This page is to chronicle my training for triathlon and other athletic endeavors. I am not an expert and have only completed one Olympic triathlon and two sprint triathlons. I’ve enlisted the knowledge of a few friends who have been doing things like this for some time as well as been reading up myself. Depending on the resources available in my new city of posting (Banda Aceh), I may be able to train for races in SE Asia throughout the year.
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32 Comments
Week 1, Day 1
12 Mar-Mo: Off
Week 1, Day 2
13 Mar-Tu: Run 40min
Bought ‘jam-style’ Speedo swimwear. Oh, so tight!
Week 1, Day 3
14 Mar-We: Off.
I planned to do a swim/bike brick but left my shoes in a colleagues car.
Week 1, Day 4
15 Mar-Th:
26min swim. Did a straight 500m in about 15min. Awful! Did the rest of the time in 50m or 100m repeats
58min bike. Nice and easy. Did some hill work and ramped up the HR into the mid 140s but kept it between 120 and 140 for most of it with rpms in the 90s.
Week 1, Day 5
16 Mar-Fr:
24min swim. Two 50m for warm-up. 100m repeats for the remainder at about 3:00/100m.
Week 1, Day 6
17 Mar-Sa:
26min run. Since this was a short run, I went higher intensity–around 130-145 bpm overall. The treadmill I use dies if I use the incline; thus, I’m doing this all flat.
Week 1, Day 7
18 Mar-Su:
88min bike. This was the first of many ‘long’ days on the bike. Bpm was always above 115 but more like 125-130 except when I did some hill work, then it went up to 145.
Tomorrow will be an off day. I’m currently consulting my friend Julia about the training now. I might be changing things up a bit in the next week.
Dear Tony,
do NOT worry! You will get there! … and I promise to work right now on a routine suggestion. The swimming needs to change - you need to be able to enjoy it, as hard as that sounds.
Hats off to you though!
Julia
Week 2, Day 1
Off
Week 2, Day 2
48min run. Heart rate around 130-135 for most of the run. Worked on landing midfoot and front foot with high cadence. I thought this was quite an easy day, just longer than the short days. Pace average was around 4.5mph. This has to get better if I’m to meet my goal of 60m for the 10k.
… I would advise not to concentrate on mid- and front-foot running. Reason: as children we all run mid-to-front foot. As we grow older this changes - unless we train for it, e.g. in track and field. Now that we are adults it takes a lot of time to change to mid-and-fore-foot running, experts say about 2 years until you have transitioned completely. It would only make sense if you can guarantee that you will run the 10k completely on mid-and-fore-foot. But, since you are a long-time athlete, maybe I am mistaken and you run mid-to-fore-foot naturally.
This run looks like lots of progres s towards your goal!
Julia
Week 2, Day 3 & 4
Off.
I went to the pool on Wednesday thinking to get a swim in after work but it was as close to chaos as I’ve ever seen it. Half a dozen people swimming the short length of the pool, a dozen swimming the long length with little sprites paddling at the shallow end. Game over.
Thursday was work. No doing on Thursdays. I did get a nap in at work, if only for a few minutes.
Week 2, Day 5
Long swim day. ~48 minutes swim time. A warm up, then some drills: kick only, fists. I could only do these for about 25m a piece for a couple sets. After that I did some time trials Julia wanted to know more about. The 200m at an easy pace: 5:40. The 50m crawl at a sprint: 0:50. The 50m breast stroke at a sprint: 1:20.
I was doing 100s and 200s during the end at a real easy pace, just trying to keep swimming for longer periods.
I just got an email telling me that there’s only 90 days until I hit the water!
Week 2, Day 6
A short run. 29min. I kept the HR about 130 for this run. I went up to 150 a couple times as well. It seems that once I reach 150, it is hard to come back down, even after backing off on pace. Tried to count cadence as well.
Tomorrow is a long ride.
Week 2, Day 7
Long bike. 97min. I decided to up the intensity this round and kept the HR between 135-145 for approx 35min out of the 97. The cadence was kept at 90 or above until around the 70min mark when it dipped for less than a minute.
Week 3: -30% of volume
Day 1: Off
Day 2: Short run. 29min. 5min warm-up and the full 29 at HR of 130-138. mostly 135.
Day 3: Short swim. 17min. 2×50m warm-up. Then some techniques work (kick-only and punch-ins). Then a couple 100s and a 200.
Day 4: Off
Day 5: ‘Long’ swim. 29min 2×50 warm-up. Technique work (punch-ins). Then mostly 100s for the rest. I didn’t count overall meters but it was at least 800 total, probably more like 900. Also battling a cold.
Day 6: Short run. 27 mins. I kept the pace above 5.5mph and worked on cadence. A good run.
Day 7: ‘Long’ bike. 58min. I changed the seat height on the bike. I kept the HR around 130 with a couple intervals up to 150.
Week 4: Same volume as Week 2
Day 1: Short swim. 21min. 4×50 warm-up. Punch-ins (25 techique, 25 regular)x2, catch-up 2×50. Plus 100m repeats until 900m overall. I got out early because a school came in and usually takes up half the pool thrashing about.
Day 2: Long run. 48min. Negative split on this run. 4.9-5.0mph (HR around 135) out and 5.4-5.5 (HR around 150-155 at the end) in. The cadence was kept around sixty per minute for the majority of the run.
Day 3: Off.
Day 4: Off.
Day 5: Long swim. 48min. 200m warm-up. 25m techinque + 25m swim x 4. 100m repeats for the remainder. 100m cool down. Total 900m.
Day 6: Short run. 29min. I kept this around 6mph until the last five minutes when I went down to 5.5. HR hit around 155 at the highest. I felt sort the next day.
Day 7: Long bike. 65min. This was supposed to be 97min. I just didn’t have it in me today. I did put on about 25min at 135HR with the rest above 120. Tomorrow will definitely be a rest day.
Week 5: Adding 10% by volume
Day 1: Off
Day 2: Long Run. 53min. I used a program on the treadmill that varied the incline up to 7%. The max mph for the first 30 mins was 5.5 and 6.0 for the last 20min. My HR was around 135 for the first 25-30 min and started to rise after that. The last push sent it up to 155bpm when the cool-down began. I can’t believe I’m on Week 5 already.
Day 3: Short Swim. 32min. I did 200m warm-up, 200m technique, and 100m repeats. I ended up with finishing at 1300m with no 100m under 2:05. I’m slow;)
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Long Swim. 53min. I did 200 warm-up, 200m fists, 100m kick only. Then 100m repeats with one 200m swim and 200m cool-down. Best lap on the repeats was 2:02 with the avg being 2:27 (that’s including the cool-down). Total 2000m!
Day 6: Short Run. I went off to the village on Friday night and didn’t make it back til late-ish Saturday night. Instead, I ate heaps and didn’t run.
Day 7: Long Bike. Supposed to be 107min. I managed 90min. The revolutions were high 80s, low90s. My HR was from 120-150. I need to get it higher if I want anything better to come along… I got off the bike and did some quick steps round the gym to work on the transition. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be after a long time on the bike.
Week 6: +10%
Day 1: Off
Day 2: Short swim. 35min. 100m warm-up. Then (50m fists, 50m normal) x 2. I came to a depressing realization during the fist portion of my swim. I timed myself and there were only a few seconds difference between 50m with fists v. 50m using open hands. Doh. The rest were 100m repeats with one 200m. I completed 1500m total for the day.
Day 3: Long run. 58min. I used one of the treadmill programs that goes up and down in elevation (max 7%). The first thirty minutes was a top speed of 5.6mph and my HR was around 145. I moved up to max of 6.0mph for the 2d half and my HR was around 155 at the end. I could feel the exhaustion setting in around 45min with me having no fluids during the run whatsoever. I’ll have to figure out how to keep hydrated on the treadmill in the future. Definitely looking forward to tomorrow;)
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Long swim. 58min. Warm-up, technique, 100 and 200 repeats with a cool-down. 2100m total distance.
Day 6: Short run. 35min. Pre-programmed treadmill course at 9 degree grade max. I started at a 5.5mph pace, then a 6.1, then a 6.5 to finish the last 15min or so. Heart rate stayed in the 140s til the end.
Day 7: Long bike. 117min. I did 100min. I clicked up the gears every five minutes (3-5) and then back to the bottom. Long intervals? The bike said I did about 63km on the ride. So, I overtrained by 23km. This seems ridiculous to me. I’ve consulted my guru and she says that I shouldn’t need to ride so long. Maybe 50km at the most. And to top it off, my knee was acting funny after that ride as well.
Week 7: -30% (recovery)
Day 1: Off
Day 2: Long run. 35min. I started out at 5.5mph, but then went up to 6.0 after 15min and then up 6.5 at about the 20min mark. My heart rate was 140s for the 5.5mph and then in the 150s at the end.
Day 3: Short swim. 21min. This went by quickly. Warm-up, fists for 25, swim for 25. I’m still not quite sure I’m getting the catch right. 900m when the day was all said and done. That seems like a lot of meters for twenty minutes…
Day 4: Off.
Day 5: Long swim. 35min. 1400m. Technique, and longer intervals, almost swimming a pyramid, 100s, then 200, then 300. Finished it with a nice, slow 100, keely aware of how my ‘technique’ had broken down. 20min on the elliptical in Manado in lieu of the short run for Day 6.
Day 6: Off.
Day 7: Long bike. 71min. I did 5min intervals going up and coming down… I’ve found it to be very difficult to keep going once I get up to the 150s in bpm. I can ride 140s all day, but after that I’m done for.
Week 8: Same as week 6
Day 1: Off.
Day 2: Long run. 58min. 5.8mph out, 6.2mph back. 9% max grade hills. 5.2 miles overall. HR in the 140s for out and 150s back. Feeling it in the knees a bit as well.
Day 3: Scheduled short swim, but I got up late and ditched it.
Day 4: Short swim. 32min. 200 warm-up, 200 technique, pyramid- 50, 100, 150, 200 and down again. Cool down 200m. This was 1300m in length.
Day 5: Long swim. I was in gastrointestinal distress and skipped the swim.
Day 6: Short run. 35min. 5% max incline. 6mph going out max; 6.5mph return max. My heart was pretty rock solid 145 for the out and 150-153 for the return. I’ve seem to have internalized the high cadence of strikes per six seconds.
Day 7: Long Bike. 80min for 50km. I went up and down on the gears in long intervals of 5min or more. Getting up into the 150s in riding is pretty difficult, or I just can’t maintain the rpms in the gear that gets my hr up there.
Week 9: +10%. This week is a busy week at work and I’m not sure when or what workouts I’ll be able to get in…
Day 1: Swim. 30min. Nice and easy. Trying to keep a feel for the water.
Day 2: Long run. 64min. I tried out some endurance intervals this time. The first 20min at 6mph/130bpm. Six minute intervals after that at 7mph (135-138bpm), 7.5 (150bpm), 8 (168bpm) with three minutes at 6mph in between. The last 20 was at 6mph and the bpm were around 150-155 for that. A killer but very rewarding workout.
Day 3: Swim. 35min. Technique and repeats. 1400m.
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Off due to work
Day 6: Off due to work & illness.
Day 7: Coming down with a cold but I went to the gym anyhow. Bike 60min/38k, hills. HR 130-150 for 40min of the ride. Run 15min at around 6. Did 1.5 miles. Felt good. The transition was not so bad when I started up the run with good form.
Week 10: +10%. Will be travelling this week but there is a gym at the hotel. The pool there is not fit for swimming. I’ve still got some stuffed sinuses and a creeping sore throat!
Day 1: Off.
Day 2: Long run. 70min for 6.5 miles. I started out at 6.5mph and that kept me at 135s bpm for at least 25 minutes before increasing. I used a pre-programmed hills workout on the treadmill that maxed at 7 per cent grade. I slowed the speed back down for the second half and still kept by hr in the 150s for that time. It felt good to actually run the distance. My knees definitely felt it after the run though.
Day 3: Swim. 41min. 100m warm-up, 200m technique. 1300 normal swim. 1600m total. 2:33/100m ave. Yeah, that’s pretty slow.
Day 4: Off. Travel.
Day 5: Bike. 45min. Hill program on the bike in the hotel.
Day 6: Long run. 47min. The machines were funky, but I did get to run in my brand new New Balance shoes. The old Asics were comfy but I felt it was getting time to move on.
Day 7: Long bike. 70min. Kept the HR in the 140s for as much as I could, shifting gears up and down. Tired and travelled later that day.
hey Tony! u sound super busy. your workout regime is great…good for you. i was just wondering what you would recommend for a good swim workout????
are you still planning to return to the states????
hope things are well and only gettin better….
-LIZ
Hey, Liz! Yeah, it does sound busy, but I bet you’re still crazier. I can’t really talk about swim workouts. I have no technique for the freestyle. Drills and intervals. I do pyramids so that I don’t get bored going to and fro. Check out Swim Workouts in a Binder. I hear nothing but good things.
Week 11: -30% - Recovery Week. I also have workshops on Th-Sa, and Mo-We of next week. It’s going to be hard to get the workouts in.
Day 1: Swim. 31min. 100m warm-up. 100m technique. Pyramid with 10 sec rests: 50-100-150-200-150-100-50 + cool down for 1300m.
Day 2: Off.
Day 3: Off.
Day 4: Off.
Day 5: Off.
Day 6: 25min run. 6-6.5mph
Day 7: 60min bike. 15min run. Brick endurance.
dear tony,
way to go! you will survive.
about swimming: check out the job ad i mailed you and if you get it i promise swim lesons over here!
julia
Week 12: Same as Week 10. I’m pulling some hard work at the office, so I hope to make the latter part of the week harder.
Day 1: Off.
Day 2: Off
Day 3: 45 min bike. I was worn out from work, but something is better than nothing.
Day 4: Off. I just thought I would start the week from here. I’m off to Malaysia next week and don’t know what facilities the hotel will have…
Day 5: Long swim. The plan called for 70min. I did 42min. 200m warm-up, 200m technique, 200m repeats x 3, 500m straight, and 200m cool-down. 1700m total. I checked the hotel in KL. I should be able to do run and bike. They don’t have the dimensions of the pool. I’ll probably pop in just to keep the feel if it’s a small thing.
Day 6: Short run. 42min. Forgot my heart rate monitor but ran a treadmill program at 7% grade max. Tried to keep above 6.0mph.
Day 7: Long bike. I turned this into a bike interval brick. 60min/38km on the bike. 5min race pace, 2.5min recovery x 5. I kept the rpms over 100 until the last ten minutes. 30min/3mile run at or near 6mph. Again, no heart rate monitor, but I think the 150s is nearing lactate threshold. I can go with it but I feel that it’s building up in the muscles…
Week 13: This week is wacky. I’m leaving for Malaysia on Wednesday. I’m also playing catch-up with the week before. This is how I hope it plays out though.
Day 1: Off.
Day 2: Long run. 70min- what I skipped last week.
Day 3: Short swim-42min, or morning swim and afternoon bike-60min. What I skipped last week.
Day 4: Off.
Day 5: Short bike. 60min hills at the hotel.
Day 6: Short run. 46min. Or thereabouts round the park at the foot of the Petronas towers. It was nice to do some running out doors.
Day 7: Bike. 60min easy/recovery.
Week 14: A funky week to ‘make up’ some peak week times. One more week! I did eat like a pig while in KL. There is something about breakfast buffets. I did so wrong.
Day 1: Off. Travel from KL.
Day 2: Swim. 38 or so for 1500m. Technique and pyramid.
Day 3: Long run. 77min for 7.4 miles. This is the longest run I’ll do for the tri training.
Day 4: Off.
Day 5: Long swim. I did 200 warm-up, real easy, 100 technique (7:30). Time trial: 100m repeats with 10sec rest intervals (30:39). So, I did 1000m in 29:09.
Day 6: Short run. I’ll most likely take this day off as I have to sing a song. I did take the day off.
Day 7: Brick. Bike 60min with 5min intervals and 2:30min recoveries. The first three intervals were gear 4 to 6 on the stationary and the last two were 3 to 5. Heart rate got up into the low 150s for the intervals. Run 30 min. I planned to run slight up and downs on the treadmill but it wouldn’t elevate. I ran a flat 30min. The first 15min were around 6mph; the second 15min were around 6.5mph. I came out with around 3.2mi for the 30min.
In other news, my nutritional choices have been killing me. I should really be looking hard at what I’m eating and counting the carbs, protein, and fat. Instead, I’m eating everything in sight and lots of it. I’ve put on three kg since leaving for KL
Week 15: Race Week. Plans are to leave on Th afternoon for Bali. This will let me get in my Th workout before leaving.
Day 1: Off.
Day 2: Swim am. Bike pm.
Day 3: Run.
Day 4: Swim
Day 5: Off.
Day 6: Short brick.
Day 7: Race Day!
Don’t worry about the KL kilos!
Try to get a good nights sleep 2 nights before.
… and treat yourself with some chocolate right after the finish line!
Hi ,I am wrong or you already stop your Triathlon training ? Maybe you are trying to hide your triathlon traning from your competitors
very nice.
Well, I will be here, waiting to find another nice post about Triathlon.
Regards,
Thiago
http://www.dailytrain.com
Hey Thiago,
Yeah, I had to take some time off due to a change in location. No lap pools where I’m at. Just getting back into running though after a serious altercation with tinea pedis. Maybe when I’m back in civilization will I take a crack at tri-ing again.