Triathlon

I did a Sprint-Tri a few months back and this was my workout. I was like you and just wanted to finish the race. The swim was in open water and I practiced in a pool. I was not prepared for the open water, if your race is in open water try to practice a few times in open water. The bike and run was easier. Good Luck!!

Monday: (week 1) Run 30 min and weights (week 2) Run 35 and weights (week 3) Run 40 min and weights (week 4) Run 45 and weights (week 5) Run 20 and weights

Tues: (1)Swim 15 min, Bike 30 min (2) Swim 20, Bike 35 (3) Swim 25, Bike 40 (4) Swim 30, Bike 45 (5) Swim 20

Wed: Tennis/Cross Train

Thur: (1) Swim 20min (2) Swim 25 (3) Swim 30 (4) Swim 35 (5) Bike 30

Fri: (1) Run 35 min and weights (2) Run 40 and weights (3) Run 45 and wright (4) Run 50 and weights (5) Run 15 and weights

Sat: (1) Bike 35 min (2) Bike 40 (3) Bike 45 (4) Bike 50 (5) off

Sunday: Off / Race day


Distance
Swim 500 meters Bike 13 miles Run 2mi

I did two 1/2 Ironman's this year. It takes a lot of dedication and early mornings. I don't know what your schedule is. I work from 8-5 everyday and have two grad classes twice a week, and have to be at nightly programs. (I'm a hall director for university housing) and I still have time to train. You can do it!

Check out: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/

hey've got quite a few articles about where and how to start and a few training programs you can try. I'd think real hard about your first tri being olympic, it'll take time to get up to that level. Either way, good luck!

There are a lot of triathlon training programs out there and what you will do depends on the course and what your personal goals are. I've done triathlons for 4 years now, from sprint to half-Ironman, and every training program that I have used has come from this website:

www.beginnertriathlete.com

Click on "programs" at the top or "training plans" on the left. You're planning to do an Olympic, so put in "triathlon" then "olympic" and click on "free". It will give you lots of options based on how much time b/w now and the race; how many times a week you want to do each discipline, and what you want to focus on. What matters most, I think, is getting enough practice in so that you know what your nutritional needs are so you can finish the race without "bonking".

As for equipment, you will obviously need a bike. I did my first triathlon on a mountain bike so do not feel pressured to buy a bike right away if you have one. I bought a bike after my first triathlon because I realized that I enjoyed riding and knew that I would continue to use it. But if you hate it, you'll have a bike that's gathering dust in the garage/shed. Get some good running shoes, some earplugs and goggles. Finally, you will need to figure out what you are going to wear during the race. You will not be able to change clothes although you can add clothes as you go. There is a lot of triathlon specific clothing out there but what matters is that you are comfortable in it.

Some people do not use wetsuits; I've done triathlons with and without wetsuits. If you get a wetsuit, I recommend a sleeveless and practice getting into and out of it.

Congrats! Keep us posted on how your training goes!

This is an olympic triathlon. They suggest a wet suit, so am I suppose to run in my clothes... change into a wet suit.. swim.. change again and then bike?

If you're planning to try an Olympic distance Tri, you really should have been training for it already. I think you should start with a shorter distance one myself.

Im thinking I may not join this one and do it in 2010. It is held every year... If I can find a shorter one I will try it out in the summer. I also could join a team and just do 1/3 of it.

Even though your training will be hard, don't get discouraged by the distance. If this is the one you want to do, then go for it! The first triathlon I ever did was a half-ironman and I was in it just to finish. I trained for 7 months and trained very hard because I wanted to do it. I am not a runner (more of a shuffler) and I am a casual bike rider, however I didn't have to train too hard for the swimming because I had a really strong background in swimming. I finished way at the back but I felt that I had come in first. The key is to remember why you want to do it. I did it because I am competitive with my super-athletic husband who tackled an Ironman for his for (and only) triathlon. It felt great to cross that finish line, I was almost in tears as I finished because it was the moment I had been working so hard for. Make no mistake though, it will be hard to prepare for. Starting with a sprint may be the way to go because it is a shorter distance and training will take less time. I did one a couple weeks after the half ironman and thought, "Why didn't I do this first??" A sprint will give you a good idea on whether or not you will like triathlons.

www.beginnertriathlete.com is a great website. It is where I went to get my training program for the half Ironman last year. They take into consideration that you have other commitments and can't always dedicated 20+ hours a week to training. The information is easy to understand and it answers almost any question you could have. The Slow Fat Triathlete author also has a blog you should look up because there is always interesting information there.

Another thing to consider for the triathlon is reading other people's race reports. Google your race and see what other people had to say about the course. This will help you prepare. For example, in the race description it says a "short climb" on the bike. Well, not everyone has the same definition of short. A hill looks much different on a bike. If people who have done the race before say the hill is difficult, you know that you should spend some time working on hills for preparation.

For clothes, you will want to look into either a tri-suit which is a one-piece short/top combo or a pair of tri-shorts and an athletic top. Both the shorts and the tri-suit come with a liner which will provide some comfort when riding your bike but will not hold in water like padding on bike shorts would. If you choose to wear a wetsuit, you would put the wetsuit on over your clothes. In the first transition, all you need to do is take off the wetsuit and put on your shoes/helmet. You will only be wet for a couple minutes because the clothes are made to dry out quickly.

I took a look at the webpage and it looks like it will be a really fun race. If I lived in the Spokane area rather than the Seattle area, it definitely looks like one I would do!