Triathlon training

BossArky

I have just booked a place in the London Triathlon which takes place on Saturday and Sunday August 5th & 6th. The race I opted for is the sprint distance: 750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run.

I don't think I'll have any problems with the cycle and would be pretty confident that I can make up alot of time on this leg.

The running will require a lot of training, as usually I run about 2km in the gym on a threadmill, and would not be used to 5km.

The one I'm worried about is the swimming. Today I went to a pool and managed 25 lengths of a 30.5m pool... so technically I did 750 metres... stopping after every three lenghts for a breather.

Has anyone got any practical advice for me as this is my first triathlon and I'm wondering exactly how to structure my training. There are three months to go so I'm thinking that time is no an issue. I'm 24 and fit enough, but no Olympic athlete.

I found some interesting training sessions on:

http://www.netfit.co.uk/triathlontraining.html

Any advice appreciated.

justsomebloke

Best bet is to look for a tri club in london as generally they will give you tips and be best able to advise. some have weekly coaching where you would propabably be able to get advise on technique and so on.

With the swim as oppose to jsut trying to get to the 750m mark try and increase the amount of laps you do in a row so instead of stopping at 3 try 4 and then go back to 3, do a few more at 3 and then a 4. Then increase the frequency of the 4 aswell as putting in the occasional 5 etc etc you can probably see where i am going with this, untill you are doing regular long swims.

In relation to the run and cycle how often are you training and are you training them together or keeping them seperate. Other big question is are you going to complete or compete. If you are looking to complete i would be to worried about mixing the sessions together, however if you are looking to get compete i would suggest splitting the 2 and focus a couple of sessions on each.

If you have access to spinning classes i find them really good for both building up stamina and speed for the cycle depending on how good (or evil) the instructor is. With the running i would try and increase the amount of running as 2k won't get you far and with it being the last leg it can be pretty hard if you aren't a great runner. I would suggest slowly building up, say try and add extra .5k - .75k a week till you are hitting roughly 7.5-8k runs. This way your body is slightly used to doing more then it has to so when you have to do the 3 swim, cycle and then hit the run your body doesn't that going on strike. I would also try and do some speed work for the run with putting in some sprint training or some quick low distance runs aswell.

StaggerLee

It might be an idea to get a couple of swimming lessons. I'd consider myself fairly fit aerobically and i can swim well enough but not for very long. Put me in a pool and I'm knackered after 50m. If you get a couple of lessons you can become much more efficient in the water.

BossArky

jsb wrote:

Best bet is to look for a tri club in london as generally they will give you tips and be best able to advise. some have weekly coaching where you would propabably be able to get advise on technique and so on.

Good idea, will check it out.

jsb wrote:

With the swim as oppose to jsut trying to get to the 750m mark try and increase the amount of laps you do in a row so instead of stopping at 3 try 4 and then go back to 3, do a few more at 3 and then a 4. Then increase the frequency of the 4 aswell as putting in the occasional 5 etc etc you can probably see where i am going with this, untill you are doing regular long swims.

Yeah I was planning that. Only prob is finding a proper length pool in London... longest I found so far is 30.5 metres. Most gyms have dodgy 12-15m length ones.

jsb wrote:

In relation to the run and cycle how often are you training and are you training them together or keeping them seperate. Other big question is are you going to complete or compete. If you are looking to complete i would be to worried about mixing the sessions together, however if you are looking to get compete i would suggest splitting the 2 and focus a couple of sessions on each.

I would be looking to post a decent time... better than my friends anyway Managed to get a few to sign up. I will work on putting training sessions together, ie. swim then cycle, etc.

jsb wrote:

If you have access to spinning classes i find them really good for both building up stamina and speed for the cycle depending on how good (or evil) the instructor is. With the running i would try and increase the amount of running as 2k won't get you far and with it being the last leg it can be pretty hard if you aren't a great runner. I would suggest slowly building up, say try and add extra .5k - .75k a week till you are hitting roughly 7.5-8k runs. This way your body is slightly used to doing more then it has to so when you have to do the 3 swim, cycle and then hit the run your body doesn't that going on strike. I would also try and do some speed work for the run with putting in some sprint training or some quick low distance runs aswell.

Ok good advice, thanks.

justsomebloke

oh one bit of advise i would give is that unless the tri you are doing is in a pool, dont push off the wall on your turns especially on in a short pool as even though you may do 750m in a session quite a bit of that can come from the push so when you try and do a proper 750m swim all of a sudden you are knackered at the 600m mark

Jak

The swim will probably not be as bad as you imagine, and you will be graded and watched accordingly the whole time in the water.

I found for the Olympic distance swim (1.5km) that you really had to practice in the sea - as this is where my swim was. But the cold, the lack of sides and floors and the current/chop all make a huge difference. Pool swimming will improve your fitness for swimming but will not properly prepare you for an open swim.

I presume yours will be in the river somewhere around a course. If at all possible get swimming (being safe etc etc etc) in the area where you will have your first third within 5-6 weeks of your start. Contact the organisers for advice.

Also my final advice would be to get a training partner for your tri - especially for the swim - it makes the whole thing more entertaining. Sprint distance isn't really that hard unless you are going for a serious time so don't worry too much about it.

JAK

daymobrew

Do some combined bike-run sessions. It's a crazy feeling coming off the bike and starting the run. Legs of jelly. Experiencing the feeling before the event is a good way to get through it on the day.

I prefer short duathlons (run/bike/run) as I'm too lazy to do swim training. I recommend looking for one or two of these before the triathlon to get experience of an competitive event. You might also consider doing a few 5/10k races, again as a way of pushing yourself.
I find it much easier to push myself in an event than when in training. Of course you'll have the mini competition with your friends to motivate you on the day.

justsomebloke

actually, does anybody have any info on the summer duathlons in dublin, I was looking to do a couple probably a sprint one followed by a 10/40/5 one. The triathlon ireland site is a bit crap. I was just looking for price and race entry details. I suppose after i bought her a spot in the women mini marthon i best actually sign up for something and actually do it

daymobrew

jsb wrote:

actually, does anybody have any info on the summer duathlons in dublin

http://www.triathlonireland.com/staticpages/index.php?page=Events2006
It the side really that bad? The TI site doesn't have the entry forms, that is left to the organising club - their link should be beside the item in the calendar. Many will not have started accepting entries yet.

The Dublin City Triathlon in the Phoenix Park in September is a biggie.
You could try the duathlons in the Phoenix Park in the meantime.