When I decided that I wanted to do a sprint tri, I decided I'd Google 'triathlon books'. There's only one person that I know that has competed in triathlons and she lives in Dubai so picking her brain isn't as easy as scouring the world wide web. The first link I saw was for a book titled The Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel. So of course, when I saw the word Bible I automatically thought that this has to be the best book available for information.
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| It says Bible guys, c'mon! |
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| 5 hours a week? Sign me up. |
Do I go with THE BIBLE or with the book for newbies?! Since I couldn't decide and Michelle has been on a 'use your library' phase, I asked her to see if our library had both books before buying. And wouldn't you know, they had both. This whole library thing is pretty awesome after all, holla! She checked out the books and I couldn't wait to start reading. My first instinct was to grab the huge training bible first. I have a tendency to skim pages and head to the back of any reading material first when I start reading anything. So in my skimming, I see these graphs in the middle of the book and it looked like straight up hieroglyphics. I thought there's no way that this will make any sense to me, I don't even know where to begin.
I began by putting the 'training bible for triathlete geniuses who are hardcore' book down and picking up the much lighter and friendlier book, Your First Triathlon. And again, I skimmed and went towards the back of the book and saw pictures and a clear 12 week training program. Bingo!! I couldn't put the book down and finished it feeling like I could definitely tackle my first triathlon. The book is informative without going on too heavily on topics like heart rate zones and the 12 week program described is easily attainable in terms on time management. Mr. Friel understands that some of us amateurs might not have the time available but that doesn't mean that he provides a training program that is weak. He has 2 workouts a day on most days and varies the types of workouts (such as strength, endurance, speed, recovery). He goes into every detail, from what energy supplement you can take depending on the length of your workout to how your transition area should be set up. I am officially a huge fan of Mr. Friel and 100% recommend his book to any straggler finding their way into this sport. I'm such a fan, that I bought the iPad edition to have as my own. I sort of felt like a thief because I was able to get the 12 week training program without really buying the book. Regardless, I have the worst memory so it's in my best interest to have a copy of the book.
I've already inputted the training program in our calendar so that all 3 of us (Chels, Michelle and myself) can easily see what needs to get done. Our official start date for the 12 week program is July 8th, which is great for Michelle and I because it lands after we get back from vacation. We keep telling ourselves that we can't afford to overeat, over imbibe and not workout while we're visiting my sister and her family. We've already told them that we need to keep a workout schedule while we're there (in good ol' Arkansas) so that we don't die when we get back to reality. Currently we're working out all 3 elements (swim, bike, run) but we're taking it slow and not burning ourselves out. This past weekend we did our longest bike ride thus far, 9 miles. Every time we take the bikes out, we fall more in love with cycling and can't wait for the next ride.
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| On the road again. Willie was talking about biking, right? |
We are hooked! I'm over-saturating my mind with everything I can possibly read about anything having to do with triathlons. I'm sure I'm going to drive everyone around me crazy. Good thing Michelle is doing this too, because it's definitely a lot more fun sharing it with her. Hope everyone had a good weekend! I'm out, deuce.
