Week 1 Triathlon Training: Getting Started with Balancing Fitness, Nutrition, and a Busy Schedule
This was my first full week specifically focused on training for my triathlon. I wasn’t starting from zero in terms of my fitness, but still good to have the extra accountability of the race.
Monday: Indoor stationary bike - 28 miles in 1:17
I wanted to get some sort of baseline for difficulty and speed when doing a longer ride. This makes up for half the distance I’ll be riding during the race. I jumped in the cold plunge right after the ride.
Nutrition: I had a meal prepped lunch that consisted of flank steak and some steamed broccoli. I had a quest protein bar for a snack in the afternoon and had a nice steak with a sauteed red pepper for dinner. I had an after dinner snack of a protein shake and some air popped popcorn.
Tuesday: Treadmill run - 3 miles in 20:42
I didn’t have a ton of time for a longer workout, so I went for a shorter run on the treadmill with a focus on a faster pace. I don’t anticipate running under 7 minute miles during the race, but I wanted to build some speed and endurance without a lot of time to do it.
Nutrition: I ate the rest of my meal prepped flank steak for lunch and added a grilled cheese sandwich in the early afternoon. I had another quest protein bar in the afternoon before having a stuffed red pepper dinner Maddie made for dinner. My after-dinner snack was a bowl of greek yogurt with some granola.
Wednesday: Pickup basketball
This is my normal Wednesday evening routine this time of year. It’s a great way to work different muscles, build endurance and explosiveness while scratching the competitive itch.
Nutrition: I had a working lunch so I picked up some grilled chicken tacos topped with pico de gallo from a local place. In the afternoon I had a few handfuls of protein granola and a banana on my way to pickup basketball. Maddie was great and had dinner waiting for me when I got home - pan seared chicken with broccoli. I had a protein shake and a cup of green yogurt for an after dinner snack.
Thursday: Active recovery - core workout and light yoga
I hadn’t had a recovery day for about two weeks so I decided to do about 40 minutes of core work and yoga to loosen up some tight muscles.
Nutrition: Scrambled eggs and toast for lunch, protein bar in the afternoon, pan seared chicken breast with brussel sprouts for dinner, protein shake after dinner.
Friday: 40 minute sprint workout on indoor bike
It was a busy day and the best I could get in was a 40 minute bike workout right away in the morning.
Nutrition: It wasn’t my best day for nutrition. I met a friend for lunch at a local restaurant and had wood fired pizza. My in-laws were coming down for dinner and we went to a local supper club where I had a flat iron steak and potatoes. I also had a beer with dinner and a beer after dinner.
Saturday: Bike/Run brick workout
I had enough time on Saturday for a longer workout so I opted to do half the race distance on the bike and run, which meant biking (indoors) for 28 miles and running 6.55 miles on the treadmill. The workout took me just under 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Nutrition: Before my long workout I had an acai bowl with berries, a banana, and 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter. After finishing the workout I had a flank steak with brussel sprouts. Later in the day I had some frozen pizza and a protein shake.
Sunday: Strength training
I was a little sore after my longer Saturday workout so I did about 45 minutes of strength training with a main emphasis on upper body and core.
Nutrition: I had some boneless wings with bbq sauce for a pretty late lunch and a protein shake as a dinner replacement since I was still a little full from a later lunch.
Overall, I’m happy with the week. I feel good about my longer workout on Saturday with the pace and how I was feeling during the workout. With 6 months or so until the race, I’m sure I’ll be able to build on that and continue to get faster and be able to go longer distances. I could have eaten cleaner over the weekend, but I still got a sense of some of the things that sit well before a long workout.