What do I do next?

[nemajo]

I did the Benbrook Tri in May with relatively no training.

Swim – 5:07
Bike – 48.46
Run – 29.39

I then decided to do an Olympic distance. I signed up for the Disco Tri in Denton. I went to Trinwebies.com and chose the 10 Week beginner Olympic Training plan. The goal of the plan was to finish the Olympic injury free.

Swim - 29.46 min
Bike - 1hr 17min
Run – 1hr 8min (I have to really work on this)

Now that that is complete, I’m not sure what to do next. I want to keep training and racing. I figure I can do a couple of Sprints before the season is over. I’m not sure how to train. Is there a standard or rule of thumb for workouts per week?

Any guidance you can offer would be appreciated .
Thanks!

Newbie Neil

[nemajo]

25 reads and no response... come on guys.

[SoreLegs]

It's a difficult question to answer and it is different for everybody.
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Check out my training leading into 70.3 WorldChampionships in 09.<br />www.brentpoulsen112882.blogspot.com<br /><br />

[trimatt]

Hi Neil,

welcome, your question is a pretty broad one. What next really depends on what you ultimately want from the sport. What are your goals, Ironman, Kona, Age Group Nationals, casual triathlete, or somewhere in between?

I think most schools of thought are a minimum of two workouts each week in each discipline, but thhat depends on where you are in your training year and what you're working on. If you're trying to stregnthen one discipline then obviosuly you would spend more time and effort on that one.

There are some great books and resources online that can help guide you to figuring out how to plan a year. There are also several coaches in the area that frequent this site. Talk to as many people as you can to figure out what's the best philosophy for you.
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People who do things badly, Dr. Dunning has found are usually supremely confident of their abilities -- more confident, in fact, than people who do things well

[tigger]

I have to agree with sorelegs on this. The real question is what do you want to do next? I'm actually toying with the idea of the 100 mile mountain bike race in Leadville as "next" for me. Some people are doing a race up (and down) pikes peak. Do an Ironman or try to qualify for nationals? That's the great thing about multisport - so many choices! So, to see if we can help out here, everybody, what do you want to do next? What's your A goal? Anybody have an answer?

[batman]

Hi Neil,

What to do next? It really is a tough question to answer. What are your goals and how much time do you want to spend training? Do you just want to stay healthy or do you want to win your age group? Do you have a family and do want to keep your family (time training is time away from family)?

You have to look at the time you have as a whole, and decide how much time you have to spend to "train". If you have 10 hours per week to set aside for training, then you should not try and follow a training plan that requires 17 hours per week.

For me, I have three primary goals in regards to the sport of Triathlon and they are in the following order of priority: 1. Have fun 2. stay healthy 3. get faster (my primary competition is me and the clock)

[batman]

Just another thought that comes to mind and you can see a hint of it in Tigger's post.

One thing I really like about this sport and the people I have met through the sport and Tri Cowtown, is that this group of people have very few limits. One year they are doing their first sprint triathlon, and before you know it they will be training for marathon, a 100 mile bike, an Ironman, 100 mile foot race, a run to the top of Pike's Peak or a swim across the Strait of Gibraltar.

[nemajo]

Thanks for the responses.. this was helpful.

I guess I need to decide what my goals are.

I really like Batman's goals.. (1. Have fun 2. stay healthy 3. get faster) I definitley have those.

I know I'd like to do a couple more sprints this year and I think I'd like to do a 1/2 next year. I do have a family and I have to balance that.

For now, I guess I'm going to do something like this for maintenance.

Monday - Weights
Tuesday - Light Run (3-4 miles) / Swim
Wednesday - Light Bike (15 miles), Weights
Thursday - Light Run / Swim
Friday - Weights
Saturday - Long Run (6-7 miles)
Sunday - Long Bike (30-40 miles), open water swim

Sometimes the Bike will be Mountain.. or, maybe add MTB on Tuesday or Thursday Evening.

Leadville would be awesome and is a Bucket List type goal... I've heard it's near impossible to get in though.

Thanks again!

[tigger]

Yeah, Leadville can be tough to get in to, but I met a guy up here who has started the race 7 times and finished 4 times- he was actually in the movie! Might be able to help me. We will see ...

[bifftannen]

I'd pencil in some time at the bar unless you really want to suffer in the beer mile.

[nemajo]

I work out so I don't feel guilty drinking beer...

[mommy2acutie]

Definitely take into account your family obligations. My husband did IM Arizona when our fist child was 9 months old. Not too hard on the family as baby was typically with me. However, when I decided to do IM Cozumel last year with 2 kids and a longer commute to work, the time away from family became a big issue. Make sure your family understands and supports your goals. And even then, make sure that your goals are realistic. While I had full support for my goals, I was unrealistic with how much time I would have available and it really took a lot of the enjoyment out of the experience.

Just my 2 cents.