Training for Three Sports
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
- Lao Tzu
Thinking about entering your first triathlon?! While it may seem a little daunting to picture swimming, cycling and running your way through a Super Sprint, Sprint or even Olympic distance triathlon, Lao Tzu pretty much summed up how to begin preparing yourself for your first triathlon 2500 years ago: It all starts with a single step (or pedal or swim stroke!). In fact, a triathlon is no more complicated than changing the kinds of steps you take during your journey to the finish line! Read on for some simple advice on preparing for your first triathlon...
In other words, you don’t have to train like a swimmer, a cyclist and a runner to complete a triathlon! Instead, how you decide to structure your training starts with creating a simple time budget: How often and for how long do you want to train each week?
A simple training plan might encompass three to four training sessions per week of 20 to 30 minutes each. If like most beginning triathletes you come from a modest swim background, you might want to spend two of these sessions on your swim and one each on your run and bike training. Starting the swim confidently on race day sets you up for a great first-race experience!
Or, if you are a relatively strong swimmer, consider spending one session per week on each sport. In a fourth training session, bike half the race distance and follow it with a 5 – 10 minute run or walk after. This prepares you for making the transition from the bike to the run on race day – in fact, you’ll be surprised how soon you’ll want to “test” yourself at the race distance!
Whatever your background, cycling tends to be the easiest sport to pick up because it is the least technical for beginners to learn, and it feels easier because we do not need to support our body weight in doing it. As well, the fitness you pick up swimming and running goes a long way to building your initial cycling fitness.
As your training progresses over the weeks and you have created a routine, try to emphasize consistency in your swim and run training. The skills you learn in the water are more easily lost due to the technical aspects of the swim, while running provides you the biggest fitness gains for the time you spend training. Stroke, pedal and step – before you know it, you’ll be crossing your first triathlon finish line!