Hey everybody! This is my first post. I’ve been a ‘lurker’ on this site for the past year as I’ve trained for my first triathlon. The information that I’ve gotten has been invaluable! So, this weekend is my first tri… it’s only a sprint, but not coming from much of an athletic background this is a big step for me. I’ve been following a plan that I got off the web annd so far I think it has me ready… my big question is about my taper. My race is saturday and I’ve read a lot about what to do here on slowtwitch, but I’m not sure how much or how little or how hard to push myself. I work full time so getting in workouts during the week are challenging anyway. I do most of my long stuff on the weekends anyway. So, last night I did a 2 mile run and then soaked in the bathtub for 30 minutes. I remember reading somewhere that this is good for the legs. I’ve never tried it before but I feel good. I plan to ride 15 miles tonight really easy and then swim tomorrow for 30 minutes. Does that sound realistic? Do you guys count bath soaking time towards your total weekly training time?
Make sure you get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Tomorrow night will be the night before the race so it’s entirely possible that you won’t be able to sleep well Friday night. So for that reason make sure you at least are able to get good sleep tonight.
Good luck to you.
I work full time so getting in workouts during the week are challenging anyway. I do most of my long stuff on the weekends anyway.
Sounds good so far…I’m guessing that’s what most people on this forum do, including me.
So, last night I did a 2 mile run and then soaked in the bathtub for 30 minutes. I remember reading somewhere that this is good for the legs.
If it was cold water, then it may help you a bit. Typically endurance runners (and probably other athletes) will soak their legs in a cold tub after a long run. This helps reduce inflammation after the workout and will help with a speedier recovery. Unless 2 miles is pretty long for you, you probably won’t benefit from soaking in a cold tub (it’s recommended that you don’t exceed 8-10 minutes in an ice-bath). So if you soaked in a cold tub for 30 mins, that’s probably not a good idea. Now, I’m guessing you didn’t soak in a cold tub for 30 mins, you probably were in warm/hot water. I wouldn’t recommend this after a long workout, because it can increase inflammation and relax your muscles to the point of sluggishness the next day (not a scientific observation, speaking from experience). Long story short, you’re probably not going to gain anything from soaking in a tub, unless it’s cold.
I plan to ride 15 miles tonight really easy and then swim tomorrow for 30 minutes.
Sounds like a good plan, I need to get swimming again!
Do you guys count bath soaking time towards your total weekly training time?
I would count training time as time that I’m working my muscles…so no.
Sam is short for Samantha, isn’t it? Are you hot? Can you post pics of you in the bathtub? Then we’ll be better able to critique your taper.
If you’re hot, send me a PM and I’ll loan you some awesome race wheels for Saturday.
Relax and enjoy! Worrying to much about a taper for a sprint is not neccessary. As long as you don’t do anything stupid the next couple of days. I would spin on the bike with a few hard efforts thrown in. Just keep them short (1 min on kind of stuff). Same for the run. easy and relaxed with a few pick-ups. Just shorter distances then training weeks. Also get a swim in to stay loose.Get your nutrition in as soon as your done with these workouts so your topped off. No carbo loading the day before. That should already have taken place through out the week. Just a regular dinner with food you know. I would have a rest day 2 days before the event(or super de duper easy day) and do little something the day before just to stay relaxed. It is a sprint eh? Enjoy, You’ve already done the hard part! It will be over before you know it and you will be hooked.Please let us know how it went eh!
Sam is short for Samantha, isn’t it? Are you hot? Can you post pics of you in the bathtub? Then we’ll be better able to critique your taper.
If you’re hot, send me a PM and I’ll loan you some awesome race wheels for Saturday.
Considering his screen name is Sam and Betty I’m assuming he’s about 61 and his wife’s name is Betty.
To the OP, dont to anything today, I would just ride the trainer a little on Friday. Have fun and let us know how it goes!
if you ran 2 miles… at the worst it was 10 minute miles, right??? so you ran 20 minutes… then took a 30 minute bath??? it probably did nothing for your legs… but at least you’re clean.
Sounds like you have it under control. I echo the short, easy work-outs with a few 1-2 minute hard efforts advice above. Have a great time!
Guys- thanks for the feedback so far. I guess I messed up in the bath. It was warmish, not cold. Oh well, I hope I didn’t do any irreversible damage. My legs feel ok today, but I haven’t done anything on them. As for pyscholist- Betty’s my mom. She’s a hottie (so my buddies say) and by your profile pics it looks like you are an old dude. Maybe you should call her. Funny you should mention race wheels… I’ve heard a lot about these. My mom was going to buy me a set for my 24th birthday a few months ago, but she’s worried about losing her job in this economy and couldn’t swing it. I don’t blame her one bit but it seems like a lot of the information I get from this site is that they would really help me out on the bike. Am I going to lose much time racing on my ‘regular’ wheels? My friend is loaning me his aero helmet so I guess that should help, right?
Don’t worry about your wheels for your first race. What race are you doing?
Nah, Betty is Sam’s mum. I ran into her at Wal-Mart a couple days ago while out looking to re-stock my Old Spice. Super nice lady. She’s pretty excited about Sam getting out and active after losing the 200+ pounds. I told her the bath tub “swimming” didn’t really count. One thing for sure about Sam… killer cyclist. He passed me like I was standing still the other day, chatting it up on the cell phone. Sam should do fine as long as he can get through that swim. 4’ 100s are pretty rough going.
Guys- thanks for the feedback so far. I guess I messed up in the bath. It was warmish, not cold. Oh well, I hope I didn’t do any irreversible damage. My legs feel ok today, but I haven’t done anything on them. As for pyscholist- Betty’s my mom. She’s a hottie (so my buddies say) and by your profile pics it looks like you are an old dude. Maybe you should call her. Funny you should mention race wheels… I’ve heard a lot about these. My mom was going to buy me a set for my 24th birthday a few months ago, but she’s worried about losing her job in this economy and couldn’t swing it. I don’t blame her one bit but it seems like a lot of the information I get from this site is that they would really help me out on the bike. Am I going to lose much time racing on my ‘regular’ wheels? My friend is loaning me his aero helmet so I guess that should help, right?
Classic
Tapers are usually 7-10 days. This is just a couple days light? Sounds fine.
Hopefully it was an ICE bath and only need 7-10 min there
Got any pics of your mom?
Sounds like you put in the work, so enjoy the race!
Don’t worry about the taper and don’t over think too much. The best thing you can do is get there early. And by early I don’t mean an hour before the start. Get yourself there when transition opens. Give yourself plenty of time to get set up and settled in. Study the course and get the ins and outs on the transitions right. I totally f’d up my first tri and ran a 4.5 mi 5k.
Wait on the race wheels. Your moolah is probably better spent on other toys at first. Oh yah, sign up for another race!!
I’m doing the Set-Up Cemson Tri. I’m not sure how to upload pics, but if you tell me how I’ll upload a picture of my mom.
What’s the best food for me to eat post-race? I’ve been training with a few guys who have done some Ironman’s. These guys are legends. They have the tatooo and all. I’m going to get one of those next year when I finish an Ironman…but that’s another story. Back to my origional thought (I’m ADHD) what should I eat after I finish? These guys tell me they eat ribs and cheeseburgers after their long days. They said something about protein helping to synthesize somethign or other.
Carbs post race - and fluids.
Protein is good but your body is more readily to absorb CHO after exercise than at any other time.
You should do this after workouts too
Thx TigerChick- Carbs and Fluids, that sounds a lot like BEER. two birds with one stone…three really…mmmmmmmmmmm. I like this triathlon thing. Now I know why this sport is addictive!
Psycholist- Here’s a picture of my mom. She’s lost about 125 lbs since this picture. I’ll have her PM you. Maybe you guys can ride together sometime.
SO, I was just offered a tri-bike to use from my friend. I usually ride a Trek Madone, but my friend has a Cervelo P3. Obviously this is a huge advantage. We are close to the same height. I never in a million years figured he’d loan me his ride. Should I go with the tri-bike and the advantage the P3 has aerodynamically or stick with my madone? This has got to give me at least a few minutes advantage, right?