Structure would be the same: Sprint year 1-3, Olympic year 3, HIM year 4 (and Escape from Alcatraz). Would have done Oly sooner but no local ones until 2011.

I'd focus so much more on run form and distance. I came from mountain bike racing where high intensity interval training was the norm. We use to ride of ski hills for our hill training. Absolutely brutal. I kept that mentality too long. Allowed me to crush competition in the bike for Sprint races and place high in Oly, but zero help in HIM.

I would have stuck with my Felt AR4 instead of buying Felt triathlon bike. I'm okay with it now and I also have a CX bike so it's great, just in hindsight I miss the AR4. I'd buy a wet suit even for my first Sprint. Simple sleevless Xterra. Cheap and effective. I'd also buy wheelcover for the first race. Cheap and Effective.

I'd focus on the run. I have biking nailed for Sprint to Oly. HIM and now IM (IMLOU 2015) I'll really have to work on pacing. However, I crash on the run.

Probable more but that's the nutz of it.

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

Buy a Tri bike. Don't get a road bike.

Swim. Every. Single. Day.

Swim some more.

Run Every. Single Day.

Get skinny.

Learn how to make watts and get aero.

i would start younger, 15-16 instead of 28.

I was thinking about this going through some older training logs the other day. I wish I'd have known to run less, more frequently. I wish I was a lot smarter about picking equipment that fits me well, not just looked cool. I also really wish I was more consistent about training. In all honesty though I'm not 100% sure I would go back and do it different. I learned a whole lot and that was a lot of the fun for me. Maybe I would be faster right now, but maybe I would have burnt out, who knows.

Trainer Road, BarryP run plan, and figure out how to suck less at swimming (for me, this would mean swimming at all)

How long until you should introduce muscular endurance type work (threshold pace 4-8min intervals, for example)?

Should the newbie just focus on aerobic base, a bit of strength and technique/speed for the first year, first two years? I've always been confused on when someone new to the sport should introduce this type of threshold training as all the scientific information is generally based for experienced athletes with several years of training.

training mistakes
#1: don't overtrain. I was a young puppy fit and eager. I jumped into any session I could find ... and burned out ;). It takes time to develop endurance. On the same note for many, adapt your lifestyle and nutrition to your new sport.
#2: Work on the technique of your weakest discipline (swim for me). It's OK to have different intensity in different disciplines, and first get the basics right. Details will come after

Gear: Very dependent on your budget. You don't need a lot to start. A road bike is fine, more versatile, easier to handle if you don't have a cycling background. Second hand equipment for bike and wetsuit are good options.

Season: few realistic but motivating goals.

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Francois-Xavier Li @FrancoisLi
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw
http://www.swimrunfrance.fr
http://www.worldofswimrun.com

I would interview and hire the right coach to make sure I didn't make a mistake. Get a nice Tri bike, but not something top end, it's not needed.

Have fun and enjoy the training.

This is an extremely helpful thread. I'm recently coming back from a couple of years off after a nasty bike accident and feel like I'm starting over again. There are some really good tips here I can use now and into the future as I train and plan my return.
Thanks

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I could have saved myself a lot of grief!

Don't be a workout hero.
It doesn't matter if you can crush everyone in practice one day, or one set/rep/interval of a workout, and then you're left struggling through the remainder of the week. Your performances in training need to be repeatable, day after day. That is how you build. Workout heroes often do not perform well in races, when it counts.

Patience
Continuing on the above, being patient with fitness. Realize that it takes time to build to peak form, but it also doesn't have to take A LOT of time. Just good, honest work, everyday, with small gains week by week - one thin layer on top of another.

Be process oriented, instead of result oriented.
Keep the ultimate goals in mind, but don't let them consume you. Focus on the work that needs to be done to get there, that is the "journey" people talk about it, and it is what makes the good results so much more meaningful.

Know when to back off
I hurt myself a lot by being tough. Tough is good, but when it's right. There is a difference between being a bit tired and lazy and your body being fatigued from training and needing rest. Sometimes you have to push through it, but other times, it is better to back off a bit and come back stronger the next day.

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

This is gold...

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

1) How would you structure your first season?
-Low volume (<8hrs per week) for the first 3 months. Focus on form in the pool (mostly drills and short intervals), posture and cadence on the bike (worry about power when I have some time in the saddle), and good form on the run (no intervals, just easy miles). THis is all done to try to keep me healthy while I build up. The key is consistency- built up to 2-3 bikes, 2-3 swims, and 2-3 runs by the end of the first 3 months.

2) What sort of training?
Low volume, consistent, and easy efforts until I have a few months of base build up. Then start adding in some in HM/Marathon pace running and some HIM/IM pace biking. Nothing crazy fast, but starting to build the pace that I can sustain aerobically.

3) Gear? Road bike, Helmet, clipless pedals/shoes, a nice pair of running shoes, a nice pair of goggles, a couple of nice cycling kits (nothin fancy, but a nice pad and decent fabric), a couple of running kits (comfy shorts, nice socks, cheap tech shirts), a few pairs of jammers, and a cheap wind trainer for the bike. Once I got closer to the race, I'd look into getting a pair of aerobars and nicer tires/tubes and a tri-specific kit. Professional fit on the bike, help with the running shoes at a good local store, and find a masters swim group that caters to newbies.

4)Focus would be on learning the sport and setting myself up for long term success. Find a group who are low key, but experienced, train with them. Focus on sprints, maybe a late-season Olympic if I felt up to it. big key is consistency of effort, no long breaks from training, no big swings up and down in training volume. Slow build, stay healthy, and find a group of tri-friends to do it with. Set my best times/ efforts for a 500y swim, 20k bike, 1 mile and 5k run, to give myself benchmarks.

Pretty much same road I took except find Barry P running earlier and realize every run doesn't have to be a sufferfest.

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "

How would you structure your first season?
I think I took a somewhat different approach than many of us STers. I took 1 year to learn to run, 1 year to lean to swim/bike. In the 3rd year I jumped into the Triathlon events, which were the goal the entire time. If I could go back I'd probably do a Tri at the end of year 2 to see what the focus should be leading into my first Triathlon season. Then in that first season I'd do several sprints and at the end of season an Olyimpic to give me insight into whether I should move up the next season.
I think I'd also seek more details on "in race season" training as I was overly restful fearing that I'd burn myself out and affect my race performances. I always held back and avoided any intense training outside of tempo runs.


What sort of training would you do?
I'd be doing more intervals in the pool. I'm just learning now that to get more speed you have to do more hard work. Long steady endurance swims are good for a beginner looking to get endurance but they don't help at all with the power/strength aspect of swimming.
Trainerroad.com should have been in my repertoire of tools a long time ago. nuff said
I'd also do more cross training such as snow shoeing, XC sking, Cross Fit, Yoga to get some variation in the stresses to my physiology.


What gear would you initially buy?


Bike
Aero road bike with clip-ons like the RedShift system + power meter. Tri bikes are luxuries and albeit expensive ones at that, especially for a short course event.
Good trisuit (De Soto, Castalli, TYR) and a good set of cycling kit (bibs and top.
Aero road helmet
3-4 water bottles
Mag or fluid trainer + home trainer tire


Run
2 pairs of good runners: 1 pair for long endurance runs which are a bit more "plush" and 1 pair of 0 drop light racing flats.
2 pair of nice running shorts (Nike, De Soto, New Balanace, etc)
Bodyglide for nipple chafe


Swim
1 Pair of Paddles
1 Pair of Fins
1 Pair of Goggles
1 Pair of Jammers
1 Pull Buoy
1 Finis Tempo trainer


General Gear
Garmin, Suunto, Polar, Timex, TomTom multisport device to track metrics.
Foam Roller
Stretch Bands
Yoga Mat


What would you focus on?
With the shorter distances being heavily bike focused I'd spend more time getting faster and fitter on the bike. It's also the best way not to injure yourself while building a great aerobic base of fitness. There is plenty of time to be gained this way however to be successful either the swim or run also needs ample attention. With proficiency in 2/3 of the disciplines results should be decent and motivating leading into the winter months.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

Consistency, Frequency & Structure.

Ride a LOT more. Most of it harder and with clear purpose.

Run more frequently and most of it slower.

If I was to pick one thing that's had the biggest impact from 17 and even 3-4 years ago, its' riding consistent indoors as though it's not winter. Meaning other than rides over 3 hours, my bike training does not change significantly due to outdoor weather or daylight.


For the 1st season, I'd rotate a single sport focus for 1 month at a time. Then 1 moth of balanced training, then evaluate where my weaknesses were and focus on those. I'd try and race as often as possible to get experience in pacing, transitions, nutrition... and because it's fun.

I'd wish that someone taught me proper pacing, bike set-up and how to do transitions correctly.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com