Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Anyone training for or planning a triathlon in the future? Instead of my yearly Spring 1/2 marathon, I decided to try a sprint triathlon in April. I'm pretty excited and as long as I get into the pool regularly I should have no problem with the training. Any support or advice from PPK triathletes out there?

preparation and consistency is the key.

i'm looking to do one after my 1/2 marathon (late june). how long should i give myself to train? i would be pretty set for the running, but need serious help with swimming. can anyone suggest an online training program?

i'm already excited for this despite not wanting to start training until after the 1/2 in june, haha.

I did a few sprint triathlons last year and one olympic. I don't have access to a pool right now so I'm looking for a duathlon to train for in 2011.

I really suggest beginnertriathlete.com, there are all kinds of training plans on there. Some of them are paid-member only, but lots of sprint plans are up there for free.

I've done a couple of sprints in the past and am joining a team (tonight!) with an eye towards an Olympic this season. There are a lot of training programs available online (12 week couch-to-sprint, and ones for people already in good shape like you 1/2 marathoners.) My advice is not to limit your swim training to the pool. Get some experience open-water swimming!

So true! Open-water swimming is a totally different ball game. It freaks me out every time!

Oh, and if you're going to need a wetsuit for your swim, make sure you try that out ahead of time too. (I have not used a wetsuit yet, but I will need to get one this year, methinks.)

Studio which sprint are you planning to do? I'm hoping to do a sprint tri in July (as long as my knees cooperate and nothing else breaks!) Finding the time to train is the hardest part for me right now. I will have to get far more serious about it in the coming months!

I have my races picked out for the season and I'm excited. First sprint is 6/4.

Woo!

I need to find some duathlons around here. I don't have access to a pool right now. :(

Thanks for the advice monkeytoes. My tri is early April and the swim is in the pool. Even if I wanted to get out and do open water swims, I live in Calgary and we can still have snow in March! If I decide to continue with triathlons, I woukd like to do one in summer where there is open water and I will definitely prepare.

At this point I have the fitness to finish the race, so I'm just checking out the sport I guess! I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Studio - I did my first tri in Regina last May. It had a pool swim. But the bike and run ended up being in the SNOW. Crazy prairie weather.

Pool swims can get kind of chaotic depending on how full the race is/how they structure the heats. My best advice there would be to just get in your groove and zone everyone out (which admittedly can be kind of difficult).

I'm exited to hear how your race goes!

I have registered for my races for this summer: a non-regulation sprint on 6/4, a sprint on 7/9, an Olympic on 8/13 and a sprint on 9/4. I'm excited! AND my wetsuit came today! Except for the fact that I haven't gotten my bike out of mothballs yet, I'm on my way.

Exciting! Let us know how your races go!!

First race down! I don't know how I feel about it. When I joined my team I set two pretty modest goals for the season. I made one of them today, but I'm still sort of disappointed. I feel like I've worked harder than that for the last four months. But that just means I have to step it up (have to anyway, my Olympic race is in two months.) I definitely need to work on shoulder strength. I also need to hydrate better; I definitely did not drink enough.

Hey monkeytoes!

Congratulations on your race!! I'm sorry it maybe didn't live up to your expectations, but we've all been there! Be proud of yourself & all your training and give yourself room to learn.

Good luck with your Olympic distance training!

Thanks, studio! I feel better about it today, having compared my results with my sister's (she's a couple seasons ahead of me training-wise.) I met my stated goal and I was only 13:16 behind her (and 2:24 of that was in transition.) So, I've just set another sprint goal (my Olympic goal is just to finish this year.) I know what I have to do to get there.

Congrats on your race! Hydration/fueling is such a tricky thing to nail perfectly.

Second tri in the books. I didn't make my goal time because I crashed on the bike, but I ran all bloody so I'm a badass. And I won my division, which is kind of hilarious but also pretty cool.

Awesome monkeytoes! You ARE a badass. A division-winning badass!! Congratulations!

Nice! You are awesome, monkeytoes!

Thanks guys! I'm now worried about my Olympic training because this knee is pretty nasty. I will be out of commission for at least a week.

+1

It's really impressive Monkeytoes :)

Try not to worry about the training. A week shouldn't make or break you. And besides, we get stronger when we rest! When I bailed HARD on my bike I was so stiff and sore from the bruising I really needed the time off. Take care of yourself! (Maybe the pool will be a good option right now?)

Thanks, studio. My big concern is that I can't really get in the pool until the road rash stops oozing plasma (or serum, or whatever the hell all that clear yellowish liquid is.) I'm hoping that if I can keep walking this week and am not down for longer than a week that I will be OK. I keep reminding myself that the only goal for the Olympic is to finish, but I can't help secretly putting a time goal on it.