I didn’t have a post planned for today but I have the day off of work and woke up super early because my body hates me. So here we are 
After spending quite a bit of time researching training plans and reading a book about triathlons (it was free download on amazon but whatevs), I put together a training plan that I think I am pretty happy with.
Training Plan
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Swim sprints
Wednesday: Brick (bike/run)
Thursday: Open water swim at the U.S. National Whitewater Center
Friday: Run
Saturday: Bike
Sunday: Run/swim
I have distances planned out in an excel spreadsheet but things start out pretty slow and I build up in distance as I go along. My plan is 13 weeks. I have slow/easy weeks built in at week 4 and week 8 to give myself a breather and the 13th week is obviously for tapering.
I am planning to do 2 strength-building sessions per week as well. I’m think one of them will be in the weight room on Tuesdays since I’ll already be at the Y for swimming. Ange had a great idea to also incorporate Barre classes into my routine to build strength as well so I will probably try to do 1 per week.
Rest Days
I went back and forth about whether I should have 1 or 2 rest days. I knew I wanted to take Mondays off because I’m usually the most tired on this day anyway. But I am solely swimming 2 days per week and I find that very therapeutic for my body, so I wasn’t quite sure I needed a 2nd rest day. I’m going to get going and see how I feel and adjust things accordingly.
The only day I’m not so sure about is Sunday with a run/swim. The run is generally much shorter than Friday’s run, but I don’t know how my body will feel adding running in for a 3rd day. Again, I’m going to see how I feel and switch things up as needed.
Questions for You
I know many of you have done triathlons before so I have some questions:
Clothing
Are you supposed to basically wear 1 thing for the whole triathlon or do you ever change anything at the transitions? I am mainly concerned about where my sports bra (for the run) comes into play here.
Transitions
What are the best ways to make your transition times faster? I read in that book that you can not wear socks to avoid having to put them on with wet feet. That sounds like… something I don’t want to do
Finding your stuff
How do you find your stuff at transitions? I see pictures of rows and rows of bikes and it seems like it would be hard to find yours.
Strength-Training
This question is for anyone out there, not just triathletes. What are your tips for strength training to avoid injury? How often do you do it per week? What do you like to do? Stick to weight room or get outside?
Have a great day!
Triathlon Training: Race Day Tips
Triathlon training: The Finale (Weeks 12 and 13)
Race Recap: Jimmie Johnson Foundation Lake Davidson Sprint Triathlon
Nutrition and Triathlon Training
Typically triathletes were a trisuit (also referred to as a tri kit) for the whole time- you can buy them on amazon or in sporting goods stores. There is a built in sports bra but if you are more well endowed up top you can wear an additional sports bra under it. Honestly for your first tri my advice is to not worry about a quick transition- just take your time so you’re not frazzled or forget anything (i always wear normal socks, lol). Usually the rows are numbered so you can just remember that number to race to when you get out of water. For a lot of races you’re able to check out the transition number the day before so I would do that and familiarize yourself with any trees or landmarks nearby to make sighting your bike easier (do a couple walk throughs from the water to simulate race day). As far as strength training my best advice is to DO IT! I’ve been injured twice in the last year pretty much from a lack of strength training :( Again- feel free to email me for any questions- I’m always happy to share my experience!
*wear
Does wearing a sports bra for the swim cause chafing during the bike/run. I’m one of those well endowed ladies so I’m a bit concerned about this situation :)
I’m not well endowed so I’ve never had to wear one… body lube goes a long way for some other chaffing areas so it should help.
I’m super interested to hear the answers to your questions. Triathlons baffle me, there are just so many things to think about.
I kind of feel the same way :)
Now I wear a tri suit with a sports bra underneath (I found one that is mostly meshy material so it dries quickly) for any tris that I do because I found it super cheap at an end of season sale, but I used to just wear a sports bra under a bathing suit for the swim. After the swim I’d put on compression shorts over my suit for the bike (and sometimes a top if it was chilly), and usually wear that same thing for the run. If you don’t have clip-in pedals, you can wear the same shoes for the bike and the run, which will same you some time in T2. Overall though, I wouldn’t worry too much about your transition times. It helps to have everything you will need laid out next to your bike on a little towel (it does seems like it’d be hard to find your bike, but it’s numbered and usually doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue), so you can easily see it and grab it, but other than that, just be as speedy as possible in your transitions and you’ll be fine. You may want to practice a few during your training just so you feel more comfortable with them. :)
Thanks for the info!
There is so much coordination and thinking necessary in tris, which makes me certain that I would be just awful at them! I would love to spectate at a triathlon though! I bet it’s so much fun to watch.
I like to strength train 2X per week but right now I’m only doing it once. I can’t seem to find the right second day that fits in with Hansons without feeling like hell. I do a full body workout on that one day. Squats, deadlifts and leg press for lower body, and chest press, bent over rows, shoulder press, assisted pullups and lat pull downs for upper body. Planking for core. Then I sometimes throw in other random little things like bicep curls, bridging or whatever I feel like to make the day creative!
I feel like a majority of my planning and preparation has more to do with logistics rather than training for the sports, lol. I think it will be hard for me to fit in a second strength training session as well but I know it’s important. We’ll see how things go but I might change around my training schedule to omit one of the workouts and add a strength training day.
I’m not a triathlete so I don’t have much expertise to offer but one thing I always do with my black suitcases when I fly is to tie a colorful ribbon around the handle so I can spot in on the baggage claim in the line of many black suitcases. So…maybe something like that would work for your bike? :) Good luck and hope the race goes really well!
For me personally three days of strength training is my sweet spot. Two isn’t enough for me to really feel the benefits and four (which is what I am currently doing) is a bit much. My legs feel sore all the time and I think it results in reduced intensity during my workouts. I only run though and I don’t do biking / swimming so you might need less. I started off by doing Les Mills Body Pump classes and I injured my back seriously by doing this so I definitely would not do this. I actually ended up hiring a personal trainer after this disaster because I was to scared to go back and figure stuff out for myself. We focus on building up my glutes, stabilising muscles and core as quads / calves are what tend to be dominate in runners and this imbalance can cause injury.