70.3 in Retrospect

About 5 months ago, I registered for a half ironman distance triathlon. When I began, I couldn't actually spell "triathlon".  Now that I've finished that first race, I wanted to look back and reflect on the experience.  I'll go through the training and acquiring of triathlon paraphernalia in this post, and then report on the race in the 2nd post.

Why it Happened
I suppose the Economist magazine and the Almond Board had a hand in all this.  After going to the almond board national convention in Sacramento last December as an exhibitor, I sat stranded in a mostly deserted exhibit hall with 2 days of nothingness in front of me.  Although there was no way to know beforehand the conference would be a dud, it was.  Having recently decided that reading my way through the Economist's "Best Books of 2012" was a good way to become well-read, I chose the most attractive book on the list: Tyler Hamilton's "The Secret Race".  The book is a scathing indictment of the cycling establishment, as well as an engrossing tale of Hamilton's ascent to the highest echelon of the sport.  I decided I needed to get a bike and try it myself.  Having already fallen for swimming and running, I thought triathlon was the logical way to do this (I note here that true cyclists are loathe to be associated with triathletes).

What I Bought
Triathlon is first and foremost about money.  Many people will dispute this, but it's true.  The combination of a middle-aged demographic holding increased disposable income with a "slow twitch", equipment-laden sport that can be executed at high levels by middle-aged people is the reason triathlon exists.  On the advice of Josh, a triathlete friend of mine, I bought an aluminum road bike for $1500, and fitted it with clip-on aerobars.  A nice bike shop guy in Coeur d'Alene "fit" the bike for me, moving the seat forward and getting me in a more aerodynamic position.  I also bought pedals, shoes, a wetsuit, bike wheels, an indoor trainer, a new saddle, running shoes, a tri suit, sunglasses, an aero helmet, a swim watch, a 1 year membership on trainingpeaks.com, and a little device that functions as a power meter on my indoor trainer.  I'm mentioning only the items that cost over $100.  If all items were included, this list would go on indefinitely.  Luckily, I already had a Garmin 305 with heart rate strap.  I also bought "The Triathlete's Bible"- written by the pedantic Joe Friel.  This book helped me grasp many basics of triathlon, especially since it started as such a vast unknown.

How I Trained
I started by allocating the time I thought I could afford: 15 hours a week.  This time was split out by Joe's training plan into different workouts on different days, with the duration, intensity, and volume varying according to a "periodized" plan.  I knew cycling would be my biggest weakness, so I emphasized that in the training plan.  I started on December 30.  I hadn't gotten my bike yet, and bummed one off my brother to begin training in my downstairs.  I have a pool close by, and a treadmill, so winter training really boiled down to finding shows on Netflix to pass the hours.  Soon, disgusting puddles of sweat appeared on the workout room floor at regular intervals, and I enjoyed the challenge of the "base building" phase of the workout plan.

Complications with sticking to the schedule arose only a few times.  The first happened with a wicked business trip/personal trip/common cold trifecta in February.  Luckily, this only cost a few days of training.  The second happened in May when a stomach flu outbreak ravaged everyone in the family.  I was quite lucky in this cycle not to have any serious injuries or setbacks.  All that stuff went surprisingly well.

By April, I was putting more lengthy workouts in, and although I did a little interval training, almost everything I did focused on endurance.  My first "bricks" were trainer/treadmill affairs, but I liked the challenge of trying to run after biking at high intensity.

When May rolled around, I drove down to the Snake river to do combined swim/bike/runs of significant length.  I only did 2 of these, but found them surprisingly enjoyable, especially the 2nd one.  They also shifted my focus from the training to practical issues like how I wanted to refuel during the 70.3.  I was also getting faster, a welcome development.

Overall Observations

1. Triathlon isn't healthy - I feel faster after having trained for 5 months, but not healthier.  I'd read enough research before I started that I didn't have any illusions that working out for 500 hours in a year would make me healthier.  If anything it appears to have a small negative impact on health.
2. Although I dropped 2 belt loops over the course of training, my weight didn't change that much - maybe 5 lbs.  Since I was exercising 3 times as much as I had at any time in the past, this was curious. 
3. I was frustrated by the lack of specific workouts in the "Bible" and trainingpeaks.com.  I think this is meant to emphasize the importance of a coach (speaking of $), but I'd rather they just made it generic and deal with the possibility that a particular interval workout may not have been precisely what every person needs.  Instead they just say stuff like "Rolling hills, zone 1 and 2".
4. Recording HR and other data makes working out more interesting.  It's easy to go back and compare things.  Triathlon is particularly attractive to people who love measuring and analyzing.  
5. Fitting workouts into a life schedule requires discipline and opportunism.  This is just life.
6. Triathlon is a conspicuous, annoying sport.  I enjoy it. I'm doing it, but there's no denying that most age groupers are rich, and that there is little in this world as loud as a triathlete decked out in tri suit, calf compression, aero helmet, and $400 Rudy Project sunglasses, riding a $6000 TT bike with "ZIPP" printed in billboard-sized script on carbon wheels.  It's a little ridiculous.  Never mind that the triathlete's uniform leaves little to the imagination.  If all triathletes were swimsuit models, this would be counted as one of the sport's strengths (see "olympic beach volleyball").  Alas, elite triathletes look emaciated rather than healthy.  The majority of age groupers are men who have difficulty hiding their shame underneath a race bib, and most are either in the "super-fast emaciated" group or the "rather slow, shouldn't step out in lycra" group.  
7. It's easy to get sucked in to triathlon web sites, gear, race reports, and the fabulously detailed reviews of dcrainmaker.com.  However, no non-triathlete really wants to talk about the sport of triathlon.  It's much better to find another triathlete than to burden your loved ones with the minutiae of a sport whose most recognizable figure is ... nobody.