please help a newbie!!

[andremw]

;D Hello all, my name is Andrea! I am a college student over at BGSU, but I am from Cleveland. My whole family is overweight, and once I stopped playing soccer in 4th grade, I have been too. After watching my mother need a total knee replacement at a young age because of her weight, I decided that this trend was going to end. I have completely changed how I eat, and my exercises. After losing 10 pounds, I have decided I would really like to train to do triathlon some day. I already swim and bike for excercise, and am going to see the orthopedic doctor tomorrow to see if it's ok if I start one of those couch to 5k programs (I broke my leg skiing in Jan., and my knee has been acting up ever since, so I don't want to make anything worse). I heard about you guys from triathlon radio podcast. Anyways, could anyone give me some general times I should be shooting for for each event? My first tri would be a sprint distance. I have no idea how long each portion should take for a newbie. That would be VERY helpful. Also, are there any good groups in the Toledo area? I found one, but it doesn't seem like they do as much as you guys, and I would love a workout buddy. Do you guys do anything on the weekends? I am home many weekends and would love to be around other triathletes. Sorry for the long post! Thanks! Would anyone in the Strongsville/North Olmsted area want to work out on the weekends?

[JenCollister]

Good for you for trying out new things! I hope you get the all clear from your doctor, because you will love this sport (or at least I hope you will).

At the end of the day, there are no rules of thumb for how long a race should take any particular person. You need to try out the distances and see what you can do at each event. From there, guesstimate your finish time. Or, if you have a particular race in mind, check out prior year results to get a flavor for the range of times.

Our weekly workouts are posted on our main web page. www.clevetriclub.com Come join us anytime (of course I would encourage you to join the club first, but that is just me being selfish). : )

If you have any other specific questions, let us know. Welcome to multi-sport and hopefully triathlon!

Jen

[jetlink]

Hey Andrea,

Just as Jen said, there are no rules of thumb for how long a race should take you.

So, don't go and put some time limitations on yourself - be your own competition........trust me that this will definately make you really push your limits and improve.....

I'd say that a great idea for you would be to go out, (once you get the Dr's ok of course), and just run a 5K taking in the atmosphere and really enjoying the experience. See if you can start the first half of the run nice and easy and then pick up your pace just a touch in the second half. Now, take this result and then that will become your 5K time to beat the next time you go out for a race..............when you beat that 5K time of yours you will feel GREAT - no matter if you finish first or last.....it won't matter because you just beat your goal and that will be a great accomplishment and it will set-up another barrier for you to go after in the subsequent races.

Good luck and have fun!! Welcome to the Cleveland Triathlon Club!!

[Mickey Rzymek]

Andrea,

Thanks for reaching out to the tri community.

My son , Chad is currently a Sophmore at BGSU.

I also get involved in a number of races in the CLeveland Metor area including the Greater Cleveland Triathlon, which will be held August 9 & 10, 2008.

We also had approx 6 students from BGSU participate in the both the race and the training sessions leading you to the race.

The tri club also has string membership base in the Stringsville area.

Please send me an email to [e-mail] and I will send you some additional information.

Mickey Rzymek

[JMcAbier]

Andrea,

First off, welcome!

Secondly, there is no need to worry about finish times, especially at your first event. You will get a better understanding of what your personal goal time will be once you get more and more into training (you'll realize how long it typically takes for you to swim, bike, and run the distance.)

Each race is always about finishing, regardless of the time, that is what is so GREAT about the triathlon community.

[sarajean]

Welcome!

I'm one of the slower, heavier members of CTC, and I agree with PP: The only "target time" about which you need to be concerned is the time the finish line closes. If you're doing the sprint distance of an event with an Olympic or half-Iron distance, that should not be a problem.

Also, if running is too much impact for your knees, you can get away with speedwalking the run leg of a triathlon. Some people wear themselves out on the swim/bike and end up doing an unplanned walk. If you plan to walk, you'll probably have company.

[keaveny]

Andrea,

Try www.teamtoledo.com

Their forum isn't nearly as active as this one but I have found some helpful information when I went to Toledo for work and brought my bike along.

[debbie]

Andrea, the multisport community is great around here. you can find many supportive people of all levels.

I have competed in the "athena" class for the last 5 years. (I'm a former Plus Size Model! ) My first 5k I ran/walked. its all about doing it, the finish, the accomplishment, Time is only a Bonus. Every race I've done, I look at the results from the bottom and there I am, not too far from the bottom. It doesn’t matter for me.


Sometimes finding the courage to start is harder than the race it’s self.

I live in North Olmsted and work out with a couple ladies (another former plus size model ), so we understand and we always welcome new company. Feel free to email me privately if you'd like. [e-mail]

debbie