Here's a little secret: You will get judged when you start to tell people you are starting to train for a triathlon! They will be proud of you.This book (Triathlon Beginner's Guide For The True Couch Beginner) was aimed at an audience even more beginner than me. (From the couch to a triathlon.) But I liked that quote.
You will get judged when you jump in the pool and struggled to get to the other side. The lifeguards will think: Good for that person.
You will get judged when you jump on that old bike of yours and your pedals start to turn faster than a relaxed pace. People will know you're working towards a goal.
...
When you show up to your first triathlon and you feel like you just don't fit in because [various reasons], people will judge you. They will think, that person worked hard to get here. I know he/she can finish.
Thursday, April 30, 2020
Quote: You will get judged
I liked this quote:
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Week 7: April 23, 2020
Have a look at my week in review.
April 23: Run
(Updated running based on training plan update.)
April 24: MG Intervals
(Also updated.)
April 25: 22M Bike
April 26: Run
(Worried about rain; ran instead of 'off day.')
April 28: Bike/Run
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Training Plan Update
There are a few common themes that find their way into many of the triathlon books I've been reading. Two of them are influencing my training plan:
[Update: 4/23/20] My first run targeting a 135 BPM was much slower than my previous efforts (4.37 mph (ave); 8.72 mph (max)). I had to walk once almost every lap to keep my BPM near my target. According to Strava: 132.6 (ave); 145 (max). The benefit is that I feel better (a lot better) after this run than my previous 'long' runs. In fact, I decided to lengthen my effort and run a 5K. I'll use this pace as a baseline to see if this new approach bears fruit. If I can increase my pace and have my body feel this decent, I'll consider this experiment a success.
[Update: 4/26/20] Targeting 135 BPM makes the running much more accessible to me. I've decided to make my long runs the longer of (i) the time my training schedule recommends or (ii) a 5K. The hope is that (i) will become longer than (ii). On recovery weeks, I'll run based on the time in my schedule.
Baseline: 5K @ average pace: 42:40. (Way below average for my age -- 33:13, according to this website.)
Previous Long Runs
- First, something that I've already implemented, is considering your needed fuel for each workout stage -- pre-workout; during the workout; post-workout.
- Pre-Workout: The resources below recommend some type of calorie intake prior to the workout. I'm grabbing something small immediately before beginning.
- During the Workout: If a workout is going to exceed an hour, the resources below consuming carbohydrates during the workout. This is something I was getting wrong, and am adding to my long workouts (mainly bike rides).
- Post-Workout: The resources below recommending fueling up within 20-30 minutes post-workout with a combination of carbs and protein. This makes sense to me.
- Second, these avoid 'gray area' training. That is train for endurance by going long (but slow) and train for strength by going fast (but short). The 'gray area' is when you train long and hard. You're not helping your endurance and making it tougher to recover. Two things I plan on trying (focused on running for now):
- I'm going to start trying 30/30 interval training to make sure I have a strength workout, replacing the sprints I've been doing. Essentially I plan on warming up for 10 minutes and then run at 90-95% of full power for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of light jogging. The plan is to repeat the run/jog combo 10 times to start and then increase the number of repeats. See more discussion of the training here and here.
- Based on the discussion in Triathlon Running Foundations, I'm going to adjust my 'long' run of the week. I've been focused on completing the run without stopping irrespective of my BPMs. For now, I"m going to switch to run/walk to keep my BPM at, or below, my target. For me, this is a target of 135. I'm been going over (way over) this number in my long runs. See the table below. Run/walk is likely going to make my workouts more manageable... hopefully they do result in the endurance gains. (Joe Friel in Your First Triathalon gives his blessing on run/walk for beginning runners; which he does note is contrary to many recommendations. This book indicates "zone 2" heart rate is for endurance and aerobic training and that for running newbies "zone 2 is slow jogging". That seems about right.) This podcast goes into more detail about the theory.
- Here's how the book suggests estimating your BPM target (based on the Maffetone Method)--with a number of important caveats:
- 180 minus your age;
- Subtract 10, if you're recovering from major illness or injury in the past year;
- Subtract 5, if you've modified your working in the past two weeks because of sickness or injury;
- Add 5, if you have been training for 2+ years without illness/injury.
- Done!
- My calculation (135 BPM) looks pretty consistent with this recommendation (if not on the low side).
Previous Long Runs
These concepts are found in the following resources: Your First Triathlon; The Triathlete's Training Bible; Triathlon, Loving it is easy; Outperform the Norm: Triathalon; & Triathlon Running Foundations.
Disclosure: Please note that some/all of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Week 6: April 16, 2020
Have a look at my week in review.
April 16: Run
April 17: MG Sprint
April 19: 20M Bike
April 20: 20M Bike
April 21: Bike/Run
Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Week 5: April 9, 2020
April 9: Run
April 10: MG Sprint
April 11: 45K Bike
(My longest ride. A distance chosen to match my birthday years--in kilometers.)
April 14: Bike
(Moved a day because of rain on the 13th.)
April 15: Bike / Run
(Tough because of the 20-mile ride yesterday. But survived!)
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Week 4: April 2, 2020
This is a step down 25% time week. Phew! My legs are still tired from the 20-mile bike ride last week.
Have a look at my week in review.
(A little longer than scheduled.)
April 3: Run 18
April 5: Bike 20 Miles
(Felt pretty good. A small accident -- big puddle -- at around 14 miles.)
April 7: MG Sprint
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Effective 20K
According to research by Peter Riegel, a person's speed declines by approximately 6 percent when distance doubles. You can use his formula in order to predict a race time. The following is my predicted 20K (12.4 miles) times based on my training times and this formula. The top 33% of results are highlighted in green.
View my 20K effective times (cycling). View my 5K effective times (running).
View my 20K effective times (cycling). View my 5K effective times (running).
Speed & Distance: April 5, 2020
Overview
Notes:
Notes:
- 'Recent speeds' are my latest long swim/bike/run in miles per hour (looking only at speeds when I bike at least 5 miles or run at least 1.5 miles). No swim speeds yet; pools closed.
- 'Distances' represents my cumulative mileage during 2020 training.
- 'Rider Level' is my recent RiderLevel and 'fitness/fatigue/form' is from TrainingPeaks. Learn more about these on my Tracking page.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Book Club: Your First Triathalon
Book Club is consists of my notes on a book that I just finished.
My first book is Your First Triathlon by Joe Friel. This is a well-written, great introductory book. The following are my notes. Because I'm paraphrasing, key details may be missing. Buy the book; get the whole story!
Keys to Success:
- The goal for your first should be finishing with a smile. Don't pick a long triathlon.
- Motivation; consistency.
- Adequate sleep. You need time for your body to recover. Systematically tense and relax each muscle to relax. Avoid coffee/alcohol near bedtime.
- Review your biggest success of each day before you fall asleep (even if it seems trivial).
- Recommends an evaluation by a physical therapist when starting out.
- Aim for a calorie deficit of 300-500 daily. Breaks from this are okay--and, maybe encouraged, to keep you on track.
- Calorie restriction is more powerful for weight loss than exercise. However, this does not correlate with fitness, since that weight loss tends to be a larger percentage of muscle rather than fat.
- When cutting calories, do so from carbs. Keep protein in-take adequate.
- Record calories-in, calories out. (I like using MyFitnessPal for this, linking it with Strava to add in my calories.)
- Monitor weight daily.
Workout Fueling:
- Before. Either eat some carbs two hours before or within ten minutes before a workout.
- During. If less than an hour (& you fuel before), you should be okay with just water. A one to four-hour workout, an energy gel every half-hour is recommended. Four or more, energy bars or energy blocks make sense. Harder/slower to digest.
- After. Within 30 minutes of workout finishing, fuel up again, including carbs.
- Protein is important. Many athletes neglect protein and are more injury-prone. Meat is a good source. For your daily carbs, fruits and vegetables generally make a better choice than starchy foods.
- Most nutritious foods: (i) vegetables; (ii) seafood; (iii) lean meats. Least nutritious -- whole grains; milk; seeds & nuts.
- Avoid bad fats.
- You may want to supplement with fish oil supplements and, in the winter, Vitamin D -- assuming you're otherwise eating healthy.
Swimming:
- If new to swimming, your goal should just to finish it.
- Focus on good technique first; then swim fitness.
- Swimming mistakes: (i) hips below shoulders; (ii) pushing down on the water; (iii) kicking too much.
- Start by learning to breathe. Take a class or get a coach. Tough to improve on your own.
- If open water swim, learn how to sight.
Cycling:
- Slow down with the right-hand brake (rear), but stop by applying the left (front). Too much front-brake and you can flip over.
- Don't use the largest chainring & largest cog (or the smallest of each). This causes chain wear.
- Don't brake in a corner. Brake before the corner. Inside knee up and lean in. The faster you go, the more leaning.
- Learn how to change a flat.
Running:
- Try to run while your whole foot hitting the ground and springing upward. Heel strikes are not as efficient.
- Run/walk is a fine way for novices to start their run training (although other experts disagree)
Strength Exercises:
- Add if you have time. If not, focus on swimming, biking, running.
- Exercises in the book can be completed with resistance bands, if you don't have access to gym equipment.
Stretching:
Training Plan:
- Do it; multiple times per week.
Training Plan:
- The book contains a number of different training plans. I may adapt one of them for my 2021 season.
- 2 beginner plans; 2 swimmer plans; 2 cyclist plans; 2 runner plans. (The last three are for people with a background & decent fitness in the respective sport.
Your First Triathalon:
- Taper before your race.
- Eat something easily digestible on the morning of the race. Don't skip breakfast.
- Don't introduce new variables (i.e., new food; new equipment).
- Only need water for the bike course; the run will have provided drinks.
- Finish with a smile; walk/stop if necessary; eat something after.
Disclosure: Please note that some/all of the links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the link.
Effective 5K Times
Jack Daniels (the running coach, Olympian, etc, not the whiskey) has a calculator on his website that converts run results into estimated times at various distances. Below is a conversion of my run training times into 'effective 5K times'. The top 33% of results are highlighted in green.
Fithax reads your Strava data and calculates similar information. Here's their analysis:
Fithax reads your Strava data and calculates similar information. Here's their analysis:
Running - 5k
Expected Finish Times
Average
00:34:00 - 00:32:13
Pessimistic
00:36:21
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