While I spent a week in the woods with 20 family members, the calendar crept closer and closer to August 28 – the date of my – gulp – first triathlon.
Here’s how my training went down for those 7 days.
Saturday – Intervals
This was my first time running “fast” in about 3 months. It was hard – but it felt so nice to feel that burn in my lungs again and I was on such a runner’s high when I finished.
I warmed up for a mile and then ran hard for a quarter mile before jogging a quarter mile. I did 8 fast quarter mile (200 meter) repeats before a cool down mile for a total of 6 miles (the most I’ve run since the Brooklyn Half in May!)
I am slower now than I have been in at least 2 years, but I honestly just loved the sweaty, spent feeling at the end of a hard workout.
Warm Up Mile: 9:01
Mile 2: 8:07
Mile 3: 7:58
Mile 4: 7:59
Mile 5: 7:54
Cool Down Mile: 8:41
I was happy that I was able to drop the pace from my first mile to my last!
Sunday – Nike App Workout + Bike
I woke up Sunday morning not really wanting to work out, if we’re being honest. It was gross out, it was the first day of vacation, and my dumbbells were locked in my sleeping father’s truck.
I walked up to one of the smaller cabins that no one was staying in and played a workout video from my Nike app – a few burpees, side planks, and pushups were part of the 28 minute routine which wasn’t really much of a challenge.
Then, later in the day, my uncle decided to try to tackle his 40 mile bike ride. He participates in a two-day century ride every summer and is in the middle of his training.
I was really nervous to join him on this ride because it meant going on a winding, hilly road with no bike lane. But I decided to give it a shot.
We got about 7 miles before it started to rain – no service + wet, winding roads didn’t seem like the best plan so we stopped under in awning in town to wait out the rain. Luckily, my dad happened to drive by at that exact minute and we flagged him down. Our bikes juuuust fit in the back of his truck.
I had been really excited to complete a 40 mile ride (my longest ride is 38 miles) but it wasn’t in the cards for this vacation – though my uncle did manage to do it the following day!
Monday – HIIT
This was the day that my aunt wanted me to come up with a workout for us – which I happily agreed to and created this.
10 Jumps up the stair
10 Dips
25 Squats
25 Mountain Climbers
10 Shoulder Taps Each Side
10 Pushups
50 Toe Taps
We went through this circuit 5 times before heading to the top of the driveway for 7 hill sprints.
Tuesday – First Brick Workout!
I knew that this was the week I needed to try a bike to run transition. I’ve heard that it’s by far the most difficult part of a triathlon. Getting off a bike and getting your legs to switch to running is apparently not the most enjoyable or comfortable thing in the world. I can now 100% confirm this rumor as fact!
I went out with my uncle and we biked 5 miles before turning around and heading back for a total of 10 miles. I took the return trip a little quicker, trying to replicate the effort I’ll be putting in come race day.
After 10 miles at around 15 mph I got back to the top of the driveway where my sneakers were waiting for me. I swapped my Pearl Izumi cycling shoes and helmet for my Saucony Rides, handed my bike off to my uncle (THANK YOU!) and headed out for 3.1 pretty painful miles.
At first, my legs felt like complete jelly. I was thinking to myself, “Well, this isn’t as bad as people say. My legs don’t necessarily HURT, I just can’t really feel them and it’s kind of hard to run when you feel like you’ve got nothing holding you up…”
After about a mile, the pain set in. But by then I knew from my Garmin that I was moving at a sub 8:00 pace which I did NOT want to give up. I was absolutely shocked – it was the first time I had run sub 8:00 miles since the Brooklyn Half!
I pushed through the 3 miles and finished with a 7:44 pace.
I was exhausted just thinking about the fact that when I do that in 2 weeks, it will be AFTER swimming a half mile. And people do Olympic distance tris…?
Wednesday – Circuit
Wednesday I created another circuit for my aunt and I that was a little easier on my legs – no hill sprints! And my momma joined!
We did
1 Minute Jump Rope
1 Minute Crunches
1 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
1 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells
:45 Minute Jump Rope
:45 Minute Crunches
:45 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
:45 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells
:30 Minute Jump Rope
:30 Minute Crunches
:30 Minute Running Up Set Of Stairs
:30 Minute Renegade Rows with 10 lb Dumbbells
Afterwards, we did some lunges, high knees, butt kicks, bunny hops etc. before finishing up with 7 Minute Planks
1:00 Plank
1:00 Left Side Plank
1:00 Right Side Plank
:45 Plank
:45 Left Side Plank
:45 Right Side Plank
:30 Plank
:30 Left Side Plank
:30 Right Side Plank
:15 Plank
The 7 Minute Plank routine is becoming a staple for me – I do it at least once, usually twice a week. And it’s gotten noticeably easier over the past few weeks!
Thursday – Bike + Doughnut Run!
This was a fake brick workout since there was around 30 minutes between my bike and run.
First I headed out for a 15 mile bike ride and later, my sister and aunt ran about 3.5 miles to a local doughnut shop to pick up fresh donuts for the fam.
My uncle picked us up and oh lord were we sweaty.
It was my first time going for a run with my sister EVER and it made me so happy!
Friday – Arms + Swim
I started off the morning with a few arm exercises using the dumbbells – mainly shoulder stuff.
Then it was time to suck it up and get in the water – something I had been putting off all week. My dad and I used Strava and the power boat to roughly figure out where a quarter mile was and then my mom kayaked besides me as I swam a ¼ mile out and a ¼ mile back for a total of around ½ a mile – what I’ll need to swim in my sprint triathlon.
Unfortunately – it wasn’t pretty. I panicked, got frustrated, got in my head, cried a little, yelled at my mom when she offered advice, and declared that I would rather waste the $135 than do this triathlon.
I was wearing a wetsuit – which made me float SO much. I wasn’t scared of drowning or anything like that, but actually SWIMMING just wasn’t happening. There was a lot of backstroking. That’s pretty much all I did the entire ½ mile. As soon as I tried the freestyle stroke, I made it about 5 strokes before I stopped. Having no “end” of a pool in sight was a huge mental hurdle.
I was being dramatic when I said I didn’t want to do the tri – but this swim did absolutely nothing to ease my fears about the swim. In fact, it only magnified them.
Saturday – Bootcamp
Saturday I looked at an old picture from my favorite boot camp class that I go to on Long Island if I’m home on the weekends and completed it (minus the running portions usually included after each set of exercises).
It was a killer workout as usual (Marianne Fitzgerald is THE BEST) and a perfect way to prepare for hours sitting in the car heading home from vacation.
30 Squat press
20 Superman Push-Ups
10 Burpees
30 Mountain Clumbers
20 Release Push-Ups
10 Burpee Star Jumps
30 Wall Jumps
30 Jack Pushups
20 Burpees
(I completed this set as 15 Wall Jumps, 15 Jack Pushups, 10 Burpees, 15 Wall Jumps, 15 Jack Pushups, 10 Burpees)
30 Curls with Squats
20 Lunge Jumps
10 Burpee Squat Jumps
(I completed this set as 15 Curls with Squats, 10 Lunge Jumps with 10 lb dumbbells, 5 Burpees Squat Jumps, 15 Curls with Squats, 10 Lunge Jumps with 10 lb dumbbells, 5 Burpee Squat Jumps)
30 Walking Leg Lift Lunges
20 Knee to Elbow Jumps
10 Mountain Climbers
30 Power Jacks
20 Plank Jacks
10 Drunk Chicken
