Day #7, Week #1: Swim Day

A 750 METRE free style swim in open water will probably be the single biggest sporting challenge of my life. Can I develop a decent enough stroke in 69 days from my current "controlled drowning" technique to something that resembles front crawl? Couple that with diving into the sea with "a washing machine of arms and legs" and your looking at a race plan to survive by any means necessary.

To this end I am amending Sundays for the first 4 weeks of the 11 week programme from a BRICK Day to a Swim Day, in order to spend more time on swimming drills and endurance in the water.

Last night I surfed across Shaun Buddenhagen's blog First Time Triathlete. Shaun has posted some useful swim training videos that got my attention.

This morning I practiced the Superman Glide and covered the 200 metres scheduled distance in a 45 minute open water swim session.

Week #1 training is complete, this evening I performed a strength training workout for legs. All's great so far, just a little muscle soreness which was to be expected, Feeling Good!

Tomorrow: rest day

Day #6, Week #1: BRICK DAY

TODAY IS my first BRICK training session of the 11 week training plan; stationary bike 10 km in 17:30, then run 1.5 km in 10:39, total time 28:09, excluding transition. Plus performed a 10 minute spinning warm-up and cool-down.

Average Heart Rate was 137 b.p.m. during training, that's slightly above my aerobic zone max 136 b.p.m. I use a Polar FT7 heart rate monitor.

Generally I felt OK keeping at a steady pace. No jelly leg problems after the transition.

In the evening I performed a strength training routine for my arms, plus ab work and finished with some stretching.

Tomorrow's workouts: BRICK swim-bike, strength training/legs

Day #5, Week #1: Rest Day

MY MUSCLES are little sore from the 6 workouts over the last 3 days, so today's rest day is most welcome. Just an early morning 1 mile walk around Playa del Acequion with Bailey to stretch the legs,

Currently I don't possess any cycling gear, so a trip to the local Decathlon sports store at La Zenia Boulevard was in order to buy a pair of B'Twin cycle shorts for tomorrows BRICK training, Wednesday's workout on the Olympus stationary bike was a tad uncomfortable on the butt. Price 19.95 euros.

Tomorrows workout, BRICK (bike-run), strength training/arms

Video Presentation of the TriWhite Cup

Day #4, Week #1: Run Day

TIME TRIAL at the Torrevieja Greenway this morning and a chance to try out my new Arch-Max running socks.

Ran 5 km to record my current time (planned a Fartlek session, but swapped it). The time was a PB at 30:16, a drop in pace half way cost me my first sub 30. Click here to view my run on the Nike Running App. ... the super socks really do make me run faster :)

Evening time I performed a strength training workout for shoulders on my home gym equipment and some ab work.

Tomorrow: rest day

Day #3, Week #1: Bike Day

BIKE TRAINING this morning at 7:30. 10 km in 18.01 on an Olympus stationary bike, with a 10 minute spinning warm-up and cool down.

I do not currently possess a road bike and I'm considering renting a bike two weeks before the Sprint Triathlon while performing the majority of the training on the stationary bike and  joining some spinning classes.

I have seen a Trek Ali frame Series 1 bike in one of my local bike shops that I really like. At 749 euros it is probably out of my budget before race day. Need an electrician? Call me!

This evening I performed my strength training chest routine and did some ab exercises.

Tomorrow's workout's: Run 5 km, strength training/shoulders

Day #2, Week #1: Swim Day

COULD I pass as an ageing Olympic athlete or do I look about as cool as a bucket of penguins shit? Gauged on my swim stroke this morning, probably the latter.

It's Swim Day Tuesday and the chance to test drive my new Orca OpenWater wetsuit. I was up with the fishes and in the sea at first light. We're having the hottest March on the Costa Blanca since 1930, so the mornings at the marina are glorious and to be taken advantage of. The sea temperature is 15°C / 59°F.

This is the first time I have ever put on a wetsuit, which is a bit of a workout in itself, so I can`t make comparisons to other makes. The fitting feels very good, I was not cold in the sea, and flexibility is excellent. The high visibility orange design gives me extra confidence for safety. Basically, it does everything that I expected it too. I would highly recommended this wetsuit for beginners, especially if you are swimming a lot in open water near moorings. Price 139.00 euros from Boyers Circlos, Alicante.

07:30 workout: 200 metre swim - first swim completed performing 4 x 50 metre intervals. Outward with front crawl, then recovered back to the starting point with breast stroke. Verdict; My front crawl stroke is gonna need a lot of work.

19:30 workout: completed strength training back routine plus some ab work on my home gym equipment.

Tomorrow's workouts: Bike 10k, strength training/chest