I'm all signed up, t minus 12 weeks

[HappyAnika]

I just signed up for my first triathlon! I'm both excited and nervous. Its a 500m pool swim, 20k bike, and 5k run on July 15. The bike is no problem, the run I can do, but I'd like to be able to finish strong, not be dragging myself across the finish line. The swim is what makes me nervous. I started swimming a few months ago, but I was really struggling with my technique. DH was trying to learn the Total Immersion method, and after reading up on it I decided to learn it to. I'm almost at the point of whole stroke swimming, but still doing drills. It's going well, I seem to be picking it up easily, I'm just anxious to get to actually swimming so I can start building distance. I should have my whole stroke down in 2 weeks, then I have 10 weeks to work on distance. I'm really glad its only 500m. I don't even think I'm going to set a time goal for this race. I just want to finish and have fun.

[Momof5]

it's interesting how we all have areas that come easier to us than others. I'm a strong swimmer and biker but as I prepare for a sprint triathalon in July also I'm worried about the running part. I'm not a natural runner. I feel like concrete as I'm loping down the street. Last night I went out and ran some, walked some and thought I'd better be able to run the whole 3 miles by July. well I can always walk if I have to, but I rather not!

[Tri Girl]

Woo hoo!!! Signing up is the scariest part. The race will be soooo much fun, and since your swimming is coming along really quickly, you'll have lots of time to prepare for the distance!! So glad you took the plunge! Keep us posted on your progress.

[Wahine]

Hve fun HA. It's good to not put pressure on yourself for that first tri. Just finish and enjoy. Total immersion is a good program for swimming, you'll do fine.

[KSH]

Congratulations! Well, you certainly have plenty of time to get ready for the big day.

Swimming... keep at it. If it's your weak area, go 2-3 times a week. You have to come out of the water fresh, so you don't suffer on the bike and run.

For my preparation for a sprint, my coach had me swimming around 6,000 yards/meters a week. Now, for my preparation for an olympic distance, my coach has me swimming around 8,000 yards/meters a week. I think I'm swimming too much though!

Cycling... you want to make sure that you can ride the distance and come off the bike feeling fresh. For me, the key is making sure that my heart rate doesn't get too high on the bike. If it gets too high on the bike, my run is shot.

Running... you can run the distance... but can you run it after swimming and biking? For me, the key to feeling OK and not dragging across the finish line has been doing at least 1 brick a week. I typically ride 25-30 miles and then run 2-3 miles.

For my tri last weekend, I basically trained 5-7 days a week... and it showed. I was not dead at the finish line. Here is an example of how I trained for one month:

Bike: 13h 1m 37s - 197.07 Mi
Run: 9h 18m 40s - 51.95 Mi
Swim: 2h 40m - 9405.07 Yd
Spinning Class: 2h
Walking: 45m


Of course, I probably trained more than most do... you can get the job done without training as much as I did.

[Offthegrid]

Don't sweat the swim. You can survive it. I just keep in mind I have to get through the swim to start the bike, and then the fun begins.

[HappyAnika]

I've gotten into the habit of swimming 2x/week, with the exception of the week I was on travel. I was supposed to go today but woke up feeling miserable and stayed home from work this morning. I'm hoping I feel well enough to go tomorrow, we'll see. KSH - 6000m/week! Oy! That sounds like so much to me now since I'm still just doing drills.

I tried a brick several weeks ago and I didn't feel too bad, however that was coming off the trainer. I need to try it coming off an outdoor ride, but our weather has been so bad lately. I got outside for 13 rides in March, so far this month I've been out for 2, otherwise stuck on the trainer, bleck . The weather should start improving soon.

Momof5 - I'm not a natural runner either, the concrete comment rings true with me. What's helped me with the running is really taking it easy, keeping the heart rate down, getting in that zone where I feel like I could go all day, then I actually enjoy it. Good luck with the running!