Triathlons are becoming increasingly popular, mainly due to the cross training involved in competing in 3 sports. Triathlons are offered in a variety of distances, from sprint (swim 500 yards, bike 12 miles, run 3.1 miles) to ironman (swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, run 26.2 miles), making them accessible to many.
Instructions
1. Choose a first race to compete in. Register for the triathlon. Mark it on the calendar. Use it as motivation to train and prepare.
2. Devise a training plan. Generally, it is not a good idea to increase distance by over 10 percent in any discipline in a week. Also, every 2 to 3 weeks, an easy week of training, where no increases are done, should be completed. This ensures adequate rest and recovery time for the body.
3. Focus on the weakest sport. Prepare to spend a little more time on the sport that is the hardest. For most, this is the swim. Whatever sport it may be, spending extra time focusing on that sport increases comfort level and helps performance in a first triathlon.
4. Prepare transitions. These are the parts of the race between the swim and bike, and the bike and run. In the transitions, it is necessary to change equipment out and start the next leg of the race. Transitions are timed, and are part of the overall race time. The transition is difficult for most first time triathlon participants.
5. Purchase necessary equipment for the first triathlon. A swimsuit and goggles are needed for the swim. A bike and a helmet are necessary in the bike leg. For the run, not much is needed other than a pair of running shoes. There are also pieces of equipment to purchase that can make times faster also.
Tags: bike miles, bike miles miles, miles miles, swim bike