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Pirate Mentors / Mentorees 2011
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Happy to share my meagre knowledge and bit of experience with newbies. Never been super competitive, had a HRM or a plan, but finished four IMs on the swim/ride/run/beer a bit methodology.
Might have finished six IMs if I knew more about bike maintenance !
Biscuits? Bloody favouritism..........
Yep, way too early to worry about details, but autumn is a good time to think about some of the things that can affect your plan, like what races you fancy doing in the spring, and where and when to go for family holidays. Especially if you have to schedule round school holidays.I can't do the quote thing on my mac, but...
Meface, you said:
"And the number was order of completion rather than priority. Mentors are limited resource and the good ones should go first in an effective capital market. The plan would not be snapped up by someone else. Therefore given I can't do two things at once I thought mentor first, then plan."
I have to disagree - there are masses of folk on here who have done an IM or more than one, and who have a good few years experience - it's not just the most active ones who've just done the Outlaw or Roth - you've got folk on here from the pirate trips dating from 2005. You can't possibly say 'the good ones should go first' because one person's good one is someone else's rubbish one.
I chose my mentors because once *I'd* decided what *I* wanted, which was an idea of what someone from the same background/age group/gender as me had done, I identified someone and asked them. Simple. When I decided I wanted someone to help me set my training I started paying for a coach.
Just trawl through the threads and find one. And if they say no because they're too busy or whatever, ask someone else.
Completely agree with Bassy about not overtraining. From now until xmas there's no need at all to bike over 2.5hours or run more than 75-90mins (for most beginners). If you can do that, then increase load by adding intensity not volume.
Also agree with all the comments about it being too early to think too much about the IM. Find a way to get some general tri fitness (e.g. suggestion below).
I disagree with some ideas about 'base training.' This is persistently characterised as long slow volume. I think that is an approach that works well for running but does not work for cycling and swimming. Base fitness to me means 'general fitness' - it's the preparation for race specific training. In training for any event you want to to go from the general to the specific. When training for a 5km run race this is going to mean getting lots of slow miles during the base period and gradually introducing race specific sessions at race pace (+ above and just below). This is not the case for IM. Specifc for an IM means long steady efforts. If you precede the specific training phase with long steady efforts you won't really get fitter.
Follow a plan the best you can - obviously some sessions might get missed and that's fine. Don't decide that you'll follow it but ignore all the high effort stuff in favour of going easy. If you are too tired to train then rest; don't 'just go easy'.
One idea for working out what to do before a 20 or 30 week IMplan starts is to find an olympic tri training plan and follow that. You probably won't be able to find a race to do in december, but you could do your own self supported race. With a bit of planning you could find a few people to do this with and get your partners/friends to 'marshal' your event.
meface - you don't really need a mentor. You already have enough knowledge and confidence to determine your training. Follow a program like those on beginnertriathlete or in Don Fink and just get on with it. Yes, you're going to have to make effort to read and understand a plan. If you can't see the principles used to design the beginnertriathlete program then you need to look again. If you want more than you're getting from prior knowledge, books and websites you need to pay a coach.
you don't have to road ride - get out on a mountain bike and into the wilds i.e. get off road. the extra weight of a MTB and the tougher terrain will make the riding hard so you have to work at a high intensity but perhaps for shorter duration - it's also a great way of building leg strength and improving handling skills and a great way of having some fun. throw some mud into the mix as well and it's even more fun! a lot of pro road riders have come from MTB backgrounds and LA himself is not too shabby on one having won some prestigious races when he 1st retired from the road.
do some autumn running events to throw some harder sessions into the mix - again you can mix fun with this by doing events like the Sodbury Slog, Grim, Hellrunner etc. as the terrain is mainly off road and mixed - usually lots of mud and water - then they are hard going so good training sessions but with fun thrown in again. in fact off road running over the next few months will build an excellent strength base and could prevent injuries due to softer terrain. there are also a number of 1/2 marathons around which can be good to do
open water swimming. now is perhaps the time to build your confidence in this as the water is warm until at least the end of September - often well into October. OW swim lakes often close by the end of September so get in now while they are open - or use the sea if you can as that's open all year. it's a good way to build OW confidence and get used to swimming in a wetsuit before you need to resort to a winter pool.
I'm by no means an expert, but what I would say to the newbies here is don't listen to everyone on everything. There is a danger of getting bogged down by too many different opinions, trying to do everything and ending up in a right old pickle. Chose to follow the advice of someone here or a training book/plan etc and stick with that person/style. I do know of people who have had a terrible time trying to do every single thing that they have read - what works for one doesn't work for another. Chose someone to follow who is at the right level for what you want to achieve - and know what you want to achieve.
Bear in mind this is a mental challenge as much as a physical one and you could end up sending yourself bonkers.
And most of all, for most of us, we do this for fun...
I suppose in case people want that info to help choose:
I am a 29yr old female who is in the forces so is lucky that I am given a reasonable amount of time to train. I do feel guilty about training sometimes as I also have fiance who doesn't do this sort of thing and I have to juggle round his needs. But I don't have the commitment of dogs, kids, budgies to deal with like some people who will therefore be better placed to advise on juggling these things.
I started tri in 2004 and did 2 sprints, the nat relays and an olympic. In 2005 I did two more sprints and another olympic. In 2006 I did an IM. Then I did nothing for four years having been accepted into the RAF and that took a lot of my time. I did keep fit though in running and swimming but did no biking in the four years. In 2010 I did IM Switzerland and the Double IM off a 12month base. I am currently training for an attempt on the A2A next year. I am a middle of the pack athlete, a reasonably good swimmer (about 70mins IM), but not that strong on the bike (6.40IM) and an ok steady runner (4.30IM mara or 4.07 stand alone). The bike is my least favourite discipline but I have learnt a lot about it over the last 12 months!!
Happy to help anyone who needs in - just PM me!
CD - you can have biscuits too but your always bliddy running too or from the shop.
Meface - you are WAY too technical for me to be your mentor.
Very good point Min. I agree, not all types of training will work for everyone.
Meli - I agree with a lot of what you say, specifically about training at race intensity and higher but that sort of training should definatley be fore more experienced athletes with a few years behind them.
Dooz - we'll have to disagree then. I think people who just do low intensity cycling will not improve very much. I'm not suggesting beginners do large percentages of very hard training, not at all. The key is adding enough to provide overload from which recovery within 36-48 hours is impossible. If an experienced cyclist would do 2 x 20mins, a beginner could start with 3 x 5mins. I'm not sure what you mean by race intensity in this context? In training for an IM we should all be doing quite a lot of work at race intensity. I would agree that a beginner should not do a lot of sprint/olympic intensity stuff. Small amounts probably good though.
Many people are limited by the number of hours they can train and if you're already using your, for example, ten hours, then the only way to create overload is to increase the intensity at times.
Kanga,
Would be happy to help where I can. I do read a fair bit and understand most of it - and I am pretty good at process analysis. That does not mean I can always apply it to myself subjectively. Would be more than happy to assist as a sounding board. It is sometimes just about rationalising thoughts and presenting into a coherent manner.
meface
Not that I think melli needs any help at all in clearly stating her point, but just to completely clarify for any beginners, when she refers to "overload" in the above posts, this is NOT the same as "overtraining", as referred to by bassy.
Just in case anyone was unfamiliar with this term, and confused the two.
thanks flyway.
possibly the most important thing to understand about training is that you overload (i.e., ask your body to do a bit more / a bit harder than before) and recover. Overload and recover. On a day to day basis, a week to week basis and a month to month basis.
edited to correct a you're- your error!!
I dont disagree that small volumes of higher intensity work is important for novice/beginners, and as you get fitter/stronger the relative intensity increases as does the duration. .
We can get away with thrashining ourselves on the bike for 4 hours on regular occasions, but less experienced people couldn't .
and just so people dont think we are always arguing
Melli is spot on about overlaod and recovery. You dont get fitter when you train, you get fitter when you rest and allow your body to adapt to the stresses, then each time you can push that little bit further.
The debate over the past few pages as to what people want from and what they get from a mentor is why I've never put myself forward to mentor.
I would add a note of caution to the mtb-ing over the winter. All good for the physical side, but handling is very different on road than off, and learning to use clipless pedals & cleats is a stumbling block for some so if you're a bit on the weak side, I'd get some practice in using them on the road before spending your winter off road on the mtb.
I just had to look at what you were going to say........
And I would just like to say the beginners all sound a lot better than me so dont ask me any questions.
sure MTB handling is different but my point is that if you can handle a MTB well, nothing that a road ride will throw at you will faze you as you learn how to quickly change directions, look ahead for obstacles, and use the brakes properly. being able to control a slide by correct braking and steering is something you learn as a matter of course on a MTB that is transferrable to road. and falling off road is softer - usually!
MTB cleats and shoes are much much easier to use than road ones - if anyone is fazed by these, get some double sided pedals which have clips on one side and are flat on the other. you can then flip between the 2 depending on terrain and on steep downs it's often best to use the flats so you can bail out quicker. you're sometime better to throw the bike away from under you rather than take the fall!
I'll chuck my hat in the ring if someone wants a mentor. I'm nowt special, only done 2 IMUKs (2009 in 12.18, 2010 in 11.52) and a few HIMs, but if I can help anyone out I'm happy to do so. I live in Stockport if anyone local wants to hook up. Next year might (if I can earn the brownie points) involve a Norseman, so anyone training for end of July/early August who needs advice/company would fit in nicely.
Other important points - I'm a nerd, so expect data and lots of BS. And I do actually look like this :
. Seriously - ask over in the Wanna Blista thread, they'll confirm.
More importantly The cafe at Outside in Hathersage or it's near neighbour Hathersage pool cafe are my prefered refreshement stops. The former has unnerving Ally McBeal-style unisex loos.