How to prepare for a TRI 4 Cancer Marathon?

Sounds like fun. Its hard to be specific without knowing anything about your fitness, your goals and whether this is an indoor or outdoor mini triathlon. With that said, here's a few tips based on some assumptions. My assumptions: 1) You have some level of "fitness", meaning that you have done some or all of these activities previously. 2) This is the first time that you have done the 3 disciplines together swim, then bike, then run. 3) This event may be either indoors, such as a pool swim, spin bike, then treadmill run - or it might be a combination indoor swim, then outdoor bike and run. If its held all outdoors, great!

Now, for a first timer who has little experience with any of the 3 disciplines, I would suggest that a good starting point would be to try to do 2-3 sessions of each sport weekly. So, for example, a typical week might look like this: Monday - rest day, Tuesday - bike , Wed - swim am & run pm, Thurs - bike, Friday - swim am, run pm. Saturday - bike, Sunday, swim am, run pm. If the distances shown are more than you are able to do, start with whatever distance you are comfortable and build up yardage/mileage over the course of the next month. And don't worry about speed at first - just work up to the distances. Another key point: If you are particularly weak in one area and strong in another - then try to do more workouts in your weakest discipline. If it's swimming - then swim more - and do fewer workouts in the areas you are already good at.

Also, as you get several weeks into this, you might take a weekend session and make it longer by doing a bike session, followed immediately by a SHORT run. This will do two things for you: 1) Give you an idea of what it feels like to run on tired legs and 2) Give you an idea of the level of endurance needed to complete all three events.

Finally - REMEMBER TO HAVE FUN! Triathlon can be challenging. If you've never done it before, then I'd suggest a good first time goal is to finish with a smile on your face!

I hope this very basic information helps. Good luck.

Chelsmarie61 wrote: »

I am doing a Marathon in April. We have to do certain activities such as, 400m swim / 10km bike / 3km running. I just need advice on how to prepare yourself for it? Any advice or tips is much needed . Thank you!

I am going to be pedantic here but I have to correct your terminology. You are doing a triathlon. A sprint-distance triathlon to be specific. A marathon is a specific-distance running race of 26.2 miles (42.2km).

I know... I hate doing it but it is one of those things that bothers me. I had no advice to give that wasn't already given, but this was like looking at a frog and calling it a whale because they both live in water.