Comments on: Sprint Triathlon Training – How Far Do I Need to Run in Training?

By: Coach Suzanne

Coach Suzanne — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:27:28 +0000

Hi Ramsey. If you are well conditioned with running, than doing more than the plan calls for is no problem as long as it is within your current training abilities for the run. So if you are used to running say 30 miles perweek and add in swimming and cycling, I’d suggest cutting back your run volume by maybe 20 % or so, keep your long run distance and see how you feel. If you are really fatigued, cut back a bit more the next week, but keep the long run the same and try to keep the frequency up.

By: Ramsey

Ramsey — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:16:49 +0000

Hey Coach Suzanne — Thanks for the great info! I was wondering if you could talk a little about overdistance training or point me to a previous post that discusses it? I run quite a bit and would like to keep my mileage up during the week at least somewhat despite adding in the elements of cycling and swimming.

Thank you!

By: Lu Ann

Lu Ann — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:39:27 +0000

I have been training to do my first sprint triathlon to be held on July 31. I have just received an email stating that they have to move the date to September 19!! Here I am, in the last month of training and they move the date. (beyond their control….updating college aquatic facilities…grant just came through) I understand, but how do I regroup? I know this gives me more time to train, but I teach school and the summer has been my best time to train. Help!

By: Barb Kishimoto

Barb Kishimoto — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 12:13:25 +0000

Hi Susan
I really love your matter-of-fact posts – lots of great advice. I am 54 and have been running for the last 6 years – did my first half-marathon this spring in 1:50:09. I swim once a week and have been biking since the spring. I also have done two Give-it-a-Tri’s in the last two years, and decided this year to up it to a sprint tri distance to challenge myself. I was looking online for a training schedule and found yours, but I think I need a bit more of a challenge than your beginner workouts. I’m already used to working out 6 times per week, for at least half an hour at a time. Any suggestions for a schedule?

By: admin

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:49:14 +0000

Breathing while swimming in a triathlon, or even just in the pool is one of the most challenging parts of the swim for most triathletes. Without seeing you in person (or a video), it’s hard to give tips…but for starters these should help.
1) Don’t hold your breath – slowly exhale underwater as if vocalizing an “ahhhhh” sound. This keeps your glottis open allowing air to escape as needed and preventing carbon dioxide buildup.
2) Exhale all your air before turning to breath – there is not enough time to inhale and exhale while your mouth is above water. Before you are ready to take a breath, be sure all your air is exhaled below water. This will make the effort of taking in air even easier.
3) Don’t turn your head to breath. huh? I’ll say it again…don’t turn your head. When you are ready to breath, your head stays still in relation to the shoulder that is rotating out of the water. If your body rotation is good (rotating to 40-70 degrees on your side) and you keep your chin aligned with the shoulder that is recovering, your face will naturally clear the water to take a breath. quickly rotate your head back into the water without disrupting your stroke rhythm.
It’s all easier to demonstrate in person. Consider taking a few lessons from a qualified coach near you, or post a video for me on youtube.

By: Erin

Erin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:23:15 +0000

I am training with some other friends of mine for a sprint triathlon. Our biggest hurdle seems to be the swimming. The breathing is the hardest part to get a hold on. Do you have any advice or suggestions? Thanks!!

By: Coach Suzanne

Coach Suzanne — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:08:26 +0000

Hi Lena, yes there is, just use the RSS feed from my site. I’ve pasted it below. You will need to use a “feed reader” like Google Reader, bloglines or a similar newsreader. Just paste in this address:

http://www.sprinttriathlontraining.org/feed/

By: Coach Suzanne

Coach Suzanne — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:09:04 +0000

Thanks jason…sorry it took me awhile to approve your comment. I thought I’d done so already, but apparently not. THanks for reading.

By: Coach Suzanne

Coach Suzanne — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:07:06 +0000

Hi Tracy, First of all, congratulations on losing so much weight! Your current training will depend on what your goals are. It sounds like right now, your goals are pretty clear…train for the half, using biking as cross training, then begin focusing on sprint tris. So I would give you this advice for each of these goals:
1) During your half-mary training, do not worry about your bike fitness, just get out and bike 30-90 minutes (or whatever your current fitness level is) as cross training. it will give you good basic bike fitness without interfering with your half training.
2) Dropping 15-30 seconds/mile is fairly ambitious depending on how much time you have to train. if you can do a 15 mile long run at 12:20 or less, you should be OK on race day due to the extra adrenaline. Not all Half Mary plans call for a long run of 15 miles, so if you can run your goal pace plus 10-15 seconds/mile on a training run, you shoudl do well. But measure your success by improvement, not by an arbitrary goal time
3) Once you are ready to focus on tris, the long runs will actually keep you slower than you could be. Sprint tris are only 5k runs, sometimes up to 4 miles, which is a significantly different type of training than half marathon training. My basic plan only shows one pace…an endurance pace. You would likely be ready for a intermediate run component for the sprint tri. Stay tuned for my updates and emails and blog posts for mroe info on intermediate and advanced training.

By: Lena

Lena — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:11:26 +0000

is there a way to read all your blogs without waiting to get email updates?