Mid Life Crisis - Lets do a Triathlon!

davegilly

I see a lot of these from people who tell you they are very unfit or slow and it turns out they might be a little unfit or out of practice and have run marathons or were a swimmer when younger or go for the odd 100k cycle etc. Well I'm none of these. Last time i played any sport was GAA 25 years ago.

When Covid arrived last year, like many, I decided out of incredible boredom sitting at home to try and get a bit fit. My journey started out around mid May and on my first run I couldn't run longer than 2 minutes continuously. Seriously depressing. To follow on, I couldn't swim properly, still cant swim properly and I didnt own a bike.

One couch to 5K later and here I am

Background
- Male
- Mid 40's
- Married with two kids (ages 10 and 8)
- Working from home since March 2020 and will be for the forseeable future.
- 77.8KG
- 6' 0"

Fitness History

Swim
I can't swim properly. Never learned when I was younger as I have a perforated eardrum so cant have any water in my ear. When my kids started swimming I decided to teach myself. Found earplugs on the web that seal my ear and along with some youtube videos on technique I gave it a go. I can swim 2 or at an absolute stretch maybe 3 lengths of the local pool which i thought was 75m but was recently told it was only 60m as its 20m pool! Knocked me back a bit

Swimming is going to be my biggest problem by a long long way and with the pools now closed again I'm in a spot of bother. I have entered TriAthy which is start of June so if the pools dont open till end of March i dont think I'll be able to do it.

Cycle
Prior to 2020 I never cycled beyond 5k in my life, even as a child. Bought a bike in October - An Orbea Vector Drop gravel bike. Furthest I've cycled so far is 34kms. i try and do at least one 20km cycle every week but with the bad weather recently I haven't cycled since early December.

Run
Started couch to 5K last year and ran a 5K just under 30 mins back in Sep/Oct time. Down to 24ish mins now and can run a 55min 10K. I'm in the middle of a 4 week 10K booster plan so I'm hoping to break 55mins next weekend. I've fallen in love with running and in relative terms, is my strongest discipline by far.

Goals
I'm going to follow the Garmin Olympic Triathlon training plan on my watch. Initially i was doing the Olympic distance at TriAthy but with the pools closed I havent a hope of training for a 1.5K swim with my current fitness and technique. I bit the bullet and changed that recently to the Sprint distance which is disappointing but what can you do. To be honest, the liklehood of the event actually going ahead is slim enough.

I'm looking to do Loughrea end July/August and then another in Louth in September so hopefully one or both of these go ahead.

Next year then its an Olymipc or two in Ireland and then onto the big one, IM 70.3 in either Copenhagen or Tallinn at the end of the summer. Go big or go home as they say

The reason for this log is two fold:
1. To help anyone who is genuinely unfit and show them it can be done, regardless of age. I hope!
2. Just for myself so I can track my progress and keep myself motivated.

Any advice from experienced athletes appreciated. I'm open to help from anyone!

RacoonQueen

If pools open by end of March and you get yourself a decent swim coach, you'll certainly survive the sprint swim in Athy, assuming it is the same setup it is a downstream swim for the sprint so you could just let the water carry you in theory. Best advice is make sure you have been in open water a couple of times beforehand. I was given that advice and did not take that advice before my first triathlon and my first two races were very difficult swims - despite me swimming twice a week with the club and doing good pool distances since the previous November.

Youngatheart

Hi, myself and my daughter did Dublin IM 70.3 in 2017. I’m a lot older than you (60 then), and though reasonably fit, it was a huge challenge. I had been running 2 -3 times a week, with the occasional 5k, 10k, and maybe one half marathon a year, but no training plan or coaching. My swimming was like yours - I tired to swim once a week, but had to pause every 2-3 lengths, and getting to 20 was a struggle. I did no biking. We followed a very loose training plan - we were both very stuck for time, so did very few long runs or cycles. The best decision I ever made was to join a triathlon club. They provided a coached swimming session every week, which transformed my swim - I’m still the slowest but I can manage up to a mile in open water now without panic. They also did a bike tt every week - 16k, which was tough but fun. My daughter and I tried to get a decent cycle (50 - 60k) every couple of weekends. The club also had a coached speed session, and a “long” run every week, and for me they were by far the most enjoyable. The long run was usually 10 - 15k.

We both finished the race (6 hrs 25 for me, 6.40 for her), wrecked but couldn’t have felt better if we’d won. So my advice is go for the sprint distance (we did a sprint that June - first open water event), try find a class in a pool if you can’t find a club, and mean time, build up the running-:you’ll have no problem doing that. My biggest regret was not doing more on the bike, but I don’t really like cycling!

I’ll be interested in your progress- good luck - you’ll really enjoy it! And at 40 you’ll have no problem getting a good fitness base.

davegilly

Thanks for the feedback both. Makes me feel a little more confident about everything so thanks.

I did plan on joining a local tri club and still do but will likely wait until the pools open again. I emailed a local coach asking for leasons when they opened again but didnt get a reply unfortunately.

I did read also that most of the sprint swim in Athy is downstream, i think 250m up and 500m down, plus the wetsuit will definitely help. Is it possible to stand in the river if you needed to take a rest? Maybe closer to the edges it might be possible or is that even allowed?

Went for 8k run and 30k cycle today. Pretty tired now - will just be tipping away running 2 or 3 times a week with an odd cycle until training starts properly on Feb 16.

Youngatheart

Hi, don’t worry about the swim. The wetsuit helps with buoyancy. You don’t need to stand up - just breaststroke for a while if you get tired, or flip on to your back, and scull backwards - you’ll be amazed at how easy that is. You can catch your breath, and either way, your still moving, albeit slowly, but so what? That’s what I have done in the two sprints and two 70.3s that I have under my belt.

davegilly

Youngatheart wrote: »

two sprints and two 70.3s that I have under my belt.

Fair play to you!!
Any interest in a Full IM?

RacoonQueen

I was told before doing Athy that the river is shallow enough you can stand in it. Don't worry about that though, as has been said you can scull or roll over onto your back if you get tired or panic. Just start at the back of your swim wave and you'll have plenty of space to take your time.

Youngatheart

davegilly wrote: »

Fair play to you!!
Any interest in a Full IM?

No, I have thought about it, but I know I just wouldn’t be able to do enough training to do one. While a mile or so in the sea is manageable, I’d never be able to do enough swimming training to get up to 2.4, never mind the cycle and the full marathon! At my age, I’m happy enough to stick with the shorter stuff, and try to enjoy it. My second 70.3 was in 2019, on a blazing hot day and the cycle, which was very hilly, nearly killed me!

davegilly

So I finished the 10K booster training plan last week. My Achilles was really sore mid week especially when I got up in the morning. Spent the week icing it but decided not to risk running a 10K and did a fast (for me) 5K instead. Managed 23:32 which is over 2 minutes faster than I ever managed before so delighted with that!!

Achilles is a little tender still so going to pack in the running for a few weeks and instead doing a 3 week bike plan from this week to help me get up to a comfortable 50K/2 hour cycle. Plan for this week is a progression cycle, intervals and then a long zone 2 at the weekend. This should lead me into a 12-14 week training plan up to TriAthy. Sorted.

davegilly

Forgot about this!

Turns out the Achilles was a little more serious than I thought!! Haven't run since early March, diagnosed with a torn achilles, not off the bone thankfully. Cycling irritated it as well so had to down tools on everything in April until 3 weeks ago when pools opened again. Bit of a disaster and pretty depressing to be honest. No plans other than to recover now at the moment. Achilles still sore in morning's but not as bad as previously. Hopefully another 4-6 weeks and all ok again.