Triathlon Training Recap: Week 3 & Week 4

Here is my recap of weeks three and four of my eight week triathlon training plan. Travel/Fitbloggin’ , plus the readjustment time after, made it a bit difficult to get in all of the planned training sessions these past two weeks but I am not disappointed. That’s the way life works- it’s not always easy to fit everything in. I chose to sacrifice a few swims and runs for the sake of enjoying my vacation, trying new workouts, and getting lots of sleep after. And it’s not like I was being lazy; in two weeks I only took one rest day. My body felt really good with the workouts and activities I was doing so I was able to get in a lot of activity- even if it wasn’t always running, biking and swimming.

Week 3 Plan:

Monday- strength training

Tuesday- bike 50, strength training

Wednesday- run 35

Thursday – swim 30, run 20

Friday- rest

Saturday – run 40

Sunday – swim 30, run 45

Total planned for week 3: two strength sessions, 140 minutes running, 50 minutes biking, 60 minutes swimming

Week 3 Actual:

Monday- AM: bike 50 PM: barre class

Tuesday- AM: run 35 min PM: barre and reformer session

Wednesday- AM: run 30 min PM: barre class

Thursday- rest/travel day

Friday- boot camp and cardio dance

Saturday- yoga and jump fitness

Sunday – run/walk 5K

Actuals for week 3: three strength sessions plus four additional group fitness classes, 95 minutes running, 50 minutes biking, 0 minutes swimming

+1 strength session, -45 minutes running, -60 minutes swimming

Week 4 Plan:

Monday- swim 30, run 15

Tuesday- strength training

Wednesday- bike 40, run 10

Thursday – run 30, strength training

Friday- rest

Saturday – run 45

Sunday – swim, bike, run 30

Total planned for week 3: two strength sessions, 130 minutes running, 70 minutes biking, 60 minutes swimming

Week 4 Actual:

Monday- AM: barre class and reformer session

Tuesday- barre class

Wednesday- barre class

Thursday- barre class

Friday- 60 min bike

Saturday- run 30 (5K), barre class, reformer session

Sunday – 60 min bike

Actuals for week 4: five strength sessions, 30 minutes running, 120 minutes biking, 0 minutes swimming

+3 strength sessions, +10 min biking,  -100 minutes running, -60 minutes swimming

The last two weeks I was unable to swim because I did not have access to, or the weather didn’t allow me to swim in, a pool or open water so that sucked. But, on the bright side, my swim lessons start tomorrow and because of that I will be able to get in at least two swim sessions a week here on out.  Yay!

My running wasn’t too great the past two weeks either; week 3 I was just too busy at FB to go for a run (but I still worked out and walked a ton) and last week I took the mornings off from the gym trying to get back into a normal sleep pattern, especially with the holiday midweek. This week I am hopeful though, I think I will be able to get in all of my training sessions as planned.

Week 5 Plan:

Monday- strength training

Tuesday- bike 30, strength training

Wednesday- run 40

Thursday – swim 30, run 25  

Friday- rest

Saturday – run 50

Sunday – swim 30, run 45

Total planned for week 5: two strength sessions, 160 minutes running, 30 minutes biking, 60 minutes swimming

Wish me luck this week. The running is really starting to increase which is a good thing because next week starts week one of my 12 week half marathon training plan. I will be trying to balance both training plans for the three weeks left until the triathlon. That should be interesting ;)

Action shot on the new spin bike. I was watching Wimbledon, trying to distract myself from the 16 minute climbing (standing) session I was in the midst of...

Triathlon Training Week 1 Recap

Last week was the first week of my 8 week triathlon training plan. As you know, it got off to a rough start but thankfully by Wednesday things turned around and I was able to get in most of my training sessions for the week. Actually the only real changes I had to make to the schedule were subbing in a bike ride in place of a swim and moved the order around a bit. As with any training plan, it’s pretty much a great starting point but I always have to shift things around based off my schedule.

Week 1Plan:

Monday- strength
Tuesday- run 30 min
Wednesday- bike 45, strength  
Thursday- swim 20, run 25
Friday- rest
Saturday- run 30 min
Sunday- swim 30, run 30

Total planned  for week 1: 2 strength training sessions, 115 minutes running, 45 minutes biking, 50 minutes swimming

Week 1 Actual:

Monday- rest (aka hiding under a rock)
Tuesday- rest
Wednesday – run 30 min
Thursday – bike 45 minutes, barre class (which I consider strength training)
Friday- bike 20 minutes, run 25 minutes
Saturday – barre class and reformer session for strength training
Sunday- swim 30 minutes, run 60 minutes (I combined Saturday’s run with Sunday’s)

Sweaty mess after Sunday's swim/run session- hit the 5 mile mark at 52 minutes which was very exciting to see :)

Total for week 1: 2 strength training sessions, 115 minutes running, 65 minutes biking, 30 minutes swimming

+20 minutes on the bike, -20 minutes of swimming

Not too bad for week 1, especially since it started off so rough.

And of course, for this week (week 2) I know I will be making some adjustments to the schedule again. I already moved yesterday’s scheduled workout to today because I needed a rest day and I know Saturday morning’s will be barre/reformer sessions for the foreseeable future so I am not sure what that means for my runs that day. I may actually try to squeeze it in beforehand and see how that goes.

Week 2 Plan:

Monday- bike 30 min, run 15 min
Tuesday- strength
Wednesday- swim 15 min, run 30 min
Thursday – run 30 min, strength
Friday- rest
Saturday – run 35 min
Sunday – swim 30 min, bike 30 min

I was pretty excited this morning because after I did my 30 minute bike ride I ran 1.5 miles in 14:34 which is a 1:04 minute improvement from last week. My goal is to be able to run 1.5 miles in 13:30 during the triathlon. That’s what I am working towards at least. Not sure it’s really a great idea to set time goals for the actual triathlon itself but I do like having a goal in mind to work towards.

Hey, if nothing else it should hopefully help me with my running while fatigued.

Have you ever trained for a triathlon? How strictly do you adhere to your training plan?