Category Archives: first triathlon

first triathlon, swimming

Workout Wednesday – Be a Torpedo

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Welcome to Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will post a new Triathlon specific workout. If you like the workout, fit it into your training plan for the week. If you don’t like the workout you’re crazy, all of my workouts are brilliant pieces programming. (kidding)

Torpedo

The most important factor for swimming fast and efficient is body position. For maximum speed and efficiency your body should be straight and level, like a torpedo flowing through the water. Sounds easy right? Not really. Anyone new to swimming will tell you, their legs are constantly sinking, and their heads are popping up. Maintaining good body position requires core strength, and body awareness. The problem is good body position doesn’t come naturally, and takes some effort and practice.

Body position training is time well spent. You will see instant improvements in your speed and efficiency. Your position can always be improved, so this work is suited for swimmers of all levels.

To maintain good body position keep slight pressure on your chest, a neutral head position, and hips elevated. Think of your body as a seesaw in the water. As your head rises your feet sink, and conversely as you press down with your chest your feet will rise. Core activation is key to keeping a level body. To activate your core muscles, imagine pulling your belly button up toward the top of the water. You ever notice great swimmers have awesome abs?

Check out this video from Triathlete.com explaining good body position.

On to the workout,

Body position training:

Warm up 200 meter Freestyle (FS)

5 min – Torpedo drills

50 meters – Superman glide

100 meters – Smooth Freestyle – Focus on good body position

50 meters – Superman glide

100 meters – Smooth Freestyle – ”

50 Meters – Superman Flutter – Arms extended forward using a light kick to move forward

100 meters – Smooth Freestyle – ”

50 meters – Torpedo Flutter 

4 X 100 meters Freestyle – Focus on using best body position possible for each 100 meter repeat.

Did the 100 meter repeats at the end seem faster and easier? I do at least a few of these drills as a warm up for every swim session. It reminds my body of the correct position, and it is great core work as well. As you get fatigued it gets more difficult to hold the position, so keep your focus.

Thanks for reading. I hope this workout helps your swimming. For more swimming tips check out:

Intro to swimming Part I

Intro to swimming Part II

Photo Credit

first triathlon, Fitness, Uncategorized

Fantastic Finish Foto Friday – First Time Triathlete Michelle

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Welcome to Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in the awesomeness of your finish photos. A finish photo captures a moment in time, where you overcame the challenges of the race and training, and reached your goal. The feeling of elation as you cross the line is what keeps us pushing our own limits. Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish.

This week’s photo is from Michelle Carroll, (Bolton, Lancashire)

 

Michelle Caroll FTT

Michelle:

Despite the elements being against me, on Sunday, I competed in my very first triathlon! With the rain and wind at their best, I tackled the hills of Rossendale to successfully complete a 400m swim, a 14 mile bike ride and a 5km run! Despite all my worries, I enjoyed almost every minute of it and now I have definitely got the triathlon ‘bug’. If anyone ever thinks they would like to compete in something like this but feels they couldn’t – go for it!! Honestly, I felt exactly the same, but it’s amazing what you can do if you put your mind to it. I don’t really swim and I had to borrow a bike as the nearest I’ve ever got to bike riding is doing a spin class at the gym, but it was all worth it!!

Great work Michelle! Way to preserve through the conditions and finish. You didn’t let not having a bike hold you back and you borrowed one. That is a great idea for first timers. Don’t throw down a bunch of cash on a bike. Borrow a bike and see how you like the sport.

Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish. It doesn’t have to be from a triathlon, just any race that has special meaning to you. If you are interested in sharing, please send a message to firsttimetri@gmail.com.

 

cycling, first triathlon, Fitness, spin class, triathlon

Workout Wednesday – Cycling Overspins

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Welcome to  Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will post a new Triathlon specific workout. If you like the workout, fit it into your training plan for the week. If you don’t like the workout you’re crazy, all of my workouts are brilliant pieces programming. (kidding)

Bike trainer

This week workout is Cycling Overspins.

This is a fun workout.  Overspins are essentially sprinting with a light gear. The benefits are better pedaling efficiency and higher cadence. This workout forces you to increase your cadence beyond your normal range. Working at a higher cadence will strengthen those fast switch muscles that smooth out your pedal stroke.

During the workout focus on making good circles with your legs. Push and pull all the way through the stroke. If you are doing it correctly your upper body will be relatively still and your legs will be spinning fast. Imagine you are a duck swimming on a lake, calm on the top, and swimming away under water.

This workout should be performed on a spin bike or trainer. Aim for 20-30 RPMS faster than your normal cadence. If you normal cadence is 80 RPMS try to maintain 100-110. Set the resistance light, just enough to keep your speed under control.

This workout is not very taxing to your legs or cardio. It can be done at the end of another workout or on a scheduled easy bike day. I suggest putting on your favorite loud fast tunes and enjoying the workout.

Overspin Workout

  • Warm up 5 min
  • 3 X 1 min @ 60%/30 secs rest
  • 5 X 30 secs @(+20 RPMS)/ 30 secs spin easy
  • 4 min steady @ 60% effort
  • 3 X 1 min @(+20 RPMS)/ 30 secs spin easy
  • 4 mins steady @ 60 % effort
  • 5 X 30 secs @(+20-30 RPMS)/ 30 sec spin easy
  • 10 min cool down

Here’s great video explaining the basics of pedaling mechanics.

 

first triathlon

Sign Up to Crush Your Next Tri

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I starting the FTT email newsletter. Subscribe if you are a new triathlete or even a seasoned athlete looking to be motivated and improve. I know your time and email inbox are precious, so I’ll keep it short, entertaining, and of course no spam. You will have access to me and other triathletes for the support to improve in the sport we love. There is a steep learning curve when learning to race triathlons. I want to help you flatten out that curve, and get you faster while having fun.

If you know a new triathlete that would be interested, please share the post.

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cycling, first triathlon, running, triathlon

Workout Wednesday – Progressive Brick

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Welcome to another edition of Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will post a new Triathlon specific workout. If you like the workout, fit it into your training plan for the week. If you don’t like the workout you’re crazy, all of my workouts are brilliant pieces programming. (kidding)

Brick Workout

Today’s Workout – Progressive Brick

A quick intro: A BRICK is a bike to run workout. The purpose of these workouts is to work on your transitions from the bike to run. It’s a good idea to fit in a few of these sessions to your triathlon training cycle. Don’t get carried away, and think you have to do these workouts all of the time. It is better to work on biking and running individually, and sprinkle in some bricks.

BRICK workouts are also a great chance to practice your transitions. Set up a mini transition area in your driveway, and treat the workout like a race simulation.

Here’s the workout:

Bike – 30 mins

  • 5 min warm up
  • 3 X 5 min race effort (80%)/ 2 min easy spin.
  • 4 min moderate effort (60%) – Work on quick pedal strokes

Then immediately after transition to run.

Run – 10 mins

  • 2 min 70% of race effort – Work on quick turnover/ Control your effort.
  • 4 min 80% of race effort
  • 4 min full race effort.

Some points of emphasis for this workout:

  1. This workout should be moderately difficult. Don’t kill yourself with effort. The idea is to control your effort and heart rate.
  2. Work on quick pedal strokes ~80-90 RPM on the last set before the transition. This will get your legs primed to run.
  3. Resist the urge to go out too fast on the start of the run. When you start running after the bike, you will feel slow, but it is just your brain tricking you.
  4. Many athletes start the run too fast and blow up. The run portion of this workout builds in intensity to race effort. Focus on controlling your effort. On race day you will have better control of your effort for a more even and faster run.
adventure, first triathlon, motivation

Fantastic Finish Photo Friday – Son & Father 1st Tri

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Welcome to Fantastic Finish Photo Friday. We want to bask in the awesomeness of your finish photos. A finish photo captures a moment in time, where you overcame the challenges of the race and training, and reached your goal. The feeling of elation as you cross the line is what keeps us pushing our own limits. Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish.

This week’s photo is from  Eric Quiroz:

FTT Eric

Eric:

On Sunday April 26, 2015 I competed in my first Triathlon ever, and not only that, I had the great honor of doing it with my Dad. We both completed the event which consisted of running 5K, biking 11 miles, and swimming 150m. Before this I have never even ran a 5K. I had been wanting to do something like this for a long time and up until the moment I signed up I always had a reason why I couldn’t do it. But when the opportunity arose for me to sign up for this is event I suddenly became sick of my own excuses. I couldn’t bear to hear one more reason why I couldn’t do it and in the moment that I committed I was free! I was free to be and do what ever it took to compete in this event and do my absolute best. This is an interesting way to look at it, that in my commitment I experienced freedom. 

I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do this with my Dad, Earl. He is an absolute gift in my life and I feel very fortunate to have this experience with him. The preparation, tuning the bikes the night before the race, spending the night together, waking up race day and driving down to the event. I absolutely loved ever detail that we got to share together. This was a big first for the both of us and a special bonding moment for our relationship.  

I am very proud of my 1:22:48 time.

Fantastic race and photo Eric. Also, congrats to your dad for finishing his first race. Conquering a new challenge is even sweeter when you have good company.

Do you have a friend or family member that will train and race with you? A partner will help with accountability and motivation. Triathlon is an individual sport, but doesn’t have to be done alone.

Please consider sharing your own photo to inspire others who are working toward their own finish. It doesn’t have to be from a triathlon, just any race that has special meaning to you. If you are interested in sharing, please send a message to firsttimetri@gmail.com.

cycling, first triathlon, Fitness, training plan

Workout Wednesday – The Leg Chiseler

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Happy Wednesday! Welcome to another edition of Workout Wednesday. Every Wednesday I will post a new Triathlon specific workout. If you like the workout, fit it into your training plan for the week. If you don’t like the workout you’re crazy, all of my workouts are brilliant pieces programming. (HAHA)

This week’s workout – The Leg Chiseler

Chiseled Legs

There are two factors that determine how fast  you can push on the bike. These are your lungs and your legs. Your legs and lungs work together to produce power, but a weakness in either system will become a limiting factor. I experience this every winter winter when I train for a marathon and neglect  bike training.  When spring comes, and I get out on the road, I have the engine of a Corvette, and legs like a Smart Car. Leg strength is the key to increasing your speed, riding better in headwinds, and climbing. For those of your with some vanity, these workouts will make your go sticks more chiseled.

This workout  consists of on and off bike training designed to increase muscular strength in the legs. While these intervals can be intense, the focus is to get that burning sensation in the legs, not max out heart rate. Load up the tension, so your legs are working harder than your cardio. Aim to keep your cadence around 40-60 RPMs under tension. Ideally, this work should be done on a trainer or spin bike. That way you can control the amount of tension, and there are no interruptions.

On to the workout:

The Leg Chiseler

  • Warm up – 10 mins – easy spin
  • Warm up – 3 X 1 min/30 secs off
  • Main Set – 3 min climb increasing tension every minute (Heavy tension RPM – 40-60)
  • Get off bike and do 20 air squats
  • Easy spin 2 min
  • Repeat Main Set 4-6 times
  • Cool down 10 mins Easy Spin

This workout should be difficult, but know your limits. If you need a bit of extra rest between sets, take it. This type of workout is best scheduled with a rest day or easy day after. Leg strength work scheduled once every week or two, will be enough to see significant improvement. Remember to maintain the best pedal stroke possible. Focus on pushing and pulling the pedals and making circles. For more info on good pedaling mechanics.

Photo Credit: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/17/d5/98/17d598c3d928de6c1cc5b28feb67c10c.jpg

first triathlon, Fitness, humor, motivation

Is Life Too Easy? Let’s Get Uncomfortable.

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Daily life for most, including myself, has gotten too easy. We spend the majority of our time in climate controlled houses, offices, and cars. Even worse most of that time is spend staring at some type of screen. I’m writing this at a stand up desk, so I’m way healthier. (Not so much). I can order pizza from my phone in 20 seconds. I can buy anything I desire, without leaving my home. I can binge watch hours of programs, and I don’t have to go to the movie store. Food is prepackaged, pre-cut, and ready in one easy step. Don’t get me wrong most of these conveniences are awesome. My monkey brain is always seeking to find pleasure and avoid discomfort.

Have these conveniences of modern life made life too easy? Are all getting soft mentally and physically? I would argue yes, but who cares what I think. Look at your own life, and think, “I am too comfortable, too often?” If the answer is yes, find a way to break away from the comforts of daily life, and find a challenge to overcome.

Let’s tie this into triathlon or any other challenge. Find a new challenge that will push you out of the comfort zone, and accomplish something meaningful to you. From great struggle comes great reward. This is the main reason I participate in the endurance events. When I know I am pushing my limits in training or a race, I feel most alive. I am using all of my will to overcome a challenge, and I come out stronger on the other side.

Participation in triathlon, running races, and obstacle races has increased dramatically in the past 5 years. I think people are craving that sense of accomplishment and adventure that comes from struggle. They spend most of their week sitting at a desk, under mental stress. On the weekend they want to get outside and release the negative energy through some strenuous physical activity. As humans we are meant to move under our own power, and grow through resistance and recovery.

Shared struggle is also a great way to bond people together. Have you ever done a hard group workout, and when its over everyone has something in common. We can empathize with their struggle, and relate to that person more closely. If you meet anyone who does the same type of events as you, you will instantly bond over the experience.

A small helpings of discomfort can add up to a more robust life. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to work or the grocery store. Race your kids in the street. (My favorite). Grow some of your own food. Lift something heavy. Sign up for an event.

If triathlon is a challenge you would like to incorporate in your new uncomfortable life,. check out the start page

first triathlon, triathlon, triathlon racing

8 Tips to Overcome New Triathlete Race Day Nerves

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You trained  for months and put in your sweat, tears and more sweat. Race day of your triathlon is finally here, but you have some concerns. Below are eight concerns I hear most often from first time triathletes, and some tips to overcome those concerns.

cropped-img_2730.jpg

1. “Oh S#!1, I forgot my (insert item)”

Pack everything the night before, and double check your bag. If you wait until race morning, you will be too amped up to concentrate, and something will get left behind. Be sure to include anything you might need that day, gear, bike, nutrition, lucky socks. A transition area freak out, when you find out you left your running shoes, is no fun.

2. Always be early

Finding parking and logistics of race morning for most triathlons can be time consuming. Get there as early as possible. You will be less stressed, find a better spot on the transition rack, and have time to get ready to race. I once did not follow this advice, and arrived to the race with ten minutes to spare. I frantically set up my transition, threw on my wetsuit, and dove in for the swim. I was still stressed the entire race, and struggled mightily.

3. ” How do I set up my transition area?”

Don’t wait until race morning to figure out how to set up your transition area. A quick practice run through your set up will help out greatly on race morning. During one of your brick sessions, layout all of your gear like you would during the race. Figure out what works best for you.  For your reference here’s USAT Rules for Transition Setup. If you are unsure if you are set up correctly on race morning, just ask fellow athlete for some help.

4. “What if I take a wrong turn, and get lost?”

When possible preview the course before the race. Most courses are well marked, but it the participant’s responsibility to know the course. If packet pick up is close to the bike course, do a quick drive through. Mental note the turns, and any hills, or tricky areas.

5. “I’m freaked out about the swim”

It’s race day, you did your swim training, now it time show your skills. Familiarize yourself with the swim course, and run through the course in your mind. If you are a bit nervous that’s ok. At least 80% of the other first timers out there feel the exact same way. The ingredients of a great swim are to breath and relax. If you start to tense up , just breath and relax. If you get contacted by another athlete, just breath and relax. If anything goes wrong, just breath and relax. See the pattern here?

How to build swim confidence

6. Know your limits on the bike.

A triathlon bike course is fairly chaotic. There are riders passing and being passed, and cars whizzing by. The course could include uphills, down hills, and sharp turns to negotiate. When you add too much speed to this situation, it can be precarious. Stay within your limits in situations that require bike handling. When you get on a straight section of roads hammer away.

7. Build into the run

When you start running after the bike, it will feel slow. You might not be running slow, but the difference in your perception of speed will make it feel like you are crawling. Be mindful of your effort, and try not to start off too fast and blow up. It is a better strategy to hold back a bit and build your pace into the run.

8. Smile and enjoy the finish

You only get to finish your first triathlon once. Enjoy the heck out of it. Pat you self on the back for all of the training and hard work it took to get to the finish. Be grateful for all of the people that supported you. Just enjoy the moment, and bask in your own greatness.

If you have any others concerns, please leave a note in the comments.

Happy racing, and go and crush it.

.

For more new triathlete tips, check out 10 Definitive Tips for New Triathletes.

first triathlon, Fitness, mantra, motivation, running, triathlon

Monday Motivation – Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done

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Have a Marvelous Monday! Let’s do this! We all could use a bit of motivation to get rolling on Monday. On Mondays, I like to share a Mantra or short inspirational message. If the message resonates with you, use to motivate yourself in training or life. Do you have your own awesome Mantra? Please share it below in the comments.

Exhausted runner

“From great struggle comes great reward”

When was the last time to said to yourself, “That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done”? How did you feel as you were saying it? Did you have a smile on your face? Most of those super hard things we encounter are not that difficult, it just seemed impossible before you began. It was so difficult because your inner voice was convincing you, it was beyond your capabilities. Keep pushing the limit of what is your “hardest thing”, and you will grow as a person immensely.

Keep the measure of your hardest thing relative your your own capabilities and progress. Don’t get wrapped up in comparing yourself with the achievement of others. We all have to set the bar for ourselves. Each person is just in a different place on the path.  Keep making forward progress on your own path, and keep reaching for that next hardest thing.

What is your next hardest thing?

Race your first Triathlon :)?

Run a PR 5k?

Give a speech?

Whatever it is, put in your full effort, and know you are making a break through.