Try a Tri

How to get into Triathlon

Enjoying running but looking for a little razzle dazzle to spice things up with your training? Boy, do I have the sport for you. COME ON DOWN TO TRI TOWN!!! We have swimming, biking & running all in one! 

Now that the used car salesman is done, let’s talk about how to get into a sport that I love, Triathlon. It can seem like a hard sport to get into, but chances are you learned how to ride a bike as a kid and at some point of your life you learned how to not drown. I highly recommend starting with a Sprint Distance triathlon which is typically a 400-800m open water swim, a 10-15 mile bike and a 5k run. There are a lot of these over the summer months so you have plenty of access to local races and some time to train beforehand. 

For a first time triathlete, I might recommend joining a local club in order to learn the in’s & out’s of how to go through the transitions & swim with people in a pool. Having a group organization is very helpful in giving you confidence that you can do the race. In NYC I recommend Empire Tri club, they are a great organization that meets frequently and has experienced coaches/team leaders in all three disciplines.

If you go solo, make sure to structure your training appropriately. You don’t have to run everyday for a triathlon, this is not like training for a marathon. I like to focus the most on your weaknesses so this typically means swimming 2-3x/week, biking 2-3/x/week and running 2-3x/week. Now obviously there are not 9 days in a week so sometimes you have to double or perform BRICK exercises where you stack two workouts on top of each other. For example, getting out of the pool and hopping on a spin bike for 20-30 minutes or doing a bike workout & immediately running for 15-20 minutes are great ways to mimic the demands of the sport.

SWIM: MEDIUM (Survive the swim)

• If you haven’t been swimming much: races do a great job separating wave starts by time so be conservative and go out in the later heats so you don’t get swam on top of. 

• If you do have a panic attack: ultimately, there are kayaks/boats/jet skis out there to protect you. If you find yourself hyperventilating, flip onto your back out of the way of other swimmers and take slow, calming breaths to reduce your heart rate. Once that happens, start swimming again and focus on blowing bubbles in the water while swimming so you don’t have a build up of carbon dioxide and have that anxiety build up once again. 

Bike: Moderate (Bike for show)

• You don’t have to have a super fancy triathlon bike in order to do a race but you do need a bike. 

• Pacing is difficult here as miles per hour is variable based on headwind, hills or how crowded it is. I typically use more objective measures for intensity on the bike such as average watts if you have a power meter or heart rate effort if you have a heart rate monitor. The typical recommendation is 75-85% of your FTP (functional threshold power for watts) or 80-90% of your threshold heart rate.

• Here, you’ll want to make sure to have adequate nutrition just like racing a marathon. For a shorter distance triathlon, I typically recommend 1-2 water bottles (1 water & 1 electrolytes), and chews/gels for one every 30-40 minutes at the minimum. 

• What if I get a flat? Well, I suggest learning how to change a flat tire prior to the race just in case this does happen. There may be a bike vehicle to help out any stranded athletes (not as intense as the Tour de France) but I would not rely solely on them. Visit your local bike shop for information on how to change a flat tire or look up Youtube videos. I always suggest racing with a flat tire kit (spare tube, CO2 container, & tire lever) to easily change this if it happens during a race. 

Run: Mad (Run for the dough)

• This is usually where most first time triathletes (previous runners) feel the most comfortable. The difference between this race & other half marathons is that you didn’t swim or bike before. Make sure to pace yourself on this run, if you go out too fast in the beginning, I almost guarantee you will cramp and have issues the rest of the way. 

• In your training before the race, make sure to double up bike/run workouts very close to each other. This is called a “Brick” workout and will help get your body used to running on tired bike legs. I usually recommend following 1-2 bike rides per week that  you do in training with a 10-30 minute run. 

don't forget the Transition

What do I do in the transition? Is there a specific way to set it up?

• T1 & T2: For Ironman races, you must check your bike into transition the day before the race. For smaller races they will let you check in your bike on the day of. For most races T1 (transition between swim & bike) and T2 (transition between bike & run) are in the same place. This is where you will pick your bike up for the ride & drop your bike off before the run. 

• Transition Check List: