swim and 56M bike. Same as a HIM without the running. That would be great to do together. |
| 2006-12-18 12:10 PM in reply to: #625451 |
Expert 709 | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hello Donato and group. If there is still room I'd love to join the group. Here's my info: My name is Jeff and I'm 38 (yesterday). I'm married and have two kids, a 7 year old daughter and a 4 year old son. After being fairly inactive for years something snapped last year and I decided (with the help of my brother) that I was going to do a tri. I started training in June and did my first sprint in October. Since starting training I've done 2 sprints, 1 5k and 1 10k (yesterday). I'm signed up to do a 1/2 mary on Superbowl Sunday and will be signing up for my first Oly in June. After that I have no idea. Because of my work schedule (cube dweller), my kids school and extra's and my wife going to school at nights and sometimes weekends for her Master's and teaching credential, most of my training is done at lunch during the week. It's worked so far for what I've been doing but realize that I'm going to have to carve out more time when I start to do longer distances. Right now I'm using Hal Higdon's 1/2 mary training program and will be looking for an Oly training plan to implement after that race. Do you still have room for one more? Any questions, please feel free to ask. Thanks. Jeff P.S. I'm in Orange County, CA |
| 2006-12-18 12:35 PM in reply to: #626953 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Jeff. Welcome to our group. Happy belated b-day. I'm in the 38 club too. Been a member for about 6 months now. How did your 10K go? How's your training coming along for your half mary? If you can do half, you'll certainly have a decent base for an Oly. |
| 2006-12-18 1:25 PM in reply to: #626988 |
Expert 709 | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN enginerd - 2006-12-18 10:35 AM Hi Jeff. Welcome to our group. Happy belated b-day. I'm in the 38 club too. Been a member for about 6 months now. How did your 10K go? How's your training coming along for your half mary? If you can do half, you'll certainly have a decent base for an Oly. Thanks! The 10k went well. I'm not really good with setting goals so I usually set a couple different "levels" of goals and see how I do. About 1/2 way through the race I realized I had a chance to break the 50 minute mark but couldn't quite pull it off. My official time was 51:00. I'm pretty happy with it. The 1/2 mary training is going pretty well. I was sick about two weeks ago and missed a whole week of training but I don't think it set me back to much. I've also been getting more aches and pains then in the past but I have a feeling it's the combination of ramping up the mileage and the simple function of age. I'm going to take today off because I'm pretty sore from yesterday and my plan for today was only weights and a swim, so not critical for the run. I'm going to have to ramp up my swimming though as I've been slacking on it since starting the running plan. |
| 2006-12-18 1:36 PM in reply to: #625451 |
Regular 116 Spokane, WA | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - OPEN Hi Donato, I like the mix of people in your group and wondering if you let me have the last slot? I am a 35 year old, married, no kids and live in Spokane, WA. I was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. I have always been fairly active. I moved to the US in -97 and attended the University of Central Florida. I graduated in -99 with a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering. During my time in Florida I did not workout much. It was just too hot. Since my late teens I have always been a “gym-rat” but never had a goal with my workouts. I meet my then girlfriend while she was training for a marathon so I started running with her. I had been running off and on but never anything longer than 8 miles. She got me interested in running longer than the 5-10k I was used to do. Mountain biking is something I have always loved to do but I have never had any interest in road biking until a couple of years ago. Now I spend more time on my road bike than my mountain bike. Since I like to both run and bike I figured that maybe I should add the swim component and try to do a tri race. I am a super poor swimmer. Swimming has never been appealing to me but I think I have gotten over the hump and I can now “tolerate” it. My goal is to a couple of sprint distance races early in the summer and cap the season off with a 1/2 IM later in the summer. I have never done a tri race before. I have done some 50-65 mile bike races and a half marathon but never anything close to 1/2 IM. What I am looking for from this group is support, encouragement and motivation to stay on track. In peace, Jon |
| 2006-12-18 2:22 PM in reply to: #627073 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - FULL Hi John. Your first post nonetheless. You're in! Welcome to the group. It does sound like you have a great base if you done bike races and half mary. The swim, esp. an open water swim is a challenge (technique, technique, technique!). SEM (support, encouragement, motivation) is while we're all here. We've got a great group here - Gina, Gail, Richard, Jeff, and now you. |
| 2006-12-18 10:40 PM in reply to: #625451 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: Questions - 1 Hi tri peeps. A few questions for you - 1. What's your strongest discipline? 2. What's your weakest discipline? 3. What are your training goals for the winter season? |
| 2006-12-18 10:48 PM in reply to: #627498 |
Master 1588 San Francisco | Subject: RE: Questions - 1 Here are my answers to the questions: 1. Strongest: I'd like to say my running. I did the California International marathon a couple weeks ago so I have my biggest endurance base there. 2. Weakest: My biking. I feel like I totally get smoked by so many others on the bike segment. Even though I have to ride on some hills on a regular basis, I still don't think I'm very strong at climbing them. 3. Winter training: I'd like to maintain my running base and race well in my half mary in January and may do another in Feb. I'd like to work on my biking, which may be a little tough over the winter. If my schedule works out okay (possible work conflicts), I'll develop my base for my first tri of the year (possibly IM Cal 70.3 in late March). |
| 2006-12-18 11:52 PM in reply to: #627498 |
| Subject: RE: Questions - 1 1. Swim, by far. I was in the top 10% of women on my second ocean swim, the LATri sprint with that insane surf (pictures posted in the RR section, or I can repost). I am a mediocre masters swimmer, but that turns out to be pretty good for a triathlete. 2. Run, by far. As in DFL always. At first I thought I just suck at running, but I'm now blaming it on the compartment syndrome. 3. Until surgery, my goal is to get stronger on the bike (see above re new cassette and preseason training program). I love to climb but am not a great descender. Afterward, it's to walk w/o pain (first), then to run more than a mile at a time, and finally to reach a 9-min tri-pace, consistently. I'm actually afraid to make longer term goals or set my race calendar till I see how it all goes. |
| 2006-12-19 12:43 AM in reply to: #627498 |
Expert 709 | Subject: RE: Questions - 1 enginerd - 2006-12-18 8:40 PM Hi tri peeps. A few questions for you - 1. What's your strongest discipline? 2. What's your weakest discipline? 3. What are your training goals for the winter season? These are very hard questions for me. I don't think I'm really good at any of them but don't think that I'm bad either. 1) I'll say that running is my best but it's only becuase I do it the most often. There's really no other reason. 2) I'll say swimming is my worst and that is because I'm not totally "into" OWS, which I'm sure a lot of people aren't. There's not a rational explanation for it as I grew up in the ocean surfing. For some reason not being able to see the "line" at the bottom of the pool makes irrational thoughts start going through my head. I will say that I finished at about the top third in the first Tri I did. The second one had a pool swim. 3) My winter goals are to work up my running distance to do the 1/2 mary in early February. As soon as that is completed I'm going to ramp up my training to tackle the Oly in early June. I don't have an Oly training plan yet and I don't have anything scheduled after the Oly. |
| 2006-12-19 12:59 AM in reply to: #627531 |
Extreme Veteran 426 Bay Area- California | Subject: RE: Questions - 1 1. Running 2. Swimming 3. I've gotten back into Pilates to keep my core strong. And then, to be quite honest, I've used the last 2 months to take it easy- my last two months to sleep in for a long time since most of my training coming up will have to take place between 4-6 am before hubby leaves for work (little one at home). |
| 2006-12-19 4:48 AM in reply to: #625451 |
Veteran 277 Los Angeles | Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - FULL Strongest: Running. I have run a couple marathons/half marathons and been running consistently for a year. I ran 1000 miles for the year. Also in a local marathon/half marathon I placed 2nd in my age group/16th overall in the Route 66 marathon in Tulsa. I enjoy running most. Weakest: Neither of the other two are "good" but my real limiter is swimming. Since, I had never swam (besides recreationally) before this fall, it is all new to me. My biking is real weak also. I read often in others logs that they average 20+ mph on rides, but Im lucky to maintain 17mph. Unfortunately I wont work on the bike much until April Winter Goal: I am beginning my marathon training plan for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in April. For the marathon I will run 4times a week. During this same time, I plan to swim 3 or 4 times a week using a swim plan that progresses from a basic 100yds to a mile. Hopefully I can squeeze at least 1 bike ride in a week. I have my first sprint tri planned for January 20th (indoor) and another in April. Thanks Richard |
| 2006-12-19 10:49 AM in reply to: #627498 |
Regular 116 Spokane, WA | Subject: RE: Questions - 1 Strongest: I think biking is my strongest discipline. We have a fairly large bike community here in Spokane so it is easy to find people to ride with. Several of my co-workers are roadies and mountain bikers so I ride with them on the weekends. Weakest: Swimming. I just started swimming regularly about 3 months ago. Goal for the winter: Swim! I need to signup for a masters class. I know of a couple that I am going to checkout in the next couple of weeks. Until then I will keep spending time in the pool. In peace, Jon |
| 2006-12-19 1:46 PM in reply to: #625451 |
| Subject: RE: enginerd's Group - FULL I love that you guys are runners! That is great motivation for me. I am happy to help with swimming, so in your logs, post actual workouts and not just total distance, if you want me to comment. I'm starting to log again as of Jan. 1, I think, or maybe Jan. 2 because Jan. 1 the roads here are pretty locked up due to the Rose Parade, etc., and the pool is closed. I would also love to see everyone's favorite race photo. Here is mine -- I was actually running! And I look like a total advertisement for the Tri Club, which was the goal at this race (USAT club nationals). |
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