Training for a Triathalon in September..Need Help

[Colt McCoy]

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Dump the low carb diet.

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I missed that the first time around. Low-carb is terrible for an endurance athlete.

[KittyKat]

When you get closer to racing, set apart a day for a "brick", either swimming and then going straight to your bike, or biking and going straight to a run. The transitions are tough, as you must switch from working one set of muscles hard to another.

[brettkc]

Have you biked before on a road bike/tri bike? If not it's not as easy as you might think, It uses a completely different group of muscles than running does. I started out being a runner only and i thought biking would be a piece of cake but that [censored] will eat you up if you never ride

[tdarko]

Here is a sample month, you can plug in your numbers--I am just filling in numbers so the program is complete...these are numbers I am familiar with.

Week 1:

Sunday- Aerobic run 40 minutes

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- Swim: Warm-up with 300 yard drills, amount is your choice 6 X 50 w/ 10 seconds rest. Main set 3 X 500 tempo w/ 1 minute rest. Cool down w/ 100's, easy. Strength Training

Wednesday- Brick: 45 minute aerobic bike then 30 minute aerobic run.

Thursday- Swim: Warm-up same as Tues. Main set is 10 X 100 tempo w/ 15 seconds rest, hard. Cool down 200's moderate. 1 hour aerobic bike @ 90-100 RPM w/ 5 minute tempo.

Friday- Strength training

Saturday- Swim: Warm-Up same as Tues/Thurs. Main set is 5 X 200 tempo w/ 15 seconds rest. Cool down same as Thurs. 1 hour bike aerobic @ 80-90 RPM.


Week 2

Sunday- Aerobic run 50 minutes

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- Same swim as previous Tuesday. Run 40 minutes aerobic. Strength training.

Wednesday- Brick: 45 minute aerobic bike then 30 minute aerobic run.

Thursday- Same swim as last Thursday. 1 hour bike @ 90-100 RPM w/ 5 minute tempo.

Friday- Run 40 minutes aerobic. Strength training.

Saturday- Same swim as last Sat. 1.5 hour aerobic bike @ 80-90 RPM


Week 3

Sunday- Run 50 minutes

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- Swim: Warm-Up 400 yard drills; 8 X 50 on 10 second rest could be a good number to move up to. Main set 3 X 600 w/ 1 minute rest. Cool down 200's moderate. Run 45 minutes aerobic.

Wednesday- 1:15 hour aerobic bike 100 RPM with 10 minute tempo. Strength training.

Thursday- Brick: Swim: Same warm-up as Tues, main set is 12 X 100 w/ 15 second rest. Cool down 200's moderate. 30 minute run aerobic.

Friday- Rest

Saturday- Swim: Same warm-up as Tues/Thurs, main set is 6 X 200 tempo w/ 20 second rest. Cool down 200's moderate. 1.5 hour bike aerobic @ 90-100 RPM.


Week 4

Sunday- 60 minute run

Monday- Rest

Tuesday- Same swim as last Tuesday. Run 50 minutes aerobic. Strength Training.

Wednesday- Brick: 1 hour aerobic bike. 40 minute aerobic run.

Thursday- Same swim as last Thursday. 1.5 hour bike w/ 10 minute tempo, aerobic.

Friday- Run 40 minutes aerobic. Strength training.

Saturday- Same swim as last Saturday. Same bike as last Saturday.




I just threw numbers in there so there was a filled in program and you could get a better idea of what was going on, obviously these are probably not your numbers since I don't know you. This is just one month and could be one of the later months in your program that you work up to or a starting of point, it all depends on your conditioning. Just play with the numbers and even the program to see what fits you. You really need to incorporate bricks in your training throughout. You will need to dedicate one day to a long aerobic run and nothing else. You will need a day of rest each week and any time you feel any signs of overtraining as well. However you decide to design your program make sure you design it to where you are peaking the time of your triathlon.

[Colt McCoy]

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When you get closer to racing, set apart a day for a "brick", either swimming and then going straight to your bike, or biking and going straight to a run. The transitions are tough, as you must switch from working one set of muscles hard to another.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always thought the bike ==> run transition was an absolute bitch, but I was never convinced that training for it helped at all.

[tdarko]

Colt,

Actually you are using completely different muscles when cycling and running and the toughest brick is actually the swimming brick and if you notice this is why there is an extra day off that week. The run/bike brick is still effective b/c when you get to your run, though you are working different muscles your are still starting an aerobic exercise in a pre-fatigued state.

I wouldn't go into a triathlon w/o going through the transitions and incorporating both brick workouts in to the plan.

[Colt McCoy]

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Actually you are using completely different muscles when cycling and running and the toughest brick is actually the swimming brick and if you notice this is why there is an extra day off that week. The run/bike brick is still effective b/c when you get to your run, though you are working different muscles your are still starting an aerobic exercise in a pre-fatigued state.

I wouldn't go into a triathlon w/o going through the transitions and incorporating both brick workouts in to the plan.

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It's been a long time, but I used to run bi's & tri's quite a bit. The swim transition was never a problem for me. The bike-run sucks because your thighs are so pumped after the bike that it makes running feel weird. I think practicing the transitions themselves makes sense. I just don't believe that the bricks do anything at all to improve your body's physical ability to transition between the exercises. That's just my personal experience.

[Troll_Inc]

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Here is a sample month....

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Your plan may already incorporate this idea, but I'd like to stress that any endurance sports needs to have a 3 to 1 hard to easy ratio, i.e.

Week 1 = 10 hrs
Week 2 = 12 hrs
Week 3 = 14 hrs
Week 4 = 10 hrs

Then start over for weeks 5-8 do something like 12,14,16,12.

Same principle goes for intensity. Build build build, then allow for recovery.

During the 4th week you will feel like crap and at the start of the 5th week you'll feel really slow and out of shape. But quickly you will realize that in the later part of the 5th week (or start of 6th week), you are way stronger/faster than any time during weeks 1-4.

After the endurance phase, you can do the same thing with intervals, etc. Add intensity or repetions, but then every 4th week drop back down.