Training for a Triathlon?

**KMonte85** · 03-16-2011 07:23 AM

Sooo... in a moment of sheer craziness, I signed up to do my first triathlon this coming July! I've never done so much as a 5k before in my life, so this is going to be an experience.

Luckily, it is only a sprint, so MUCH shorter distances! 1/2mi swim, 12mi cycling, 3mi run I already know I can do any one of those things individually, now I just need to make sure I can do them consecutively!

I've seen the "training programs" out there on the fitness websites, but there's about 1,000 of them, they're all a bit different, and I don't know which is the best for me to follow!

Are there any tri-athletes out there who can give me some tips? I'd like to start training ASAP so I know without a shadow of a doubt I can make good time come July (or, well, at least FINISH the darn thing haha! Aiming high

lol).

Or just any tips in general when it comes to succeeding in Tri's - transitions, techniques, what to bring, best equipment, etc!

Any advice is much appreciated!

**Beautiful Disaster** · 03-17-2011 07:01 AM

Holy moly girl. I've never done one, but I have no doubt you will succeed!!! And then, you'll feel incredibly awesome for doing so. You go girl!! Aiming high is an awesome thing. You know the saying, shoot for the moon so that if you miss you'll still end up with the stars.

**KMonte85** · 03-17-2011 09:45 AM

Thanks BD! I'm a bit nervous about it, but this is a women's only tri to raise money for breast cancer research.. so I've been told that it is not your typical competitive, get run over if you're in the way kind of race! Which I'm thankful for given it is my first time and I will undoubtedly be bumbling around...

I think I'm most nervous about swimming across a lake, and then the transitions!

**sourpuss** · 03-17-2011 05:23 PM

Yay! Fun.

I trained for one, but have never competed in an 'official' one. There are definitely tricks to the transitions. It would be best to talk to someone who has done a few of them to get their advice on how to do that. I know that make swim suits that double as bike shorts. Or you could swim in padded bike shorts and a sports bra. They make little cinches for your shoes so you don't lose time trying to get them tied.

When I trained, I did each one on a different day. And one day I'd go from a run to the bike or from the bike to swim, etc. Do you have a membership to a gym that has bikes, treadmills and a pool? That would be helpful. If not, try to combine at least two on one or two days a week.

How much are you planning on training? How many days a week? Are you starting right away? I guess my advice would be to focus on being fit enough to do the race without too much suffering, after all, it's supposed to be fun. You should definitely be out there giving it your all and using all your energy, but if it's miserable because the endurance isn't there, then it's no fun at all. I've done races like that before.

Usually when I'm getting ready for a race, I kind of guess how long I think it will take to complete and have at least one workout a week that is at least that long. Just to make sure I can do it. Say if you think it will take you 3 hours, try going for a 2.5 hour bike ride and then a 30 minute run, while really pushing yourself. If you've ever done a 5 or 10k, then you know that you always go harder on race day just because of the excitement and competitiveness of it all. If you can make your guesstimated time fairly easy, then work on shortening that time and adding in more effort. I'm not an expert by any means, this is just what works for me.

**KMonte85** · 03-18-2011 07:19 AM

Thank SP! I'm planning on training 5-6 days a week - that is what I do now when I workout, so basically the same schedule, just changing the exercise...

I've heard to start working on each part individually (swim one day, bike another, run another) and then start combining workouts.. which would be easy enough. I have a great fitness facility where I work with treadmills/bikes.. I also just run and go cycling on my own, and have a local pool I could sign up to use. I've read that a person training should start combining the swim/bike, bike/run, run/swim, but never do all three in one day, and never do it for the full tri distance - which I find kind of odd advice. How else will you know that you have the endurance needed, but to do the tri on your own before the big day?

I was thinking of getting a wetsuit and wearing my bike gear under it for the swim/bike transition... good idea on the cinches for shoes too! Although I'm still on the fence if I'm going to wear my cycling shoes that I can clip in to the peadals, and then transition to my running shoes... or if I'm just going to wear my running shoes the whole time. Cycling shoes will improve my biking time of course, but it will cost me some time in the bike/run transition.

Most of all, I just want to have fun! I have a bit of a competitive streak in me that says you need to kick butt (or at least kick my friends' butts lol), but this is also just a great opportunity to go out and push myself, see how far I've come in the last year fitness wise, and raise some money for a great cause!

**sourpuss** · 03-20-2011 03:20 PM

Yeah, if you're going to try for the whole distance maybe do the swim distance and a short bike one day. Then a short swim and the run distance another. Be sure if you're going to go for the whole thing just to see that you do it well in advance. I did a 25k trail run and did the distance the week before and it wrecked me. I showed up to the starting line in agony. Not a good idea. From experience, I'd say do a few long workout days early on with at least two days of rest after, then do a short workout and work back up.

**sourpuss** · 03-20-2011 03:21 PM

Oh, and practice your transitions so there are no surprises. You'd be surprised how hard it is to change into bike clothes really fast when you're wet.

**Maximus** · 03-25-2011 03:38 AM

Hey K!

By no means or stretch of the mind I am trainer

But if I would have to prepare for one, I would focus on building/increasing my basic endurance in the different disciplines during the week.
Thus, doing more than the required distance, 5 days/week a different discipline each day.
Then once every 2 weeks, do a triathlon of more than the one I would do in order to put my body through the drill.

Like said above, getting an advice from somebody who has done a few is certainly the best thing to do.

Good luck !

**KMonte85** · 04-07-2011 08:23 AM

So I bought the pedals for my bike so I can use my cycling shoes and clip in to improve my cadence during that portion of the tri... I've had the shoes for a while, but been too lazy (*ahem*, read: scared) to actually try cycling with them. I've been told I will undoubtedly fall at least once... but maybe if I get that out of the way now, I'll be a pro by July! Giving it my first shot this weekend.

I also found out that our city's park and rec dept offers a swimming class for triathletes! Crazy! So I've signed up for that too - 6 week class that focuses on improving technique, efficiency, and endurance during the swim. Funny tidbit - I signed up for it and was so excited about it I called my best friend to tell her (she works for the Park&Rec). She's actually teaching the class! Haha, so I won't feel so silly out there splashing around with a coach because my coach is actually my BFF lol

Once I get my cycling and swim going, I'm going to start working on bricking my workouts (swim/bike, bike/run, etc)... starting with biking the 5 miles to my swim class! I bought a new competitive swimsuit.. it was cheapo, but its a speedo and comes highly rated by other women who use it in sprints... figured my tankini wasn't going to cut it on the big day.. I'll probably just throw on some bike shorts for the rest of the race... not sure how running in cycling shorts will be. I probably need to try it out first and see if it is worth it or if I should just ride the 12 miles in regular shorts and deal with no chamois to protect my behind.

This is so exciting! I'm going from being really nervous to super pumped about it!

**Maximus** · 04-09-2011 03:45 PM

Do let us know how the bricking go ! Especially the endurance part of the effort.
What type of diet are you using in the weeks leading to the competition ?
Another question...Have you ever taken part into an official competition ?
Just trying to determine whether you are "used" to the adrenaline rush prior to a big effort.
When not used this can reduce your performance in a great deal, by literally gasing yourself out...