My 11th Olympic-distance triathlon - why I keep loving these 3 sports and why I keep sucking at them?
🎾Sports
Last Sunday I ran my 11th Olympic distance triathlon. Can’t believe it’s been so many. It all started after my first sprint-distance race - back in October 2014 and in 5 years I’ve done 11 events! Here’s what I learned so far and why I keep doing triathlons:
How did my last triathlon go?
Here’s a short recap of how my last triathlon went:
- Swimming must be improved - I took it too easy, I swam slowly like it wasn’t a real race - I must practice swimming longer distances using Total Immersion - this event was pretty slow for me - my average speed was mere 2:20/100m and I’m sure I can do better than that if I train more…
- Bike riding (cycling) was fun and I was pretty fast - my average was 34 km/h on a race with a substantial hill to climb, so it’s all good - I’ve actually figured out a way to do at least one long (50km+) ride weekly which is key to me staying in shape here. So far so good.
- Running wasn’t very good this time. - I’ve had triathlons with below 5min/km average. This time it was only 5:35min/km which is not very bad, but not good enough for me to enjoy the race. I need to double down on running training to be able to really accelerate at the end of the race…
Overall, I must say that al olympic-distance triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run) is still a pretty hard event for me. My personal best is 2h35min and my personal worst is 3h08min. So it’s still an around 3-hour endurance race and even though I’m in a good shape, it’s still a demanding trial. That’s why I need to continue doing at least 2 races per year (one in Spring and one in the Fall) to make sure I don’t lose that shape I’m in.
Here’s what I’m doing now to stay in shape
To be really honest, I’m a little overweight now. I’m good, but 5 years ago I was 66kg and now I’m 72kg… so I need to lose at least 4kg pretty soon. Need to crank my diet and watch my eating habits. Need to get back to the slow carb diet.
To stay in shape, my current weekly training looks like this:
- Monday: Swim - I like starting the week in the pool. Sometimes a TRX session in the afternoon.
- Tuesday: Run or Tennis class
- Wednesday: Bike ride
- Thursday: Run again
- Friday: Tennis with a friend
- Weekend: optional trainings like TRX or a longer bike ride with my buddies. Depending on our family plans.
Why I keep sucking at these sports?
Well, I don’t suck much, but I’m not improving much as well. I just want to stay in shape. I want to keep being in shape. I don’t have any other achievements in mind. And I like trying new sports and when I do, I want to have time for them. So to me the triathlon races are a way to stay in check and keep being in shape, despite being forty or more.