Hello my fellow swimmers: I am sure that some of you out there are doing Triathlons. I started doing them this year. In June I did my first one, then 2 more in July. There were Sprint Triathlons and they were fun and very rewarding for me. I am 52 years old and I have always been swimming. In my mid 30s I competed with the Masters for about 4 years and I loved it. Some family situations changed and I had to step out of the sport to dedicate some time to help my daughters, but now, I am back in the pool and loving every minute of it. I don't have much time to swim, maybe an hour 3 times a week, and now, I have taken biking and running as well. I do believe that most of the people who do Trhiathlons are just regular people, with jobs, family, children, grandchildren, (like me, I have 3) and even if we dont qualify as the Elite, we put our hard work and dedication into this sport to do as good a job as any. My goal for next year is to do the Chicago Triathlon, in August. So my question is: How do I build up some endurance in the bike and running. My weakest thing is the run, although the bike is also grueling. Swimming is no problem. I am able to swim 1 mile in about 25 min at the pool but the bike and the run are more difficult for me. Also, WHAT DO I HAVE TO EAT?????? I don't really eat anything special, I love cheese and I do eat fruits and veggies. meat and fish so, is there any special food I have to eat more of? I know I have writen a lot but well. I just want to post my back grownd so the people out there with more experience, can give me some advise. I dont want to loose weight, I am now at 130-132 lb. I am about 5' 7" tall. but I dont want to gain any either. I want to get to eat foods that will give me the energy to last without making me feel to full, when I am riding my bike or running. Sometimes I feel hungry in the middle of the workout so I know something is not right. Any way, thank you so much for any info.
Maria
Parents
Former Member
congrats on discovering another great sport. you raised many questions and ill try to add my 0.02 quickly is possible.
how to build up endurance? clearly swimming is a serious strength and most strong swimmers take years to master the run. running is weight bearing and alot of swimmers struggle with this. the key is to start slowly. i coach triathletes and some are strong swimmers/weak runners and its the injuries that cause them the most problems, not so much the endurance. what id recommend is a plan where you run no more than 3x per week, or every other day...start off by walking 4 min/jogging 1 and repeat that as you see fit. after a week or so try walking 3/jogging 2 and so on, eventually youll be running the whole time, but you have to take baby steps in the first two months or so to avoid the injuries. I finally convinced my wife to do this and shes managed to do several half marathons and half ironmans. you just need to be a little patient up front. the other problem with the run part of a tri is that its the last event and youre already good and tired by then, so this is where your overall endurance comes into play. when you get tired your running form deteriorates which also leads to injury. therefore you need to have a solid aerobic base. Chicago is an olympic distance race which will take you 3 hrs or more. be prepared to exercise for this duration. the best way to achieve this is to develop your biking endurance. get to the point where you can ride 2.5 to 3 hrs comfortably. (remember endurance training can be done at a slow comfortable pace, you dont need to hammer the long stuff) as with running this should be done gradually. figure out how many weeks youll have to train for chicago, and develop a plan accordingly. work backwards from the race date and figure out how you can up your mileage to the necessary quantities....youll probably need to be able to run about an hour and a half and ride for 2.5 hrs. (these would be your ultimate long workouts...just to make sure you have the aerobic strength you need)
as far as what to eat. everybody knows whats healthy and what isnt, however, if youre concerned with race nutrition you need to experiment. you will need to eat during a race of this duration. some people go the totally liquid route using gatorade and sports drinks, allow for 300 cals/hr or some mix things like power bars/clif bars in combination with sports drinks and water. regardless of which path you choose, either will provide the necessary calories but you must practice in training. one things for sure, during a race, nothing tastes good!! things to avoid...dont eat a big salad or tons of fruit the day before, be very careful as to how various foods affect you from one day to the next.
best of luck
congrats on discovering another great sport. you raised many questions and ill try to add my 0.02 quickly is possible.
how to build up endurance? clearly swimming is a serious strength and most strong swimmers take years to master the run. running is weight bearing and alot of swimmers struggle with this. the key is to start slowly. i coach triathletes and some are strong swimmers/weak runners and its the injuries that cause them the most problems, not so much the endurance. what id recommend is a plan where you run no more than 3x per week, or every other day...start off by walking 4 min/jogging 1 and repeat that as you see fit. after a week or so try walking 3/jogging 2 and so on, eventually youll be running the whole time, but you have to take baby steps in the first two months or so to avoid the injuries. I finally convinced my wife to do this and shes managed to do several half marathons and half ironmans. you just need to be a little patient up front. the other problem with the run part of a tri is that its the last event and youre already good and tired by then, so this is where your overall endurance comes into play. when you get tired your running form deteriorates which also leads to injury. therefore you need to have a solid aerobic base. Chicago is an olympic distance race which will take you 3 hrs or more. be prepared to exercise for this duration. the best way to achieve this is to develop your biking endurance. get to the point where you can ride 2.5 to 3 hrs comfortably. (remember endurance training can be done at a slow comfortable pace, you dont need to hammer the long stuff) as with running this should be done gradually. figure out how many weeks youll have to train for chicago, and develop a plan accordingly. work backwards from the race date and figure out how you can up your mileage to the necessary quantities....youll probably need to be able to run about an hour and a half and ride for 2.5 hrs. (these would be your ultimate long workouts...just to make sure you have the aerobic strength you need)
as far as what to eat. everybody knows whats healthy and what isnt, however, if youre concerned with race nutrition you need to experiment. you will need to eat during a race of this duration. some people go the totally liquid route using gatorade and sports drinks, allow for 300 cals/hr or some mix things like power bars/clif bars in combination with sports drinks and water. regardless of which path you choose, either will provide the necessary calories but you must practice in training. one things for sure, during a race, nothing tastes good!! things to avoid...dont eat a big salad or tons of fruit the day before, be very careful as to how various foods affect you from one day to the next.
best of luck
