They currently run half marathons and want to get a bike and do a sprint in approx 1 year
What book or other source would you recommend for them?
Is there a triathlon club nearby?
.
No
.
Didn’t really look at any books or articles when I got into the sport. Maybe something like this would be helpful for them to see what workouts could look like with a specific goal in mind (I’m sure there’s a sprint version). But my real advice would be to talk to a coach – even a consult to get started. Do a couple of coached swim sessions right at the beginning to get some help with technique & to get an idea about what drills might be good to incorporate into training. Most could probably do well just lining up 2-3 swims/4-5 rides/3-4 runs/week. For a new athlete who has running experience, it’s all about finding consistency in the pool & riding as much as possible. Building up to 2-3k when they go to the pool & around an hour when they ride. Something like 10 hours/week (up to 12-13). If they know what good run training looks like, they could probably design decent enough swim/bike training but they’ll likely be missing out on some form/technique work.
When my son got me started in 2020, I went online and found an off-shelf plan and found a lot of articles and videos on transition, mentally preparing, nutrition, etc. I also watched a ton of Effortless Swimming videos on YouTube, as I was a pretty bad swimmer.
I have a similar background and 80/20 Triathlon (Fitzgerald /Warden) was great to get me across the finish line of multiple sprints and a 70.3 my first year of tri. I liked it so much I bought 80/20 Running and that has been great for me as well.
As others have already recommended, 80/20 is a good start.
What’s this person’s swimming like? Most of the people I work with come from a reasonable running background. I’ve found that the time it takes them to get comfortable with the swim distance for a sprint (even 400m for pool-based) is enough time for them to become competent on a bike. Not challenging for any podiums, but completing their first event.
A year seems like a long time for someone who already has a high enough level of general fitness, but I guess that depends on whether the goal is to compete or complete.
What is their goal?
Paying for coaching or even reading a book seems overkill for someone wanting to complete a sprint triathlon.
I would say they should talk to someone they know who has triathlon experience so they can get questions answered and be told things they might not think to ask about.
If they really enjoy reading and want to invest time right away in learning a lot, I would recommend The Triathlete’s Training Bible by Joe Friel. Looks like Friel also has a book called Your First Triathlon that may be more approachable for a beginner.
focus on the swim, they should be working to do double the distance of their race swim distance with confidence. the bike is just transportation from swim race to run race.
If this person can run a half marathon and knows how to swim and ride, he/she should be able to complete a sprint in <3 months. My experience is that a half marathon is at least as physically demanding as a sprint.
If that person doesn’t know how to ride a bike or can’t swim, different story.
There’s a book from Joel Friel called “your first Tri” or something like that. It was good enough for me, but depending on the ambitions it could be too simple.
If this person can run a half marathon and knows how to swim and ride, he/she should be able to complete a sprint in <3 months. My experience is that a half marathon is at least as physically demanding as a sprint.
If that person doesn’t know how to ride a bike or can’t swim, different story.
If they can currently swim a km relatively comfortably, they could finish an ODTri next week on their current fitness.
A year’s preparation for a sprint is massively overthinking it.
If this person can run a half marathon and knows how to swim and ride, he/she should be able to complete a sprint in <3 months. My experience is that a half marathon is at least as physically demanding as a sprint.
If that person doesn’t know how to ride a bike or can’t swim, different story.
If they can currently swim a km relatively comfortably, they could finish an ODTri next week on their current fitness.
A year’s preparation for a sprint is massively overthinking it.Absolutely agree.
For anyone in any reasonable condition who can swim and ride a bike, a sprint triathlon should be little more than a really good workout.
My experience is the biggest challenge for first timers is not panicking at the start of the swim. The majority of people I’ve seen drop out of a tri (particularly a sprint) drop out within the first 200 meters of the swim.
I have a similar background and 80/20 Triathlon (Fitzgerald /Warden) was great to get me across the finish line of multiple sprints and a 70.3 my first year of tri. I liked it so much I bought 80/20 Running and that has been great for me as well.
Doubly agree! Lots of great insight into tri training in general plus specific plans. I stick to the plans in the book, but their website has many more plans on it with options of consulting, which may be especially helpful with the transition.
Hey 👋 he/she could check out www.athletica.ai for adaptable training plan for sprint triathlon. For 20usd per month, can’t go wrong 👊ðŸ»
When my son got me started in 2020, I went online and found an off-shelf plan and found a lot of articles and videos on transition, mentally preparing, nutrition, etc. I also watched a ton of Effortless Swimming videos on YouTube, as I was a pretty bad swimmer.For someone new or who doesn’t have a strong competitive swim background, the swim is often the hardest part of the first tri. I know my first tri, I got about 100m out in the lake and thought “holy hell, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this.” But I was a Marine and they beat the quit out of me.
For probably the first year to year and a half, my swim sucked. I could do the swim but I was very inefficient, very slow and spent a lot more energy than I needed. Then I started watching some technique videos on Youtube. I’m still not competitive fast, but I’m a middle-of-the-pack swimmer, and I can do that for a mile plus easily.
First thing is to get comfortable and not panic in the water. Second is practice efficiency. At least that’s my advice. Worth every penny you’re paying for it.
As others have said - do they know how to swim? If not or if they don’t do it regularly - the YMCA is a great place to start. 1/2 hour a few times a week.
Then get on the bike and ride a few times a week. Try to ride really hard.
Keep running, but run 5k a day rather than 13.1 ever so often.
A good amateur 1/2 marathon time is 1:20’ish? A good sprint is 1:0X so the effort should be a slight bit easier IF they know how to swim.
I know my first tri, I got about 100m out in the lake and thought “holy hell, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this.”
When I say I was bad, I mean bad. My first swim was slower than 3:30/100m and breathless after 50m. Within a few months I was able to swim long distances at 2:10/100m. Now I can swim 1:50/100m, which isn’t FOP but normally top 30%. Generally only swimming two, sometimes three, times a week with no more than 4000 m. I only wanted to get fast “enoughâ€. I have a lot more work I need to do on the bike then the swim.
But I owe the improvement to Effortless Swimming videos.
Welcome to the tri world! I agree with watching Effortless Swim on YouTube if u don’t have a swim background. Maybe even take in their five day stroke challenge. Make sure before u race that u do some open water swimming. Important to feel comfortable in a lake before trying to swim with others in a triathlon.
Biking should be ez with ur running background but running off the bike is a totally different experience. Practice that also and get used to the switch from 20mph to 8mph. Sometimes hard to wrap ur mind around it and practice will help with that feeling of “I am running so slowâ€.
Maybe pick a super sprint tri with a shorter swim to get experience and also duathlons help with the race experience of bike/run transitions.
Good luck and have fun.
Hey 👋 he/she could check out http://www.athletica.ai for adaptable training plan for sprint triathlon. For 20usd per month, can’t go wrong 👊ðŸ»
I use athletica for running and I’m a big fan as well. I found the cycling portion of their tri plans a bit aggressive for my liking, but it’s my least favourite event.
If you want a book, find an old copy of SERIOUS Training for Endurance Athletes and you can build a plan quite easily.
Anyway, for a sprint if you can hammer the swim and run, you’ll probably be in the top 5 to 10, so focus there.