Gray Guys/Girls Master's Focus Triathlon Mentor Group--CLOSED (Page 4)

Hi, I would also like to join the forum.  I am new to the forums but used BT help me complete my first Olympic Tri in August 2014.

Name:  Thomas Hands

Story:  Always enjoyed sports and thought of myself in good enough shape until my children started doing triathlons.  I quickly found out I could barely keep up with them.  Tried my first try a tri in 2013.  I could barely complete the swim and had to walk half of the run.  I started to train in the later part of 2103 and 2014 and completed by first Olympic distance in Stockholm in august of 2104.  Shortly after we got struck by back to back hurricanes, managed to severely injure my ankle, and I am now just getting back into the swing of things.  Feels like I am starting all over again.  Ankle is still tender but slowly working on adding up the miles, can only do 6 miles before it starts complaining.

Family: Three children and married 18 years. Entire family is now into Triathlons.

Current Training:  About to start a half iron man program (01/01/2015).  I have been doing some swimming as it was the only thing I could do for months with the bad ankle.  Started running in mid december and currently up to 6 miles before i need to rest it.  Recovery is slow but I am making progress.  Training for the HIM in Victoria, BC

Weight:  I am a Clydesdale at 6'4 and 230 pounds.  when I first started training I was 240 and dropped down to 215 just prior to the Olympic.  I love beer and food so weight loss in not terribly important.  I realised after last year that with all the training, I get to eat as much as I like and still loose weight.

Question for you all -
I'm starting the winter cycling program on Sunday (the HR-based one here on BT) so I did a 30' TT today to get my HR zones.  I had only estimated them before based on what my run zones were.  I know the 2 are different - cycling is usually lower - but the results I got seem to be too low.  My estimated LT before was around 170, today based on my TT it was 144.  I've always had a hard time getting my HR up on the bike but I'm thinking I probably took it a little too easy on the test.  The instructions say you should finish feeling like you've given it all you had, and my legs did feel fatigued when I got done, but not trashed.  Also, my HR came back down into the 50's pretty quickly.  So, should I re-do the test before I start the program or just go with these results for now and adjust later (the program has you do a TT periodically so I could adjust then)?  I'm using this program basically just to keep up with my cycling while I train for the HM, but I don't want to lose whatever bike fitness I have by riding at a too-low effort. 

Janet

Hey Janet -

Cycling is a non-weight bearing exercise so your HR is going to be lower.  My bike HR zones are 16 BPM less than my run zones.  I would say go with the numbers you have and re-test in 4-6 weeks with a caveat.  If you think your RPE is not matching up with your HR, you might consider re-testing sooner.  Remember that HR is going to lag behind your effort on the bike.  Sometimes a considerable amount of time.  Also, HR may be effected by temperature, how tired you are, stress, and a number of other things.  So take that into account.  If you think your RPE to 7 or 8 and your HR is 120-130, then all is probably good.  On the other hand, if you think your RPE is 7 or 8 and your HR is 95-105 there may be a problem.  I say may be, as it could be some other factor like stress, or didn't recover from the last workout, etc.  After a couple workouts you will have a pretty good idea if your zones are set properly.

Hi Thomas,

Welcome to the group.

When is the HIM?

Hi Edwin,

Welcome to the group.  You have done some marathons so you have some idea of what training is all about.  We have a great bunch of people here that are happy to answer questions and share their experience.

Post up a short bio when you get a chance so we can get to know you a bit.

Deb,

Glad you are back.  You are such an inspiration.  I would love to have a tenth of the drive and energy that you have!

Hi Tim,

The last three times I have been in Albuquerque it has been so windy that I could barely stand up.  Granted we were just passing through and only stopped to fuel up at the Pilot off of Interstate 40 but  I thought the motor-home was going to blow away.  Don't know how you can ride a bike in that kind of wind!  You must have thighs the size of my waist!

Welcome to the group.

Gray People is just what I've been looking for.  This new year will be my 4th season for Triathlons and I'll be racing in the 65+ age group this year.

I'll post a bio PDQ if I'm in.  I would just add that I live about 4hours-ish north of Wenatchee (Penticton, BC) and among about 7 other events I am planning to sign up for the ChelanMan Half distance race this July.  I hear the bike course is challenging to say the least so a bit apprehensive.

Thomas Hands, Last June I was in Victoria and raced in the Victoria Oly.  I had signed up for the HIM race but injured my leg while running so I ran the shorter race.  It's a great race and route.  It was crazy cold for Victoria and my teeth were chattering before we took off on the swim but the bike route was great and I enjoyed the trail run around Elk and Beaver Lakes.  If you go into my Profile you can read my race report for the Saunders Subaru Victoria OlympicTriathlon.

I had forgotten that I have a race photo of myself crossing the finish line that I want to post as my new Profile Photo.  I just have to figure out how to do it.

Hi George,

Welcome.  This group has a really diverse mix of experience so you will fit right in.

To change your profile picture - Hover over "Hello wenceslasz" up in the top right corner of the window, then on the drop down menu, click on "Settings," click on "Profile," then select "Profile Photo."

Please post up your bio when you get a chance so we can get to know you a bit.

In the interest of full disclosure, Daniel and I have been conversing via private messages. He asked me this question yesterday and I suggested he put it up in the mentor group as we have a number of folks that are new to triathlon and may have the same question.

Daniel,

Your question is a loaded question in that it touches on MANY topics. I have a bad habit of getting very long winded in some of my responses so I will try and restrain myself this early into the new group!

The temptation when you are just starting out is to jump in and do a bit of everything, without much thought towards what the various activities may be doing for you or how they interact with each other.

So “Kudos” for asking the “Where do I start question.”

You mentioned a heart rate monitor so I will start there. HR monitors are excellent tools – so long as you understand the limitations and know what the data is telling you. Unfortunately, they can also lead you astray if not used properly. The most important thing when using a HR monitor is setting your training zones properly.

The most effective way to set zones is off of your lactate threshold. As most of us don’t have the budget or access to actual lab testing here is a link that describes how to properly perform lactate threshold field testing – http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=633.  Your health and safety always comes first and when you read the article, you will note that it explicitly states if you are a new athlete NOT to perform a lactate threshold field test until well into training as it can be very strenuous. I should say that I take exception to Mike’s preferred method of swim threshold testing as there is an easier way that is just as accurate.

Absent a lactate threshold field test, there are still ways to set your training zones. Here is a link that discusses several different methods – http://beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=405.  In my opinion, the Friel Method using Lactate Threshold is the most accurate, and the Karvonen Formula is the preferred method without using Lactate Threshold. The problem with The Karvonen Formula is that you need to know your Max Heart Rate (you can determine resting HR using your HR monitor). Here is a link that can help with determining max heart rate – http://www.digifit.com/heartratezones/maximum-heart-rate.asp.

Now that I have taken all that time to explain how to set heart rate training zones, I suggest you not use a heart rate monitor in the beginning. There are a couple reasons for that. One, your heart rate zones are going to change rapidly and dramatically in the beginning as you begin to gain fitness – you would need to be re-testing every couple of weeks to keep your zones accurate. Secondly, you are going to be busy learning technique and becoming familiar with the concept of structured workouts. The heart rate monitor can easily become a distraction. Another real compelling reason is the ability to accurately gauge “Rate of Perceived Exertion” or RPE. RPE is a scale from 1 – 10, 1 would be resting or sitting on the couch doing ‘channel up/channel down’ exercises, 10 would be an absolute all-out effort. Many triathletes get caught up in the gadgets and can’t accurately evaluate RPE which becomes problematic in training and especially on race day. It is a good skill to develop and there is no better time to develop it then early in the process. Just my humble opinion.

Moving on to actual training, most athletes will be more successful having a plan to guide their efforts. The plans that you can find here on BT are an excellent choice for a training plan. Most were written by Mike Ricci, an experienced and highly respected Triathlon coach. There is a problem however in that the plans are generic plans. They were not written for YOU. Except for one, all of the plans, including those that say “Beginner,” was written assuming a base level of fitness. Even the 20-week 2x Balanced Beginner Sprint training plan starts out with over 2-hours a week total training time. That may not sound like much, but just starting out with no fitness base, it can be a challenge. It isn’t the first week, or the second. It is the cumulative effect of week after week. Also, those beginner plans assume you know how to swim, you know how to ride, and you know how to run; often that is not the case. The one exception is the Michael Pates Total Sprint - 22 Week Training Plan. That plan does assume a novice coming off of the couch; however, the plan starts out training 6-days a week with double trainings three days each week. Regardless of how small or low volume the early training in the plan may be, that much structure may be a challenge to someone just starting out.

So I want to take a moment and look at the big picture, then drill down to training at the weekly and daily level. I am not going to get into a big discussion on periodization although I am going to mention a couple of the concepts.

You generally want to organize your training typically taking an annual big picture view – this is called the macrocycle. Another way to think of the macrocycle is that it encompasses the entire upcoming season. Then you break the macrocycle up into smaller, more manageable phases of training, called mesocycles. Mesocycles typically last 6-12 weeks and emphasize similar types of physical adaptations or learning/training. Generally in triathlon training, the mesocycles are: Base, build, peak, and taper. A real basic statement is that early on you are working on aerobic endurance, then as you move closer to your race date your training begins to transition into more race specific training that increasingly focuses on speed work.

The base phase may be the most misunderstood phase. Truly building an aerobic base takes years. Stating the obvious, Mirinda Carfrae didn’t wake up one morning, decide she was going to go race an Ironman, spend 8-weeks working on base, and then go out and win three world championships. She spent decades working on her base fitness and developing her aerobic engine.

For a novice triathlete, a just-off-the-couch triathlete, or a triathlete returning for injury, the base phase might better be termed the Train-to-Train phase. This is the time you would be learning how to swim, how to bike or run. During this time you will begin to become comfortable with structured training. This is the time that you would begin to build a base level of fitness that will serve as the foundation for your future training.

Daniel, in your case specifically, we have talked about a Couch-2-5K running program to get you back running. We’ve talked about a swim program to get you in the pool and adding some spin classes to get you started riding until you purchase a bike. We also talked about a basic weight training program. Your ‘A’ race is the sprint triathlon on July 18. Meaning a 20-week training program would need to start mid-February, while a 16-week program would need to start mid-March. That gives you 6-10 weeks for this base or train-to-train phase.

Looking at the free BT Beginner Sprint plans, there are a number to choose from. The balanced plans are just that, the training is balanced among the three disciplines. The focused plans have one more training per week for one of the disciplines so you can focus on a weakness. My suggestion would be to go with the balanced plan at this point. If it were me I would be leaning towards the 16-week 3x balanced plan. That has three workouts per week in each of the discipline. Taking 10 weeks for the train-to-train/base phase will have you adequately prepared for the volume at the beginning of the 16 week program.

The only thing that’s left is planning the training during the train-to-train phase. I would look at the training plan you are going to use a follow the general form. Obviously you don’t want to do everything every day. Using the training plan as a guide you can see how to break things up and integrate training in multiple disciplines. I add weights on my swim days as I am already at the gym.  You have mentioned you would like to do some yoga.  That is non-impact and can pretty easily fit into your schedule whenever and wherever you choose.

Last but certainly not least, probably the single most important thing you can do to be successful is to have consistency in your training. Establish a plan, or use an existing plan, and then follow the plan. Missing one workout is not going to cause the sun to stop coming up and sometimes life happens and you miss a workout. Missing workouts on a regular basis leads to not being properly prepared on race day. Consistency is more important than any one workout and more important than the volume or intensity of any given workout. Consistency in training is what will get you to the starting line, and more importantly, consistency in training is what will get you to the finish line.

Hope that helps to answer the question of, “Where to start.”

Oh, there is one thing left! Now it’s time to start training!

Happy training!