TRAINING TUESDAYS: MEET GREG BALDWIN

Greg Baldwin

32

Owner/Trainer Greg Baldwin's Fitness

http://www.gregbaldwinfitness.com/

New York, NY


What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

I am currently training for the Key West triathlon. It includes a 1500 meter swim, 24.9 mile back ride, 6.2 mile run.

What does your weekly workout out look like?

Due to my work schedule, the toughest thing to do is map out a weekly schedule that will allow me to train with the same schedule every week. I am usually free to train during the afternoon hours. I try to focus on my weakest area the most... swimming. I swim about 4 days a week an hour at a time. I typically use my Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday's ( my most consistent scheduling days) to do my bike and run training. Though most triathlons order of events are swim, bike, then run, I usually will start by taking a 6 mile run through Central Park, back to the gym and then cycle for 2 hrs.

What do you think is the hardest part about training and doing an endurance event?

The hardest part of doing a triathlon is maintaining consistency with your personal, work, and social life while doing as much as possible to prepare yourself for the event. There WILL be some aspect of your life that you can't give much time to because of the unbelievable commitment. There are moments when you are completely drained mentally as well as physically. It takes focus, determination, and a strong mind to maintain your sanity throughout training.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

After spending majority of my life as an athlete and competing in intercollegiate sports while striving to pursue professional football; I felt a void in my life for a long time. Though I've had numerous experiences throughout my life, there is nothing that has given me the level of satisfaction and comfort I get from competing in sports.

What advice would you give someone looking to compete

I would advise someone of the time constraints associated with doing a triathlon. I would help them understand the commitment it takes to compete and finish a race. It is extremely important to give each portion of the triathlon the attention it needs and to give priority to training your weakest area. It is rewarding to participate, compete, and finish a triathlon no matter what place you finish in. There is an overall sense of camaraderie you experience from all the other participants who've endured the same obstacles you have to get to that moment. 

TRAINING TUESDAYS: 600 HOURS

Training can be rough. Doing long endurance events is not just a testament to your physical abilites it is mostly mental. This is one my favorite inspiration training videos. Enjoy!

TRAINING TUESDAYS: MEET JAYSON PHILLIPS

Jayson J. Phillips, 30

Software Engineer/Mobile Engineer

New Jersey

Website: http://jaysonjphillips.com

Twitter: @_jjphillips

What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

I am training for 3 rides: Bike the River Valley in July, The NYC Century Bike Tour and the Twin Lights NJ Century ride, both in September. Leisure in nature, these are three 100 mile events that will be challenging in altitude, elevation and terrain. I am also training for three endurance obstacle runs: Mud Run a 6.2 mile run for multiple sclerosis in August, Spartan Super Run 8 plus miles in September and Tough Mudder Tri-State 11 miles in November. These runs consist of obstacles (fire pits, live voltage from wires, etc.) and challenges designed with military influence to test strength, endurance and ability; and usually tons of mud!

What are your personal goals for this year?

I want to complete each event I sign up for, improve my performance each time, and challenge myself beyond my current abilities and step up to the plate. More importantly I want to have fun! I’ve partaken in many bad habits in my 20s. I’ve worked hard to stop and replace most of them with healthy alternatives. As I go along, I want to improve my health and fitness level. These challenges are difficult yet fun ways to do so, which makes them twice as rewarding.

What does your weekly workout out look like?

Right now, I average about 150 - 200 miles per week on my bike, about 7 hours in the gym (spin sprints/climbs, tabata Intervals, boot camp and weights/kettle bells). Since I’m running more now, I’m increasing my runs to 3-4 days per week. I tend to bicycle 4 days a week and gym 4 days a week. The one day I don’t train is Wednesdays. I need that mid week recovery day.

What do you think is the hardest part about training and doing an endurance event?

The hardest part about training is being consistent, especially when athletics is NOT your career. I work about 70-75 hours per week between my main role and side jobs/initiatives. Socializing, family, dating, school - there are MANY potential derailments. You must keep your eyes on the prize, sacrifice some things for your goals. Another thing that’s hard is knowing when to plateau. There’s definitely such thing as overtraining. It has many negative effects like easier susceptibility to injury, actually getting injured and reaching the point of diminishing returns (meaning the more you train, the less you improve and/or the more you actually decline). Listen to your body. Don’t be afraid to plateau. Build some muscle memory, conditioning versus moving on too fast and hurting yourself.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

Health! I feel so much more alive and great physically when competing. It’s also a great form of stress relief. Accomplishment! There’s few greater feelings on Earth, to me, than pushing for a goal outside your comfort zone and getting it done. Camaraderie! Competition breeds friendships, encouragement and rivalries, all which form a positive sphere of challenge and success. You also have a group of folks who understand the training, pain, sacrifice and joy that comes with training, performing, winning, and just completing an event.

What advice would you give someone looking to compete?

DO IT NOW! You’ll get rid of a bad habit or three. You’ll accomplish something you might not have done. You’ll surprise yourself at what you can accomplish. First things first, find a sport that interests you. Give yourself 10 bonus points if you’ve never done it before. Next, watch it on TV, websites, etc and get excited. If you still want to do it, find a team or a training facility and sign up! Then set a couple of goals; short-term, mid-term, long-term. Don’t worry about sucking or anything. Trust me, my initial run times SUCKED. It’s all good. Only place to go from there is up. Lastly, make sure you have fun doing it!

TRAINING TUESDAYS: MEET MELANIE SCHRANZ

 (Melanie is currently on the Anchor house 500 mile bike ride this week)

 Melanie Schranz

Occupation

Project Manager

Titusville, NJ

Twitter: @melanielschranz

www.facebook.com\melanieschranz

What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

I am currently training for the Anchor House Ride for Runaways. This is a 500 mile cycling event, over seven days. The average mileage per day is 75. Its over moderately difficult terrain. The Anchor House is a charity in Trenton, NJ that provides services to youth who are unable to stay with their families, because of abuse or crisis situations. The Anchor House works to reunite youth with their families or assist in exploring adoption and foster situations.

I am also training for an Olympic distance triathlon at the end of July, and numerous 5k's, 10k's and half marathons thrown in there to keep things exciting.

What are your personal fitness goals for this year?

In the past I would be able to rattle off a long list of goals. However, this is a year of rebuilding. Last year, at this exact time I was at peak fitness. I was really happy with my fitness level, how I was riding and running. Then, my cycling partner was involved in a serious accident. He had multiple trauma that kept him out of action for almost nine months. It was startling because neither of us had ever taken that long off from fitness and activities. We were "brought to our knees" by this accident and the follow up care that was needed. As a gesture of solidarity to him during his recovery, I opted to hold off on running and riding until he was ready to come back.

Therefore, this year is a year of rebuilding. I lament the fitness that I lost, and all this comes full circle when I see how slow I am now at running and riding. I used to do yoga several times a week , now I can see my flexibility really took a hit. It's funny how long it takes to build things up, but it takes very little time to lose it all. Now that I am back on the bike (which was especially hard for my cycle partner after the accident), I am focusing on getting my pace per mile to drop. I will get there, but this time off taught me never to take my fitness for granted!

What do you think is the most difficult part about training and doing an endurance event?

Staying focused. We are not a society that is used to waiting. We want and can get things now. Endurance events teach me patience. I have to think in advance about my goals, then I have to map out my training, and then go for it! I've trained for many marathons and long distance cycling events, and you cannot start a month before the event to train. You must gradually build up endurance. That takes time. It takes focus. It takes discipline. Things our current society isn’t used to doing.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

Confidence! There is nothing like finishing an event, a training ride, a long run and feeling like there isn‘t anything I cant do. I think sports has the ability to build confidence.

What advice would you give someone looking to compete?

Say to yourself “You can do it!” My 72 year old mom finished her first 5k a few years ago. She said my running pursuits inspired her and she wanted to be part of the fun. So she signed up the whole family, from her 5 year old grandson, to my 70 year old dad and all ages of family members in between. We all competed in the 5k (I did the half marathon). I just remember thinking as she crossed the finish line, "she didn't over think this, she decided she wanted to do it, and she did it". I was extremely proud of my mom. Recently, my 89 year old neighbor started walking around the block and now goes four times around (it's a very big block) and decided to sign up for a 5 mile race. When I hear someone say, "I can't do a 5k etc.” I think you can do it! As athletes, we should never forget how much what we do inspires others. We may not think we are very fast, talented or even worthy of being called an Athlete but what we do inspires others. That is the best reward I get from competing.

If you are an endurance athlete I would love to hear from you! Please email three photos and the answers to these questions. Along with your name, age, occupation and city to paparoxi.com@gmail.com! Happy training

TRAINING TUESDAYS: MY TRIATHLON ADVENTURES

Hey Roxnation! So keeping in the theme of health related topics we are starting Training Tuesdays. Every Tuesday we will highlight someone that is training for a race like a 5k, triathlon, marathon, biking event ect. Hearing the stories of people in training is really what inspires my workouts daily. I will admit, when I see a face book update or a tweet about someone who finished a training session and I haven’t done mine yet I get a little envious. So to kick off training Tuesdays  I will give some insight to my own training experience:

 

 

Khaleeqa Rouse

Age: 26

Occupation: Media Consultant and Blogger

Location: Tri-state area

What event(s) are you currently training for and what does that include?

I am currently training for my main event this October which is the Pocono Ironman 70.3. This consist of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. I also am going to compete in Steeelman triathlon and do the Olympic distance which is a .9 mile swim, a 26 mile bike and a 6 mile run.

What is your goal for this year?

My biggest goal is to finish Pocono Ironman. The task seems really daunting right now since I have had to take several weeks off but God willing I will be able to make it across the finish line. One of my biggest goals was to do a marathon this year (26.2 mile run) if my body is in great shape after the half Ironman I will have a better idea if this is possible.

What does your weekly workout out look like?

Weekly the plan is to do each sport (swim, bike and run) at least two times in the same week. Usually on my schedule I do a swim run on the same day and then bike days are solely focused on the bike for now. In addition I do one brick workout where you do all three or two in the same day. I am sure the intensity will change the closer I get to the race. Also I end up training in the evenings because of work activities but I need to start transitioning that to early mornings so I can get it out of the way.

What do you think is the hardest part about training and doing an endurance event?

The hardest part about training for any endurance event is the actual training. You must stay consistent with your training in order to be prepared. Also knowing when to push yourself and knowing when to rest. Lately I have been having a dehydration issue and so it has been hard for me to retain water, this put my training on halt for several weeks but it was necessary because I really could have become ill if I pushed myself.

What benefits/rewards do you get from competing?

I have become a bit of an adrenaline/adventure/fitness junky so just being on the open road or in the open water is enough of a reward for me. I just love the feeling of training and the vitality I get from it all. It definitely helps to stay in shape. Also I love the community of endurance sports athletes is AMAZING they are some of the best people I have ever met, and we are constantly encouraging each other and pushing each other.

What advice would you give someone looking to compete?

I would say GO FOR IT! Don’t second guess yourself or tell yourself you cant do it because you can. Two years ago I was a coach potato. I could barely walk a mile much less run it and my life is completely different. Secondly I would start training with a team. I decided to do team in training because they provide you with resources and support while you raise money for cancer.

If you are an endurance athlete I would love to hear from you! Please email three photos and the answers to these questions. Along with your name, age, occupation and city to paparoxi.com@gmail.com! Happy training