Training for 1st triathlon

[bainbridge]

At the tender age of 45 I've signed up for my first triathlon, mainly to give me some motivation to train through these winter months. It's just a sprint: 750m swim, 25k ride and 5km run, but it'll be held in June at the harbour side in Bristol and it's a closed road event, so a nice place to do it.

I signed up at Christmas time, when I was in deep-hibernation mode, and I've been training since 1st Jan. There's plenty of time to build up strength, fitness and technique, so I started gently and am slowly ramping up the training. I'm currently doing 2 runs per week, 1 ride per week and one swim. My original plan was to start by training on one day, having a rest day and then training the next day and so on. This alternating approach was fine at first, but I've been looking at some beginners training plans at think I'll need to step up the frequency of training sessions. Still plenty of time though. Here's how I'm doing for each discipline:

Swim: I'm a crap swimmer. I can plough through a length of front crawl fairly quickly, but leave a tsunami behind me and am knackered. My breast stroke technique is better, I can definitely do the 750m using this Stoke, but it's slow. I'm currently working on developing a tidy, efficient front crawl, and am making steady progress improving my stroke.

Ride: This is my strong point. I'll put in a fast ride time, but need to ensure that the swim leaves me with plenty of energy and I don't put too much into the ride and leave nothing left for the run.

Run: I used to enjoy running until my late 20s but a back injury makes it hard to run at speed on tarmac, if I go into a fast run the jarring in my back forces me to slow. A fast jog/slow run will probably be the result on the day.

Anyway, I'll be interested to hear about other people's experiences doing triathlon and I'll update my progress here.

 

[bainbridge]

Swimming. I've been going to the pool once a week, and this week I've stepped up the swimming training to twice per week. Today, for the first time, I timed myself over 30 lengths (750m). 28 minutes There's still 4 months to go, so onwards and upwards!

 

[gpuerrilla]

See if there are any duathlons near you. I did this after the cycling season the other year and got decimated by the local tri-club on the running legs. Overtook 90% of them on the bike leg but highlighted how crap I was at running.

There should be many around but these would be great for you to segment your goals and use them to practice the transitions. After doing one you can shave off about a minute just by smoothly getting gear on/off and not panicking.

 

[Quartz]

Physically I am - and have always been - very unfit so am actually envious of your ability but as it is your first triathlon, I suggest you just aim to finish. Just finishing will be a huge accomplishment.

 

[jsmoke]

You should find it easier in a wetsuit due to the added buoyancy. Learning bilateral breathing makes a big difference for me especially in open water, also swimming in a straight line in OW is not that easy for most.

Added tip, if it's sunny bring a pair of tinted goggles.

Do some gym work for the swimming, people say it's all technique but extra strength in triceps, biceps and shoulders can make a significant difference. Dips are are good exercise for example.

For swim training try a pull bhoy between your legs for some laps, gets you used to swimming high up on top of the water as it will likely be your legs sinking that's the biggest problem. A lot of front crawl is about your breathing, you need to trickle breathe and not bring your head high up when breathing or out of the water for a long time that's when your legs sink. That's my top tip.

Get elastic laces for your shoes so you can slip them on and tighten them quick.

If your doing front crawl, when you come out of the water you will probably act as if you've drunk a bottle of vodka, you'll be dissorientated. Ear plugs can work wonders.

 

[bainbridge]

See if there are any duathlons near you. I did this after the cycling season the other year and got decimated by the local tri-club on the running legs. Overtook 90% of them on the bike leg but highlighted how crap I was at running.

There should be many around but these would be great for you to segment your goals and use them to practice the transitions. After doing one you can shave off about a minute just by smoothly getting gear on/off and not panicking.

Thanks, I'll have a look. I few people from a cycling background say not to use too much energy on the bike.

 

[bainbridge]

Physically I am - and have always been - very unfit so am actually envious of your ability but as it is your first triathlon, I suggest you just aim to finish. Just finishing will be a huge accomplishment.

You're right, finishing should be the main aim. If I don't come last it'll be a bonus!

 

[bainbridge]

You should find it easier in a wetsuit due to the added buoyancy. Learning bilateral breathing makes a big difference for me especially in open water, also swimming in a straight line in OW is not that easy for most.

Added tip, if it's sunny bring a pair of tinted goggles.

Do some gym work for the swimming, people say it's all technique but extra strength in triceps, biceps and shoulders can make a significant difference. Dips are are good exercise for example.

For swim training try a pull bhoy between your legs for some laps, gets you used to swimming high up on top of the water as it will likely be your legs sinking that's the biggest problem. A lot of front crawl is about your breathing, you need to trickle breathe and not bring your head high up when breathing or out of the water for a long time that's when your legs sink. That's my top tip.

Get elastic laces for your shoes so you can slip them on and tighten them quick.

If your doing front crawl, when you come out of the water you will probably act as if you've drunk a bottle of vodka, you'll be dissorientated. Ear plugs can work wonders.

Some good tips there, thanks

 

[bainbridge]

Running today. I've been running twice per week since the year began and for the first time so far, I timed myself over approximately 5km and it took 36 minutes. It's slow, but a benchmark and if I can knock 10% off and get down to 33 mins, I'll be pleased. I started the year just by doing 15 mins for week 1, then gradually increased the time incrementally each week. I initially had a bit of a feeling of pressure around the top of my left knee, but I found that this started later in the run as time went by, and on Thursday I did 7.5km untimed and I didn't get the pressure until about 7km in. Doing the 5km today I didn't get the pressure feeling at all, so hopefully this means I'm strengthening the muscles and tendons etc around the knees. I'll keep building distance and will introduce some interval training, as well as the odd timed 5km.

Swimming tomorrow. I've bought a kickboard, but instead of delivering me a blue one, it's bright pink!

 

[Martynt74]

I'm sure you looked lovely in your bright pink kickboard

Check out a guy called Mark Lewis on Youtube, he's older and got into fitness late, but has documented quite a few triathlons in race reports. He's also fairly amusing. From some old pictures he's posted though he was very gym orientated in early 20's which probably explains why he's where he is now!

I think one of the main sessions to build up to is the transition from bike to run. Just getting your legs used to that. I recall hearing a tip that at the end of the bike phase it's worthwhile putting your bike in a high/low gear to aid the transition but i forget which way round it is!

 

[john_smith]

Yep, spinning in an easy gear is good for the legs at the end of the bike. I always like to stand up and have a good stretch as well.

 

[bainbridge]

@Martynt74 Thanks, I've been watching lots of triathlon videos, so will check him out.

@john_smith thanks for the tips, any more would be appreciated.

 

[bainbridge]

Swimming yesterday:

I was determined to make it a mainly front crawl session, I want to be able to complete the swim leg of the triathlon doing front crawl. After a couple of lengths to warm up, I focused on steady lengths while breathing evenly. I get out of breath breathing every 3 strokes, but by doing 10 strokes breathing on the same side every other stroke, and then doing 3 strokes to change sides, I'm able to maintain front crawl for much longer. Hopefully with more practice and working on technique I'll become more efficient and able to start 3 stroke breathing, but at least I have a system that enables me to do much more than just a few lengths before getting tired. I'm still slow, but hopefully will get faster.

Running tomorrow. I'm going to do some interval training and see how my back copes with short bursts of higher speed, then back to a steady run, over about 5km.

 

[john_smith]

Consistency is the key. Keep n training and you’ll improve. There really isn’t a short cut to building up to being a good endurance athlete.

Swimming. I breathe single sided, every stroke. For your 1st Tri I wouldn’t worry too much about minor techniques.

 

[bainbridge]

@john_smith Thanks, yes I'm certainly not at the fine tuning stage and am simply aiming to complete it!

 

[bainbridge]

Running:

I did interval training today on a short route which is about 3.8km. I went from jogging to doing stints of fast running, then back to jogging. My back was a bit stiff from the impact but it was nice to feel the wind in my face and to be carrying a bit of speed. I'm going to integrate 1 run per week of interval training into my training and work on fast running of increased duration per stint, and hopefully building up to fast running and sprinting, then back to fast running. If I build up to 5km of fast running with a sprint finish without doing my back in, I'll be very happy.

Swimming tomorrow.

 

[bainbridge]

Swimming:

After a few lengths of breast stroke to warm up, I switched to front crawl and found it a struggle to avoid getting out of breath, which was weird because I've got better at sustaining this. I did a few lengths of just kicking, on my back, and hung around in the deep end doing 30 seconds of upright kicking using legs only, then 30 seconds rest, then repeating. After about 4 of these cycles I went back to front crawl and found it much easier to sustain. I think I really need to warm up properly and need to work on developing a warm up routine more involved that a couple of lengths of breast stroke.

In the last 10 mins I did some fast lengths, as fast as I could with a 30 second rest in between. Tbh my "fast" lengths weren't really fast at all, but I'm trying to mix up my training, rather than just swimming up and down every session.

I'm a bit tired after the faster running on Thursday and swimming today. I was planning to do brick training for the first time tomorrow (bike then run) but might just do 20km on the bike. I didn't ride last weekend because of the storms, so an easy ride and not push too hard might be prudent. I've a day off work on Tuesday, so a rest day Sunday, running on Monday and brick training on Tuesday sounds like a plan.

There's still 4 months to go until the triathlon and, thankfully, there's been no strains or sprains so far!

 

[bainbridge]

Cycling:

Rode 20 miles at a steady pace today.. on my Swytch bike I've been given a cheap road bike (Halfords special with claris groupset) for the triathlon which, evidently, was stood outside for some time. After a clean up and a change of cables it's working ok, but the tyres are badly split. So I need to get some new tyres, and might get some new bar tape too. I could have removed the battery and ridden the Swytch bike manually, but having an electric bike is still a novelty, so I'll step up the cycling on the road bike in due course.

Day off tomorrow and running on Monday.

 

[Martynt74]

Sounds good. My only advice would be to try and keep some of the running sessions just purely easy. It's not generally advised to always be pushing yourself and could lead to injuries, and you'll generally gain better endurance and recovery for the next sessions.

Seems like good progress is being made though, with you generally doing all the distances individually without too much issue

 

[bainbridge]

@Martynt74 Thanks, and you raise a good point. I've been learning about getting the most out of training and avoiding "junk miles", but I can still imagine myself overdoing it and getting an injury. Popular guidance is to do at least one long session per week, and at least one short session with max effort. If I were to do that for swimming, cycling and running, I'd be training hard for 6 days of the week and I think it would be too much for me.

I'm going to try to work things that I do one long session per week of one discipline, one short but max effort session, per discipline, and one timed effort per discipline, and for the other sessions just take it a bit easier.