I have a goal of completing a half ironman distance triathlon in September of 2012. Unfortunately, I am a total newbie when it comes to triathlon racing. I hope to do a couple of shorter distance tri's before then to get my feet wet.
At this point I am looking for advice. Advice on building a base, the best way to incorporate all three disciplines in training, pretty much anything and everything.
Where to find a good beginner training plan to help guide me along, etc, etc...
You get the drift.
Listen. Yeah, it's gonna hurt some. That's the marathon business. But here's the thing. When it starts to get intense, that's not time to panic. This is what you wanted to happen. It means that all the training, all the miles, all the wakeups, all the cold, all the wet, all the sleep-deprived days and all the shit you've done to yourself over the last 6 plus months is finally about to pay off. It means you've put yourself where you wanted to be. You've given yourself an opportunity that very few will ever have. You've given yourself a chance. Now finish it.
I'm a newbie too, but...
Joe Friel's book titled "Going Long" is a great place to start.
It's geared toward the full Ironman, but I'm using it as a baseline for endurance racing.
Your question will certainly lead to great advice by people much smarter than me, so be patient, and messages will be arriving soon. Until then, look up the book on Amazon. It's well worth the money spent.
Cheers,Brian
Life Goals:
#1: Do what I can do
#2: Enjoy life
Hi Mark - welcome!
I'm not an expert at all, but I did my first Half Ironman in November and I'll tell you what I think was important. When you look at the distances on the legs of the Half Ironman by time, usually over half the race duration is spent on the bike, so training a lot of miles on the bike is important, not only for a good time on the bike, but to be able to run after getting off the bike.
If swimming is a weakness, you will need to take lessons, or join a Masters swim class so you can get feedback on technique. While it will be good to race some shorter triathlons, the Half Ironman is more about energy management than the sprint triathlons, so the less energy you use on the swim, the more likely you will be to have a good bike split.
Figure out your fueling during training. Different things work for different people. I found that Perpetuem did great for me, but there are lots of other things to try (Heed, Infinit, Gatorade, Cliff bars, pretzels, etc.) You want to find something that gives you energy but doesn't mess up your stomach. Be sure to include a run after your ride to test your fueling because sometimes the stomach issues don't come until you start running.
Get your long bike rides up to 70 miles (I did two 70 mile rides before mine), your long runs up to 16 miles, and do a 4 hour race pace brick (3 hour bike, 1 hour run), a 3.5 hour race pace brick (2.5 hr ride, 1 hr run), a 2 hour race pace brick (1.5 hr ride, 0.5 hr run), and the last race pace brick should be a 1 hr ride and a 0.5 hr run about 1 week before the race.
I see from your log that you're a runner, but if you have to do tradeoffs, the bike tends to help the run, but the run doesn't really help the bike. (i.e. if you have to pick one to cut back on, pick running)
That's all I have for now, but that should get you started until some smart folks reply.
By the way - which one are you planning on doing?
Tony,
Thanks for the great advice. All information will be greatly appreciated. If everything works out I will be doing the Patriots Half in Williamsburg, VA in September 2012.
Puttin' on the foil
http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon-training/Half-Ironman-Training.php
Here's a free training plan that will give you a good idea about how to structure a week. Here are a couple thoughts -
1. I see you've been running consistently since joining RA. That's good. Keep running. Consistency over years is the key. Log all of your workouts. Years from now, you will find it valuable/entertaining to look back on what your were doing when you started.
2. Get a heart rate monitor and learn how to use it. Use if for biking and running. Something simple like a Timex watch with a heart rate monitor will work. Even better would be something like a Garmin w/ GPS and a heart rate monitor. Or the Timex Global Trainer w/ a HR monitor.
3. Add swimming. It will suck at first, but just like running, consistency is the key. Maybe purchase the Total Immersion book/CD for beginners. I used it. Either that or hire a swim coach or join a masters swim program at your local pool.
4. Add riding your bike. Consistently. All year. Depending on where you live, it might involve getting an indoor trainer. Maybe look for a local bike racing team to join. I live in a moderate sized city and we have 5 or 6 teams. Maybe think about doing some bike racing or participate in some group rides this summer.
5. Start reading. Friel, Byrn, Mark Allen, Chuckie V. Books, blogs, and websites like slowtwitch.com, xtri.com and any others you can find.
The good news is that you are not starting from zero and you have plenty of time between now and September of 2012. Good luck.
Don't be obsessed with your desires Danny. The Zen philosopher Basha once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish.'
I knew T-Bone (the wise man I alluded to) would chime in.
When I originally read your post, I thought it was a goal for September 2011. After seeing your running background (solely running), I thought you might have an aggressive goal.
As I said in my previous post, I'm a newbie with unproven results. However, I would agree with the points that T-Bone wrote.
For me, I did my 1st sprint triathlon in May, 2009 with a hybrid bike and a few 10k and 1/2 marathons under my belt.
At the time, I did a 4 week training to be able to get up to 300 yards swimming in a pool without resting.
After my 1st race in a hybrid bike, and realizing that I really enjoy the tri-sport racing, I "invested" in a used road bike. Since then, I've bought 2 new bikes (road then triathlon).
As T-Bone says, time is on your side. I've read a lot and have realized the value of the points he mentions. The HR training, swimming efficiency through TI, building base muscle, and logging the time and miles has really helped me.
I knew T-Bone (the wise man ass I alluded to) would chime in.
Fixed.