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Honestly I would say I have never been on maintenance, whatever that means. My race weight in September 2016 was 170#, which is unsustainable in any real sense. Since then my weight has been relatively stable but I'm still not happy at 190ish; my "hero" jeans still sit, folded, taunting me. My running pace is 0:45 to 1:15…
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It has been over five years since I wrote the first post, and I am still a member of the 100# club. Five long years. In that time, I have ran a marathon, completed two Iron-distance triathlons, and completed over a dozen other races. I did it, I am a success story. Hurrah! Right . . .? It still feels just as hard now as it…
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It is hard to quantify just how hard it is to qualify for Kona. In my age group, a trip to Kona would also qualify me for the Boston Marathon - as in a 3:0x marathon. My advice on working the core, ITB, hamstrings, etc., comes from hard-learned lessons. In race shape I am capable of running a 12:30 Ironman, but my actual…
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My suggestions: (1) You don't like running in winter - so don't. Or rather, keep it short as a warmup/cooldown, and spend the rest of the time in the gym focusing on strength training and flexibility, especially things like your hamstrings, glutes, IT bands, and core strength. Marathon training will expose every little…
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I can only vouch for flying domestic in the United States, but I had zero problems taking two containers (screw-top tupperware) of protein powder and sports drink mix through the airport. Containers were unlabeled.
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There's a *lot* of esoteric stuff about bike fit, and type of bike, and that's really going to be above and beyond your level. If you're just starting out, it's really not a major issue - just find a bike that's comfortable for you. You're probably going to be looking for a x-large frame, or 60cm frame. Bikes are generally…
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Tri Bike shoes generally have just one velcro clasp, and they open outward. Normal bike shoes usually have multiple clasps and open inward. Tri bike shoes are designed so that you can flying mount and flaying dismount easier. Flying dismount is actually pretty easy, but the flying mount requires a fair bit of confidence to…
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800m is 32 lenghts or 16 laps. Swimming is generally measured in x:xx/100 (meters or yards). An elite swimmer would run 1:30/100 or faster; a beginner 3:00/100; 2:00/100 is probably a nice benchmark.. At 28min for 800m, you're swimming about 3:30/100. Not to sugar-coat things, but your form is probably terrible, especially…
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First of all, welcome to the sport! It's fun, I promise. (1) Equipment. For a sprint, a trisuit is a good purchase, and not too expensive. My wife found one on Amazon for a very reasonable price (like $40), and she's in your size range. Wetsuits are going to be problematic for you (and my wife), since a women's large is…
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It depends on what you mean by "ready," and in any event, the answer is probably "no." With cycling and running, training is usually "run more" or "ride more." With swimming, it's all about technique. Swimming one day per week is simply not enough to make you a decent swimmer. The general rule to see progress in the water…
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Make sure you *want* a hybrid - I like my Giant Cypress (great bike, at your price point), but I rode it a summer before I fell down the cycling rabbit hole and bought a road bike and a cyclocross bike. The cypress is gathering dust now, waiting for me to tune it up and sell it. Jack of all trades, master of none. That…
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Also, there is the question of what pedal system you plan on using. SPD is nice, but typically used for mountain bikes and off-road. Dual-sided entry is a nice feature, and it's hard to miss cleating in. Look is pretty standard, but since they normally hang vertical, it can sometimes be a bit tricky to cleat in right.…
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You also need to factor shoes into the equation. Shoes + pedals + cleats (if they aren't already includes) and rent a wetsuit. Or buy one from xterras, which has a deal through beginner triathlete (and banner adds all over the place) for less than $200 for a wetsuit. Personally, I'm surprised you haven't upgraded to…
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Every time I spend more money on cycling gear, I look back and think that I was dumb to buy cheap stuff. You get what you pay for. I love my bibs. Yes, they look stupid, but on long rides, they're much more comfortable. Check closeouts at REI's outlet, or amazon for deals.
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Most LBS will be having tent sales and the like this month and next - you should be able to wrangle some good deals there. I just bought my wife a Novara Carema from REI - but it's a little over your price range; 105 shifters and rear derailleur, taiagra front derailleur and cogs, for ~$1,100; aluminum frame and carbon…
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Request sent. I'm planning on IMWisc and Route 66 half in 2014, with a few oly's and sprints this year. If you haven't already, check out Beginner Triathlete. Their Spring mentor program is about to get started, and the forums there are much more active.
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Treadmills are notoriously unreliable and inaccuarte, and the Garmin manual tells you not to use them to calibrate footpods. In comparing my last 5 GPS runs against my footpod (uncalibrated, out of the box), the differences are between 2 and 5%. However, that's for me, and your results may vary depending on your stride,…
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I was where you were 2 months ago, and I have found good results through zone 2 training. Run slow, and I mean r e a l l y s l o w. Slower than that, even. Your goal is to build running base, and a great way to do that is through zone 2 heart rate training, which is a PER of 3 or 4, tops, keeping your heart rate around 130…
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I just finished my post-workout shake - a cup of almond milk, a scoop of Body Fortress chocolate, and top it off with a cup of water. Is it as tasty as the myriad flavors from Optimum Nutrition - no. Does it taste okay - yes. At ~$7/pound, it is acceptable to me. ON Whey runs around $13/pound at Bodybuilding.com. (I did…
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Strength training will almost certainly improve your triathlon performance, and definitely will help your cycling. I come from a cycling background, and the incline leg press and squat rack have long been my friends. My current program is based around Mark Allen's 12 recommended strength exercises. Link:…
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I use chopped onion, fresh chopped cilantro, red pepper, and guacamole. And fresh lime juice.
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Garmin FR70, because it comes with the ability to log your data to Training Peaks, BeginnerTriathlete, and Garmin Connect, plus compatibility with the footpod and bike cadence / speed sensors. Add to that fully customizable training zones, a comfortable chest strap, user-replaceable batteries across the board, and you have…
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So, getting off topic a bit, but when it comes to HR zone training to build base, what systems/programs do you use, and why? It seems there are five or six different standards, which, when the dust settles, all seem to give me the same endurance/zone 2ish training range, from 130ish to 150ish (resting HR: 44, Max HR: ~185,…
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Thanks for the feedback. As an update, I went back to the gym, laced up my shoes, and ran a 32:02 5k, which is a personal best by about 15 seconds.
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On the nutrition side of things, I still am combating those last few pounds. For my current program, I adapted the Mark Allen 12 exercise routine into a 15 week program to run me through the first of March, and then I plan to start a more formal, periodic and volumization program that will run and taper properly into my…
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I'm interested in this topic, too, and I haven't done any major research. From my own personal experience, I would say that they compete with each other, but are not mutually exclusive. I finished P90x about two months ago, and I lost about 18 pounds on the program; of that, based on estimates, my body fat went down about…
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A couple of things: HRM vary; good ones vary less, but a 3-5bpm margin of error might be in place. A 10bpm drop in ten years seems reasonable, depending on how you were training. The classic formula (which isn't 100% perfect by any means) for max HR is 220-age, so a ten year age increase with a 10bpm drop is not out of…
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My wife and I met on Match.com; I had recently moved to Chicago, had no friends, a reasonable decent job; I was at 296lbs, she was at 330lbs. We met, went out for Chinese, saw a move, and six months later I proposed. Be yourself, realize that the physical is only a very small part of the whole, and put yourself out there.…
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This /\ /\. For me, my macros break down 40/40/20, which works out to about 180g of protein per day. Regarding the Bodymedia device, my wife loved hers, but ultimately dropped it since, after 6 or 8 months, the data simply gets redundant. It's probably better than the FitBit, but neither will replace a HRM for accurate…
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I'm 6'2", currently 186lbs, with a goal weight of around 170lbs. That should put my body fat % right around 10%. I may go a bit lower, but that should give me the abs and definition I want. My original goal was 240 (from a starting point of 296), and then 220, then 190 . . .
