Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

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casual_cyclist
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Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:11 pm

I have decided to train for the Busselton Half Ironman next year. I have two programs of training planned, each of 20 weeks. Each program has a number of phases.

Program 1: preparation to train.
Goals: be able to consistently swim 40min (1200m?), ride 90min (45km?) and run 60min (10km?). Not sure about these goals. They might have to be fine tuned as I progress.

Weeks 1-4: Preparation - This period is "preparing to train"--building base endurance through work and recovery.
Weeks 5-8: Base 1 - In Base 1, I'll be increasing hours a bit while keeping consistency.
Weeks 9-12: Base 2 - In Base 2, I'll have theme weeks with increased volume in a single sport with steep reductions in the other two sports.
Weeks 13-16: Base 3 - I'll now approach a maximum number of training hours per week but now back to a balance in all 3 sports and still 2 hard workouts per week.
Weeks 17-18: Build - Training hours level off while I work on specifics for the next training program including performing sessions back to back.
Weeks 19-20: Taper - I am going to drastically reduce the volume, but keep the same number of sessions and intensity. The goal is to be well-rested by the time I start my second program.

Program 2: preparation to compete.
Goals: be able to swim 1.9km in 45min, ride 90.1km in 2:45 and run 21.1km in 2 hours. Total time: 5:30. I think that might be doable.

Weeks 1-4: Preparation - This period is "preparing to train harder"--building on my base endurance through work and recovery.
Weeks 5-8: Base 1 - In Base 1, I'll be increasing hours a bit while keeping consistency.
Weeks 9-12: Base 2 - In Base 2, I'll have theme weeks with increased volume in a single sport with steep reductions in the other two sports.
Weeks 13-16: Base 3 - I'll now approach a maximum number of training hours per week but now back to a balance in all 3 sports and still 2 hard workouts per week.
Weeks 17-18: Build - Training hours level off while I work on specifics for the event including performing sessions back to back.
Weeks 19-20: Taper - I am going to drastically reduce the volume, but keep the same number of sessions and intensity. The goal is to be well-rested by the time event day arrives.

I need to put together a training program for Weeks 1 to 4 but will just do one of each of these sessions first:
* Brisk walking with some short slow running intervals thrown in followed by yoga to stretch/cool down.
* Swimming laps.
* Cycling to work and home (9km each way).
* Light gym session of free weights (1 set of 10-15 reps) followed by some core work.
That should see me through the first week. Based on that I will develop a training program for weeks 2-4.
I just can't wait to get my first session over and done with so that I have the feeling that I have started.
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Missy24
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby Missy24 » Tue Jul 06, 2010 3:17 pm

Can I come with you?

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:06 pm

Missy24 wrote:Can I come with you?
Sure!
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:11 pm

Training begins: Week 1, Day 1. Just a brisk 20 min walk and 20 mins of yoga stretch and flex. Taking it easy at the start but it really felt good to stretch out my painful muscles after Saturday's 200km ride. I am still sore pretty much all over but a lot less sore after a good stretch.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby Missy24 » Wed Jul 07, 2010 8:50 am

casual_cyclist wrote:
Missy24 wrote:Can I come with you?
Sure!
Wicked... I am being serious, I'm totally coming with you!

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:41 am

Missy24 wrote:
casual_cyclist wrote:
Missy24 wrote:Can I come with you?
Sure!
Wicked... I am being serious, I'm totally coming with you!
I think you will be better prepared than I am. You have been training for longer.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby Missy24 » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:49 am

casual_cyclist wrote:
Missy24 wrote:Wicked... I am being serious, I'm totally coming with you!
I think you will be better prepared than I am. You have been training for longer.
I don't at any time recall syaing I would participate... I was thinking of being your cheer squad... I suppose I could do it as well :mrgreen:

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:50 am

Week 1 - Day 2 - Quick warm up workout. 20 mins

Just dumbbells today: 1 set of 10 reps each of: overhead press, upright row, side deltoid raise, lying triceps extension, dumbbell curl, forearm curl, reverse forearm curl, dumbbell fly, dumbbell bench press.

Some quick stretches to cool down.

Feeling pretty good now.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:51 am

Week 1 - Day 3 (part 1)
Awesome ride in to work this morning! commute 8.67 km 23 mins
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby ClownBoy » Fri Jul 09, 2010 8:15 am

Hey Cas Cyclist - are you looking for feedback on your training or just moral support?

Good luck by the way - enjoy the journey.

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:52 am

ClownBoy wrote:Hey Cas Cyclist - are you looking for feedback on your training or just moral support?

Good luck by the way - enjoy the journey.
Just support at this stage but it doesn't have to be moral :wink:

I am just easing into a training program at this stage - taking it easy for the first four weeks just to get used to exercising again.

I will probably be looking for feedback once I start training in earnest.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Fri Jul 09, 2010 11:55 am

Week 1 - Day 3 (part 2)

Rode home. Missed most of the storms and just got a bit wet. It was mostly fine though and a good ride.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby tripstobaltimore » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:28 pm

curious as to why you are breaking up the base building phase into two stages? I would hzave thought one longer, continuous base building phase would be more beneficial? Just steadily increasing your distances.

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Sun Jul 11, 2010 2:48 pm

tripstobaltimore wrote:curious as to why you are breaking up the base building phase into two stages? I would hzave thought one longer, continuous base building phase would be more beneficial? Just steadily increasing your distances.
I have never trained for anything before so I guess I will have to figure it out as I go. Why are there three base training periods? dunno. I just copied the training plan off the interweb: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/a ... ticleid=52

Surprisingly, my biggest risk is over training (which I have done before when weight training). I am mentally pretty tough and can push myself through all sorts of things. Unfortunately, in my case, that means I sometimes ignore pain and push through it. Last year doing exactly that led to extremely sore shins to the point that I could not even walk without pain and my shin bones were right on the borderline of developing micro tears (according to an MRI).

So, I have 2 goals. 1) not over train. 2) pay attention to any injuries and manage them immediately before they become serious.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:44 pm

What day am I up to?

Short walk 1.5 km 00:17

I threw in a 60 second slow jog today. Trying to work out times/distances for next week. I managed to miss the showers too.

First swimming session 400m 00:40

I have not been to a pool for about 20 years so today was all about figuring out how everything works and trying to remember how to swim! I have never been a strong freestyle swimmer and started off breathing only on my right side. After struggling to swim one lap, I quickly figured out I need to breathe on both sides so I spent two laps only breathing on my left then three laps alternating. I think I managed to swim a lap without stopping three times. All up, an ok session. I felt I was swimming stronger by the end.

Yoga - Stretch and flex 00:20

Starting to build up some muscle soreness so I did a stretch and flex session to cool down/stretch out after my walk/jog and swim. Some of those stretches felt pretty good.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby ClownBoy » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:46 am

tripstobaltimore wrote:curious as to why you are breaking up the base building phase into two stages? I would hzave thought one longer, continuous base building phase would be more beneficial? Just steadily increasing your distances.
That had been going to be my comment. But he seems happy with his training ...

Just put in the effort CC

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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Mon Jul 12, 2010 9:39 am

ClownBoy wrote:
tripstobaltimore wrote:curious as to why you are breaking up the base building phase into two stages? I would hzave thought one longer, continuous base building phase would be more beneficial? Just steadily increasing your distances.
That had been going to be my comment. But he seems happy with his training ...

Just put in the effort CC
I had a look at the training a bit more. There are three periods of 4 weeks. Each period has a different purpose. I think it is partly psychological and partly to mix things up a bit for two reasons: 1) increase distances in each sport (period 2 has focus weeks) and 2) change the routine around to prevent boredom.

The psych part is the feeling of satisfaction of completing another 4 weeks of the program. I know I would feel overwhelmed if I focused on completing 40 weeks of training! So there are two sets of 20 weeks. 20 weeks is also a long time so within each set of 20 weeks there are periods of 4 weeks. Mentally, I can manage focusing on getting 4 weeks of training done. I used to set and complete 12 week challenges with a challenge ever 4 weeks then another huge challenge at the end of 12. To get through those I would just focus on the 4 week challenge each time until done.

I learned breaking down goals from riding ridiculous distances. For example, on a 300km ride I don't focus on riding 300km because (even though I have ridden 300km before) I find the whole concept ridiculous and overwhelming. All I focus on is completing the next leg to the next checkpoint which are usually 50km to 70km apart. I know that I can ride the distance to the next checkpoint so that is all I think about. If I thought further out than that I would feel like quitting. Right now, if I think about training for 40 weeks, I feel like quitting. If I focus on what I need to do for the next 4 weeks, I feel motivated.

Speaking of motivated, walk/run tonight, short weights session, some core work and yoga.

In my second week I am still keeping everything low key because I am still not used to exercising.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:34 pm

Week 2 - Day 1 (Monday)

Inline skating 3.96 km 00:24

It was too rainy for a run so I took my inline skates down to Mt Henry Bridge and did three laps. It was harder than I remember but a great full body workout. Actually, it was pretty fun.

Workout - Chest, Abs and Back 00:10

Workout 1 - Day 5 of the Men's Health Hard Body Plan. Upper body today because my legs are a bit tired from skating. So, 1 set of 10 reps of Bench Press, Dumbbell Fly, Wide-Grip Row, Dumbbell Swing, Dumbbell Trunk Twist, Oblique Trunk Rotation (ouch!), Leg Raise - all with dumbbells because I could not be bothered fishing out the barbell.

Went well and I feel great!

Core Workout and Yoga 00:10

Ouch! Core is my worst. I only managed some fit ball rolls and planks today. In my recovery time I did some yoga postures to stretch out and relax.

All up with the skating and weights, a good workout session. I am feeling buzzed and hungry.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:35 pm

Week 2 - Day 2 (Tuesday)

Cycling Home to work 8.67 km 00:23
Nice ride in to work today. The sun was shining and the river was beautiful. I managed to miss all of the rain too. Bonus!

Cycling Work to home 8.74 km 00:28

Bit of a slow trip home. I was feeling very relaxed and enjoying the ride. I didn't realise I was going so slow. I was thinking about the pool :-)

Second swim session 600 m 01:00

Horribly frustrating session in the pool. I have read way to much about how to swim so I was trying to concentrate on everything at once. That led to me tensing up and everything going wrong at which point all of the things I was doing wrong popped into my head. I found I could not relax at all and just swim. My best lap time was 1:18 for 50 metres which is ridiculously slow. I think my biggest problem is a lack of upper body strength. Will work on that next.

I am probably being way to hard on myself though because it was my second session of swimming freestyle laps ever. I can't wait to try again. There is something wrong with me I am sure :wink:
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:06 pm

Week 2 - Day 3 (Wednesday)

After work walk 1.5 km 00:17

I did two 60 second intervals as per the C25k Week 1 Day 1 program which actually has 8 intervals. I am not there yet but hoping to build up to being able to do the full Week 1 Day 1 in a couple of weeks. The intervals went ok but I did feel it a bit in my right shin.

Complete At-Home Workout Yoga 1 00:20

I could not find my freaky lady beginners yoga dvd which I really like so hunted around and found Complete At-Home Workout Yoga 1. That dude is a real nut. He is trying the speed yoga approach which I managed the first 20 mins. It went too fast for me. I will have to get someone to sit there and hit the pause button because I like to hold each pose where the instructor moved from pose to pose very quickly. That said, I liked his progression of poses and it felt pretty good. I just want it a bit slower next time.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Thu Jul 15, 2010 8:25 pm

Week 2 - Day 4 (Thursday)

Cycle Home to work 8.6 km 00:26

My strategy of early nights is not paying off yet. On the upside the weather was beautiful for my daily commute. Looking at my time I think I enjoyed my ride in to work too much though ;-) I was in no rush to get to work this morning.

Cycle work to home 8.76 km 00:31

Yeah, still tired but on the upside the weather is so great for cycling at the moment. I am really enjoying my commutes.

P.S. I am tired because I stayed up until after 2 AM every night for a week and still went to work the next day every day. It doesn't seem that smart now.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Fri Jul 16, 2010 9:20 pm

Week 2 - Day 5 (Friday)

Rainy walk/run 2.5 km 00:20

Even though it was raining I pushed out my planned 3 intervals (of 60 seconds) to 4. I also pushed out the distance to 2.5km. I was a lot more relaxed during the running sessions tonight but it is still hurt my shins. Sore shins in less than a km is a worry. I might have to go for gait analysis to see what my wonky legs are doing to me now.

I am playing around running in the more ChiRunning style which seems quite relaxed but I feel like my foot strike is quite heavy.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:09 pm

Week 2 - Day 6 (Saturday)
Planned rest day for a 100km ride on Sunday

Week 2 - Day 7 (Sunday)
#Audax The Vines 115.98 km 04:53

Nice ride this morning: #Audax "The Vines" a jaunt beside the Swan River then through the Swan Valley to Ellenbrook and back. The control was at a very flash cafe with much nicer food than last years zero options. All up it was a nice day for a nice ride and I kept the pace up for the first 80km but lagged in the last 20kms. I felt tired by the end of the ride but was pleased with my pace for most of it.
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby casual_cyclist » Sun Jul 18, 2010 8:16 pm

Week 2 wrap up.

I am pretty pleased with my progress this week. I managed to fit in skating, swimming, cycling, weights, core, yoga and walking (with some 60 second slow run intervals thrown in :D)

As it is only my second week of exercising after a 3 month break and I kept it low key and managed to not wear myself out :wink:

I had some problems with my shins earlier in the week after my 200km ride 2 weeks ago. However, by Saturday they were pain free and didn't worry my on today's ride. In just 2 weeks of exercising I have noticed an improvement in my posture and energy levels. Going well so far 8)
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Re: Training for the Busselton Half Ironman next year

Postby SeditionTrial » Sun Jul 18, 2010 10:01 pm

Good that you are taking things slowly with your running. I am also just starting out in triathlon, and i think i made the common beginner's mistake of too much running too early. Build it slowly, and you might not get injured...
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