Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 70)

Awesome, nice job! Happy easter to you too.

Thanks for the inputs re the swim stroke count. I will work on it some more with those "single word" answers.

Cheers,

Yes, just kicking. Personally I get really bored just kicking with a kick board so I mix up some kick drill sets - dolphin kick for 50, kick on my side for 50, streamlined kick for 50 etc.

Great job! Flat and windy is all I know here. Enjoy your taper.

Nice Race Pops

Bill....enjoy the taper and congrats on the 3 hour ride!

Joe - 7000 yards in two days is A LOT :-) As far as training simulation days goes....I say do them no matter what the weather, if it's safe.

To all - I just realized you all count the 20 weeks from 20 to 1 instead of 1 to 20. I guess I'm starting week 16 this week instead of week 5.

HAPPY EASTER TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE IT!

Popsracer:

Way to go Bud!!!!! Congrats on the race and Happy Easter!!

I was blasting down a hill today at 30+ mph with the local tri club when I got this crazy idea to do a half in about 5 months.  Anyway, I found an event I am interested in doing and it must be fate because the event is exactly 20 weeks out, which is the length of this training plan! 

My limiting factor is the swim.  Right now 1.2 miles in the water terrifies me because swimming is so counter-intuitive for me - it seems like the less effort I put into it, the faster I go.  I need to learn to swim slowly!

Three hours will be quite the accomplishment! Good luck with the training. Check in on us every once in a while!

It's no counter-intuitive at all to think more effort results in a slower swim.  The more you push the more your form will break down.  Watch the following clip (as well as the others in the series) and you may want to change your perspective on swimming "hard":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRIdzOlRB1s

Very informative video, thanks!  I'll get the hang of it eventually - the prescription for today is 2500y in the pool and 40 minute run.  I'm going to do a small effort in OWS with the tri club just to get some face time in the murk :D 

Joe, I'm not going to get that workout completed in one day this week either. I've got it all screwed up. Last week was my recovery week and I was supposed to race at the end of the week on Sat. Well that was Easter weekend and there weren't any races around. Now I am back to my build week and have my first sprint race on Sunday. It's logistically impossible for me to do that workout right now anyway (pool is 40 min away).

I am telling myself it's ok as long as I get in the distance. I have competed in 10 triathlons over the last two years so I already know what it's like to move from one event to the other, race wet, be cold, be rained on, have the wind blow 30 mph in your face, have my chain slip, be hit in the head, have my goggles ripped off my face, out pace myself, and make a wrong turn on the course .  Oh, and I forgot be run off the road by a giant combine. If the workout is intended to give you a feel for the race day experience I've got it LOL!

Ok, I'm stepping back into this group, for real this time.  I introduced myself ages ago (hi!) and then realized that since I wasn't within the 20 weeks that I should probably wait until I was before posting.  Well, today's day 1 and I'm ready for my first run.

Unfortunately I'm supposed to swim today and all the pools are closed for Easter.  I briefly considered my wetsuit and Lake Ontario but it's 41 degrees today and I'm just not that bada$$ yet.  

So hi to everyone!  Looking forward to joining you on the journey.  

Welcome back, Laurie!

It's just like the rest of the plan. If they are meant to be done back to back, it will note it in the plan. Taper is a time of reduced volume to allow you to recover and absorb all of your training. By the time you hit the taper, the "hay is in the barn" and you won't gain any new fitness. You WILL, however, set yourself up for a good race by following your taper plan and not slacking off. Skipping workouts may leave you feeling flat on race day. Doing more than is called for because you want to get in one last good workout may make you feel tired and achy on race day.

Also, watch your calorie intake in your taper. It's pretty common to eat just as you did in peak weeks and gain a few pounds in the week leading up to the race.

Lots of people gets all kinds of aches and pains during taper and feel like they are bouncing off the walls. Totally normal! It's called "taper madness" for a reason!

Caught a break in the rain and managed the 2 hour ride/30 min run portion of the race day prep workout. Now it is raining again so I feel really lucky to get that workout in. 

Man my legs feel terrible when I get off that bike. They always have. I really tried to maintain an easy pace during the ride - kept holding myself back thinking RPE 2. Had a little wind and some rolling hills but I geared down and kept my spinning easy. I got off the bike and felt like my legs were rubber bands going every which way. I was so frustrated. I just kept running though and pretty soon they felt much better. I finished the run really strong and not even tired so that made me feel a little better. Does anybody else struggle with rubber legs?