How to Train an Over 50 Year Old Woman for a Triathlon

How I dress affects me.  A dazzling, psychedelic shirt and screaming orange shorts just make me feel more athletic!  So that’s what I wore for speed work on Monday last.  🙂  But besides being stylish, a schedule for training is also useful.  This is what my husband/coach and I came up with (I’m going to begin on Saturday, because that is how the cycle makes most sense):

• Saturday      –      Half hour or so ride, either road bike or spinning bike in our                               basement, transition to long run (6-7 miles right now).                                     Hopefully in the morning.

• Sunday         –     Swim up to at least a half mile, but maybe up to one mile,                                  working on pace, then bike on the road bikes (currently up to                              an hour).   After sleeping in some.  We are currently limited                              to using the local gym pool, and it doesn’t open until 11 AM.

• Monday       –      Speed interval work at a local track, with hubby after he gets                             home from work, which I do mostly barefoot.  (Last work out                             was 3/4 mile warm up followed by 3 sets of 200 ,  200 , 400                             meters fast, with same distance recovery run in between,                                   followed by 3/4 mile cool down)  Next, some easy cool down                               laps in the pool.

• Tuesday        –     Rest OR swim an hour in the evening, depending on how I feel                          (swimming is currently fairly relaxing for me, but if the body is                          telling me I’m pushing my limits, I’ll take a day off)

• Wednesday   –     Swim 1.5 miles in drills in the wee hours of the morning,                                  before hubby leaves,  if not done on Tuesday.  In the evening,                             ride road bikes for 1.5 -2 hours.   We’ve been taking part in                              a group ride for this the last 3 weeks, which was very fun, but it                          has proven to be longer and harder  than I can manage (until                            I’ve trained more?)

• Thursday       –    Tempo run by myself during the day, again barefoot.  May                                  need to swim again; or Friday morning.

• Friday            –    Rest day, especially if I didn’t rest on Tuesday.  Otherwise,                                 I’ll never make it through the weekend

It all adds up to 8.5 to 10 hours of training per week.  With so much going on in the evenings, dinner can difficult.  Fortunately, the husband is very comfortable in the kitchen.

I haven’t even mentioned (in this post) dancing on Saturday nights or hours of yard work…. but, after almost 3 weeks of this specific (flexible) routine, it is already paying off.  There is nothing quite like a written training schedule to help me, just an ordinary 51 year old woman, get ready for a triathlon.  If I can do it, you can, too!  But you’ll have to find your own coach.  😉

Addendum June 12, 2012:

With the weather getting hotter, we moved our speed workouts to Tuesday early mornings.  We are out as the sun is rising.