Intros
Replies
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Hi Everyone,
My name is Steve and I'm 30 years old. I'm planning on completing my first sprint-tri in August. I was a competitive swimmer for 11 years, but ended a little over a decade ago. Since then I've gotten married, had a child with my amazing wife...and put on about 70 pounds. I was fairly content with my lot in life, although being a fat Dad wasn't my ideal situation. There would be plenty of times that my son (who's 19 months now) would want to run around or play, and I simply wouldn't have the energy to keep up.
That all changed on Halloween night 2013 when my mother unexpectedly passed away from cancer. It was very sudden and we weren't ready for it. That was the moment that I committed myself to make a change to my life. The fact that she didn't even make it to 60 years old really told me that you don't have as much time as you think you do.
Back when I was a swimmer, triathlons always interested me, however I was never able to really give one a go due to my demanding swim schedule. I had talked with my Mom several times about wanting to do one some day, and I decided that it's now or never. I started on a very slow building C25K program the day after her funeral (I have bad knees from the swimming days, and I didn't want to get hurt), and I got back in the pool again on February 1st. Almost 25 pounds later, I'm starting to feel that this is actually something I can accomplish. I still have a long way to go, and adding in bike really scares me, but this is the first time I've been excited about anything athletic since I hung up the Speedo when I was 19.
I would love any tips with anything related to tris (training, gear, race strategy), or just to make a few friends. Feel free to add me!0 -
Hi everyone!
My name is Brooke and I'm just shy of 40.
My first sprint tri is two weeks from today, the Spa Girl Tri on May 10, 2014.
I have been obese to varying degrees my entire life. In February of 2013, the super morbidly obese version of me decided to turn things around. At that time my osteoarthritis was so severe and I was so out of shape that everything hurt all the time and I could barely walk without major pain. I started swimming to keep pressure off my joints and eventually hired a personal trainer. When I mentioned to him that I wished there was some event I could do for endurance he suggested I look into sprint triathlons. I bought my bike as a reward for losing 100 lbs last August and ended up registering for the Spa Girl Tri with a friend (who has since backed out). My ortho doctor gave me the thumbs up on the condition that I don't run. I started training in earnest in January and have shifted my focus from weight loss to becoming a triathlete. The weight loss is a great side benefit! I swim a mile to a mile and a half 3 times a week, have trimmed my 400 meter time to 9 minutes, and am walking a 15-minute mile pretty regularly. When I bought my bike I couldn't get my legs to do two rotations of the pedals and now I am comfortable doing 13 mies in an hour. It'll never get me to Kona but I am proud not only of my progress but of the people in my life who are making the same kind of changes.
My trainer and I are competing in the Couples Tri in Austin on July 13, 2014. I have another friend who is going to be my partner in 2015. Other than that I'll be biking the Rock N Roll Marathon in San Antonio on December 7, 2014. I think this season I will only have the 2 events because after the Couples Tri I will be water-grounded by my doctor while I get some knee injections. I am hoping that by next year I can move on to Olympic Distances.
Feel free to friend me, especially if you would like to help a slow, fat newbie that has fallen in love wth multisport.0 -
Hey~
I go by Nik and I have never done a triathlon/duathlon.
A close friend of mine wants to try, not an official one though. Just go swim a mile at the nearby lake, 5 mile bike ride and 2 mile run. I said I'd do it with him and it seems like fun. I'm not going to like the running though. >~< I'm a fishy. I don't run.
I am a swimmer and water polo goalie. I have great endurance with pretty much any activity, speed varies.
I look forward to my first official triathlon.0 -
45 year old, I've done tri's in the past and have let myself go. Time to get back into it. Goal is a 1/2 IM for next year. I'm concerned about my weight and the strain it's putting on ankles, knees and hips as I always have some pain in there. I'm tipping 260, and at 5'9", I don't have many places to carry it. Will be easing into this again.
I'm starting up on Endomondo, feel free to friend me.
https://www.endomondo.com/profile/16359800
Thanks,
Jim.0 -
Hi everyone,
Name: Clare
Age: 31
Location: Warrington, UK
New to this group and new to trialthlons / duathlons.
I'm trying to lose weight and improve my fitness. I have multiple sclerosis, which sometimes gets in the way of my training, but overall, I am getting fitter to help myself deal with my MS better.
I've signed up for a sprint tri (400m/20km/5k) on 31st May 2014. I'm currently doing a couch to 5K programme and trying to get back into the habit of swimming front crawl (I used to swim A LOT as a teenager, but have only really swum breast stroke as an adult). Hubby is a keen cyclist and is getting me out on the bike...
Please add me and I could do with as much advice as possible!!!!
Thanks
Clare :flowerforyou:0 -
Hi All
Name: Richard
Age: 40
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Been doing triathlons since 2011 but never really lost enough weight through all the training and have plateaued this last couple of years.
I concentrated on cycling racing this year (2014) but too heavy to be truly competitive on anything but the flats - when the roads start going up I start going back. Because of the cycling my first triathlon of the season is only next month (Oly) and then I'll do another couple (Sprints) in September to round the season off.
Next year the plan is to go long. Already signed up for HIM Mallorca in May 2015 which will be my 3rd half distance race and will probably do another more local HIM before going long in September 2015 at IM Mallorca. The distances in the IM don't phase me - I've done the IM swim distance in coached sessions plenty of times. The concentration on cycling this year means the cycle doesn't seem too hard either. I hate running though but I've 6 marathons done last year and am doing another in October. What scares me is trying to do them and all the training required at my current weight and seeing pictures of a fat me coming down the finishing line looking out of place among the mainly leaner athletes.
I was 125kg when I first started training and am now 108.6kg (6ft 4). Still a long way to go and I hope to hit 85kg by next September ready to toe the line of my first IM.0 -
Hi all. My name is Scott, age 62, a retired journalist, two-time IronMan, two time-cancer survivor, sober since 10.2.88, a certified USAT level 1 coach. I've struggled with weight all my life. After losing and gaining the same 100 pounds several times various ways including Weight Watchers and high-protein, low carb diets, I ballooned to about 400 pounds and a 50 inch waist in 2005. I realized I couldn't take that much weight into old age and expect to live long.
I thought about what it was I did or didn't do that led me back to the same place. I wasn't doing any exercise. It was always diet alone and without a lifestyle change, I would eventually return to old eating habits and gain the weight back. So, I started riding a bike. Lost a lot of weight in 2005, bought a better bike and kept riding. I beat cancer the first time in 2006, starting riding in triathlons on relay teams to raise money for LiveSTRONG and kept riding. I did my first sprint triathlon in 2009, my first half IronMan in 2010, my first IronMan in 2011, beat cancer again that year, did more triathlons in 2012 and did my second IronMan in September 2013. Along the way I started using myfitnesspal.com to lose weight and to control it.
I'm still in 34 inch pants but they are tighter after I had to slow down on running this year due to arthritis in my hip. So I'm back to log food and exercise again. Logging food is a great start to any weight-loss program. Exercise is essential. I did a short-distance triathlon earlier this year and I still ride bikes four to five times weekly and swim twice at least. I plan to lose more weight, get down to the lowest I've ever been and see if the hip will tolerate running farther with less weight on it. If so, then it will be back to long-distance triathlon, perhaps a half IronMan, in 2015. Life is good.
Good luck to everyone on reaching your goals.
Scott Richardson
Beyond Normal Fitness
Normal, Il.
"It's hard to be me, I just make it look easy."0 -
My name is Marty, 49 years old, new to MFP. My endurance sport history isn't the best, but I sure tried like hell. I haven't entered a race in over 7 years due to making poor lifestyle choices and being in a bad marriage (STBD). I've had my share of injuries (7 foot/ankle surgeries) and THIS time I will not be in a hurry to jump into the Ironman distance. Last time I tried to get ahead of myself because I wanted my mother to see me finish my first IM - she was slowly dying of old age. Unfortunately, she's gone now but my IM dream lives on. IM will always be there. I've got a **it load of weight to lose, and I hope to knock it off slowly and safely. Hopefully my foot health won't betray me so I can make my dreams come true. My IM goal isn't until 2019. That will give me plenty of time to build my cardio base, lose weight (duh!), gain strength and flexiblity, improve my swimming DRAMATICALLY, get some desperately needed speed, and get some badly needed race experience along the way.
For now, my plan is to hit my daily food and exercise goals. I'm strength training 6 days/week and walking (with a small percentage of jogging thrown in) and/or cycling/spinning 7 days a week. I wish I could afford a pool membership, but I can't afford it right now. I do have a Halo swim trainer and I plan on mixing it into my training plan this week.
I have a long road ahead of me and I pray that my foot health will be good enough to achieve all my goals.
Feel free to add me as a friend and offer any suggestions you may have for me.
Godspeed, everyone.0 -
Hi Everyone!
Well lets see:) My name is Sara. I currently live in Lexington, SC
I did my first tri in 2009 with a friend of mine who convinced me about 2 1/2 weeks prior to join her and I made it through but thought I was going to die the entire time (who does that anyway???). A lot of life experiences happened in between and I decided I wanted to try again last year and wanted to lose weight too. This time I did it right though. I chose a tri in September that I signed up for in May and trained all summer, lost about 40 lbs in the process and came in 2nd in the Athena division!! Woo hoo!!
I am hooked! I've been working on getting down to a better racing weight as well (nearing 80 lbs lost...and about 20 more to go). I got a (cheap) tri-bike for Christmas and am working on building up my collection of all things related to tri gear, lol...much to my husband's chagrin;)
I am a part of the NW Columbia YMCA Tri Club (even have a spiffy tri kit to wear!)
I am joining my cousin-in-law up in MD in less than two weeks for the IRON GIRL Tri with 2000 other entrants!! holy cow that's a lot of people!! I'm used to like 250...with waves of 15;)
And I will be doing my first International Distance race on August 30th!! breathe...just breathe...I can do it!!
Oh! And my cousin-in-law just convinced me to train with her for the next year for a 1/2 Iron Man (probably next October!)...someone please tell me I'm not crazy...
I would love to have a few more tri friends on here so anyone who wants to send a friend request my way I'd love the support (and to support as well!)
Good luck on any races you have coming up or on your training!!0 -
Hello! I'm Anna -- mother of two living in Virginia. I completed my first tri last week! It was a sprint, and my times weren't great, but I fell in love. So wonderful training hard and accomplishing such sport. Looking forward to more races and getting to know you all.
Good luck to you!0 -
Hi! I'm Warren, I live in Winnipeg MB Canada, and at 35 I was inspired to pick up a long forgotten goal of racing in Triathlons.
I'm putting in the time to get better at running, faster at cycling and remembering what I've forgot about swimming this summer with plans to register for the local sprint Tris next summer, honestly I can't wait!
I haven't met too many people around the city that race in Tri so I'm toying with the idea of joining a club, the only issue is I train at odd times because of my (rather ridiculous) schedule - any advice is welcome!0 -
Hello Every One I'm Daun
I'm 50 years Old and right around 300Lbs
I'm training to do my first Tri in Oct this year, I feel very confident, in the Swim, gaining confidence in the bike, the run is my weakest by far, the best time I have been able to do in the 5k at this point is 47 minutes doing a run walk. I still have a couple of months to go so hopefully it will all go well. I also like the way it has been motivating me and I'm losing weight at the same time so very happy and enjoying the training at this time.0 -
Hi I'm Mike. I lost 75 pounds since Oct. of 2013 then after reaching ideal body weight regained 15 pounds. The first Ironman Chattanooga will be happening this month and I am using it as motivation to get back in gear and train to run in next years event. Chattanooga has a contract for 5 years so I will hopefully be a 4 time Ironman by the time the contract is up. I lost all of my weight doing road and mountain cycling so now I'm working on the run and swim portions although the bike will always be my main passion.0
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Hi, I'm Nate. I have been around tri's since the early 90's. I used to do international distance and then went down to sprints as the kids came along. This year I only did tri's as a team member as my kids joined in with me. The kids are now teens and I am making some lifestyle changes which will free up some time.
I am committing to doing a half ironman distance tri a year from now and a full ironman distance race two years from now. I live in the north so I have winter training to deal with, so a little extra planning.
If anyone is looking at a similar schedule I would love to be able to exchange ideas and encouragement.0 -
Welcome to all the new folks.
Mike don't go eating the sponsor food from Chattanooga. :P
Nate I coach a few folks in the North. Get a trainer and a Netflix subscription. Make yourself a badass on the bike over the winter. Everyone knows Iron distance tris are all about the bike anyway.0 -
Hi Everyone! I am originally a runner and have ran a million 5Ks PR 22:09 and 2 half marathons PR 1:51...was having some joint issues with hips and knees everytime I would try to train harder and was suggested by my physical therapist to swim 3x a week and biking would help as well. Accidently stumbled across a great deal on a tri bike about 6 months ago so knew I couldn't pass it up and people would ask me when was my first tri I would laugh and say not for me...
Well I did my first tri yesterday at the Galloway Captiva Triathlon 9/15/14 and finished in 1:08:41 which actually qualifies me to start with the elite group for the next one! I am HOOKED. God is good!
I know a lot of things I can improve on to bring that time down. I am a much better swimmer than I swam as I started on the front line but the far outside and had to swim over people to turn around the buoy and ended up swimming way farther then I should of
It's a learning process! And the best part??? I am not hurting (besides expected muscle soreness) that I was able to complete my swim workout the next day and will run today. Looking forward to any tips you guys can offer as well 
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Thanks for the encouragement Scott! I guess indoors on the cycle is one of the sacrifices to having a solid race. -Nate0
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Welcome to the world of triathlon. Good to know you're hooked ;-)0
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Thanks for the encouragement Scott! I guess indoors on the cycle is one of the sacrifices to having a solid race. -Nate
I'm indoors during the week pretty much year round. I have 2 jobs, 3 kids, and a wife that needs my attention too. On the trainer while working from home or in the wee hours of the morning is how I get my weekday work in. I save my hall passes for the weekend.0 -
Hi Everyone,
I just found this group today. I'm a triathlete and my longest to race date is a half Ironman (70.3). My first Ironman will be October 2015 in Louisville, KY. Great to 'meet' you!0 -
Hi Everyone,
I just found this group today. I'm a triathlete and my longest to race date is a half Ironman (70.3). My first Ironman will be October 2015 in Louisville, KY. Great to 'meet' you!
Welcome, welcome. I'm hoping Lou gets more attention now that it's later in the year.0 -
I'm 53, an auditor. I started my quest in 2010, lost from a high of 343 to 216 by 2012. Since then, I have regained 40 pounds. So, it's time for a new quest: I will lose to my ideal weight of 190 and run a Sprint Triathlon in June of 2015. I could use a few MFP friends to encourage/be encouraged in meeting our goals.0
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So glad to have discovered this group!
I'm a 34-year-old mom of 4, and up until this year had never done anything remotely athletic in my life. I smoked for years and never had to worry about my weight....until I quit smoking and took up ice cream instead. Anyhow, I completed the C25K program in March, ran my first 5K race in May, bought a road bike in July, and participated in my first sprint tri with my husband in September.
My next events will be my first 10K in March, followed by my first half marathon in May. I'm still on the fence about which tri(s) to do next summer, as I have a giant fear of open water to overcome between now and then.
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Back in the spring I weighed somewhere around 325lbs and decided to make a change.
I started running/walking (even the Running was more a walk with a bounce) daily for a few weeks and the knees started to give out as I started increasing my intervals. Eventually I gave up running and soon found the bike. Over the course of the Summer and Fall I rode 2-3 times a week while eating better and Logging everything here on MFP and have lost a 130 lbs so far. I currently work with a bike coach 1 night a week and have a KK Rock and Roll trainer at home that I use another 2-3 nights a week. My Outdoor cycling season ended with a 75k ride up the Niagara escarpment and back again which was a major accomplishment for me as my first Ride of the Season ended at 5km and the legs gave out when I jumped of the bike at the end. That was 5km to 75km in about 8-10 weeks.
So Now I sit at 195 and have another 20-30 lbs to go. My weight loss is still pretty consistent around 2lbs a week So I am confident I will reach my Goal by the time the outdoor season gets back into swing.
Back to that Goal I set of being in the August 29, 2015 Triathlon. The time is now to start getting all the pieces in order. I am really here looking for as much information on what I need to do to Succeed. I have not decided on a distance yet and figure that will be one of my tasks over the winter as I train. Be it Sprint or Try-a-Tri I want my goal to be realistic and finish even if that means crawling across the finish line as the sun is setting and my wife and kids are the only ones left standing at the finish line.
So lets all turn the page and join me as I start the next chapter, I am excited to see how this ends up. Add me please I can use all the support I can get0 -
Hello Everyone!
My name is Brian and I am 39 years old (turning 40 in 2 weeks
). I have been on a journey to get healthier for about 10 years and have been doing triathlons for 4 years now. My longest distance has been a half ironman completed in September 2013. Last year I was in a bike accident during my annual first tri of the year on May 17 and it really impacted my ability to train and achieve my goal of completing my first full iron distance race. I was able to plod through the year and did complete a few sprint distance races, but it was a big disappointment. I am an alcoholic and addict that has been clean and sober since July 8 2005. I made a commitment to complete an Ironman within 10 years. Looks like that wont happen but that is ok. Another goal I made was to get married in the same time frame and that will happen!!! I am getting married on June 7 this year, so that puts a wrench in my tri training. So for 2015 I am planning on completing as many sprint distance races as possible, maybe one each weekend, around my wedding and honeymoon. I quit drinking in 2005, and quit smoking in 2011, now I really need to lose some weight. Currently I am about 215 lbs. and would like to get under 190. I am 5'9 and stocky so even though that sounds heavy I have a lot of muscle mass due to working in construction most of my life. About 6 years ago I took a desk job and gained weight. I have been stuck at this weight for about 5 years and have struggled to loose it. I am willing to do what it takes but I could always use support, advice and accountability. I am very glad to be part of this group and will be sending some friend requests soon. Please feel free to send some my way too.
Thanks for reading!
B0 -
Hi Everyone, Dave here from Dublin.
Doing triathlons for about 12 years... 2011 was the peak where i did every distance possible in the same year.
Twins arrived in 2013 making a family of 3 into 5 and life was turned upside down. Feels like we are getting a bit of normality back now so i have some races planned for this year and a target of losing the 25lbs i picked up in the past 3 years.
I had worried i would ever get properly fit again because i just couldnt lose the weight. MFP has given me hope and optimism back!
Let me know if ye need any advice on coming to ireland to holiday / train / race... or ironman tips. I can recommend some truly breathtaking races, and some great pubs too
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Hi everyone, I am Neil (36) from Nottingham UK. I got into Triathlons in 2009 whilst trying to get rid of some excessive weight I had aquired in my late twenties and after doing a few local sprints in the first year went on to take part in 17 sprint Triathlons between 2010 and 2012. Then I got married, moved house and had a child (Well my wife did most of the hard work with that!) and the Tri's went out of the window... After xmas having put on a few pounds of baby sympathy weight I started training again and have my first tri in 3 years on Sunday.
I have had to massively adjust my training schedule due to the combination of work commitments and a baby but I am very much enjoying getting back in shape and especially getting back out on my bike.
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Hi, all. Bob here, a 47-year-old suburbanite dad in southern Massachusetts. I'm something of an accidental triathlete. After years of dedicated couch potatodom, I got some urging from Mrs. Bob and started running in August 2006. I trained for, and completed, the Boston Marathon in 2007. I say "completed" and not "ran" because my knees pretty much exploded around mile 17. After recovering, and starting to train again, it became apparent that I needed something else to do besides just running.
I knew swimming and biking were both good forms of exercise with much lower impact than running, so in 2008 I began doing triathlon. Sprints, nothing more. The thing is, I've never been much of a swimmer and I'm still not. So much so that open-water swimming, even in a completely still lake or pond, engendered full-on panic attacks. In July 2012, I had to bail right at the start of a lake tri, and it sent me into a tailspin that had me pretty much abandon any and all training while gaining over 30 lbs.
In the summer of 2013, I worked with a coach who specializes in helping people like me get over stuff like that. In September 2013, I completed my first non-panicked open-water swim. I'm still glacially slow in the water, but it's at least a bit less traumatic than it used to be.
All else being equal, I'd probably be a dedicated duathlete. I'm much more comfortable on the bike than in the water, and more comfortable still running. Alas, duathlons are still hard to come by, and I'd like to become a more proficient swimmer anyway, since that's something you can do pretty much forever.
I'm still riding my 2008 Cervelo P2SL -- the last of the aluminum Cervelos -- and hoping to complete at least two open-water sprint tris this season, with some degree of aplomb. At 5'6" and 150 lbs., I could probably weigh a bit less and perform better, but time will tell if I can get back to what we'll call race weight. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.0 -
Hi everyone! I've been competing in triathlons for the last 6 or 7 years, I'm a solid age grouper who likes to pay to get free T shirts. I vividly remember watching Julie Moss in 1982 compete in Kona. I did NOT think "Hey, I totally want to do that!" but it must have planted some seed. So when I was training for an open water swim (St. Croix Buc to Buc 5 mile that sounded like a good idea at the time) I started adding some cross training of running and biking, entered a sprint and was 10 seconds from placing...well...
So here I am, competed in my first IM last year (Choo...the run will take you to a dark dark place, the bike is fast even if it was 116 miles, the swim faster) with a torn meniscus. Surgery cleaned that up but found damage to the cartilage and periosteum, well that put a damper on running. I'm doing a couple of Aqua Velos this year and then return to IM next year with IMMD, my mantra is "I will walk the *kitten* out of this marathon!"
When I'm not in the pool or on my bike I'm working for a large construction company or hanging out with my 2 kids (12 yo and 2 yo).
I too have a Cervelo aluminum road bike, I love that bike. No shame in quality aluminum and I'd take it over entry carbon and a couple extra grand any day.0 -
Hello all. I have struggled with my weight all of my adult life. I started running 4 years ago taking it very slowly and still losing some time to typical injuries. Lost about 50 pounds through that and completed my first half marathon in 2014.
Suffered a job loss in late 2013 and was not working for over a year and I found about 30 of the pounds I had lost. I finally found a new gig in late 2014. Only down side is the gig is in NorCal and the family is in Oklahoma. Have been commuting for about 6 months now where I work for 5-6 weeks, then return home for 10-14 days. A far less than ideal situation for my family, but it is what we have to do to pay the bills right now.
When I am in NorCal, I fill my free time with training and reading. I started on MFP about 3 months ago and everything finally makes sense for losing weight. Between MFP and triathlon training, I have managed to lose 40 pounds so far, I want to lose another 15.
I am very much a tri noob. I did a Sprint in 2013 and had a good time. I also did a Duathlon in 2014, but was not in a good place mentally or physically so I did not enjoy it much. I am currently training for an Olympic at the end of August and my motto is very much "Complete" instead of "Compete". I swim as well as a well-rounded manhole cover, but I enjoy the bike and run and will not let my weakness in swimming keep me out of the tri.
I am very budget restricted so my horse is a hand-me-down road bike a friend bought online. When he upgraded, he gave me this and it is an upgrade over what I had, nothing. Not much fun doing a tri on a borrowed bike. I posted a ramble in the 'Does your bike have a name?' thread about naming her this morning.
I found this group yesterday and especially enjoyed the Rules. Hope everyone is having a great season and I will probably be posting some queries in the weeks leading up to my Olympic.0
