All I can do is tri…
Well, this time of year always gets me motivated to train for an event. If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you know that I’ve dabbled in marathons and triathlons. And since I’m pretty burnt out on running, I’ve decided to switch it up a bit. Last year, I got back into triathlons after about a 5 year absence. Let’s just say I was lacking in my performance. But I hear it’s a good idea to train for those things. Who’d a thunk it? So, instead of turning in a dismal performance this year, I’ve decided to get a jump on it and actually train for a triathlon. I’m also tackling a new distance this year: Olympic. The past 3 triathlons I’ve done have been Sprint distance events. The difference being the following:
| Distance | Swim | Bike | Run |
| Sprint | 500 yd | 15 miles | 3.1 miles |
| Olympic | .92 mile | 26 miles | 6.2 miles |
As you can see, I’ve got a bit of work to make sure I can cover the distance. I’m not too worried about the bike because I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great friends to ride with recently and my longest ride so far is 42 miles. So, I think I’ll be okay there. My concern is the swim and run. I literally just finished my 1st swim training of the year and I logged about 1.25 km (.78 miles) in about 28 minutes. So, that helped with my confidence a little. But doing laps in a pool is extremely different than an open water swim with people all around you churning up the water and punching and kicking you (not on purpose; just part of it). As far as the run is concerned, I know mentally I can cover the distance, I’ve run 6 miles or more many, many times. But when you take time off and get lazy and gain about 15 pounds, it’s a bear getting back to “an easy 6 miles.”
So with all of that in mind, and the triathlon on the horizon (September 9, 2012), I decided to find a training plan. I found this great Beginner Olympic Triathlon Training Plan on trifuel.com. This is what it looks like:
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | ||
| Wk 1 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 30:00 | Run 30:00 | 5/27/2012 |
| Run 30:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 2 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 40:00 | Bike 30:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 40:00 | Run 30:00 | 6/3/2012 |
| Run 30:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 3 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 40:00 | Bike 30:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 40:00 | Run 30:00 | 6/10/2012 |
| Run 30:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 4 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 30:00 | Run 20:00 | 6/17/2012 |
| Run 20:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 5 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Bike 45:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 45:00 | Run 40:00 | 6/24/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 6 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Bike 45:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 55:00 | Run 45:00 | 7/1/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 7 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Bike 45:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 70:00 | Run 50:00 | 7/8/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | Run 30:00 | |||||||
| Wk 8 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Bike 30:00 | Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 30:00 | Run 30:00 | 7/15/2012 |
| Run 15:00 | Run 20:00 | |||||||
| Wk 9 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 45:00 Run 30:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 70:00 | Run 50:00 | 7/22/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 10 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 45:00 Run 30:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 80:00 | Run 55:00 | 7/29/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 11 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 45:00 Run 30:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 90:00 | Run 60:00 | 8/5/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 12 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 15:00 Run 15:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 30:00 | Run 30:00 | 8/12/2012 |
| Run 0:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 13 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 45:00 Run 30:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 90:00 | Run 65:00 | 8/26/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 14 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 60:00 Run 45:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 90:00 | Run 65:00 | 8/26/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 15 | Swim 30:00 | Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 60:00 Run 45:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 90:00 | Run 65:00 | 9/2/2012 |
| Run 35:00 | ||||||||
| Wk 16 | Swim 30:00 Run 30:00 |
Bike 45:00 | Brick Day Bike 15:00 Run 15:00 |
Swim 30:00 | OFF | Bike 20:00 Run 10:00 |
Race Day! | 9/9/2012 |
As you can see, I have a lot of training. I’m trying to figure out a way to publish my training calendar to the this site so if anyone is interested, they can follow along and keep me accountable. And I’ll go ahead and tell you that I’m going to miss some of the training. When it comes to swim training, it will be hit and miss since we don’t have a reliable option for a pool in Searcy. Although I have a good friend that is training with me that said I could use his pool any time I wanted. So, I may take him up on that. And when you have to Bike and Run in the same day, or Swim and Run, it becomes difficult to find the time. But I plan on doing my best. And I certainly don’t mind people saying, “Hey, Dusty…you have missed the last few workouts. You need to step it up.” So, I’m giving you permission to crack the whip.
I’ll also try to be a bit better at updating the blog. If nothing else, it provides a little more accountability if I know I have to write something every so often. And if there is anyone in the Central Arkansas area that wants to “tri” it with me (couldn’t resist), let me know. I’d love to have a couple more training partners. And if you want more info on the triathlon in question, check out the website by clicking here. They are doing an Olympic and Sprint triathlon (swim, bike, run), Aquabike (swim and bike), and Duathlon (run, bike, run) at the same time. The events are always a ton of fun. All you gotta do is train (optional 😉 ) and then show up and tri!
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