Beginner 1/2 Ironman Plan Group (Page 72)

Is your body not receptive to the workload, is it motivation or both?

Just remember that the plan helped you build your fitness to peak for your race. Your mind and/or body might not be ready to get back at it yet. Especially considering the bike accidents you also had to deal with. No need to stress too much about it yet. Your body can't stay at peak race fitness for the entire tri season.

Thanks and I'm not really stressing about it.  Body is receptive to the work outs but I think it's just laziness.  Although I have done 4 work outs since the race.  I've done 3 swims of about 2600m or longer, and a 30min run.  I'm really glad I haven't lost any swim fitness 'coz I can still do 1:37-1:42/100m interval sets.  I'm so lazy to go run and ride.  The accidents did affect me wherein I'm now supper cautious on the bike and it showed on my HIM.  I also developed some loss of sensation down south thus waiting 2 weeks until I hit the saddle again.  I forgot to switch the saddles...   It prompted me to get the Adamo saddle as soon as possible hahaha!

My A race is not until the 2nd weekend of August so I think I'll be ok.  I'll take 1-2 weeks to slowly get back to training shape then about 11 weeks of hard training and a week for taper and travel since the race is overseas.  Short but intense work outs on the bike and run.

Seriously though, I have no urge to run or ride but I'll slowly force myself back into the habit.

Uhg... that's twice now my post has been messed up. It totally skipped my whole post

Sooo... as I was saying... Thanks a bunch Joe for your help. I have a bit of confidence that I'm in the right place and that there is still some room for improvement. I did a 8mi race in Feb. all z4, could not go any slower, last in AG and only a few behind me. Did a 10K in Mar. Friend dragged me faster than I wanted. Still z4 but top 20 AG and finnished 55 min. On the 12 mi I did with my running friend he wanted to take it easy on me. Top of z3 steady and finished in 1:54. So I definitely see improvement.

I did a Tri group at my gym 1st of the year with ex-pro/coach leading it. Got a lot of swim instruction and drills from that. Can still work on mechanics but that has improved too and I'm doing 400s in 6 min. Biking I'm not worried about.... endurance/speed/power. I just need to get running faster.

I think I will count back from my race in Aug... that puts me in week 15 right now. My long ride this week is 2 hrs and I did 2:15 yesterday before a storm. I think I will just tack on a bit on long days... I like longer stuff. And then tweak what I need for speed/endurance. I have been doing recovery too and trying listen to my body. My coach kept harping on me I was doing too much too soon which seems to be a common mistake. So like everyone I want to get enough training in, but I also want to get enough rest in and not get injured. It is quite the balancing act.

Thanks again for the help. I think this will keep me going strong.

Awesome!  Good for her.  

I did my first group ride this morning.  I was terrified to go but the weather was great and it involved getting to know a lot of the lesser known bike paths and good loops in the city, PLUS today was long ride day anyway ... so I sucked up my fear and went.  I left my house (on my bike) at 9:01 and came back in the door at 12:31.   Holy.  It was awesome.  After 2 weeks of rain, it's sunny and (not really all that) warm and it was great to get outside.  My handling skills need quite a bit of work, as does my bike endurance in general.  But I had a great morning.  And now I'm done the first week of the training plan!  Yay!

Pushing hard?  I thought I've been slacking!  Seriously!    No I totally have been feeling like I won't be ready for Fuga (HIM).  What an amazing help you've been - now I'm feeling much better about the HIM.  THANKS!

Back from a week camping with 6th graders! Got in lots of running, but no biking or swimming. Had my first 2 hour ride yesterday and it went great. Stayed mentally tough....broke the ride into chunks to match my nutrition needs, and before I knew it I was home! Good confidence builder.

Week fifteen started today :-) Where has the first quarter of the plan gone?

Great job getting up the nerve to try something new!

Yes, you will be fine! You are really pushing the training and I think you really underestimate how much you are doing. You are training more than most people do for a HIM.

OK, deep breath. Yes, there are many people that get fired up and do way too much too soon. It sounds like you may be one of them. It's ok. That type of motivated personality is attracted to triathlons.

This thread is for people following the Beginner HIM plan here on BT. It is a solid plan. Many people modify it to fit their needs, but it is still a static training plan. Unless you want to hire a coach, you have to make some sacrifices and eventually choose a plan and TRUST IT. Too much information from too many sources can be overwhelming and prevent you from sticking with one thing for long enough to make it work.

There will always be other athletes and coaches suggesting you do things differently. You must choose a path and stick with it first. If it doesn't work well enough for you, then change it. But first you must stop over-analyzing and commit.

You are on the right path. You will be ready for the race as long as you stick to a plan. Best of luck to you! I know you have the triathlete spirit!

Thank you TTMA for the advice. I have a friend at work that did her first HIM last year following this plan. I got good info from the coach I was with but her groups were geared more for... well... new to fitness....

"My plan" up till now was basically following the Bible's advice of just sticking to base and build since I am new to tris and have not been "training" for a while. I tend to "dive right in"... and actually have been doing pretty good at not getting too crazy and just putting in some work and enjoying it.

However, if I don't have a "plan" and just let things work themselves out, then I tend to not do anything. Soooo here I am. I think this will work fine for me to give me some structure. And I do trust it will work cause my co-worker had no trouble at all and she had pretty humble beginnings.

Now I'm off to see how I will schedule week 14!

This is a huge relief to hear.  I have been padding the bike rides because everyone says that more time in the saddle is always a good thing but I really was feeling like I was slacking off.  So good to hear you agree with Joe that I'm doing okay.  Thank you SO MUCH!

Some Advice Needed:

I'm getting my cycling legs under me after five weeks of the plan. I'm totally new to cycling but have been averaging around 19-20 mph on my "longer" rides (1:30 and 2:00).

I hear a lot about "put more time in the saddle," to build endurance, strength, position comfort, etc...

Question: Should I extend my training rides by 15, 30 or more minutes if I feel good during a ride, or should I STICK TO THE PLAN?

Yesterday, for instance, was a 45 minute ride. That was enough time to get my legs warmed up, and then I was done. Maybe I should just go harder?

I know to each his own....but what successes/failures have you all encountered when modifying the plan to include more time?

Gracias!

How is everyone doing? Happy to see the thread so lively and active!  I have been working hard on my running...logged 54 miles last week and expecting to do the same this week.  I also rode twice and swam once (can't get enough!)  I miss the biking and swimming a lot.  I'm definitely enjoying the running but will be coming back to triathlon.  I may even do the 5150 event in new orleans in 2 weeks...going to flip a coin on it.

Great job everyone and keep working hard...and enjoy!

Agree with popsracer 100%.

So I did my first tri of the season yesterday. Local sprint that was my first triathlon ever 2 years ago.  The weather has always been awful for this race. 2 years ago we had 30 mph winds and 90 degrees (which we were not ready for). Last year we had 25 mph winds, rain and a high in the 50's. It was awful and my chain slipped off the gear. I had to get off my bike in the downpour to fix it.

This year we finally got a break! 65 degrees, sun and clouds, 10-20 mph winds. Not perfect but manageable. I was so excited to see the sun shining in the morning because the forecast had called for rain all week. I was just happy to be racing and ready to put all this training to work! The race went great. I finally put everything together and didn't make any major bonehead mistakes. Finished 1st in my age group and 4th woman overall out of 75. Really all of that doesn't matter. I'm just happy I had fun and put together a solid race. I smoked the transitions (more important in a sprint than a HIM I think) and PR'd the bike and run.

Sorry if I sound like I'm tooting my own horn. I just had a rough season last year with lots of races in bad weather, pacing issues, and a general feeling like I just wasn't making the progress I had hoped to see. Yesterdays race really helped me shake that monkey off my back!

In my very limited experience (only training since November) I've been adding bike time to the plan constantly.  In the early weeks it was by hours and now it is by an hour or less.  The most I've ridden in a week was 9 hours and I was definitely overtraining then.  I only add to bike when I know I'll be hitting eveyrthign else OR if the sea is such a mess that I can't swim but I don't skimp the other workouts to add to bike.  This early in the plan I'd say is the perfect time for you to figure out if you can get away with it or now.  YMMV, of course.