Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 115)

Oooooh! Must be pretty motivating to have that poolside! I don't know about other women but I will always work harder for eye candy! Rode with bike buddy at 4:45 this AM and, oddly, it went pretty well. Actually almost enjoyed it. Maybe part of my problem with biking is that I always do the long bike the day after a long and/or hard run AND swim!  We kept track of animals being transported on motorbikes: chickens, double-decker chickens and ducks, bunnies, snakes, piglets, and finally a triple-decker turducken (turkeys in top cages, then ducks, then chickens sort of folded up at the bottom).

Run after went well but have had a headache on and off ever since I stopped--hoping it's just heat-related and not getting sick. Doing errands downtown (with heat index about 110) hasn't helped. Too tired to do "workout" but wanted to get in pool and cool off so I just did easy swim, drills, kicking, etc. for 2000m while my friends' kids frolicked. This has been the week of quantity over quality LOL. Something tells me the 90-minute run tomorrow is not going to be too swift either. Oh well, "recovery" week approaches!

I wouldn't go to squad without that additional 'motivation'!

Hi. I am planning my first HIM within this year!!! Is it possible? I hope to get the right tools from joining this group

I am bikeing indoor/outdoor,swimming (indoor)open water from june, general fitness and running 2 times per week.

Looking forward to be here...

Sanne Baden. Denmark.

Hi Sanne,

Welcome and God Dag (spelling??? Don't speak Danish but have taught some kids from there.) Assuming you're healthy and determined, I think anything is possible. Many of us are following (more or less, some of us more and some of us less!) the free beginner plan on this site. It starts with fairly modest amounts of swim/bike/run and builds gradually. If that looks like too much, you could start with a shorter distance plan and then build up to the HIM one.  I'm also working up to my first HIM after two years of shorter tris and many years of distance running. For me, the main challenge has been building up the bike distance; for others, it might be confidence with the swim distance or open water, or run endurance. Just make sure you have plenty of time to build up gradually and stay healthy, and you'll be fine. I've found I tolerate (and enjoy) the longer distances better than training for shorter races with less volume and higher intensity.  Best wishes and happy training!

Karen

I got my last long run in prior to starting my taper for marahton.  22 miles in 3:11:02.  That's an 8:40/mi pace, which puts me :40 slow for my goal race day pace.  I'm hoping that by decreasing volume over the next 5 weeks, I should be able to run marathon at 8:00/mi pace.

I'm looking forward to slowing down on the run focus and put way more emphasis on bike training.  Question:  While I taper, would I harm my marathon performance if I start to build bike miles now, or should I just continue with minimal biking until after marathon?  I've put a bit into this run training, and hope to hit my goal, but the August HIM is just around the corner, and I'm no where near ready on the bike.

Kevin, I agree with HR and would not start a big build on the bike while tapering for your marathon.  Focus on rocking that race and than hit the bike.

I start last eight weeks before HIM today.  Time is starting to accelerate and I get butterflies even thinking about it.  Last weeks bike focus did not go quite as planned due to crappy weather.  I just could not put in that much time on the trainer and only did four rides.  Did get five runs and three swims in so had a very solid week just not so much bike focused.  Even did some speedwork on the track.  I'm looking forward to a 5k race this weekend and would love to do well.

I really need some warmer weather to get out and do some 40-50 mile rides.  I found that those are what really got me ready last year.  Also need to do some swimming in the lake.  It is probably still low 50's and have told myself that no matter what I'm going in by the end of the week.

I'm doing Boise 70.3 on June 9th.  I think you have ten weeks left before Pacific Crest, right?  I switched my recovery week with bike week so am a bit off the schedule. 

I am about a week behind this - my race is June 16th - that sounds like a super solid week, Popsracer. I had my first HIM dream last night - preceded by visualization of ENJOYING the race! I really forgot to enjoy my first big bike ride. I was mainly gripped by terror that I'd get left behind (though the group never leaves anyone behind LOL) . So I'm working on the enjoying thing. I enjoyed my run the next day - but who wouldn't? The weather was ridiculous - 70's, wind, rolling hills, ...nothing but farms and mountains. I'm starting to feel like I can do this, AND seeing how difficult a task it truly is. My daughter is off school this week so I'm taking an extra day off rather than doing the 30 minute bike (though I may still sneak this in if I can) - My blisters are healing beautifully from our visit to the cold river yesterday on a 92 degree day. The hot stones/cold water were like magic! My shoulder seems to be popping less and I think I'll try swimming later in the week. If worst comes to worst I'll be biking a lot this week to let those other two elements heal for next week's heavier load.  I'm babbling, as is the privilege of one on vacation

Still waffling about this week's plan. Some of it is just ridiculous. One's supposed to do a 10K race on Sunday. Uh....I live in a country with no races?? No track, no running trail. Everything's on the road, in traffic, basically. Just refuse to put on the Garmin and run a 10K all out, solo, repeats of the 500m stretch of kinda sorta traffic-free sidewalk/drive that's my "running loop" during the week. Pretty sure I could do an "over 40" PR (did one in my last race when I was sick, after a hard 1500m swim), but at least want a finisher's medal, aid stations, and official time for my suffering.  Did the solo time trial thing once for 20 minutes (the HR test) and I was retching solo at roadside by the end. Not fun.

Think I'll either just do the "recovery week" as is till Friday and put last week's tempo run inside a long run on Saturday, which is about as painful as a 10K race, or do the tempo run as written tomorrow and then some fartkek within the long run. Things get even more fun with the "race simulations"--won't get into it but logistics are, to say the least, challenging given the climate, traffic, and pool hours! Sometimes think I shouldn't even pretend to follow a plan!

I'm six and a half weeks out from mine I think - June 3rd Cairns HIM.  It's too close for comfort now and I feel sick just thinking about it - I got the swim covered, I'll crawl through the run but the bike is scaring me witless!  Just sticking with the plan and hoping that's gonna be enough.

Today doing a 45min bike trainer ride, 30min run and a swim squad session (2.5-3km)

Jo, anyone that can go from 'panicking' (I'm pretty sure that was your word way back in January) on a swim to the mind-boggling swim workouts you do now can do anything, including the bike!  You will conquer it and kick it's a$$, of that I have no doubt.

So I'm in the recovery week 13.  (that's a joke, I'm working just as hard in different areas) I see that next week is a swim focussed week.  This may be a dumb question, but I like running and biking as well.  How important is it to swim focuss, and cut out all the other workouts?  What if a person was to just add one or two more swims to the 2 they already do?

I know exactly how you feel and I struggle with the focus weeks but to the extent that you can endure them they can be of great benefit especially the swim week.  If you have been swimming one or two days a weeks and do four swims you will be amazed with how the extra time in the water translates to a better feel for the water.  I think you could probably swing that without disrupting your running too much.  The goal of the swim focus is to devote that extra time to technique improvement so maybe back off on the bike if time is an issue.

THANKS!!!!!  I'm fine so long as I'm busy working/training or whatever, it's when I sit and have time to think (a rarity thankfully, that the panic sets in.  This week's training calls for a 2 hour bike again at the weekend and I'm off to the track again to really smash it.  I want to try and get my average kph up to 30.  Last week it sat at 25kph but I did all that practice stop/start business.  Not doing that this week, will just crank out the two hours, then maybe at the end do a ten mins stop start practice.  I have to run 25mins before and after - WTF!

I love this plan - except recovery weeks where I feel like I'm slacking off and I get bored and have too much time to think!

Good luck with the bike--I can't imagine being able to do 2 hours at 30 kph--it would be an all-out race effort, and even then, not sure I could do it. Maybe on a real road. I still have to reallly focus to stay above 25 kph. Think I am just naturally slow on a bike--the other kids in our neighborhood always blew by me on bikes, but I could outrun them all, as long as the race was long enough!

"Recovery week" not going that well. Last two days have been very low energy and something I ate last night was apparently not a good idea, so I feel worse than when training hard. Not sure if it's physical or mental--I always feel better for hard workouts than easy ones! Going to get to bed early and see if I feel better tomorrow. 1000m time trial tomorrow is going to be fun--we've had triple-digit heat for a few days and now the (solar-heated) pool is bath water. This is always the most difficult time of year as heat/humidity skyrocket before rainy season starts in May.

Recovery weeks (and taper weeks) can be tough mentally and physically.  I always look forward to the rest but I start to stiffen up if I'm not active.  I feel better the day after a light run than after no run.  So I still try to keep frequency of workouts but cut the duration way back.  It's weird, in the middle of a hard,tough week I wish it was recovery week and in the middle of recovery week I wish I was in that hard, tough week.

I'm finally getting over a case a bronchitis.  It was really bad last week but I can finally breathe normal again.  It really sucks to cough while you are swimming.  I didn't think I could do it but as long as I completed my cough between breathes I managed not to choke on water.

Also got my new Garmin 910xt last night and went for a short run.  I really like it and the data you get on Garmin Connect is pretty cool.  I'm a number freak so gives me lots of data to think about.  I have a ten mile run scheduled tomorrow but might do it today instead to give my legs more recovery time before a 5k race on Saturday.  Depends on the evening schedule though.  Hope everyone has a great training day today.

gcoller - 2012-04-18 7:35 AM Reading some of these posts during my recovery week got me nervous! I read some old race reports and I feel MUCH, MUCH better and recommend the same - 2 min/100yd swims, 17mph bikes, 11 -12 min. miles for the 1/2 mary...I can do that!

You will be surprised how much better prepared you will be than what you think.  I guarantee you will have many, many people behind you. 

Yeah recovery weeks are tough, I know they are necessary, but I feel like I am slacking. Should be pretty well rested for my 10k this weekend - which should be interesting. 

A couple of weeks ago, my wife signed up the family for this 10k and I thought it would be a good idea.  We did one three weeks ago and I figured it would be fun to do another and see if I could PR.

Now, I find out that it is a trail run in a state park.  I have bad ankles, from years of playing basketball, and I'm a little concerned.  Think I'm gonna go with some old stability shoes and take it easy... at least that's the plan.  I have a 12 year-old son that is dying to beat me in a race (came within 5 minutes at the last 10k) - this may be the day that he whips the old man!

Finally a little progress in the pool.  Did my first 1000yd time trial today (actually 1100yds, lost count and did a couple extra 50's) - averaged 1:57/100yds.

Not very impressive for most around here, but a couple of months ago, that average would have been about 2:10/100yds for me... so it's encouraging.

Your son will be whipping you soon enough and it's usually not a reversable trend so I'd hold out as long as I could.  I'd shadow him until the last half mile and than bury him (just kidding, I have great friendly competition with my daughter and alas she is now a faster runner than me).

Great work in the pool too.