Women Ready to Tri - OPEN (Page 4)

Chamois cream is your friend!  Apply liberally....and then apply a little more

Glad to hear you're giving BarryP a shot!  I'm excited to follow along in your journey and see how you like it.  Hopefully, coming off the recent injury, you're starting with really low volume -- 10/20/30 minute runs would be a great place to start!

Should be about two weeks in -- how's the BarryP program treating you?

Originally posted by anime_lover1992 I wondered if you were able to look at my training logs for the past two months and see what you think. I have slacked off on my running, because I was so worried about my swim times for a sprint triathlon I did May 21st. I came second in my age group by the way . Thanks

That's great!  Congratulations!  You should think about writing a race report so you can go back and read it later and remember what you did well, what you want to change, and generally re-live it all over again.  It's also a great way to track progress over time.

I really like getting all my thoughts out there after a race.  I even go back and read them from time to time -- in fact, before Galveston 70.3 earlier this year, I read my race reports from the previous 70.3 distance races I did.

I'll take a peek through your training log from the last couple months, but before I dig in too deep, can you tell me if you're following a specific training plan?  How much are you willing to train and what are your goals for the rest of the season?

I also raced a sprint tri last weekend as well.  It was the first sprint I'd done in nearly two years....I forgot how fun (and painful!) they are!  I have my race report here: http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=547319&posts=3#M5221524 

Cliffs notes version: came out of the water 4th overall, put in a large gap on the field on the bike, and held on with a strong run to take the overall female win for the sprint distance race

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Is your training log up to date?  I'm going to go under the assumption that it is, but if not, let me know and I'll revise my thoughts:

I think your overall volume is quite low for a HIM in July.  I'm not saying you can't make it, but I think it could be a struggle.  What day in July is the race?

Swim -- I like that you're trying to swim three days a week.  That's a great plan, especially if you can make all three days!  If you can swim 1900m (1.2 miles) and come out of the water as if it was simply an easy warm-up and not something that took a large effort out of you, you set yourself up for a good bike and run.  It may be the shortest part of the triathlon, but it is critical because if you "burn matches" on the swim, there really is no recovering on the bike and run. 

While you're building to the HIM, I would suggest making your swim sessions non-negotiable.  Strive for a minimum of 2000 each time you get in, and as you improve, see if you can get that up a bit more.  Instead of doing long, continuous swims, I'd suggest doing something more like 25's, 50's, and 100's, focusing on keeping your form good throughout.  You'll want to swim these a little faster than your race pace, but then give yourself time to recover so you can hold good form.  For example, if you can swim a single 100 in 2:00, try to do 10 of them, but leaving every 2:30 (so you'd get some rest such that you can maintain good form, but you string together a solid number of them throughout the session). 

Bike -- I like that you're doing trainer rides!  I do a lot of my riding on the trainer.  If the session is less than about two hours, I'll probably do it on the trainer because it's convenient and I can push myself hard.  Make sure that you're doing good interval sessions on the bike and not just loafing. 

That said, you do want to get outside for your long rides if possible.  Looking back through your logs, it looks like your longest ride ever is 41 miles from March 27th.  This simply isn't long enough to feel good after 56 miles and then want to get off and run a half marathon!  Over the next month (and a half??), I'd suggest trying to get in a couple trainer rides per week with good intervals, and get out for long rides on the weekends.  Ideally, you'd work yourself up to a 50+ mile long ride, and hopefully feel good coming off (no discomfort from bike fit issues, feeling fit enough that you'd be able to run 10-20 minutes off the bike). 

Run -- Keep working toward the BarryP program.  Keep the runs easy so you don't injure yourself.  But, in my opinion, the run is the least important of the three disciplines for someone who's looking to finish and have a good time.  If all else fails, you can walk....the same is not true of swimming, and not really true on the bike either.  But if you're able to do a walk/run plan, you can finish the HIM.  In fact, if you find yourself working too hard on a training run (for example, if your HR shoots up), you should train with a walk/run plan.  I see you've done that on some of your runs in the past.

Up until your HIM, I'd suggest getting in as many runs as you can without compromising your time swimming or biking.  Keep them easy and walk when you need to. 

Hydration in the week leading up to the race?  Honestly, I don't do anything particularly different from normal....make sure you drink enough that your urine is a light yellow color basically all the time and you should be good.  The day/night before the race, you can up your salt intake (nothing excessive!).  But realistically, you shouldn't do anything overly different from what you did in your training....so start experimenting now!

As for nutrition during the race, that's another reason you want to be getting your long rides in -- so you can experiment with it in training.  When you said you used Infinit and had stomach issues ten miles in, was that ten miles into the bike during your sprint?  You can't take in as many calories on a sprint as you can during a HIM because you're working at a higher intensity.  

Nutrition is so individual that what works for me may not work for you.  That said, I prefer solid food plus an electrolyte drink over trying to take my nutrition in a purely liquid form.  Liquids work for some, but it's not my preference. 

One thing that you can do to remind yourself to eat and drink is to set a timer that goes off every 15 minutes or something like that.  Many people struggle to remember to eat and drink....and if you get behind, it can be very difficult to catch back up.  

Cliff bars and Nuun are both good options -- real, solid food, and a low-carb electrolyte drink.  Keep training with that and you'll set yourself up for a good race day!

Welcome, Sally, Trine, and Nathalie!  

Sally -- have you made any progress on your lack of swim motivation?  I saw your post (and responded) about struggling for motivation to get up and train in the morning.  Have you made any progress with that?  Some people are naturally morning people (I'm one....and I don't like to do my training or anything late in the night....I'd go to bed at 8pm if I could!) and others are not.  It's really not a big deal one way or another, as long as you figure out when to get your training in.  We're all given 24 hours in a day....it's just a matter of figuring out when you can do things and what gets prioritized.  Getting your training in can help you deal with the stresses of other things in your life (as I imagine your mother's dementia probably causes you some stress).  Keep at it!

Trine -- how's your training coming for the July sprint?  How's the swimming coming along?  I would say that a wetsuit is not necessary at 76F....in fact, at that temperature, it may not even be "legal" (may be optional, but certainly not required).  As for finishing last, I just figure you're getting the most bang for your buck....the person who pays $100 for an hour of racing ($100/hr) doesn't get nearly the same deal as the person who pays $100 for two hours of racing ($50/hr)   

Nathalie -- sorry to hear about your knees, but hopefully triathlon can become a "fun sport" like you felt about soccer and karate.  I never thought I would enjoy running or become a triathlete, but when I started in 2012, I got seriously hooked!  What are you racing at the end of August?

What time of day did you do this ride?  If it was first thing in the morning, did you eat and drink anything before going for the ride?  If it was later in the day, how was your diet and hydration going into the ride?  What was the weather like and how about the terrain (hilly, flat, lots of traffic, lots of turns, etc.)? 

How much water/Infinit did you have on you and how many waffles / gels?  Did you eat and drink on a schedule, or did you wait until you felt thirsty or hungry (i.e. was it evenly distributed over the 2:40 or did you "dig yourself a hole and then try to catch up")? 

We'll need some more info to be able to offer any real help, but I can tell you what works for me.  For training, I carry three bottles, generally with Skratch in them (similar to Nuun) and will re-fill with water if/when that time comes.  I drink when I'm thirsty, but it's usually pretty consistent (i.e. I don't go a long time between drinking and then chug down the entire bottle or anything).  I also use Honey Stinger Waffles on the bike, but I cut them into quarters and will grab one ever 15-25 minutes, even if I don't "feel" hungry.  This is all applicable to times when I'm riding more than two hours....less than two hours, I usually don't need food and/or am working at an intensity hard enough that food would upset my stomach.