training schedule - Triathlon Week

awes7 · 04-26-2006, 07:18 AM

I'm am currently running in track and honestly cannot wait for it to be over so that i can start training for a few triathlons this summer. Right now I am running 6, sometimes 7, days a week and trying to do a bike ride and swim here and there on the weekends. I am curious as to how often I should bike, run, and swim during an average week of training once my track season ends. I don't really want to back off of the running too much for fear of losing the level of fitness that i have built up, but want to know how much is enough for a tri. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Spike10 · 04-26-2006, 11:24 AM

It all depends on your fitness level now as to how much more training you need to compete in tri's, an average week spreads out for me something like this, 2 to 3 days in the pool, 3 days running, and cycling all over the place. As gas prices soar my bike and I have become constant companions, I ride to and from work and I run most of my errands on it. It sound like your fitness level is very high so I would suggest that you work on your weeker events more so you will be more balanced come race day. Train for your distances, such as if you are going to do sprints, your training distances will be shorter than if you are going to do Oly's or Halfs. If you spend all of your training time running then the other two aspects will suffer and so will you.
I hope this helps.
Happy training.
Spike.

sfricks · 04-26-2006, 02:36 PM

Any work on one discepline "takes away" from the others. The worlds fastest Ironmen are not the worlds fastest Marathoners and vise versa. If you want to be the best cross country runner, focus on that & do Tris for fun. You could probably finish a Sprint today with little or no work in the other areas. If you want to be a good Triathlete, focus on Triathlon. You'll still be fast but significantly more rounded and (I think) more proud. Triathles are freaks, so we're in a select group of our own! :)

An example of the above is my 14 year old daughter. She swims 750 meters in about 10:30 (14:00 for me...). She can finish a sprint but has no desire to Tri train because she's a competitive swimmer and is counting on College $ for it. Get the idea?

awes7 · 04-26-2006, 07:13 PM

Thanks for your input. I am definately going to work on being well rounded. Part of the reason that I am interested in tri's is because my body needs a break from the impact day after day. Also, there is something respectable and desirable about being the jack of all trades, one who can swim, bike, and run.
thanks again

awes7 · 04-30-2006, 10:52 AM

A question for anyone out there who has an answer: How often, if at all, should someone incorporate two different aspects of a triathlon into his or her workout? Is it a good idea to just focus on one aspect of a tri per day?

sfricks · 05-01-2006, 05:40 AM

Great question... Back-to-back workouts (often referred to - though incorrectly - as Bricks) are vital to Tri training. Switching disciplines is one of the aspects that makes Triathlon so challenging. Training you body to expect and adapt to those changes is a very import part of your regamine. At least one weekend a month we do a Tri workout just to keep the feel. Good luck this season.

awes7 · 05-01-2006, 07:03 AM

Thanks for your input,

Aaron