Beginners Triathlons

Beginners Triathlons

Triathlons are all the rage. They’re the coolest sport around at the moment and everyone wants to get on board.

The 5km event used to be one of the most popular sporting events, with 5km runs held in many towns and cities. Many weekends I would see the orange cones and tape, closing off a loop in my town. Now the cones and barricades and bike racks are appearing throughout cities worldwide. These multi-discipline events range from a few 3 to 4 miles total distance covered, up to 140 mile plus, quite a staggering feat of endurance for the athletes concerned.

If you complete a triathlon of any length, people consider you an exceptional athlete. If you haven’t started training for one, perhaps you should consider it.

I’m going to be writing a number of articles covering various stages of triathlon training, from the first baby steps, up to race tactics for your event.

Firstly, I’d like to say that anyone can compete in a triathlon. If you’re concerned about the competitive nature of sporting events, you’ll be pleased to know that the triathlon community is literally that, a community. People help each other out and have mutual respect for each others endeavor, regardless of your level.

Triathlons are a multi discipline sport that combines the events of running, swimming and cycling into one event. Although triathlons appear to be big business at the moment, you will actually be part of quite a small minority group within the realms of sporting events. When you start training for triathlons, you are going to be heading towards exceptional fitness. Your aerobic endurance is going to skyrocket, improving your cardiovascular health, your muscles will become strong and toned. You’ll also benefit form the social side of becoming part of the triathlon community, there are plenty of clubs around, for newbies as well as seasoned competitors.

Now you’ve decided to get involved, it’s worth considering what distance you are going to start with. It’s good to have long term goals, but taking a step at a time will ensure you gain motivation from setting achievable short term goals, and that you are successful. Training to failure means that you will get a failure mentality which is no good for your future aspirations. Train to succeed at all times.

In my next article I will be looking at the event distances and will start considering a training program for the shortest one, just to get you started.