Active/Athletic Dopers: are you training for anything?

My grail this summer is a visit to Clouds Rest. I think it’s one of the best vantage points in Yosemite. It’s easier (?!) than Half Dome, and you don’t have to share the view with the surprisingly large gang atop the dome. One reason–there just isn’t that much room up there!

I’m curious to see what kind of things you guys are getting in shape for.

I’m not as active as I’d like to be, but I just signed up for a 50 mile charity walk in September. Oof. I am going to have to train up for that, but it should be fun. I’m also interested in getting back into running shape, I ran a piddly 5k road race in 2005 and then… things fell apart. I want to do that! I want to be a runner! I just have to translate want into do and stop making excuses.

Your challenge sounds a lot more interesting. I hope you make it!

heh. summer. Swimsuit.

I have my first triathlon of the season on Sunday. It is a distance I’ve done several times before so I’m not too worried about it. But… this September I’ll be doing another which will be twice as far as anything I have previously attempted.

My team’s still trying to decide what our “big” races are gonna be this year so I’m not training for anything specific. We’ve got a couple of BBQ regattas the first and third weekend in May but we’re just gonna throw together line-ups. For the big races, we’re deciding between:

Master’s Nationals in August (pros: we have titles to defend, lots of racing; cons: it’s in Oakridge, TN, the most boring town on earth and we were just there two years ago)
The Canadian Henley, also in August (pros: in Canada which is neat and good competition; cons: maybe the competition is too good, it would be expensive, and there are lots of complicated entry rules so not many races per rower)
Head of the Charles, not 'til October (pros: it’s the biggest race in the US; cons: we’ve been the last two years)
There’s another big fall race in California but I forget what it’s called that we’re considering in lieu of the Charles for the fall.

So, we’re always sorta training but we haven’t narrowed the focus down yet.

I’m going to B-School this fall and will be playing for the hockey team again. It’s Division 2 Club, but still a pretty high level of play. I haven’t seriously started training, though I need to,

I’m trying to get ready for the Tokyo Century Ride on May 4.

I always thought girls are more into athletic types, that’s all the motivation I ever needed.

Yep. “Look good nekkid.” Or, if you already look good nekkid, look gooder nekkid.

I’m training for a half-marathon in July and then on to the big one - a marathon in January.

My Wife is training for a half tri in August. And also for a 100 mile ride over three mountain passes in July. Two of them are over 11,000 feet in elevation. The “Triple By-pass”.

She tried a full tri last November in Vegas. But got pulled off the bike course on time. Working towards an Iron Man in Wisconsin in 2008.

Personally I train because its a habit ,mind you I drink beer aswell because its a habit.

Training might be too strong a word, but I do have goals for this summer:

  1. Run a half marathon (just the distance will do; it’s not a formal race).

  2. Match or beat my 1.5 mile time that I had in boot camp (which was 16 years, lots of alcohol and many, many cigarettes ago)

I’m raining for a rock climbing/spelunking trip in the fall. As well as preparing for a few half marathons staggered throughout the summer.

ETA: It’s the running that’s killing me. I took a couple months off.

The Triple Crown of Running , which is a series of races in Colorado Springs. It will culminate with the Pikes Peak Ascent, which is a half marathon with 7,815 feet of elevation gain ending at 14,110 feet… Whew… My goal is 3 hours flat. I did it in 3:21 last year.

Ride the Rockies in June, a century at Whitefish, MT in July, and a century in Death Valley in October. And a 10K yesterday in Lincoln, but I didn’t really train for that (which explains the tight calves this morning).

War.

Half marathon in June, soccer for summer (broke my ankle last year, so still working on pivoting and kicking, etc.) Have ALWAYS wanted to do Kilimanjaro, this summer would be great but probably not feasible, but perhaps next year…

I’ll be going for my 1st degree black belt in Tracy’s Kenpo Karate this summer.

I haven’t been happy with the level of activity at my school so I’ve gone out and joined a second (non-franchised) school where I can go get my ass kicked and kick some ass for a few hours a week so I can be the best black belt I can be.

I’m looking forward to being a black belt. No one outside of martial arts (or really outside of my system) knows any belt levels but black.

To not be fat again like I was after only 3 years of relative inactivity. So that I feel good and look good. So that I don’t get all stiff and achy when I start getting old.

No specific goals right now, though I should probably have one to keep me motivated more. I’ve been slack for about 6 months. Need to get back in training and stay with it. I usually do more weight lifting than aerobics, and need more balance. Maybe a good goal would be to work up to making a run down to the next town (about 13 km) by summer, and there and back by fall.

My usual runs were pretty short most of the time, under 5 km. Went more for intensity than distance. Could use some endurance training. I think I’ve got a new workout plan now.