Nose breathing through my first triathlon 70.3
It was almost Christmas and 2023 was coming to an end. What new challenges and adventures would 2024 bring us? We had nothing planned, but Elly wanted to get something in the diary…
We had tried the Dartmouth Sprint Triathlon a few months earlier without any real training and the Dawlish Sprint Triathlon with a little more swim training although the swim was cancelled due to bad weather and it turned into a Duathlon.
“Why don’t we try a middle distance triathlon,” Elly said? After explaining what that entailed, I agreed without much thought apart from thinking it sounded more long than middle distance… After a bit of research Elly entered us into the Cotswolds Triathlon taking place on 3 June giving us time to do our training. On entering we were kindly sent a 16 week training plan to follow if we so wished.
And so it began. Elly printed off said plan and looking back to my surprise we followed the plan quite diligently! A typical week was two runs, two swims and two cycles. Alternating through the week, each duration increasing as we progressed.
If fitting in around 6 hours a week of triathlon training and also doing some form of resistance training wasn’t enough of a challenge. I also decided I would only breathe through my nose (apart from when swimming). Having recently completed the Oxygen Advantage advanced instructor training program I knew how nose breathing would benefit me in so many ways. The challenge was doing it!
January was a hard month, getting into the training routine when it was cold, dark and always wet! We resorted to turning our dining room into a cycle zone with both bikes on turbo trainers we had no excuse of missing a session because of the weather. Trying to maintain the intensity for hours while staring at the wall was mind numbing especially as one of us invariably hopped on in non-cycle attire and then spent the session adjusting, swearing and chafing, which helped distract the other with the mild entertainment it offered. I made sure towards the end of each of these sessions I did a few minutes of breath holds, usually consisting of holding my breath for as many pedal reps as possible, then minimal breathing for six breaths, recover for 12 -18 breaths and then repeat. As we pushed through the weeks the sessions started getting longer and each one had its challenges! Trying to find quieter times at the pool so we could swim uninterrupted without dodging too many of the wafters bobbing up and down.
Breathing through my nose started to feel more comfortable until we hit the hills, as Elly powered up them without missing a beat , like a mountain goat on speed, I would slip back with flared nostrils and heart rate red lining! Letting my breathing dictate the pace was key and as soon as we reached the top I could keep pushing and catch her up (most of the time!) On the downhills I would exhale and then hold my breath until I had the feeling of intense air hunger, recover and repeat. This helped build my respiratory muscle strength and reduced my perception of breathlessness.
Trying to find a route to cycle for three plus hours was often a challenge, let alone planning our day around it. Usually starting with an early walk for Neo followed by feeding him while making coffee, getting changed, checking tyres, repair kits etc. before dashing out and then racing back in to take him out again.
As we settled into our weekly routine we started to feel our fitness levels improving, pushing harder and further. We also started paying attention to our sleep and nutrition. Sleeping was easy with all the exercise, getting enough of it was the hard part! Eating enough quality food was a constant challenge especially if we wanted a little variation.
Before we knew it we were on week 16 and tapering off. Were we ready for it? I felt a few more weeks would have been beneficial. We made our way up to the Cotswolds, arriving in plenty of time to do a recce of the route and transition area. Surrounded by lots of professional looking athletes and expensive equipment made us feel somewhat out of place. The practice swim the day before did little to ease the nerves, it did ensure we put cold, wet wetsuits on the following morning.
Finally the day arrived. It appeared that everyone except us seemed to have the latest of… well, everything! As I rolled my old secondhand bike along, our surf wetsuits over our shoulders (Elly’s lasting well at 22 years old) and whatever else we happened to have been using that was still functional despite its age. As we racked our bikes next to all of the state of the art equipment and glanced around at some of the outfits people had squeezed themselves into I couldn’t help think “All the gear no idea “ or as Elly phrased it “All the clobber and still a …….”! On reflection, we fitted into the category of no expensive gear and no idea!
We slid ourselves into our cold wet wetsuits, goggles and swim hats in hand and made our way to the queue of slick wetsuits shuffling their way along to the edge of the lake. As we submerged ourselves into the cool lake I remembered I hadn’t started my Garmin! As the water seeped down my back making me shiver involuntarily I tried to calm my breathing down and get a steady rhythm of front crawl going. This was easier said than done with the unfamiliar surroundings of the lake and the sun in our eyes. Although by now my goggles had steamed up and I couldn’t really see much at all. I could see Elly just behind me, looking like she was about to drown.
The dreaded lake swim
It seemed a long way around the lake, but as we settled in to the swim. It did become oddly enjoyable and before we knew it we were being helped out of the water as our legs were still swimming instead of running. The transition out of our wetsuits took longer than expected as we quickly started to shiver and shake from the cold water. Once we were on the bikes it took half an hour of riding to warm up. At one point I wasn’t sure if I had a loose wheel or I was shaking so much causing the bike to wobble all over the place!
As we completed the first lap of the ride the sun came out and it started warming up. We probably could have cycled harder but we were enjoying the ride and also not knowing quite how fast we should be going (we obviously didn’t have any fancy devices on our bikes) and having forgotten to start my watch, had no idea of the time! We pushed on and to our surprise passed a few people. Before long we were back in the transition area, pleased to get those tight cycling shoes off and slip my comfy barefoot “Fish (Five) Finger” shoes on. A quick toilet stop (what a relief!) and we were off with a somewhat strange running style like we were riding an imaginary unicycle!
Still focusing on my nose breathing we eased into the run with the sun now beating down on us, sweat stinging our eyes. Three laps around the lake didn’t sound too bad, but as Elly pushed on I wasn’t sure my legs would keep going at this pace. However, once again I focused on my nose breathing, relaxing my body as we eased into a steady pace. As we passed the water station, slowing down to grab a couple of fig rolls, jelly babies and a drink the volunteers gave us a cheer of encouragement. The second lap rolled into the third and by now the fig rolls and jelly babies must have kicked in as we started passing more people around the course.
We couldn’t believe it, the end was in sight! The weeks and weeks of training had paid off. The support and encouragement from the volunteers had spurred us on right to the end, and we crossed the finish line in high spirits. We collected our finisher medals, kicked off our shoes and wondered back into the lake to sooth our aching limbs. We ate warm bananas and watched many stiff legged competitors staggering around as muscle soreness set in.
Still smiling after our first 70.3 triathlon
We did it! Our first middle distance triathlon was a success. We finished in a respectable time and came away relatively unscathed. All of my practice and perseverance paid off and I managed to nose breath for the entire cycle and run while maintaining a good pace. Surprisingly, this helped me recover quickly afterwards. Nose breathing has been a gamechanger and will be a key focus of my training going forwards.
I wonder what will be next…
