When do you plan to register for the tri? Maybe get more comfortable in the water before doing so. I can swim 100m in under 3 minutes and I'm a slow swimmer.

I'm already registered, but you can change your estimated swim time up until a month before the race. I'm really hoping I can make a lot of progress in the next six months, otherwise I am going to use up all my energy swimming 400m and have none left for the bike and run!

Hi Jessica - and everyone else,

I found your thread.
I am training for I guess you could call it a 1/2 triathlon in June 09
750m swim
20K bike
5K run

So far I have only been running - I can run about 6-7 K ...but nobody calls me
Speedy, that's for sure.
I have a big gnarly mtn bike I am going to train on - then I think I will rent a tri bike for the race (maybe try it out before the race)
I am not sure I want to invest in a bike as I am such a flake and I change my focus every 2 or so years. The equipment is piling up.

Jessica thanks for starting this thread - i think it will help keep me motivated.

-Susan

Jessica, you'll make a LOT of progress in 6 months. If you haven't done so already, I'd highly recommend a session or two with a professional swim coach to look at your stroke and make suggestions. That will make a big difference, since technique is so important.

Hi Susan! Tri-specific bikes with the full aero setup are notoriously twitchy and hard to handle, so if you rent one, it is a really, really good idea to try it a few times before the race. I ride my road bike for my races, and put on clip-on aerobars if I'm feeling serious, and even that makes my bike hard to handle.

Nelie, how goes the strength training with the tri training? I want to try to add it back into my plan, since I like the things it does for my body, but I always have issues with being too sore, i.e. big time sore and not just the little "good" sore I'd normally get with weight training. Being timecrunched and really into tri, lifting is the first thing to go. If you find something that is working, I'd really like to hear what splits you are doing and how you time them relative to your tri training to get good recovery.

I'm still trying to shake this cold. I've decided that at this point, getting well is more important than training, and I'm trying to make rest a priority, which really isn't happening with two small children. I'm hoping that things go well on Sunday. I need to go through my sports clothes today and see if I can find some things to fit me for this race, since I still have my postpartum body. If need be I can fill in the gaps at our tri store on Saturday when I go in for packet pickup. I'm starting to get excited about the race!

Anne

Welcome to the chat Susan!

Anne - good luck on your tri this weekend!!

I did my first bike ride yesterday, 2 miles. Pretty easy. Since my goal with this tri is just finishing, not speed, I think the 10 mile bike ride will be no problem. I'll just go slowly. Plus, it's Indiana, and therefore everything is flat as a pancake, so no hills to worry about! I bumped today's run from morning to afternoon, since it is supposed to be really nice this afternoon and I was totally sleepy this morning.

I'm out of town for a conference Sat - Wed. I'm planning on bringing my workout gear and swimming gear with me since I believe the hotel has a pool and fitness center. I might be able to run outside, but it depends on how dark it is in the morning (I'm going to Portland, OR).

Anne,
Good luck on your triathlon!

If you get super sore with weights, then I'd suggest to build up slowly. You should really only get super sore in the beginning and then it becomes harder and harder to really get sore.

The part that is difficult is just fitting it all in. I do fairly short weight workout sessions (20-40 minutes) so they aren't too bad to fit in.

I did my sprint tri today, and was I ever undertrained. It is rough doing this with children. There is no time to rest and recover.

Tinfoilman is a sprint distance 825yd/12mile/3mile race. About as easy as it gets. Pool swim, and ride and run are flat as a pancake.

I swam the distance in about 20 minutes, which is about 2 minutes slower than I'd expect had I been training. Back and forth, 33 lengths. T1 was fairly slow, about 5 minutes, since it was cold out and I took the time to dry off and get a long sleeve jersey on and put on socks. I got out on the bike course, which is 3 laps of a 4 mile "block", 1 mile per side, and rode steadily, 47 minutes. I got passed a lot. I got into T2, and did a quick transition to the run, just about 2 minutes to get to my spot, rack bike, and change shoes. The run was pretty tough for me, since my training for this has been absolutely non-existent with the knee issue. I did run about half the time I was on the course and finished the run in about 47 minutes. I'm a pretty visual person, so I ran to, say, that bench, or that tree, and then walked a bit. My knee started whining at about 2.25 miles, so I walked a lot from there, but started to push it again at the end, when I saw I'd be getting close to my 2 hour wish goal. I finished in 2 hours and maybe 4 seconds (I haven't double checked all my math but the finish time is right). The official results aren't in yet, but it is true that this is a personal worst for me on the course. But, I'm so glad I finished.

Now I have to figure out what I'm going to do to train. I have one more fun tri, which is November 1, and a couple 5Ks for the year. I'm going to sit down with my coach soon and figure out what works. I'm sort of planning to play with swimming and biking, doing my home grown C25K, and just kind of get my life a bit more settled before I get serious next year. I'm sort of planning to do an Olympic distance race the first weekend of June, and it's at altitude, so I can't skate through that one like I did this one.

I'm so tired and sore now. But it was a lot of fun.

Anne

Nelie, when I was getting that sore, I had been lifting regularly for some time. I just don't think I could ever get proper recovery. That would certainly be an issue now, when only my left bicep (baby lifting arm) is well-trained.

Congrats on the tri, Anne. Finishing is a victory!!!

My trainer designs such interesting weight lifting regimens for me, that I still get rather sore on a regular basis. I try to make sure I am getting enough protein, but sometimes my soreness makes it way to easy to justify skipping a run. I semi-jokingly reminded my trainer last week that I have a half-marathon next weekend and need to be able to walk. I'm fairly sore the first couple of weeks after each workout regimen change. I've kind of learned to just live with it, and I have really limited myself to lifting 3 days a week, running on the days I don't lift, except for one day when I rest. It was really hard to cut my running down to 3 days a week. Once the half-marathon is done, I think I will cut my running to twice a week, add a day of cycling, and put in some swim time...somewhere. I might have to drop weights to twice a week. All this keeps me busy! Worth it, but busy!

Bump. I've been a slug this week after my tri on Sunday, and a huge meeting at work that has been killing all my time.

I have a 5K on Saturday. Again no training. Sigh. I see lots of walking in my future.

I signed up for this stuff to motivate me. I need to re-evaluate my decision making process, obviously.

Anne

Congrats on finishing the tri Anne! I will be really happy if I can finish mine in two hours, and it's shorter distances than yours. I hope your knee improves!

My training fell off the wagon this week thanks to going out of town for a conference. Conferences are grueling work! 8am to 9pm every day. I did get in my run on Monday, but not Wednesday, and no swims since last Tuesday (the hotel's pool hours were 9-5, so I couldn't get there), no weights or biking since last Thursday. I'm planning to get my run in this afternoon, and a swim tomorrow.

I think I need to reevaluate my training schedule. My knees aren't ready to do 3x/wk running and 2x/wk biking. I think I am going to drop biking to either not at all for now, or once a week. I'm thinking that biking 10 miles will be not so bad to just complete, ignoring speed, so I don't think I need six months of intensive training on it. Maybe I'll throw it back in in a couple months.

Jessica, I'd recommend just noodling around on your bike once or twice a week, just to stay familiar with it and keep your bike handling skills sharp. Also, if you haven't gone to your LBS for a bike fitting, you could try to do that. If your bike is properly adjusted for you so that it really fits you, it should be easy on your knees. An improperly fit bike can hurt.

I found a sweet new mountain biking area about 3 miles from my home! I am all stoked to go, maybe even Sunday afternoon.

Anne

Anne - thanks, I will try for once a week and get myself fitted. How is the mountain biking area?

They opened up a street that was under construction near me, including a brand-new multi-use path along it, so now I can bike/run somewhere different! Last week ended up being not good in terms of keeping on schedule. This week will be different! My run is done for today already. Amazingly I had no problem waking up at 6, despite the fact that I slept until 10 Saturday and until 9 Sunday.

Sigh. I didn't get to mountain bike. I always forget to allow for the fact that I have children (duh) when I make my plans, and everything takes SOOOO much longer than I would have thought possible. Tonight I did get my mountain bike cleaned up and ready for a quicky test ride around the neighborhood tomorrow, and I'll be ready to go up to the off-road area soon. I also have to time-share training with DH, who is shooting for a 3 hr marathon in early December.

I did run this morning and my knee behaved. I'm basically following a C25K plan to build up my skeletal system slowly so I'll be injury free. I'm thinking I should go to the pool but am completely tired and unmotivated. I have another tri, the last of my season on November 1, and it's shaping up to be rough too. I'm planning to get serious with my training in January, but am having a hard time getting in the base I need with training this fall. I will get there from here though. It will just be slow. It is hard to know when I'm just making excuses and dragging, but the facts are that DS is still not sleeping through the night, I'm breastfeeding, and sleep/rest is a big priority for me. This is hard.

I did a 5K on Saturday. Took 5 minutes off my first 5K, which is mostly attributable to being able to walk rather than limp to the finish line. Still, I'll take it. 13 minutes to go to get back to my PR. One more year? I should be running about 3-5 miles by year's end, barring more injury, so that sounds about right.

Anne

Anne, glad to hear your knee behaved. I think the fact that you are even attempting to do tri's and 5k's with a new baby and a toddler is amazing!

I'm having trouble being motivated to swim too, largely because I have to drive 20 minutes to get to the pool. A poor excuse, I know. I'm scheduled to go swim Thurs and Sat so hopefully I'll get my butt there. Today is strength day for me. I was too sleepy this morning but I should have no problem getting it in this afternoon. I might do half at lunchtime and half after work.