BigDH - Checking Off the Boxes - Mentor Group - CLOSED (Page 17)

Alright I have a question.  So next week is a recovery week for me and then I go into "month 4' of my training plan.  The 2nd week I hit my peak, and then the 3rd week I repeat it, followed by recovery in week 4.  Then I still have another month before my race.  I'm wondering if it's worth continuing to add 10% volume for another week or so or if I should simply follow the plan.  I have the next 2 months of training below (the grey are bricks in the plan, although I plan to do some of them before I get there):

Darren,

For the most part I don't feel like I'm struggling with my workouts or schedule, I'm finding it fairly easy to go out and get everything done that I'm supposed to get done.  Today will be my longest run so far and I'm aiming for 4 miles in about 35-36 minutes.  I think it might suck at points but I'm not worried about not finishing it.  I'll also follow it up with at least 21 minutes in the pool.

I will take advantage of my recovery week coming up since i've had 4 weeks without one.  I have 3 weeks until I reach my peak so I think as that get's closer I'll make a decision based on what my body is feeling.  At this point I'm leaning more towards trying to bump up my volume by another 10% instead of hold the peak for 2 weeks straight and then have a recovery week to follow.  I'll keep you posted and I'm interested to see what everyone else thinks.

Thats what I did, I found a 3 day half marathon plan and used their numbers instead of the 3 runs that the olympic plan I was on.

Things to do this week (before my first triathlon)

put yankz in shoes and try them out.

practice transition organization

practice trying to get wetsuit off in less than 15 minutes.

make sure bike is cleaned, lubed, packed and ready

light runs, bike and OWS's

Anything I am missing?

Darren,

Do you find the cost of being a member on the site worth it for the additional features you get?

I think I'm going to scout my course for my race in August this weekend.  Should give me a chance to get some OWS practice, and ride the bike course and find out if the hills are bad or not.  I think I'll try to Swim/Bike/Run to get an idea what Race day will be like and have a chance to practice transitioning.

My first tri is on Sunday.  My tri has a transition seminar tomorrow that I plan on attending.  Still have a little bike maintenance to attend to - need to swap out the front tire tube (slow leak), clean and lube my chain.  Plus I need to stop by the bike shop tomorrow and get a bike rack and a spare tube. 

I'm debating about whether to rack my bike in the transition area on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning.  I don't know if I'm comfortable leaving my bike alone outside for 16+ hours.  My wave starts at 7:12am on Sunday.  Any thoughts on this? 

Also - I think my wetsuit is going to be a gametime decision depending on the water and air temps.  If it's warm outside and in the water, I don't know that I can justify a wetsuit for a 750m swim. 

I have a long bike to get in this afternoon and then tomorrow is my pre-race rest day. 

Have a nice weekend everyone! 

Hope you have a great race! I've never had the chance to leave my bike the night before - I am sure it'll be fine if others are doing the same, right?

Enjoy -

My tri on Sunday went awesome!  I took the swim out very fast and I am glad I did.  I felt a little wobbly on the bike at first, but I really wanted to take advantage of the swim and I think it paid off.  My transitions went very well.  I had my transition area set up perfectly and left a few pieces of gear at home which made my transition much easier (Garmin and bike gloves stayed home).  I still have a lot of work to do on the bike.  I felt like I was in slow motion compared to the people that passed me.  The run felt good and was at a comfortable pace.  The run was actually a personal best 5k for me (although that's not saying much since my fast 5k was in 90 degree heat and almost a year ago).  

My race report is here...

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=258188

I can't wait for my olympic tri in 2 weeks!  

Nice race Ryan, looks like it all came together nicely!

Good job on your races guys!

I went out and practiced all 3 events on my course this weekend.  The swim went well, the bike went okay.  There are more hills than I'm used to, and 2 bad ones on the return leg, thankfully they are very short.  Felt pretty tired at the end of the 12.5 miles.  Then ran 2.1 miles and my legs just felt bad and I felt tired out.  I wished I had a larger breakfast cause I think it would have helped me stay powered up.  In any case I'm very happy with how it went overall and I think I'll add some parking ramp time to my training.  I also think I'll go back out in about a month and do the course again.

Where's everybody?  I am on a rest day. 

Going back a ways in the threads - I recently renewed my Performance membership and upgraded to Silver.  For me, it's already feels like it's worth it for the details of workouts because they make it more demanding.  For instance - here's what I got for swim yesterday:

 Way better than just Swim 45 Minutes.  I didn't quite complete it, but it's just an example.

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When should you move up in distance?  I am antsy to try an Olympic distance, and might just register for one in early September.  I have a dream of doing an Iron Man - the full thing.   It's good to dream!

Ben

Dave - I think sighting just get's easier as you get more comfortable in the water and stronger in the water.  I sight almost every stroke as I can do it without really costing any energy.  I also have a fairly high body position in the water.  I don't recommend you doing the same yet.  I think when I first started doing open water swims, I would sight every 8 to 10 strokes. 

I am actually really starting to enjoy racing without it!  I find that my pace is just as consistent, if not more so. 

Hi, my name is Chris and I am a bad group member.  I have not been faithful in keeping up with and contributing to the conversation.  If you will accept my apologies and allow me back into the group I promise to be a better BTer.

Seriously though, I am sorry about my lack of posts.  The end of the school year was very busy and as soon as that was done, I've been on 2 business training sessions and a 3000+ mile family vacation road trip.  I am finally home and ready to get back at it.