From couch to triathlon

fizzyorange

Hey everyone.

I'm 18yo, female, 5"1, 54kg and I decided today to finally do that triathlon I've always wanted to do. I've decided to do this http://www.predatortriclub.ie/contentPage/20061/sprint_triathlon
So I have 110 days to prepare do this, I hope it all goes well.

My goals are: 750m swim
5km run
20km cycle

I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to measure how long I can run and cycle for, I assume you can get some nice little gadget for that but until then I'll just try map out my routes.

If anyone has any advice for someone doing their first triathlon, any help is appreciated.

couerdelion

Hi FizzyOrange

For mapping out runs/cycles I usually use www.mapmyrun.com pretty easy to use so I can mess around with the route till I find one that meets my requirements.

I can give you plenty of advice, but first the questions! How confident are you with the distances so far? If the race was tomorrow do you think you could complete the race (forgetting about time)? How do you plan to train (how many sessions and how are you splitting these between disciplines)?

There's a race near you on Sunday in the NAC which might be worth going along to get an idea of what happens on race day.

fizzyorange

couerdelion wrote: »

Hi FizzyOrange

For mapping out runs/cycles I usually use www.mapmyrun.com pretty easy to use so I can mess around with the route till I find one that meets my requirements.

I can give you plenty of advice, but first the questions! How confident are you with the distances so far? If the race was tomorrow do you think you could complete the race (forgetting about time)? How do you plan to train (how many sessions and how are you splitting these between disciplines)?

There's a race near you on Sunday in the NAC which might be worth going along to get an idea of what happens on race day.

Thanks for the link. I'm mapping out a new running route as we speak for tomorrows run.

The only thing I am really concerned about is the swimming. I always found it difficult to keep going after lap 3/4 of the pool. The running and cycling I reckon I could complete it, a few hours after everyone else. :L I was hoping for a five or six day training week. Give each discipline two sessions per week. I have the whole summer free after the Leaving Cert and I am just hoping that this will be enough.

I doubt I could make it, spending the next two weeks locked up in the library studying, but thanks for the heads up anyway.

fizzyorange

Today I cycled a little over 6.6km according to Google maps. Not as much as yesterday, but still, baby steps I suppose.

Hoping to go on a run tomorrow. Always enjoyed going on short jogs, but I'm not too sure how far I can run for how long yet so I'm going to use the C25K app to give me an idea of where I am at.

On Saturday I'm going to go on my first swim since...oh god I can't remember the last time I swam. Oh well, we all have to start somewhere right? It's going to be a very hard working summer I think.

gnu

Just wanted to wish you luck FizzyOrange (and in your LC too)! I'll be interested to hear how you get on with your training. I was out for my run yesterday after cycling home from my swimming lesson and was smiling to myself thinking if only I could get good at all 3 disciplines, I could train for a tri! Like you, it'd be the swimming I'd find the hardest, I still haven't got the breathing quite right and I can't imagine being able to do 750m!

fizzyorange

Today I cycled around 4km. Bit disappointed at the moment that the only cycling I can get in is the trip to school, the trip to the library or the trip to lidl.

Also just came in from W1D1 of C25K and I'm sweating buckets. I didn't stop during the 30 minutes, kept going with my jogging and walking, but I am really disappointed that I found it so difficult.

I also realised today that I really have to sort out my diet in order to get the most out of my workouts. I usually have a fairly clean diet but these last few weeks up to my exams have been the worst. Going to head over to the nutrition forum to get some healthier eating ideas.

All round, not a great day at all, but I suppose all I can do is try again tomorrow.

runrabbit

fizzyorange wrote: »

Today I cycled around 4km. Bit disappointed at the moment that the only cycling I can get in is the trip to school, the trip to the library or the trip to lidl.

Also just came in from W1D1 of C25K and I'm sweating buckets. I didn't stop during the 30 minutes, kept going with my jogging and walking, but I am really disappointed that I found it so difficult.

I also realised today that I really have to sort out my diet in order to get the most out of my workouts. I usually have a fairly clean diet but these last few weeks up to my exams have been the worst. Going to head over to the nutrition forum to get some healthier eating ideas.

All round, not a great day at all, but I suppose all I can do is try again tomorrow.

The last thing you need at the moment is to be feeling disappointed in yourself; you have an extremely busy, tiring and stressful few weeks ahead of you so my advice would be to take the pressure off yourself until the LC is over. Sport is supposed to be fun! By all means if you feel like taking a study break and getting some exercise then go for it, but there is no point in trying to stick doggedly to a training plan at the moment and ending up even more stressed out and frustrated. When the exams start you're going to be really tired and there are going to be some days when you have double exams and more the following day so it's just not going to be feasible to add training on top of that.

So do what you feel like doing and search for an online triathlon training plan that you can use when you have endless time on your hands in just a few short weeks when the damn LC is over! In the meantime the couch-2-5k calls for only 3*30 minute workouts a week, so that's something that might be easy to manage (even if you only get 1 or 2 jogs in during the exam week) and it would give you a great headstart on the running portion of the triathlon. And all those short cycles to and from school etc. are great practice too. So go easy on yourself!

Likewise with the food; keep getting your healthy meals in but as the exams get nearer accept that it's going to be difficult to be "perfect" and the odd coke or bar of chocolate might give you a much needed (and deserved) energy boost!

I have no doubt that once you get stuck into the training after the exams you will make great headway. The fact that you can swim 3-4 lengths is great - I'm trying to learn to swim at the moment and I can't even manage 1 proper length. Once you're in the pool a few times a week you will build up to 750m in no time*.

Finally it's difficult to run in warm and humid weather so don't feel bad about being a little sweaty and overheated! I felt like that yesterday and I wasn't running at all!



* Edited to add - I am far from an expert on any of this but I've been researching the swimming and it seems that once you can swim a few lengths properly it's just a case of getting the practice and training in to build it up. I'm hopeful that once I master swimming a length I will be able to build up the distance pretty quickly!

fizzyorange

runrabbit wrote: »

The last thing you need at the moment is to be feeling disappointed in yourself; you have an extremely busy, tiring and stressful few weeks ahead of you so my advice would be to take the pressure off yourself until the LC is over. Sport is supposed to be fun! By all means if you feel like taking a study break and getting some exercise then go for it, but there is no point in trying to stick doggedly to a training plan at the moment and ending up even more stressed out and frustrated. When the exams start you're going to be really tired and there are going to be some days when you have double exams and more the following day so it's just not going to be feasible to add training on top of that.

So do what you feel like doing and search for an online triathlon training plan that you can use when you have endless time on your hands in just a few short weeks when the damn LC is over! In the meantime the couch-2-5k calls for only 3*30 minute workouts a week, so that's something that might be easy to manage (even if you only get 1 or 2 jogs in during the exam week) and it would give you a great headstart on the running portion of the triathlon. And all those short cycles to and from school etc. are great practice too. So go easy on yourself!

Likewise with the food; keep getting your healthy meals in but as the exams get nearer accept that it's going to be difficult to be "perfect" and the odd coke or bar of chocolate might give you a much needed (and deserved) energy boost!

I have no doubt that once you get stuck into the training after the exams you will make great headway. The fact that you can swim 3-4 lengths is great - I'm trying to learn to swim at the moment and I can't even manage 1 proper length. Once you're in the pool a few times a week you will build up to 750m in no time*.

Finally it's difficult to run in warm and humid weather so don't feel bad about being a little sweaty and overheated! I felt like that yesterday and I wasn't running at all!



* Edited to add - I am far from an expert on any of this but I've been researching the swimming and it seems that once you can swim a few lengths properly it's just a case of getting the practice and training in to build it up. I'm hopeful that once I master swimming a length I will be able to build up the distance pretty quickly!

Thanks a lot. Decided to take training at a more leisurely pace now until after the Leaving. The C25K is fine, and swimming for a few hours on a Saturday works out too, but looks like I'm stuck with the short cycles for now. For the diet I'm getting in three healthy meals per day now (and hope to continue this) and letting myself have snacks as I fancy. The one thing I love about the Leaving is the inordinate amount of crap you can eat. :L

Thanks again and good luck with your goals!

fizzyorange

107 days to go

Cycled from Finglas to Cabra to Phibsboro today. Didn't feel the need to stop (not even when I got to the hump back bridge at the Cabra train tracks!) so I must be improving. Or just becoming more headstrong. :rolleyes:

Feeling good about today's cycle even though it was fairly leisurely, don't plan on doing much else for the day except study, can't wait to stick to a more rigid plan in the summer.

Just google mapped my route and looks like I cycled around 13km altogether? Not too shabby in my books!

fizzyorange

102 days to go

It's been a while! I find nowadays I'm a lot more tired than usual. It's not even five o' clock and I've already finished my litre of Lucozade to try stop myself from falling asleep!

On average per day I think I'm only cycling for around 7km. This is unevenly split between two trips, one at around 8:30am and the other at around 2:00pm. Today I finally made it up the hill to my house so I am happy enough with that.

Never made it to the pool last week, a bit disappointed but I'm hoping I'll feel motivated after the exams.

Hoping for another run tonight/tomorrow morning. Really depends on whether I finish this section in geography though. I've decided that after the Leaving I'm going to treat myself to a lovely gel/cushioned bicycle seat. Saw them when I was buying my helmet yesterday, I am so happy that they exist. :pac:

Bambaata

Best of luck fizzyorange in both training and LC.

fizzyorange

Still 102 days to go

Just came back from W1D2 of C25K. Wasn't nearly as bad as last time and I found I could run a lot faster even near the end of the workout (but I suppose it helped that a gang of hooligans were harassing me :rolleyes: )

Roll on Friday, when I will finally have completed week 1! It feels great to be making progress, even if it's slow progress.

catweazle

An excellent choice triathlon Fizzy (I am a club member ). Swim is a great one for beginners, the water is clear with a sandy bottom and you can stand in a lot of parts of it

Good luck!

fizzyorange

catweazle wrote: »

An excellent choice triathlon Fizzy (I am a club member ). Swim is a great one for beginners, the water is clear with a sandy bottom and you can stand in a lot of parts of it

Good luck!

That's great to hear, as myself and the 750m swim aren't exactly the best of buds as of yet. :P Do you enjoy being a part of the club? I'm moving down to Galway myself in September and was going to try start a triathlon club on campus, but if that doesn't work out I'd definitely look into the Predator Triathlon club.

catweazle

They are a nice bunch but I hardly ever get to train with them, I am too far away these days. You should probably look at Galway Triathlon Club - if you are going to go to NUIG you will probably be staying in town - and they would be based out in Salthill - they would be a big club so there will be plenty of newbies there

http://www.galwaytriathlonclub.com/

fizzyorange

Thanks for the link. Would love to see what training is like with a group of people.

fizzyorange

100 days to go

Just back from W1D3 of C25K and strangely enough I found it to be the hardest day so far. Usually people find the last day easier, but maybe it's just me. Learned a very valuable lesson today though: never run in heavy tracksuit bottoms and a thick black t-shirt. At one stage as I was running, I thought I was going to be sick from the heat.

In other news the ol' Leaving starts in six days, so I am leaving all cycling and swimming sessions until afterwards. Still going to keep up with the C25K programme though so I am hoping to be finished it in another 7 weeks.

fizzyorange

And the Leaving Cert is over! I have done little to no exercise since the start of the month, but I'm eager to get going again.

Going to start tomorrow with a swim, will log when I'm done. It's great to be back on track again.

fizzyorange

First swim today! Wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be. Not entirely sure how many laps I managed as the pool was sectioned off, so I was only swimming in around 3/4 of the pool. Had a good time though and I will be heading to the pool every second day now that I'm on holidays. I also got myself a gym membership for three months (the girl was lovely, let me get the teen membership for €75 because I look so young. Success!) and tomorrow I'm getting a free fitness assessment.

Had a nice ol' cycle today as well. Very leisurely though. Tomorrow I'm going to try cycling 20km with a short break half way. Going to make my route now.

All in all it was a great day. Feels good to be back out and exercising again! Tonight I'm going to head to a "bootcamp" class in my gym (gotta get full use out of this membership!) so let's hope I'm not too sore in the morning. :P