So what am I doing to train exactly? As I alluded to in a previous entry, the obvious first step is to evaluate my present fitness level.
Can I presently:
- Swim .5k – yes
- Bike 20k – yes
- Run 5k – no
In my case, the focal point of my training is becoming clear. I need to work on running. Compounding the situation is that running is the last phase of a triathlon, so I’ll have to do it after swimming and biking, which means I’ll be starting the run tired. I interpret this as a secondary focus of training on general endurance.
Because of the subtle injury in my knee, I’m taking the running pretty slow. I’ve done three training sessions so far, distances of 0.50, 0.63, and 0.75 miles. The encouraging news here is that I have not felt pain in the knee at all. It is possible that a treadmill is a much more forgiving situation than hard ground. It could also be that since I’m doing the running after I’ve done a workout on an elliptical trainer, the good long warm up has made things work that much better. It could be both or neither. Whichever way this is a good sign.
However, at the present rate I’ll be running 3 miles right around the date of the Triathlon, which does not seem like sufficient preparation. If I move the increment of mileage up from .125 to .250. This puts me at a 3 mile distance around the middle of October, which meets other training goals that I have (more on that one in my next post).
The plan, in all of it’s documented formality:
- twice per week, at the gym: swim and run. Swim at least 1/2 mile. Run incrementally more each time, working up to 3 miles by mid-October
- Every weekend bike 10-15 miles.
- In mid-October, do a simulated triathlon at the gym (swim .5k, bike 20k, run 5k)