Training and gear

Today, Monday 31 December, marks the start of my main training programme for 2013. My initial training stretch is 22 weeks, which is the time until my first planned "A" race in Madrid. I have included a "B" race 12 weeks down the line, just to make sure I get into the swing of things and into the competitive mind frame. It's a short sprint triathlon, but I see it as a good opportunity to test a few bits, including gear and race strategy.

My training will be a 7-day training week, with each day including 2 to 3 sessions. I have integrated the bike training into my daily commute to work, which should be interesting! I am giving it a go this week, sort of a dry run, before I get back to work next week.

Every week should have the sessions around the same time of day, with variations in duration and intensity according to which phase of the training cycle I'm in. I'm including 5 main bike sessions, 4 swim sessions, 4 run sessions, and 3 strength and conditioning sessions. One of the bike/run sessions is a BRICK session.

For each discipline, the 4 main sessions include one long session, a day of short intense intervals, a day of long steady intervals/hill repeats, and a drills session. I have added an extra recovery day for the bike.

Towards week 16 of the programme, my total weekly mileage should look something like this:

- Swim: 15.5 km

- Bike: 250 km (+ additional easy miles in the commute)

- Run: 70 km

There is a recovery week every 2-3 weeks, and 2-3 week taper at the end of the 22 weeks. There are then 5 weeks between the first 2 "A" races, which will see intense but short training sessions. I have left out the details for my training after that, as I will want to see how things go, and whether the 7-day training week actually suits what I'm trying to do.

I have also made a few logistical and gear adjustments to suit this new regime. With the running, I am now including 2-3 track sessions out of the 4. The short intervals and the drills session, at least, will be done at the track. As for the bike, I have purchased an older model Specialized Roubaix frame on eBay, which I am now in the process of building, so I'm hoping that I'll have it ready before the end of January. This should be a really big upgrade in the bike, compared to the Cannondale I'm currently using. Since it's a second hand bike, I'll have to see if it will be up to the challenge of actually being my main bike. If not, then maybe March/April time will be a time of considering buying a newer one, but we'll see.

A 7-day training week leaves very little time to think about things such as nutrition, clothes, etc, so I have included all these details within my schedule, including which days I'm buying what products and in what quantities, as well as other little details such as washing and ironing days. I am basically trying to minimise, as much as possible, any excuse I might find to prevent me from following the schedule, and I am also trying, as much as possible, to increase the time I spend with the family without having to worry about these details. Not to mention, time for my day job as well!

I've added a new page here to log my training sessions, so that I can actually have one place to get back to and follow my progress. We'll see how it goes. Again, any comments and feedback are more than welcome. Thanks!