Home Outseaon November 2011 Group Discussion-Outseason November 2011

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Simmons here checking in for duty.

Hi all,

3rd OS for me.  I had a great year but no IM for me in 2011 because I changed jobs and moved my family from Austin to Dallas.

I place 1st overall in an August, Texas Century ride, 3rd in age group (Sept) Dallas area HIM and PR'd my HIM time under much hotter temperatures.  Placed 2nd in age group and 1st on bike, 2nd on run in the McKinney, TX Oly (Sept.) and PR'd my Oly time.....

I am married, 44 and have 4 kids.  1 girl 12, and 3 boys 10, 8, 8.

I am looking at Buffalo Springs 70.3 in June 2012 and IMFL Nov, 2012.

Buckle your seat belts, NOV OS is typically the most insane group of the bunch!

SS

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Comments

  • Also checking in for duty.

    Did my first IM in WI in 2011, completed and had a great time. Second OS with EN and planning on full Vineman in 2012. Not sure what else I will do this year besides HHH, and various other bike races.

    I have a 14 year old daughter and travel weekly doing cancer research, so sometimes getting in the workout is a challenge.

    Been having hip pain for most of the last year but finally getting an MRI and will go from there. Hopefully nothing will be found that can't be fixed with strength training as I am looking to increase my speed and dial in my body composition.

    Looking forward to to Nov. OS.

    MTL
  • Scholz here checking in.

    Second OS, although was in December last year and it was very rough btwn the holidays and my being on a month long trip (took my trainer and bike, but still), not to mention that it was my first year back to long course triathlon in 13 years.

    Did two HIM in 11, and currently am registered for IMCdA 2012 debating what happens with the rest of the year.

    Married to Debbie (23 years now), three daughters -- Stephanie (21), Audrey (18), and Devon (16), and Skittles (my running dog).

    Look forward to the Pain Cave! 

    Paul

  • Checking in as well. 

    This will be my second OS, but first since probably the first generation of OS plans.  I took about two years off due to some health issues, work, moving, etc.  Now things are a little more settled and my health seems to be about as good as it will get (got a wing/arm that isn't 100%).  My last race was a 1/2 Ironman in 09.  It was okay till the run (4:48 on a very flat course, but hot day).  IMLP in 08 was my first IM and it went much better than expected (10:42).  I'm signed up for IMWI in 12 and would like to at least match if not improve on LP.  FTP and weight have a ways to go to get back, and I also need to get back in the pool some as that is the thing that is most impacted by my arm issues.  So I do need to swim in the offseason at least until I'm sure I've got the technique to go 4K yards without my arm giving out.  

    I've got a very supportive family with a working wife (PhD and works in regulatory affairs) and 2 kids, ages 7 and 4.  My MIL lives with us and helps out a lot, which gives me the ability to train.  That being said, almost all of my training is done before the sun comes up (at least in the winter). 

    Given that I did one of the earliest OS plans, this one looks much more manageable.  That first season had us doing long-ish rides on the weekends and on a trainer it was tough to do. 

     

    Dave

     

  • Checking in. Officially I'm in the Nov OS, but I'll be up front to say it's gonna be a lot of hacking on my part. I'm doing Ragnar Relay in Jan and will need more miles under my belt, so my bike will look mostly like OS, but my run is gonna be something else. This is my 4th time through the OS so I know how to manage my TSS to keep myself from blowing up.
  • I'm in the same boat, er, van as Nemo. Ragnar + OS and training for Ironman Wisconsin. I'm thinking of it as a seriously "run focusified" version.

    Since we start on Halloween, I'm already working on my "Monster Mash" version of the pain cave playlist.
  • Checking in here. OS and power rookie. Long time runner/cyclist, relatively new to the tri-world. I do have one half (Wildflower 2010) and one full (Vineman 2010) under my belt. IMCDA 2012 on the schedule.

    Married with three children (boy-11, boy-9, and girl-3). Very emotionally supportive wife, however, she's pretty busy as a full time RN going to graduate school. So I definitely look forward to the high intensity, low volume nature of the OS. Still in the process of actually constructing my pain cave; but will have it functional by 10/31. The job does allow a bit of flexiblity, so looking to get one of the "big bike weeks" in sometime next spring.

    Looking forward to interacting with everyone.
  • This will be my second OS in the Haus and I am eager to have fun with it ‘cause I am coming in to this with a slightly different perspective than last year. It will be a non-IM year for me but not a quiet one by any measure.

    2012 will be my 4th season doing triathlons and my 9th year running marathons. My plan is to do all the things that ENer’s are encouraged to avoid, like run marathons (Boston & MDI) and do back-to-back weekend races at both Mooseman (Oly & HIM) and Timberman (Sp & HIM). In between I have a 100 mile canoe trip. I also want to get back to some whitewater kayaking, load up for several backpacking trips and hopefully do lots of XC skiing (conditions permitting).

    Carole, my partner of 17 years and I are empty nesters. I have a son Kyle, 26. Carole has son and daughter, 26 and 23. I work in forestry as a GIS Analyst doing mapping and analysis on over 800,000 acres of timberland here in Maine. Carole is an RN and works in the ICU.

    This is going to be "Fun".....
  • Steven- I want to hear more about the 100 mile canoe trip!!! Joe and I have done a few 3 day canoe/camping trips in the Everglades and found it quite challenging and fun. But 3 days was kinda "enough". 100 miles sounds pretty epic.
  • Nemo & Beth, keep me posted on your Run Hacks for the OS volume!!!
  • Will do Patrick. I also plan on taking a big break from running after Ragnar and doing a "Bike Focisified" block to give my legs a break before hitting up IM training for CDA.

    I've finally accepted the fact that we are running out of sunlight and I'm going to have to hit the trainer during the week for a little while. So I did 45 minutes on the trainer this morning just to get my head back in that particular game again before we do the FTP tests! Would rather be on my cyclocross bike out in the woods- but otherwise not bad :-) I've had a really fun year just playing around and it's kinda nice actually to be a little more "focused" again.
  • Checking in

    2nd time thru OS. I've learned a bunch from the haus over the past year. 2011 I conquered HIM and 2012 will be my 1st IM (LP). I feel much stronger and confident in my training abilities entering this OS. I finished last season @ FTP=225 & vDot=43 - goal for 2012 FTP > 250 + & vDot >45

    I'm a pretty solid MOP er. I love competing and challenging myself with new goals. I'm an executive @ a mid size company and have serious "free" time constraints. I'd love to do morning wko's but can't seem to convince myself that a 0330 start time (8:30 bed time) would work for me.

    Family = wife of 31 yrs, 2 sons - 26 & 23, USMC & USAF, both are tri guys (and better than dad in his prime)

    After reviewing 2010 OS - I'm thinking about adjusting my 2011 OS a little - last year around week 13/14 the mental fatigue of trudging downstairs to the pain cave started to weigh on me - up till that point I completed 99% of the wko's and things were going well - my fitness #'s peaked around wk 14 and after that I started taking days off.... I finished off the OS but it was a struggle and I had lost my mojo - I think it was mostly mental fatigue but certainly the physical fatigue was high. This year I'm thinking about going hard for 12 weeks - then inserting a week off for skiing, fun or whatever, then coming back. RnP and other WSM's are always talking about the value rest/recovery - seems to me a down week might allow me to finish strong. Any others considering similar thoughts?


    Anyhow I'm looking for ward to next week.

    Jeff
  • Jeff- I think that sounds like a most excellent idea. You won't loose fitness in just one week and the break will help you regain some needed mojo when it gets to that point in the plan where it just starts to feel like a grind. As for recovery- I think you have to be thinking about rest/recovery every week and not just trying to jam it all into one week. I don't think that's what you meant, but I wanted to be sure I pointed out the importance of rest/recovery inside every week during the OS- especially for the noobes.
  • @Jeff - I think a week rest was added in to the OS training plans that they are currently working on rolling out. Or at least a hack of it.
  • BTW...I'll be doing NOS as well. I joined EN a year ago and this will be my second time in NOS, but I've trained in the EN style for a few years. Up until last year I was injured for most of the previous three years, so my running was really slacking. I had a great 2011 season and hope to follow it up with an even better 2012.

    I'm still mentally recovering from IMWI and not getting much bike and swim time in at all. Running is my weakness and I've been going strong with it through the 30/30 challenge. If it wasn't for that, I'd be doing a lot of sitting around. For 2012 I'm sticking to sprints and olys, and might throw in a marathon in October.

    Looking forward to getting back to structured workouts, but might wait until 11/7 to test, then skip week 2 to catch back up to the group.
  • Checking in

    2011 bought my first (road) bike, start triathlon training in Mar-2011, hence new to EN, first OS Season, did a couple Olympic (PR 2:29h).
    2012 signed up for Cologne 226half (german half- and long-distance championships) in September and like to break Olympic PR by 10-15min in Jun.

    Born 1972, married with a busy but wonderful wife Daniela (PhD pediatric) , living with our 3boys (5/6 & 9y) and our 1 baby girl (arrived mid Sept) in the area of Frankfurt.

    Stopped swimming last month (last 1k Trail 16:55) - I understand now people giving up smoking, swim is the one sport i like most difficult to let it go.
    Otherwise my OS is straight forward but I will need to hack the first week of Jan as I will be off for skiing with my family.
  • Kai, saw your signature block, have you seen this? http://www.jensvoigtfacts.com/
  • Checking in.
    3rd OS with EN. 2011 was a wash and disappointment (skipped IM LP) because of back injury. Looking for a comeback year.
    No IM in 2012 , already signed up for eagleman 2012 and might do timberman as well. Goal is to key of those races to do LP 2013.
    Been doing tri's for 8 seasons mostly short-course stuff just 1 IM and 3 1/2 IM so far.
    Married , 32 with no kids.

    Will be hacking OS quite a bit. I have longish work trip coming up in Jan , and most likely for all of Jan won't be able to bike. Still trying to figure out the details.
  • @ Nemo - We've done 5 trips so far, all in Maine. Our first was in 2005 on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Also did the AWW in '06 and '08. In '09 and '10 we did different sections of the Moose and Penobscot Rivers. Usually we plan on 7 days on the river with an extra day for being lazy or sitting out really bad weather.

    Next year the plan is to start in Old Forge NY and paddle to Saranac Lake and get there in time to volunteer at IMLP. Still need to work out some logistics with an old friend who lives in Jay. Should be a great way to enter the IM scene!

    Of all the stuff Carole had to put up with leading up to LP last year, the one thing that we both missed the most was our time together paddling the days away down some river or the length of a big lake.

    Would you and DH be interested in something like that????? For us it's like winning the lottery in SAUs for both of us!
  • Steve- sounds marvelous! I never thought about paddling to a race before- pretty cool.
  • @roy, That's my default page on my computer.

    Jens should be our hero for the OS bike sessions. 

  • Checking in too,
    This is my third OS, second with power. Looking forward to some big gains on the bike. This will be my first OS not in grad school, so I hope to have more predictable time to train.

    Had a lot of sucess this year, with a focus on swimming. I will still swim on and off in the OS since it is my favorite of the three. 2012 will be my first IM (Louisville) and I am already a little nervous.

    I am married with one daughter (10) and an old dog (16) who is long past running. Looks like the first week of the OS is starting with a bit of snow here, so it looks like I might be inside all winter long.
  • Checking in. This will be my 2nd OS in the Haus, moving up from beginner last year to Intermediate this year. I've done the last 2 IMLOU's and am taking 2012 off from IM. I know I'll be doing the Rev3 Knoxville Half Rev in May so I'll be jumping out of the OS in week 16 and into the HIM plan at that point. Haven't figured out my season beyond that but my plan is to focus on Olympics, I'd like to get 4 or 5 of them in next summer. 2012 will be all about speed for me as I hope to return to IMLOU in 2013 with a huge PR. So I'll have all of 2012 with a short course focus and then the 2013 OS before I dive into another IM plan.

    Really lookin forward to this OS. Last year my training came to a standstill after IMLOU and I basically laid on the couch from Labor Day to the December OS, so I spent 3 months losing fitness and I feel like I didn't really get back into the groove until about week 4 of the OS. This year however, I took it easy for 2 weeks post-IMLOU, but then I was heads down training hard again for a solid 4 weeks before easing up a couple weeks ago. I'll be heading into this OS a little rusty, but nowhere near the gap that I had to make up last year.

  • Checking in for duty!

    I have a couple of years in the haus. My 2011 was a disaster. I got sick and had a hip/quad/adductor injury. I’ve rehabbed (no no no) and am back for another OS. One of my goals this year is to build core—which I think has been a contributor of my injuries.

    I was not planning on starting until December—but rethought this season based on the RnP comments around starting in December. So my pain cave and bike need work—which is my project this weekend.

    I have a wonderful wife (who is still suffering scars from my last IM in 2009) and five kids. I am 45 and live in Lafayette, CA.

    My schedule for 2012 is still wide open—but thinking about Vineman 70.3 as my A race and Wildflower.

    I Don't Always
  • Checking in: I've been pretty much a couch potato since Calgary 70.3. Crushing work travel + house sale = flabby tummy. I've purchased a Ritchey Break Away road bike to train on my travels to the Eastern US, Banff, Australia, and New Zealand during the outseason. I'll take a second suitcase with my clothes and a Cycleops trainer while on the road.



    My big goal this year is to stay consistent and not get swept up in overacheivement and burnout yet again. Do the work and nothing more this year.



    My wife Jane and I this year have registered for IM Canada and my goal is to finish within an hour of her! She's a little faster in the swim, about the same on the bike and faster in the run. I've got my work cut out for me!!!



    Consistency will be key as we are also moving the household from Toronto to Seattle in June. We've planned our drive across the US to line up with IM CDA. We want to spend a couple of days hanging with the EN group and volunteering at the race.



    Jane will start the OS on Monday, but I'm considering waiting a couple of weeks to get my legs back before going all out on the OS.



    Best wishes to all the Nov OS group!

  • Hey everyone - Jane here - second OS - I did calgary 70.3 last summer and knocked 45 mins off my bike and then blew up with heat stroke on the run due to inadequate hydratioin on the bike. meant to do a revenge 70.3 in Muskoka in Sept BUT, got a job in Seattle - so I am here in Seattle and my husband, Elly, is holding the fort down in Toronto until he can move out with Eleanor, our 9 year old, in June.

    We've signed up for IM Canada this year and will be volunteering at IM CDA on our way out to Seattle. Would like to do Calgary 70.3 again - it's a glorious bike (the swim is awful, tho I have to say. V cold and poorly marked).

    i am hoping to achieve the following goals this year

    1) 70.3 in 6:30 or better
    2) FTP approaching 200 (it was 172 last year)
    3) get under 140 lbs and stay there
    4) complete IM Canada and do it in style

    so about me and my family. I am 48, about to turn 49. Married to Elly for 10 years (together for 15). Two daughters - Rachel is 19 and is in her first year of college at McGill in Montreal. Eleanor is 9 and is a competitve swimmer in the 4th grade. I am the VP of Development for the Seattle Symphony. We just sold our house in Toronto and we are looking to buy in Seattle.

    Oh yes, and we have a dog. Charlie the Italian Spinone!

    that's it!

    Cheers
    jane
  •  Your fearless EN Race Director checking in!

    • John Stark
    • 47
    • Live in Danville, CA - 45 minutes east of San Francisco
    • Married 17 years
    • One son who is 9 named Nolan (after Nolan Ryan)
    • I am a:  Stay-at-home-dad / technology hobbyist / EN Race Director / sell other peoples crap on eBay / perpetual leader for Cub Scouts / elementary school tech guy / and ocassional Special Olympics volunteer.
    • 3rd OS ( should be 4 but one year was a fail due to "life" getting in the way)
    • Been EN member since 10/2008

    Yes, I am doing Ironman Arizona in 4 weeks!  But with my knee issue I can no longer run so I am now officially a roadie and duathlete.  I will  swim and bike at IMAZ and then have a long walk for 26.2 miles high-fiving volunteers and cheering on others.  In short, IMAZ is just a "having fun with my fitness" day.  I am already thinking past that race.

    So my OS will be biking and swimming.  If all goes well I will do some early bird noobie crits in late January (no snow where I live) and if that goes well do a bunch of crits the rest of the year with a couple of du's here and there.  At least, that is the plan.  

    Rock on everyone!

  • Ugh, my PF heel has made by vDot go down from 43 in the last OS to 39 - back where I started last year. blerg.
  • I'm checking in:

    2nd OS
    I had a great year last year with PR's in the two races I did (HIM KS, and IMWI). And I did this all with a PF issue, a cross country move (Colorado to Chicago), writing a book, and a new job. I couldn't have done this without EN

    I love the training philosophy.

    This year I wanted a more sane year since last was crazy crazy crazy.

    So... I haven't as of yet picked out my A races. I am thinking of doing KS again and maybe Branson. No need for an IM this year. I want to get to know my new town, settle into the new job, and make sure I have enough time for my family.

    Goals:

    Running speed has always been an issue with me: So... maybe VDot of 49?--from 43
    FTP: from 235 to ?--maybe 260?
  •  Ok, Jenn checking in. This is my first os and first year with power! I've been running for many years, and doing tri's for 4 yrs. I have done IMC twice, in 2009 and 2011, with times of 12:56 and 12:18 respectively. HIMs also in 2009 and 2011, with times of 5:30 and 5:19. Run is definitely my strength, bike is definitely NOT. My little pencil legs do not generate a lot of power and I'm hoping that my time here will help with that! I'm planning kansas 70.3 this June and would really like to bring my time close to the 5:10 range, in the form of a better bike while keeping my run intact. 

    Outside of the tri world, I'm 40 yrs old with an awesome family.... Hubby Alan who puts up with my tri OCD, and twin daughters turning 10 in December. Looking forward to a low volume plan because between them and work, life is busy! We live in wintery Winnipeg Canada, so there will be many long indoor hours ahead! 

    Looking forward to spending the os with the group. Love the positive mojo around here image 

     

     

  • Hello to everyone. Absolute novice here, so first triathlon focused training for me. I became interested in triathlon after doing a few marathons and some long distance cycling (so I will be doing *some* swimming during the OS). I was born and raised in Ohio, but have been living in London for the past 10 years. (Among many many many other things) I'm still figuring out what races to enter during the coming season. Just about to turn 40, and looking forward to getting married next year, so lots to think about. Has been good to get started - looking forward to the next 19 weeks!

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