General Discussion Triathlon Talk » brand new, started training 3 weeks ago Rss Feed  
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2012-02-19 8:47 AM


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Subject: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago

going to do first triathlon in 10 weeks

5k run, 9 mile bike, 300 meter swim

 

today I did 5k treadmill 24:10, 9 mile stationary bike 33:30, and swam 300 meter in 9 minutes(completely new to swimming)

what would be a competitive time in this race? what do you think of my program?

 

routine looks like this

Monday - Swimming:

100 m x 5
300 m x 3
500 m x 2

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Monday Workout.

Tuesday - Upper Body Weight Training:

Bench Press - 4 x 8-12
Chin-Ups - 4 x 8-12
Incline DB Bench Press - 4 x 10-15
Rows - 4 x 10-15
Military Press - 4 x 8-12

Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Tuesday Workout.

Wednesday - Cycling:

Work up from 10 km to 40-50 km non-stop cycling

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Wednesday Workout.

Thursday - Lower Body Weight Training:

Power Snatches - 6 x 2-4
Full Squats - 6 x 6-8
Deadlifts - 4 x 8-12
Core / Abs Training (Planks + Weighted Sit-Ups + Leg Raises) - 3-4 Circuits x 10-12 Reps



  Click To Enlarge.
Plank.
Video: MPEG - Windows Media

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Thursday Workout.

Friday - Running:

800 m x 4 (2-3 minutes rest in between each set)
1 mile x 2 (5-10 minutes rest in between each set)
5 km to finish

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Friday Workout.

Saturday - Upper Body Weight Training:

Bench Press - 4 x 8-12
Chin-Ups - 4 x 8-12
Incline DB Bench Press - 4 x 10-15
Rows - 4 x 10-15
Military Press - 4 x 8-12

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Friday Workout.

Sunday - Complete Triathlon Training:

300-500 m Swimming
10-20 km Cycling
1 - 5 km Running

  Click Here For A Printable Log Of TUnit's Weeks 1-8 Friday Workout.

Sunday should be timed and improved upon each week until desired time is reached.



2012-02-19 9:44 AM
in reply to: #4055250

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Champion
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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
Is preparing to perform well in the triathlon the main purpose of your training?
2012-02-19 9:56 AM
in reply to: #4055250

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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
To understand what would be a competitive time, I recommend you search the event website for race results from previous years (assuming this isn't the first time this race is being held).
2012-02-19 10:42 AM
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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
My first full sprint this year too, go to cool runnings . Com. They have a lot of events listed and you can get times to compare to. Thats what i did.
2012-02-19 10:54 AM
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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
I'm confused about the long rest periods in the middle of your Fri run. What source are you using for this plan? 5-10 mins for rest between sets seems exorbitant or even counterproductive.
2012-02-19 11:21 AM
in reply to: #4055250

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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago

Oh, I missed the bit about 'competitive times'.  Are you asking because you want to be competitive?

The plan you have is not particularly well suited for top performance in a triathlon.  In general, people are not going to perform even close to their potential on two swims, 2 bikes, and 2 runs per week.

And I agree with the poster who suggested that the Friday run is weird.  It is.  In fact -- setting aside the weight training (no comment there...) -- all of the tri-related workouts are weird, and probably not what is going to prepare you best for the race.  Did you make this plan up, or get it from somewhere?



2012-02-19 11:35 AM
in reply to: #4055398

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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
You can also check out some free sprint training programs by hitting the programs button above. Take a look at them to see more traditional/specific plans and see if they meet your needs/time constraints.
2012-02-19 11:59 AM
in reply to: #4055377


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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago

whats weird about the running?

 

the run in the competition is 5k, im guessing the sets before the 5k at the end are to exhaust you to somewhat simulate the real thing

2012-02-19 12:00 PM
in reply to: #4055377


3

Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago

whats weird about the running?

 

the run in the competition is 5k, im guessing the sets before the 5k at the end are to exhaust you to somewhat simulate the real thing

2012-02-19 1:51 PM
in reply to: #4055250

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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago

On the assumption that you will start with 2x/week for each discipline, and the assumption that you are focusing on doing well in the triathlon, and the assumption that you are relatively new to this, here's what a more or less typical week could look like for you.  I'm being deliberately vague about what counts as 'hard' and 'easy' because you don't need to worry about hitting precise zones at first.  You just need to get S/B/R-ing consistently.  I don't in any way propose this to be your plan -- the point is just to illustrate the difference between what you posted and what a typical beginning regimen looks like.

MON:  Off

TUE:* Bike.  Warm up for 10-15 minutes then do 4x(3 minutes hard/1 minute easy), working up to 6x(4 minutes hard/1 minute easy).  Cool down.

* Swim:  10x50 warmup (easy); 10x50 as drill 25/swim 25; 12x100 moderately hard to hard, with 10-15s rest between; 200 cool down.

WED: Off

THU:  Swim:  10x50 warmup (easy); 10x50 as drill 25/swim 25; 3x400 moderately hard to hard, with 30s rest between; 200 cool down.

FRI:  Run 3 miles easy (conversational pace).

SAT: Bike.  Warmup 10-15 minutes then bike moderately hard for 30 minutes, working up to an hour.  Cool down 5-10 minutes.  Once or twice before the race, run 1 mile immediately after the ride (aka 'a brick').

SUN: Run 5 miles easy, incorporating 5x30s strides.  If you feel good, pick up the pace a little for the final mile.

 

(The part of this (non!) 'plan' that makes me cringe the most is the 2x/week running.  You should really try for three, in which case I'd put an easy 3 mile run on Wednesday.)

See the difference(s)?

As others said, look at some of the free (or paid) plans out there to get a better idea.  Find plans written by sources with a proven record in triathlon.

 

2012-02-19 2:04 PM
in reply to: #4055428

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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
triathBrah - 2012-02-19 1:00 PM

whats weird about the running?

the run in the competition is 5k, im guessing the sets before the 5k at the end are to exhaust you to somewhat simulate the real thing

You don't need to be running hard intervals right now.  (And if you were running hard intervals, the set that you wrote down would not be the place to start.  You need to have many many miles under your legs before you could attempt that set and hit anything like the intensities needed for the set to be truly beneficial to you.)  

In fact, running hard intervals is probably the worst thing you could be doing.  It will almost guarantee that you get injured.

Focus on consistency.  If you can run 3 times per week, that's a good start.  If you want to get serious about running up to your potential, build slowly.  (The general recommendation is 10% per week, but it's more important to listen to your body.)

The idea that you should simulate race conditions as a regular part of your training is understandable, but misguided.  Doing so will just lower the quality of your training.  There is a place for race simulations, but that place is once or twice 3-4 weeks (or so) prior to the race, not weekly.



2012-02-19 2:20 PM
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Subject: RE: brand new, started training 3 weeks ago
What's your goal?

Where is the training plan from? It's incredibly generic. If you are truly new to endurance sports, you'll improve on this for awhile, but you'll improve much faster with a plan that has specific progressoin from week to week of both distance goals & intensity goals. Many of these are available for free, including here on BT.

My suggestion woudl be to cut the strength work significantly unless you just want a general "fitness" plan and tri is not your top goal. Otherwise take that outline and write down specific weekly progressions, sticking mostly with "conversational pace" efforts for bike & run with an occasional test effort. I would skip the "total tri" each weekend...no real benefit and it takes away from more dedicated time for one of the sports. Its like weighing yourself too often or hanging out on the forums too much, if you can see the comparison there. It takes time away from what you could otherwise be spending as quality training for one sport.

For your first triathlon, it's reaussuring to know you can complete it, but you already proved you can.

SInce your swim time is less than 3 minute per 100, you need a lot of specific swim technique work. See if you can get a lesson or two or check out some swim instruction (I teach Total Immersion) or at the very least post some video. Since tehcnique is such a primary limiter for your swimming, I would not swim more than 25 to 50s at a time so taht you can focus on good balance and streamlining and trouble shooting ways to improve your swim time. I would encourage you to see if you can get your 25s to 30 seconds and your 50s to 1 minute.

Also, this all could be totally different depending on your background in each sport.
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