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Half Marathon Training Plan for Senior Triathlete
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When I turned 59 I decided to get in shape and do triathlons. Now I'm 61 and I've had a great time. I've done about 7 sprint Tri's and I would like to improve my running by focusing on that this Fall and be ready for my best (sprint) Tri ever next March. Right now my 5k PR is just under 23' and I ran one 10k at about 50' flat.

I've perused several half-marathon training plans and I see it is quite common to have 2 days/wk for X-Training. That seems fine so I can cycle and swim once per week to maintain those disciplines.

The minimum run days per week with these plans seems to be three with 1 day per week being the long run. The general strategy is to increase the long run 10% per week until 13.1 miles is reached. I think that will work well for me but can I get by with just 1 long run and 1 short run per week for the sake of minimizing the risk of running injuries?

An important priority to half-marathon training seems to be the development of one's aerobic capacity. Won't I be just as well served with a good 2nd swim per week in place of a 3rd run day? I just don't see a big advantage to that 3rd run day especially since my legs have always felt better if I give them 2 days of rest.

Last year I was training only for 5ks and sprint triathlons but I did build-up my long run to 9 miles using a 10% per wk increase plan. All was fine. Will I be likely to gain much with a 3rd run day? TIA, Allan
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Re: Half Marathon Training Plan for Senior Triathlete [lombardi3g] [ In reply to ]
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Hi Lombard,

Im inspired by your en-devours, and only wish you the very best with your health and competitive pursuits.

I can only reach out to three people who have helped me during my journey of Tri...

Davenishpaul
BarryP
Dessert Dude

(sorry guys, if you got your names wrong)...hope you could chime in.

In additional, BarryP has done a fantastic thread on building up mileage without injury. Just google it, you will find it :

barryp site:slowtwitch.com

There are some additional books out there, i think Friel has made a book about 'fast after 50''. Dont quote me on that, but i hope you can get the book and get some insight. Im only in my mid 30's, but would hope I have the same optimism as you later in life!

I hope i've helped in some semi-way.
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Re: Half Marathon Training Plan for Senior Triathlete [lombardi3g] [ In reply to ]
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lombardi3g wrote:
The minimum run days per week with these plans seems to be three with 1 day per week being the long run. The general strategy is to increase the long run 10% per week until 13.1 miles is reached. I think that will work well for me but can I get by with just 1 long run and 1 short run per week for the sake of minimizing the risk of running injuries?

An important priority to half-marathon training seems to be the development of one's aerobic capacity. Won't I be just as well served with a good 2nd swim per week in place of a 3rd run day? I just don't see a big advantage to that 3rd run day especially since my legs have always felt better if I give them 2 days of rest.

Last year I was training only for 5ks and sprint triathlons but I did build-up my long run to 9 miles using a 10% per wk increase plan. All was fine. Will I be likely to gain much with a 3rd run day? TIA, Allan

What is your goal? - Just to finish, being competitive in your age group, specific time and/or pace, etc.?

If you merely want to achieve a quasi-descent AG result, you will need to run at least 3-4 days/wk. You must condition your mind and body for the rigors of the half marathon and this requires consistent RUN training.

ADD: Example Schedule for you (customize your specific durations, intensities and workout goals/paces).

M - XT or Rest
T - Run
W - XT or Recovery Run
Th - Run
Fr - XT or Rest
Sat - Run
Sun - Long Run
Last edited by: Brushman: Aug 21, 18 6:34
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Re: Half Marathon Training Plan for Senior Triathlete [sambadhillon] [ In reply to ]
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sambadhillon wrote:
In additional, BarryP has done a fantastic thread on building up mileage without injury. Just google it, you will find it :

barryp site:slowtwitch.com

^^^^^^^ This. I have found it much better on my body when I am doing a run block to get in my weekly mileage spread out over 6 to 7 days a week. It seems that the damage to my body is some kind of exponential function of miles in a day, so running daily I can recover for the next day and can keep this up as I build for several weeks. Also, knowing I am going to run the next day is a strong motivator to not run too fast -- so I can stay consistent.
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Re: Half Marathon Training Plan for Senior Triathlete [sambadhillon] [ In reply to ]
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thanks to everyone who responded to my plea. I bought the e-book of Faster Over 50 and I'm already reading it since a sinus infection has me home from work this afternoon. So far the author has stressed that high intensity workouts are very valuable for aging athlete's. Nevertheless, I accept the 3 runs per week minimum for Half-M training and I'll get right on it when the sinus infection is conquered. CHARGE!!
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