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Meet the Triathlete's World Fab Four: Kiwi Kate
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Hey Kate,
Hope it's all going well - from your last post it sounds like you've got things sorted!
I'll be balancing swim and run training over the next few months and have no idea where to start with drawing up my training schedule - if you (or any thread lurkers) have any advice I'd be v grateful!
What I've got on the agenda is...
July 31 - 10K run
August 6 - 750m OW swim
August 21 - 1500m OW swim
October - road half-marathon
November - 4 Day stage race (cannot wait for that)
Alice x
Hi Alice! Wow, a 4 day stage race.... What is that?! Sounds impressive! Tell us about your goals and I'm sure we can brain storm with you on a training schedule, however you look like you have a great agenda going already.
Last night I visited the Lido in Tooting for the first time... what an incredible pool it is! 90m long, super wide, no lanes and lots of wetsuits heading up and down the pool. I did a 1600m no-stop no-touch swim in my wetsuit, and it went just fine. I did like that as there were no lanes you still had to do sighting for people coming towards you which is great practice. Sure, I only passed 3 people (and two were doing breaststroke) and I lost count of how many passed me, but having achieved this I feel that I may just get through the swim section of the tri. Getting to a lake to practice can be tricky from central London so this pool is a wonderful option. It took me 35 mins so of course there is room for improvement over the coming weeks but completing the distance in a semi-simulation of the event (minus the small detail of other swimmers!) helps my confidence.
This week I have also done 'Run 1' on the training programme - a nice 10km - done on Monday in about 49 mins, and 'Run 2' - interval training for 10km - done in 48mins. This is much faster than 10km races I have done in the past in New Zealand which I think I can put down to the lack of hills in my area. I am also highly aware that these times are from straight out of bed, not after a spot of swimming and touch of cycling...
I have a 10km road race on Saturday that will be another good test.
Next week I get my bike from Boardman Bikes (thank you!!!!) which is super exciting and means that my cycle training can begin.
And then the serious brick training begins....
6k time trial, 11k hill run, Half Marathon and a final day 10k
It's well organised, coaches laid on for a reasonable cost from the base hotel to the start/finish and back.
I started well, heading to Tooting Lido again on Monday doing 'Swim 2' from the Perfect 10 Olympic schedule. This is comprised of a 200m warm up (2 lengths of the pool - love it!) then 100m fast 100m slow with 30 secs in between. It's so great that you can wear your wetsuit to get in more practice with the change in stroke from a pool, and you have to sight just like in a race as there are no lanes. I must admit I do get a bit inspired spotting other people training sporting the IM symbol tattoo. The swim felt good, but I oddly found myself in a third party encouragement chat in the final 25m of the fast interval 'Come on Kate, not far, nearly there'. Strange, but it helped!
Tuesday morning saw me being kicked out of RPM at the gym (didn't know you needed a ticket, never needed one before!) so I moved to the stationary bikes instead and watched the morning news in silence reading the screens. I am not a fan of indoor cardio machines as they are a poor second to being outside doing the real thing, plus I get terribly bored. Reading the news luckily got me through that day. I tried to stick to 90rpm moving the intensity up and down as I became tired and re-energised again. 24km in 50mins... not really a great time - lots of work to do here!
Wednesday - struggled to get out of bed. Snoozed the alarm and feel soundly asleep.
Thursday - see above.
More news for Friday - my Boardman bike arrived! Harrah!! Its very pretty and looks quite daunting. The wheels look very thin...
Saturday - headed off to RG Active in Ham Lake for a morning training session with the lovely people there. I quite like starting the weekend with this as firstly you feel great for the rest of the day, but secondly you meet some great people of all different levels. Its nice to chat over concerns and fears, races being worked towards and the tips are really helpful. As a group we worked on sighting - great to know how to do this properly now by aiming for a large object in the direction you are heading and quickly searching for it every time you lift your head to breathe. The last interval of the day compared to the warm up I felt like I'd stopped weaving so much, which of course is a lot more energy efficient! We also learnt that kicking isn't critical to swimming so if you feel out of breath, anxious, or panicky, to drop the kick, slow your swim and you will come right. I've tucked this away in the back of my head to remember on race day if I feel out of my depth in the swim leg.
Sunday - see Wednesday and Thursday. Today I have done a lot of research about bikes - googling, Wiggle.com, Chainreactioncycles.com and Evans Cycles stores - about which pedals and shoes to buy, which helmets fit me, drink holders, speedos, locks and puncture kits. Wow, this cycling lark has a lot to it! There is so much to know and understand and as there is a substantial cost to all the accessories the decision on each item should be made carefully. Plus I entered a practice tri and looked at my eating. I think my tiredness is related 1. a busy lifestyle and 2. not eating the right foods. This week is low GI week... we'll see how my standard mid afternoon snack and desserts turn out...
Goals this week: get cycling shoes, pedals and helmet by Wednesday, so I can take it for a spin, train the first four days of the week (followed by four days off for Glastonbury) and eat for performance!
Hope you had a great week too!
Kate
My strategy in training is doing as much as I can to emulate a real race, whether it be brick sessions, open water sessions, or races themselves.
Last weekend I did the BananaMan 3/4 Tri at Dorney (wow, what a great venue). I was so nervous, mainly about the swim, that I couldn't talk before the start in fear that I would cry!! During the swim I channeled some advice to calm down: start at the back so you have less of a chance to be knocked, on each breath focus on looking to the sky, wiggle your fingers when you breathe to relax the forearm and give you something to think about, and break the swim down into sections and then congratulate yourself with each one done. Sure, it wasn't a fast swim but I finished it feeling so much more confident about open water swimming, and a little hope that I might finish the London Tri swim in one piece!
My times were interesting: I was 30th in the swim, 30th in the bike and 8th in the run. I don't mind about the swim but my cycle needs improving. The BananaMan was my first race on my Boardman bike and while I'm loving it, I still don't have the confidence to wear clipless pedals and I think I could gain a lot of time by doing so. I have them - I'm just a little scared to use them. Its definitely time to man up and give them a go.... Any tips for confidence would be much appreciated!
This weekend I did the Marlow River Sprint Tri. My swim was ok (22nd), my bike was worst (31st) and run the best (9th). Yup, I need to do something about the bike.
I've been using a Timex watch to help me watch my splits and heart rate, and that's been super helpful. They say that analysing your stats leads to success in racing... I wouldn't call myself a 'racer' but as a 'participant' knowing my stats and seeing improvement (or the opposite!) certainly helps with training.
Would love to hear your thoughts on tips for confidence with clipless pedals.
Anyone else doing the London Tri? Or did the BananaMan or Marlow River?
Kate
My goal was to give them a go, and I've been around quiet streets in the neighbourhood now, so I have achieved that and taken the pressure off myself by doing so, and making the decision not to wear them. Platform pedals for me.
The pedals had taken over as the most scary thing in the race, now its back to the 1500 swim (shudder).