We Don't Just Tri - We Do (Season 2) - Closed (Page 13)

Hope everyone is having a productive March! Mine started off rough with an injury, but I actually let myself rest instead of pushing myself, and it feels much better. Was able to "cross-train" with some skiing in Colorado this past week, and didn't go overboard on the apres skier, and actually lost a few pounds on the vacation.

I'm back at it today, and I'm getting my bike tuned up today, so I'll have no excuse to enjoy what I hope is a beautiful spring in Mid-Missouri. I joined the local triathlon club, and it has been great to have another forum for questions and inspiration.

Derek,

I think this is the way to go.  I am not a professional athlete, have a day job and 3 active kids.  Excersice is very important to me but it needs to be balanced.  Family, Work and Hobbies is the order I try to follow when prioritizing. 

Armando

DaBen,

When I started I scoured the net for info and inspiration.   BT, Slowtwitch and my local tri club and now my default sources.  Nice aspect to the local club is being able to interact with individuals face to face vs virtually.   It is nice to run into members when I am out and about as well. 

hope you enjoey the nice weather.

Armando

2 questions for the experts:
1. Is 3 workouts of each discipline each week "good" for a beginner? 3 swims, 3 bikes, 3 runs? I have a HM before the oly so I don't want to cut back on the running, and swimming is my worst of the 3 .... so I'm just curious how other people trained for their first oly.

2. I just found another tri the week before my oly, should I do the sprint as prep for the oly the following week? That would get me an OWS beforehand.

Just curious. Thanks for any input!

Just a thought - I find it ironic that Scott Tinley's article on "Wether to Tri" discusses a fatal shark attack and next to his article is one on "4 Steps for Overcoming Fear of the Open Water "   _____/\_____

Hello everyone, 

its been a couple of weeks since I checked in.  I am still moving along with some training but my official training for IM Lake Placed started today with my first run of the 4 month marathon training program.   I will be following a 3:30 Marathon plan from RunKeeper.com.  I selected it because of the speed work it incorporates as well as the recovery runs which I will replace with bike workouts.   I still have to figure out my swimming approach but hope to do most of it in a lake rather than in a pool as was the case last year.    

As for racing, I have made adjustments to the calendar:

Feb
Armando - Colchester 1/2 Marathon - Decided not to do as I was not in running shape and was focusing on the bike.

March:
Armando - O'Hartoford 5k - Ran with my 10 year old son.  My focus here was to pace him so that he could beat his time from last year which he did.   He came close to placing as well which was great given the fact that his age group was 10-14.  Our time was in the 22 minute range.   

April
Armando - Middletown Legends 1/2 Marathon - This event took place this past weekend.  I was hoping for 8 minute miles.  I started a bit too fast and ended up fading.  My longest run so far this year upto that point was 6-7 miles.  I did not have the endurance to keep an 8 minute mile pace much less a 7:30 pace.  Here are the details of the run if you want to take a peak --> http://connect.garmin.com/activity/474995631

Next up is Ragnar Cape Cod which we are doing as an Ultra team.  That should help with building my stamina.  will report back on this one when done. 

Well, it is go time for me.   less than 4 months to my A race.   

Looking forward to hearing about the progress towards your goals. 

Armando

Hope everyone is happy and healthy.

My first Sprint of the season is coming up on May 4th - just weeks away.

I have had a few set backs to training- daughter hospitalized for 2 days, doctor appts, a pulled/strained achilles tendon ( aging sucks!) and to add injury to insult - another stomach flu BUT I am still intent on training. I reworked my schedule tonight to focus on swimming and bike to give the achilles some more time to heal. My real test will be over spring break to try and be consistent with training. The good news is that there is a great aquatics center next to where we will be staying and I hope to get in some good morning laps.

After June I will probably switch to an Oly plan to increase my performance. 

I am not sure if I updated my schedule but it looks like this

April 26 - Donate Life 5K

May 4 - Spring Sprint Triathlon Mission Bay

May 10 - Tour of Long Beach - 30 mile ride

June 8 - Redondo Beach Tri - sprint

July 12 - June Lake Tri - sprint ( this is TBD - elevation is 7600ft)

August 17 - Long Beach Tri - sprint

August 23 - Mammoth Mud Run

October - Seal Beach Tri - this was my first triathlon last year so I have to beat my previous time

Dec 7 - HITS Palm Springs  - going to try for the OLY distance 

I will probably do an occasional 5K or mud run ( the family loves these) here and there and if I like the bike tour, perhaps do a few of those as well. I am finding if I register for a race, it really motivates me to keep training. 

Love to hear how everyone is doing. Thom and Armando the Ragnar races seem incredible , are you blogging about your experiences?

I am two weeks out from my first Tri! I'm feeling great and injury free (knock on wood) I toned down last weeks training because I was feeling some pain in my shins during long runs, but a little rest was all I needed to get a PR on distance last night (6 miles)! I'm down 10 lbs since starting training in January, and I'm feeling great every day. I think with all the training, I've even convinced my wife to give multi-sport a try, she's looking at duathlons in the area. 

My sprint goals are sub 10 for a 400m swim, 1 hr for a hilly 14 mi bike, and 26 minutes for the 3 mi run. My transition goals are to not forget anything and be efficient. 

If all goes well, I've got my eye on two olympic distance races in July and August, depending on my school schedule, I'll update you guys when I decide which ones I wind up doing. I'm probably going to be running some 5k and 10k races this summer as long as they fit into my schedule too. 

Derek - Good luck this weekend! Do you race on Saturday or Sunday? Can't wait to hear how you do. 

I too am getting ready for my first race of the season on Sunday and getting quite nervous. . My main goal is to get out of the water (400 meters)  under 10 min or as close to it as possible, I am not sure what to expect on the bike and the run. My achilles is bad again after the 5k run this weekend. It gave out around mile 2.  I am going to concentrate on bike and swimming and lots of ice this week. I am also going back to my old running shoes since I have a sneaking feeling that my new shoes and the stiffness are exacerbating the issue. 

On a lighter note - my 13 yr old son, Jake, ran the 5k with me - refused breakfast, doesn't train and finished 3rd overall with a time of 18:03 - a 5:50 mile. Ah to be young and fast

Sooooo!!!????  how did it go this weekend for those of you who race?  Not a good week for me, had to travel for work and did not get much biking in.   

a

Well, I survived! Got a solid MOP finish, even though I was fighting a stomach bug the entire time!

Here is my report: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=515588

Interesting to note: Even though my age group places for the 3 sports were 20,19,21, I finished 18/27 due to my transitions. Thanks to everyone for all the advice.

I'm definitely hooked, and now I am deciding which olympic distance will be my next race! (And trying to convince my wife to let me buy a road bike!)