cyclist new to the sport - Triathlon Week

speedracer · 05-19-2008, 11:42 AM

Hello to every crazy person on this forum that loves to punish their bodies with this great sport. I am a cyclist, I have been racing for over 5 years. I have been off the bike for about 3 years due to an injury that kept me off. I ended up gaining over 60lbs to reach a wopping 220lbs and only being 5' 6" I am now in pretty good shape, I have been in training for over 2 and half months and am now about 189lbs and running 5ks and cycling over 25 to 40 miles. I rode and ran for the first time on Sunday and it felt great. I rode 22.5 miles with an average speed of 19.7 and ran 3 miles at a 9:45 min mile pace. That felt pretty good. But, now I need to start focusing and learn how to properly train for a sprint triathlon in late July. Based on this little information can someone lead me in the right direction. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you and I hope to meet any locals from Miami.

sfricks · 05-22-2008, 10:36 AM

Hi Speedy,

Did the ING MIami Marathon in your fine city this year. GREAT RACE! Good luck in your training.

Sounds like your headed in the right direction and are already bike & run fit enough. You didn't mention swimming but if you're getting any water time in and can pull out a half miler, I'd say don't sweat it. Focus on getting in 2 speed sessions in each discipline twice a week. Careful not to do them back to back. Have fun!

speedracer · 05-24-2008, 09:38 AM

Thanks for replying, I just started getting in the water last week and realized how weak I was in the swim. Since my first tri isn't till July I am starting with 2 times a week in the water and using a swimming coach to help me. I figure by mid june I should bump it up to 3 times a week and keep it there. I spoke to a friend that does tri's and said for my first sprint I should be looking at about 1.15 to 1.20. Next week I am doing a full brick just to get a base line of where I am at and how to improve.

sfricks · 05-25-2008, 03:46 AM

1:15-1:20 is a great race goal. Don't forget to research transitions. If not properly done, they can slow you down significantly.