need some advice - Triathlon Week

sincitycj · 09-16-2005, 11:01 PM

I am 18 years old. I've been training blindly for the past 3 months or so. :huh: . I plan on eventually doing a tri. i dont know the distance? my traning over the summer started out with running 2-4 miles a day. after about a month of solid running i added swimming. I started out swimming 1 lap and i recently swam 100 laps. about a month ago i added spinning I try to spin atleast 30 mins hard and sometimes go 1hr-130. I dont have the money to get a good training bike. is there a way i can get a bike for super cheap? How should i split up my workouts? should i run bike swim everyday? I have been doing strength training as well. I split that up into... 4 days. one day bi's/lats___ next day core (sit ups/back workout)____ next day chest/tris___ next day core ( stability ball)/calfs. I have been spinning and running everyday. Please give me some advice. i realize that some of you have been doing this for a long time and i could really use your help.
thanks
-CJ

themenace · 09-18-2005, 10:50 AM

Man, you are going at it with a vengeance. There are a lot of programs on the net to help organize your training time. Check out trinewbies.com and ontri.com. They have programs for different lengths of tris. Make sure with all the training you are doing that youre getting proper nutrition. Good luck.

BlueFalcon · 09-18-2005, 06:57 PM

Awesome workouts!

Go visit some local sports consignment/thrift shops and see if you can pick up a road bike for cheap. Take to a local bike shop for a tune up. Doubling up workouts, simulating triathlon, in the same day is a good idea. I always try to bike to the YMCA (8miles one way) and then combine 30 laps (1500 meters) with a 5K - 10K run, depending on my "mood". Triathlon Training by Eric Harr helped me out with fine tuning the workouts and answering many technical questions. He also has a great chapter on gearing up with a small budget.

I overwhelmingly agree with Themenace... learn proper nutrition, before, during, and after the race and workouts and when not working-out. My first triathlon was pure pain. I felt "as expected" until the run, which greeted me with cramping and suffering. I had worked my butt off for months only to hit the very hot South Carolina August sun and humidity, and along with it a wall of dehydration, low electrolytes, etc. I was so naive about "proper" hydration, fluid schedules, electrolyte, and carb replenishment, etc. Doing these technical things was all the difference in my second triathlon. Looking back, I was so stubborn and stupid. I could have seriously hurt myself; my superior "attitude" could have pushed my body into heat exhaustion or even heat stroke...

sincitycj · 09-18-2005, 09:32 PM

i am going at it with "vengance" i guess. I read on some forum at this site that a 1:2:1:3:1:4:0(rest day) daily ratio is good practice. so like 1 mile mon,2 miles tues, 1 mile wed, 3 miles thursday etc. is this a good idea? and with reguards to nutrition... I drink 50g protine shakes after my work out and that has been the extent of me watching what i eat. but i do eat healthy, fruits and meat mostly. as for hydration i usually try to drink 4-6 oz every 15 min through out my work out. this seems to keep me hydrated. oh! i just got a heart rate monotor and it has increased the intensity of my workouts by about 40% so i am super stoked about that, definatly recomend them to everyone.

BlueFalcon · 09-19-2005, 05:39 AM

Sincitycj, it sounds like you are going to be a "force on the course". Learning a rhythm through heart rate monitor data will be a great asset while training and racing. So much success is based on proper preparation, and it looks like you are preparing well. And if you haven't yet, I would get some practice in the open water, swimming a "blind" straight line, and navigating around bouys, etc.

If you have yet to participate in a "live" triathlon, I would recommend doing a novice sprint. This will give you familiarization with the "logistics" such as event transition, dealing with open water, negotiating the other bodies splashing around you, and the ominous first race anxiety and psychology.

I approached my first triathlon with the goal of participating and finishing. Sounded easy enough. I was flustered with a crowded swim start, I over-exerted on the bike, told myself I was fine with water intake, and then I hit the wall on the run as mentioned in previous post. Thank God it was only a sprint... Several triathlons later, I have learned better "race management".

sincitycj · 09-19-2005, 04:25 PM

thanks for your suggestions your imput is rejuvinating my traning. i have been looking for a novice triathalon in my area but they all seem to be super long "nisan xtera" off road triathalons (i live in reno nv, near lake tahoe).

are all triathalons swim first, bike second, run third? how do you all deal with being sore, ive been just sucking it up?

Spike10 · 09-20-2005, 08:42 AM

sincitycj, I have seen some tri's that are a little wackey, the events are of a given distance but the athletes do the events in whatever order they want, it's strange and you don't know who won until the whole thing's done. As to your soreness, my advice is the two I's, Ice and Ibuprofin. Both will reduce muscle swelling and pain. Also a good topical ointment might be what you need such as Tiger balm or Theragesic.
Good luck and happy training.
Spike.

sincitycj · 09-20-2005, 05:16 PM

I thought that all tris had given orders. i guess not. today i trained my long day and accomplished all of my goals! (usually makes for a sore night, thanks spike10 for the tips) i am trying to find a bike for cheap. what are some minimum things i should look for when purchasing just a beater to train on? and what percent of my max heart rate should i shoot for while training?

shooter24 · 10-11-2005, 07:25 PM

Hi...I am a college basketball player and I recently got interested in competing in a triathlon. I know that it takes a lot of training to compete competitively. But I am in great shape and I am interested in finding out how you go about getting a "tryout" with the olympic team. I am not even on a cross country team because of committments to basketball, but I generally run three miles in about 19:30. I swim a mile everyday and ride the bike for about an hour at a good pace. I run 4-7 miles a day in addition to strenuous basketball workouts. I have NEVER had any coaching in running, swimming, or biking, but I know I could be competitive if I had the proper training and I participated in the events that will get me noticed. If anyone out there knows what races are the best for being seen on a national level, please let me know. Also if there are any developmental programs out there, I would like to know about them. On a side note, a teammate of mine maybe representing England in the 2012 summer olympics and I would love to represent America in some fashion. Thanks for your help and optimism.