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If you’ve read my blogs in the past, I’ve written a few articles on training for different obstacle races we've competed in, ways to help meet fitness goals and more specifically, to try new things to break up the monotony of performing the same workout routine over and over again.
This year my new challenge and goal is to compete in a Sprint Triathlon. For those not familiar with a sprint triathlon, it is the shortest triathlon made up of 3 parts, an approximate ½ mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 3 mile run to finish.
My next two blogs will be about my experience competing in my first sprint triathlon. The second installment will be essentially a “do and don’t” on what to do on race day and my overall experience at the race.
This first installment I’ll go over the following topics:
1. How I got started
2. Equipment
3. Workouts
4. Fear of swimming
How I got started
The first thing I did was to get informed. Working in a physical therapy clinic, it was easy for me to find active individuals who have participated in tri’s in the past. For those who do not know of anyone who has finished a tri, I would recommend reading the book “Your First Triathlon” by Joe Friel. It’s a great resource to read and get started on this journey. The book goes over everything from nutrition, motivation, equipment, things you will need to know for the day of the race as well as sample workouts.
Also, take advantage of all the resources that you can find online, whether its articles, blogs or videos. If you have a question the internet has an answer.
The second thing I did was to actually pick the race I wanted to compete in. Picking a date will help you set up your workout routine. Give yourself at least a few months to train, especially if you have never competed in one before. I picked a race that was located close to me with a non-ocean swim portion. We will get into my swimming ability later on.
Equipment
The most expensive thing that I had to buy was a bike. The mongoose mountain bike that I had in the shed with the shocks in the front and with spider webs on it was not going to cut it. I went out and purchased a hybrid mountain bike that was a lot lighter and set me back approximately $500. This was definitely on the cheaper end as there were racing bikes in the thousands. I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment for something I don’t know if I’m going to enjoy. The only other purchases that I have made are a helmet for the bike as well as a pair of goggles for the swim portion. I’m still debating whether or not to purchase tri shorts. I am told that they are great to have to swim in and have some cushion for the bike portion. They run about $50 but again I’m not sure they’re worth it but I’ll let you know what happens in the second installment. And I know at some point in the next month I will have to purchase new running sneakers.
There are many other gadgets out there such as wet suits, computers for your bike, pedals and cleats or different bars for your bike, but I don’t see myself making any other purchases at this time. If I enjoy this race and decide that I would like to compete in another triathlon, perhaps a longer one, then maybe I would consider investing a little more in my triathlon gear.
Workouts
I won’t go into all the specifics of what I do on a daily basis for each workout. There are countless free triathlon training guides that you can find online which are pretty good. What I will do is give you a few pointers/suggestions that I have found helpful during my very brief training experience.
1. Get 2 workouts in for each event. Make sure you bike twice, run twice and swim twice a week.
2. Get comfortable with uncomfortable. Whichever section you do not feel comfortable with, make sure that is the one you are spending the majority of your time on.
3. Plan out your week. We are all busy and things happen but it’s easier to follow if things are planned out and written down. DO NOT write down Monday’s workout or Wednesday’s workout, you may get discouraged if something happens and you have to skip a work out. Sacrifices have to be made at times. For example, I get up early to go out for a run before my toddler son wakes up. There are other times I go to the gym a lot later than I would like in order to have dinner with my wife after we put our son down.
4. Write your goals. I have a little notebook that I write down my workouts for the week as well as things I want to work on for the following week. Whether it’s just reminding me to stretch more often or to get me to run, bike or swim further or with more intensity.
Swimming Technique
One thing I noticed early on is that I am an awful swimmer. It turns out that the doggy paddle isn’t an efficient way to swim and to compete in a triathlon. I thought I had seen Michael Phelps in the last Olympics win a gold medal in the doggy paddle but I guess not. This is the portion of the triathlon that has discouraged me to participate in a tri in the past. But like I said before, I have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
I am fortunate to have some resources here at work that have swam in the past and are currently training for an Olympic triathlon. If I did not have them as resources to ask questions and to give me pointers while I’m training, I am convinced that I would have had to take a lesson or two. I did not realize how difficult swimming efficiently is. As frustrating as it is at times, I try to improve a little more every time I get in the pool.
So as I finish this first installment, there is still a lot I need to learn and many more laps in the pool I need to finish. Though I may not feel comfortable in the water yet, I am enjoying learning something new and knowing that I am getting a good workout in. Having my workouts written out and having my goals written down have helped me tremendously. In my next blog, I’m expecting to write about how great my experience was with my first triathlon. I’ll let you know.
