Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 142)

Well the OLY went off without a hitch.  I finished with a 2:52, not bad for a first try.  Things went according to plan and I had a blast so I'll call that a success.  My swim was in the bottom third of my AG, bike in the middle third of my AG and my run was in the top third.  Typical for me.  I'm noticing that I really don't have a good sense for how fast I'm going when I swim.  I've noticed this in training on long sets/intervals and I saw it at the race.  I was somewhere out in the middle or so of the swim thinking I'm at my normal pace but I passed a buoy thinking "Wow, that buoy isn't moving very fast, I need to pick up".  I will go slower and slower without noticing.  On a positive note, I came out of the water feeling great and had a great race, and I think I learned a good nutrition lesson for me as well.  Race report is up.

Anyone have any suggestions about getting a sense of pace while swimming?  Train more is a given, but any tips?

I'd say first of all, more training in open water may give you a better feel for pacing.  Also, after doing a couple races you'll get a sense of pace with those who start in your wave.  If you know you should be in the middle of your wave, then if you see guys around with the same color cap, you're about where you're supposed to be.  I'm always in the slower side for my age group, so I figure the longer I stay in range of guys with the same cap, the better I'm doing, and hopefully don't have too many guys with a different color cap pass me.  Overall, the more you swim (pool or OWS) the better you'll know your pace.

10 Days til my first HIM.  Today UPS picked up my Bike.. its shipping to my Sisterin Law's in SC, where were staying in the days before Augusta. I've done all my long runs/rides and now really starting taper... feel really tired/wiped out starting taper...

On Sunday I pick up my Tri suit from the Silk Screen printer it should now say:

Birthdays:

49 - 250lbs

50 - Half Iron.

I'm glad this cycle is almost over I'm tired of workign so hard for so long...

I really focus on my breathing as a sign of over pacing.  I push my pace up to that point of thinking, "oops, too fast" and then backing off some.  I agree, it's much easier to pace in a pool, even without looking at the clock, than open water.

I did my race and I made it to the finish line!  It was a LOT harder than I thought it would be, I have to say.  The swim went great, the headwinds on the bike were extremely difficult and waring, and I just kept running one more mile to the finish line.  While I was not thrilled with my time, it was almost exactly the times listed as the goals in the 18 week training plan.  38m swim, 3h43m bike, 2h33m run.  Total of 7h6m. 

All of the training I have done made me more confident that I would go faster, but when it came right down to it, the biking was very hard and really pulled my time down.  I did several bricks with a long ride followed by a run, but I guess none of them were 3h43m because by the time I got to the run my legs were pretty tired and sore.  But like I said -- I kept going and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face!! I will post a race report because this was no easy feat and I want to add my comments about the race.  This was the first time there was a HIM in Richmond, VA so hopefully my comments will help out someone else. 

Very good!  What you've just said will more than likely describe my first HIM coming up on Nov 4th to the tee.  I ran a 1'44" HM back in Feb of this year but, realistically, that's not going to happen after 3-4 hours on a bike.

Congrats on your finish and a solid race, even though slower than you'd liked.  It gives you something to build on!!

Yup, one foot in front of the other gets you there!  I had a similar experience.  The important thing is that you crossed that finish line, congrats!

Did my first HIM last Sunday.  Race report with full details can be found here: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=462210&posts=1&start=1

Total Time: 5:37:53, Swim: 30:11, Bike: 2:46:20, Run: 2:15:29

Swim was very short, hence the time which would appear amazingly fast for me.  Bike course was 2 miles short according to my Garmin, so actual bike pace was 19.5mph, though I suppose it's possible the Garmin was in error, but that would be the first time.

I hurt my knee running 10 days before the race which hampered me on the run considerably, but was fine up to that point.

Overall I was happy with the result, considering the state of my knee.  It would have been nice if the distances had actually been correct.

I used a training program for my first HIM in augusta this year from this site. 

couldn't have been more happy with the results.  the training program was awesome and i will continue to use them for a full distance ironman one day. 

thanks for a great resource!

Hello Everyone,

I'm staring the "Beginner 1/2 Ironman - 20 Weeks - RPE" program in preparation for HIM California on March 30.  It's the free version of the program, can anyone tell me if its worth it to pay the fee and be able to customize my plan or just leave it "as is".  Or, since I have a pretty good base level of fitness (check my logs over the last few months) should I pay and get the intermediate program???  This is the first time I am following a specific training program for an event rather than just training to what I "feel" seems appropriate.  This is my first attempt at this distance, I feel like I have a strong base and am ready to start training hard over the coming months.  Thanks for any feedback. 

I think just about everyone modifies the plan to some degree as they go through it.  If you read back a few pages there are posts where people have given feedback as to what some of the strengths and weaknesses of the plan were to them.

No prepackaged plan is perfect for everyone.  I think that the plan overall is very sound and will get you through your event.  It is important to understand what the phases of the plan are trying to accomplish and within each week there are overall workloads that are important as well as specific objective workouts within the week.  Understanding all that allows you to alter the plan to meet your schedule and to modify for your strengths and weaknesses.

I've been through the plan numerous times and I start by loading it exactly as described into an Excel worksheet.  I move some of the workouts around within the week to meet my schedule.  I might also switch key workouts to another day of the week.  Last time through I added a little more run emphasis and backed off the swim slightly.  You can get a lot of advice here from people if you are not sure about how you are modifying things.  

Ok, it's official, I'm in.

I started Fink's plan for my race in March (HITS Ocala).  I'm mostly going to follow the plan, but my long runs will be a fair amount longer because I'm running the Disney Marathon in January.  That will put an extra load on me, but I'm staying with the intermediate plan to temper that a little.  So far I feel great, it actually feels much better following a plan instead of doing what I can.  I feel like I'm training for a purpose as opposed to hoping I'm doing enough.

From a gear standpoint, my wetsuit came in today.  I got a QR ultrafill from Trisports for a crazy discount.  There are still some in the clearance section.  I tried it on and it feels great.  A little hard to get on and off, but that might be operator error, but it felt great after I got it on.  I can't wait to put it to good use on some OWS sessions.

Congrats!

I'm into my first week tapper, only nine days away!  I followed the beginner plan close, but not exactly.  With a history in swimming, I completed many of those training days in less time than the plan dictated, when following the yardage.  No biggie.  But, I felt the swimming part of the plan was a little excessive where there are many days you swim further than the 1.2 miles you'll have in the race.  I'm sure this is to build swim strength and endurance but still found it funny compared to the biking and running days where you seldom exceeded 56 / 13.1 miles, if any. 

My second background is in running.  I feel like the plan was right on, maybe lacking some speed drills at the end.  I've ran a couple HM's averaging 8:3 & 8:0 m/m on each.  But, I’ve never done it coming off 56 miles on a bike either.  I've only been cycling since Feb of this year so I added a little volume to that section of the plan in hopes of increasing my spinning legs!  I'm shooting for a 30min swim, 3hr 15min ride, and sub 2hr run.  With that I'd be very happy!!

Overall, I really liked the plan and feel good about my first 1/2 distance triathlon!

I'm starting my training for Ocala Fl. Half in March.

Purchased "Be Iron Fit" on my Nook last night. Looks like it's gonna be a good read. 

Hubby surprised me last yesterday  with a new trainer. I've a spinner that I've used for a year, and I like it, but the saddle hurts my bottom on long training sessions.

So I am looking forward to riding my own bike when I train indoors. It's making me feel better about putting in the  cycling miles in during the winter months. 

I'm in too! (for a June half)

But I want to make sure I establish a solid base before starting the more focused training (can you tell I'm just coming off an injury layoff??)

& the roads over here and surely going to get messy this winter (unlike last year!), so I'm wondering:

Spin class vs Spinervals dvds on my trainer....

what's the more effective workout for the time crunched athlete??

Well I have both a trainer and a spinner at home. I like my spinner, but for long indoor training sessions it's far more comfy to do them on my bike saddle. I've been to a few spin classes at the Y but the class leader loud voice kind of annoyed me.

For time crunch I'd vote trainer. You can get on it at any time.

I'm trying to talk my husband into getting "Virtual Power TrainerRoad" which supposed to turn the trainer into a power meter. 

Does anyone else have this?

I've only done ONE half-iron and in the interest of summarizing my answer to your question:

-I followed the workouts itemized in the FREE 1/2 plan you describe but moved the days around. a LOT

-if you're new, the benefit of the intermediate plan will likely be minimal in comparison to the huge task before you

-the swim workouts are unnecessarily complex in nature, my local masters class (2 hours/week) had me more than ready for a 36 minute swim in  a couple months

-It's OK to skip overall days as needed, but for me there is psychological benefit to knowing i "hit the schedule" most of the time

-Due to my OCD nature, I did a monthly 'reconciliation' of  minutes 'actual' vs. minutes 'plan'.  

-      by the end of the 120 days, I found I was within 5% of 'plan' in all three disciplines; it was a huge confidence boost.

My further advice, anything popsracer says here should be considered the most valuable input a reasonable half-iron contestant could  hope for; the guy brings effortless enthusiasm to the new, non-fit, hopeful triathlete.  He made me believe I could do it.  And I did it.

I'll be re-joining you guys soon as I spool up the next attempt, mid 2013 :-)

Best of luck !

That's the truth.

I followed the plan - I would say more bike if anything.  I did my masters group 3x a week, easy. Check out your race - mine had more hills than I expected on the bike, would have trained more specifically.

i'll be starting this program in a few weeks for my first half ironman.  i'm aiming for ironman 70.3 texas in galveston (early april).  any general tips or thoughts on this race?

-chad

Hi :=) Congrats on signing up for Vineman.