dhyte's Group - (Full to the brim) !!!

My group has just opened (just in time for the new year).

Let's get a good group together and kick some butt this year !

Danny

Happy New year !! 

Tomorrow is the 31st.  last day for dessert and living large. 

Starting January 1st, we are working our butts off!

Are you with me ?????? 

Hi everybody!  and Welcome  !!!  Happy New Year !

Today is a little hectic with visiting family and friends on New Years Day, but I wanted to check in with everyone.

I ran up Iron Mountain (in Poway, CA) this morning.  It seemed like an appropriate way to start the year!

I'm looking forward getting to know all of you and working with each of you.

This is my second time as a mentor on BT, and I think I learned some good lessons the first time that will be helpful for this group.

Over the next few days, I would like to get more info from each of you on what you want to accomplish in your training this year, what your schedule looks like (and allows for training).

I'd like to come up with a plan for each of you that addresses your triathlon goals and training in general.

One thing that I also learned on my previous stint as a mentor is that life gets in the way sometimes (for me as well as the rest of the group).  It will be important to remember that if you miss a day, a week, or whatever that you jump right back in, stay plugged into the group, support each other, and keep pressing on toward your goals.

That's it for now.  I'll be following up later tonight with some specific questions for each of you.

Looking forward to a great year!

Danny 

We have an excellent group coming together!
We have room for a couple more still....

So far:

Txhokie        (Brian)            Texas
fullie64         (Jayson)         Quebec
njcavill65      (Cav)              UK
Sundevil87   (Thom)            Germany
ccessex        (Carol)            San Diego

Mentor:
dhyte          (Danny)            San Diego

We have a good variety of people and backgrounds, so this will be a lot of fun.
Let's try to include some good info about our geographical areas in our posts, to keep it interesting.

Sunny San Diego in about to have the biggest rainstorm in 2 years this weekend.  That will mean some indoor training this weekend.  Of course, a San Diego rainstorm is nothing compared to the rain that takes place throughout most of the world. 

OK, let's start with Cav...

Sounds like you have an excellent running background.  You mention wanting to drop 1 minute of your 10K and 1/2 Marathon PR times.  That sounds like a great goal, but I'm wondering if it is a big enough challenge for you.  The answer would depend on how hard you trained for the races you PR'd in, how much time you have for training compared to your training before the other races, and a variety of other lesser factors.  Think about it, and let's talk more about those goal times.

It sounds like you have a good build for running (6 feet / 155 lbs).  That is also going to be helpful in your swimming.  You mention that you were a regular biking until focusing on running the last year.  What was your biking level?  Recreational? Commuter? More?  About how many miles per week were you averaging?  Doesn't matter what the amount was, I'm just trying to get a better picture.

The biking should not be a problem for you at all, just need to get back in the saddle.

Swimming:

We need to get you into the water as much, and as often as possible.  Do you have a pool available to you? indoor?  You should be swimming at least 2-3 times per week.  We can start small and just keep building on it.  The only way to do it is to spend time in the water regularly.  I'd like to know if there is any organized swimming (coached?) in your area.  I swim with a Master's program.  I believe they are an international organization.  Do you have any Master's programs near you?

Races:

Have you picked any races yet?  Signed up yet?

I'd like to talk about this a lot more.  This is a huge issue.  Having a race actually on the calendar/scheduled is a great motivater to get those workouts in.   Knowing the date of your 1st race will help me to tailor my training advice to you.  Please put together a list of your race schedule for the entire year (or candidate races that you are considering).

Danny

Hi Brian!

Welcome to Triathlon !!!
Sounds like you have the triathlon bug pretty good already!

I just looked at your training logs a little bit.  You are off to a great start.
I like that you have annotated a lot of good detail from your plan into your logs.  I'd like to see a little more info in terms of where you you are riding/running.  Indoors/outdoors?  Flat/hilly?  Long slow day? Hill workouts?  Repeats? Interval training etc.

I'd also like to have more feedback on your level of effort for the workouts.  Are you dong a workout with a High Perceived Level of Effort?  Was the given workout easy/hard for you.  Are you able to recover adequately?  Are you pushing hard enough?  I'd like to get a better insight to your conditioning level as we continue.

Are you swimming on your own or as part of a group?

I'd love to hear more about the new bike (and congrats on that !)

You mention a desire to do an Ironman race - excellent goal!

What is your timeframe for this goal?  What other goals do you have for the year?  You mention a triathlon sometime in the summer.  Which triathlon?  Let's talk more about this and any other races for this year.

Danny 

Hi Carol, 

Welcome back to Round TWO of this Mentor Group!!

I hope you had an awesome Christmas and wonderful holiday in general.  Looking at your training logs, it appears that you gave yourself some time off for the winter, but are now back in action.  Excellent !!  )I had some serious downtime in December also    ).

You had a great triathlon year in 2007, and I'm sure 2008 will be a lot of fun too.

Your goals from below:

1) Join local tri club.
Do this !!!  It will help sooooo much.  TCSD (Tri Club of San Diego) has been great for me nad I would recommend joining as soon as possible.  I will probably be doing a mentor program through the club this year too.  The TCSD club races are great too (and free!).

2) Races for 2008
Let's talk about these races, and any others you want to do.  I did the 1/2 Vineman in 2005 and have some good info regarding it.  I have not done the Ensenada Race, but know others who have, and could provide insight.  Are you already signed up for these races?

3) General Training Program
I can help you come up with a program, or find an existing one that meets your needs.  This will be based largely on your goals/races for the year, so let's get that nailed down first, and then figure out how to make it all happen!

4) Running
This is also mine weakest area (and lots of other people also).
I think you are a perfect candidate for some track workouts to help in this area.
TCSD has 2 different locations where this is offered (free).

And yes...you do hunker down during the run!  (nothing those track workouts won't cure)

5) Lose 10 pounds
Ohhh believe me, we are going to work so hard this year, you will be needing to load up on carbs just to maintain weight!!! (I tell myself this every year...somehow I have never perfected  losing that last 10 lbs, but we are going to work hard this year !!).

Danny 

Hi Thom,

Welcome aboard !

Congratulations on some of the goals you have set, including working up to to IM distance by April 2010 - you can do it !!!

Sounds like the biggest challenge is going to be staying healthy, while still pushing yourself as much as possible (and time allows).

One thing I have learned is to listen to your body.  When in doubt, shut it down and give yourself time to heal/recover.  I have made the mistake of trying to "push through" an injury, and end up making it much worse in the long run.

I'd like to get an update on your shoulder, knee, and heel injuries.  There are ways to be creative and continue training without aggravating injuries further. 

Berlin Marathon is Sep 28?  Is this your "A Race" of the year? 
As far as the sprint or olympic triathlons...when will you be doing these this year?  Do you have some specific races in mind?  Maybe I could help identify/locate soime races that would be a good fit for you.  As soon as you are sure of a race you want to do, you should sign up and have that additional committment working for you.

At what point does weather become a factor in Germany?

You mention developing bursitis in both heels after switching to new shoes.  More info please.  Your brand/type of shoe before/during the injury.  Did your running training/volume change/increase during this time?  What are you running in now?  Are you sure you are running in the correct shoe for your build/mechanics?

I'd like to know more about your biking also.  Type of bike, where you are riding, how strong are you on the bike, etc.

Time management:
Brother, I can sympathise with you on this one.  At times I have had an extrememley busy schedule, including during training.  This is sometimes the biggest problem area for myself and many others.  I'd like to get a little better picture on your schedule, and how many hours/training sessions are realistic for you.  It sounds like you have a very demanding job and there are probably not enough hours in the day.  I'm sure we can come up with a training plan that that will fit your needs!

Danny 

Hi Mike,

Welcome to out group!

Good job on the biking goals you accomplished in 2007.  I'm looking forward to helping with your goals for 2008 !

I'll wait for your update on the training routine, etc before I get into much detail.

Please provide as much ino as possible (maybe look at some of the rpevious post in the is thread for the type of info I am asking of everyone).  Are you still active in soccer?  Have you done any distance running previously?

What area do you live?  We have a pretty diverse group already, sit its pretty cool.

32 and single?  You should have a lot of time for training, so we'll have to load you up pretty good!  Right ? 

Danny 

MilkeC - 2008-01-02 12:52 PM Hello Danny, I would like to join your group if possible. Here is my short bio. I have always been sport active, love golf and soccer. It wasn't until May of 2006 when I started training to finish a 100K mountain bike race. After that race I got hooked into ciclying and bought my first road bike, my goal for 2007 was to finish a 100 mile ride in under 5:30 and the same 100K mtb race with a better time. Now this year my goals have changed and decided to do some duathlons and the idea to do a tri is still there hehehe...I have this crazy idea of maybe doing an iron-man next year...so that is why I'm here... btw, I'm 32, still single with no kids...I'll post my schedule and training routine shortly.... Thanks Mike C.