Sprint: 16/20 Week 2X or 3X Balanced (Page 4)

How did Monday go for you?  I'm not up to swimming the whole distance/time in freestyle quite yet so I switch every 50m between freestyle and breast stroke to keep my heart rate and breathing manageable (I also don't push off of the walls to minimize any "cheating" that I wouldn't get in the open water).  I can do the distance and time with this strategy so it builds my confidence and allows me to move to the next step of getting a little faster each time (and changing the 50m/50m, to 75m free/25m breast when I feel spunky).  If you have general aqueous medium exercise anxiety, you might try to spend more time in the shallow ends of pools just goofing around.

I had the same sort of feeling when I first started swimming for distance/time.  I definitely have a mix of "good" and "bad" days. Sounds kinda weird for swimming, but make sure you are well hydrated (preferably before rather than while you are swimming).  I also feel that meals and activities the previous night affect me more with swimming than running or biking.

Best of luck!

So there is a tri in a couple weeks at the University that I am currently attending (Missouri)... I couldn't resist and convinced myself to go for a sprint tri a couple of months before the "16 Week" program wraps up.  Am I crazy?  The "Trizou," as it is called, is a 440m swim, 14 mile bike and 3 mile run (all of which I can do individually).  I recently did a bike and run back to back for those distances this past Saturday and felt good (well, I ran with my dogs for the 5K run part... so they slowed me down... my dogs are out of shape after their winter break... I should get a dog treadmill with a squirrel to chase).  I feel that I can finish everything albeit at a slow pace.  My friend has done a bunch of Tri's (including an IM) and is going to show me the transition techniques (and practice) this Saturday.  I guess at this point, I'm committed... and possibly should be committed in another sense.

Here goes nothing... or a calf... or breakfast...

Cheers. -t

Awesome! It sounds like you will have no trouble completing your first triathlon! How exciting!!

I'm excited, but pretty nervous at the same time.  I'm worried mostly about the swim.  They do a weird indoor swim for the Trizou where each person follows the previous swimmer after a 10 sec delay (they seed you by your anticipated swim speed).  I know I can do the distance, but my swimming strategy so far has been to alternate my freestyle (~2:00 min/100m) with breast stroke (~4:00 min/100m) every 50m.  I imagine that this would be pretty annoying to anyone else near me as I will be changing pace fairly often.  Any suggestions?

Also, with gels... I've never used them but I could see having something for a "pick-me-up" at the end of the bike.  When do people usually take them?

Goals (trying to keep it easy for first one, but can't resist a couple benchmarks to work towards during the race):

1) Finish swim

2) +16mph bike average

3) sub 10 min mile average for 5k.

4) have a blast! (ok, maybe this should be first)

Hello,

I have been a lurker on here for a few months, reading all the articles and getting very motivated. I started 3 months ago running and will be doing my 4th 5k May 1st, here in Puerto Rico we have 5 k's almost every 2 weeks. Its has been a lot of fun after so long not doing exercise (I am 42, 6ft and 210 ponds). I am surprised at how my body has reacted positively. I purchased a road bike a month ago and I am doing 12 miles runs twice a week to start, and started swimming once a week in the pool. I will start using the 16 week plan as of next week to do my first Sprint hopefully sometime in the summer. We have so many Triathlons here in PR and this year they did the first 70.3 Ironman on the island and really got me motivated. Out of the 3, I thought swimming would be my best since I used to do Team swimming when I was younger and competed in bay crossings here in PR, but it has been the hardest. Running has been fun and improvements seem to come quickly, biking also has been fun since I ride with my cousin who is an avid cyclist and coaches me along. I apologize in advance for any spelling mistakes

Really look forward to learning from all of you and finally getting my Sprint done.

Danny

Welcome Danny!

Just finished my first tri!  Waiting on the official results, but the unofficial printout said that I did a 1:33:32.  Overall I'm pretty happy.  I survived the swim, got my 16mph average on a hilly course and ran a sub-9-minute mile (8:43) for the 5K.  Not bad for a first time clyde.

Best of luck to everyone else working on their plans!

Cheers,

Tom

For a sprint triathlon, a gel would work best right when you are finishing the bike.

Most pool swims start like that to avoid a crowded pool. Do your very best to get out of the breaststroke habit before the race. There will be others doing it to, so don't fret if you HAVE to, but your goal should be to swim as much of that swim in freestyle as you can. Still, give them your best estimate for total swim time and just try to be mindful of the swimmers passing you and you will be fine!

Edited to add: I see I was too late! So sorry! I was working at a marathon expo last week and am behind! CONGRATULATIONS!! You rocked it!!

Thanks Jessica,

I'm hooked!  I'm doing another sprint in July (the Tri the parks race in Augusta GA) and have two Oly's lined up for Sept (Kirksville, MO) and Oct (Benton, IL).  I think that I have enough time to work up to the Oly distance, but it is a little intimidating to think of.  Of course a triathlon of any length used to seem crazy, but now... well...  I'm stoked to do it again.  I'll switch back to real beer to make sure I stay in the Clyde's division.  Just kidding, a summer of fieldwork is going to drop me below 200 no matter what I eat/drink.

Best of luck you all (y'all, you'uns, etc.), I am moving on over to the Oly 20 week balanced training regimine.  Hopefully I'll see many of you there in the future!

Cheers. -tom

I posted here a while ago when I had just first started my sprint tri training.  I had mentioned my worries about the swimming.  I am happy to report that my swimming has improved significantly.  I had started with wearing earplugs, but now do not need them.  Before I couldn't even swim 50 meters of freestyle, now I can swim 50 meters+ of freestyle!  I am excited to continue seeing improvements as I continue getting my butt in the pool.

As for running, I have seen improvements here as well.  I just had a two week beach vacation and for the first time in my life I found myself running on the beach and down the boardwalk.  This week I ran 2 miles three days, 1.5 miles one day, and 1 mile one day. (I average about a 10 minute mile.) A mere year ago I wasn't even able to run 1 mile!  I used to say, "This body does not run", but now I am  feeling like I could one day actually be a "runner".

Here's my question, is it okay to be running 5 days a week?  My energy level is up, physically I feel great, and I find that it is necessary to run this much due to my inexperience in the running department. Thanks.

It's ok IF and only if you are running easy on most of those days. If you try to run fast every day, you qill quickly get injured and stop improving, so run at a very easy, conversational pace for all of those runs until you feel like they are all effortless. At that point, you can consider some speed work like tempo runs or interval work.

Thank you so much for sharing your successes with all of us!!

Hello! My name is Maria and I am seriously starting from scratch!

I love to workout and stay "fit" but I am so scared about starting my training for my first race ever. Because I have seen triathletes and well, I am definitely not triathlete fit, you guys take fitness to a whole new level! But that's not of the main reasons I have always wanted to do a triathlon so I am finally going to start training which is why I figured joining this forum may help me get through it. 

Some background:
I do weight training 2 times a week (legs mostly) and I do cardio 4-5days a week. But I rarely run or bike, I mostly do elliptical the stair master (levels 6-10 varied) and I teach Zumba 4 hours/ week. 

I think that cardiovascular endurance will not hold me back from completing the sprint triathlon because I don't feel out of shape in that sense, I am just really worried about overloading my joints since I am prone to knee pain. 

My questions for you:

I want to start the "16 week sprint - 3x balanced" program but I am having a hard time organizing my training schedule.

Should I run on days that I teach Zumba and swim/bike on days that I don't teach so I can let me joints "rest" or should I run on the days I don't teach? (I do a lot of jumping in my classes)

Also, would it be better to train on a treadmill instead of outdoors to prevent knee problems? I keep hearing that training on the treadmill doesn't truly get you in shape to run these types of races. 

And one more question, is it ok to do spin classes at the gym for my bike training? I don't own a bike and if I did own one I'd have to go out by myself :/
Sorry for all the questions but I am soooo nervous! 
-Maria

Hi Maria! SOrry I am late to respond but hopefully I can answer all of your questions.

I would do Zumba on your swim days so it's not too much impact all in one day.

You should run outside as much as possible as that is the best way to learn to run outside!

Yes, you can do spin classes. Eventually you will need to get a bike and get outside on it so you can do that race. Are you borrowing a bike for the race? Please make sure you have ridden it a number of times before race day so you can safely complete the race.

YOU CAN DO THIS!!!

It's fine to run while taking medication as long as you feel ok. Glad you are on the mend!

Hi I’m John. My wife, Becky, and I just finished the Couch to 5k program. We ran our first 5k last weekend and had a blast. We’re already looking forward to doing that event again next year. 

Monday we start this program for our first Sprint Tri in mid September (actually a Super Sprint, so a bit shorter) and then another Sprint Tri in mid October.

Since we’ve already built up to the 5k distance on our runs I’m thinking about increasing the run totals on this program to match those of an Olympic program in preparation for our first 10k in late November. Does that seem too ambitious?

A couple days into week one now. Still working on breathing technique while swimming and trying to be smooth in all my movements. Its funny how half way across the pool I sometimes realize I’ve forgotten to exhale and that throws everything else off. I don’t have the stamina for more than one lap (2 lengths) at a time without at least a couple seconds breather. Biking has been on the trainer since it’s been after dark when I can get to it. 32 minute run on the schedule for today.

Welcome! Let us know what questions you have about the plan and we can help!

I think you guys will be fine with your plan. Glad to see you taking on a new challenge!

Into week 3 now and haven't biked much due to weather and schedule issues. Hoping to get on the bike tomorrow after medium swim. Still not comfortable breathing while swimming. It seems like I just can't get into a good rhythm. I'll keep working on it of course.

First, welcome PinkBubbleFish.  It sounds like with your running history, you'll have no problem with the 16 week 3x balanced program.

Second, just wanted to share another success story.  My good friend who used to be on a swim team came with me swimming yesterday.  She recorded me swimming upon my request and gave me some pointers on what I can do to improve.  She then told me that my swim stroke looks pretty decent.  I was thrilled to hear this considering I've never had proper swim training.  Last night I had another dream about my OWS and I swam calmly and efficiently.  Perhaps this is a sign of what's to come?!

Also, yesterday I ran the farthest both in time and distance.  I ran for 34 minutes straight, logging 3.26 miles!  Considering I've never been a runner before, I'm very proud of my accomplishments thus far!

Keep up the work everyone!

I did my first open water swim since begining training this past Sunday. Covered about 280 yards. It felt like a long way and I could not stay with frestyle continuous. I'll need lots more pool time before my sprint in September.

Heading out for a short run now. Current outdoor temp is about 95 degrees so I'm guessing this one will be slow.