Whew!

TriClaudia

Several of you posted some encouraging words a few weeks ago when I was "unsure" about going forward with a sprint . Yesterday I completed that triathlon in Long Beach Island, NJ. I never felt prepared, and I certainly could have been more prepared; but thanks to some of you and the friend who raced with me, it is behind me in the complete column! The swim in the bay was way harder than I expected. I had to swim backstroke for most of it. My first tri (4 years ago) was in a lake. This was in the bay, and I just couldn't swim efficiently with my face in the water. About a third of the way I decided to give in and do what worked. It took me over 16 minutes! The bike was flat. I did it in about the time I expected. I did learn that even though most of my riding in and around Philadelphia is on varying degrees of hills, flat riding has its own challenges. Wind was certainly a factor. Surprisingly the "run" was significantly improved -- even over my fastest most recent times. Let me clarify that this is mostly a walk for me. I run in intervals and not many of them. Both T1 and T2 were about 5 minutes, but I learned last time that I needed a pit stop between bike and run. It's possible that minute in T2 saved me four minutes. At any rate, I finished it in just over 50 minutes. I finished the whole thing in 2:06 -- 4 minutes faster than my first tri four years ago. Yay!

For my friend, it was her first tri, and she finished about 15 minutes ahead of me. We're already thinking about what we need to do to get ready for next year. I think I'll try Couch to 5K; so I can run the whole distance. I also want to concentrate on strength training. Do you do anything different during the "off-season" or do you do the same thing year-round?

Thank you for your encouraging words and advice!

vtate75

Great job in finishing your second tri (first in years). It sounds like you had a lot of fun, gained some good confidence, and did well. It also sounds like you really know what you need. I would certainly suggest Couch to 5K. There are so many people who have found so much success with that. I don't think you can go wrong with that program. This was my first "season" of triathlons, so I don't have good advice on what to do in the off season. I am going to keep working towards the next goal by doing everything that I have been doing. For me, that means getting into the pool at least 4 times per week, at least one swim being long, running at least 4 times per week, and biking at least 3 times per week. I am now in a group that bikes 30 - 40 miles each Saturday morning, so that is my long bike. As far as strength training, let me tell you that I hate it. Because of that, I am bad about doing it. I generally do about 20 minutes of it twice a week. My Tuesday / Thursday routine is to get out and run from 4:15am - 5:00 am (when the gym opens), do weights for about 20 minutes, and do a quick 30 minute spin class that starts at 5:30. I essentially do weights during that 20 minute time frame because it is the only logical time to fit it in. I just find it so BORING!

Keep up the great work. I know you are proud of yourself and you certainly should be!!! Congratulations.

sonyachan

Congrats on finishing and improving on your time! Def do C25K! That's how my journey started a year ago. And I'm about to do my second sprint tri. I've run 2 10K's too! You can do it if I can! As far as off season training, there is a lot of info online. Lots of training programs you can follow in the winter can be found by googling "off season triathlong training". Good luck!

Canuck_TriFit

Congratulations on your race! If you do personal bests in each race then you've had a great race!

For next year I would suggest to try and keep with swimming. At least once a week, more if you can as it's a great workout! Other than that the running Couch to 5k is a great way to improve your running. I've personally just found out the benefit of spin classes.

Good Luck with your training.

csm1021

Congratulations for sticking with it and beating your race time!

I too am trying to come up with a workout plan for winter. I'll do the treadmill but find it boring, so I'm looking into cold weather gear for days its above 30 degrees (Wisconsin winters). And I'm looking into a pool membership to work on my swimming skills. I haven't perfected swimming with goggles and my face in the water.

Keep up the good work!