The following program is designed for the individual
who would like to complete or finish his or her
first Olympic distance triathlon with no regard to
time. This also takes into consideration that the
individual can run 3 miles, three times per week and
cycle a minimum of 8-10 miles (about 60 minutes)
regardless of speed.
The entire program should be completed at an easy,
aerobic pace. If you own a heart rate monitor and
are familiar with aerobic heart rate training, than
train at the lower end of your aerobic zone. I
subscribe to the 180-method of determining your
aerobic heart rate zone. This is just one method and
certainly not the only one. According to this
method, the following formula will give you your
aerobic heart rate zone:
180 minus your age will give you your upper range in
beats per minute. Then subtract 10 to find your
lower range in beats per minute. If you feel this
range is too high then bring everything down 5-10
beats per minute.
Ex: A 37
year old individual in descent shape-
180 – 37 =
143 This would be the upper range.
143 – 10 =
133 This is the lower range.
Therefore, the aerobic range of this particular
individual is 133-143. Now according to this method,
this should be fine for the run and the bicycle.
However, some folks have a hard time sustaining that
high a heart rate on the bike. So an adjustment
downward may be necessary.
Because this 10 week program is designed for the
beginner, a heart rate monitor should be used as a
means of keeping yourself in “aerobic” check. BE
STRICT with yourself and do not let anyone else
influence your training. If you have been training
with a partner or are currently looking for one,
explain to the individual what your goals are to
make sure he/she will go along. If you are a runner
and because you are now incorporating three
different sports in a week of training, your running
pace may be slower than normal. Thus, running with
an existing partner who is used to you running
faster than your new “aerobic” pace may cause you to
run too fast. Stick to YOUR training program and not
someone else's. If someone chooses to train with you
according to your needs, terrific! If not, then head
out on your own. The beauty of a heart rate monitor
is it will allow you to train solo. It is like
having a personal coach running/riding along side of
you.
And the same goes with cycling with a partner.
However, unless you are cycling on a deserted
highway, the opportunity to ride side by side and
chat will not always arise, so you will be forced to
ride front-to-back. If you wish to ride with someone
who is faster than you for safety reasons, etc.,
spend more time drafting behind your partner. This
will help keep your heart rate lower while still
keeping up with your partner.
**** You will notice walking was added to the
program. I am a huge believer in walking. You can
use it as a means of recovery after your long ride
as well as a means of building leg strength. I
usually walk a pretty fast pace with a long stride.
I like to think of it as an extra day of running
without the pounding. I personally do not do a lot
of arm pumping when I walk, however feel free. It
wont hurt you.
Swimming: I have included a
set of swimming workouts for the entire program. You
will find them at the bottom of this page. They are
designed around training in a 25 yard pool. If you
are swimming in a 25 meter pool, you can use the
same workouts. For a 50 meter pool, there will be
some changes. You are certainly not bound by these
workouts so feel free to tweak them as you see fit.
Please see the breakdown below:
25 Yard (meter) Pool – usually standard
length
1 lap = 25
yards (meters)
2 laps =
50 yards (meters)
4 laps =
100 yards (meters)
1 mile =
about 1700 yds (meters) = 68 laps
50
Meter Pool
1 lap = 50
meters
2 laps =
100 meters
1 mile =
about 1500 meters = 30 laps
You will notice that I did not include any stroke
drills as part of the workouts. By all means, insert
them where you would like, but do not replace the
main set of each workout. If you are having
difficulty with your stroke and you are without a
swim coach, I suggest you purchase Terry Laughlin’s
book and/or video series (800-609-SWIM).
The main set of each workout is based on repetitive
swims with very little rest after each. DO NOT swim
these fast. Swim them slow enough so that you are
not gasping for air at the wall. And check your
heart rate periodically throughout the set. The
quickest way to do this is place your finger under
your chin/neck, find your pulse and count the beats
for a six second count and add a zero to the total.
For example:
14 beats in 6 seconds = 140 beats per minute.
This reading is not as accurate as would be
displayed on a heart rate monitor but it is all we
swimmers have! Try to keep your heart rate between
140 – 160 beats per minute. The older you are the
closer to 140 the better. For athletes in their
twenties or early thirties you should be fine on the
higher end. The idea behind this method of training,
is to have you properly prepared for the bike ride
upon exiting the water during a race. The closer
your heart rate is to your bike training rate, the
better the outcome of your entire race. For example:
For ten weeks you have been training on the bike at
an average heart rate of 125bpm (beats per minute).
Come race time, you exit the swim with a heart rate
of 175 bpm. You are now a full 50 beats per minute
above your bicycle training level! Within a couple
of miles into your ride, your heart rate will drop,
but probably not the full 50 beats. More than
likely, it will settle in at about 145-155 beats per
minute or a 20-30 bpm recovery. Thus you will be
riding the 25 mile/40k bike coarse with a heart rate
some 20-30 beats higher than your training rate. And
this will be the beginning of the end, for you will
pay the price on the run. Now, if you were to exit
the water in the same race with your heart rate at
or near 150 beats per minute, and you recovered the
same 20-30 bpm during the bike ride, your heart rate
would settle in somewhere between 120 and 130 bpm –
your normal bicycle training rate! This would only
leave better prepared for the run.
Flip turns
– do not worry about flip turns while you swim.
Unless you feel very confident doing them, simply
take a quick breath on the wall and push off. Flip
turns will cause your heart rate to rise.
Breathing – you should get in the habit of
breathing every stroke. The more oxygen you take
into the body, the lower your heart rate will
remain. However, alternating your breathing or
breathing every three strokes, will help you in two
ways.
1. It will balance out your freestyle stroke.
2. It will get you used to looking in both
directions, which may help during a race when trying
to find your mark.
Also practice lifting your head and looking forward
when swimming…say once or twice per lap during your
main set. Yes, you may have a black line to follow
in the pool, but unless you are racing in the clear
waters of the Caribbean, the open water in most
tri’s will be fairly dark.
Cycling:
Again, all of your bike rides should be aerobic,
concentrating on staying within your heart rate
zone. Remember, for some, the running heart rate
zone may be higher than that of cycling, so you will
need to experiment to find out what works best for
you. Attempting to cycle within your running HR zone
may do more harm to your aerobic system than not. To
experiment, subtract 5 to 10 beats from your running
zone and determine how it feels during the ride. For
example:
If you are 40 years of age, and in pretty good
shape, your aerobic heart rate zone based on the
Maffetone method, should be 130-140. If you were to
subtract 10 beats for your cycle training, your zone
would be 120-130. And this is where you should
experiment.
Obviously, the flatter the terrain on which you
ride, the easier it will be to monitor your heart.
If you live in a hilly or mountainous area, your
rate will definitely rise when cycling uphill. If
this be the case, shift to higher gears (so you are
spinning) and try to keep your ride smooth. Avoid
pumping the pedals if possible. The harder you pump,
the higher your heart rate will rise. This will not
always be as easy as said but you should at least
attempt to keep your heart rate as low as possible
during the uphills. Also, try to remain in the
saddle while riding uphill and only climb out as a
last resort.
Aero position: If your bike does come
equipped with aerobars, get used to riding in the
aero position. You will notice some stress on the
lower back at first, but practice and a good lower
back stretching routine should lead to successful
acclimation. If you cycle on flat roads, you will
get plenty of practice. If you live in a hilly or
mountainous area, your chances will be limited. And
do be careful when speeding downhill. I recommend
you do not ride in the aero position on steeper
downhills, and certainly not on mountain descents.
Practicing on a stationary bike trainer will
certainly help if conditions are not favorable.
Bike trainers: if you live in the northern
states or in the Pacific Northwest during the winter
month's Mother Nature does not provide many
opportunities to ride outdoors. Therefore, a
stationary bike trainer is the next best
alternative. And you can spend anywhere from $150 -
$1500 on a bike trainer. For now, be frugal and buy
the least expensive model. If you decide to stick
with this sport, you can always spend more money!
Stationary trainers can be boring, so mental
toughness will come into play. Get yourself a
Walkman® to keep you going. For the most part, you
will not be able to accurately measure your mileage
on the trainer, so to be safe, figure about 15-17
miles covered in an hour. If during the winter
month's you are able to head outside for a ride, pay
attention to your average speed over the coarse of
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