kagoscuba

Knowing what I know now, I'd go with a treadmill. I bought an elliptical, and it is just a nice hat-rack now. I moved from elliptical, to treadmill, to running outside. During the winter I have a membership to a gym to use their treadmills. Thankfully, by the end of this month, I'm hoping the snow and ice will be gone, so I can run all the time outside. I could care less how cold it is outside - it's the ice that stinks.

So, my fellow lap-banders who have thought about or do triathlons - what are your goals? My A race is the FL HIM in May. I'll be 20 months from band to 70.3 miles, and I cannot wait. I may not be fast, but I won't quit!! :thumbup: For those of you wondering if you can...stop wondering and start moving...it can be done!! Small steps first though. Walk a mile, jog a mile, run a mile, then it is all just numbers. :thumbup:

Great February for me: Biking - 212 miles Running - 61 miles Swimming 12,000 meters Strength - 3 hours FL 70.3 in May...I can't wait!!! :thumbup:

AZPete...do you do sub-threshold runs for most of your training, or are you out to set a new PR on every run? Did you run longer than HM distance in training leading up to the race? I have a HM scheduled for May, so just looking for general ideas. Right now I am running 6 days a week at a 4,2,4,2,4,4 mileage rate. In a couple of weeks, I am looking to bump those up to 6 and 3.

Yes, I've had people tell me I exercise too much, and they are typically lazy-a$$es. As long as you are not hurt or burnt-out, work as much as you want; caveat - make sure you work up to a certain level...don't try a marathon if you haven't completed a 5k, for example. Yikes, I though tNJ was cold - Montana is insanely cold. I run outside into the single digits, but negative temps? As we say here, fugggedaboutit!! Keep on doing what you are doing, and if you are interested, get a bike and an indoor bike trainer. The bike trainer is about $120.00. It's boring as hell biking in place, but with the temps you described, you don't have much choice.

First bit of advice? Get off the "dreadmill" and run outside. Unless it is below 20 degrees, there is no reason I can see to not run outside. Second bit of advice is to run "sub-threshold." Most beginning runners try to run to exhaustion and burn out. When you finish, you should be tired, but you should not be doubled over gasping for breath, unless you meant to go "all out." If that means running 15 minute miles, then so be it. Better times will come, but not if you "kill yourself" and burn out. I have a signature on my tri site that says, "I run like a gazelle, if it has a lion hanging from its neck." 10 months after I started running, I may need to change that soon. Tonight I ran 2 miles in 16:39; you can get there too; it's just a matter of running smart, not running harder.

Yeah, I'm probably going to hurl, but I've got a 70.3 scheduled for May 17th. The Ford Ironman 70.3 in Orlando, FL. I can't believe 18 months after surgery I'm even thinking about a HIM, but without challenges, what is life but another boring day in the office? :shades_smile:

You are welcome! :wink2: I started exercising 4 days after surgery, per my doctor's recommendation. Ab exercises 2 weeks later, full weights after 6 weeks. I started easy on the elliptical machine. From October until April I was doing elliptical, weights, and ab work 4-6 days a week. In April I started mixing in running and biking - slowly. In July I started swim workouts, and I have now quit my gym and am doing biking, running, and swimming (local Y) on my own, as well as weights at home. My suggestion is to take it slow. I did not fall out of shape in a year, so I can't expect to be back in top form in a year or less. Make planned improvments methodically and don't increase exercise amounts (time, weight, effort) more than 10% at a time, then allow for that increase to stabilize for a minimum of one week before increasing again.

One additional picture. This was taken 366 days after my surgery. It was during the Jerseyman Triathlon

wow...you all certainly know how to make a fella feel great!! Thank you very much for all of the extremely kind comments!! We can and will achieve greatness together.

Last September This July It has been an amazing journey. :redface:

Thanks Lulu! Yep, I have an end-of-season Tri scheduled for 10/12. Depending on babysitting, I may not be able to make it though. My wife is going to Boston that weekend, and our normal babysitter flaked out by telling me this morning she can't make it on 10/12. Hopefully, something will work out, because races don't give refunds and I've already paid my entrance fee.

I'm in! goals for October are 12k meters of swimming, 200 miles of biking, 50 miles of running.

Most people are capable or waking up and exercising for one hour before glycogen stores from the day before are depleted and the body starts using itself as fuel. That being said, I and many others hate working out on an empty stomach, and that can affect you too...just not as much physically as you might think. It is best to get low sugar food into you prior to working out. When I do tri's (they almost always start early and I have to arrive at 0-dark-thirty to set up), it's bananas, Clif bars, Peanut Butter, and some Water to get me fueled. The worst thing to do is start eating or drinking high in sugar items, as they will give you an initial spike, but if you have continued exertion will cause your blood sugar to crash, thus making you feel lethargic or faint. I learned this the hard way, as I learned Gatorade as a pre-race drink is the LAST thing I should have had. Of course with the training I do, I do not follow the band regimen "eat three times a day" strictly either. I eat five small meals a day, in order to be ready for my afternoon workouts.

Thanks!! :thumbup: 5k's are a lot of fun, and the atmosphere is typically pretty cool. Don't be nervous and run your own race. In triathlons we have a saying, Don't not Finish, Don't finish last, Don't not start; if you start your 5k, even if somehow you do not finish, you are already ahead of 95-99% of the people you know overweight or not. Careful though...it gets addictive. I started with 5k's, just to finish, and now I am doing 5k's for PRACTICE. :drool:

A little disappointing (from a run perspecetive), but here are my race results Jerseyman Triathlon Place: 135/195 Swim Place: 78 23:13; T1: 4:08; Bike Place:104 1:14:56 MPH 15.6; T2: 1:19 Run Place: 178 35:17 Pace: 11:23 Total Time: 2:18:51 Age Group Place: 19/22 M35-39 Male Racers Place: 95/122. Race Day – Got up at 5:00 and onsite by 6:00. I had a cereal bar, sugar free red-bull, clif bar, and Gatorade by 7:00. Lots of room in transition, and it was not crowded at all. “Pool” opened at 7 for pre-race warm-up. Water temp was 74, but it was still a shock at first. I could not breathe at all for my first few strokes. Finally got my face into the water more and got a decent rhythm going. This was, by far, the best decision I made all day - to do the practice swim. I got out of the water at 7:15, as the race was supposed to be at 7:30, and there was supposed to be a pre-race briefing. Neither happened. At 7:30, I got back in the water, as it was apparent we were not swimming for awhile, and I wanted to get reacclimated. Out again at 7:45 (not a lot of swimming…just bobbing and getting used to the water). Around 8 we did a wade in start and somehow I ended up front and center. This did not bother me at all, other than thinking, “how did I get here, when I intentionally went to the right of everyone?” The moment was lightened, when a little girl yelled out, “Don’t stop swimming daddy!!” Great advice, huh? Swimming went pretty well, other than the occasional stop for those who swam in front of me and cut me off. One additional nag point was I guess the volunteers drove a boat close to us, and our glass flat lake had sudden rollers in it. I thought a storm (it was raining) had suddenly hit us or something. It was a bit disconcerting, but it went away quickly. I did get a good feeling once, when I realized I was swimming fast enough for someone to draft off me. This one guy stayed glued to me for at least ½ the race, but I lost him after the final buoy, when I turned it up a little. I was shocked, as I exited the water and my watch said 22 minutes and change. I thought for sure I had swam faster than that. I’d say the course distance was off, but a 22 YO woman from Philadelphia finished in 15:57…that’s just unbelievably fast to me. I guess my extra minute or so on the official time was running to the timing mat. I had a good 75-100 yard sandy run to the sidewalk, then decided to walk a little to transition, as it was still a ways away. The crowd was pretty supportive with us too. I did pretty well in the “changing” part of transition, and most of my time was running/walking into and out of transition. I did run my bike to the mount point though, even in my bike shoes, as I realized before the race it was all grass, and the cleats would not be so unwieldy on grass. Oh, and the weather was 65 and humid, when it wasn’t raining. I had planned on putting on another shirt (was wearing sleeveless compression shirt under wetsuit on swim) in T1, but left it there, as I was plenty warm enough. Wetsuit came off easy enough too. Onto the bike. Oh, those first few miles were hell. I had a splitting headache (back of head), and I did not feel like riding hard at all. In fact, I felt woozy and lightheaded for the rest of the day after the race. I got some Gu into me (powdered mix in water), and I started to feel a bit better. Steady rain started falling, and taking turns and downhills fast was a bit freaky. Some downhills, which I knew were straight I hammered at full speed, and others I braked quite a bit. About halfway into the ride I started to feel good, and I steadily increased the pace. I stopped to help another athlete who had a flat (gave him my spare), but that only cost me 20-30 seconds, and I knew I wasn’t winning any medals anyway. I was hammering the last few miles, as I felt strong, and I knew the end was near. I got into an easier gear about a mile out and started spinning, to get the legs ready for the run. I got to the dismount area, jumped off really nice, and ran my bike to T2 – the run to T2 felt great. Got into T2, and thought I made awesome time. I had already put my race belt on in T1, so T2 consisted of: run in, rack bike, change shoes, run out. Nothing too special. About 50 feet into my 5k run, my mind told me, “This is going to suck.” Now remember, my run off the bike into T2, felt great, legs were not beat up or anything, or so I thought. I jogged/shuffled for the first 1.5 miles, then started to walk/run for a minute each at a time. My hips were killing me, which is not a pain I have experienced before in training. I felt like I had nothing left, and my run time definitely suffered. If it hadn’t been a race or if I did not keep on getting support from other runners, I may have bagged it, had it just been training. Wrong thing to do, I know, but I was not doing well physically or mentally on the run. Summary: Swim Goal: 20 minutes; Actual 23:13 – not too worried about this, as distance could have been off (that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. J ), and I was firmly MOP for this – expected result. Transition Times: < 6 minutes total; Actual 5:27 – I could have made T1 a little faster, but I could not have done much better on T2 Bike Goal: 75 Minutes; Actual 1:14:56. Hmm...I think I knew how fast I was going to go, huh? J Considering the weather and how I felt in the beginning, I’m pretty satisfied with this. Run Goal: Sub 30 minute; actual 35:17 – What can be said? This time sucks, and I know it. Time for lots of running this winter. Goals for next year – keep on training, keep on having fun, keep on getting better at running.

.6 mile (964 meter) swim; 19.6 mile bike, 5k run. I'm hoping to finish in 2:10 or less, and my HTFU time would be a sub-2 hour time. 2:15 is my top "acceptable" time. :girl_hug: Anyone else getting out this weekend?

Varies by doctor. My doc said 4 days. Without complications this is doable.

How about a threesome? No, get your mind right...I mean swim, bike, and run. Targeted exercise is a myth. There is nothing that'll get rid of the love handles other than consistent exercise or surgery. Genetics play a role too, Even when I weighed 165 at age 20 (top physical shape) I had a small amount of side roll. Swimming is my favorite as it has changed my body the most.

The building muscle to replace fat perception is a myth. A world class athlete would be hard pressed to add 20 pounds of muscle in a year, so a little under 2 pounds a month, and their bodies are genetically perfect for adding muscle. There are no cons to exercise, unless you exercise without a plan and consistency. Even then the only cons are injury and lack of progress. Consistent informed exercise will do wonders.

chris...pools, treadmills, and bike fluid-trainers are your new winter friends. The trainer I have renamed The Ba$tard. Talk about a sweat party...keeping the pace at 90-95+ and no wind to dry/cool you off? Yeah, it'll take some time off of your spring-time road rides. :wink2:

Cardio 4 days after surgery. Weights less than 20 pounds 4 days after surgery. Weights greater than 20 pounds 1 month after surgery. Did Cardio (elliptical) and weights for a few months, then got into running, biking, and swimming. The #1 rule is don't "crush it" every workout. Leave some in the tank, and never progress more than 5% per week. It will build. I went from nothing last year (I'm about two weeks from my band anniversary) to biking 200+ miles, running 50+, swimming 8000 meters+ every month. Everything in moderation. The gains will come through consistent effort.

4 days after for me too, by doctor's orders. He does not play the waiting game for exercise. Other than lifting weights, his orders are "to get to it, sooner rather than later." Weights after one month.