Any tips for a newbie

Triathlon Forum
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I’ve been lurking for a while and have enjoyed learning on the boards. It seems that most of the people here have been at it for a while and I was wondering if there were any pearls of wisdom anyone could share with me. A little background on me I’m guessing would be helpful at this point. I’m 30 and in decent shape all things considered. I pulled my self of the couch this summer and decided to get into shape and started running. Watched the tdf got a little jazzed and decided to buy a road bike. Did not know I would enjoy the bike as much as I do(much easier on the joints than running). I met a couple of guys while riding who do tri’s and they were the nicest people. They drug me along on rides and let me suck off their wheels which was nice. All in all everyone I have met that does tri’s were so helpful and nice I decided what the heck I wanna do it. I run 4 days a week and put in about 25 miles running and ride 2 times a week about 40 miles. Right now no swimming because frankly I have not made time for it and feel like I have enough on my plate with the running and biking. I do all of my week day work early in the morning and Saturday is a bike day and Sunday is a long run. I plan on joining up with a pool membership in the spring. I plan on doing a couple of sprints next summer and would appreciate any training input you guys might have. I also want to do the Powerman AL in March. I don’t expect to set any records but I would like to have a fun and finish feeling good, maybe summer after next I’ll get competitive. Any tips for someone new who is slow as molases in winter?

Thanks

Weak

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Random suggestions…

  1. get in the pool - sounds like you need it. if not a good swimmer get a coach for at least some pointers.

  2. join a tri club - great support.

  3. be consistent - find a training plan and stick with it.

  4. build up your bike - it takes seat time, you can’t fake it.

  5. read and ask tons of questions - slowtwitchers can be a bit rough on the edges, but they will help

  6. get some bricks going - it takes time and volume to build up to longer bricks, don’t worry that you cant hit a big one at the start.

  7. rest and sleep are important parts of training

  8. build base and cardio abilities - don’t have to go balls out all the time in training

  9. have fun

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Ride that bike as much as possible. In any distance triathlon, the bike leg makes up the largest portion of your race.

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I’d move 9. Have Fun to the top of the list. It’s most important!

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Get a new screen name. Begin to project strength. Think strength, not weakness, in everything.

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Get yourself a good newbie book! You will find lots of good info that would take months or years to gain through experience, also will provide some training plans.l

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Your background sounds very similar to mine, all though I am very much an amateur, these things have helped. First, see if you can find an active triathlon club in your area. There are also organizations such as team in training (www.teamintraining.com) that put together programs/coaching for athletes. While TNT usually isn’t the most competitive, it is a great way to get into the sport because you train with a group once a week and have a core group to keep you accountable. Ask alot of questions, pay attention to other good athletes and watch their technique. I agree with monk though, change the name… think positive. Have fun

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Thanks for the tips everyone. I do have one question about training time. How do you manage to get in the training time you need and manage family. Right now I get up at 5:00 in the morning during the week to run the treadmill and ride the trainer during the week. Up early on Saturday and Sunday to run and ride the bike. Doing anything at night during the week is tough. I have a 1.5 yo boy who is really getting fun to be with so I don’t do anything at night during the week because I want to spend time with him and my wife. After my ride Saturday the rest of the day is projects around the house and after the run on Sunday it’s church and time with the family. That leaves me with about 4 hours during the week and 4 hours on the weekend of real training time. I might be able to sqeeze in another hour or two during the week but I’m not willing to spend more time than that because of the family. Is 8-10 hours a week enough time to do this and be worth a flip at it?

Weak

(will work on the screen name could not think of anything original)

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You got months on me when it comes to preparing.

My Story, 39, as of Jan 1/04 I was 251 pds, Last Janaury I decided to lose 50, started running (walking actually), then started biking, all indoor on a lifecycle and a treadmill, never more than 40 minutes, started taking boy to pool, had mom watch him a few minutes while I swam a few laps, hey I am doing tri training, did this for three months, very consistently, two bike, two run, and one swim workouts a week, saw an ad for a Sprint Tri in April that the swim was in a pool and was a mountain bike which is good because I didn’t own a road bike, no problem, to my amazement there were people who couldn’t swim, I wasn’t the worst, finished in the bottom 20% and had a ball. Kept at it and signed up for another in May that was in a lake, this is where it gets fun, rented a wetsuit, put slicks on my mountain bike and finished in the bottom 25%, improvement. For June’s event, bought a wetsuit, rented a road bike and started swimming 3 times a week during my lunch hour, started getting in at least one 3 hour mountain bike ride on the weekends, finshed in the top 50%, Started doing short bricks, 30 minutes bike, 30 minutes run once every other week. Last tri of the year was early September, finished top 40%, my run has decreased from 10:30 miles to 8:30, bike from 15 MPH to 18 MPH, minutes off my swim times. Weight is at 217 and still dropping.

So that was the background, here’s my advice: Answer this question, do you want commit right now to being in the top 10% someday soon and putting in the time and effort it will take? Yes, follow most of what you’ll read right here, get the books, the training plans, and put in the huge mileage. No, if being a BOP to MOP, just getting in shape and having fun is your goal right now, here’s my advice:

#1. Already stated but most important, have fun, if its not fun, don’t do it, if you want to sleep in one morning, sleep in, if you feel like 2 miles instead of 4, this actually goes to the previously mentioned listen to your body comment as well. I gauage myself by my improvement, times and how I’m doing in relation to overall entrants.

#2. Start swimming now, it seems to be the thorn in most newbies sides, unless you have a swimming background in which case I hate you, you don’t have to be able to swim fast but you do have to be confident in your ability to finish, with hordes of others around you, kicking you and swimming over you.

#3. Start signing up or planning races ASAP, until I started racing I had no idea of the committment that I would want to put or how much I would want to do this. If there is a tri this winter go for it, don’t worry about whether your ready, just do it. As soon as you can finish a non-stop 1,000 meter swim, you are ready for your first tri, thats all I was doing before my first open water and I survived, didn’t thrive but survived.

#4. If you can and want to work out for hours each day have at it, 40-60 minutes in the morning with some lunch hour swims plus a 3 hour fun mountain bike ride on the weekends was all I was willing to commit with a newborn and a 2 year old and normal 45 hour work week. It was plenty for Sprints and my goals of continous improvement, no where near enough if I would have wanted to do Olympic or longer.

#5. Be Consistent, already mentioned, I think I succeded because besides a week here and there for illness (thank you day care) I have gotten in 4-6 workouts a week for 9 months now, even took off three weeks after my last tri and you will be surprised how good you feel coming back after a week or two off.

#6. After your first one, if you have the same amount of fun I did, you will get hooked, you’ll start thinking of ways to shorten your transition, how you can maximize your training, you’ll start reading the training routines on this site and everywhere you can, you’ll get books, and you’ll look to improve gear wise.

For finishing the five tris this year, and for losing the weight and sticking to it, my wife bought me a tri bike for my 40th this fall, her recognition of what I had done was the sweetest reward, ok the bike was, but it was still pretty special that it meant so much to her to see the effort and committment that I made towards this.

Oh, and if its not been mentioned yet, look good, thats the important thing.

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coming up on your first year - and provided you are not planning an IM - you will be fine. A HIM might be a bit tough - but you could get it done. Sprints and Olys - well you will do great.

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Stupid question that I have not been able to find an answer to for some strange reason. There are basically 2 local races we have here that I want to do. They are 600yd swims/16m bike/3m run. I’m guessing that they are sprints? How long is an olympic? IM and HIM are self explanatory.

And no I don’t have any expectation of finishing in top 25%, MOP would be fine with me along with the American Beauty quote on another thread of looking good naked

Weak

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hey newbie, welcome welcome welcome!

(I’m a newbie to :wink: )

first off, congratulations for getting off your ass and getting yourself in shape–you’ve got 50% or more people beat by just getting off the couch.

second of all, there are no stupid questions. I didn’t even know what a brick was (run and bike workout together! brilliant!), so never be afraid to ask a thing.

thirdly, get a book or some reference on what an appropriate training plan would look like. this is critical so that you have a formula for proper build up…the worst thing you could do is too much too fast>which will get you injured.

fourth–just get out there an do it. aside from all the gear, the technical stuff, hear rate monitors and all of that jazz, at the end of the day it’s just riding a bike, swimming, and running. So, essentially, I’m saying keep it simple. in your first year you’re going to learn sooooo much. about bikes, about swimming, about race strategies, etc. just take your time, read, get on discussion boards, and learn. remember, you don’t need a fancy bike to ride, and you don’t have to have all knowledge to get out there and do it.

fifth–get some proper workout clothes so you don’t chaff your skin. really good running shoes are paramount, and cold weather clothes so you can run outside and enjoy it.

sixth–keep going and start checking out some sites where you can find races in your local area or whereever you want to go. you don’t have to pick races today, but start looking and pick out an event or two to do–this is what you’ll be training for.

have fun! I’m happy for you!

kittycat

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My family/work/training scenario is almost identical to yours. These days, I’m lucky if I train 5-10 hrs a week most weeks. We have a 16 m/o daughter. I usually train from 6-7am most days.

<< Is 8-10 hours a week enough time to do this and be worth a flip at it? >>

Absolutely. While YMMV, I have had decent results (top 20-35% of my AG and overall) in all the Tri’s I’ve ever done (which is 3 Oly’s and 2 Sprints… and counting).

*disclaimer - I come from 10+ yrs of mtb racing/riding and 6+ yrs of road riding, so being experienced and strong in that helps tremendously overall in a Tri, at least for me. I don’t ride nearly as much time/distance-wise any more as I used to, but w/ all those years and miles in my legs, it comes back pretty fast.

Doing bricks is a great way to maximize yer training time. One of my key quickie workouts is a 12-16 mi TT on the bike, into a 3-4 mi tempo (or faster) run.

Depending on which combo of distances I choose, it takes mebbe 55-75 mins to do, and is very Tri- and race-specific.

I do just enuff running (1-3 times a week, usually only 3-5 miles at a pop) to keep a semblance of speed (relative term) and form. And sadly, I do zero swimming, so I can’t recommend you doing that since it is a major limiter for me in races.

Buy at least one or 2 Tri books, Triathlon 101 is a good starter book, so is Training Plans for Multisport Athletes by Gale Bernhardt.

There are other good ones too, and eventually you will want the Triathlete’s Training Bible by Joe Friel. It is indeed the Bible, IMHO.

PS - a great book shopping resource is www.addall.com you can find most any book here, for cheap.

Ride on-

M

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yes…top tip: rob a bank

…cos this sport will drain the money out of you!!!

This is me: running shoes - race shoes and training shoes; tri-suit; wet suit, swimming pool fees, the bike: training bike, racing bike, training wheels, race wheels, training tyres, race tyres, wet weather gear, summer gear, race shoes, tarining shoes, turbo trainer, Power Tap hub and extra wheel, Polar heart rate monitor, bike computers, sport related magazines, books…the list goes on and on…

YOU WILL FALL FOR ALL THIS…TRUST ME…GET OUT NOW!!! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

Am I ringin a bell…everyone!!! hahahahahhahahaha

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Olympic is 1500m(.9mi) sw, 40k(25mi ) bike, 10k(6.2mi) run. International distance is about the same as an olympic but can be anything less than HIM.

Sprint is anything that is about half an olympic. Sometimes they’re a 1/2 mi swim others are 1/4 mi. Swim’s are notorious for not being the advertised distance.

Don’t wait till spring to start swimming. If you do I can guarantee you’ll finish your first swim thinking “I wish I had started swimming earlier”. Swimming’s a nice break for your legs. Taking a swim clinic or stroke lessons would be the best way to start.

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Hi,

A sprint is usually between 400-800 yd swimming, 10-15mile riding, and 3 miles or 5k running. An Olympic distance is 1.5k-40k-10k.

With 8-10 hours a week you can train pretty effectively for the shorter distances. It’s generally a good idea to put off a half-IM until your 2nd or 3rd year and a full-IM until your 3rd or 4th year to adapt to training/build a base. Training for longer distances on the time you have is tougher but can be done. I’m working with several folks in similar situations.

You’re getting some good advice on this thread, the basics are to a) enjoy yourself, and b) form an overall plan based off the information you can find in the books already named and the internet.

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A good book for training plans for people with limited time is:

“Training Plans for Multisport Athletes” by Gale Bernhardt

It has some written plans for different distances and abilities. I just got the book and will use it as a guide for next year. She has another book called “Workouts in a Binder” that goes along it if you need specific workouts. The author is an Elite Level triathlon coach.

Other good books that describe the sport are “Triathlon 101” and “Triathlete Magazine’s Complete Triathlon Book” which in my opinion is very easily read.

“The Triathletes Training Bible” is the authority on all training that is triathlon but is difficult to read end to end. It is like a manual to me and I use it as such.

The last good book that I like is “Going Long” but it is for just that, Half IM and Full IM.

You should start swimming ASAP if you are a poor swimmer. I started with the book “Total Immersion” but after you learn how to do it and can swim lap after lap, you can abandon some of the concepts for better propulsion. I started with no swimming background at all and moved to a middle of the pack (MOP) swimmer in about 8 months. It did take 4 months for me to learn to swim on my own, a swim instructor would have spead up that process.

Welcome to the sport and keep asking questions and by the way, I’m a second year triathlete so all of my newbie experiences are still fresh in my mind

jaretj

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8-10 hours is plenty. One of my coaches once told me that the volume should be relative to your level. The better you are, the more you do. If you’re thinking that its not enough, then you need to learn a little about quality vs. quantity which any of those books people have mentioned will address. But even better I think the single-most important change in my tri-ing was joining a club. You learn so much more, you get extra motivation, and it helps to force you to wake up at 5am just to see people. If there aren’t any tri clubs, join a masters swim club etc.

Like someone else said, make sure you’re having fun. Its good that you’re honest about the time you can spend on this. Always be flexible about your workouts - its just a hobby. One workout missed here, even a whole week or two will mean nothing in the long run. When you think long term, try to see past the days, the weeks, or months. Look at year 1, year 2, etc. It takes a looong time to develop endurance (safely, without potential injuries) just as it takes a looooong time to “lose” it.

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8 to 10 hours is plenty.

You’ll see a lot of schedules and plans on the internet. None of them really work.

Figure out when you have time to train. Monday mornings, Wednesday afternoon, whatever – make a blocked out list of times you have to train. Be realistic.

Then fill your sessions into the blocks. Make it your goal to hit all the workouts – so keep your intensity at a level where you can do that. 10 hours easy is 10 great hours if the alternative is only 2 hours hard!

Once you build up fitness (which you might already have!) then make one or two of those blocks “key” workouts. A little harder, a little further, a little bit “better” somehow.

Take an off day when ever you are starting to get grumpy.

Repeat indefinitely.

matt

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