On August 6th I plan to do my first triathlon.
I signed up to do the Olympic Distance race of the Folsom Triathlon.
For the past six weeks, I’ve been making my way through the Super Simple Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Training Plan and I’ve loved it.
So why train for a half Ironman when I’m registered for Olympic?
Well, I’m almost sure I want to do the Ironman 70.3 in Santa Cruz on September 10th. I plan to make up my mind in the next week or so.
But even if I don’t go for the 70.3 this year, a little extra training for the Olympic distance never hurt!
Since I started blogging and posting on Instagram about my triathlon training, I’ve had quite a few people ask me what I’m doing and how it’s going.
For that reason, I thought it would fun to start a weekly blog post about the training.
On Thursday or Friday, I’ll post highlights from this past week’s training, lessons learned, and what I have on tap for the next week.
So here is a look at my training for the week of Monday, July 10th
Monday
Swim: 1,300 yards total (Main Set: 6 x 100 meter sprints; 20 seconds rest in between).
Run: 7 miles total (1 mile warm up, .25 miles hard, .25 miles easy for 5 miles, 1 mile cool down).
Tuesday
Bike: 40 mins at a moderate pace and 15 mins at a hard pace.
Wednesday
Swim: 1,300 yards total. (Main set: 2 x 300 meters race pace, 30 seconds rest in between) and open water swim clinic in the evening.
Run: 5 miles at moderate pace with 4 x 10-second hill sprints.
Thursday
Strength and conditioning class at ProCity Fitness.
Bike: 50 minutes at a moderate pace with 6 x 2 mins hard.
Friday
Swim 2,000 yards at a moderate pace.
This Week’s Highlights
This week, swimming was the star.
I went to my first open water swim clinic and I loved it.
When work doesn’t interfere (I have to leave work by 5:30 to make it to the 6:30 class) I plan to go these clinics on Mondays and Wednesday.
This is the second time I’ve done an open water swim and it was so much better than the first.
I felt more comfortable in the wetsuit I tried out, I enjoyed learning techniques taught at the clinic, and I liked the group atmosphere.
I also did my longest swim in the lap pool this week. The 2,000 meter swim felt great. It took approximately 45 minutes.
Challenges
The biggest challenge so far has been fitting everything in.
Because of the normal limitations (work, other commitments, limits on daylight hours so you can safely run or bike, limits on access times for the lap pool). I really have to be thoughtful about planning out my week.
What works for me is to take some time on Sunday to plan out the next seven days. I write my training plan- in pen- into my planner. And then I stick with the plan.
I treat my trainings like a meeting I have to make- no rescheduling!
Up Next
This weekend I plan to do a 60 mile bike ride with a 20 minute transition run on Saturday and a 12 mile run on Sunday.
These workout are going to have to happen early, because it is going to get hot in Sacramento this weekend!!!
So that wraps up my first weekly triathlon recap.
I hope this is helpful for people considering training for a triathlon, whether it be an Olympic, half or full.
And even if you aren’t, maybe a few of these workouts peak your interest.
Swimming a few laps in a pool just to cool off on a hot day, going on a bike ride to your favorite coffee shop, or walking on the treadmill while you watch your favorite sitcom can make a big difference!
Happy Friday all!
