1st Time Sprint Triathlete - 8 week training log

TomD101

After burning my hand last week it put me out of action for a while. I had to take Friday and Saturday off. Went for a 2 hour cycle on Sunday and couldnt train on Monday. Yesterday I went to see if I'd be able to do a bit of swimming with the hand, did 45 mins in pool the 45 mins on the bike. Ended up getting a flat tyre. :mad: Supposed to be taking part in Duathlon in Phoenix Park tonight so I will have to get the tyre repaired today.

Also, swimming last night has caused any new skin that was forming over the blisters on my fingers to be removed. Its going to take a while for the skin to grow back and blisters that havent burst to go away so I could see this affecting my swimming training. Will do no swimming from now until Friday and I'll see how it is then.

littleredspot

Yuck! Very unfortunate. I've been thinking of entering another tri a month after the one I'm training for, just in case something like this happens. Its hard but sometimes you just have to ease off and let your body repair. Good luck tonight, looks like it'll be a cracking evening for it.

TomD101

littleredspot wrote: »

Yuck! Very unfortunate. I've been thinking of entering another tri a month after the one I'm training for, just in case something like this happens. Its hard but sometimes you just have to ease off and let your body repair. Good luck tonight, looks like it'll be a cracking evening for it.

Cheers for the post lrs, yeah I'll enter another one at the end of the summer I say. Thinking of putting a glove on or something next time I go swimming, can't afford to lose too many more days. How is your training going?

TomD101

Took part in the duathlon out in the Phoenix park last night and it was v enjoyable with the weather being perfect. I hadn't mentally prepared myself for how tough it was going to be - doesnt look half as bad on paper than it actually is! Finished with a time of 51:29. Don't know if this is good or bad but going on the results it looks below average!

Started the run at a steady enough pace, wasn't pushing myself too hard and finished the first run in 11:29. The bike was definitely my weakest part - I wasn't sure how fast I should be going as I didnt want to burn myself out and on the first lap I was getting used to the course, had no idea what turn came next and was going wide around bends and freewheeling down hills etc! Got passed by a good few people. Picked up the pace a lot more for the next two laps and was flying around on the last lap. Given that I'm new to cycling I could probably do with a few pointers, do people go flat out for the whole time they are on the bike in triathlon's or do the conserve energy at any stage. Also my lower back was starting to get sore on the last lap, dont know why this was the case as it never happened to me before. Bike leg came to 25:02 which looks a pretty poor time. The transition to last run was my first proper bric and it was tough! My calf muscles were twitching like crazy for the start of the last lap like they were going to cramp at any second, went away after a few mins. Got talking to a sound girl who was running at same pace which made last lap easier as didnt have to concentrate. Felt strong for the last part of the run and picked off a few runners to finish 12:43.

The cycle home for 50 mins was pretty tough too!

TomD101

Thursday : Tag Rugby for 40 mins
Friday : 5k run, easy, still getting the legs back working after Wednesday
Saturday: Golf dented the training time but got a quick run in for 8km in the evening
Sunday: 1 hour in the pool followed by half an hour directly after on the exercise bike which was torturous, thought I was gonna hurl halfway thru. Went on a road trip and played golf and then drinking for the rest of Sunday. Which resulted in a very hungover Monday which can be designated as the rest day for this week!

Covered my fingers with plastic before the swim and it worked great. Bit nervous about getting the blisters infected from open water swimming but they should be fully healed by the weekend. Also bought a wetsuit on Saturday!

TomD101

Tuesday : Tag Rugby for over an Hour, lots of sprints.
Wednesday: Swim for 45 mins in 20m pool. 10 lengths to start. Sets of 2 lengths faster. 6 lengths legs only kicking. 8 lengths arms only. 6 lengths on back legs only. 22 lengths to finish with some breaststroke thrown in every third length. Cycled for half an hour afterwards, round 10km.

Anyone any advice how I should focus the training on the last 3 weeks? Pick up the intensity for the next two weeks and ease off final week? Im abroad this weekend unfortunately so training will be curtailed. Hoping to start open water swims soon though.

TomD101

Thursday: 45 mins swim, 40 mins tag rugby
Friday, Saturday, Sunday : in Holland for the weekend with work
Monday: 45 mins swim

catweazle

Nice what part of Holland, hope it wasnt a weekend bender in the Dam.

Hows the river flow in Athlone, its looking like it will be an up and back route for you this year.

TomD101

catweazle wrote: »

Nice what part of Holland, hope it wasnt a weekend bender in the Dam.

Hows the river flow in Athlone, its looking like it will be an up and back route for you this year.

I was over in Eindhoven for an indoor soccer tournament organised by the company I work for where the different European offices meet up. Wouldn't count any of the games as a workout and there were a good few beers drank! Been in Holland a few times and it is a nice country but I find some of the urban areas very boring!

Haven't been down in Athlone for a few weeks, planning a trip down this weekend and will be in the water. I imagine given the weather over last two months it'll definitely be an up and down swim unless there is some crazy amount of rain over next few weeks. Having real doubts whether I'll be able for the swim if it is an up and down swim. The swimming has improved a lot in the last few weeks but I still reckon it won't be strong enough to go 375m upstream. I'll keep the training up and if not able for it by the last week I'll have to drop down to the 200m swim. Also have done no open water training yet so I'll see how that goes at the weekend.

Last night i did an hour in the 20m pool:
5 sets of 6 lengths, some breastroke when tired
4 x 2 lengths working on stroke
30 lengths of 2 lengths freestyle / 1 length breaststroke
Then cycled for approx 10km in 35minutes. More of the same planned for today.

griffin100

Haven't been down in Athlone for a few weeks, planning a trip down this weekend and will be in the water. I imagine given the weather over last two months it'll definitely be an up and down swim unless there is some crazy amount of rain over next few weeks. Having real doubts whether I'll be able for the swim if it is an up and down swim. The swimming has improved a lot in the last few weeks but I still reckon it won't be strong enough to go 375m upstream. I'll keep the training up and if not able for it by the last week I'll have to drop down to the 200m swim. Also have done no open water training yet so I'll see how that goes at the weekend.

Dont worry about the upstream part if the swim. If its anyway fast flowing they'll change it to a downstream swim only quick enough. Last year the flow wasn't that bad yet they still changed it. Just make sure you get some OW practice in and know that you'll probably still have a wtf am I doing here moment early on in the swim on race day when you see how murky the water is - just set yourself up to ignore it:)

catweazle

Yes I shouldnt have mentioned it , there was a 600m upstream swim in Athy this year but the flow was so weak you could barely notice any difference.

Athlone is a great race for newbies, there will be a load of ye in the same boat, doing your first tri. You have done more than I have for my first last year so you will be fine

Dont drop down to 200 you will be sorry afterwards

littleredspot

Some good advice I heard was to put your head under the water briefly before the race starts, that way your body won't get such a shock when the race starts.

TomD101

Thanks for the replies lads. I really want to do the full distance but am a bit worried about getting into a situation where I am swimming as hard as I can and ending up wrecked. Probably a bit of first time anxiety given that I am only an average swimmer in the pool and get plenty of time to stop at the end / recover if I need to in a pool. I've planned to do an open water swim in Lough Ree on Saturday morning on my own so we'll see how that goes, hopefully it will give me some confidence that I will be able for the triathlon swim.

catweazle

I would agree with littlered, jump in and mess around for a few minutes before you start to swim, give your body time to adapt to the water or you will run out of breath very easily. The water is grand this year anyways after a minute or so it will feel lovely.

Dont bother about being exhausted after the swim, you only need the legs for the bike and you can recover on the bike while still moving along

You have done enough training to justify going for the sprint.

TomD101

Yesterday : went to Poolbeg for a swim with my friend.

cycled 8.5km there then swam / crawled along for appprox 400m, found the water shallow and murky and swallowed a lot of it! Hopefully swimming in the lake / river will be easier with the wetsuit on at the weekend. Water temperature was fine though.

Cycled 9km back and then went for a 2.5km run. Overall none of the intensity was too high but it was a nice relaxed exercise session.

TomD101

Thursday : Tag rugby for 40 mins, wasnt the hardest match but was nice and warm so the HR was up. Went for a 20km cycle and a 2,5km run afterwards which took around an hour. Savage evening in Dublin!

TomD101

Friday : went for an easy run for 45 mins

Saturday: first session of open water swimming in the lake. It was way harder than I expected. Took a while to get used to the darkness of the water and all that stuff that I was warned about before. Also struggled with my breathing and was gasping for air a lot. In the end I wasn't able to do 3 strokes per breath and had to do 2 strokes a breath. Also did a lot of breaststroke. Started to improve towards the end as my confidence improved. Went for an 8km run then on Saturday evening.

Sunday: more swimming in the lake. Basically there were 3 of us (all first time triathletes) swimming from one buoy to another which were approx 150m/175m apart. Stopped each time for a min or two. Did 8 sets of up and down between the buoys, which took around an 45mins. I was more comfortable than Saturday, probably helped that the lake was a lot calmer. Still went with 2 strokes a breath though. Should I be looking to do 3 strokes a breath on the day? I found it difficulty to breathe out fully under the water which was hindering me doing 3 strokes per breath. Also, will there be anyone else throwing in breaststroke or will I be the only one?! The other two lads were a lot stronger swimmers than me. The worry now is finishing way behind everyone in my wave which may be a bit embarrassing. Would be great if I could swim in the lake every day for next two weeks but unfortunately I'm in Dublin so will be in the pool. Might try to get out in the sea on Tuesday evening though.
On a positive note, the wetsuit is great for buoyancy !

catweazle

There will be loads of breast-strokers on the day

I wouldnt worry about the two stroke breathing, I have gone the same way, from 3 stroke breathing to two when I am out in open water. Although I am more breathing every time i need it these days whether thats every 4,3,2 or 1 strokes, its a great benefit being able to breathe from both sides.

Well done for going out the 2nd, I had two friends who arent bad swimmers back out of doing tris after their first open water experience, it takes a bit of getting used too. Its a shame too as they had put in a lot of work in the pool and biking but unless they man up soon they wont be doing any tris this year

TomD101

catweazle wrote: »

There will be loads of breast-strokers on the day

I wouldnt worry about the two stroke breathing, I have gone the same way, from 3 stroke breathing to two when I am out in open water. Although I am more breathing every time i need it these days whether thats every 4,3,2 or 1 strokes, its a great benefit being able to breathe from both sides.

Well done for going out the 2nd, I had two friends who arent bad swimmers back out of doing tris after their first open water experience, it takes a bit of getting used too. Its a shame too as they had put in a lot of work in the pool and biking but unless they man up soon they wont be doing any tris this year

ah yeah thats what its all about catweazle. The easy thing to do would be for me to say that I am a poor swimmer and accept the fact and not do a triathlon at all but if you take that attitude you wont get very far in anything. Even though I'll be one of the weaker swimmers it will still be an achievement if I get through the swim given I couldn't do 1 length of the pool in January. If I get some practice in the open water I'll improve at it.

When did you make the decision to go from sprint triathlons to more serious training? Training everyday is a big commitment but I've been enjoying it so far. Trying to decide what I'll do in two weeks time coz I want to keep training and aim for something else, maybe another sprint a few weeks later. How long did it take you to get to the stage where you can train everyday to a very high endurance level? For most people a 10k race is something they build up to do but you do it for the craic!


Yesterday I went to the 20m pool for 45 mins, worked on breathing every 2 strokes and alternating to 3 strokes per breath. 20 lengths of 2 freestyle, 1 breaststroke. Then some single lengths. Then 30 lengths 2 freestyle, 1 breaststroke to finish.

Then went for a cycle and got lost - ended up doing around 27km which had me fooked by the time I got home! Stopped after 10k to watch a 1600m swimming race in Dun Laoghaire, impressive stuff from those involved!

catweazle

TomD101 wrote: »

When did you make the decision to go from sprint triathlons to more serious training?

I certainly wasnt doing that 10k for the craic yesterday, had to sit down for a few minutes after I was so wrecked

I dont know to be honest I really enjoyed the sprint distances the first year but I was never very quick. Gradually as I continued training I was able to increase the distance in swimming and running and i started running half marathons late last year. Connemara Marathon was probably the main pointer, I loved the long runs and all the training. I didnt do as well as I had hoped but I enjoyed the day anyways. Now I could do with some more discipline when it comes to getting out on the bike but i am getting better.

In a way increasing the distance isnt as hard as you would think, the shorter distances are very hard as you are flat out the whole way. As an example last night I ran the first 5k in around 23.00 which was comfortable for me, it only started getting really hard for the last 2k. Whereas I was trying in vain to break 20.00 for 5k and 20.56 was the best I could do and I was exhausted from the first k on. Sprint distance is tougher than Olympic in many ways

With the training I have some advantages at the moment, no kids and a very patient wife

As regards yourself, you should definetly sign up for another Triathlon, one a month is a good number, the Loughrea triathlon is on in early september and its a lovely one to do (I am biased), see how Athlone goes but if you like it maybe sign up for that one. In August the Brian Boru (This ones hard but great fun) maybe or look for one closer to home. They are all listed here http://www.irishtriathlon.com/index.php/race-calendar/

Come the end of tri season if you are enjoying the training, tip away at the swimming over the winter and maybe focus on some half marathons for early the following year. Connemara in April is a fantastic race whether it is half or full you are doing. Maybe join a local tri club they are great for motivation, our club has all standards in it

Fair play to you sticking with it, I was listening to one of the mates giving me the poor mouth again about swimming in open water again and him doing 1000m in the pool earlier that day. Hes well able to swim, he just needs to get out there and get used to it

TomD101

Yeah I might look at the Loughrea triathlon alright. Hopefully I catch the bug after doing this one. In many ways I would prefer to do an olympic one as it seems like more of an achievement doing an endurance event and after doing the duathlon a few weeks ago I can see myself being flattened during the cycle trying to keep the pace up. Will be trying to do a quick run aswell.

Last night I went for a swim in Dun Laoighaire for around 500m v easy pace. Noticed a jellyfish right in front of me when I was doing breaststroke at one stage so hastily decided to get out of there! Cycled there and back and did a quick 2k run. More of the same planned tonight.

TomD101

Swim last night in Dun Laoighaire, v slow pace for around a half an hour. Ran 5km after it. Swim in pool and tag planned for this evening.

Starting to feel a bit tired and in need of a rest! Any views on tapering the training next week? Obviously wont need that much rest beforehand given it isnt an endurance event, will 2 days be enough?

DustyBin

Hi Tom
Try and do 50% of a regular weeks training and you'll be grand.
Maybe the day before the race go out for a short very easy run (4/5k slow) and throw in something like 6/8 x 100m strides at the end to get the blood flowing into your legs and also should help recruit a few fast twitch muscle fibres for the race.

If you don't know (cos I didn't for ages) strides are basically a short burst where you run at a high speed, concentrating on posture and a good long stride with a high kick behind. If unsure about the distance, then just count 60 foot falls instead, short recovery between and go again. Try to do on a flat bit of the road.

TomD101

DustyBin wrote: »

Hi Tom
Try and do 50% of a regular weeks training and you'll be grand.
Maybe the day before the race go out for a short very easy run (4/5k slow) and throw in something like 6/8 x 100m strides at the end to get the blood flowing into your legs and also should help recruit a few fast twitch muscle fibres for the race.

If you don't know (cos I didn't for ages) strides are basically a short burst where you run at a high speed, concentrating on posture and a good long stride with a high kick behind. If unsure about the distance, then just count 60 foot falls instead, short recovery between and go again. Try to do on a flat bit of the road.

Thanks for the post DustyBin. Will keep the training going this week but will be looking to keep the sessions light and only one discipline each time. Rough plan is swim Monday, Tag Rugby Tuesday, Thursday, rest Wednesday and a small OW swim on Friday. Will do a few strides on Thursday and Friday - its a good tip thanks.

Went to Athlone on Friday night and did a swim in the lake on Friday night, was a lot happier with the OW than the week before. Apart from breathing very heavily at the start (possibly due to getting used to being in the water?) I settled pretty quickly and was swimming two strokes per breath mostly and threw in breastroke when I was getting tired.

Swam in the same place in the lake on Saturday but swam for further. I reckon I covered around 800m but the time it took me was v long! I have no idea how long it will take me to do the swim next week, hopefully I won't be last out of the water! Went for an 8km run afterwards which was decent.

Last night I biked 10km ran 3 km, biked 7km and ran 3km. Thought this would work nicely as a BRIC session to get the legs used to it but they didnt feel the wobble at all. That was the last heavy session I'll be doing before next weekend.

TomD101

Swim last night for 50 mins. 20 lengths to start, some drills with floats, 20 lengths to finish. Took it fairly easy.

Might do a bike run tonight.

TomD101

12km bike then 2 k run last night.

Day off today , tag tomorrow.

3 days to go!

TomD101

Just getting around to writing up how my first triathlon went on Saturday. Was happy with how it went and am delighted I decided to do it.

Took the day off from work on Friday and drove down and got my stuff ready. Ate plenty of carbs in the evening and went for a swim in the lake for half an hour to burn up some nervous energy!

We were off at 9.00 am on Saturday morning, thankfully I wasnt caught in any rain showers like other competitors on Saturday morning. Was pretty nervous before the start - fear of the unknown more than anything. I'm thinking it was first timer nerves and wont have them again! I positioned myself out wide and at the back for the swim. I didnt want to get caught in a melee for my first triathlon in case it would knock my confidence. Started ok on the swim for the first few minutes, thought I was going faster than I actually was as when I started looking up the majority of swimmers were a lot ahead of me! That resulted in a few wtf am I doing here thoughts as I was pretty nervous about being totally left behind on the swim. Also didn't spot as much as I should have either and tailed off right on two occassions but not too far. Once I got to halfway I was delighted as I knew I had plenty in the tank and there were a few people behind me so my confidence was growing. I actually swam past a couple of swimmers who were starting to get tired on the swim upstream which I was happy about. Was pretty tired by the time I was finishing and the last 150m were pretty slow I say. Overall I reckon I did about 70% free style and 30% breaststroke on the swim. I reckon I would be able for all freestyle in the future but it was just a lack of confidence that had me doing breastroke. The swim time overall came to 19:37.

The transition to where the bikes were located was pretty far away. I jogged the whole way to the bikes as I felt a bit dizzy after getting out of the water. Looking back on how long it took me I should have been sprinting! Got the wetsuit off ok and got the shorts, top and race belt on without difficulty but the whole thing took me 6 minutes - definitely room for improvement.

The bike was uphill and straight into the wind and was definitely that hardest part of the race. I passed two early on in the cycle but was pretty much on my own for the whole thing. After around 7km I started getting passed out by the leaders of the group which went after us. I was struggling to guage how fast I was going. I also had a terrible pain in my lower back for the first half of the cycle, I dont know what caused this as I have never had any issues before. I think it may be the wetsuit and my posture in the water but it would be great if someone knew what could be a cause because I think it stopped me going faster on the bike at the start. When I got to halfway and the turnaround it was happy days with the wind at my back. I pedalled as hard as I could for the return trip but was still on my own. It will be a real motivator to try and improve my swim time if I am going to do any future triathlons so that I won't get detached for the bike leg and have to di the whole bike leg on my own, especially if it is windy. Bike time took 41:42.

The transition to the run wasn't too bad and I didnt get as much of a jelly leg experience as I was expecting. Found the course nice and the crowds were great. It was a great novelty running around the town especially being a local. Found the first lap the toughest but improved my stride in the second lap. Got a bit of a sprint in the end aswell and run time came to around 26mins, which is a bit slower for what I was aiming for.

Overall time was 1:35 - a new personal best!! Considering I had no idea what to expect from the whole experience and that I couldn't swim 1 length of a swimming pool in January I am pretty happy with the achievement. However I think I have caught the bug as I have been thinking over the last few days about how I could have went quicker! I put in my best effort on Saturday but a big problem I had was knowing exactly what level of HR and effort I should be putting in in each of the disciplines eg should I have tried sprinting some of the swim and the run early on instead of a steady pace. Should I have tried to max out on the out part of the bike? I know I'll only find out by doing more triathlons!

Thanks to everyone who has posted tips, info and encouragement on the log. For a novice who was training on my own, I found some of the comments very useful and re-assuring and really appreciate the effort you guys made in taking the time to reply. If you have any comments about the times / what I could do better / where to go from here I'd love to hear them!
Tom

Times:
Location Time Split
Swim 0,75 km 0:19:37 0:19:37
1st Transition 0:24:50 0:05:13
Bike 20 km 1:06:31 0:41:42
2nd Transition 1:08:51 0:02:20
Run 0,55 km 1:12:39 0:03:48
Run 2,78 km 1:24:05 0:11:27
Finish (Run 5 km) 1:35:18 0:11:13

Wreck

Congrats on the race dude, and a great write-up too! I've been following your log for the last few weeks and all the hard work definitely paid off.

catweazle

Well done Tom, I was wondering if either you were gone on the beer or had drowned after it. Fair play to you. The guys in my club said the run was closer to six k than 5 so thats a better run time than you are giving yourself credit for.

Sign up for another one, that will keep you on the straight and narrow

DustyBin

Fair play Tom real good going on your first, like catweazle said - when's the next one??