James Tri Training

Hello Runner,

Well, it’s been a week, and I am sorry for the delay in the Triathlon post race recap… we had some much needed website maintenance last week that had our website down for a short time, and I wanted to make sure we were up and running before I posted an update.

As for the event:

On the personal side, I won’t get too much into the details, it was a fun event, and for my first actual race in over 3 years, I feel like I did well, but my performance definitely suffered. I did complete my first triathlon, and did better than a lot of others. I’ll definitely do another one, although I will likely wait until next summer. There’s a few events I have my eyes on. Check out the Pole Pedal Paddle… not a real triathlon, but still good times.

The one thing personally that I really need to work on is taking time to train correctly. The whole point of this thing was to prove that I could train for a triathlon with a limited amount of time each week. Although it is possible to train in a short time, to train for good performance will take better management of time, and a more intense training schedule.

For The Future:

So I mentioned personal that I would train a little harder, but I would like to share with you the top 5 tips I would change to the training/event prep that I did (in no particular order). Hopefully these will help you in your training. These will be more specific such as:

1. Swim More Open Water. – I spent a lot of time in the pool, and felt very comfortable swimming there. But a lot of the technique and comfort I had went out the window a week before when I hit the cold water, got dizzy, and had to cut the training short. It was only 3 days before the event that I discovered ear plugs and that they would keep me oriented. Also, swimming in 62 degree water is a lot different than 81 degree water. Everyone says to do more open water swimming, and I simply thought swimming was swimming… not true. Get out in the open water!

2. Get A Better Bike. – There is a point where any bike will do, and honestly, the best cyclists in the country could beat me riding the heaviest Walmart special around. But there is something to be said for a bike that functions well. The clunky gear changes, and unpredictable handling of my $200 Walmart special held me back a bit. It was especially disheartening on the first half of the bike ride which was all uphill… having the chain skip on a gear change really loses a lot of momentum. If I were to do it again, I would probably rent a bike, get a new bike, or at the very least, have my bike professionally tuned and fitted before race day.

3. Practice Transitions More! – There were a lot of different ways to transition, both from swim to bike, and bike to run. Efficiency was my focus through the events, but honestly, I hadn’t put a ton of effort into making my transitions that efficient. In my defense, a lot of people used the transition as a rest time between, so they took a lot longer, but knowing how to lay my shoes, or getting out of my wetsuit quicker, or starting my iPod for the bike. I was in and out of T5 in about 1:45 which didn’t seem bad, but I could have been much faster. (T2 was easy because I had worn my running shoes on the bike.)

4. Get Tri Shorts. – Ok, so this is something I did a few days before the race that ended up being life changing. I was planning to swim with a pair of Speedo style swim trunks and then pull some shorts over them later. In my one attempt at this, I chaffed horribly (I won’t get into details). I finally broke down and bought some Pearl Izumi Tri Shorts for a good sum. But on race day, they worked great under my wetsuit, and dried quickly on the bike, and were very comfortable on the run. I am very happy that I did not forgo this small expense, as I would likely still be walking funny if I had.

5. Focus on Fun. – I’m a pretty competitive person, but in no way did I go into this event thinking I would win it, or be in contention. I wanted to push myself, and perform my best, but I knew there were those in the field that were going to easily win, and no amount of 12 week training plans would put me with them. I put a lot of stress on myself to perform, and at many times, that took a lot of the fun out of it. It was about halfway through the swim when I really put my “fun face” on and had a great time. Being in the “My First Triathlon” wave helped with that a lot as well. It was a very fun wave, and the other athletes were more friendly than many of the more “elite” athletes in attendance. It was a lot of fun to trade training stories, and tips with them before the race, and sit and enjoy post race beers and ice cream with them.

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing and enjoying the journey with me. This will not be my last Tri, and I will definitely be doing more events in the next year than I did the past 3. It does take a lot of balance and work to train fro three events. It was motivating and helpful to see the support and advice I received from many of you reading my reports throughout the process.

Thinking about it?

There’s a special kind of person that enjoys distance and endurance events. It makes finishing a race an accomplishment, and performance a rush that has to be felt to be understood. If you are considering a Triathlon, go for it. The crowd is fun, the swim isn;t as bad as everyone says (wetsuits float) and the feeling of knowing you’ve done something that many people will never attempt is a great one. I met a woman that was 68 who had done here first triathlon at 65. She loved the feeling knowing that many her age were retired to the couch, and even though she had no chance to be the overall champ, she loved pushing herself to the limit (the age group was’t that saturated either.)

What does it take to be that type of special person that has done a triathlon… simply going out and doing it.

Until next time:

Just Keep Running (& Swimming & Biking)

Hello Runner,

Well, I’m only 6 days away from my first marathon, and I’m totally freaking out.

OK, not totally, but I really don’t think I am any closer to being ready than I was 12 weeks ago. It’s been a long process, and the reality is coming quickly that maybe I am not as prepared as I should be.

But, as they say, the show must go on. I’ll still swim, bike, and run… or die tri-ing. (All the puns are intended.)

Survive The Swim!

Had a little bit of a wakeup call on Sunday. My wife and I decided to swim the course with our new wetsuits, and it was the first time hitting the oh so cold river.

A little over halfway through, I found myself getting very dizzy, and only through my best efforts was I able to relax. I cut the swim about 100 meters short and got up to dry land. My legs were fine, and I wasn’t freezing, but boy was my equilibrium messed up.

After some thorough searching through the Tri forums, and other places, I figured out that A. I should be wearing a swim cap in cold water, and B. Cold water in your ears can really mess up some people.

I’ve always had sensitive ears, so it doesn’t surprise me of these facts. Supposedly the cold water gets in your ears and essentially just messes up your balance. I had a problem early on in the pool with some equilibrium issues, but they went away. I guess the cold water is not as forgiving as the river.

So last night, I hit the store and got a Silicone swim cap, and some earplugs. After my acclimation swim this morning, I can say that I felt 100% better, no dizziness, and ready to bike when I exited. I’ll likely get in the river everyday through Thursday just to keep acclimating my body to the temperature.

Are You Ready?

I’ve entered a lot of events, and I always have this thought of “Did you train hard enough” right before them. But  if someone never had any doubts about their training, they’d likely be lying. Should I have had that taco and beer during week 4? Should I have cut that swim short to make the dinner party?

The only thing to do now is to go out and do it. I know it will be hard to live up to my own performance standards, and I know that there  will be unknowns that I will encounter during the day, but that’s what makes it worth it.

At the end of Sunday, I’ll have intimate knowledge of what a first time triathlete goes through… what to pack in my transition bag for next time, what not to eat the night before, and how much time I should focus on training for each event.

And I’ll let you know on Monday the 20th… should I survive.

Until next time,

Just Keep Running

Hello Runner,

Well, Only 2 more weeks of training left. I likely will not “taper” my training in the pure sense of the word, but I will relax and take care of my body more in the week leading up to the race.

This next week has a few “brick” workouts as well as more running.

I have been enjoying the summer, and it has been HOT here… like 100 degrees at 10 AM hot, so I have had t really rush out of bed and get my bike or run in before the sun came out. I also took the family camping, but it was at a lake, so I got a few short laps in some open water.

A Curious Discovery…

My running has been a struggle lately. I don’t do well jumping out of bed and going right into running (my back hurts, my gait is off, and my body position sucks). I much prefer an “on-ramp” that lets me work into the day, and head out mid afternoon for a good run. My body at that point has been moving for awhile, and I find I just feel better on the road/trail after a half day of being active. I think it allows my body to get back into awake mode.

This morning I did about 10 hard miles on the bike, uphill both ways, and decided to jump off afterward and take a short run. The running felt like a million bucks. It stretched and relaxed all the places that were tight from the bike, and my body felt like it was totally aligned.

I now am looking forward to the run on race day for two reasons… one is because it will mean the last leg of the triathlon, and the second, because I think my body will be warmed up and ready to run.

Get The Gear…

Sarah posted a great post on Getting the right gear for a Triathlon early in this process… You can see it here.

So, in my best fashion, I ignored every bit of advice, and just bought whatever I wanted.

For The Swim…

Well, I’ve been through a ton of pairs of goggles. but finally settled on the TYR Sport Special Ops 2.0 Polarized Camo Goggles. These are nice, give a good field of view, and I have had 0 problems with leaks. I also like the polarized lens for the open water swimming. It also has a little shoutout to my Marine Corps roots with the camo decoration.

For training I was wearing some board shorts early on, but quickly found that was the worst idea and created a lot of drag. I quickly decided to make the change to the Digi Camo Jammer by TYR… streamlined, and of course, camo to match the goggles. (What can I say, you spend 4 years of your life wearing camo, and it becomes your style. I’ll likely wear these on raceday under my…

WETSUIT… boy, these things are expensive, but there are some great options, and I wasn’t too comfortable renting one. So I chose the Blueseventy Sprint Fullsuit. Everything I read about it said it had some high end features at a beginners level price. A lot of people said I didn’t need a wetsuit, but there are two good reasons to wear one… they keep you from going numb, and they HELP YOU FLOAT.

The wetsuit is getting delivered today, and I will for sure get out in the river with it next week and give a full review.

For The Bike…

I have an old Schwinn I bought about 6 years ago from Wal-Mart that cost me around 200 Bucks. Its like this one, but it has a straight commuter handlebar on it that I have been using for training. I bought some aero bars from eBay for 30 bucks, but haven’t gotten the shift/brake situation figured out.

All things considered, I am fine with the bike as it is. I may keep my eyes open for some decent drop bars, but if it’s too difficult, I’m in a ver “run what you brung” phase with the bike.

Also, I’ll be wearing my running shoes on the bike. I have never liked clipless pedals (why do they call them that), and it will save me a lot of time on transition.

For The Run…

I am thinking of getting a new pair of shoes this weekend. I have been a bit partial to the Nike (GASP) Lunarglide series, but I also may try something from Skora. I’ve had a pair of their Form shoes that I used mainly for the gym, but may try some short runs in them to see how the “zero drop” works for my running style.

What I’ll Wear…

Well, for the swim, I’ll wear my Jammer under my wetsuit, and when I transition into the bike I’ll throw a StrideBox shirt on, and probably a pair of shorts over the Jammers for the run (just for some modesty). I thought about going all out with a StrideBox Tri-suit, but with the investment in the wetsuit, I figured the Tri-suit was just a glorified shorts and tank top.

And I’m not a pro… yet.

Until next time…

Just Keep Running

Hello Runner,

I am sorry for the delayed entriess into the training log. This whole system was setup to show that it was possible to get past “busy” and trying for a Triathlon in 12 weeks.

With that said, the one thing that has fallen apart is the training updates. I continue to train, but I am also busy making StrideBox even cooler than it already is, and sometimes, that means delaying the “personal” training update.

This last week of training was awesome…

Putting It All Together…

This past week of training had some major breakthroughs, with swimming being the biggest one.

I have always been good in the water, but training for a Triathlon has made me a little weary, and more conscious of my energy usage and technique. After buying the Total Immersion Swimming book, I put the training plan included in the book into practice.

It was a slow process only being in the pool twice a week (and skipping my sick weeks), but I literally have retaught myself how to swim in a fluid, economical fashion.

And last weeks training in the pool really reflected that. I am continually putting together laps with 12 or fewer strokes per length, and getting out of the pool with energy to spare.

Next up for the swimming phase is taking it to open water. There are some great little parks with swimming ponds to get started, and I will for sure be hitting the river to swim the actual course before the race date.

Wait, I have to Swim, Bike, AND Run?

OK, so I knew this all along, but now that my training on the individual pieces is starting to go well, I am looking forward to see what happens when I combine them in some of the workouts going forward.

With individual workouts, I usually perform them at a high rate, and go until I am thoroughly exhausted. I know if I am riding the bike for 12 miles, I can hit a certain pace, and when I get off the bike, my legs will be toast. Same with the run. The swimming is probably the one thing I perform at a sustainable pace.

Combining these three into a seamless event is going to be a welcome struggle. Pedaling for 12 miles is different when I know that I’ll still have to run afterward.

Fueling The Machine…

(Before I talk about this, please let me tell you I am not a licensed doctor, lawyer, or CPA, this is only intended to tell you about my experience, and is not to be taken as medical, legal, or financial advice.)

Another thing that suffers when you’re busy is your eating schedule. Between the Moutnain Dew mornings, and the training at lunch time, sometimes it is a struggle to eat enough calories to keep this machine moving forward.

Some people go on a diet to lose weight, and end up with no energy to workout. This gives them a sense of despair when it comes to working out and feeling “tired” when in reality, they are not eating the right amounts of food (Salads are for bunnies).

If you’ve ever done a workout system like P90X, you know that their diet plan allows you to eat like a Barbarian, but still lose weight. Even though you eat a ton of food 5x a day, you are eating the right amount and types of calories to help you get through the workouts.

For me, what happened here is that I had a workout plan, but not a life plan. Fueling and keeping the right kind of fluids and food in my body has been a struggle, but now has been changed.

I won’t post my personal fueling plan, because all people are different, but it includes more simple lean calories that are easy for my body to process, while giving me the  energy I need to train at my optimal level.

(Blatant sales pitch: StrideBox includes some smaller/lightweight fueling options that are good for pre-training as well as snack time to give you an extra push when you need it.)

That’s it for this week, Only 5 weeks left to train, and then it’s the big day. I think it’s time to invest in a wetsuit.

Just Keep Running.

 

Hello Runner,

Well, Week 6 is in the books, and there are only 6 weeks to go. Summer is here, and it is 95 degrees out right now. Luckily, it is a refreshing swim day.

Also, sorry for the delayed posting again, last week we packed and shipped our June StrideBox (good stuff inside). If you don’t get it every month, you are missing out.

The Simple Way To Do A Triathlon:

There is only one easy way to do a Triathlon… don’t do it. This applies to Marathons, Half Marathons, 10Ks, heck, any event that requires any sort of training is easier if you just don;t even attempt it.

The months/weeks/days waking up sore, or sitting in an ice bath, or dreading the stairs up to the second floor, or sitting down for an hour after a tough bike or swim is too much.

Waking up this past week and putting on my shoes has been a chore. I have been pushing every ounce of my body to the limit, mentally and physically knowing that in 6 weeks, I have to do something that 99% of the world will never even dare try.

It’s funny if you think about it, the race won’t be on TV. My mom and wife may check the results online, but none else will. Nobody will even know I did the race unless I tell them.

So Why All The Trouble?

There’s something special about this training thing that I have noticed in everyone I have met so far along the way. Talking to people at the pool, or after a run, they all like the fact that they are in charge, and they get to compete against themselves.

The race isn’t the motivation, its merely a tool to gauge your self motivation, your internal drive to want to be the best person you can.

And really, we even pay for the privilege to do these races. Even the medal and shirt can be bought on eBay for a fraction of the cost you paid to compete.

The True Measure Of Progress:

We’re halfway to the big Triathlon day, and I am in a little bit of a slump. I am halfway through my training, and I feel like there is so much longer to go. I’ve gotten better at some things, but really still feel like the hard work is ahead of me.

This is one reason I advocate physical handwritten training logs. I keep one, and I won’t share it here, as it incorporates a lot of extra stuff like mental mood, and daily happenings and thoughts. But it allows me one more thing.

It allows the quick and easy ability to see where I started, and how far I have come in the past 6 weeks. The mental attitudes, and physical glitches that affected my performance one day, or those bad habits I have overcome to make my swimming better, or the awesome scenery during my bike ride that took my breath away.

These are little things that Strava, Runkeeper, etc. just can’t match. Sure, I can go back and see my route, speed, and pace for anything I’ve ever done, but what about my mood, or the sunrise, or the huge business problem I solved during my run.

OK, I know those trackers will let me calculate my mood, and take photos, but are they that easy to reach… maybe there is one. I still prefer to put my mental state and progress into words rather than some silly emoji.

My Actual Progress:

This blog post went a different way than I thought. A little rant-ish, and I am sorry for that. I just wanted to truly share how I was feeling during the journey, and I guess you could say that I feel like there is a lot more to a training plan than just the daily activity. That, and it can’t go fast enough.

My swims, my runs, my rides are all going well, and all progressing nicely. I will have no problem going into the event in 6 more weeks. Waiting is the hard part.

It’s a bit of a sophomore slump. The excitement of starting has worn off, and the excitement of competing hasn’t yet hit.

But I’ve watched enough Disney movies to know that if there wasn’t a struggle, there would be no happily ever after.

Just Keep Running Training…