Training for my first triathlon

Celo24
Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
edited September 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I am doing a sprint tri on April 10. Right now, I am going to the gym 6X a week (2 each for swimming, biking and running). I've set my goal times at 6:00 for the swim (275 yards), 45:00 for the bike (11 miles) and 25:00 for the run (3.1 miles). I'm doing everything in the gym right now since the weather has been nasty, but I just bought a bike so I can get out on the road. Here's my question for any of y'all who have done a tri: if I hit my time/distance goal in the gym, is that the equivalent to doing the same thing on the road? Any training tips that any of y'all might have? Thanks in advance for any help.

Replies

  • steveo27
    steveo27 Posts: 7
    I don't have any personal experience but I have buddies that have done tri's before. Although it's great you're going in the gym, there's nothing like the real thing. One thing to consider trying if you haven't tried it yet is raising the resistance levels on the bike in intervals. Whats your resistance training like? In other words, how often do you 'hit the weights'?
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
    I lift twice a week on my running days. I don't spend a lot of time lifting weights as I feel I have a lot of work to do to get my endurance up so that's my main focus. I have been doing intervals on both the bike and the treadmill but once the weather is a little better, I am going to start doing my workouts outdoors. I just want to get an idea of whether I am truly doing as well as I hope I am or if I am in for a rude awakening once I leave the gym.
  • matsprt1984
    matsprt1984 Posts: 181 Member
    Could use more information. What is the water venue going to be ?? Road course for the bike ?? And the profile of the run course ??

    You are basically 3 months out from your Sprint Tri, at this point don't waste time with weights unless you just want to do weights. There will be no benefit from them for your Tri.
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
    The swim will be in a pool. No open water for me on my first time. The bike is a road course and since DFW is fairly flat, I don't anticipate many hills. Same for the run, which will be through a local neighborhood. I agree on the weights. I want to do a little just for the sake of doing it and having some upper body exercise (other than swimming).
  • matsprt1984
    matsprt1984 Posts: 181 Member
    If the swim is in a pool then no worries about open water swimming. Continue to practice in the pool.

    Your in for a little shock on the bike. Going outdoors you will now have to deal with wind, and even DFW has some rollers. When you have a chance pre ride the course. What type of bike did you buy ?? A true Tri TT bike ?? You can save 30% of your effort by getting aero, but it would be REALLY smart to practice that position and get used to it before your event.

    Same suggestion for the run. Pre run the course if possible.

    First time Tri athletes have the most troubles with the transitions from one leg to the next leg. Your going to feel really funny coming out of the water and then taking off on the bike (more of a balance issue). Likewise from bike to run (more of a quads issue).

    Suggestion would be to practice two events every day and work on the transitions. Mix them up for fun. Set your goals and keep focused on hitting those marks.

    I would work on time. Unless you know your FTP numbers, you are just going to be guessing at quality interval workouts. Tri's are all about dosed efforts. Knowing where you are for effort, refueling while going at limit and continually re-evaluating. Make this for fun and enjoy. It is short enough that you will finish and if your goals are within reason you should be able to hit them.
  • mauiDave
    mauiDave Posts: 48
    The biggest challenge you are going to have on race day isn't going to be related to physical fitness if you are able to do the distances without a problem in the gym. The challenge is mentally being able to control your adrenalin and increased heart rate throughout the race. I know for me, standing on the beach just prior to the start the adrenalin kicks in and my heart rate will hit 160-165 just standing there waiting for the gun to fire. I spend the rest of the swim trying to keep my heart rate under control which is a constant battle.

    I hate pool tri swims because there is a greater probability of people running head on into you but on the plus side you can hang onto the side of the ledge if you run out of breath. I can't tell you how many times people get worked up in the first few minutes of the swim during a sprint tri and then do the flailing 'I am drowning' because there heart rate is through the roof and they have run out of breath. This is one of those things you only experience in a race condition that will never happen with solo training. Running out of breath when you are swimming is never fun, plus if you do, you have a hundred people behind you trying to run you over.

    Second point is if you don't control your pace during the swim and the bike your will get crushed during the run. It is easy to go Bonsai on the swim and crank out some solid bike miles. Then somehow mid run you blow up and have no energy.

    Transitions are the easiest to improve because it just takes a few practices to get a routine down. If you are doing a DFW sprint tri, they often hold pre-race courses before hand. It is worth checking out.

    I don't agree with the Tri TT bike for a beginner triathlete. If you have the cash it might be nice but it will not make a noticeable difference in an age group event unless you are shooting for a top spot. I am a strong cyclist and never had a problem blowing past the TT bike people on my standard road bike. I would think of investing in an expensive TT bike until you are at least finishing in the top 15-25% in the bike portion and looking to have a top spot in biking segment.

    I would strongly suggest joining a cycle club like the Plano bicycle club or the one through Richardson Bike Mart. Getting comfortable riding in a pack will be very helpful. Riding outdoors in a group setting is a lot different than riding at a gym.

    The key is to pace yourself through the entire event and not get caught up with the adrenalin of the race. Don't worry about finishing. The race stress will take care of that for you.

    Have fun! The DFW area has a very healthy tri community. I actually started doing tris in the DFW area before I moved to Hawaii so I could train year round.
  • mauiDave
    mauiDave Posts: 48
    I think you are doing the Caveman tri put on by Dallas Athletes. Tom Ryan should but on a free pre-event Q&A. Make sure you go it they have one. It is well worth your time.

    If you want to get serous, Tom has a beginning training program he puts on. I can't comment on the training program because I have never done it. However, I can comment on Tom and say that he is a top notch coach. I don't think you could go wrong by joining the training program and I know he would do a very good job at getting you ready.

    http://www.dallassportsuniversity.com/training-programs-coaching/triathlon/tri-101/
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
    matsprt, mauiDave - Thanks for all the good advice. Dave, you're right, I am doing the Caveman. But since I live in Frisco, it's hard for me to get all the way to Flower Mound to practice on the actual race day course. However, there are enough hills in Frisco and McKinney that I can practice road work and feel prepared.

    The bike I got is a basic road bike as I don't want to drop a ton of money on a bike until I KNOW that I am going to enjoy tris and stick with them. But it's the right size and I will get out on the road with it for the first time tomorrow.

    The swimming is definitely the event I am most concerned about because of the possibility of running out of breath mid-swim. The way it's set up, we zig-zag the width of the pool so I won't have the side to hold on to most of the time. Plus, I would rather not have that be an issue anyway. Just going to take some work and commitment to being ready.

    I have talked to a coach in McKinney about helping with swim technique and teaching me how best to handle the transitions so hopefully, that will help. He's also going to give me some guidance on doing some bricks so that I can have some experience transitioning from one event to another.

    Another question - as far as goggles go for the swim portion, any recommendations? Should I just get a basic pair at Target or Wal-Mart or spend a little more for a good pair? What's the advantage to having a "good" pair of goggles?
  • mirandamary
    mirandamary Posts: 7
    First of all YEAH!! What a great Challenge!

    I did a "Give-it-a-Tri" in August (400m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run).

    I found the transitions (between each event) killer! There's more 'walking' between than I thought. For example I trained in a pool, swam, got out put my shoes on and off I went on my bike. In realitiy I swam in open water, got out, ran on the sand, ran into the transition then shoes, socks, ect, and on my bike, running with it until I got to the mount/dismount line, then taking off.

    I wouldn't worry too much about your bike. I biked with a cruser bike my hubby fixed up for me. I had to remember to take the kids seat off the back, that's how I used it (BTW GREAT weight training to add a child to your bike for biking then taking them off for the race).

    For swimming don't use the wall at all, no flip truns, touch and go. It will be easier. And with a pool swim you get a bit of time between each person but don't 'take your time' still swim. For me, I would train for around 500 to 600m for my 400m swim. I would do the first 100m or so as a normal swim, kick *kitten* for the next 400m and then another 100m cool down.

    Goggles - I bought a pair at sports check, they were a speedo pair. I liked them better than the walmart brand but it's totally up to you.

    Start training each even seperate then add together. There's a great training plan I used. It was from multisport Canada. This is the link: http://www.multisportcanada.com/guide_basic_training.html

    It's great, just adjust it to what you need, and what days work for you. Remember to brick things together in the order you will do it in, so swim, then bike, bike then run.

    Best of luck!
  • mauiDave
    mauiDave Posts: 48
    I use different goggles depending on the venue. I typically am just adjusting the tint of the goggles to the conditions. If I know it is an open water swim into a sunrise I use the darkest tent I can. Indoors, you want no tint or a light tint.

    Here is my take on the style of goggles, you will have a lot of variables going on and the last thing you want to do is worry about is problems with your goggles. I am not sure of the selection at walmart but if you go to a swim shop they will have a huge selection, much more than sports authority. I used to go to http://www.kiefer.com/ in Plano. I found their prices to be less than sports authority or other big box sports stores. You should be able to get a really nice pair of goggles for about $20, if not less. Try a bunch on and see what fits, seals good and is comfortable.

    My personal preference is the recreation style goggles over the competitive swimming goggles. I find they are much more comfortable, give me a larger range of view and seal a little better. Something like this:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KJJ0RE/ref=cm_rdp_product


    You guys should have an in water start so you don't have to worry about them comming off when you dive in for the start.

    The big things you don't want to happen during the swim:
    1) Goggles leaking
    2) Goggles fogging
    3) High probability you will get wacked in the face by a foot or arm. Think about that when you make the selection. Which pair will not leak when you get wacked and which will make it hurt the least
    4) Painful.

    It's a race. So, you can't be making goggle adjustments. You need to be able to put them on and know you arn't going to have any of the above problems. I have experienced all 4 =)

    Although most goggles say they are anti-fog, I find most don't live up to the claim. Cheap insurance is Sea Gold Anti - Fog drops http://www.amazon.com/McNett-Sea-Gold-Anti-Fog-Gel/dp/B000GFZZOU . I don't swim without them.
  • kking74
    kking74 Posts: 2
    Good luck. I live in Flower Mound, and from what I saw of the bike course for the Caveman, there are some hills, but they are more rolling hills than anything big.
    As far as goggles go, I don't think it really matters what type they are, just they they fit, are comfortable, and don't leak. I went through a couple pairs before I found some I really liked in the water, so I was glad I didn't spend a lot on each pair.
    Make sure you do some bricks - especially the bike to running. It takes some getting used to. And when it starts to warm up, if you can do a practice tri where you do all 3, in the correct order, it will be a confidence booster as how you will get through transition and learn how to pace yourself.
    As far as bikes, your basic road bike will work just fine! You'll see all types of bikes at the race, anything from really nice tri bikes to old heavy mountain bikes.
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
    Thank you so much for all the advice and help y'all. I REALLY appreciate it. Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do to help any of you out.
  • ecbelle
    ecbelle Posts: 2
    Here's my question for any of y'all who have done a tri: if I hit my time/distance goal in the gym, is that the equivalent to doing the same thing on the road? Any training tips that any of y'all might have? Thanks in advance for any help.

    All the best with the training and the tri... to answer in short doing all your training in the gym is not the same as outside... I never train in the gym for triathlon (only strength and conditioning work) in the gym you can control your environment (temp, speed of treadmill, resistance of bike etc) outside on the road, you cannot control the environment, which can prepare you more for what you may experience on race day :)

    My first tri had a freak thunderstorm before the race, which meant there was white caps on the lake for the swim and rain and a head wind on the ride... i'd trained in windy conditions which really did help.
    Also with a new bike getting to know the gearing helps... especially if you have done stationary bike work it's very different. If you get hooked on the sport (which is easily done) invest in a hometrainer (windtrainer) it basically turns your bike into a stationary bike so you can do indoor sessions when the weather is bad (or at night) whilst praticing with your gears etc.

    Happy training:smile: :
This discussion has been closed.

Categories