So, I decided that I need to "get up off the couch" and do something with more exercise. What better idea than to do a triathlon, right? I'm trying to convince myself to enter. It's in early december, so I would have time to train between now and then. I'm not in horrible shape, but I could be better. I'm down 35lbs, down to 255ish. I guess I just need convincing that I'm not just wasting my time and that i'm going to make an ass of myself in the process. HELP???? :faint:

Great PiX.

I am getting banded on Friday, so wish me luck! My DR says I can return to training the day after the surgery- Hope is is true.

KatW

OH gosh...GOOD LUCK!!!! Hope all goes well.

Back to training the day after?????????? What the heck??

I think you will have to just walk a little the first week then the second week you will feel much better. I would think the 3rd week youd be ready for reg exercise.

LEt me know how it goes. I am away for the weekend but i will be thinking of you Friday!!!!!!

Holy cow!!! I just got back from the course preview of my Tri which is next Saturday. The lake that we're swimming in is 60 degrees right now. I didn't have a wetsuit with me, but I will have one for next Saturday. The water was soooo cold!! Even those with wetsuits complained. I swam with them and they thought I was crazy. Just slightly! We only swam about 400 yds. Then we rode the bike course. It does have a few hills in it. My training path doesn't have hills, so it was a new wrinkle for me. Then we ran the 5k course. There is a big hill on the course. You hit it at the 1/2 mile mark and don't really get over it until 1-3/4 miles. My training path is flat! It hurt. I am so glad I did this today. I now have a mental picture of what it is I need to "overcome" in order to be successful. I am done T - R- Y -ing and now I'm T - R - I - ing!!!

I'm tired, but it's a good tired. Next week at this time, I will be a Tri athlete. You can do it if I can!!!!!! Good luck!

OH gosh...GOOD LUCK!!!! Hope all goes well.

Back to training the day after?????????? What the heck??

I think you will have to just walk a little the first week then the second week you will feel much better. I would think the 3rd week youd be ready for reg exercise.

LEt me know how it goes. I am away for the weekend but i will be thinking of you Friday!!!!!!

Thanks! i needed to come back to some words of support! I am feeling great- no lie! I recovered really fast. My anesthesiologist used methadone instead of morphine -I got to kick my heroine problem at the same time as getting banded. Apparently, the recovery is easier with methadone. Who knew! I walked 60 minutes on friday, and 4 miles yesterday. Holy cow! My doctor decided to change his mind about full exercise when he remembered who he was talking to. So now I can do cardio of my choice- no weights, no swimming. He freaked me out before surgery by calling me smal. I said," Small for a fat person small?" He laughed and said,"If you want to phrase it that way!"

I wasn't sure how I would feel about what I did, but now that I have done it, I know I have made the right choice.

Looking for some tri dates so I will keep you posted about my training.

KatW

Holy cow!!! I just got back from the course preview of my Tri which is next Saturday. The lake that we're swimming in is 60 degrees right now. I didn't have a wetsuit with me, but I will have one for next Saturday. The Water was soooo cold!! Even those with wetsuits complained. I swam with them and they thought I was crazy. Just slightly! We only swam about 400 yds. Then we rode the bike course. It does have a few hills in it. My training path doesn't have hills, so it was a new wrinkle for me. Then we ran the 5k course. There is a big hill on the course. You hit it at the 1/2 mile mark and don't really get over it until 1-3/4 miles. My training path is flat! It hurt. I am so glad I did this today. I now have a mental picture of what it is I need to "overcome" in order to be successful. I am done T - R- Y -ing and now I'm T - R - I - ing!!!

I'm tired, but it's a good tired. Next week at this time, I will be a Tri athlete. You can do it if I can!!!!!! Good luck!

I did ONE race in 60 degree water-NEVer,NEVER AGAIN!

KatW

lol.

glad your doing ok Kat.

60f is COLD. Biggest prob i had was getting my face in the Water without swallowng it all.

What stroke do you all use? I have shoulder issues that make the american crawl (freestyle) difficult. I am primarily a breast stroker, as was my specialty when I swam on a youth swim team. It is the power stroke, but it isn't nearly as fast as the Am. crawl. I also have a backward frog (inverted breast stroke) that I use on my back when I get tired at all.

I got my wetsuit today and took it over to the city pool and practiced with it. It sure makes me alot more bouyant. I am getting more excited every minute!!! I hope Saturday goes well!!!!!

Kat, did you have a wetsuit on when you swam in 60 degree water?

I train on all 4 strokes. I race with free, unless I am sucking. Then I do whatever works. Sorry about the shoulder.

And YES I did it WO a wetsuit. I was very cold, but I think my layer of fat stood me in good stead.

i swim either front crawl or breast stroke. The Water was so cold that i had trouble doing crawl as i couldnt get my face under.

I ended up doing breast stroke with my face kept out the water.

Ppl do all kinds of strokes out there. Side stroke is extremly efficent too.

I'm no longer just training for a triathlon... I did it!!!! What an incredible experience!!! I will write more about it later. Just wanted to send you all a note that you can do it too!!!! What a freaking rush!!! The water was cold and was definitely the biggest challenge. Afterall, you must swim. The alternative is not attractive.

Good luck to you all!!! I am going to another on July 12th. Peace, out!!!

Edited June 22, 200818 yr by UT LB Loser

Congrats!!!! Your now a Triathlete!!

I have one on july 12th too!

Yipee! You have gotten the bug and it is a lifelong disease. i can't wait to hear the details.

Boy, my calves are sore today!!! It is a good hurt! I know I'll feel better tomorrow. Today it is a reminder of what I put my body through yesterday. I have NO REGRETS! Well maybe one, I'll explain that later.

It was a beautiful day to race. Clear and warm, mid 80s at start. I got my transition set up just like I wanted. My wetsuit went on without a hitch. I made my way down to the water, which seemed a lot warmer than last week at the course preview. Of course, I did that w/out a wetsuit! The Sprint started 20 mins after the Olympic start. I started out with Freestyle, eventhough it isn't my strongest stroke. After a minute or so, I switched to breast stroke. Stay with your strong stroke. Don't worry about how quickly the others move. When I got to the first buoy, I looked back at the beach. Wow, that's a long way back. Wait, it's a long way to the next buoy. The course was set up in a triangle. However, the start and finish were about 100 yds apart. I finally found my groove and breathing rhythm. I was passing others. It felt good!! About 20 yds from the shore, I swam upon a swimmer. My head came out of the water and he was right in front of me. I yelled, "Hey bud, are you ok?" He was on his back and not moving. I grabbed his arm and he didn't move. I knew something was wrong. I started yelling and lifted his head further out of the water. I held him as long as I could while treading water. I yelled to someone else to help me a take him from me. In a few more seconds a gal dove in from the shore. I think she was with the organizing team. The boat got to us at about the same time. The 2 folks grabbed him and put a floatation device under him. they swam to shore and started rescue treatment. I made it to shore and ran by the scene. I was freaked!!

I got the suit off and tried to get ready for the bike as fast as I could. I was directly across from the scene and kept looking for a good sign. I grabbed the bike and left. Wow, what a traumatic scene to bike away from. My friend did not see me leave the area and I worried that she would think it was me with the problem. But I rode away as the ambulance came into the park.

My ride went ok until I got my chain caught between the middle and small ring on the front chain ring. I was shifting to an easier gear while climbing. That stopped me for a minute or two. Got it fixed and climbed the rest of the hill. I started passing some of the riders who had passed me on the hill. The rest of the ride was great. I really tried to push it! I hit 34 mph near the end while going down a slight grade. It was awesome!!!! My friend saw me and yelled as I pulled back into the park. I was glad she knew I was ok.

I'll finish in another post....

Edited June 23, 200818 yr by UT LB Loser

Oh My God! Are you serious? Thank God you noticed. I am amazed you finished the race. You have got to finish this story. Is he OK? Are you OK?

I made my way into the transition area again and started to remove my bike gear. I saw a relay team nearby and asked about the swimmer. One of the guys told me it didn't look good. My heart sank again! The lump got larger in my throat. I was glad to be here doing this, but tragedy shouldn't strike at a fun event! I got ready for the run and headed out on rubbery legs. Wow, it was never that bad in training!!! I got a few blocks into the run and charlie horses invaded my calves! Ouch!!! I stopped and started to pound them out with my fists. I really thought I may be in trouble. I kept walking. I would run about 50 ft and then walk. I finally felt them let up 1/4 mile into the run. I was wiped out! I did run as much as I could. I really appreciated the encouragement from the other runners as they passed me or as they ran by on their way back in. I can finish this thing!!! The hill that kicked my butt last week did it again. I made it to the turn around and knew I was 1/2 way there. Wait, 1/2 was on the bike... I'm almost done!! Push yourself!I wore my number on my arms, but I also had them add my favorite acronyms. On my left shoulder was "JFDI" Just freaking do it!!! The right had "DFL>DNF>DNS" I had to just freaking do it. I walked alot more than I wanted to and ran whenever my calves allowed. I ran across the finish line and exclaimed "I am a triathlete!!!!" I had reached my goal. My friend came up to me and I broke down. A guy had drowned in the swim and I couldn't help him! She told me her experience, which was exactly as I had feared. She thought it was me. She got close enough to see that it wasn't my # on the arm. She still didn't know where I was. After everyone was out of the water, she was still worried. She hoped. Then she saw me ride in on the bike.

I saw some paramedics and asked them how the guy was doing. They said he had a pulse and was responding at the hospital.

I went and gave a statement to the sheriff's office and the race organizer. Wow, what a day!!!

On the one hand I was elated that I had finished my goal. On the other, I was sad that tragedy had struck a family and the entire race.

Edited June 23, 200818 yr by UT LB Loser