What an excellent idea!! :D
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For shorter distances, I try to do 30-45 minutes 4 days a week bike/run (alternating), a weekend ride, and a weekend run (longer, probably more like an hour or two). I try to swim 30-60 minutes twice a week (at least once, at most three). On the non-swimming days, I'll do yoga and maybe some informal strength training. Maybe 8 hours a week? I admit that I give first on strength, next on swimming (down to 1 workout), then I'll cut minutes or intensity off weekends. When I was racing almost every weekend, I'd take the day before pretty much off, which cut off 1 or 2 workouts. Next year I'll have to track it and see what it actually looks like. That gets me through sprint/Olympic distances. For a HIM I'd add more to my weekends, but I don't really race that distance.
For Ironman it's a whole other game (sadly?). 1 hour 4 days a week alternating bike/run. 1 hour 3 days a week swimming. 30-45 minutes 2 days a week strength training. Long run/ride on weekends (starting at 1-2 and up to 4+ hours each). But, that's crazy-town, so I leave it in its own category. Minimum 8 hours, maximum ~15. And then I have to sleep 9 hours a night just to stay human. Thankfully it only comes once a year and I'm on a training plan that emphasizes intervals and effort over sheer numbers/hours. ;)
As a non-triathlete, I have to agree that it's about quality much more than quantity.
Every one of my 4100 bici miles this year has been "junk miles." Most of the time I can't even be bothered with a sign sprint. I just like to ride and I don't pretend it's doing me a whole lot of good. :p
Running is a whole 'nother story. I'm not fast, but I've been able to get faster and run farther by trying to make every run count. So I was able to finish my 1/2 two weeks ago with a time I was quite happy with, on an average of less than 15 miles per week.
Can't say I ever really thought about it, and I don't log my training, but I have a pretty good idea of what I did this year just by knowing what my normal week is like. So my numbers are just a guess, but an educated one. This was my first year training for a triathlon, and I did one sprint tri and one "super sprint."
62,500 yards of swimming
225 miles running
700 miles biking
I really didn't bike much at all during the winter--from January to March I was swimming twice a week and running two or three days a week, plus pilates twice a week. In the eight weeks before the August triathlon, my training plan was identical to MDHillSlug's - 2 times per week each bike/swim/run, seven hours total each week.
Since August I've only gone running maybe half a dozen times, and have only been on my bike three times. I managed to kill my knee on the leg press machine two weeks after the triathlon and I've finally decided it's not getting better on its own so I'm going to an orthopaedist tomorrow. Ugh.
Sarah
I am girlat625