Timeline for Training - Triathlon Week

jliving · 10-27-2005, 06:38 AM

I am new to all of this. I was a swimmer in high school and I am just getting back into shape. I swim and bike daily and I am running 3 times a week. Im looking to attempt my first Triathlon by march if possible. Anyone have any advice or tips of what I should be doing for training? Thanks

themenace · 10-27-2005, 05:45 PM

Just keep on truckin. I got into this through swimming too. My advice is to not try to do too much, too fast. I found myself thinking after a long run "that wasn't so hard and I feel good, I'll run tomorrow." I upped my milage/time too fast and hurt myself. There are alot of programs online if you do a quick search. trinewbies.com and ontri.com come to mind. they will at least give you a guideline to compare what you are doing. good luck.

sfricks · 10-28-2005, 12:12 PM

Sounds like you're there. What distance tri will you be doing?

jliving · 10-29-2005, 11:26 PM

Longer the better, I would like to compete feb or march so whatever distance they have Ill give it a try.

sfricks · 10-31-2005, 05:40 AM

If you're looking at Half Iron (70.3 or longer) the training is drastically different. I wouldn't recommend that for your first tri though. For shorter tris I can't give much more advise than has already been given on this forum. Speed work will make you faster in all three disceplines. Swimmers always seem to do well in tris for this reason. The best place to peel minutes off outside of working hard is in transition. This just takes thought. Picture yourself coming out of the water. What's next? Are you running through sand? You'll need a small container of water to wash your feet (I step in a tupperware container and onto a towel). Little things here can save you 1-2 minutes in a Sprint size tri. Gook luck! You're in the right place for good advise!

jliving · 11-03-2005, 06:31 AM

Thanks, how earily in the year do they start having tri?

sfricks · 11-03-2005, 06:52 AM

Here in the Virgin Islands??? All year long. Nov, Dec, Jan, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep. There may be some I'm forgetting. Is that what you were asking?

jliving · 11-06-2005, 02:02 PM

Im up in iowa, but I need to be doing some decently hard ones by march, latest would be april.

sfricks · 11-07-2005, 01:09 PM

OK... Let’s see if I have the jest of what you're trying to accomplish. You're in descent shape and adept at all three disciplines. You want to put them all three together in one event that we so love called Triathlon. Right?

Well, that’s the easy part. As this will be you’re first Tri, skip the 70.3 and 140.6 distances for now. Find a Sprint or and International (Olympic) distance Tri to “get your feet wet”. As far as training, just keep doing what you’re doing. Put a little emphasis on “Brick” and/or Tri training. This is where you put multiple disciplines together in a workout. By far the most popular “Brick” is the Bike/Run. No need to do the full distance in either. For example, when I was doing Iron Distance training, I never ran a marathon off the bike. I would do a Century (100 miles) and run 3-6 miles immediately after dismounting. Brick training will train your body to operate efficiently in the next discipline, again especially the run.

Good luck! Keep us posted on your progress.