Consultation with a trainer - Part 2

I met with the athletic trainer, Chris, again today (read about the first meeting here) to take a look at the triathlon training plan that he created for me.  I'm both excited and intimidated by it!

I'm intimidated mostly because it involves a workout 6 days a week, which I'm definitely not used to right now.

But I'm excited because it includes lots of variety and workouts that I never would have made up on my own (like intervals, drills and pace variations).  It's well balanced amongst the three sports, with a slight emphasis on running, since the running portion of the Ann Arbor Tri is so challenging.  And even though there are 6 workouts a week, I can easily cut it down to 5 when I need to, and the workouts themselves aren't going to take any longer than what I've already been doing on my own.  I also hoped that I would be able to understand what the workouts in the plan called for, and Chris has written it with simple and clear language unlike some of the plans I have looked at online.

I think this plan is really going to prepare me to not just finish the race, but finish it well.

We also have three topics that we want to look more closely at together in the coming weeks:

• Swimming form - I'm going to give bilateral breathing (breathing on both sides instead of one) a try.  This is really more efficient and balanced than breathing on one side.  We're also going to do a swimming technique session in a couple weeks to identify how I can best improve my form and use some of the available swimming tools like hand paddles and kick boards.
• Running form - I'm curious to see just how inefficient it is.  LOL!  We'll do a session later to look at mid-foot running and gate.  I also know that I swing one foot out to the side slightly, so maybe the trainer can give me some exercises to reduce that.
• Race day nutrition - I've gotten good at knowing what to eat for endurance bike rides, but those solid foods will not do my tummy good when I'm running, too.  This won't take a whole session of its own, but we'll talk about how many calories I'm going to need on race day and what foods/products I can try to meet those needs comfortably.

Womens Bicycling Survey

On a side note, EcoVelo has a post today about a survey for women and girls who ride bikes by the Associate of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.  If you're a woman who rides a bike, take about 10 minutes to give your input!