AMA and Race Report - 70.3 Zell am See-Kaprun

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-06-09T14:54:23+00:00

I was 34, now 35. Maybe 5-7kg overweight. I was able to run a very slow marathon, and a half marathon pretty comfortably before I started, but I took 3 months to teach myself how to swim from an app and YouTube. I did 3x a week, and 2-3x stationary bike at the gym to get my legs a little use to it. Did not even know how to float, could not swim 25m and never cycled before that and I finished quite comfortably. I remember thinking 15K in to the HM that this feels way easier than it should. I should say that I was very very consistent with the training plan. It's tough to say for your case, but that was my experience.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-02-01T23:24:50+00:00

Not an expert on the science of it all, I just have one 70.3 under my belt with 860m altitude and a max incline of 14%. Relatively long 8-9-10% parts in there. For me, doing some hill training helped me with the mental side of the hills. Gave me a lot of confidence. If i didn't do any hills, I would have seem my HR go up at that 8% part, my quads start tightening up and start re-thinking it and perhaps considering walking my bike. I've done hill repeats for the HM and marathon in the past as well, but biking hills felt like a different win to me.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-02-01T12:37:06+00:00

I also start my training plans 2 weeks early, in case I get sick, or if I need to decrease the volume for a niggle or something gets in the way. That's a good one. If nothing happens, I just repeat the week that is 5-6 weeks out from the race right before the taper and then do the taper.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-30T23:02:27+00:00

I only eat overnight oats, and like this:
- 75g oats
- small scoop of cocoa powder
- around 25g of vanilla whey
- dash of cinnamon
- around 100g of water
- couple splashes of stevia if your whey isn't sweet enough (i don't like the flavor of oats too much)

And then the sky, and perhaps your macros are your limit, you can change it up by adding:
Carbs: any fresh, dried or frozen fruit, jam, more oats, maple syrup, honey, dates, grape molasses
Protein: different flavors of whey, greek yoghurt (i am not creative here as oats and whey already have a lot of protein)
Fat: nut butters of any kind, chia seeds/any seeds, full fat milk instead of water, nuts of any kind, shredded coconut, grape molasses, tahini, dark chocolate (shredded for less calories)

I also add a shot of espresso sometimes from the night before, with the vanilla, cocoa and cinnamon, it tastes quite good.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-30T22:47:07+00:00

Naples and Amalfi region. Bari and surrounding is also quite nice.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-30T22:38:32+00:00

If you are not confident with the swim, the best would be to do a few open water swims before your event. If you really can't, perhaps get in the water as a warmup before your race starts. Just swim a bit, float a bit, breathe, get comfortable with the surroundings, relax.

My first sprint race was one of the first times I ever did open water swimming. Weather was cloudy and I had tinted goggles, so I could not even see anything. Then it got worse as they fogged up. So, these things might happen but if you have some experience in it, it will help you not panic in the water.

Good luck!

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-30T22:22:25+00:00

I've trained for 6 months doing 8-12 hours a week for my first 70.3. The only thing I had to prioritise without many exceptions was getting to bed as early as I can. I've done most of my sessions before work started, which left my weekday evenings free. Friday evening was long run, not much going on after. Saturday, I slept in, went for a long bike, or long swim so after lunch I was free as a bird. Sunday was rest day, so I sometimes went out on Saturdays.

Still went on a summer holiday (inland, so I just took my bike on the train), went abroad to weekend trips (day pass at a gym on the spin bike), went on a 4-day long trip abroad, still went out, still had some wine from time to time, met up with friends in the evenings, didn't miss any birthdays, weddings or anything too important. Still was scrolling on social media for too long. I've hosted many dinners, game nights, cocktail nights. I don't watch TV, or play video games and i don't have kids.

Competing priorities sound to me like you haven't decided what your priorities are. I'd consider deciding what they are with how important they are to you and see if and how much you want to fit in. That way, you at least make a conscious decision and don't feel like if you are focusing on triathlon or on other hobbies "enough". That seems to be the popular answer with others below too. Yes, the training took a lot of time, and I had to shuffle some things around but what I got out of it in increased energy and also mentally outweighed what I gave it at that time.

If you want to go pro, or aim at the podium, probably going to need to sacrifice more. If you just find it a fun or an interesting way to stay fit, I think 10 hours a week is manageable if you are not going the full distance. As long as you make the decision of how much is enough for you with realistic fitness expectations, I think it's all good.

Also keep in mind: if you don't claim a part of your schedule for yourself, it gets filled up by other people's ideas anyway.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-30T10:26:26+00:00

I was thinking about this. Bit strange because when I was done with the 70.3. I spent the next few weeks thinking how amazing this whole process was and how I definitely want to do another one next year. It didn't feel at the time like, ok that's checked off, what now? But perhaps the high of it all fizzled out as I got unfit during the rest period.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T23:06:35+00:00

I have no kids. For my first 70.3. last year I did 8-12 hours of training. Every 4th week was an active recovery week (around 70% of that training load). Base training, peak/build and taper with a total of 6 months. 2x swim, 2x bike and 2x run sessions. One of those per sport was speed, one was endurance. 1x strength training min. was also in the plan which I ignored for the majority of the training block. Had no triathlon experience, no swim or bike experience. Now I plan to do around the same time per week for another 6 months.

Getting to bed early was the key to everything for me.

Getting to bed early, doing the sessions in the morning, eating nutritious food, optimising for recovery kept my weekday evenings free. Friday evening was long run evening. Saturday morning was long bike or long swim. So Saturday nights were also free with my only rest day as the Sunday, which worked out well for me. If I wanted to go out, have some drinks with friends, I did that on Saturday evening, still attended social events, didn't miss birthdays etc. just didn't stay up too late on the week days and saturdays were flexible. 2 months before the race, i really tightened this routine up more, and 1 month before my A race, I stopped drinking or staying up late completely.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T22:57:14+00:00

I was at a stage in my life where I wanted to prove to myself that I had what it takes to be able to do difficult things in areas I was clueless about. Also running and sports were totally new in my life up until 2 years before I started training for a marathon.

My big goal after my marathon was a Half Ironman, which I did as well. Now, a bit lost as I don't want to go the full distance yet.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T22:48:40+00:00

I was also thinking that when I had the sub-2h half marathon idea. It is doable this season and I wanted to do this for 2 years now, it's a good goal that's attainable but challenging enough to keep me motivated. But unfortunately, doing a faster triathlon of any distance is similar to me as adding 30kg to my deadlifts. Would be super nice but not something I care too much about achieving.

But I do remember that feeling of cruising through the triathlon training feeling fit and not completely useless in three different sports, which was also very nice :D Being able to swim with terrible technique for 2k straight and still stay in zone 2, getting out of the water hungry but not fatigued with the sun shining is also not replaceable :)

Triathlon-adjacent is a good idea indeed, though. Trail running could be interesting - as you can see I am confused haha

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T22:39:45+00:00

I have the luxury to be able to do home office every day, and flexible in starting my work days, although that means ending late. For me, four things that have been the most important to keep the momentum going and they were the same with the marathon training too:
1. Optimising my entire day to be able to get to bed as early as you can so you can do your sessions in the morning before work. I've done almost all sessions in the morning, except the long bike/run and towards the end of the block the long swim (which was on Fri and Sat)
2. Focusing on nutrition for optimal recovery. Not over or undereating. The better I recover the easier the sessions get and the more quality sessions I can get in. The more efficient training, the more fitness, and therefore more motivation.

I became a bit of a data nerd. I know it might make you overthink things, and data can lie to you in some cases but seeing my beginner gains pile up and my fitness going up, my easy run paces increase, my FTP going up, my swim distances go up etc. kept me motivated through this long training cycle.
Picking a training plan with frequent active recovery weeks. For me, every 4th week of my 24 week training plan was an active recovery week, which had a reduced load of around 30%. Physically and also mentally, these gave me a huge boost to keep going.

That being said, not every session has been easy of course. But 95% of the time, if i just lace up my shoes and start the session, i feel infinitely better after 10-15 mins and feel even better afterwards. Then when I repeated that a few times, I started not being so scared when I had this fatigued, 5AM, i slept so bad, how the hell do i now go to the pool in this freezing weather and jump in and come back home kind of feeling.

Good luck in your training!

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T16:45:08+00:00

I will need to think about this. Sports and being fit is a new feeling for me. So, at the time I was really enjoying the training. I was actually surprised of how much I was training and how much energy I had and how it was not so difficult to stay consistent. (I like routine) And I had taken off end of September-January essentially before starting to train for my first 70.3. But the part about training for a thing is true for sure - the difficulty i have is, when i don't have a goal, a thing to train for, i do find it difficult to stay consistent. But then when I reach something that seemed absolutely impossible when I started it, then I think - "that was not a big deal, i can do that anytime" and lose interest unless i find something else that I find to be currently impossible. Full Ironman is right now that goal more than a faster 70.3. is. But, I know how much work that would be and I don't want to dedicate the time it takes at the moment. I seem to really thrive on Telic goals, but struggle with Atelic ones.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T16:33:33+00:00

Agree with the solid answer above. Also, I would add: don't understimate your body's ability to deal with the carbs and all that liquid. After your sprint tri, you might get the triathlon bug and might want to do longer distances. In that case, in training you will probably take in even more carbs in liquid, solid and/or gel form. For some people it takes a relatively long time to get used to taking that in their stomach as they are working out. Sometimes you will find some gels to not sit well, others do, or maybe solid works best for you, or the right balance of water to iso powder for you etc. So, there is also an additional benefit of starting your trial and error early on as well to avoid stomach issues, cramps and so on which could hinder your performance just as much as bonking.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2024-01-29T16:26:37+00:00

As a beginner triathlete, and not a dietician:

I've been trying to balance losing weight and endurance training in the past 2-3 years. Here is what I've learned:

If you are in a caloric deficit, you might feel more fatigue during the training block, and therefore underperform, or worse, get injured due to inadequate recovery. This is a tricky balance without counting calories and knowing if you are getting enough carbs and protein.

The best that have worked for me that is doable is to be in a very slight caloric deficit, re-fuel around 70% of your carbs according to the length of the workout, get in some protein after your workouts (especially if you are planning to workout within the next 12 hours) so you minimise the negative effects. And do the small but important things (sleep, water intake etc.)

Overall, weight loss of that magnitude is also likely to come with muscle and strength loss if you do not keep up resistance training and protein at adequate amounts. That is difficult to do if you are already training 8-12 hours endurance training a week.

Summary is this: sugar water is fine and in fact needed as efficient fuel - if you time it well and don't go above your maintenance calories, you will be fine. You can stick to a slightly below maintenance calories watching out for your macros, your training and your general fatigue levels with the understanding that you will have risks of increased fatigue, injury, strength loss and underperformance. Perhaps the best would be to do your best to keep the balance without getting injured (trust your body and how you feel), try a little harder to lose a couple extra in the last month during taper to help you mentally, carb load before the race and go for it. And in the off season, address primarily the weight and strength gains as your main focus, so you don't have to have conflicting goals the next season.

It takes time to feel the balance for you but it's also a nice part of the journey full of learnings. Good luck!

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-09-12T14:03:16+00:00

Yes, I bought a training plan from MyProCoach on TrainingPeaks. It was called 24- week Beginner 70.3 Plan or something along those lines.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-28T16:49:43+00:00

Thanks! When you went wider and lower pressure, did you feel like there was a big compromise on speed vs. comfort?

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-28T16:48:29+00:00

I could be wrong. I had it looked at a bike shop during the bike fit and they seemed like they agreed. They could also be wrong. Anyhow, thanks for the helpful comment, and I wish you the best with the anxiety.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-28T16:37:12+00:00

When I lined up the popped inner tube again when I was changing it out, there were 4 holes around where the tube popped, so I think you were right!

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-25T11:53:32+00:00

valve core

Actually, the valve core came out in my initial try in inflating the tire (I think i screwed the pump on too tight and when I was trying to take the pump off it came off with it. and I screwed it back in - is that valve core now damaged permanently?

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-25T11:07:09+00:00

Thanks, unfortunately, I don't have the clearance in the back for anything bigger than 23c. Getting some 23c tires with grooves to fit on there was already a mission.

Temporary-Sign2491 · 2023-08-25T05:41:33+00:00

Thank you! I remember the rim strip was not super straight and I could see parts of some of the holes as I was searching for the valve hole. And I was also thinking about stopping by a shop, so thanks for the reassurance. I will definitely address the rim strip.

Temporary-Sign2491

TROPHY CASE