First Triathlon + Dieting

[skudera]

Hi all. New to the forums - looks like there's a lot of helpful people around here!

I'm training for my first triathlon on August 14. It's a 300 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run. I do 3x of each a week, and my schedule usually looks like this:

Sunday - Off
Monday - Swim a.m, run p.m
Tuesday - Bike a.m
Wednesday - Swim a.m, run p.m
Thursday - Bike a.m
Friday - Swim a.m
Saturday - Bike a.m, run p.m

First - is this a good schedule to be on? The days that I don't do anything in pm, should I be @ gym? If so - what types of exercises? Swimming is by far the hardest event for me.

Secondly - About 6 weeks ago, I weighed about 190. I've only been training hard for this for about 3 weeks, and now I'm down to 183. I cut all alcohol out of my diet until I complete this thing. I only drink water, I usually have a Carnation Instant Breakfast after my a.m. workout, tuna sandwich for lunch, and some type of chicken at night. I occasionally have a yogurt for a mid-day snack.

Is this diet okay? Should I be adding protein to my shake in the morning (only 5g in the instant breakfast)?

All your help is greatly appreciated... can't wait to complete my first Tri!

 

[g8r80]

Congrats on signing up for your first triathlon!

First, about the schedule: depending on your starting point, that looks like a reasonable training schedule. How long and hard are your workouts? How is your swimming technique? Can you swim 300 yards nonstop? Do you swim facedown during your front crawl (freestyle) form? How often do you breathe and what is your breathing pattern, i.e., left every stroke, bilateral, etc.

Second, congrats on the weight loss. Yes, I would go with a post-workout shake and add more protein - .5 - 1 g protein / kg of weight (82 kg) should be optimal.

Weight training is a luxury for me. I would do more but time and energy commitments prevent me from doing more. Weight training won't do as much for your swim/bike/run skills as doing more swim/bike/run training.

 

[triumphtriathlon]

Hi skudera!

Congrats on taking on the challenge of triathlon! To keep yourself motivated during training, go to for inspirational and motivational quotes and stories of triathletes just like yourself!

Make it a great day,
Ruben

 

[triumphtriathlon]

Congrats!

Hi skudera!

Congrats on taking on the challenge of triathlon! To keep yourself motivated during training, go to for inspirational and motivational quotes and stories of triathletes just like yourself!

Make it a great day,
Ruben

 

[skudera]

Congrats on signing up for your first triathlon!

First, about the schedule: depending on your starting point, that looks like a reasonable training schedule. How long and hard are your workouts? How is your swimming technique? Can you swim 300 yards nonstop? Do you swim facedown during your front crawl (freestyle) form? How often do you breathe and what is your breathing pattern, i.e., left every stroke, bilateral, etc.

Second, congrats on the weight loss. Yes, I would go with a post-workout shake and add more protein - .5 - 1 g protein / kg of weight (82 kg) should be optimal.

Weight training is a luxury for me. I would do more but time and energy commitments prevent me from doing more. Weight training won't do as much for your swim/bike/run skills as doing more swim/bike/run training.

I basically have been doing the minimum of each event (300 yard swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run). I have the bike & run down - but should I be increasing my distance and not just hitting the specified distances for the race?

My swimming technique is, eh. I can't swim 300 yards without stopping. I'm swimming face down in a freestyle motion. I've always had struggles going under water without holding my nose, so when I swim I'm blowing my cheeks out like a monkey which helps prevent me from breathing in my nose. I recently had sinus surgery (2 months ago)... not sure if this has anything to do with it. I tend to take a breathe on my right side, every 4th stroke of my left arm.

Perhaps I'm a little confused with your protein recommendation. .5-1g of protein per KG... which would be somewhere between 41-82g of protein in my shake? That just doesn't sound right... can you clarify?

Are there specific leg exercises that I can do to strengthen them during all 3 events?

A couple questions regarding the tri:

1. When swimming, I read it's best to use your upper body the most to save your legs for the bike & run. Is that true?

2. Nearing the end of the bike, should I slow down a bit to give my legs some rest, or should I be going full force with it?

And obviously any swimming tips/pointers would be very helpful.

 

[g8r80]

I basically have been doing the minimum of each event (300 yard swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run). I have the bike & run down - but should I be increasing my distance and not just hitting the specified distances for the race?

I would go longer than the race distance so the race distance seems easier.

My swimming technique is, eh. I can't swim 300 yards without stopping. I'm swimming face down in a freestyle motion. I've always had struggles going under water without holding my nose, so when I swim I'm blowing my cheeks out like a monkey which helps prevent me from breathing in my nose. I recently had sinus surgery (2 months ago)... not sure if this has anything to do with it. I tend to take a breathe on my right side, every 4th stroke of my left arm.

Breathing on every 4th stroke seems way too long. I breathe on every left arm stroke. I would lose a lot of distance and speed if I breathed any less frequent.

Perhaps I'm a little confused with your protein recommendation. .5-1g of protein per KG... which would be somewhere between 41-82g of protein in my shake? That just doesn't sound right... can you clarify?

.5 - 1 g protein / kg of body mass should be your total protein consumption throughout the day. You should supplement your dietary protein intake with a protein shake if necessary.

Are there specific leg exercises that I can do to strengthen them during all 3 events?

You are better off doing swim/bike/run training to prepare your legs for swim/bike/run events. But, squats are a nice complement to your training.

A couple questions regarding the tri:

1. When swimming, I read it's best to use your upper body the most to save your legs for the bike & run. Is that true?

Yes. Your legs will be doing all the work on the bike and on the run. Giving them a break on the swim is only fair to your legs.

2. Nearing the end of the bike, should I slow down a bit to give my legs some rest, or should I be going full force with it?

If you go too hard on the bike, you will fade on the run. You have to hold a little back on the bike so you don't sacrifice your run.

And obviously any swimming tips/pointers would be very helpful.

Try to swim 3x/week for 300+ yards and you will be ready for the swim.

 

[skudera]

g8r80 - thanks for all the tips!

I went to the Vitamin Shoppe last night because I've been training without taking additional protein, vitamins, post workout drinks - zip, zilch.. nada.

Here's what they suggested for me:

Dymatize Elite WHEY Protein Isolate - suggests that I take it 45 mins pre-workout
Amino Vital Endurance - suggests that I take it after workout
Animal pak vitamins - suggests I take the vitamins throughout the day.

I did some research on the Endurance and it appears it's meant really for pre-workout and during workout to keep you energized and going. On days that I do a single exercise (i.e. Bike in the morning), what should I be taking? My understanding from the employee was protein before, endurance after. But after reading reviews, I'm completely confused now!

Do you have any experience or advice with this?

 

[g8r80]

First, I would not listen to the advice from a vitamin store. With all respect to vitamin store employees and owners, they have a vested interest in selling you vitamins. Most of your vitamins are obtainable from your diet.

Second, sign up with fitday.com and monitor your intake. If you are less than .5 - 1 g/ kg body mass, supplement with protein shakes after a workout. I eat regular meals 30 - 60 minutes before a workout or competition (e.g., hard triathlons) and eat protein bars or a shake afterward.

Your body will keep you energized and going as long as you eat properly. I don't think you need anything from the vitamin store except whey protein for a post-workout shake.

 

[skudera]

Hi everyone - one week to the triathlon. I have one final question in regards to wetsuits.

Since the water temp is 70F, I know I can rent a wet suit. Since I'm not the best of swimmers still, I'd like to rent since I should see some improvement in time. Do I just need a sleeveless wet suit? I can rent for $40. If so, do I wear the wetsuit for the entire triathlon, or do I take it off after the swim? If I should take it off, what do I wear underneath it? How much will it effect my transition time?

Thanks everyone for all the input already. Looking forward to next week!

 

[g8r80]

A wetsuit will benefit all triathletes, especially weaker swimmers like you and me. At 70F, the swim will be wetsuit legal (in the US) and a sleeveless would be perfect. You wear the wetsuit only for the swim, removing it in T1. Underneath it, you wear either a one-piece triathlon suit or a triathlon short with a shirt. You can get dedicated triathlon shirts, but a fast dry non-cotton, sleeveless shirt is fine. The triathlon shorts have light padding for cycling, but are thinner than cycling shorts. You can get by with a tight swimming shorts, like Speedo Jammers, but with no padding, it might be hard on your rear during the bike. Don't use cycling shorts as they are too padded for the run, especially when wet. A wetsuit adds about 1 minute, maybe 2 minutes, to the T1 time.

 

[skudera]

I just completed my first triathlon!! I finished 1:17 and I'm more than thrilled! The swimming was by far the hardest leg of the event. We swam in the ocean with a strong rip tide and 10 foot waves. They nearly called off the swim.

Once I get a road bike, I'll probably be able to cut off close to 10 minutes off my bike.

What an experience, I can't wait to do more! Thanks everyone for your input in this entire process. It helped so much!

 

[rossgarner7]

Road bikes

Hey, I was thinking about buying a road bike. What sort of budget were you looking at? Mine's kinda limited. I saw but they seemed WELL expensive...