Where to begin?
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135 days
overcome posted 10 weeks ago.
You should sign up for the race soon it will help keep you motivated. Most of what I have read says 3 workouts per week for each of the 3 disciplines. Is the swim in open water or a pool? You want to do some workouts with the bike and run combination (it is called a brick). It is fairly important to practice doing these back to back. You should practice your transitions at the same time so you don't wast too much time standing still. As for if you are crazy, you will not get an unbiased opinion about that here.
4218
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1559 days
kylie posted 10 weeks ago.
Welcome! There are some good training plans on this site. Check out this sprint tri plan and this beginner plan. Each has an intro saying who the target is, so see which seems a better fit for you and then you can have an idea what is suggested.
Miles of Life --- Powered by MarkyV
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textri posted 9 weeks ago.
not crazy, just getting closer to sanity with every race.
If you are uncomfortable about swimming, find a swimming coach and take a lesson. I would guess that you know someone who is a triathlete. Ask that person to swim with you. Don't worry about speed for your first race, get comfortable with technique and form and practice the pace that you will race at. 2 times per week should be plenty to get started, maybee 1,000 meters per workout.
Finishing the race is the only thing that validates the cause.
727
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451 days
theShiba posted 9 weeks ago.
+1 for the sprint tri plan on this site. It worked as a good guide for my first triathlon. Actually, come to think of it, I found Trifuel while I was looking for training plans, and how I'm here....
1639
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1004 days
tri-ac posted 9 weeks ago.
2x week per sport is enough for you first race & take one day totally off per week. try the Trifuel schedule as a model for training.
take a look at this website for some swim training ideas
http://ruthkazez.com/ZeroTo1mile.html
4
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70 days
MtPeter04 posted 9 weeks ago.
Thanks for the advice and that swim article is particularly helpful. My next question is should i go for the longer triathlon which is basically the same weekend. That one is a .5mi swim, 17.5mi bike. 3.1mi run. The bike and swim are substantially longer, but more within what im expecting to have to do. Im sure the shorter one will be a challenge but it still seems a bit shortsighted when i know i can cover the run and bike mileage already.
4218
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1559 days
kylie posted 9 weeks ago.
You'll learn a lot from which ever you pick. Having to do transitions and do the sports back to back adds a whole other element to it than the sports alone.
If you are feeling comfortable in the water, sure, try the longer one. I have no doubt that you'd be able to finish either -- so pick which sounds more exciting.
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AlwaysTri posted 9 weeks ago.
Hi and welcome. I'm a newbie too ha ha. My first race was almost two weeks ago. The swim was my weakest point too. If you feel comfortable with .2 mile swim then maybe try the longer one. An open water swim is totally different then doing laps in a pool. Anyways, you have plenty of time for which over race you pick. Good Luck~
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277 days
oldrunner posted 9 weeks ago.
Hi,
my weakest disiplin is swimming, too. I try to pay as much attention to technique. As I cannot comfortly do 1000m, I split the training. I do one lap, then rest, two laps - rest, three - rest and so on what's possible. Then I go downwards. So my swimming looks like:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 - or whatever is possible. If you are an advances swimmer you can start with two or three. The last laps I try to swim faster.
Alex
352
Member
68 days
trigirltina2 posted 9 weeks ago.
Everyone is great here to help! Do the distance in the pool and just over for your first race. Kylie gave you articles and a book to look at Joe Friel's Triathlon Training Bible. Do not let it scare you. It is meant as a tool to guide you through the change in distances.
your first race though! Yipee! You are in now! First race big advice is ealry to race site, set your transistion area, warm up and be the first in line for the bathroom. As long as you have done race distance and little more you are good to go for the sprint.
Hi,
I recently came up with the bright idea of wanting to do a triathlon. Currently i am a cyclist but was forced into running and then figured why not start swimming too. Today was my first day in the pool which was interesting, but my question is how do i set up a training schedule thats effective. Swimming is my weakest link and i can comfortably run 3mi and ride 40mi. The sprint tri i want to enter is on August 9th and its a .2mi swim, 9.5mi bike, and 3mi run. Which workouts should i do together? How much of each should i do? How important is it to immediately do workouts successively? Am i crazy?
Thanks for any advice