The growth of endurance sports over the last few years has been phenomenal. The number of events that can cater for the pure beginner is now endless.

So if you’ve ever wanted to get into triathlon and multisport here’s an 8 week guide to your first event. 

Newcomers to multisport events encompass a wide range of ages, backgrounds and athletic abilities. Nevertheless, whether you are an elite swimmer who has never run or cycled before or in your seventies and new to exercise, a planned training schedule is a key element for successful preparation. The 8-week programme discussed here should be adapted to your own individual circumstances (your existing fitness level, time available to train, etc.) and the type of event you are entering (i.e., triathlon or multisport). Anyone can do this: the only assumptions are that you are healthy and willing to give it a go.

As you embark on your training, remember these basic considerations:

·         Your training should improve overall fitness

·         You must allow time for regular commitments such as family life and work

·         Avoid overtraining, as you risk overuse injuries or illness

·       Bear in mind any existing injuries when formulating your training plan

·         Training should be fun.

Can’t Swim ?

Swimming is  typically the hardest of the endurance sports to pick up. Rather than trying to go alone

-          contact your local pool/club/bike shop and find out if there are any ‘learner’ or ‘beginner’ sessions

-          talk to friends, family or work colleagues who have raced before. Purge them for information on their first events and try to avoid the same mistakes they made.

-          if you are doing a triathlon in open water make sure you practice swimming in the sea/lake several times before the event preferably in a group

 Selecting an Event

 Before getting carried away with the Ultra distance races (such as Ironman) give a shorter event a try. This will give you the confidence to advance to longer races in the future

 Equipment

When you are getting started keep it simple. Ensure

-          your bike that is set up correctly(seat height, pedals etc)

-          your running shoes are in good condition ie not falling to pieces

-          if you are wearing a wetsuit that it fits correctly (if it takes in huge amounts of water is becomes counter productive, dive suits are not suitable for triathlons) 

Before race day make a check list of all the gear you need to take with you to the race so you don’t forget anything.

 Getting started

 Once you have acquired the basic skills of the sports involved in your target event, you will need around 8 weeks to prepare for the event. The table provides a basic training programme for a sprint distance triathlon (500-750 m swim, 20 km cycle, 5 km run). One extra session has been included in the last few weeks leading up to the event, although this is not crucial and can be left out if you lack the time. During the last few weeks, any extra time should be applied to the weakest discipline — where gains will be most noticeable.

 

For triathlon, do at least two open water swims of 30 to 40 minutes in the last 4 weeks, preferably in a group and always taking safety precautions. Do the Saturday session in continuous fashion, to get used to the transition and its effects on your muscles.

 
John Newsom’s tips for your first race

Table 1. Triathlon training programme (times in minutes) for recreational/novice participant*

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Weeks 1 to 4
Swim	20-30	-	-	20-30	Rest day	-	-
Bike	-	30-45	-	-		30-60	-
Run	-		20-30	-		-	20-30
Weeks 5 to 8
Swim	30	-	-	30-40	Rest day	20	-
Bike	-	45	-	-		30	60
Run	20		30-40	-		20	-

* Notes: The cycling and running sessions are all at a continuous or easy steady pace. As this would be rather boring for the swim, break it into interval every second session. After a warm-up of 200 to 400 m, do intervals of anywhere between 2 and 10 minutes, e.g., 20 x 50m with 30 seconds rest after each 50m, 10 x 100 with 1 minute rest each 100m, or ladders, e.g., 50 – 100 – 200 – 100 – 50, etc. Especially in the second 4 weeks, the intervals will be done at a steady pace and the rest between intervals can be shortened from 2 minutes to 1 minute.

More is not Better

Particularly if you are new to a sport, there is a natural tendency to want to improve as quickly as possible and many see increased training intensity as a short cut to improved performance. If there is a classic mistake made by novice competitors (and many who are more experienced!), it is doing too much too soon in training. When you start training, stiffness in muscles lets you know you have overdone it. With time and adaptation to the training load, there may be almost no stiffness after a workout. Overtraining occurs when you continuously increase the training load without giving the body time to recover.

 

How hard to train?

There are other articles in this diary relating to training intensity. In general athletes tend to train a little hard for their first event. Have a think about the speed you will be trying to maintain for the duration of the event. There is little need to train any faster than this speed early in your endurance career.

So there you have it. Get out there and try your first event.

Good luck

 

John Newsom is a professional triathlon coach based in Christchurch, New Zealand.