I am planning to do a HIM this summer, my second tri. I have been following a training plan, sort of. If it says run for an hour, I do, bike for 3 hours, I do. Don't pay attention to the type of work-out (ie. speed, intervals), don't pay attention to my heart rate, just swim, ride, run for the alloted time.
So yesterday I decided the date is approaching and I should probably work on a race plan, or at least figure out what to expect. The picture is not pretty. Swam an hour yesterday, not at "race pace", just at a comfortable pace-total time=36 minutes. Calculated my average speed on the bike today-18 mph, a huge improvement from when I started biking this winter, but still about 3 hours on the bike. Run pace has been the same since I started 5 years ago, no matter what the distance I run about 9:00-10:00 minutes/mile, giving me 2 hours on the run. Add it all up and I am looking at 5:45 for the half.
Right now I love training. I don't push, I just go out and enjoy my workout. BUT, I don't love my finish time. I know I can get faster, but I need to significantly change my training. I know I would not find it as enjoyable, but I would be happier with the results. However, the race is such a smaller percentage of the overall time. Not sure if it is worth it to give up some of the pleasure I find in training for the pleasure I would find in achieving a faster time.
So yesterday I decided the date is approaching and I should probably work on a race plan, or at least figure out what to expect. The picture is not pretty. Swam an hour yesterday, not at "race pace", just at a comfortable pace-total time=36 minutes. Calculated my average speed on the bike today-18 mph, a huge improvement from when I started biking this winter, but still about 3 hours on the bike. Run pace has been the same since I started 5 years ago, no matter what the distance I run about 9:00-10:00 minutes/mile, giving me 2 hours on the run. Add it all up and I am looking at 5:45 for the half.
Right now I love training. I don't push, I just go out and enjoy my workout. BUT, I don't love my finish time. I know I can get faster, but I need to significantly change my training. I know I would not find it as enjoyable, but I would be happier with the results. However, the race is such a smaller percentage of the overall time. Not sure if it is worth it to give up some of the pleasure I find in training for the pleasure I would find in achieving a faster time.