Training for my first Sprint Triathlon

A

avillabon

0
I have been biking (stationary) and jogging (treadmill) for a little over month now. I workout 4 or 5 times a week, each session lasting 40 - 75 mins. About a week ago I was watching ESPN and saw for the first time ever an iroman event, by far the most inspiring thing EVER! I decided I would try out a triathlon and since im already doing a lot of cardio every week. The triathlon i'll be doing is a sprint distance (.25swim-12.4bike-3.1run) on the 15th of may which gives me a little over 3 months to get ready.

In case you are curious, here is the link to the race i mention above.


Yesterday i decided I would do a test bike and run to see how long it would take me and to see if I had enough in me to run 5k after biking 20k. I ended up doing 20k bike in 42 mins and 5k run in 38 mins totaling 1 hour and 20 minutes between the two. I know this would have been different if I had done it under the Miami sun where the race will be but I was pleasantly surprised that at this stage I completed it and I wasnt hyperventilating or extremely tired when done.

Couple questions come to mind..
Is doing cardio 4 or 5 times a week, like im doing, enough for a race like this?
How long and how often should I be swimming? (this is the part that gets me nervous).

Cheers! Thanks for the help

Alex
 
Alex, welcome to the addictive world of triathlons! You have plenty of time to get ready. On your first triathlon, I recommend to everyone to just enjoy the day. Enjoy the sights, the sounds, the adventure, the excitement, after all you will only have one first triathlon. Don't worry about times, but be prepared enough to be able to go the distance.

You can download some sprint triathlon training schedules, but if you put in 3 bike rides / week of 10 -20 miles each, 3 5k runs / week and 2 swimming sessions, you will be fine. Can you swim 1/4 mile nonstop now? You may want to consider adult swimming lessons if you struggle to complete the swim.

Good luck. Start a training journal and post what you do each day and I'll provide my insight.

I have done 8 sprints, 1 Olympic length and 2 half ironmen.
 
g8r80 said:
Alex, welcome to the addictive world of triathlons! You have plenty of time to get ready. On your first triathlon, I recommend to everyone to just enjoy the day. Enjoy the sights, the sounds, the adventure, the excitement, after all you will only have one first triathlon. Don't worry about times, but be prepared enough to be able to go the distance.

You can download some sprint triathlon training schedules, but if you put in 3 bike rides / week of 10 -20 miles each, 3 5k runs / week and 2 swimming sessions, you will be fine. Can you swim 1/4 mile nonstop now? You may want to consider adult swimming lessons if you struggle to complete the swim.

Good luck. Start a training journal and post what you do each day and I'll provide my insight.

I have done 8 sprints, 1 Olympic length and 2 half ironmen.
Click to expand...

Thanks again for your input! You seem to be everywhere here on the forum! haha

Im not sure I can swim the 1/4 mile... havent tried it yet. I'll give it a go over the weekend and let you know. One question I have about the swimming though, you say 2 swims per week, how much time for each session?

Great idea on the training journal! I'll look into that!

I see you are in Florida, thats where the triathlon is taking place. Key Biscayne to be more precise.

Many thanks again for your help!

Alex
 
Alex, at this time, try to get in 2 swims of 30 minutes per week. That will get you ready and you increase that as you get closer.
 
g8r80 said:
Alex, at this time, try to get in 2 swims of 30 minutes per week. That will get you ready and you increase that as you get closer.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the guidance once again! I didnt want to reply until I had tried swimming. I started this weekend, Saturday and Sunday. I swam close to 8 minutes with no rest (about 300 mts) at a slow pace but was absolutely beat when done lol. I'm hoping you didnt mean 30 minutes non-stop, did you? What I did is I swam until tired, rested 4 or 5 minutes then swam again, rinse and repeat until the 30 minute mark. Hopefully thats what you meant, i dont see myself swimming 30 minutes with no breaks anytime soon.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my posts!

Alex
 
Swim until you get winded, rest, continue, until you have logged 30 minutes of actual swimming time for that session. Your swim duration will continue and your rest time will decrease weekly until you are going 30 minutes continuously in a couple of months.
 
I am dying to try a triathalon. Problem is that I love to swim and to bike, but I despise running. Seriously. Is there any way to actually enjoy it?

Or are there any bi-athalons out there besides the one where you ski and then target shoot with a rifle. Although that would be right up my alley as well.

I'd like to just swim and bike, and skip the running.
 
g8r80 said:
Swim until you get winded, rest, continue, until you have logged 30 minutes of actual swimming time for that session. Your swim duration will continue and your rest time will decrease weekly until you are going 30 minutes continuously in a couple of months.
Click to expand...

Ok, clear enough! Thanks again :)

Alex
 
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