My Year to Tri (Beginner and Intermediate Group) - OPEN (Page 2)

Happy Weds athletes! I hope you're week is going well! How has your training been?

Here in Colorado we got a sizable snow fall so all of my bike workouts will be on the trainer this week. How do you handle your bike workouts during bad weather?

For those of you that aren't familiar, a bike trainer is an apparatus that secures to the rear wheel or directly to the drive train (Wahoo Kicker) of your bike. IMO it is a necessary piece of equipment for any triathlete. There's a wide array of options available in a variety of price points. The most important aspect of any trainer is that it is stable and attaches securely to your bike. Make sure that the trainer will lock to prevent it from unscrewing from your bike mid ride (I've been there, it's not fun). DC Rainmaker has a ton of info on just about every trainer on the market, check it out!

If you do purchase a trainer, you will need a trainer skewer for your bike and a riser for your front wheel.

At the highest end of the trainer market is smart trainers, these interact with computer input to adjust tension on your rear wheel (or drive train) to simulate changes in terrain. If you lack the funds for one of these set-ups (about $1,200 - 1,600) see if you can find trainer studios in your area where you can attend classes. Think gym spin classes only on your own bike.

Rollers are another option for indoor riding, though I don't recommend these for beginner riders, there is no better way to develop a strong core and excellent control over the bike than riding on rollers!

Again, I hope this post finds you well and I look forward to hearing more about your training!!

Sarah

My week was somewhat disrupted by work travel so I ended up missing one of my two planned swim sessions and having to do one of my rides on a rental hybrid. Nevertheless I managed to get close to where I wanted to be with my training for the week.

This week is a rest and recovery week for me with a lactate threshold HR test on Saturday or Sunday. Looking forward to putting myself to the test.

Congrats on getting it done! And good luck with that LT test!!

Another week of training done and dusted for me as tomorrow will be kicking the feet up.

Two days of very easy riding this week and the LTHR test this morning. My calculated LTHR was slightly down on four weeks ago and I guess there are two possible reasons. 1- I didn't do a very good job of the test protocol last time. I think I rode too hard for my warmup before starting the testing and my pace wasn't sustainable for 30 mins. 2- my cardio fitness has improved faster than my leg strength so my heart rate stayed lower for a similar level of exertion.

Swimming is coming along slowly, I swam a 1.2km non stop this week and beat my previous time by close to 2 minutes. I've really been focusing on technique.

My running is progressing also. At Christmad time I was only able to run in 30 second intervals to avoid pain. This week I was running 300m intervals. It is a frustratingly slow process but so far injury free so I need to stick to it

Way to go!! Sounds like good progress to me! Variations in lactic threshold are totally normal. Maybe it simply wasn't your best day. What strength training to incorporate into your training?

I totally feel your pain about running and preventing injury! I landed myself w a repetitive stress injury to my right ankle last season. I didn't run for 3 months and it seemed to clear up. I've only been running for 20 - 30 min twice a week for the past month and it's beginning to flare up again. UGH!! Looks like it's time to actually seek help from a medical professional.

At the moment my strength training is mostly bodyweight single leg squats and single leg calf raises for lower body and weight training for upper body.

I previously squatted and deadlifted heavy for years but I developed a fairly significant strength and muscle size discrepancy, favouring my right hand side.

Single leg work is great but I don't think it will give you the same benefits of traditional front, hex bar squats and romanian deadlifts. Doesn't need to be heavy, maybe 75 % of max at most? I work with a strength coach twice a week and we've recently added leg press while squeezing a ball between my knees to help isolate my VMO once a week. It's helped my power on the bike a ton! What about working with a quality strength coach or a physical therapist to address the strength discrepancy? Do you have the same discrepancy on the bike and the run?

I have a physiotherapist on call 24 hours a day (my wife). I will be looking to incorporate more weight training down the track but at the moment she has recommended developing my strength with single leg work. The discrepancy is evident in both running and cycling although the issues are somewhat different for each. For running I am working on hip strength as I have a tendency to drop one hip.

That's wonderful! Sounds like you definitely have the help that you need and are on the right track!

Update (not a very fun one though)...

So I'm going back into a cast next Monday for three weeks (non-wight bearing on crutches), then a boot for 2 weeks. The stress fracture in my right foot is better, but the ligament I injured last year is not. The good news is that this treatment worked last year. The bad news is I had to cancel my XTERRA and sprint tri's in March. Moving on...

I've been swimming 3-5 days per week (about 2400-2800 yds) and doing TRX + core 2 days per week. I hope to bounce back fast once out of the cast (in a smart way). After the boot comes off I will just walk for a week, and start swimming the following week (pulling the entire swim for a week). After 2 weeks I will slowly start to build up time on the bike. I don't have another race planned until late June (XTERRA Tahoe), so I won't start running for a while (make sure I'm good and well).

So every morning you have a workout and don't want to do it just remember, I would gladly trade you places! Happy training and racing!

Dan

Oh no, Dan! That's terrible news! I'm so sorry!!

Please keep us updated on your progress!

Best of luck!

Another week of training done and dusted. Only three weeks today until my first sprint tri.

I was away for work at the start of the week but managed to get in 2 swims, 3 runs and 5 rides. That included my first brick ride/run workout this morning. I found it a lot more difficult starting a ride already fatigued. I also used a couple of gels during the brick workout so that my taste buds and stomach can get used to them. They all seem horrible.

Next week I'll be travelling again and it is going to be a lot more challenging this time to keep my training volume up.

Nice job!! Learning how to run off of the bike is definitely an acquired skill! Try adding a 5-10 min run after each bike ride and then one longer brick each week. As you come in off of the bike, gear way down and pick up your cadence. Spinning your legs out will help your body get used to turning your legs over on the run.

How do you feel about your transition set-up? If you have a chance in these next three weeks try a little transition test run with everything you plan on using on race day. Set out your transition just as you will at the race and run through a quick swim, bike, run.

Remember to taper your training for 3-5 days before your race! You really only have another 10 days where your body will benefit from your workouts before your race, anything after that will just add fatigue to race day.

For a sprint, you shouldn't need much nutrition on the course. Try to eat 200 - 400 calories a couple of hours before your race, make sure it's food you know you can stomach! Once the race starts, you shouldn't need fuel until 90min, after that aim for 50 calories every 15 min. Every athletes needs are different but that's a rough idea of where to start.

The better you can organize your race plan, the more you can just enjoy your race day instead of worrying about what you should be doing and when.

Do you have any race day questions? Any questions about how your workouts should differ these last few weeks?

Thanks Sarah.

Travel messed with my training this week but I did stick with my runs and did a 3.2km non stop this morning so I am confident I can do the distance on the day.

I will practice some transitions over the next couple of weeks. Is it worth getting some elastic laces for my runners to make transitions quicker or is it too risky to change gear now? I have been told to have a towel to stand on and water bottle to wash feet at T1. Any other handy hints?

My taper plan is a few more days of my regular training intensity before easing off for race week. One run and swim, two rides. Shorter duration and mostly quite easy work but with some brief race pace intervals. What do you think?

Nutrition plan is bread and banana for breakfast. Plenty of water. If that carries me for 90 minutes I would plan for one gel during the ride and a second gel at the start of the final run leg.

I'm feeling excited but nervous. Not long to go now!

Sounds like you're right where you need to me with your training!

I wouldn't bother with the elastic laces, Personally, I find them rather uncomfortable and like anything else, you don't want anything new this close to your race. A towel to stand on and a water bottle to rinse off your feet is good. There are lots of good transition videos online. They key for now is Keep It Simple!

Your taper plan looks great. Mind your nutrition three days before your race, make sure you're eating enough. Carb loading the night before is a myth, make sure you keep your glycogen levels topped off with quality nutrition. Your race day nutrition plan sounds spot on. Don't wait until you feel thirsty or hungry to eat or drink, stick to a time plan. Drink every 15 min, eat every 15 after 90 min.

Enjoy the journey and celebrate every mile! You only get your first race once, enjoy it!

Another week down. Absolutely awful weather here much of the week which did keep me from a couple of planned workouts. Managed to get both of my planned runs in and one swim and one ride.

This next week is race week so going to be taking it fairly easy with some light workouts in the first half of the week plus plenty of stretching, sleep and carbs.

At this point in time it looks possible they may cancel the swim leg sadly. We have had a large amount of rain and the river is currently flooding. I guess we will see what race day brings.

Sounds like a good taper plan!

Bummer about the possible swim cancellation!! But super excited to hear how your race goes!

Well the race has been cancelled. There has been significant rain in the area and major flooding and it simply wouldn't be safe to go ahead. Feeling a bit disappointed but I have another race scheduled for 7 weeks time so I need to get back on the training and try to turn my sprint distance fitness into olympic distance fitness.

Bummer!! 7 weeks should be plenty of time to work up to the Olympic distance though.

Are there any shorter races you could use as a tune-up? I love duathlons and aquabikes for race prep.

Just finished another training week. More travel this week but I managed to schedule my workouts to hit all of my training sessions except one swim.

I am making great progress with my running now. I ran a 6km on Friday and my pace is continuing to improve.

I have a couple of weeks now with no scheduled work trips so I'm really looking forward to hitting all of my planned training and reaping the rewards.

That's wonderful! Keep up the good work!

How is everyone else's training going?? It's been so quiet in here!

I've been recently diagnosed with 3 torn tendons in my ankle, visiting an ortho doc on the 20th. Fingers crossed that my entire season isn't shot!!

Ouch sorry to hear! I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Thanks!

It is Monday morning here which means another week of training is done and dusted. I hit all of my planned workouts this week and managed to squeeze in a mountainbike ride on top of my training.

Two more weeks of intense build to go followed by three weeks of progressive tapering. Easter break is at an opportune time for my training program so I can travel up to the race location for a few days and preview the course in my last week of build.

Awesome! Way to go!