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Part two of our Get Fit
and Do Good series brings you to the ultimate of all endurance races, the
triathlon. Just as the marathon is not an undoable task, neither is the
triathlon. And just like the marathon, consistency is the key. Without
that, you have nothing.
The biggest difference
between the marathon and triathlon training is that now you will be training
in three sports (swimming, biking, and running) as opposed to just
one. Since that’s the case, we have a lot to cover, so let’s get started
right away.
Getting Started
If this is your first
triathlon you are preparing for, you should shoot for doing one of the entry
level triathlons, such as a .25 mile swim, 12 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile
run. This is referred to as a “sprint” race. Once you feel comfortable with
those distances, then you can start to explore lengthier races. With that
said, let’s assume you are training for an entry level distance race. When
you look at the numbers, it’s really not that long. It’s just that you are
doing each discipline back-to-back. And that brings up one of the most
important aspects to your triathlon training. It’s called the “brick”
workout. This is where you ride your bike and then follow it immediately
with a swim. You can do this at a gym with an exercise bike and a treadmill,
but you should be doing it outside to get used to the real thing.
Just as with the marathon
training you should set aside 16 weeks of training time to be optimally
prepared for the race. First things first though—you need to develop an
aerobic base in each discipline. This all depends on how much time you have
for your training. Let’s assume that you are a person who has a full-time
job and a family. Realistically you probably have time for 3 workouts a
week. So, as you can guess, you should be doing one swim, one bike, and one
run. First, build up your aerobic base so that you can swim .25 miles on
your swim workout days, bike 12 miles on your biking days, and run 3 miles
on your running days. Depending on your level of fitness, this might take
you awhile or maybe you’ll get to that in only a few weeks, it’s all
relative to the person. So, after the aerobic base is built up, start
adding an extra workout each week. This is your “brick” workout. For
example, you might swim on Monday, bike on Wednesday, run on Friday, and do
your brick (bike and run) on Saturday or Sunday. In the beginning your
brick might involve a 6 mile bike ride followed by a 2 mile run. If this
feels easy then the next week you can bump it up a little and increase those
distances.
Dealing with
Weaknesses
Now let’s cover “weak”
disciplines. Everyone’s got one. Maybe you’ve never swam before, or maybe
you are not really a good biker, or maybe running has never been your
thing. You can change this by spending more time during the weak discipline
workout. There are a couple of ways of doing this. Let’s say that you are a
weak swimmer. On your swim days, you might want to swim for 40 minutes
instead of 30. The other way of doing this is to swim for 2 days instead of
1. This would mean to eliminate your “strongest” discipline for the
week. Since you really should be doing at least one swim, bike, and run each
week, swimming for a little longer on your swim day is preferable to taking
away one of the other disciplines entirely.
Simply put, starting off
your training you need to view each discipline as a separate thing. For
example, on your swimming day you need to think of yourself as a swimmer, on
your biking day think of yourself as a biker, and so on. Once you develop
that aerobic base, that’s when the “brick” workouts become so important. You
can even choose to throw in some swim/bike workouts. Maybe leisurely bike to
the place that you are swimming and then after your swim you can bike home,
assuming it’s not too far.
Log It
Another very important
piece to the puzzle is to keep a training log. There are plenty of triathlon
training logs that give you space to record each day’s workouts whether you
are swimming, biking or running. It is very important that you write down
each one of your workouts, including the time it took to complete them, the
distances you went and most important how you felt after each workout. As
you get further into your training you can see how you’ve improved and this
will motivate you right to the starting line.
As you can see, training for a triathlon is
not a daunting task. Just as with the marathon it takes time and a
commitment to your plan. If you have these you will be ready to take on the
“mighty” triathlon. And once you do a triathlon, there’s no telling what
you can achieve, in sport and life!
Kevin Valluzzi is a personal trainer and Fitness By Phone coach
with his own in-home personal training business, A & B Fitness. He is also
a 5 time marathon finisher and has completed numerous triathlons including 2
½ IRONMAN races as well as a full IRONMAN. For more information, or if
you’d like to ask Kevin a question, visit his website at
www.thefitnessleader.com or email him at
Kevin@thefitnessleader.com. |
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