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Half Iron in 12 weeks?
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 2007-06-24 1:49 PM |
New user 12 |  Subject: Half Iron in 12 weeks?Hi - My name is Pete. I'm in Houston TX. I've been an invisible member here for some time and I enjoy the newsletters. I've done one Sprint triathlon last spring and a 10K this spring but I mainly focus on riding. I do sporadic long distance rides - last month I rode the Tour De Cure, from San Antonio to Austin. Today is my 38th birthday and I had a small party last night. Several athlete friends were over, and a challenge arose; to do the Longhorn Half-Ironman in Austin on October 6. One friend recently did a Half and wants me to do this one with him. I halfheartedly agreed. Even though Austin is hilly, I'm not overly concerned about the bike portion. I even bought myself a nice new tri bike (Trek Equinox 7) for my birthday specifically so that I'd have motivation to get out and participate in a tri soon, but I'm not sure about doing a Half - its very daunting. I have a few problems with running mainly because recovery from a broken foot has been problematic, but I think I can overcome that and make the run. Its the swim that is giving me the shivers. I'm a terrible swimmer. I had difficulty with it in the Sprint last year, and I haven't been swimming much at all this year. There's a 20-week training program on this site, but the event is about 12-13 weeks away. My friend went from a Sprint to a Half, and therefore he says if he can do it so can I, but he's much more athletic than I am. There's also an Olympic event that day. I'm leaning more toward doing that one at the moment. I know I can build up to a Half eventually but I'm really not sure I can do it so soon... I guess that's the main issue. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Recommendations? Swim classes? Personal trainer? Diet? Focus? Motivation? Any advice you can offer is appreciated. Oh yeah - two more things. First, I'm really skinny and this greatly affects my energy level. I dislike eating a lot, and I have a hard time putting on some muscle mass. Any advice on diet and how to change eating habits while training hard is most welcome. Second, I have exercise induced asthma. I can learn to manage my breathing on a ride or a run but it really disables me while swimming. Thanks! - Pete Edited by cyclorider 2007-06-24 2:00 PM |
| 2007-06-24 2:36 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Expert 1238    Denver, Colorado | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? 12 weeks is enough time to put together some kind of half-ironman. If your foot ends up bothering you, then you could always walk during the last leg. You'll have no such luck in swimming, however, so you'll have to make sure you build that up. Working with someone for the swim might be a good idea, depending on how much of a beginner you are. Maybe you should see a doctor for your asthma and some drugs or something. My suggestion is to take a look at some of the full ironman training programs when you plan your training. Usually they take 20-24 weeks to reach the full distance, so you can expect that these programs will reach the half-iron distance in 10-12 weeks (which is just what you're looking for). Ironman programs sometimes have a bit of mileage padding, so the volume of such a training program might wreck you if you aren't prepared. So, if I were in your position, I would take the long workout progression from an ironman training program and splice that with the speedwork/other workouts of a half-ironman program. That way you have a plan to build up to the distance in time, but you don't kill yourself (and your social life) with the long hours of ironman training. But, that's just a suggestion. My final remark is that you don't have to get all the way to the race distance in training in order to finish. For example, if your longest run in training were ~10 miles, I would say you could finish the half marathon. Edited by skavoovie 2007-06-24 2:38 PM |
| 2007-06-24 3:15 PM in reply to: #857505 |
| New user 12 | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? Cool, thanks! I didn't think at all about using a full IM training plan. I imported the 20-week plan from this site. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. I know nothing about heart rate zones. I recently bought a monitor though, and I do know that after about 10-15 minutes of running I can easily get my heart rate to about 200 and keep it there without going anywhere near full-out. I know that's a worrisome number, but I'm not in pain when I get to that number. I think that I need to adjust the way I train when I run. Maybe speed training? Intervals? Shorter distances at faster pace? I don't usually run more than 3-5 miles at a time but I usually take it slowly. I did get an inhaler from the doctor and use it mainly before cycling - this definitely speeds up my heart rate as well, but the strange thing is, I had this problem strictly with running before the inhaler. It never gets that high when cycling. The inhaler seems to help, but proper breathing while swimming still kicks my butt. This is why I'm thinking that some instruction, along with swimming much more often, would help a great deal. Thanks for the advice. I'm still trying to decide between the Half and the Olympic, and would like to commit to one event or another by the end of today. Pete p.s. I don't really have a social life, so no worries there :) Edited by cyclorider 2007-06-24 3:18 PM |
| 2007-06-24 4:09 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Expert 706 Spring (Houston), TX | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? I know I learned to count in Louisiana, but it looks more like 15 weeks to me. That's 25% more time!! I'm training for Ironstar later that month. If Ironstar doesn't happen, I'll be cutting my training short by 2 weeks to do the Longhorn half. If I do Ironstar, I'm looking at the Oly as a training day before my taper. If you can do an olympic swim (1500 m), you can do a HIM swim (2033 m). At that distance, the extra 500 m isn't as significant as it would be if you were training for a 300 m sprint then found out it was an 800 m sprint. When I've done 1500 m swims, I feel like I can swim forever, and I'm not a strong swimmer. You just need to find a tempo you can sustain without getting your HR too high. If your having problems with your foot, it seems that the run could be your limiter. But, as someone else said, walking is an option. If your not a member of HRTC, check them out at houstonracing dot com. They have a lot of local workouts for all three sports. I know some of the coaches and Tri On The Run do group stuff too. And I'm always looking for a traiining partner if only for the occasional ride. I'm on the NW side of town but like new scenery as well. Greg |
| 2007-06-24 4:26 PM in reply to: #857505 |
| New user 12 | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? Hi and thanks for the reply. To be correct and specific: the Longhorn Half Iron event (Sunday October 7) is exactly 14 weeks from today. I used to be a member of HRTC but I found that I never used any of their training opportunities or services so I let the membership expire. Its a great club, but I never had time or motivation to get out and participate in a group setting. I prefer to train solo the vast majority of the time. I need a lot of work before I can manage an Olympic-length swim. Still - I'm getting a bit irritated at myself at the moment, because I seem to be thinking of reasons why I won't be able to do it. Although it is a tough goal with not a whole lot of advance notice, I think I'll just commit and do it. If you want to do some training together, that would be cool. I've gotten a small group of friends together to ride the MS150 (San Antonio -> Corpus) on Oct 20-21, and we'll be planning out some training rides for our group ... you're welcome to join us. They all live on the NW side as well, but I'm on the west side, near Bear Creek. Thanks! Pete Edited by cyclorider 2007-06-24 4:31 PM |
| 2007-06-24 5:08 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Expert 706 Spring (Houston), TX | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? I told you I learned to count in Louisiana!!  I guess technically I'm not a member either, but I participate on their boards and have made some friends. Most of their group stuff happens away from me, so do a lot of my training alone as well. I often want to attend but scheduling make it hard. I still enjoy the forums and learn a lot from them. Let me know when you are riding. I'd like to join you. Greg |
| 2007-06-24 7:37 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Elite 4547 | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? My opinion fwiw, I'd either support your buddy at the HIM as a spectator or participate in the Oly. For me at least, part of the thrill of the HIM race is the preparation phase. Why go into such a great (and pricey) challenge not giving it your best preparation? For me, the possible gain doesn't outweigh the potential for injury and disappointment. In a longer training program, you'd have time to slowly ramp up volume and fine-tune your aerobic engine. Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck! Happy training.  |
| 2007-06-24 8:03 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Expert 853 Fort Worth, Texas | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? I am doing the Longhorn HIM on Oct 7th, is that the one you are considering? It is exactly 15 weeks from today..... I have it counted out on my calendar. This will be mine and my husband's first at this distance and we are both trying to keep up with training. Good luck, I say go for it! You don't have to break any speed records, but it sounds like your only real concern is the swimming and there isn't much of a difference in the swim between the oly and an HIM. |
| 2007-06-24 10:10 PM in reply to: #857505 |
Champion 19812 MA | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? Welcome to BT! You probably could do the HIM, but enjoy it probably not. I'm a big proponent of gradually build up to longer races. I'm in my 4th year and doing my first HIM this year if I recover well from a bike racing crash I had 2 weeks ago. I respect the distance and know I can do it but doing it well for me is another thing. The company that puts on the race is fantastic...do the Oly and volunteer for the HIM the next day and be motivated to train and do it next year. |
| 2007-06-25 10:55 AM in reply to: #857505 |
Expert 1083 The Woodlands, TX | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? I would see about joining a masters swim team or taking some personal swim classes. Once you get the correct stroke mechanics (this includes breathing) it's super easy to build up distance in swimming. As for your heart rate, I would *definitely* not work out that high! My max hr ever is 198. I am not a runner and when I first started running I was regularly in the 190s and could not go very far (I'm talking 5 minutes about killed me). I've been concentrating really hard on going as slow as I possibly can to keep my heart rate down and today I averaged 159 on a 35 minute run and felt great. I could have even kept going if I didn't have to get to work! Especially if you have asthma and are considering long distance races, you will really want to keep your heart rate a bit lower. I try to keep mine between 155 - 170. Your max hr is obviously higher then mine, so this range probably won't work for you. If you have a gym, talk to a trainer, they can figure out your ideal heart rate zones and help you figure out what zone you want to be in when you work out. |
| 2007-06-25 9:24 PM in reply to: #857505 |
| New user 12 | Subject: RE: Half Iron in 12 weeks? Thanks everyone - I appreciate the advice. I registered for the Olympic on Saturday 10/6/07. Hope to meet some of you in training or at the event! All the best Pete |
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