Triathlon training, working ft, with 3yo ds

[matana]

Is this possible? Doing a sprint triathlon and I currently have zero level of fitness. The triathlon is in July and it'll be my first. I don't want to miss out on spending time with my ds, especially as I also work ft. Anyone been in the same boat? Any advice on training schedule?

[Quoteunquote]

Get up two hours early, back in time for breakfast.

[vulgarwretch]

As well as getting up early, you could try to build some training into your day - basically, can you bike or run to work?

The bike is the most time-consuming element to train for, but you could get a bike seat for your ds and take him with you on training rides at the weekend.

I think you need to be aiming for 2 sessions per week in each sport ideally. If you are a good swimmer but just need to get your fitness back, one session of swimming would probably be fine.

[matana]

Thanks. I commute to work which is an hour each way so I already get up at 6.45 and sometimes don't get home till 6.30, after collecting ds from his cm. I'm thinking the bike rides with dh and ds at weekends is a good option. Running is weakest so I could fit in a run in the evenings on my shorter work days (I actually work 35 hours on flexible working) which means I get some time with ds until dh comes home and then go for a run. I think I could fit in one late night swim (8 till 10pm) and perhaps another weekend one. I'm a bit snookered on my longer working days. Is 5 sessions a week enough?

[dotty2]

I am also thinking about doing a sprint triathlon this summer, which would also be my first. So I don't speak from experience. But I guess how much training you need depends what you're doing it for - do you have a need to compete and do well, or just get round and have fun? Could you look at the times for last year? The one I'm thinking of doing had women's times ranging from just over one hour to well over two, and my ambition would basically be to not be last and to have fun training and competing with a couple of friends! Cycling would be the thing I'd struggle to train for as I run and swim regularly and they're easier to fit in for me.

[matana]

Hi dotty! It's really just a personal challenge and I just want to get through it without stopping, having fun, getting fit and losing weight along the way. I just want to be able to say to my ds that I've achieved something and give him a good role model.

[matana]

And i'm doing it with some colleagues so we might also raise a bit of money for charity.

[Thistledew]

What distance is your work from home? I have a 12 mile commute that takes an hour by walking and public transport, and I discovered that it takes the same time by bike. Would it be possible to do some of your commute by bike and take the train or drive the rest of the way?

Can you run or swim during your lunch break at work? Doing half an hour of something intense a couple of times a week (for each discipline) should be enough for a sprint tri.

If you have the room and a bit of spare cash, a turbo trainer could help you get on the bike more often than at weekends.

You will at some point need to work in some brick training - practicing running after you have been on the bike, because otherwise you will get to the run section and your legs will feel like jelly.

I trained for, and competed in my first season of triathlon last year and did two runs a week, two swims, two or three commutes by bike and one long ride at the weekend - but I didn't have a DC to look after! Don't worry about it too much though. I found that in all the events I competed in there was a real range of fitness and ability. Some people were obviously super quick, and there were some for whom completing was clearly their biggest challenge. Everyone was welcome to compete though, and the less fit reviewed loads of encouragement.

[vulgarwretch]

You'll be fine with that plan. You have plenty of time to train.

In fact I would suggest ramping up more slowly. With 6 months to go, you might get a bit bored of your training regime if you go straight in to five sessions a week. It is going to take up a lot of your spare time, which is limited, and if your base fitness level isn't great you are better off starting more gradually anyway. I would start with one run, one bike and one swim, add another run after a couple of weeks, and then increase that once you feel it's getting easier.

[dotty2]

Similar to me then - good luck with it!

[matana]

Thanks for the advice! I'm really looking forward to it, though I'm quite nervous. I did a 1.5 mile run on Monday and was gobsmacked that it felt ok and I managed it without stopping (or killing myself!). Perhaps ds keeps me fitter than I realised.

I live 25 miles from work which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere with awful transport links. That's 25 miles of motorway and A road driving. If I went the countryside route it would be much further. The other problem is that I drop off my ds at his cm in a village half way between home and work, so cycling isn't really a viable option. There's a hotel opposite my office bit so I've asked about using their pool at lunchtime, but they won't allow it unless I take out a gym membership. I'll just have to fit it in when I can I suppose!

[pootlebug]

Is it a standard 750/20/5 sprint or are the distances different? I've seen sprint triathlons that are 400/25/5 for instance....where you could definitely cut down on swimming training.

I have just booked to do a sprint followed by two Olympics this summer. I think bike training is hard when you have kids as it takes up so much time. I'm just resigned to the fact it'll be my weakest leg and I need to do enough training to survive it. I bought a 2nd hand spinning bike on ebay, and will do some training on that with Sufferfest videos when the kids are in bed.

[matana]

It's a 400/20/5 so the swimming is pretty short. I'm a strong swimmer but have never learned to breathe properly! Does anyone do backstroke in triathlons?

[pootlebug]

Is the swim in a pool or open water? One of the tricky things in open water is keeping in the right direction....I would imagine backstroke would compound the problem!

[matana]

It's in a pool - not quite brave enough for open water just yet!

[Thistledew]

I don't think you would be permitted to do backstroke- you might want to check with the organisers first. The reason for this is that although you will most likely be grouped with other people who swim at roughly the same speed as you, you will be set off about 15 metres behind each other, and there will be a fair chance that you could catch up with the person in front of you. If you are swimming backstroke there is a real danger that you could get too close to them unawares and end up with a kick in the head. Also, for the pool swim that I did, we had to swim up and back in one lane, duck under the lane markers, and then do the same in the next lanes. The organisers won't know how good you are at holding your position in the lane and might be concerned about you crashing head on with someone coming the other way.

[CardiCorgi]

Can you run at lunchtimes?
I did a sprint last year and managed to fit it round two dc and a pt job, so it should be possible.

For the 7 weeks building up to it I swam once or twice a week before work and dh took the dc to nursery on those days. Cycling/bricks were mainly at the weekend, usually getting up before the rest of the family. I did one evening cycling session on the turbo trainer each week when the dc were in bed. Running was easiest to fit in as I took one of the dc with me in a jogger for most runs and dh had some time alone with the other one.

[CMOTDibbler]

You aren't allowed to do backstroke - I asked because I can only use one arm, and backstroke works well for me. So have ended up really practicing my front crawl, which is just about coming right (ie, I don't twist round!)

Thistle, are there many pool swim Tris? I'm planning on doing a lido swim one in Sept, but can't open water swim as my nerve damage means I can't get my bad arm cold.

[Thistledew]

Where are you based, Dibbler?

I am in SW London and I did one pool event in a heated outdoor pool, and two open water. I understand that there are others that use covered pools, as I occasionally chat to another woman at the pool I train in who does pool-based tri's.

The best thing is to look at the British Triathlon Events page and see what is near you. There are a surprisingly high number of events taking place!

[CMOTDibbler]

I'm W Midlands. I'll have a look at the events thing and see if I can find any. I was inspired by chatting to a lady I met out running who is 61 and does tris, having come back to sport after having a spinal fusion.

[Ambassadoryouarespoilingme]

hello, can I join you?
I've just signed up for my first Tri sprint (750/20/5) in July so am nervous / excited. I have done several 10k runs and so that bit doesn't worry me too much. But the swim (in the sea, on the South Coast) and the bike are more of a worry.

I'm doing roughly:
Monday: 1 hr run
Tuesday: 1 hr run / or cycle
Weds: 30 min cycle to pool / 1 hr swim / 30 min cycle
Thurs: 1 hr running / strength / upper body session
Fri: 30 min cycle to pool / 1 hr swim / 30 min cycle
Sat: probably nothing
Sun: 1 hr run

I don't know if this is enough. I'm training with an open water swimming course on the swim days so its quite intensive as I find swimming quite boring / therapeutic and find myself ambling up and down if I don't have a goal or someone watching me.
I've got 2 DC and a part time job but its flexible, so I often work in the evenings to make up for the training time in the day.
Hope your training is coming along well OP?

[pootlebug]

Ambassador - Am certainly no expert, but it looks to me as though your training should be enough quantity-wise, but I'd think about changing to cut a bit of running in favour of bike. In the end the bike is about half the time of the whole event. Maybe try to do one longer cycle (1.5 hours?) per week instead of a 1 hour run.