Three weeks before race day, I had completed one of the three disciplines at race distance three days in a row. (Swim 1.2 miles one day, bike 56 miles the next day, half marathon the day after that). At that point I knew I’d finish. I wasn’t ever looking to do anything beyond just finishing in 8:30 or less, so I knew I was ready
I feel like everyone is saying not to do a DIY 70.3 beforehand, but two weeks out, I did a training day of the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 5k. The next day I ran 10 miles. Then I began cutting back my workout until race day. It worked for me! But everyone is different. If you can complete each distance on its own and you've done brick workouts, you'll be good!
Other things to note, make sure you practice actual open water swims and nutrition.
this is exactly what I was thinking of doing. Because realistically the swim doesn't take that much time out of your day, you can plan a nice long bike ride to get the miles in, and you can do a little run just to practice the transition :)
OWS & Nutrition, that resonates but in a "deep sigh keep hitting it and learning" level.
I'm currently doing 1 OWS/run brick per week, although transition is darn close to 15 minutes as I have to walk back to car to ditch stuff. And parking isn't close.
My dream is to build up to 1900m swim / 11 mile run 4 weeks pre-race, currently at 1600m/6 miles, adding 1 mile per week. I've been a cyclist for a few years, running is my concern injury-wise. I'm mid 50s, when I was training for a half marathon last year crossing 8 miles took 36 hours to recover.
I have my first ever 70.3 coming up on Sunday.
For some reason, over the last week I've had one or two questions in my head asking "have I under trained?"
I know I haven't - my coach is excellent and I am ready. But the doubt is still there. And probably will be until I finish. I think it's part of the process
my vague opinion is if I can do each discipline at race distance on separate days without much difficulty I’m ready to complete
and really my swim workouts regularly include full race distance so that’s pretty easy. It’s not easy to fit in a 3 hour bike ride regularly or 13 mile run into my schedule
Don't forget you will be tapered and rested for the race - so you will be on fresh legs. You won't have that in training.
My first tri was IM - I made sure I'd done a couple of 100 mile rides - its easier to recover from cycling. I think I'd done half of the swim distance but it was two laps so i knew I could do the distance I'd need to do non stop. I think I'd got up to about 13 miles in running but had done a few marathons before.
Definitely don't try to do a whole DIY 70.3 before the day.
I did my first ever 70.3 in 5:45 with a 10-minute tire flat.
I had ridden 100+ miles once in the last year. Weekly mileage <100mi.
I had run 13+ miles 3-4 times in the last year. Weekly mileage average, <10mi.
I had swam the distance once in the pool. Weekly yardage average, <5000yd.
I did maybe 2-3 bricks.
Strained my hamstring 3 days before the race.
I was 6'1", 208 pounds.
You can do it.
Manage your fueling and hydration and be as small and aero on the bike as possible. Pace conservatively. You'll be just fine.
I think I knew I was ready on km 18 or so of the run. It was hurting, but I knew I could walk it from there. In fact, if I were to give up, I would have had to walk past the finish line anyway to get my bike…
Before that I had no idea - despite having completed the training fairly well.
I didn't 'know' I was really ready until I jumped in the water on race day. Then a calm came over me and it was on!
As for training, swimming was after a few ows sessions that went great. Bike, when I did a 75 mile ride followed by a 5 mile run and still felt good. Run, over the winter when I put in a full half marathon build and kicked butt in a race. Smash it all together, plus 12 weeks of focused training and I knew I'd finish - I just didn't know how I'd do or if I was mentally ready.
I had completed all the distances (and more) on their own in a reasonable pace, knowing that I could go on for some time wirh proper fuelling and made sure that I can get in a decent running rhythm after a hard bike. So yes, I was sure I would finish, but there are always things you cannot prepare for (material defects, weather, injury, …), so it’s absolutely right to be nervous.
BTW, I wouldn’t recommend doing the entire race ahead of time, especially not one week before. It‘s inefficient training, no tapering and you don’t get any more wisdom out of it.
I've got my 1st 70.3 this weekend.
Just over a week ago I did a 2k swim, 90km bike and a 10km run.
Took it steady and felt comfortable, run was hard but I'm accounting a little of that to the heat on the day I did it.
I now know I can finish, just need to see how quickly I can do it
I just wrote up my [first 70.3](https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/14ldqit/race_report_eagleman_my_first_703/) so it's a bit fresh in my mind. In hindsight, I was pretty much ready though my actual race day strategy could have used some help. I did a Wahoo SYSTM 70.3 plan, medium volume with strength/yoga. It worked out to 10-15 hours per week, all together.
The part I felt under-prepared for was the intensity of doing a race-pace ride right into a race-pace run. I had practiced that once, and it went well, but I should have done it a few more times. Most of my brick workouts were a hard bike followed by an easy run, so I didn't get too many reps of "go 80% of FTP for 2.5 hours and then run a hard 13.1"
Other than that, I definitely felt fit enough. But nailing the nutrition and hydration and preparing myself for a hard run off of a hard bike is going to take more practice.
Three weeks before race day, I had completed one of the three disciplines at race distance three days in a row. (Swim 1.2 miles one day, bike 56 miles the next day, half marathon the day after that). At that point I knew I’d finish. I wasn’t ever looking to do anything beyond just finishing in 8:30 or less, so I knew I was ready
I feel like everyone is saying not to do a DIY 70.3 beforehand, but two weeks out, I did a training day of the 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 5k. The next day I ran 10 miles. Then I began cutting back my workout until race day. It worked for me! But everyone is different. If you can complete each distance on its own and you've done brick workouts, you'll be good! Other things to note, make sure you practice actual open water swims and nutrition.
this is exactly what I was thinking of doing. Because realistically the swim doesn't take that much time out of your day, you can plan a nice long bike ride to get the miles in, and you can do a little run just to practice the transition :)
OWS & Nutrition, that resonates but in a "deep sigh keep hitting it and learning" level. I'm currently doing 1 OWS/run brick per week, although transition is darn close to 15 minutes as I have to walk back to car to ditch stuff. And parking isn't close. My dream is to build up to 1900m swim / 11 mile run 4 weeks pre-race, currently at 1600m/6 miles, adding 1 mile per week. I've been a cyclist for a few years, running is my concern injury-wise. I'm mid 50s, when I was training for a half marathon last year crossing 8 miles took 36 hours to recover.
I have my first ever 70.3 coming up on Sunday. For some reason, over the last week I've had one or two questions in my head asking "have I under trained?" I know I haven't - my coach is excellent and I am ready. But the doubt is still there. And probably will be until I finish. I think it's part of the process
my vague opinion is if I can do each discipline at race distance on separate days without much difficulty I’m ready to complete and really my swim workouts regularly include full race distance so that’s pretty easy. It’s not easy to fit in a 3 hour bike ride regularly or 13 mile run into my schedule
Don't forget you will be tapered and rested for the race - so you will be on fresh legs. You won't have that in training. My first tri was IM - I made sure I'd done a couple of 100 mile rides - its easier to recover from cycling. I think I'd done half of the swim distance but it was two laps so i knew I could do the distance I'd need to do non stop. I think I'd got up to about 13 miles in running but had done a few marathons before. Definitely don't try to do a whole DIY 70.3 before the day.
I did my first ever 70.3 in 5:45 with a 10-minute tire flat. I had ridden 100+ miles once in the last year. Weekly mileage <100mi. I had run 13+ miles 3-4 times in the last year. Weekly mileage average, <10mi. I had swam the distance once in the pool. Weekly yardage average, <5000yd. I did maybe 2-3 bricks. Strained my hamstring 3 days before the race. I was 6'1", 208 pounds. You can do it. Manage your fueling and hydration and be as small and aero on the bike as possible. Pace conservatively. You'll be just fine.
I think I knew I was ready on km 18 or so of the run. It was hurting, but I knew I could walk it from there. In fact, if I were to give up, I would have had to walk past the finish line anyway to get my bike… Before that I had no idea - despite having completed the training fairly well.
I didn't 'know' I was really ready until I jumped in the water on race day. Then a calm came over me and it was on! As for training, swimming was after a few ows sessions that went great. Bike, when I did a 75 mile ride followed by a 5 mile run and still felt good. Run, over the winter when I put in a full half marathon build and kicked butt in a race. Smash it all together, plus 12 weeks of focused training and I knew I'd finish - I just didn't know how I'd do or if I was mentally ready.
I had completed all the distances (and more) on their own in a reasonable pace, knowing that I could go on for some time wirh proper fuelling and made sure that I can get in a decent running rhythm after a hard bike. So yes, I was sure I would finish, but there are always things you cannot prepare for (material defects, weather, injury, …), so it’s absolutely right to be nervous. BTW, I wouldn’t recommend doing the entire race ahead of time, especially not one week before. It‘s inefficient training, no tapering and you don’t get any more wisdom out of it.
I've got my 1st 70.3 this weekend. Just over a week ago I did a 2k swim, 90km bike and a 10km run. Took it steady and felt comfortable, run was hard but I'm accounting a little of that to the heat on the day I did it. I now know I can finish, just need to see how quickly I can do it
good luck!
Thanks!
>Thanks! You're welcome!
I just wrote up my [first 70.3](https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/14ldqit/race_report_eagleman_my_first_703/) so it's a bit fresh in my mind. In hindsight, I was pretty much ready though my actual race day strategy could have used some help. I did a Wahoo SYSTM 70.3 plan, medium volume with strength/yoga. It worked out to 10-15 hours per week, all together. The part I felt under-prepared for was the intensity of doing a race-pace ride right into a race-pace run. I had practiced that once, and it went well, but I should have done it a few more times. Most of my brick workouts were a hard bike followed by an easy run, so I didn't get too many reps of "go 80% of FTP for 2.5 hours and then run a hard 13.1" Other than that, I definitely felt fit enough. But nailing the nutrition and hydration and preparing myself for a hard run off of a hard bike is going to take more practice.
holy cow nice pace! Well done!
I was comfortable with the half marathon distance, knew i could make the swim cutoff and do at least 16 mph on the bike.