Watergirl's group - FULL!

Hi, Monique! Welcome to BT! And to triathlons and all the craziness involved!

Having a group to train with - especially in college - is an awesome way to get into this sport. I work at the University of Georgia, and I know our club team is pretty active - including swim help and other instruction. When I start on my master's, I'm thinking about checking it out.

Awesome job finishing your first 5K, btw. Last is still so much better than never trying. You will get better at all three sports with practice. It is so cool to see improvement. 

Start logging your workouts - even if it's not until after the holidays, because it's going to be crazy next week. This is probably the best time to start easing into tris. The season will get started for real in April. It will be fun to get ready.

Steph

Welcome to BT and to my "group," Beth, Cara and Tina! And happy holidays! I've been out of town at my parents and off the Internet for the past few days. I think my eyes needed the break, especially since I usually stare at a computer most of the day during the week.

I'll be replying to each of you shortly. I'm looking forward to hopefully being an inspiration - or a good, swift kick out the door - for y'all, and you to me, too!  

Beth, that is so cool that we share an anniversary month, although you're ahead by three years! It's also awesome that you've decided to become active. It's something that your kids will notice and pick up as they grow older.

Bananas are a great source of potassium. My brother, who cramps without running, drinks a lot of Gatorade (he buys the powdered kind and mixes his own, which is cheaper), which he says really, really helps also. When I was marathon training, I found eating baked potatoes was a life-saver. It's kind of fun to discover the connection between eating and activity and to make it work for you.

Oh, and did you have a white Christmas in Ohio? It was in the 70s down here. 

Cara, looks like you know what to expect when it comes to triathlons - at least as a spectator. That will really help you this upcoming season as you get into it yourself! I'm so glad that something you enjoy watching your husband do is something you'll get to experience.

Your swimming background will really help, even if you haven't done much swimming in the past few years. It's amazing how those learned skills come back with practice. As for running, don't let it scare you. It was the part I was dreading the most, too. That's one of the reasons I decided to do a marathon, so I'd have to train. Crazy, but it helped me love running.

Much congrats on losing all that weight on WW! My mom-in-law did great with the program, until she got off of it. And now she's back on. You'll notice, depending on how hard you train, that keeping the weight off won't be as hard during the season. It's during the off season that it gets hard. I think we're all there now.  

Tina, we can get faster together! Occasionally, I get depressed looking at other people's run times, but then I remind myself that I'm in this to get better, not run a 6-minute mile.

A lot of doing better at a triathlon is training. And eating better helps too. Just putting in the time to do all three sports consistently, and putting in the time to watch what you're eating really adds to your training. I haven't been so good on the eating end lately, either, especially with the holiday treats. I love cookies and those special goodies mom makes once a year! Right now, I'm a little bit afraid to step on the scale. So, it's something we can all work on.

So, do y'all say "eh" in lovely Alberta? I was in Quebec City earlier this year for a conference. It's a gorgeous place!  

Welcome, Kenan, Leanne, Christine, Bryan and Terri! Looks like our group ended up with nine total. Whoohoo!

I've been off work for the last week, and staying away from the computer to let my eyes rest. It's been awesome - lazy, crazy, etc. So, today I went running for the first time since Dec. 26.

Traditionally, it's the time of year when everybody makes New Year's resolutions - and then breaks them. What I like to do is make monthly goals - knowing that some of them I won't hit, but others I will. So, question: What are your January training goals? Think about what you'd like to accomplish this month only - if it's running 10 minutes straight or swimming 600 yards or buying new running shoes so your knees don't hurt. I've listed mine below to get us started.

1. Buy new running shoes. DONE today!
2. Do strength training two days a week.
3. Do four days of triathlon training a week.
4. Add drills to my tri training.
5. Use my new kickboard and pull buoy.
6. Write down what I'm eating so I can actually see what I'm eating.
7. Find somebody new to "inspire" in their training.

So, what do you want to do in January of 2007? 

Great goals, y'all! It's going to be fun - and hard - this month as we work towards them - especially when the weather doesn't agree with our plans, etc.

One thing that will help keep you on track and help us to encourage each other is BT's training log. When I first signed on to Beginner Triathlete, I mostly just lurked and didn't really start using the logs until later. But when I found them, it was incredible to watch the progress I was/am making and also to inspire and be inspired by others.

The log is something I'd like each of you to consider. Check it out, think about it and try it. It will help you make those goals real. For help on where to get started, I've put the link to mine below:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.... />