Triathlon Training 1 Month Review

What an amazing month of training. Here is the summary so far:

• Swimming
  This has been the craziest adventure of all. It is what terrified me the most yet it is what I have made the most progress in. It is hard to believe that Coach Marci has me swimming like she does. The facilities at Elevate are so great to have the endless pool to get immediate feedback from and amazing swim coach without her having to walk back and forth along a regular pool.
• Biking
  This one is fun but I feel like even though Plan7 is good I am progressing the least out of the three disciplines. Often times I don’t feel like it is hard enough. I’m sure this is due to my sub par FTP (Functional Threshold of Power) Test. Everyone else is putting out some major watts but because of three hours of volleyball the night before I was tested I ended up not being very strong for the test and so my settings are lower than everyone else in my 5:30 a.m. class.
• Running
  I am loving the rigor Coach Marci is putting me through. She has me doing intervals and fartleks every run. I’m also doing longer runs than I normally would. I used to run 5-6 times a week and now I just run 2. I miss the running a lot but, am enjoying the other disciplines as well.
• Strength
  Strength Training is really fun. I have always enjoyed it. I am careful of my back. Ever since my car accident my back has been one of my weakest areas. Shelby is really helping me focus on my core. I feel like I am still weak but it is getting better slowly.
• Nutrition
  We have yet to focus on this area. Coach Marci and I talked about it and are going to start dialing in the diet after the New Year. I may go Ketogenic. I’m not sure. If you have experience with this please let me know your opinion. This will all be decided in a couple of weeks after the stores stop selling eggnog and pumpkin pie.
• Mental
  When I talk to people that have been at the top of their game physically they all say the number one most important aspect of winning at Triathlons or any sport is being willing to tough it out longer than others. I have been trying to think more like a champion and focus on mentally preparing each day for the workout. I swim in my mind all the time thinking of form, technique, breathing, and everything else that is involved.
• Sleep
  I have been horrible at getting enough sleep. In the last month I have only recorded 3 times where I slept 8 hours. My average is between 4-6 hours each night. I use a great app called SleepBot which tracks all of my hours and the sleep patterns that it recognizes. I am going to focus on this throughout this coming week.