The Final Commitment

First, some reassurance...if you're currently able to finish the "long day", then with a consistent effort over the next six weeks, you should also be able to complete the triathlon.

To give you an idea of the timing on a triathlon of this length, you can anticipate any of the following scenarios:

The 5k run - anywhere from 27-38 minutes
The 15k bike - anywhere from 35-46 minutes
The 150m swim - between 2-8 minutes.

Grand total = 64 - 92 minutes

For the next six weeks the idea is to increase the length of time by about 10% each week. Hence, at the end of the period, your long day would be about 84 minutes total. With that in mind, here's this week's schedule

Day 1 - 20 minute run
Day 2 - 44 minute bike
Day 3 - rest
Day 4 - 15 minute swim
Day 5 - 22 minute run
Day 6 - rest
Day 6 - 38 minute bike followed by a 15 minute run

Also, please be aware that you may want to register sooner rather than later, as it did sell out last year. Here's the link to the page. http://www.pasadenatriathlon.com/

If you're worried about having the right gear, please know that the only things you really need are running shoes, a bathing suit, shorts/t-shirt, and a bike (any bike will do). Remember, if you've got questions, email me, post, or call.

Um...Week 6?

My most sincere apologies!!!

I'm trying to figure out how I managed to be so absent over the past month, but I'm really not having a lot of luck. Based on everyone's silence, I'm going to presume that most of you have found yourself equally distracted by the buzz of the holidays and simply conclude that now is the time for me to get back on track. With that in mind, here is a schedule for this week. We're keeping it the same as the wek 2 regimen, so if you're like me and haven't exactly been on top of it these past weeks, you should still be fine. And, don't worry, you'll still be up to speed and ready to go by mid March.

Day 1 – 14 minute run
Day 2 – 38 minute bike
Day 3 – 13 minute swim or 14 minute run or 32 minute bike depending on where you need the most improvement. Yes, you do the one you where you need the most improvement. Not the other way around :)
Day 4 – 13 minute swim
Day 5 – off
Day 6 – 32 minute bike followed by a 12-minute run
Day 7 – off

Cheers and happy tri-ing,
Tricia

Week 2! Week 2!

Good Monday Morning! I can’t wait to hear how last week went for everyone. If you get a minute, post on the wall or the blog and let us know how you’re doing. If it went well, congratulations! If it was tougher than you thought, or you came up against any challenges, don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of time to figure it out. Personally, my own training was sort of a good week/bad week sort of thing. With that in mind, here’s the regimen for this week:

Day 1 – 14 minute run
Day 2 – 38 minute bike
Day 3 – 13 minute swim or 14 minute run or 32 minute bike depending on where you need the most improvement. Yes, you do the one you where you need the most improvement. Not the other way around :)
Day 4 – 13 minute swim
Day 5 – off
Day 6 – 32 minute bike followed by a 12-minute run
Day 7 – off

Cheers and happy tri-ing,
Tricia

Welcome to the official "Week One" of Triathlon Training. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Here's the suggested training plan for this week.

Day 1 – 13 minute run
Day 2 – 36 minute bike
Day 3 – 12 minute swim or 13 minute run or 30 minute bike depending on where you need the most improvement. Yes, you do the one you where you need the most improvement. Not the other way around :)
Day 4 – 12 minute swim
Day 5 – off
Day 6 – 30 minute bike followed by a 10-minute run (for those who want to join me, if I'm not up in San Francisco this weekend, then I'll be doing this at the Rose Bowl from 10am-11am on Saturday). I'll keep you posted of course.
Day 7 – off

Couple of quick notes...

...Of course, you can move things around to fit your schedule. However, you should try to have at least two days off each week, and one of those rest days should happen before your long day (the 30 minute bike followed by the 10 minute run)

...Remember to stay hydrated and get enough to eat.

...Be sure to warm up, cool down, and stretch

...Feel free to post here with questions or encouragement

Cheers,
Tricia

Here we go!

Well, this is it... The 24th has arrived and it’s time to jump into triathlon training. Woohoo!!!!

Yes, I am "that sick" that I would have us start our training on Thanksgiving week. Actually, it’s not me. I’m just following the recommended 16 week schedule for Sprint Triathlon Training. Therefore, please direct your complaints to those who calendared the Pasadena Tri, or perhaps to those who felt 16 weeks was the optimal training time, or perhaps just to the universe at large. Regardless, I recognize that for a lot of you, this week isn’t ideal. So here’s my suggested plan for the week:

Consider this week warm-up/prep week. What I mean by that is this:

As for this week's specific training, just try to get in the following things on whatever days you can.
- One 12-minute run
- One 35-minute bike

Then, if you have time to do the following, they’ll help you to be ready to go for next week:
1) Do some stretching (for you yoga-files, do some Downward Dogs and Warrior Poses and you’ll be great. Everyone else, touch your toes, stretch your hamstrings, etc).
2) Find a pool that you can swim in at least once a week.
3) Join a gym so that you’ve got a place to run and bike. Or, be sure that you’ve got the necessary equipment to do it in the great outdoors.
4) Look at your schedule and figure out how you can work in 5 workouts each week. For the first month, plan on the following each week:

- 3 workouts of 20 minutes or less
- 2 workouts of around 45 minutes

Of course, don’t forget to build in some time to warm up and cool down. You don’t want to start out (or end up with) an injury.

Finally, for those who are planners, here’s next week’s plan so that you can be ready:
Day 1 – 13 minute run
Day 2 – 36 minute bike
Day 3 – 12 minute swim, 13 minute run, or 30 minute bike depending on where you need the most improvement weaker in (yes, you do the one you where you need improvement. Not the other way around ☺)
Day 4 – off
Day 5 – 12 minute swim
Day 6 – 30 minute bike followed by a 10-minute run (for those who want to join me, I’ll be doing this at the Rose Bowl from 10am-11am on Saturday
Day 7 – off

If you have any questions, please comment, or email, or call. I'm crazy excited to be doing this with all of you. Have a great Thanksgiving!

Are You In?

If you're here, then you're at least a little bit intrigued at the possibility of completing a triathlon. And, if you are at least a little bit intrigued, then you can definitely do it. Trust me, if I was able to do it, then you can too. Here's the scoop...

The Pasadena Triathlon will take place on Saturday, March 15th, 2009. It's a reverse triathlon at the Sprint Distance. What's that you ask? Well, since the swim portion takes place in a pool instead of the open water (good news for all of you who weren't exactly keen about swimming with the fishes), they start with a 5k run, then move to a 15k bike, and finish with a 150m swim. It all takes place at the Rose Bowl with about 800 other people just as crazy as you!

If you're thinking, "That's a piece of cake. I could do it tomorrow," awesome. We'll see you there. If, on the other hand you're thinking, "I would love to do it, but I can't imagine how on God's green earth it would be possible," then keep reading.

Drumroll please... almost anyone can be ready for a sprint triathlon in less than four months! If you can commit to just 2-3 hours per week for the next 16 weeks, then you can easily (yes, I said easily) finish. Triathletes typically train one long day each week (called a brick) and 3-4 shorter days. Each week, I'll post a training plan on this blog for you to do at your convenience in the comfort of your own home (or neighborhood at least). Once a week on a Saturday morning, anyone who wants to can join in the group brick training at the Rose Bowl where we will either run/bike or bike/swim. Of course, if you can't make the group brick training, you can certainly do it on your own.

As the race gets closer, we'll also talk about things like the transition area, what to wear, and how it all works. For now though, this blog will serve as a place to find a training plan, encourage each other, and log any questions or concerns. Along those lines, let there be no one who rejects the idea of doing a triathlon simply because they aren't a "good swimmer/cyclist/runner". I hadn't been on a bike in 25 years and was frankly scared to death, but thanks to some helpful friends who patiently instructed me on the basics of, well, stopping and starting, I was able to get through it. We'll do the same for you.

Training kicks off on November 23rd, just in time to pre-shed the seemingly inevitable Thanksgiving poundage. For those who want a preview, here's what the first week looks like.

Day 1 - 12 minute run
Day 2 - off
Day 3 - 35 minute bike
Day 4 - 20 minute swim
Day 5 - off for the holiday
Day 6 - off for the holiday
Day 7 - off for the holiday

Also, don't feel like you have to do things on the exact days indicated, but do make sure that you get at least two days of rest each week and that one of those happens before the long day. If you have any questions, please email me or post them as a comment and I will respond asap.

Remember, this will be awesome!