Erik Schlimmer tells the story of how he learned to fastpack the Adirondacks, a grueling 110 miles and 19,000 vertical feet of climbing, in five days with only 11 pounds on his back.
When this issue hits the gyms and stores, the story that inspired this column will be old news, but I’m writing about it anyway because I think it raises some really important issues in the active community.
Tired of doing the same workouts week after week? Even more
tired of doing the same races every year? Plagued by nagging injures? Looking for a new challenge? Do what thousands of runners have done
in recent years to up the ante and push themselves further—triathlon.
Going from running to triathlon presents a few challenges:
1. You may have little to no swimming or cycling experience.
2. There are so many triathlons to choose from and you don’t know what distance is right for you.
3. You’re used to running most days and you don’t know how to restructure your training.
The best thing you can do for yourself as you delve into swimming is to take a few lessons. A local swim/tri coach for one-on-one lessons is a great option. Also look for classes at a YMCA or other gyms with pools that offer lessons. If you can find a swim class geared at new triathletes, that’s even better, as the instructor will be able to teach you how to conserve energy and swim efficiently. If you have little swimming experience, you will probably find yourself very frustrated if you simply jump in and start swimming laps. A few lessons will really help.
Any bike in good working order can be a great start for your first triathlon. Most of your rides should be simple aerobic rides, much like your basic aerobic runs until your legs get used to the spinning.
Most runners should choose a sprint-distance triathlon for their first, even marathoners. A sprint triathlon does not have a set distance (they vary quite a bit) but are generally in the range of a 0.25-mile swim, a 12-mile bike, and a 3-mile run. Putting all three disciplines together is usually enough of a challenge for your first race just to get a feel for it. If you love it, you can always gradually move up to longer distances.
The biggest challenge many runners face is that they have trouble paring down how much they run. With added swimming and cycling workouts, you must back off on your running a bit or your risk slipping into the under-recovery syndrome (aka, overtraining syndrome). Since you will be swimming and cycling as well, you do not need to do as much total volume of running. You should pare your running down to the most important workouts and the ones most specific to triathlon.
Here are three suggested weekly training layouts for a beginner, intermediate and advanced runner to work up to when preparing for a sprint-distance triathlon.
To learn more about Jason Gootman, Will Kirousis, and Tri-Hard, please visit www.Tri-Hard.com.
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