Hi all

Hey and welcome!! ... in terms of the ankle, swimming is a great help for that kind of injury (spoken from experience in ankle injuries), what also is good is pool running, as the movement of the water on your body means the adjustments to balance helps in strengthening the area without the impact of the road. Best of luck! ... I too am training for my first tri in Feb .. make sure you check out the Training Log ..... very very useful!!

Edited by Akuma 2004-11-09 9:59 PM

Kewl... thanks for pointing me in that Training log direction... I'm going to have to pay better attention to what exactly I'm doing in the gym and otherwise now ;-) Good luck with that Tri in Feb

Hey Rich:

Welcome aboard, there are lots of us clydesdales around here. I started out at about 265 and am now around 230. (I've been stagnent for a while because my diet has gone down hill, lots of cheating) Here are some hints I've learned: 1) Listen to your body 2) Take your time on the run...don't freak out because your times aren't that fast. ( I was running far too hard and fast for my body and started to develop achilies tendonitis, wicked painful and set my entire training back about a month) 3) Proper running shoes are a MUST for us big guys. 4) As you train the weight will come off, as the weight comes off you will get faster. 5) As far as dieting check out a computer program called "dietpower" I think it's just at dietpower.com, I found it very helpful.
6) Have FUN, guys like us aren't going to be challenging the winners at Kona any time soon, so we're supposed to be doing this for fun and for our future. 7) Be realistic, if you're like me youdidn't gain all of your weight over night, so it's unrealistic to think it's going to come off overnight. 8) and above all remember the imortal words of Dorie the fish from "Finding Nemo".....'just keep swimming...just keep swimming...just keep swimming", Every step you take, every stroke you take and every push of the pedal takes you closer to your goal!!!

"The ox is slow, but the Earth is patient"

Greeting from another Clydesdale I am would put my self in the super category as well since I currently top out at 270.  But the people here are great and very supportive and I have found the logs to be helpful in keeping me on track and seeing how I am doing over all.  I would suggest swimming, pool running and the eliptical trainer to keep the preasure off your ankle until you lose some weight.  Good luck on the training and take care.

Welcome to BT!

Thanks Rich3671 .... Feb cant come soon enough (from an enthusiasm point of view ... not a training one )

Rich - welcome to the community - I'm new too, an ex rugger (Down from 215 to 177, no longer need to be in the ruck...so I guess I'm ex-superheavyweight-turned-tri-sdale. Awesome community, I like it already, I'm sure you will too.

For the ankle, take it slow and easy...as the others that posted said, listen to your body - it's the best barometer. One thing I found helpful in avoiding injury (I had a lower back surgery at 35, same fragile starting point) was that on non-tempo run days (when you're not going at the run hard), it's almost better to do some run/walk. Jeff Galloway, one of the esteemed minds in the running field, has a huge amount of evidence to show that when you run / walk it accomplishes almost the same thing as 100% running (up to a point - obviously the Kenyans would skip the walk part). There are actually several groups that just do run / walk marathons. The point is that, especially during the winter when you're trying to build your base, covering the distance AT ANY SPEED and being CONSISTENT (don't take 2 weeks off) are the important things...and the speed will follow naturally. http://www.jeffgalloway.com/for the info from the horse's mouth.

Good luck...Snow tomorrow in michigan...dammit.

Rick

Rich - ASA22 had another awesome point...good shoes are a must to stay injury free. I settled on Asics Gel Nimbus, $120 a crack (OUCH), but they carted my donuts, pizza, and beer around injury free...

If you've got a local runner's shoe store you may want to go there to get fitted the first time, well worth the time and $20 extra bucks you'll pay them for that first pair of shoes.

Rick

Welcome, this sight is awesome.  You will learn more than you'll ever need to know.  Good Luck!

Trix

Are you a 'super' clydesdale in the same way Clark Kent was a 'super' man?

Edited by trixie 2004-11-10 5:17 PM

Welcome from another Clydesdale, started a few months back at 274, down to 242.. for now...My first sprint tris will be next spring

I'd echo the recommendations to go to a running store an get properly fitted, let them see you walk, if you pronate, etc. I felt like a fool walking in (me? a runner? yeh right.....) but did it anyways.

Also look at the "Couch to..." programs. I am doing the Aggressive walk run. When I started running a minute straight was about all I could do, you had to be nuts to get me to go longer. This week I am on the 12 minute run segment, fairly comfortably.

Also again picked up a book called Chi Running.... taught me how to run. No sore ankles or knees for me

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Chris

Thanks Trixie... I have to agree with you that this is a great site. I wish I was 'super' like Clark Kent... unfortunately it just means that I'm topping the 300 lb mark for the time being...

Thanks Rick for the good advice.. I'll definitely be trying that method for getting into the running shape. I as well have started doing the "Couch to..", but my girlfriend and I have as well been talking about mixing it up with the beginner sprint stuff too. She's not a real strong swimmer and that at the moment is my strong point. And as for snow, I WISH :-) .. we never get that stuff where I am since it's right on the Sound. Enjoy it!!

-Rich-

Rich - the motivation and a training partner are just what the doctor ordered.

Also...let your girlfriend know that the tri-gods are looking out for her...they PURPOSELY put the swim first just for her...

All kidding aside, when I talk to people in my office or in the neighborhood that don't tri, one of the most common questions I get is "why to they do the swim first, the bike second, and the run last?". After they ask the question they get that AHA look...which is worth the price of admission.