13 Week Sprint Training Plan Group (Page 3)

Thank you for the info, Ron.  I will start looking in Nov.  Told you I was pretty clueless  

Hello People. Well I did it. I completed my first race ever, and in 6 min under my last timed run of this distance 3 weeks ago. My next goal is to take 4 min off and get down to 45 min for my October race, which I am just about to sign up for. Just wanted to stop in and say thanks for the advice and encouragement.

Maggie

WOOHOO!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
Jessica

Amy, I like your quote: "You will because you can"  Where did that come from?

Personally from my experience thus far, other people I've talked to, and a long forum debate at ST, I would say to be sure you get a good amount of outdoor running, especially with prior injuries. You need to train and build your body's strength for and resistance to the high impact of the actual road in order to sustain yourself out there in a race. Also it's a good way to start realizing what parts of your stride/body you need to focus on when running (they'll be the parts that hurt the most at first!). After enough training the fatigue/pain will begin to subside as your body adjusts and strengthens to support itself for high-impact running. The treadmill is great for aerobic capacity building and constant pace training, but it can't give you the same impact buildup. However, the treadmill is vitally important if you have bad weather...  Same thing goes for the bike, though not to quite the same degree. Just make sure you're using a stationary bike that is similar to an actual bike setup and try to mimic your real bike as much as possible to train your body properly.

@Maggie way to go on the first race! Sounds like it was a good effort and lots of fun!

Now for my question... any tips regarding the taper for a sprint? I figure that the sprint, while demanding isn't so intense that I need to do anything special (as opposed to some of the IM tapers I've read about...).I'm in my final week (sunday's the day!) and am going to cut back my work outs after tomorrow's 5k and allow probably 2 full days of rest prior, or should I continue light training until the day of? Any nutrition tips?

Edited by thegull 2010-09-14 3:00 AM

I think the plan calls for one rest day leading into the race, the day before. If you are not following a specific plan, then I would recommend taking an off day two days before the race, then a light run-through of swim,bike, run the day before. Doesn't have to be more than 5 minutes of swim, 5-10 bike, and 5-10 run. Swim is optional if it's too much of a pain to do them all. That's assuming you are comfortable with the race distance.
A first-timer may be better just taking a rest day the day before and doing a very light 15-20 minutes of bike/run two days before.
As far as nutrition, do you mean during the race or leading up to the race? What has worked for you in training?

Tapering is as much art as it is science, and it is HIGHLY individualized. If I personally took two days completely off, I'd actually feel sluggish race day. My personal best taper plan is very short, medium intensity workouts, at high cadence/turnover.

Although, I do have to admit my best race EVER was a 4 mile New Years eve run, after two weeks of sitting around doing nothing after x-country season my 1st year of college. :p

John

Ok, I figured a day of rest at most would be fine, may try to swim the course the day before though. Regarding nutrition I was curious what you recommend for the day or two leading up to the race and the day of. Should I carb/protein load the night before (thinking chicken and rice/pasta)? Do I heavily hydrate the night before? Is a light breakfast (i.e. oatmeal or a cliff bar) before the race a good idea? What about caffine/energy shot before the race (early morning)? Once again, a sprint likely doens't have the same rigid needs that the longer races do, but I would like to form the right habits early!

True carbo depletion/loading has not been shown in studies to be overly effective, and many see the weight gain associated with it as detrimental for best performance. Carbo loading the night before is a myth.

As with tapering, meals the days before are also highly individualized, generally your normal meal is your best bet. Do make sure you hydrate well in the days beforehand, but don't go way over board and slug down gallons :D

As with everything on the caffeine, shot blocks, etc, nothing new on race day. Practice it in training, if it goes well, adopt it for the race.

John

I'd love to hear updates from everyone on how training went this week!

Well, I decided to wait until the week was over to reply, I finished my first sprint on sunday and it was awesome! My time def has room for improvement, but I was pretty happy with it (1:26 on a .5 mile/11 mile/5k course, about middle of the pack). Swim time was 8th best in my AG (M20-24) and that was with me going way far out from the buoy line and walking some up to transition, so very happy about that. Bike time def can improve (42 mins for 11.3 miles with only a few hills/1 steep one), and my run was pretty solid for me (25:36). I'm definitely hooked now and already am preparing to get back to training after a 2 day rest for another sprint next month.

Some questions that arose from my race for me:

-Anyone have any pointers to reduce the adrenaline/excitement rush at the start? I was calm up until I hit the water and then I felt my heart start racing, and wasn't able to settle down until about 3/4 through my swim... def. impacted me and tired me out some. Or will I just need to keep racing and get used to it?

-Bike plateau. To increase my bike speed should I be working on trying to cycle in higher gears or at higher cadence in the gears I currently work in (generally I tend to stay in 12th - 14th gear on my 21 speed roadie which gives me 18.5-21 mph pace on relatively flat ground/low rolling)? Should I begin to incorporate sprint intervals (right now I just tend to go out and ride and try to keep a good pace the whole way for 12-25 miles)?

Hey all! Drop by and let us know how your training is coming along!

Hi I'm new!  Planning on doing my first triathlon (sprint) in February 2011.  Excited for the triathlon and to start this program!

Excellent! Welcome to the group!

John

Hi there!  I just saw your post about my quote.  Thanks!  It is from a little plaque that my mom gave me.  It's a picture (kind of abstract) of a woman reaching for a star and the quote is under the picture.  It inspires me when I need it - that's why it's on my desk at work. 

Edited by AmyDeeRunz 2010-10-13 5:50 AM

Very cool! Welcome to BT and to the crazy world of triathlon training! Make sure to keep us up to date on how your training is progressing.

Hello, I'm new and looking to lose weight and do a (sort of) sprint tri on May 1st.  1,000 Yard swim, 19 mile bike and 4 mile run.

Running: I know it isn't much, but I can now run 1.5 miles w/o pause.  I weight 265 atm (from 350) and when I have to stop.. it isn't my breathing or heart, it's a side stitch that comes about the 1 mile mark.  It seems like the more I ignore it, the worse it gets.  I eventually have to stop and let it subside, but it comes back soon with each stop, run.

Bike: Probably my best area.  I have been biking for 3 years (what started the weight loss) and I just bought a specialized roubaix (upgrade from a mtb), so it's a good treat for my hard work.  I've done two MS 150mile bike tours.

Swim:  Trying to locate a decent fitness club/freshwater area to practice.  I have no experience in swimming for speed.

Those are my current stats. I'm going to be out of town next week but I plan on starting this as soon as I return on the 22nd.  Any advice for the side pain would be great!

-Alex

I was just talking about side stitches with some of my Boot Camp clients yesterday. One thing to try is to make sure you exhale as the opposite foot strikes the ground (if your stitch is on the right, exhale when the left foot strikes the ground).
Welcome to BT, btw, and congrats on your huge weight loss, new lifestyle, and new BIKE!

Just getting started.  Stopped by the clyde discussion--inspirational.  I am 44, 6'3"/6'2" (I think I am shrinking)  and about 275.  I played rugby in college at around 220 many years ago.  That would be a great weight for me so I think that i am a clyde for life and ok with that.

i am hoping to do a sprint try in April and then one in June which is my real goal.  (If training is going well I would like to get one under my belt in April.)

Right now i have started the couch to 5k and am biking when I can fit it in.  I found a masters swimming program at the local Y and will add that in about 2 weeks. 

There is a lot of rust so some days are better than others.  I love this site.  I don't think I would have gotten off the couch without it.

My immediate question is about the bike.  I have a mountain bike I have ridden for enjoyment.  For rides at this point am I ok with this?  When do I need to switch over to a road or tri bike?

I guess that now is as good a time as any to join this thread. I'm a 40yr old 5'3" obese woman. I was a decent swimmer as a youth. I'm currently researching pools in my area. I have a hybrid bike, but am finding it difficult to ride outside due to rainy weather sticks and leaves. So I'm looking into a bike trainer and a smooth back tire for the winter. I've completed couch to 5 k using the times, but have not run the distance without walking. I'm doing gateway to 8 k to build up to 50 min continuous running.

You rock! You are doing everything right so far! You can continue to use your mountain bike as long as you need. There will always be people using mountain bikes at sprints and Oly distance races. You can switch to a toad bike or tri bike when you know you are ready to commit the money!

Wow, congrats on finishing the couch to 5K program! I love it! I hope you find a good pool soon...and I hope you realize what a benefit it will be to you to have a swimming background! I am jealous!
In addition to the bike trainer, you might want to try a spinning class at the gym over the winter. You can go as hard or easy as you like and it's a bit more motivating than riding the trainer at home.
Thanks for joining us!

Hi Guy's, its spring in Australia and our season is about to start. I did my first sprint back in feb using this program and had no problems. I even used a crappy old mtn bike!
I bought a roady over winter and started this program on monday. I should of started 4 weeks ago but i got the dreaded swine flu and its taken until know to come good enough to start.
I plan on diong this plan until the start of Dec then i am going to start the Oly 16 week program for a race in march. I have a sprint race on the 5th of Dec.
I look forward to chatting and seeing how everyone going.