The 2009 Triathlon Motivation Thread

[itri]

Come one, come all, veterans and newbies alike! Here's the place to chat about everything tri-related: training, races, gear, questions, it's all fair game.

I'll kick things off with some background on myself...I got talked into my first sprint tri in July '07 by a friend and got completely hooked. Finished another sprint that summer, then kicked it up some more last year. I did three sprint tris and an olympic distance plus half of another olympic (got cancelled due to lightning on the bike ), plus two half-marathons and a bunch of other running-only races last year. Yes, I am a race-aholic. This year, I'm planning the same tri races, schedule permitting, and hoping to add a 70.3 (half-ironman).

I'm currently wrapping up rehab on my knee (which I had arthroscopic surgery on in October) and am ready to start building my base back up and shooting for a half-marathon in early April.

My goals for this year, besides the 70.3, are to improve my bike portion drastically (the knee has really been holding me back), continue improving my swim, and get my run back at least to its post-surgical state. In addition, I want to get my time for the Boulder Peak olympic tri well under 3 1/2 hours (3:32 last year...this is a TOUGH race, I was just happy to finish!).

Let's talk about all things TRI!

 

[itri]

I volunteer to keep a running list of races so that we know who's racing when and can cheer them on. I'll start it off with my definite planned races. Post here or PM me, and I'll update the list as needed!

January 17 - Chilly Cheeks Winter Duathlon Series #2 - itri
January 18 - Frosty's Frozen 5 mile - ShannonD
February 28 - Chilly Cheeks Winter Duathlon Series #3 - itri
April 5 - Platte River Half-Marathon - itri
May 25 - Bolder Boulder 10k - itri, Robyn, ShannonD
June 13 - Muskoka Tri - Bing
June 27 - Philly Sprint Tri - lovebug
June 28 - Trek Women's Sprint Tri - Robyn, ShannonD
Philly Oly Tri - Kimmyt
July 12 - Boulder Peak Triathlon (oly) - itri
July 25 - My Way or the Tri Way Aquabike Duathlon - Robyn
July 26 - NYC Olympic Tri - RachelV
August 2 - Philly SheRox - lovebug
Tri for the Cure - ShannonD
August 15 - Rattlesnake Olympic Tri - itri, Robyn
September 12 - Harvest Moon Long Course - itri
September 13 - Buffalo Bike Classic Century Ride - Robyn

 

[Robyn]

Here are my race plans:

May 25th - Bolder Boulder 10k
June 28th - Trek Women's Sprint Tri
July 25th - My Way or the Tri Way Aquabike Duathlon
August 15th - Rattlesnake Olympic Tri
September 13th - Buffalo Bike Classic Century Ride
Plus one more undecided.

 

[Swamp Dog]

well, this was the year I've sworn off triathlons. I'm tired of training, tired of not improving, and just tired of it all. I've done them since 1999, except for I think it was 2005 when a slew of injuries kept me out.

Don't get me wrong, I had a ball doing it, especially when my kids were young and came with me. It was that whole "setting a good example" for them that got me going. I'd come out of the water and my kids would be manning the first water table. Grab some kisses and keep moving. It doesn't get any better than that!

I've done every distance except for "the BIG one." I toyed with it because everyone I knew was doing it. I even went so far as to register for IMFL last year and then decided I really ddn't have the heart to train for it. I pulled out and it wasn't as upsetting as I thought it would be.

Anyhow, I've got tons of tri resources so just ask if you're wondering about anything. If you like to travel for races I can tell you where some good ones are and where some not so good are too. I've also got a wetsuit I should sell, a sleeveless Xterra. Would fit someone approx 5'2" - 5'6" and maybe 125 - 165 pounds.

some good tri sites:
Beginner Triathlete (great for tracking workouts)
Slow Twitch (a little rougher around the edges)
TimberManTri
some races in NH & TX. GREAT race director.
TimeOut!Productions 3 races on Cape Cod, 1 in Sharon MA, 1 n Fairlee VT. GREAT race director.
Athlinks a nice site to see all your results in one place (here's mine).

I've got some pretty good tri blogs book marked if anyone wants a link just let me know. Lot's of motivating women. Some going long, some going short. Some fast, some not so fast.

And I should really be in bed. Even though I'm not doing them any more, tris are still a favorite topic of mine!

 

[lovebug]

Right now I'm aiming for two: Philly Tri (sprint - June 27) and Philly SheRox (aug 2nd - womens only event and my first ever tri last year - it was so awesome!). Im thinking of trying to get a few running events in there as well.

Like most of us, I guess, I am coming off an injury. I had a partial tear in a ligament of my left ankle that I sustained hiking last summer. 6 weeks of PT have gotten it almost back to normal although it is still swelling ALOT. This is an old injury - apparently I have a healed hairline fracture there as well from the first time I hurt it! I need to get the confidence to run outside again, thats gonna take some work.

Also, swimming stinks! I hate training the swimming part. Last year I worked and worked and worked on my crawl, but when I got into the river, the visibility got my all worked up and I wound up doing breast stroke (still finished in a decent time though!). So I really want to nail that.

As for bike, I love the bike part - I just need to remember that I am in a RACE not on a bike ride I spent so much time looking around last year and enjoying myself and I forgot to race. Oh well!!

I havent gotten my training plans together yet - but I'll let you girls know when I do!

 

[Bumblebee]

Thank you for the links Swamp Dog.

I was training last year for my first one in Cologne in September, then ended up having surgery in the June which went horribly wrong and put me totally out of action.

I'd like to get back in to the swing of things with a view to Cologne 2009.

 

[Kimmyt]

lovebug, I am signed up for the Philly Oly this year. I have done it last year and the sprint the year before, along with the SheRox but this year I am going to volunteer at the SheRox probably.

I think I might do the Philly Women's tri in July but I'm not sure. It's alot of money, I'm not really a huge fan of women's only races, and it's the same course as the Philly tri. I dunno my friend is doing an IM and a bunch of races and I was thinking of mixing some sprints into everything just to have a few different distances.

Last year I did the Nockamixon tri (Steelman) but I'm not sure if I'm going to do it this year...

 

[RachelV]

Alright! My friend talked me into doing the NYC tri this year, which is olympic distance and on July 26th. We're also going to try to sign up for a local sprint distance tri before that, maybe May or June.

I've never done a triathlon before. I actually haven't raced at anything since *high school*, when I was a sprinter on the track team, so this should be interesting, to say the least. I'm not worried about the bike leg, since I've been biking quite a bit this year and can do 40k no problem. Not fast, but I can do it. I'm also not that worried about the 10k run. I haven't run in foreeeever, but I'm pretty fit this year and jogging a 10k should be pretty doable. I think I'm planning on doing the couch-to-5k traning plan and taking it from there, just to make sure I don't overdo it and hurt my knees or anything. It's the swim that's going to be a total wild card.

This should be a great thread! I'm psyched!!

(Swamp Dog, thanks for the links!)

 

[RachelV]

Heh, ok, so I'm a huge dork and put the races in a google calendar. Here's a link.

itri, Robyn and whoever else wants to be able to edit it - PM me your email address and I'll add you. (Unless there's a way to just let anyone edit it? But I couldn't find a setting for that...)

 

[lovebug]

Rachel,

The swim is what worried me too last year. But you know, its a good thing its first - adrenaline will carry you right through it! Others that are more experience than I may have some better training suggestions, but one thing I know that I am going to do differently is to get some open water practice in. Swimming in the murky river was so much different than the clean, clear pool with lap lanes and lines! I definatly could have used some better preparation - although I did finish faster than I thought I would.

You'll do great! Just remember to schedule in some days off for fun! Skiing counts as cross-training right????

For your first race, I found it more helpful to talk to people that have been there, done that rather than reading. Those author-y types all seemed really technical - definatly good for people who are trying to get better - for newbies. For me, it was just keeping one foot in front of the other on the run ... not operating withing x percent of my maximum heartrate yada yada.

Oh yeah ... dont pick up a tri magazine right now either. Those people are too amazing to be an attainable roll model

 

[lovebug]

lovebug, I am signed up for the Philly Oly this year.

Awesome! I am waffling on whether to sign up for the Oly or not. The sprint was hard and I was slow, but I *should* be able to do it. I dont know about that extra time in the river though

SheRox was fun for a first time event - there were lots of people to keep me motivated. I am going to do it again becuase I think that I might have a few of friends *almost* convinced to do it.

 

[Shannon D]

Okay, I'm in too. (Since last year I wouldn't admit to it until afterward )

My girlfriend has a goal of running a 5k every month for the whole year and I agreed to join her. And I, in turn, have convinced her to do 2 tris with me this year. Here is what I am sure of so far:

January 18th - Frosty's Frozen 5 Mile
May 25th - Bolder Boulder 10k
June ?? - Danskin Sprint Tri
August 2nd - Tri for the Cure Sprint Tri

I'm nervous about the Tri for the Cure though because I'm planning a trip to Italy the 3rd week in July. I can still run a lot while I'm there, but that will probably be it. I guess if I can build up enough training time before that it will be fine.

 

[Bing]

Hi Divas -

I'm a trigeek, raced since 1999 for 9 seasons, last season stuck to mtb and running races I was burned out of swimming.

This year I'll be back as I"m speaking to swimming again - doing at lease one tri, probably the Muskoka Sprint (www.trisportcanada.com).

Tri Hard !

 

[Robyn]

Shannon, I have it on pretty good authority that the Danskin is now the Trek Women's that I'm doing, on June 28th.

 

[Shannon D]

Shannon, I have it on pretty good authority that the Danskin is now the Trek Women's that I'm doing, on June 28th.

Sweet, thanks for the inside scoop. So here's my revised schedule:

January 18th - Frosty's Frozen 5 Mile
May 25th - Bolder Boulder 10k
June 28th - Trek Women's Sprint Tri
August 2nd - Tri for the Cure Sprint Tri

I'm currently looking for a good 10k training program, but I'm having difficulty. All of the beginner plans don't seem challenging enough for my current fitness level, but the intermediate plans seem way above it. Anyone have a good plan they have used? I am comfortable running 3 miles, but haven't run much farther than that.

 

[Robyn]

Alright, I'll spend a little time giving my history for the few that don't know it. Last year at the beginning of spring I started running a bit along with riding my mountain bike, although mostly on streets. Then I came up with plantar fascitis so I had to stop running but kept with the bike. I joined a ladies group ride out of a local bike shop (LBS) and met a wonderful leader, Andrea. At the time I had signed up on a lark for the Fat Tire Classic which is a 2 day mountain bike ride in Winter Park. I completed that race and was so very, very proud of myself. From there I felt a bit of a let down because I wanted to continue but didn't know what else I could really do on my mountain bike without true MTB skills and without being able to run. In steps Andrea on our 4th of July ride (40 miles on a mountain bike!) and she tells me about the My Way or the Tri Way multisport that can be done in many configurations, including a bike-swim-bike duathlon. I signed up after trying a swim test and being able to hang for the distance I'd need. I had 3 weeks to train. I finished to so high that I knew I was hooked (and itri was there cheering me on ). I started doing elliptical a couple of months later and am now running full on so I'm heavy into my training.

Andrea is a triathlon coach who works out of my LBS and she has graciously taken me on as one of her athletes. We work closely together with her desigining my basic training plan and helping me make sense of all the extra details (like heart rate zones and such). She runs a twice weekly women's spin class at the bike shop (our own bikes on trainers) of which I make at least one. She helps to keep me accountable and works with me to make sure I'm getting the training I need while balancing it with my life. She is absolutely incredible and I'm so thankful to have her.

I've planned a lot of races but only the Trek women's and the Rattlesnake are A races and those will be my two peaks for the season. The others, while important, are more like training races.

 

[itri]

Ok, I've got the race list updated to here with what people listed as definite races. I put links where people gave them (so we can all check out each other's races and results :p). RachelV, I like the google calendar! I like having a list here, too, though, let's do both.

I've definitely got a few more I will be adding for myself...probably at least 2 sprint distance tris (waiting to see the shake-out on the Danskin/Trek thing and timing of a couple of others), maybe a third. I'll probably volunteer again at Tri for the Cure, too.

Shannon, I think that you'll be fine for Tri for the Cure as long as you build a good base and can maintain the cardio by running. Oh yeah, and can I say about Italy?! As far as the 10k training plan, I'm a big fan of Hal Higdon's training plans. He has everything from 5k on up, and at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. I used his beginner plan for my first half-marathon last year and I was really happy with it. Enough training without overdoing it, and a lot of flexibility.

 

[tradygirl]

I'm tentatively thinking of trying to get into the Burley, ID Spudman Tri on July 25. I've heard it's super fun, and it's a lottery registration this year.

I always have aspirations to do a tri every spring, but once mountain biking season starts, I lose motivation to run and swim.

 

[Robyn]

So, question for y'all. What system do you use for tracking all your fabulous workouts?

 

[itri]

I don't really have a good system. I usually use mapmytri, but I've kind of fallen off the wagon lately with my surgery. My online running group just started using DailyMile, which seems pretty cool, although definitely still has some kinks to work out. I'll probably go back to mostly using mapmytri as I get outside more since I like that I can upload my workout to it from my Garmin.