Swim-Bike-Run ... Why Not? Let's TRI It! A 2017 Training Journal (Updated: 3/29: FIRST RELAY!)

The Details

Training Plan
Week 1: Plan | Recap
Week 2: Plan | Recap
Week 3: Plan | Recap

Let's Cheer for New Gear
(Product Reviews)
Coming Soon!

Food, Glorious Food!
(My favorite recipes)
 
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Schedule
  • Sunday, March 12 - St. Patrick's Day Triathlon (Sprint Distance)
  • Sunday, July 9 - Mayor's Triathlon (Sprint Distance)
  • Sunday, July 23 - TriWaco Triathlon (Olympic Distance)
 
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Q&A: WHY????????

OK. I know this is probably a big shock and a very interesting turn of events for those who have wasted time reading my posts over the past couple of years. So, time for some transparency!

And now, I'll answer a few questions from the assembled media:

KEELS! Why are you doing ANOTHER Training Journal??

Oh, hey! You read my first Training Journal!

I first became super-active on the DisBoards in 2015 when I decided I wanted to run my first half marathon, and then ultimately run at least one race a month that resulted in a medal. Of course, that changed pretty quickly when @FFigawi talked me into participating in the Dopey Challenge in 2016. And, of course, the rest is history. Oddly enough, @FFigawi figures into THIS training journal too, albeit a LOT earlier.

So, yes. I'm doing another training journal - and I hope that like 12 Months of Medals (while I was still posting to it ... eesh), that this can be helpful for neophytes thinking of making the leap outside of running events to a different type of endurance challenge. On top of that, we have a great community here so I'm hoping that some of our more expert individuals will come and chime in.

On top of that, I like to write and to vent and to b!tch about things, but to also celebrate triumphs and successes - a training journal is a great way for me to that without annoying and alienating my sweet husband and friends who already have to deal with it in real life EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So. Yay! Training Journal Part Deux!

So ... What's THIS Training Journal About?

Thanks - thought you'd never ask! In 2017, I have decided to shift my training and race goals from strictly running/road races (and, before you ask, NO - I have thought about it and I will NOT be doing any trail races) towards mixed endurance events, specifically triathlons.

It's going to cover a myriad of things - mostly training, nutrition, gear and basically the things I've learned as the weeks go by.

I've joined a beginner Tri group here in Funkytown that has twice-weekly group runs (will not be participating in those) and weekly group swims and group cycles. It also has mandatory sessions on transition and race-day prep. The whole training group cuminates in - what will be a first for many of us - sprint triathlon on March 12.

With this group comes a coach, which I'm relatively excited about. Not to take anything away from ALL the help that John has given me over the past (nearly) two years - but this is my shot to have someone here at Ground Zero to help me get better and to hold me accountable. Of course, I may actually hate this and decide to change - I've already decided that I will do my runs on my own (more on that later), and will just follow her directions in Training Peaks and post my Garmin data for her to go through. But I WILL be taking part in every effort to swim in a group (both pool and open water), cycle in a group and practice transition.

Why Triathlons? I Thought You Liked Running?

You know what? If you'd asked me about this six months ago, I would've told you that you were crazy. There was NO way I was going to do that craziness.

But then, disaster struck* ... I got severely hurt and it really became a discussion with my doctor and I about what my body was capable of doing and handling going forward. To get me to Dopey, I ended up just focusing on my overall aerobic endurance by training in cycles similar to those of triathletes - essentially, hitting the equivalent of "goal mileage" for a run via different aerobic activities. The basic formula I followed was that .5 mile swimming = 12 miles+ biking (sustained mph, not average) = 3 miles running. Ultimately, this did NOT help my running per se when it came to Dopey 2017 - the only thing that makes you faster is running, obviously - but it DID help me go from completely immobile to Dopey Proficient in essentially nine weeks.

Also, this was around the time I got to spend the day spectating @FFigawi completing his IronMan - and I was in awe. It was just awesome to watch the support from family and friends for each of the athletes. And then when I got into the workouts, I could see that "Yeah, I get why people like this!".

And then there's my "Sole Sisters" here in Funkytown. These are the girls that I run with, that powered me and motivated me to my first half marathon WAY before I was ready, and the ladies that support me through every other challenge (which they STILL can't wrap their heads around) that I've done since that first half marathon in March 2015. We made a pact that we'd all do our annual Mayor's Triathlon in July of 2017 - and like everything else, I either go big or go home. So, here we are!

Swim. Bike. Run. How Do They Rank?

For the purpose of the distance I'm CURRENTLY training for (Sprint Tri) - easily, the bike is No. 1. No question.

I live in an INCREDIBLY bike-friendly city, and in a neighborhood that's almost exclusively traversed by cyclists. One of my Sole Sisters actually brought Bike Share to FW, so it's clearly a major part of my life. I generally bike anywhere from 50-80 miles a week, just getting around. Now, granted, this is more "commuting" biking - like from my house to places, to the brewery or the pub, to friends' houses, etc. - than race cycling ... but, at this point, it's more comfort on the bike than anything else. And I'm incredibly comfortable. I'm also hoping that training for more race cycling, and riding with a faster group, will push my confidence to the next level.

Second? I'm going to go with the swim. The first two tri's I have scheduled are pool swims, and they are SHORT distance swims (300m vs. the .5 that I've been doing in Florida). I've been able to be pretty consistent with my pool swims, and I've been trying to focus on what my friends have told me - use your legs as LITTLE AS POSSIBLE during the swim portion. I actually timed myself swimming for 300m when I registered for the Mayor's Tri and I was pleasantly surprised - that's basically how you slot yourself for this tri is by your swim time. My best swim in my parents' small pool for 300m was 7 minutes and change.

Third is going to be the run - but I'm hoping that going forward, this won't be the case. I've picked up a LOT of bad running habits from just "gutting it out" and "using Pixie Dust" to get through races. I want to reset my running set and go back to where I wasn't relying on intervals. So, I'm doing a full-scale reboot. Yup, that's right. Couch-to-5K here I come!

But Don't You Have Other Events Planned?

Yes. I've registered for a couple of other events, or have been holding deferrals for races. I've been spending the last week making decisions on how those would go and what I would do.

The first up is Princess Weekend. For reasons NOT related to my Tri training, I was probably going to skip Princess. My post-Dopey feelings made skipping Princess almost a certainty. It's not the weekend for me - I JUST. DON'T. LIKE. IT. I don't like the vibe, and in a year when my husband has asked me to cut back my racing travel for other travel, there's not a single reason why I could even justify the plane ticket, food expenditure and dog kenneling to do a race that I don't like, and for a medal that looks like a prize out of a Chuck E. Cheese machine (yes, it's THAT bad).

I've also let my deferral for the NYC Half lapse, mostly because timing just didn't work out for me.

I enacted my deferral for the Chicago Marathon ... so, we'll see how I feel about training for a marathon (again) in Texas in the summer.

I had previously planned on Pixie Dust Challenge and Dumbo Double Dare, but only one of those weekends will happen at this point. Disneyland in September is the most likely, but again, it will depend on my Chicago Marathon decision.

Locally - I'm running the Cowtown Challenge again in February (which I'm very excited about!) and I will likely run the Panther City Half again - it was my first half marathon, and I'd like to best my time there.

But after that, nothing. I'm really tri-ing to be focused! (HAHAHAH - see? Jokes! Y'all ... just get used to it.)

Loftier goals? This Can't Be It ...

Well, duh. Nobody starts training for something without something bigger on the horizon!

My immediate goal is Sprint only in 2017, or maybe a Fall Olympic if my first two (possibly three) Sprint Tri's go well and my running gets better.

I have committed to Dopey 2018, and that will probably be my last RunDisney race for a while.

But could I see a 70.3 on the horizon? Entirely possible! I would most definitely like to see my run times get better and closer to 2:15-2:30 consistently for a half marathon. I'd like to see my consistent cycling MPH get from 12 to 14 or even 15. I would like to get as experience as I possibly can in "open water swimming", though my eye is really turned towards 70.3 in New Orleans as it's in a completely protected area. Also, 70.3 in Austin in a lake swim ... and 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake is basically where I was born, and would mean a LOT to my parents and my grandparents. #DecisionsDecisons.

So. Yeah. If I like it and things work out, there may be a 70.3 in store for me in 2018.

MAYBE.
 
Congrats on signing up for a tri! Very understandable how hanging out at the Ironman event pushed in that direction. :)
 


Keels,

I don't post often, but lurk a lot. I am going to join your training journal because I have started doing triathlons. I guess I am one year ahead of you. I did do two very short tris a few years ago, but last year I did two sprint pool tris, and one open water.

My nemesis is that open water. My swimming is not great but I handle a pool fine, am slow, but open water in a race (because I even practiced open water and was fine) just killed me. In my tri last year in my age group I was 38 th out if the water and finished 12th.

I have thought about 70.3 and definitely not this year my work schedule won't allow the proper training. I am going back to the tri from last year though because I want to do better in the swim. If I don't I might junk the 70.3 dream, but will see.

Right now I swim once a week and spin once a week. Normally do a long ride one weekend day but that is on hold till after NOLA marathon in two weeks.

Anyways, thought I might be able to learn something.

Good luck. Following along now.
 
YAY! Happy to join in. One of my goals this year is to tentatively try for a tri-sprint later this summer here locally. It's very first-time friendly with a pool swim. I'm really excited to hear about your training and maybe steal some of your ideas. :)
 
Week 1 = Done!

Welp, I survived! And it wasn't that terrible!

Sunday to Sunday marked my first full week of Triathlon Training - of course, I'm still learning the ropes for some of the workouts and different things, but all in all I would say it's been a successful first week!

Things I've noticed - training for a triathlon is taking a COMPLETELY different toll on my body than traditional running has, and I've noticed my fatigue level is WAY higher than it's ever been ... even back when I was training for Dopey in 2016. I joked with my girlfriends that I'm eating everything in sight post-workout and I'm just plain exhausted at the end of the day (we all went out Friday night and I was the first to bail ... and was asleep by 10:30 p.m. THAT NEVER HAPPENS), it's like I'm pregnant ... with a Triathlon! :rotfl2:

But all in all, things are going well! I ended up signing up with a coach here in Fort Worth and it's really been the best decision I've made. Each week, she plans out my workouts in a software program called Training Peaks. From there, I can download the workouts to my watch and then upload my performance after I've completed the workouts. Obviously, there's still a learning curve here for me - for instance, my Group Swim yesterday ... my watch said I swam for 56 minutes but I only covered 350 meters. Um, YIKES, there's no way that's right. :confused3

Anyway. Let's get down to the really important details ... the workouts and results from Week 1!
 
Week 1 Training Plan

Sunday:
Swim:
Group Swim

Monday:
Rest Day

Tuesday:
Cycling and Running Fitness Evaluations

Wednesday:
Yoga, Weights (legs and core)
45-minute Cross-Training Run (60 second sprint, 90 seconds strength activity - ie. pushups, squats, situps, pull-ups, lunges, etc.)

Thursday:
Run:
35 minutes; WU: 15 mins easy, including 4 x 20 second strides with a one minute walk or very easy jog between intervals. MS: 2 x 4 mins run (start at easy pace and then increase pace every minute by 15 seconds) with 1 min easy recovery jog between sets. CD: 10 mins easy jog)
Swim: (30 minutes/1000m with 300 meters timed; WU: 200 with pull buoy, 200 kick; MS: swim 300 meters straight and time it. CD: 200 swim, 100 kick

Friday:
Bike:
1:00:00 interval ride (WU: 15 minute easy; MS: 10x60 seconds all out with 2:00 recovery between each
CD: 15 minute easy - gradually bring heart rate back down)

Saturday:
Rest

Sunday:
Swim:
Group Swim
Run: 40-minutes, easy pace
 
So being a runner, which new part do you find to be most difficult? I think I would struggle with the swimming thing...
 
Congratulations on your impending bundle of triathlon joy!!

Seriously, that sounds like a pretty challenging training schedule. No wonder you are exhausted. Great job on completing week 1!
 
Week 1 Training Recap

So, the great thing about Training Peaks (once I figure out all the operator errors and get my data to both record AND upload appropriately), is that it can track and mine data from all of my scheduled workouts for the week.

So - let's take a look at my results from Week 1:
Screen Shot 2017-01-30 at 2.45.33 PM.png

So - the purple/gray workout on Tuesday was a workout that I assigned myself and was not scheduled.

The green? Those are the workouts assigned to me by my trainer that were completed.
The red? Womp womp, that was an assigned workout that I did not complete. More on that later!

Obviously, the numbers on the right are skewed because I'm missing accurate distance on both swims (it should be over 2000m for the week and not 383 yards), as well missing mileage from my midweek run.

So, let's talk about what happened:

Best Workout of the Week: Friday's interval ride, no question. I completed exactly 13 miles in one hour of riding (ultimately, I was over in both mileage and time by about 8 minutes as I had to ride all the way back to my truck ... kinda overestimated my turnaround point - but I'll try better next time!). I was INCREDIBLY pleased that my average mph was 13.0. My max cadence on the sprint intervals was consistently around 14.75-14.86 mph, on a trail route that was hilly and on a day when it was incredibly windy - I actually got about two miles into a headwind and decided that #NOPE, turned around and ended up with a dang crosswind the rest of the ride ... sometimes you just can't win. But I was really pleased with my performance.

I posted on Insta, but this was one of my longest rides that I've ever done in training - but it was most definitely my fastest. I finished at the trail and racked my bike on my truck, but I still had this crazy-funny feeling in my legs ... like they were still moving even though I was standing still. So, I did a quick little shake-out run post ride - my legs were definitely ready to keep moving! I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in my first *spoiler alert* Brick workout in Week 2!

Worst Workout of the Week: Welp, that's going to be Saturday's Group Run. It's red, which means not only did I not participate in the assigned group run at that time, that I also did not make up the run at any point during the week. In all honesty, I had every intention of making run group - I woke up at 7:15 a.m. (group was at 8 a.m.) and then my oldest dog promptly had a "seizure", so I spent most of Saturday dealing with the repercussions of that (FYI - my pupper is OK, still a little lethargic, but these vestibular episodes really take a lot out of him as they usually build up over the course of a couple of days. The one strict rule my coach has for me in these early works of training is no doubling-up or moving workouts to stack two hour-long workouts on top of each other unless she assigns them that way. And since running is the discipline I'm most experienced in, at this point if I skip a run, it's OK.

What Did I Learn

Swim: Sunday was my first full, all-out swim workout with stroke-by-stroke coaching. My first Group Swim was mostly a fitness assessment and then a quick overview of the different drills I would be assigned during workouts. Well, Sunday was my first chance to show my coach what I've got swim-wise when it came to the drills ... and let's just say there is definitely room for improvement. My upper-body strength is definitely lacking, but not completely absent. My form needs a couple of tweaks that I'll be focusing on in Week 2, so hopefully I just have one week left of stroke-by-stroke coaching before I can move into lanes to start swimming with swimmers of my speed and ability level!

Also, I definitely need at least one more week in the private coaching lane because the whole "swimming in a big group" thing is pretty nerve-wracking for me. At one point during a drill, I got caught up next to a group of four REALLY fast male athletes swimming sprints in the lane next to me and the wake completely threw me off balance, pushed me towards the wall and I choked down a big gulp of pool water.

Bike: I really took a leap in speed and comfort navigating hills, turns and other obstacles while upping my speed. I still can't get my water bottle out of my cage WHILE I'm riding, so that definitely needs some work. But if that's the issue I have with the cycle portion of a triathlon, I'm very pleased!

Running: My legs are still feeling the miles put on them from Dopey-ish, but I'm trying to strip my running down and build it back up to improve my speed and overall performance. Of course, that's hard to do with stupid Cowtown three weeks away - but I'm hoping that between all of the workouts I have scheduled between now and Cowtown, paired with a couple of long runs that everything will work out just fine.

What's Up Next?

Let's check out what's in store for me in Week 2 ... has my coach identified an area I really need to work on?
 
Week 2 Training Plan

From Training Peaks - this is more of an overview, but if anyone is interested in the specific workout breakdown, let me know and I can add those in to this post!

Screen Shot 2017-01-30 at 2.47.44 PM.png

Some initial observations:
1. Look at all those "waves" ... that that's three hour-long swim workouts this week! So, we can all safely assume that of the three disciplines, that swimming is the one I need the most work on.
2. Proximity to Cowtown Half weekend definitely makes an appearance in this week's training. While Saturday's run is labeled as group run, because I have to do so much interval transition (and time longer than what the rest of the group is doing), I'll actually end up running this solo on the trail.
3. My first Brick Workout!!!! An hour of cycling and then an immediate 10-minute "fast" run. OK, so not much different than what I did last Friday, but hey - it's an official Brick!!
4. I think my coach is trying to kill me. :sad:
 
Congrats on signing up for a tri! Very understandable how hanging out at the Ironman event pushed in that direction. :)

That coupled with how easily I can be talked into things! True Story: I did my fitness assessments with my coach and she ended our training discussion with "You'll be ready for a 70.3 by October - better find one you want to do!". I told her she needed to pump the brakes on that ASAP - because I cave to peer pressure VERY easily.

Keels,

I don't post often, but lurk a lot. I am going to join your training journal because I have started doing triathlons. I guess I am one year ahead of you. I did do two very short tris a few years ago, but last year I did two sprint pool tris, and one open water.

My nemesis is that open water. My swimming is not great but I handle a pool fine, am slow, but open water in a race (because I even practiced open water and was fine) just killed me. In my tri last year in my age group I was 38 th out if the water and finished 12th.

I have thought about 70.3 and definitely not this year my work schedule won't allow the proper training. I am going back to the tri from last year though because I want to do better in the swim. If I don't I might junk the 70.3 dream, but will see.

Right now I swim once a week and spin once a week. Normally do a long ride one weekend day but that is on hold till after NOLA marathon in two weeks.

Anyways, thought I might be able to learn something.

Good luck. Following along now.

Awesome - I definitely would love any feedback you have - or if you have any questions or want to see more of the workouts I'm doing in detail!

I'm excited for this because I also plan to do my first tri this year so this will be very motivating (especially since I suck at biking).

I have to ask though, what is the official ranking of runDisney posters?

I bike quite a bit, so I was banking on being pretty good at that discipline right at the start - but obviously riding my bike to bars and breweries for hours on a Saturday is WAY different than a race situation! :D

YAY! Happy to join in. One of my goals this year is to tentatively try for a tri-sprint later this summer here locally. It's very first-time friendly with a pool swim. I'm really excited to hear about your training and maybe steal some of your ideas. :)

My first two sprint triathlons are pool swims! Then, I'll start working on open-water swimming ... mass swims in the pool are already stressful enough!

So being a runner, which new part do you find to be most difficult? I think I would struggle with the swimming thing...

As my coach said, swimming will always be the hardest for anyone that wasn't on swim team. Humans weren't naturally created to swim, so getting form right is the most important thing.

Congratulations on your impending bundle of triathlon joy!!

Seriously, that sounds like a pretty challenging training schedule. No wonder you are exhausted. Great job on completing week 1!

Like, seriously, ALL THE FOODS. And I even finished meals before my husband - which NEVER happens.
 
1. Look at all those "waves" ... that that's three hour-long swim workouts this week! So, we can all safely assume that of the three disciplines, that swimming is the one I need the most work on.

It's not necessarily the one you need the most work on, though that may be true too. You see so many swim workouts in tri training because it's the discipline in which you gain fitness the slowest and lose fitness the fastest.

4. I think my coach is trying to kill me. :sad:

Coaches are always trying to kill us. I get my revenge by making all my little Training Peaks boxes green to show I didn't die.
 
That coupled with how easily I can be talked into things! True Story: I did my fitness assessments with my coach and she ended our training discussion with "You'll be ready for a 70.3 by October - better find one you want to do!". I told her she needed to pump the brakes on that ASAP - because I cave to peer pressure VERY easily.
Tell her you can't because @FFigawi talked you into another Dopey in January!

I bike quite a bit, so I was banking on being pretty good at that discipline right at the start - but obviously riding my bike to bars and breweries for hours on a Saturday is WAY different than a race situation! :D
If by different you mean better, I agree.
 
It's not necessarily the one you need the most work on, though that may be true too. You see so many swim workouts in tri training because it's the discipline in which you gain fitness the slowest and lose fitness the fastest.

You know what you also lose? The ability to fully use your arms the next day.

My lats literally said "Not today, Satan" during my lift session this morning.
 

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