Hey look everyone, a newb! - Triathlon Week

bbedo · 01-20-2007, 08:38 AM

Hey everyone, I just found this forum, so I thought I'd jump on and say hi. So, uhm, hi! :)

I'm a 29 year-old male who has been psuedo-athletic most of my life and recently ran my first 10K race after years of thinking 1-3 miles was enough. It felt good to achieve a goal like that so I set one for a sprint triathlon this summer.

I'm concerned about a couple of things, if anyone here could offer some suggestions, that would be great.

1. My training, thanks to some weather issues and illness, has suffered. I'm largely restricted to treadmill training and my milage has decreased to the 3-4 mile range. I'd like to increase this to closer to 5-6+. Is this a good idea, given that the total triathlon running course is only a 5k?

2. I have an entry-level mountain bike (Trek 3500) with road tires installed. Will this be sufficient?

3. I'm currently swimming about a mile 2-3 times a week. I start out strong, usually have to take a 3 minute breather half way through and finish easy. Am I training appropriately here?

4. I currently do absolutely zero weight training, as I HATE weight training. Is that dumb of me?

sfricks · 01-22-2007, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbedo

1. My training, thanks to some weather issues and illness, has suffered. I'm largely restricted to treadmill training and my milage has decreased to the 3-4 mile range. I'd like to increase this to closer to 5-6+. Is this a good idea, given that the total triathlon running course is only a 5k?

2. I have an entry-level mountain bike (Trek 3500) with road tires installed. Will this be sufficient?

3. I'm currently swimming about a mile 2-3 times a week. I start out strong, usually have to take a 3 minute breather half way through and finish easy. Am I training appropriately here?

4. I currently do absolutely zero weight training, as I HATE weight training. Is that dumb of me?

Hi Chris,
Welcome on.

1) It depends on the distance tri you want to do and whether ir not you'd like to do anything else (run a 10k for example). I doesn't hurt to "over distance" train SO LONG AS you have or develope a proper "base". Don't extend your mileage too fast or you'll injure yourself.

2) ABSOLUTELY. If it'll get you from start to finish, it's fine. If you become addicted, you'll want to upgrade & we can chat about that then.

3) Ideal training involves 3 steps. 1) wam up 2) intervals 3) cool down. I'd consider 1x400 easy & alternate 1x50 hard & 1x50 easy until you're tired followed by 1x400 easy. You can modify this as you progress.

4) Strength training is obviously good for you although I don't do mush either. If I have a hour to lift, I'd rather take it and run. If you're going to tri longer 70.3 to 140.6 miles, you'll need a base core (strong abs & back) so that you're body will be spending less energy to hold you upright. The other consideration is that lifting builds fast twitch fibers which are fine for Sprints but loger races require more slow twitch muscles that are built by aerobic activities.

Good luck!