How should I train? Follow a training plan or train hard?

Check out some of the winter maintenace plans that BT has- they are great to follow in the off season because they provide structure and there's plenty of options.

Also, try to look for some road races, 1/2 marathon, or marathons (not sure what your run fitness is like) to do in the off season.  That will give you a goal to work toward before your tri, since June is a long way from now.

Good job training- just make sure you train smart and don't over do it.  You definitely don't want to burn out or get injured before your tri!

Thank you, I will check out the winter maintenance plans. I live in Canada so unfortunetly there are no races in the winter.

We are actually going in a Duathlon about a month from now, but that will be the only race we will be going in until the next summer season. I might have a few other races before the tri in June though.

Thanks again for your information.

Definitely find a plan to follow; the winter maintenance ones here are solid and will help you build fitness for next season.

As for racing over the winter, here are some of the things that you may be able to find:

• Cyclocross
• Cross Country Running
• Lots of 5/10k's available - Run for the Cure, Santa Shuffle, Resolution Run (check Running Room website, RunPEI, etc)
• Half Mary - Hypothermic Half in Feb (Halifax)
• Master's swim meets

There used to be some aquathons around but haven't seen any the last few years.

Good luck, hope to see you around next season (or maybe at something over the winter),

Shane

Thanks all for the information. I guess I just stayed away from the thought of winter maintenance because I don`t want to maintain I want to keep gaining and gaining.

gsmacleod, me and my buddy are actually going to Bridgewater for a Duathlon on October 19th, so that should be a good start to see where we stand.

I will have to get a membership and start myself on a training plan, because right now we are just training hard pretty much all the time. We have had huge gains and its great, but we might as well go with something proven, it should work much better.

What are the different heart rate ranges that people talk about, like Z1 Z2 etc....I`ll have to do some reading on that..

Thanks again everyone

I think if nothing else the "plans" build mental toughness.  If you go ad hoc, you do what you feel like doing that day.  If you use a plan you need the discipline to follow it, and follow it long term.  I know this is a skill because I was never able to follow a plan for more than 6 weeks when I was in my 20's.  Now I am more patient (still working on it though) and it is paying off so far.  To do something like a marathon or IM (do it well) you will need to follow a plan...unless you are just super in tune to your body (which is doubtful since you havn't actually put the body through these events yet).

 Another benefit is the excitement of planning your day/week around your workouts.  Your plan is like your friend...only it doesn't ever talk you into bad ideas like "hey, lets ride our mountain bikes for 7 hours today instead of a 3 mile recovery run".

Thanks for that sax, I hear ya...I think one of the best reasons to follow the plan might be because of what you just said...it makes you push it when you should push it and take it easy when you should take it easy...and not just do what your body feels like doing that day.

I guess i`ll have to take a better look at the training plans, because the ones I saw all seem to be either way too slow/short for my fitness level or too high...I`ll have to dig deeper I think...

Thanks again

BikerGrrrl - 2008-09-17 2:13 PM Hey Mig.  Are you sure there are no running races in the winter?  I'm in Minnesota and at roughly the same latitude.  We have all kinds of road races throughout the year.  Check out active.com.  I bet there's at least a 5k over Christmas or New Year's.  Or are you Canadians smarter than us in Minnesota?

 I think we're far less intelligent.  I know of a 50 mile self supported resolution run followed by a polar bear swim.  There's an optional second lap if you feel it's not challenging enough.

That is true, I guess I will have to go through the plans and pick the best one for me..for the level I have already reached in my training.

Thanks...and I think i`ll stay away from those polar swims, lol

Thank you very much for your post. Swimming is definitely where I am hurting...We just started training for swimming about 6 or 7 weeks ago and I haven`t been swimming for years...so its a slow start, but we are working at it. We were looking into Total Immersion but the closest one to us is about 16 hours away... so we`ll see if they will come to us if we can get a big enough group together.

Our first race is a sprint, at this point I have no worries in the world about not being able to finish it...the only thing holding me back from doing one today would be my swimming...(blah, so hard to get going with that).

I will have to go through all the plans and see which one works better...but none are very very long..so should I complete one and go one to another one, and another one until my first sprint???

Thanks for the input KML, great advice from experience.

Thank you jsnowash, we were actually thinking of going to 4 times per week...and I think we probably should because we are hurting on that aspect that is for sure!

I was wondering if it might have been Riverport; I haven't done that race (not sure about this year) but I've heard great things about it.

The key thing you want over the winter is to continue to make gains but to do so in a logical fashion; the winter maintenance plans will definitely help you continue to see progress, especially if you are new to this.  The biggest return for novice athletes is just being consistent so you would be doing more than maintaining.

I would definitely look into masters swimming over the winter; you mention that as a weakness and swimming with others (and with a coach on deck) will likely prove invaluable.

Good luck in Riverport, I might see you there,

Shane

If you want to work on your swimming, I highly recommend this book.  It's waterproof so you can set it on the side of the pool and has some really good workouts.  It also has a schedule to follow, so you can work on drills, endurance, and speed.

http://www.all3sports.com/product_info.php?pName=workouts-in-a-binder-swim-workouts-for-triathletes