Anyone training for a Triathlon? or want to join me?

I found an article on training for a Sprint Triathlon and I decided that this was something that I want to train for.  I already jog several times per week.  I love to swim and bike as well, so why not do all three.  I love the look of triathalets bodies and would love to get mine to that point.  I could use some pointers/suggestions, some buddies too.

mudgirl, i did a sprint tri 2 years ago...it was a blast and felt like such a great accomplishment! 

a few notes:

if you are training in a pool, you might want to look for a race with a pool swim, as opposed to an ocean or lake swim (the ocean swim was VERY different from the pool, and a little scary). 

if you do decide on an ocean swim, most people wear wetsuits (i didn't know that one either, haha).   

a good website is www.beginnertriathlete.com

the tri that i did was the last one in a summer series, so there were big cash prizes and a ton of professional triathletes.  i rolled up with my ten speed, tennis shoes and speedo to find these incredibly fit people with bikes that cost thousands, bike shoes, wetsuits, etc.  i was so nervous, and i guess one of the other competitors picked up on that - she said, "honey, there are competers and there are completers...just cross that finish line like you came here to do."  i relaxed and did just that. 

hope you decide to go for it!  good luck!  i'd join ya but no bike and no access to a pool right now :-)

Thanks for the note.  I am going to be training in both a pool and a lake.  there are no oceans near us lol.  I had found that website lastnight, it is really good.  I ran my first 3k race lastyear and there were alot of people that were way more experienced than me and I did it just to say that I could and I did farely well (3rd women and 5th overall).  Thanks for the notes.

I'm doing a triathlon in August with a few people from my school. Depending on what age group they enter me in, I may be doing a sprint or a super-sprint... either way, though, I've been training pretty hard and it's been a blast so far.

I'm doing this coming from a running and swimming background... cycling is definitely my weakest sport out of the three, so I can't give too many pointers there. Any questions about the swimming or running, though, well, feel free.

I'm currently training for my first triathlon. It's olympic distance. I'm going to do a sprint distance tri for fun in august to make sureI'm ready for the real deal in september. It's hard to get into the training, especially the running b/c I was always a swimmer but definitely not a runner. It would be great if we could all support each other through our training!

I did my first bike lastnight.  I biked for 30 min at a rate of 9.89mph.  I didn't want to over do it like so many of us do on the first try.  Today I am doing a run as well as a strength workout.  Although I might have a soccer practice tonight so i might skip the strength workout or not do as much.  Thursday is my swim day.  Saturday is my next bike day I am hoping to up my speed though it is for 45 min on Sat.  I had tons of energy after yesterdays bike.

I would love company on training.  I have been looking to see if there are any races this year when i am done but i haven't been able to find any, there is one the week before I am done the training.

Hey mudgirl, 

I'm signed up for a sprint triathlon in August in Verdun, Montreal and another in September in Montreal centre.  One's in a pool and the other is in the Olympic basin.  If things go really well in August, I might try the olympic distance in September -- we'll see how the running goes.  Right now I run like a SNAIL -- I just can't seem to get my speed up :P!!

Biking is really going super great as is the pool.  I just need to make my feet move faster!  Fortunately, my husband is training for duathlons/triathlons this year too, and his albatross is the pool (therefore, we understand each other?)

I find training so much more interesting with a goal in sight.  What made you decide on triathlons instead of regular races?  Just curious!

PS:  I've got four young kids, so I know what it's like to try to fit training into your day...

Skinny,

How long have you been training for?  Have you tried doing different speeds when you are running like sprints every couple minutes?  I found that soccer acctually helped me gain some speed.

I picked up a Fitness magazine to read at the loak over the long weekend and they have a 8 weeks training program in it, the sub caption read "Get the sleek arms of a swimmer, the firm butt of a cyclist, and the toned legs of a runner in just 8 weeks"  I was hooked lol not the best reason but it got me thinking.  One of my friends runs marathons and started biking too, and he was thinking of doing a tri.  He is way out of my league for now but who knows.

It is easier when you have a goal.  I figure that I will do this training then move on to Joints in Motion.  I still want to run the Manitoba Marathon next year.  I had set that goal last year but just didn't get into the training enough and my previous job got in the way.

How old are your kids.  We are going to be getting a membership to the YMCA so I can train in the winter with a babysitter there.

Well, here I am back at the keyboard with a sleeping baby in my arms...

I have twin six-year-old girls, an almost-four-year-old boy (in August) and a nine month-old baby girl.

I've been training since January, but had to stop swimming in February because of a nasty case of tendonitis in my shoulder.  Go figure; it took me 5 months to get up the courage to go get a cortisone shot -- I'm such a suck when it comes to needles!

Anyway, dh has me doing lots of track work to try to get my speed up and I'm getting some results but it's a slow progression.  You know that most run the 5k in 25 minutes or less?!  That's a crazy speed.  Maybe I"ll think it's normal one day?

At any rate, I have the endurance down.  I can run an hour and a half no problem (without stopping) but only at speed of about 7.5k/hour.  Ugh.

And look, you only have to go to one of these events once to get the "bug":  the competitors have gorgeous bods!!  I want one like that too!  Eh, so maybe that makes my motivations a little less "pure".  Whatever :D!

How old are your kids?  What kind of competitions do you have available in Manitoba?  We're thinking of heading out to BC next year.  There's a lot of stuff going on out that way too, I think.

so how's the training coming for everyone? i've been steppin up my workouts and trying to run more. i actually ran a mile nonstop and that was big for me so i'm hoping next time i can do at least a mile and a half and keep doing it a little more each time.

hope everyone else is doing awesome!

Training was a little slow this weekend.  There was some family issues this weekend. Saturday we went for a long bike ride but it wasn't a fast one because of the kids.  Sunday we all went for a walk.  I was going to go for a run tonight but it was raining and hubby had some work to do in the garage.  Tomorrow....still no swiming, but on pay day we are going to join the Y so we can all take advantage of it.

I'm having a hard time running because of the heat. Last night I tried to go, but I was sick and had some weird stomach cramps; I would've gone, but then my mother pointed out that if I went running at ten at night and got sick somewhere along the route, there'd be no one there to help me and I'd be at least eight kilometres from home.

I haven't gone running in almost two weeks because of the weather! How are you guys dealing with the heat? I need to get my runs in; I'm a run-every-day kind of person and this long a period of doing nothing (okay, relatively nothing) is quite a mental strain.

yea the heat has been a real pain. it was so hot last week they cancelled our team workout. i try to run in the morning before it  gets too warm b/c even in the evening it's still really hot.

the heat really gets me motivated to swim though! I did my swim the other day and swam abotu a mile in under 45 minutes. it wasn't a straight mile, but broken up into sets so i was pretty happy about that. I am hoping to do the swim portion in around 30-35 minutes so I think I'm almost there.

hi all,

im doing my first sprint here in miami in august.  It is very very hot here so I work out around 7pm. There is still light but its not direct.  We are so close the the equator that when the sun is directly on me I literally get ill in the summer. Fortunantly the ocean is very warm so its easier to do swim workouts in, that is if you dont mind all the people wadding around.

Well Training has been going better now that I got my new Running shoes.  I tired to go running lastweek and found that my runners were going which i kinda already knew.  So on Monday I went out and bought a pair of Nike Air Max Moto+ 5.  They are soooo nice i love them.  I have been biking slowly (with the kids) and then training on opposite day to running.  I just had a job interview at the YMCA and I will find out before friday if i got it or not. I will start swiming this fall since I don't have regular access to a pool or ocean/lake.  There are not any races after Aug 18, so I will try to train for next spring.  Hope everyone's training is doing well.  Oh yeah it is really hot and humid here too.

I will enter a Oly triathlon next May. Still a long way to go, b ut I do have a couple of half marathons in between.

I am not too worried about the running and cycling, but the swimming scares me a little bit (it'll be in the ocean). The good thing is that I moved to the beach a couple of months ago, should make training easier. I will start my program on the 30th of July (I am on a trip next week).

I hate the humid weather!  I went running today (doing fartleks in an attempt to up my speed) and it felt like I was running in soup.  Ugh.

I was really sick for a few days and now the bug has seemed to settle in my lungs.  My run was stopped on several occasions by coughing fits.  Eventually, I gave up and walked back to the car.  My average pace was 9 km/hour on 3k though -- a huge improvement.

Tomorrow I bike and Friday I swim and then head to the track for speed work.  I REALLY hope the weather breaks by then.

Happy training everyone!!

wow great job everyone!

i have stepped up my training. i've been getting up in the morning to go run for 40 minutes and it's getting a little easier. I think I ran a total of about 2 miles the other day w/ walking mixed in. I have a month and a half to get that up to a few more miles.

i need to do more swimming and biking but it's a little harder since I don't like to go on the trail solo b/c there are crimes out there and swimming takes a lot of time b/c of getting there, swimmign, showering, getting home. so i've been slackin off there.

i do a tri for fun (sprint distance) on august 4, so i'll still have a month after that before my olympic distance tri. i am excited! i will have to find another tri to do once I finish that one.

hey all! i just completed my first sprint triathlon today! it took me about 2 hours and 15 minutes. it was pretty much what i expected. so now i have a month left to get my times down and endurance up for my olympic distance in september!