Training

In article <[email hidden]>,

Thomas F. Shehan said:

I am very interested in doing a sprint triathlon in the near future, and I was wondering if
someone would help me come up with a training schedule. I am pretty strong in running (17.59 5k,
[I'm very proud that I finally broke 18 🙂] ) and swimming (5:30 500yds), but I have traditionally
done them separately (swimming and cross country), not concurrently. I rarely bike, so that is
probably my weakest link.

Start with www.trinewbies.com

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ."

- Homer J. Simpson

If you swim and bike that well already you should do VERY well. You just need to pick up cycling,
learn how to transition without losing too much time, and endure the switch from biking to running
(which is very weird).

Let us know how it goes.

<Thomas F. Shehan>; "III" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I am very interested in doing a sprint triathlon in the near future, and I was wondering if
someone would help me come up with a training schedule. I am pretty strong in running (17.59 5k,
[I'm very proud that I finally broke 18 🙂] ) and swimming (5:30 500yds), but I have traditionally
done them separately (swimming and cross country), not concurrently. I rarely bike, so that is
probably my weakest link.

Thanks,

Trey

III said:

Hello,

I am very interested in doing a sprint triathlon in the near future, and I was wondering if
someone would help me come up with a training schedule. I am pretty strong in running (17.59 5k,
[I'm very proud that I finally broke 18 🙂] ) and swimming (5:30 500yds), but I have traditionally
done them separately (swimming and cross country), not concurrently. I rarely bike, so that is
probably my weakest link.

Thanks,

Trey

Trey,

You may get better feedback if you can offer a little more about your goals. Have you selected a
race? If so, what are the distances and when is it?

Will you be satisfied with finishing or do you have a goal time in mind?

In general your swimming and running is more than adequate for a sprint race although you should be
prepared for your run time to suffer after riding a bike. With swim ability like you noted, you'll
also have to learn to dial it down so you don't blow up in the first leg. As the old saying goes:
"you can't win a triathlon in the swim leg, but you can lose one."

I got through my first season in the sport using Gale Bernhart's "Training Plans for Multisport
Athletes". It's a fairly cheap book (about $15, I think) full of training plans for people of
differing abilities. You may want to give it a look.

John

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

III said:

Hello,

I am very interested in doing a sprint triathlon in the near future, and I was wondering if
someone would help me come up with a training schedule. I am pretty strong in running (17.59 5k,
[I'm very proud that I finally broke 18 🙂] ) and swimming (5:30 500yds), but I have
traditionally done them separately (swimming and cross country), not concurrently. I rarely
bike, so that is probably my weakest link.

Thanks,

Trey

Trey,

You may get better feedback if you can offer a little more about your goals. Have you selected a
race? If so, what are the distances and when is it?

Will you be satisfied with finishing or do you have a goal time in mind?

In general your swimming and running is more than adequate for a sprint race although you should
be prepared for your run time to suffer after riding a bike. With swim ability like you noted,
you'll also have to learn to dial it down so you don't blow up in the first leg. As the old saying
goes: "you can't win a triathlon in the swim leg, but you can lose one."

I got through my first season in the sport using Gale Bernhart's "Training Plans for Multisport
Athletes". It's a fairly cheap book (about $15, I think) full of training plans for people of
differing abilities. You may want to give it a look.

Thanks. In my research, there said that there were three main distances, a shorter one, an olympic
one, and then a longer one. I was planning on starting with the shorter one. I don't really have any
concept of what a good goal time would be, but it would be nice to be competitive. I'll keep in mind
your tip about not going to fast on the swim leg, as well, and I'll try to get a copy of that book.

THank you very much.

Trey

In article <Zmwtb.161041$9E1.809407@attbi_s52>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

If you swim and bike that well already you should do VERY well. You just need to pick up cycling,
learn how to transition without losing too much time, and endure the switch from biking to running
(which is very weird).

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks, I will definately keep you posted.

Trey

Thomas F. Shehan, III <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In my research, there said that there were three main distances, a shorter one,

Sprint distance

Quoted message said:

an olympic one

Correct

Quoted message said:

a longer one.

Two actually, half ironman and full ironman. Three if you count those crazy unltra ddistance
beyond ironman.

You're in a good position.....it's much easier to become a competent cyclist than a runner or
swimmer. Do be aware that open-water swimming is a lot different from pool swimming--it can freak
out even the strongest swimmers--so you need to get advice and practice for this.

I'm not a coach but if you just want to finish, I can tell you I've helped friends prepare for short
sprints before on 2 workouts a week per sport at the race distance (3 for swimming if this is the
weak spot---I'm paranoid about people drowning on me!) for at least 2 months beforehand. I also make
sure they get some practice in the ocean, 2 preferably 3 times pre-race. For good measure you can
stage your own "race" a couple weeks before the real one. Honestly, though, if you are fit and/or
young, you can probably complete it with less than this even. (Much to my annoyance, my little
brother completed his first tri at age eighteen, completely hungover after partying until 4 am.
However I do not at all endorse this method, especially if it involves beating your older sister.
But I digress....)

You sound like you have a lot of potential, though, so you may want to get some more scientific
training advice.

Good luck!

Susan in LA

<Thomas F. Shehan>; "III" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello,

I am very interested in doing a sprint triathlon in the near future, and I was wondering if
someone would help me come up with a training schedule. I am pretty strong in running (17.59 5k,
[I'm very proud that I finally broke 18 🙂] ) and swimming (5:30 500yds), but I have traditionally
done them separately (swimming and cross country), not concurrently. I rarely bike, so that is
probably my weakest link.

Thanks,

Trey

In article <[email hidden]>, susan528 @hotmail.com says...

Quoted message said:

You're in a good position.....it's much easier to become a competent cyclist than a runner or
swimmer. Do be aware that open-water swimming is a lot different from pool swimming--it can freak
out even the strongest swimmers--so you need to get advice and practice for this.

I'm not a coach but if you just want to finish, I can tell you I've helped friends prepare for
short sprints before on 2 workouts a week per sport at the race distance (3 for swimming if this
is the weak spot---I'm paranoid about people drowning on me!) for at least 2 months beforehand. I
also make sure they get some practice in the ocean, 2 preferably 3 times pre-race. For good
measure you can stage your own "race" a couple weeks before the real one. Honestly, though, if you
are fit and/or young, you can probably complete it with less than this even. (Much to my
annoyance, my little brother completed his first tri at age eighteen, completely hungover after
partying until 4 am. However I do not at all endorse this method, especially if it involves
beating your older sister. But I digress....)

You sound like you have a lot of potential, though, so you may want to get some more scientific
training advice.

Good luck!

Thanks, and it sounds like your brother and I might have some things in common 🙂

Trey