Marathon to tri: if I don't drown this will be fun
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163 days
justjames posted 21 weeks ago.
Sorry, one other question about heart rate. So... I'm 27, my theoretical max heart rate (220-age right?) is 193. But I hit the 190s all the time and I know I've seen 205 before. If I try to run in the zones, I run slow as dirt. What gives?
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Joe_H posted 21 weeks ago.
welcome to the sport. there are some free generic plans on this site, trinewbies.com, slowtwitch.com, &beginnertriathlete.com what distance are you looking at?
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215 days
WillbIM1Day posted 21 weeks ago.
Your background sounds exactly the same as mine. I took the plunge this year after completing 2 Marys and 3 half-marys in 2007.
Don't sweat being a slow swimmer...I feel like everyone here tells me that. It's the shortest leg and the easiest one to progress in quickly. I took an Intro to Technique class organized by my local tri shop and dropped over 30 seconds off of my 100 yd TT in 12 weeks. Look into something like that if you want to speed up in the water (I'm still expecting to always be in the bottom 20% of the swim at all of my races this year though).
Sounds like you've got the run part down. Just keep doing tempo runs, speed work, and hill repeats to improve your pace.
Everything you do on the run, copy that on the bike (and then add in single leg drills too). Tempo rides, hill repeats, time trials, single leg drills...it'll all help you.
I do about 3 bricks per month just to learn to run with heavy legs. I haven't done any swim to bike bricks, but I imagine those could be helpful too (although not that feasible logistically, at least in NYC).
Good luck! I hope you enjoy your first race as much as I did.
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kylie posted 21 weeks ago.
welcome! As mentioned above, plans greatly depend on the goal distance.
For heart rate, the 220-age is VERY inaccurate. If you want to train by HR it is best to determine your zones through field testing. I don't train by HR, but I'm sure someone here who does will chime in with good testing protocols :) Also, the zones are different for the different sports.
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1312 days
Tamara posted 21 weeks ago.
+1 on taking a look at some of the beginner training plans. Coming from a run background, your inclination will be to spend most of your time there. It's the sport you already know and love. One of your challenges will be to load up on swim and bike, and just "maintain" your run for now until they're all up to the skill level you want to be at.
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit." ~George Sheehan
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Milesofsmiles15 posted 21 weeks ago.
i ran all my life and a year of collegiate cross country before realizing it was not for me, i did my first HIM last summer and am signed up for another this summer, tri training is definitely more my style. I finally started completely getting the hang of biking hard (for some reason until recently i couldn't push myself on the bike). i've always been good in the water for some reason.
The best advice i wish i could give myself a year and a half ago would be to make sure to do bike drills and actual workouts on the bike instead of just going long at a moderate pace, it's like striding, except on a bike. Another piece of advice is to make sure to keep up your running strides, since i started biking my legs have gotton significantly more muscular and thus, heavier. It messed with my form a bit (running injury didn't help) but my until i started doing strides and a little speed work my running just felt off.
best of luck, i hope you enjoy tri's as much as i have
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1714 days
beads1985 posted 21 weeks ago.
If you have the running down, great!
Now work on the swimming, and the cycling and back off the running since that is what you know and have a base in.
Check out some of the basic tri plans here on trifuel to get you started.
Nothing to it, but to do it
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163 days
justjames posted 21 weeks ago.
thanks for all the advice and comments guys, I appreciate it.
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iamtb13 posted 21 weeks ago.
Only one way to figure out your max heart rate - go until it doesn't go any higher. It ain't fun but it is the most accurate way. When my coach did mine, he put me on a treadmill and every minute increased the speed and the incline. At some point my HR wouldn't go any higher then I had to do 1 more minute at that pace just to be sure. Then I promptly went out and puked.
Hey guys. I've been a runner for quite awhile and have run a couple marathons as well as a bunch of other shorter distances. My main question is, what is a good training plan to start with? I'm a good runner, decent cyclist, and slow swimmer. I am comfortable in the water, just slow.