Completing Your First Triathlon
The Goal: Successfully complete your first sprint distance triathlon
A sprint distance triathlon typically covers a 400 meter swim, 20Km bike and a 5Km run. This is a great place to start for any beginner triathlete. The following article provides a comprehensive yet, simple plan to help any athlete successfully complete his/her first triathlon with 5 to 7 hours a week of training.
All athletes come with various strengths and weaknesses, depending on their background. It is important for the triathlete to spend extra time training her/his weakness.
The cliché: “You’re only as strong as your weakest link” is very appropriate. If a strong runner ignores his/her weak swimming skills, s/he will always be a weak swimmer and will expend excess energy “surviving” the swim.
Triathlon is first and foremost an endurance event, thus endurance training is the primary goal. Aerobic endurance training provides increased oxygen carrying capacity through increased capillarisation of working muscles, improves fat metabolism, and increases efficiency in the specified sport.
First, let’s break the triathlon down by discipline…
Swimming
Triathletes predominantly utilize freestyle since it is the fastest swim stroke. Swimming requires the highest skill level of the three disciplines. Emphasis on improving technique enhances any triathlete’s performance, especially the beginner. The best way to improve technique is to use stroke drills. Stroke drills must be used after warm-up and at the beginning of every swim workout in order to facilitate neurological adaptations. Be patient, swim skill takes a while to improve.
Here are three drills to improve technique:
1. Kick on your side. Lying on your left side, place left arm straight over head (facing opposite wall in pool), right arm straight along right side. Kick 1x25 on L, 1x25 on R then swim freestyle 1x50.
2. Sidekick and rotate. Lie on side (same as above) after 6 to 10 kicks rotate with a long arm pull to the other side for 6 to 10 kicks. Repeat for 1x50, then swim 1x50 freestyle.
3. Sidekick, rotate with 3 long strokes. Same as #2, add 3 long strokes then rotate to opposite, side. Drill 1x50, swim 1x50.
These drills can be done with or without fins. They will help you become more comfortable with bilateral rotation, breathing and swimming on their sides. Work on generating rotation from hips and kick. It’s important to alternate drill with swim in order to incorporate the drill skill into the entire stroke. Improving endurance and comfort in the water is the primary goal for the beginner triathlete.
Cycling
Cycling requires a little less skill than swimming, but a little more than running, mostly because the triathlete must contend with a mechanical device, the bicycle. Either a mountain or road bike works fine; the choice will depend on budget and comfort level. Other considerations: clipless pedals, hard sole cycling shoes, helmets, gloves, eye protection etc. For the beginner cyclist, aerobars may not be a good idea yet. For the strong cyclist, aerobars improve aerodynamic drag and improve efficiency since the bike portion is an individual, not a group effort where drafting is illegal (except at the elite level of the sport).
Bicycle training outdoors is generally preferable to indoor training. Spin classes and wind-trainers, both offer ways to get a great workout and work on efficient pedal technique without the worries of outdoor hazards (cars, potholes, etc.). Training alone as well as and in groups broadens the multi sport athlete’s base of experience. Endurance, bike handling, proficient pedalling, and comfort on the bike are among the important skills for the beginner triathlete to learn.
Running
The triathlon offers a great challenge: learning to run after swimming and biking. The triathlete runs on tired legs, thus run times are generally slower until training adaptations occur. For non-runners or injury prone athletes, a run/walk program allows for a gradual increase in time spent running with a lower risk of injury. On longer runs, especially in dry climates, plan water stops or carry a water bottle to maintain proper hydration.
Transitions
What does it feel like to get out of the water and hop on a bike? What’s it like to run right off the bike? Transition training, or blocks or bricks, helps pull the whole triathlon together. The beginner triathlete only needs a few key practice sessions to get the hang of the “changeover”. Double workout sessions of swim to bike and bike to run are essential, especially bike to run, the more difficult of the two. Planning transitions makes the competitive experience smoother and more enjoyable.
Weight Training and Stretching
Opinions differ on weight training for endurance athletes. For beginner triathletes, strength training, with an emphasis on functional and core strengthening and stabilization, improves performance. Strength training for triathletes prevents injury by: enhancing the strength of connective tissues, increasing bone density, tightening lax joints and corrects muscle imbalances. It also enhances performance: an uninjured athlete is a better performing athlete.