The Superfrog Triathlon

[Dave]

Hello! I'll be using this thread to track my training and progress as we lead up to the US Navy SEAL triathlon on April 11, 2010. Called the "Superfrog", this Half Ironman distance race is reportedly one of the oldest and most difficult Half Ironman races in the U.S. The race takes place in Coronado, California near the SEAL's training facility. It begins with a 1.2 mile open water swim in the ocean. The race then moves to a flat and fairly fast 56 mile bike course between Coronado and Imperial Beach. The final stage is a 13.1 mile run. About 2/3rd's of the run occurs on the beach, which will be a real challenge.

Leading up to this race I will be doing a few things:

1. October 4, 2009 - Tour de Scottsdale. This is a 70 mile bike race around the McDowell Mountains in North Scottsdale. I rode most of the course last weekend, and it was very hilly.

2. A P90X/Insanity/Triathon hybrid workout that will I will do until the end of November when I formally start training for the Superfrog.

3. January 17, 2010 - Phoenix Rock N' Roll Half Marathon. This will be my first half marathon, so I'm excited about the training leading up to it.

So the journey begins. I'm really excited about doing this race. I grew up watching the SEALs train in Coronado and I'm looking forward to racing with them.

Dave

The only easy day was yesterday.

[arizonafitclub]

Not to be confused with your wife who will be running amongst the _ _ _ _ s
;)

That sounds like a challenge that will leave you and Seth feeling accomplished for a LONG time!

[ColoradoGuy]

April 11, 2009?

Best of luck to you. I would love to read about your progress, training log, routine (exercises/diet) and mind set.

[Dave]

Duh, 2010. I'll be doing a routine based on P90X Lean until the end of November. I have a 14 week training plan that I bought from www.triathlongeek.com. I used a plan from them for an Olympic Distance race earlier this year (San Diego International). I like the plans because they include three different levels for each workout. Therefore beginners, age grouper athletes and pros can really all use the same plan. The first few weeks look fairly easy, so I'll probably keep up with the strength training during that phase. I also like it because the plans include strength training (usually twice a week) until the last few weeks. I really feel like I need that in my schedule. It is a nice break from huffing and puffing and I believe it helps to avoid injuries. So, there you have it. This thread is going to get a good workout (pun intended) in a few months.

[ColoradoGuy]

Awesome, I will enjoy it.

I have never "known" a marathaoneer (is that a word?) much less someone who is a triathalete but have always been intrigued by it.

I tried my hand at one marathon a few years ago. It was on Fathers Day in Estes Park, CO (the highest marathon in the country) and by just running around my neighborhood and city worked my way up to 13 miles. I felt great, but then LIFE got in the way and I had to put that aside.

[Dave]

I live with a marathoner. Monica did the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon in 2008. I can testify that it is a ton of work. The thing I like about triathlon is the variety. That's what hooked me on P90X. I have Exercise ADD. I get bored easily. By the time these races are over, I usually park the bike and play golf and lift weights for a while. Always something different.

[MichaelF]

The Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll marathon is Dec. 6. They are closing the Strip for this one. It's a little late for me to be ready this year, so my goal is to enter next year.

[Dave]

And so it begins...

SuperFrog training formally starts on Monday December 7th (a date that will live in infamy?). Odd that I'm starting training for the Navy SEAL Triathlon on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. I hope that's a good sign.

Informal training has been under way for a while. I've been doing a lot of strength training using P90X, Tony's One on One's, Insanity and RevAbs. I've also been on the bike...a lot. Frankly, I've got the bike covered right now. I rode 20 miles of the SuperFrog course in 45 mins last week, so I'm not too worried about that. My love of the bike is my concern. I need to swim and I need to run.

Swimming started last night with a 1,400 set that looked something like this:

1x100 warm up
4x50 fast
4x50 slow
4x50 kick
6x100 (slow, medium, fast, slow, medium, fast)
1x100 cool down

Generally I was pleased. My fast times were nearly as fast as my previous fast times, which means that I didn't lose much despite 5 months out of the pool. That tells me that strength training is worthwhile. Once I get my form back and stop thrashing around in the water, I'm going to be really fast.

Tomorrow I'm planning to ride about 30 miles. I can't decide whether to do hill repeats on my road bike or to break out the tri-bike and go for speed. We'll see. After that I'm going to try and hit up a group P90X workout that is near our house. Can't wait to check that out. Then...Football X.

Sunday I'll run and do Tony's Patience Hummingbird yoga. Then Monday...IT'S ON.

Dave
The only easy day, was yesterday.

[SoCalJohnny]

Hey, you referred me via the PM from YouTube when I'd commented on your video.

I've transitioned and sorta combined a few programs as well. I started off the year at 225 and doing P-90X. No running at all due to Plantar Fasciitis in both feet (and an occasional Sinus Tarsiitus) from trying to run fast for an Air Force PT Test. Long story there, but I've found when I get faster than a 8:00 min/mile pace my feet get very unhappy.

So I finished up the first round of P-90X in April around 180. Like you mentioned, I get ADD with workouts too. I started running again, doing about 3 miles a day but not worried about speed. I started the P-90X+ just to give it a whirl and it really develops your shoulders and upper arms well. In my opinion, the Cardio isn't as strong. However, if you are bored with Kenpo and want to try something new, do it. It dovetails with your P-90X videos. I decided late summer to get into Triathlons after volunteering at the Encinitas Tri, and later the Mission Bay tri.

I joined the Triathlon Club of San Diego and have had fun since. I started with a 8 week sprint tri plan, which I finished a few weeks ago. I just started a generic 1/2 IM 20-week plan (which I started at 19) this last week. It's 18 weeks from today until the SuperFrog.

So, I'm planning on doing the SuperFrog as my first official tri. Between now and then I'll do some benchmark events. TCSD has tri's within the club monthly, so I'll so a couple of those. Camp Pendleton has a Bike Race early next year which I'll do, except I'll have to remove my aerobars (not allowed).

I'm battling Plantar Fasc. again, so I've slowed down on running, but there's a ton of biking and swimming available. I usually hit lately the Del Mar open ocean swims on Sunday mornings (8am if anyone's interested), and Master's swim classes at JCC on Wednesdays. My long rides are Saturday's and I'll likely ride from Oceanside up to (and later past) San Juan Capistrano (Orange County). I'm doing about 55 miles on long days and 30's for short. Run's I'm keeping around 4-5 miles for now (slowed down to 9 min mile pace until I'm pain free) and swims vary. Del Mar is a 1 mile swim, and we usually end up doing around a mile in the pool session as well.

I'm going to start a 3rd round of P-90X (not +) tomorrow.

That's me!!

Oh, and I'm on Team 2 of the National Club Challenge of the USA Triathlon winter challenge. So far staying around 30th place in national rankings, and San Diego is leading in overall.
http://www.race-tracker.net/USAT/

[Dave]

SoCalJohnny - That's awesome man. Thanks for the breakdown. I have heard great things about the TCSD. I'm a member of Tri-Scottsdale out here, which is a pretty large club for this area. TCSD dwarfs it. We have group runs/rides, but I don't do them much. They aren't very close to home and to be honest I'm a little bit of a loner. I typically do the Saturday group ride, which I really like. It is between 40 and 60 miles, depending on where you turn around. It gradually goes up hill and if you go all the way out, the last climb is a killer. It is about 5 miles of gradual up hill that then tilts way up right at the end, where there are some radio towers on high ground.

Aside from that I'm pretty faithful to the 18 week plan that I got from www.triathlongeek.com. . It uses periodization and you spend 2 to 4 weeks working on given skills. I really like that. It focuses me in on working on something specific (again with the workout ADD). I feel like a lot of the group workouts don't really do that. They are good, and very hard, but I like them more in the off season for base training.

It includes strength training twice a week early in the plan and only once a week later. I'll use P90X and Tony's One on One's for that strength training. I'll be doing one day of core and one day of upper body. I'll probably use Chest & Back for most of the upper body stuff. I did Chest, Shoulders & Triceps with another guy on Saturday and really got after it. I'm still sore, and I love that feeling.

Keep checking in here. We get out to San Diego a lot these days. Both Monica and I have family in Coronado, so that's our vacation spot. We are looking for a condo downtown, but we'll have to see how that shakes out. There are some deals, but nothing that is really screaming out yet. Anyway, I'd love to come as a guest to some of the TCSD workouts if they are cool with that.

The plan kicks off today! I'm really looking forward to getting after it. I'm scheduled for core, but I think I'm going to shake it up and hit the pool instead. That C, S & T on Saturday killed me.

Dave

[SoCalJohnny]

Sweet. I am basically treating the program as a modified Dual track within P-90X. It's just morning cardio will be swimming, biking or running.

Yes, visitors are ALWAYS welcome at TCSD events. They make the first sessions of every clinic free (e.g. first Masters swim is free, Performance Consultation at Movement U, etc) and then the always-free stuff is...always free (e.g. Del Mar open ocean swim, Del Anza MIssion Bay swim, biking, etc).

When you're heading out, just check out the current events on http://www.triclubsandiego.org/ and then swing by. If you give me a heads up and there's no conflict in my schedule, I'll try to be there.

[Dave]

Very cool. I know we'll be out there the week of Christmas. Right now we are looking at Dec 22nd through the 27th. I just upgraded to a full wetsuit from a sleeveless and so I'm looking to get some miles on that in the ocean/bay whenever I can. I got a sweet deal on a Blue Seventy Helix from a local vendor. That's what lead me to the ocean last week. MISTAKE. Looks like the storm has arrived here in AZ. It is cold and rainy. Boo, hiss. I love the weather here because you can train almost year round. Thankfully, Lifetime has an indoor pool so I won't freeze. My old gym only had outdoor pools, which is one reason I moved.

[Dave]

SoCalJohnny Do you know Tim Shields? He lives in SD and I think he trains with TCSD. I think...

[Dave]

Day 1 - Week 1: P90X Back & Biceps. I was scheduled to do an upper body strength workout. I had considered going swimming, but my upper body was still killing me from Chest, Shoulders & Triceps on Saturday at AZ Body Mechanics. I figured all that was left was Back & Biceps. Pretty good workout tonight. I was inches away from waiving it off. I was just tired and didn't feel like working out. I'm glad I decided to workout. It wasn't my best effort, but that's ok. Every little bit of progress is a little bit of progress. I took a step in the right direction today and that's what counts.

[Dave]

Week 1 - Day 2 Argh...running. There is a reason this is my weakness! Today I did a run ladder workout. I've attached a picture of this beast. Basically it is a sprint workout where you sprint for time rather than distance. I covered just over 6 miles in 60 mins. I had no idea how far I would go doing this, so I suppose that's interesting in one way or another.

Dave

[Dave]

Week 1 - Day 3 SWIMMING! Good workout today. I did a 1,600 m swim today. Nothing too extreme.

1x100 L1
8x50 Drill (boring)
8x50 Kick (sucked after last nights running affair)
3x200 L3 (awesome)
1x100 L1 (cool down)

I felt good and I felt like I could have done more. I was only scheduled to do a 1,400 meter swim on the plan, but I added in another 200. So, I'm working my way forward slowly to avoid injury. This was all pull with a pool buoy, except the kick.

Progress.

Dave

[Dave]

Week 1 - Day 4 1:15 on the bike trainer. Nothing to report other than a pool of sweat on the mat under my bike. Pushed the biggest gear I had the whole time. Trying to replicate that flat bike course at the Superfrog. Mission Accomplished.

[demaak]

Hi Dave,
I like hearing about your marathon training! I too have exercise ADD and tend to bore quickly with things, thus losing motivation! I don't know if I could get tired of running, though. (But right now, its more like jogging for me, I'm taking it slow.) Every day is a new challenge and it is motivating to see the progress.

Anyway, I have always wanted to do a tri, so hopefully with your inspiration and maybe a little guidance, I will do one next summer!!

Looking forward to following your journey!
~Krista

[Dave]

Krista Thanks. I've found that the human body is the most adaptable machine on the planet. Give it enough time, the proper fuel and some good instruction and it can do anything.

[Dave]

Week 1 - Day 5, 6, 7 FAIL. Well at least in the fitness department. We took the kids to Disneyland and stopped by Joshua Tree National Park on the way home. Three days off wasn't a big deal in the over all context of my training and it was so much fun to spend time with my family. I gotta say that I did feel sloppy Sunday night. Oh well, life goes on.

[Dave]

Week 2 - Day 1 I was slotted for an easy 40 min run and then lower body and core strength training. Who is the jackass that put this plan together? I did about 4.5 miles on the mill watching the Cardinals commit 5 turnovers in the first half of Monday Night Football and then the P90X Chest, Shoulders & Triceps while they coughed up the ball another two times. Good to be a Charger's fan. All in all a strong workout. My upper body strength isn't what it used to be, but that's to be expected. No worries there. Looks like it is warming up here, so I may pull a double tomorrow if I can drag myself out of bed and get on the bike in the morning. Probably something shorter with some hills involved and then either swimming or yoga in the evening. The plan has 1,400 meters of swimming on tap, so it would be great if I could double that up with some hill repeats before work. I'll probably ride to work on Thursday (40+ miles) and then do the group ride on Saturday and a run after.

In case you can't tell, I'm really glad to be back training after three days off. #trainingjunkie.

Dave

[Dave]

Week 2 - Day 2 Successful day. Woke up at 6 am. It was pitch black outside, so I bailed on the idea of going for a hill ride. Instead, I did 1 hour on the trainer. The bike trainer is truly brutal and it was a good hour in the biggest gear I've got. That type of training is exactly what I need for the 56 mile flat course at the SuperFrog. I thought about swimming, but I was pretty sore from C, S, & T on Monday so I opted for yoga. I was going to do Patience Hummingbird, but some of my Tweeps convinced me to go for Yoga X. It had been a while since I had done Yoga X. I've gotten busy, and it is all I can do to get in Patience Hummingbird the two times a week that I have it scheduled. I'm really glad I did it. It was kind of a strange practice. I talk to a lot of people that struggle with yoga and it gave me an opportunity to reflect back to what it was like when I started. Balance postures? You've got to be kidding me? It was a really good workout and I really enjoyed it. It reminded me that Yoga X is like an uncle or a really good mentor that always gives you good advice that you just don't want to hear. You know they are right, but sometimes it isn't as easy as bringing the horse to water. I'm glad I took a drink from the Fountain of Youth tonight.

Tomorrow will be a swim. The plan has a 1,400 meter set scheduled, but I think I might do an old favorite of mine. An 1,800 meter pyramid set. It looks like this.

50
100
150
200
250
300
250
200
150
100
50

That ought to wear me out.

Good night.

Dave

[Dave]

Week 2 - Day 3 Swimming! I found out my gym has a Master Swim program that meets at a great time for me, so I'll have some people to chase!

Tonight's workout. Pull, unless otherwise indicated.
50
100
150
200
250 (kick with fins - ouch)
200
200 (swim paddles)
150 (kick with fins)
100
50

Not to shabby. Now...I gotta eat.

Dave

[Dave]

Week 2 - Day 4 Funny little workout last night. I wanted to do a BRICK workout (bike/run...ick), but the Colts/Jags game was on NFL network, which isn't in the room where the treadmill is located. Soooooo, I reversed the order. I ran for 40 mins and then hopped on the bike trainer for another 40. It was actually great. Fun stuff.

Not sure what's on tap tonight. Something upper body. May swim, then lift, or just lift. Saturday is the long ride, which I have not done for a while so I'm really pumped up to hit the road!

Dave

[Dave]

Quick update before I get too far behind here.

Week 2 - Day 5 Great swim. I had the pool all to myself and did about 2,000 meters while the kids swam in the kids pool, complete with lifeguards, a water slide, and a birthday party with about 10 10 year old girls for Nicky to flirt with. Everyone had a good time.

Week 2 - Day 6 A very cold bike ride. I know, I know...It's not cold here. Well, I went north on the bike, which means uphill. There was a fair amount of ice on the sides of the road and I wasn't particularly dressed for it. Did about 40 and called it a day. All in all, a pretty good training ride. YouTube report here: http://www.youtube.com/user/thefitclubnetwork

Sunday I watched football. And by "football" I mean the CHARGERS.

Week 3 - Day 1 Patience Hummingbird yoga. I'm sore today for whatever reason and we have a big week ahead of us. Going to mellow out with some Hummingbird and then get up and go for a run tomorrow before we head out to San Diego.

Happy Holidays everyone!

[CyberFitnessGuru]

How did you do?

[Insanexer]

Man, I just found this thread. Wish I would have found it earlier, many people were asking how to train for a triathlon with X or other workout programs. I'll link this thread to them :P

[Dave]

We haven't used it much. We originally thought that we'd use it to track our progress, but we got busy. Maybe next year.