I will be entering my first “official” triathlon season next year. By official I mean that I have done a few triathlons in the past, but they were sporadic and without any type of real training. My end goal is IMAZ in April 08 (or Nov/Dec 07 if the other thread is true.) What are some goals I should be striving for? What should I build my long workout to? What should I keep in mind while preparing myself for this event? I do have to say that I work full time and am a full time student during most of this period (I will graduate with my bachelor’s in fall 07), but I can reasonably fit 15 hours per week of training and could possibly push 20 hours. This will be my first long distance race and I am trying to build my season around it. I also realize that the race is quite a ways off, but I don’t have much of an endurance base which is the reason behind the long build up. I plan to do several shorter races here in SoCal throughout the year also, but my primary focus is IMAZ. I am really looking for the vast wisdom here on ST and am not looking to get flamed. I also plan on doing this first IM self coached as school for myself and my wife is killing any and all extra cash we have laying around. Thanks in advance for all of your help.
So there are no less than 3 separate threads about how horrible everyone thought the NBC coverage was, but not a single response to serious questions concerning training. Nice.
Sounds like quite a year! You might find folks a little less jaded on www.beginnertriathlete.com. Even though your not a beginner, there are a lot of experienced, smart people there.
I can’t answer any of your questions, but these two books will help:
Going Long
The Triathlete’s Training Bible
Good luck! Have FUN 
I just finished my first real season after a couple untrained sprint tris on borrowed bikes in years past. I’m in the same position as you. I have a full time job and go to school at night.
Goals that I developed over the course of the year:
Consistency… you may not feel like running today, but come mile 7 of a HIM in 6 months, you’ll wish you had. Yes, in 5 hours of racing (maybe more) you’ll think about every workout you skipped. and then promise yourself that you’ll never skip another…
Learning. i had very little knowledge on what a good training schedule was; intensity, duration, frequency, rest/recovery and NUTRITION. When coaching yourself, all this knowledge is VERY important.
With 20 hours per week to train, you can be dangerous. IF you’re smart, you’ll put some wupping on the competition :-). If you dont train smart, 20 hours per week is just gonna land you burnt out and/or injured.
anyway. Do races. find people to race/travel with. Its the most fun part. FWIW, in prep for my first IM (this summer), I’ve done 3 HIM and have 2 more planned. I did some shorter races before that too. I always have a set time goal for each part of the race. No one knows your background, so you’ll have to come up with those.
Good luck.
Thanks,
I’ve read Going Long but I’ve yet to pick up the Triathlete’s Training Bible. I will have to do that soon.
Good luck with your first IM. I am really trying to work on the consistency and am trying to find the proper blend of intensity/volume so that I don’t injure myself or get burnt out. Thanks for your words of advice.
Baseline Questions:
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What is your current volume, and how have you built to it?
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What is your athletic background generally?
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What is your body composition?
I set myself the following goals before I even hit the send buton on my first IM entry - I don’t necessarily suggest you do the same, but just some goals to think about:
- complete a half IM
- cycle 100miles
- run a marathon
- swim 4km
I think if you don’t have the endurance base you ought to easy yourself into your 15hours/week very gently…
As well as “Going Long” and “The Triathletes Training Bible”, I’d also suggest Don Fink’s “Be Iron Fit”
I set myself the following goals before I even hit the send buton on my first IM entry - I don’t necessarily suggest you do the same, but just some goals to think about:
- complete a half IM
- cycle 100miles
- run a marathon
- swim 4km
I think if you don’t have the endurance base you ought to easy yourself into your 15hours/week very gently…
As well as “Going Long” and “The Triathletes Training Bible”, I’d also suggest Don Fink’s “Be Iron Fit”
I agree with all of these things entirely. These are beginning points to start training for an IM.
Thanks for the replies.
As to body composition, I am 6’1" and about 215 lbs. I am in fairly decent shape, but would love to see myself around 190 sometime in the near future and definitely before taking on IMAZ.
I have completed 2 marathons a couple of years ago and both were around 4 hours on very little training. I was still in my party phase and actually showed up to the Chicago Marathon hung over on 3 hours of sleep. I was very stupid and didn’t really realize how dangerous it could have been. I have also done several 80 mile rides and 1 century last February. We rode it in about 5 1/2 hours, but I was toasted at the end. I was still getting used to making myself eat and drink while riding. I have plans on doing the same century this February and the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego in June. I also intend to “race” in several olympic and sprint distance tri’s as they come up through the year. There is also the possibility of a HIM in September in Oklahoma.
I just started getting myself into a structured training schedule five weeks ago and have built to about 6 hours per week of training. I am using the 3 build followed by 1 recovery structure. I have my weeks built around a long swim on mondays (building to 4km), long run on wednesdays (building to 2 1/2 hours), and long ride on Saturdays (building to 5 1/2 hours). I’ve also included 2 other swims, 2 runs of an hour each, and 2 rides of 1 1/2 hour duration. I also try to do a short 1/2 hour yoga routine 2 nights a week when school permits. Currently my swimming is hit or miss as the only available pool sporadically shuts down for chemical imbalance.
I hope this helps to give a better picture of my plans. Any guidance from there would be much appreciated.
The perfect newbie first season goal is very simple…have fun!! If you don’t have a big ass grin on your face when you finish your first race, you’re probably doing something wrong. That’s about all I would really shoot for my first year. Of course, I’m not exactly competitive either, so take anything I say with a grain of salt…
Spot
- run a marathon<<
Actually this has little to do with doing an Ironman. There has been a couple of long discussions on doing/not doing a marathon prior to an IM in the recent past.
clm
I’d think some good goals would be to not get injured and to not let the IM get in the way of your marriage or career.
Be smart about your volume increases, especially on the run.
Lucky for me, my wife supports me and my goals I set for myself. As for the career, I’m in the military so my career is at no risk with regards to my triathlon training. If anything the training helps my job.
That is absolutely my number one goal. I love the training and the race atmosphere is so much fun also. I am just trying to make it to the end of that first IM with the smile on my face and injury free. Trying to get a feel for what kind of training it is going to take to get there.
I know all about the discussions on whether or not to run a marathon -
thats why I said these had been my personal goals - not that everyone should do one.
I found running a marathon to be a huge psychological boost - it meant running the distance on the day held no fears for me. I was also careful in choosing a late fall marathon so that it has very little impact on my IM build up for the following summer. I learned a lot more about nutrition whilst running that marathon than I did on any training run I have ever done - your mileage may vary.