My last few posts have been mostly about races, but let's face it: The vast majority of the time we spend thinking about triathlons is during training. The groundwork you lay now will be the precursor to how your season goes, for better or worse.
I started working with my new coach in December, as mentioned in another post. We started out slowly, just doing some basic workouts, giving him a feel for my fitness level. To be honest, I felt pathetic starting out. I hadn't truly done any activity since early November, when I was preparing for a half-marathon that I ended up not running due to an ear infection. My runs were close to 8:45-50/mile average pace, I was not riding or swimming at all at that point, so there was a lot of work to be done.
Fortunately, I had maintained a barely visible base level of fitness underneath all my bacon/donut/beer-induced blubber hanging on to my stomach. I started off December running a little here, biking a little there, swimming a little in between, and I was starting to get back to recognizable form. My swim times while still slow, were hovering just under 2:00/100, my runs were coming down steadily, coming closer to 8:30/mile, and I had no idea what I was doing on my bike, as I had no speed/cadence sensor and was riding indoors.
On Christmas Eve, I met up with my coach at the local rec center where we could use a treadmill and my newly purchased Garmin 910XT watch! I had no idea how to use the watch, since I literally picked it up that morning on the way to meet coach, but fortunately he had an idea of what was going on and helped me out. We did a lactate threshold test to set my heart rate zones.
If you haven't done a lactate threshold test, it sucks. Not just a little bit of suck, this is a whole lot of suck for one day. Warm up, then start running at a comfortable if not slow pace. Now, every 90 seconds, increase the speed of the treadmill by .2 MPH until you can't go any more. Coach was keeping track of my heart rate, and I was giving effort level feedback. He did some mathematical voodoo, and voila! I have heart rate zones to use!
This has been an incredibly effective tool for me. All through January I have been able to see incremental improvements in my fitness, my form, and my times as I continue training. I've admittedly slacked off and taken extra days off here or there, missed a couple of workouts every now and then, but I'm still seeing incredible results.
As of right now, Friday, February 13th, my swim times are hovering closer to 1:35-38/100, bike workouts are hovering around 15.5 MPH average (I now have a speed/cadence sensor, YAY!), and my runs are comfortably coming in at 7:45/mile. I had a 30 minute run just last weekend and averaged 7:15/mile. I have no recollection of the last time I was that fast, but I was beyond excited to see that!
If you don't work with a coach, I would highly recommend one. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, and it can seriously improve your performance. I've never been more excited for race season to arrive!
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