Critique me please

I am the least qualified to help as I too will try my first HIM in 2008.  However, the BT plans advertise that they will get you to the finish in a back of the pack stand.  That being said, if your goal is to survive the palns work well for me.   I have met a group here on BT that I do some of my training with such as a few Bricks and Long bike rides - but the best for me is that we meet at a local lake for OWS every Thursday.  It just cooled off enough for us to use wetsuits again, but the helped me greatly.

There must be a group local to you that does something like it.  My problem with Masters swims was I never felt that I fit in and they were big on pool swimming.

Because most Masters teams are held in pools, silly Seriously, though, I'd imagine that most Masters coaches just haven't had much experience (if at all) with triathlons and triathlon swimming. A lot of people who join Master's groups were swimmers in college, etc or are looking to get into swimming for fitness. The guy who runs the group I am in (or rather the guy who coaches me one on one since no one else usually shows up on Wednesdays) was a high school/college swimmer and has coached swim teams. He did the swim part on a relay team for the Savageman Triathlon which was held in MD a month or so ago. And I have told him that I want to focus on longer-distance swimming - ie, no reason to turn me into a 50 meter sprinter. Right now, we're just trying to get me "better" than I was before (ie, a good swimmer but never had real coaching).

_{Congrats at signing up for you first HIM. When you bump up distances you really need to let go of time goals and work on doing the training necessary and enjoy the journey. It is easy to get stuck on a time (I do it) but that takes so much fun out of it. If you finish in 5:01 are you a failure? Nope..you are still wicked fast.}

To do your best you need to train smart, nail your nutrition/hydration, and have a good day in all parts of your race. Sounds like you have looked at strengths and weaknesses and have a plan to address them which is excellent..as many folks do in the off season what they enjoy most instead of what needs more work.

I agree with Lauren hire a tri coach and you will improve more than if you train on your own normally. 

A few thoughts:

Swim:  Get the coaching.  Perfect.  Let him/her guide how you should best progress.  But get in the water as often as you can this winter.

Bike:  Keep it up.  Ride lots.  But in the winter if you can't get out to ride as much, do some shorter work on the trainer.  These can be some pretty solid efforts.  Do that and you'll be able to handle hills.

Run:  You pretty much got it there too.  Build up gradually and get the miles on your legs.  Go read your post from yesterday and replace "climbing" with "running". 

I used the beginner BT plan for my first HIM.  I agree that it was light on the bike.  My second season I used the Silver/Gold plans (Sprint-to-Olympic Bridge & Oly-to-HIM bridge I think).  I finished with a 4:59 at Timberman that year.

Race however much you're comfortable with beforehand.  A late June oly sounds perfect.  Maybe another sprint after that to get a solid hard workout done.  But mostly, just get the training done consistently.

The hills at Timberman aren't bad at all - more fun than anything else. This is coming from a girl who trains in South Jersey (i.e, very flat). Lots of time in the saddle and you'll be prepared for them .

Edited to add: I mean, it is a hilly course and that has to be respected, but it's no where near as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's actually A LOT of fun.

FWIW, I don't think sub-5 is an outlandish goal for you.  Though it will be quite challenging, especially for your first.  And at Timberman which is not a particularly "fast" course.

Swimming is your biggest issue because in 1 year you need to go from "not drowning" to (IMO) a comfortable mid-30s 1.2 mile swim.  It can be done, but will probably require a lot of work in the pool.

And maybe you'll prove me wrong, but I don't think you can expect to ride 22mph at Timberman and back it up with 7:40s on the run.  It's not a terribly difficult course, but it's not fast either.  That bike split would put you right near the top of your AG.  I think you could reach 7:40s on the run with consistent training, but after a much more reasonable bike split.  But you'll figure that out as your training moves along and you end up with a better idea of what kind of goal is realistic.

Anyway, good luck.

All I will add is ..... respect the distance.  I didn't when I did my first and went into it thinking I could easily break 5.  I had a terrible day and barely broke 6.

Another year of run focused training, and a lot more time in the pool and I broke 5 at the same venue a year later.

or, you can customize your own plan (for free) from the many that are out there. Personnally, I just don't get the virtual coach thing. flame away.

I ain't a coach, either, but...you asked.  

Rick's right...Respect the Distance. First HIM I did...36 min swim, 2:29 bike!!! then 10's on the run. Total 5:30 and change. I punked myself due to nutrition and not practicing stringing the events together.

Second...I agree that in the original post it sounds like you're a little complacent - like if you tweak a little here, focus a little more there that you'll get there. 5 is HARD for a first or 2nd year triathlete.  It's gonna take some commitment to get there and some hard pushing.

Lastly, maybe it's just me, but 12 strokes / 25 m seems like they're a little long.  That may be contributing to your breathing (not getting enough chances to get air) and sighting / sinking issue (at the end of your stroke you've stopped gliding and are just decelerating, which magnifies your butt sinking when you sight). But the masters / coach can give you the firm diagnosis.

Well, I think they're useful in a few ways - if you are using them as guidelines and designing your own plan around them, or if you can't afford a "real" coach - as I can't, and I'm sure others can't either. In a perfect world, we'd all hire coaches, but it's not possible for some of us, and esp. if you're first starting out, have never done a race and don't know if you'll even like doing it, it would be a waste of money, imho. In that respect, the virtual training plans are good for beginners to see if they like the sport. I know the standard answer around here to every question is "hire a coach", but really, we're not all made of money, and it might not be a financially solvent idea for some of us. Unless anyone wants to coach me for free I can pay in baked goods...

But what if during that time in the pool, he just keeps reinforcing bad habits? Swim weaknesses and stroke mistakes are much easier to work on when someone else identifies them for you and tells/shows you how to fix them. A lot of people will be able be able to "get faster" on their already-poor stroke when they're first starting out. But, if he was already planning on getting a swim coach, getting one sooner than later would be much more beneficial. And, a swim coach doesn't have to be a long-term thing. Even a few sessions will help you improve so much more than no sessions.

*cough, cough* I heard the guys at PBMCoaching are awesome! (See my signature ) But in all seriousness, my coach Kurt Perham coach Alex M&M, the guy who just won the Amateur 1st OA place at Kona. He also trains other pros and AGers. I work with him as coach associate and for now I am offering a discounted fee for BTers until Nov 30th (or until I reach my max). If you want more details PM me…