Triathalon Training

So I have decided to do a min-triathalon this summer (750m swim, 5km run, 20 km ride) and was looking for any advice in training. Should I train each leg seperately then combine them together as I get closer to the race, or combine the legs together from the start. I have about 5 months to prepare for this so heaps of time to get ready. How many times a week would you train and would you still do weights 2-3 times a week or cut that back? Anything else I should think about for this?

 

I'm interested in any advice, too, as I intend to train for one next year as I enter my 40th year (prepping for a half marathon now, then on to the marathon).

paz,

dormindo

 

I've never done a full tri. I've zero (less than zero) interest in road biking. Maybe from too much time mountain biking earlier in life. I have done a few of the splash 'n dash events. So a swim run swim or some combination of that. Usually a 500m-750m swim and a 2.5k-5k run. I found that I had to work on both thing individually and consecutively.

Most people will have a strong suit. Either their running or swimming - or in the case of a full tri.... their cycling. Identify which is your strong suit and then work on the others. Also you might be surprised just how tough it is to pull out of the water and then hit your stride on the run leg of the event. It's like running through molasses. But it can overcome with persistent and consistent training.

One BIG thing that always eats people up on races... practice your transitions. Most tri's will disqualify you if your run bare chested. Beyond stupid if you ask me but whatever. So you need to get used to running in a tri suit. Not always easy the first few times out. To me they seem overly constricting so the best I could do was zip my down as far as possible which is usually only to your sternum. Making the transition into your shoes is an important maneuver and eats a lot time. Your hands will be shaking from adrenalin and you lungs heaving from the swim... so get your shoes sorted and get your fast zip ties on your laces.

Most races will have a carpeting of sorts as you come out of the water and transition into your shoes... but during your training you wont have that... so you will need to have a bottle of water by your shoes (seawater is fine) to give a quick rinse to your feet... otherwise the sand on your feet will rub you raw once you are running in your shoes. Nightmare if it happens.

Also... just in case... bandaids or surgical/sports tape for your nipples. While this sounds like wind up... lol... it's not. If you've done any amount of running then you know raw nipple syndrome is real and extremely painful. Avoid by getting your nips taped up. Ignore this at your own peril. Tri suits sometimes avoid this but sometimes make it worse. So tape just in case.

Learn some basic technique for water entry and exit. It takes some practice. It's not nearly as easy as it look. Going in you're likely to lose your goggles the first few times and work your entry technique. Which point to dive in is key. Exit is similar.... getting your knees up above the water so that you can get to the shore is tougher than it looks.

Get used to getting your swim cap and goggles on. Lots of little basic things. Spit into your goggles to avoid the fog up. Get used to putting your goggles back on after they are kicked of in the pack by other competitors. Yes it happens... no it's not pleasant.

But yeah... that's just the stuff that came to mind. Get your weakest category down and work on it the most. Get comfortable with it. For all of the above getting a coach is a great idea if you can afford it. It can make all the difference in the world. Stroke and stride are a big deal tri's so get someone who knows how to coach for that.

I lucked out in that one of my good mates is one of the top competitors in Asia... and so I train with him a fair bit. I haven't done any in about a year even though I still get the swims in. And none of them were ever a full tri.

But... one major thing... if you do train... don't be a numpty and then start strolling around in your compression leggings for all to see. You won't look cool... you will look like a total tool. Fact.

FWIW I didn't start training any of this until I was in my 40s. My overall time for the run/swim/run (2.5k/750m/2.5k) was 19:05. My mate took top in all in his age group and took overall as well. There guys there that smoked this course... but it was a fun intro for me into this type of sport.

 

I participated in a duathlon several months ago. Run-bike-run. I am relatively better at cycling than running, so I focused on running in my training. One thing that surprised me was how hard it was to run the last stretch after my bike ride. My legs were like jello. This is where "brick training" would have been helpful. Another tip - remember to tie your shoelaces or get cinch type ones that are failsafe (I had an untied shoelace 100M from the start of the race!!!!). Best luck!

 

ahhaha yes man yes! The little things you take for granted for some reason become insanely hard when fatigue and adrenalin are mixed into the system.