Doing my first (mini) triathlon; need some tips!

[baldingboy]

Hey everyone,

I'm a college student and I usually only ride recreationally. I have a pretty strong base of endurance and strength, but recently my girlfriend challenged me by saying that I was not in good enough shape to participate in and finish a triathlon. (Not a full-length traditional triathlon, the distances are cut significantly.) I admit, I'm probably not quite there right now.

If I win the bet, she has agreed to buy me a new bike. But I need some serious help, as the triathlon is coming up in October and I am not in the physical condition I need to be.

What have you found to be best for endurance training when only having time to train in short intervals? My cardio needs some work. I've recently backed/pre-ordered a product called Elevation Training Mask that I heard MMA fighters use to simulate high-altitude training; version 2.0 is being launched on Fundable (link removed by mod) and says it can reduce workouts from 60 minutes down to 20 minutes, which would be ideal because of my busy schedule. Have you used any similar products? Do you have any other tools/tips?

Thanks!

[b_b]

There's no short cuts. You must put in the time and miles. Intervals are great, but alone are not going to prepare you. Have to train mind and body to keep going for extended time. I know quite a few guys that do marathons and tri's and they're running, biking or swimming daily. Google triathlon training programs and find one and follow it religiously. You need to start now. Learn to swim properly. Try to find a training partner. Girlfriend? I don't know anyone who uses that mask thing. Good luck!

[®andyA]

What are the distances for your (mini)-Tri? Is it a 'road' Tri? There are different length "traditional" road Tri's.

For shorter distance events, a good endurance base is helpful - and is all that is really needed - to *finish*. Finishing your first Tri is all about adjusting to the rigors of transitioning from one 'stage' to another. Having that endurance base and focusing on completing each of the 3 legs of the race at a 'comfortable' pace is key.

As mentioned, there is no shortcut to endurance events like Tri's. You can't expect to do well/finish if all you're doing are short intervals. But you can mitigate some of that by making your 'interval' workouts more intense (harder efforts) and/or combining 2 or more of the elements of the Tri in your workouts. One of the more common workouts for multi-sport athletes are 'brick' workouts - you combine a ride and run (B & R, hence 'brick') in one workout. This helps your body acclimate to the switch from biking to running. It can also be done with a swim, but the logistics are a little more cumbersome. But the basic idea is to combine the elements of the Tri in one workout to give your body the chance to adjust to the rigors of the different elements of the Tri.

For a shorter Tri though, you really do not need to do really long workouts. A decent 5-10 mile bike ride combined with a 2-3 mile run IMO is a good start. If you're in as decent a shape as you say, this shouldn't take but an hour or so. I'm not much of a swimmer so I can't give you a good reference for that. I do mostly Duathlons (run-bike-run) for now - but I am working on getting some swim training in. In reality though, you really need to schedule at least 1 'long' workout day in your week to fully prepare for an endurance event like a Tri. That's really the best way to acclimate your body to the rigors of an endurance event.

Now whether you're going to try and place or go fast ... that's another story.

For reference:
Sprint Tri: 800m (~1/2mi) swim, 20k (~12mi) bike, 5k (3.1mi) run
Olympic: Tri: 1500m (~1mi) swim, 40k (~26mi) bike, 10k (6.2)run
Half Ironman (HIM): 1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, half-marathon (13.1mi) run
Full Ironman (IM): 2.4mi swim, 112mi bike, full-marathon (26.2mi) run

[denny]

Good advise from Randy. Let me add something else. This past week at a Tri in Holly, a young girl started the swim and promptly decided to quit. She had done all of her swim training in a pool and wasn't ready to swim in a lake. I strongly recommend doing some of your swim training in open water.

Denny

[Jeffreykdc]

Brick training. Which is Bike-run. It is a hard transition. your legs will hate you so it is good to practice.

[davedejonge]

Seriously everyone. the OP is a spammer...
posting a sales link as a question..
read it again.

die thread die!

[®andyA]

I guess that's more reason to reply with an actual helpful reply.

[kuhljord]

Seriously everyone. the OP is a spammer...
posting a sales link as a question..
read it again.

die thread die!

It may be a spammer, but i picked up some good tips from this

[Jeffreykdc]

Total spammer, check out his other post!

viewtopic.php?t=111154

[c0nsumer]

I wouldn't quite call him a spammer, but more a shill, as he was misrepresenting things in his posts so he's now banned. If you read this page about him, he's an intern at fundable.com. So, basically, he's using posts like this to try and push his employer's products.

[Bento]

I noticed he was doing the same BS on MTBR.

[c0nsumer]

I noticed he was doing the same BS on MTBR.

I saw your (and other) spam reports, but at the time he just looked like typical newbie postings which are a bit off. There are many, many legit new people who make similar posts, so I let it slide. I went looking into it more today and... well.. banned. I can't help but wonder what a note to The Business Builders Club and employer about his dishonest representations would do.

[baldingboy]

Hey all, I did not mean to upset or really mislead anyone here. I am in fact training for a short triathlon, I am aware of this product through my part-time employer, and I wondered if a.) you did in fact have experience with something similar or b.) maybe its a product you'd be interested in seeing yourselves. I did not try to push anyone into getting the product, nor did I promote it as I've never tried it. I apologize for the misunderstanding, and will refrain in the future. And, in fact you have all been incredibly helpful with your advice! So I am thankful for that as well.

[c0nsumer]

Whoops. Seems I did the ban wrong. Done again.

[b_b]

Lol what a tool while trying to cover his tracks he actually proves our suspicions "maybe its a product you'd be interested in seeing yourselves". There's good reason why lawyers don't put their clients on the stand!