Becoming a Triathlete: It's Not as Hard as it Sounds

Being a triathlete is not as daunting, not as scary, and not as hard as it sounds. Just answer these 3 questions: Do you think you can run 3 miles? Do you think you can ride a bike for 30-40 minutes? What about getting in the pool and swimming for 20 minutes? If you answered 'yes' or 'probably' to these three questions, you can become a Triathlete!

If your answer is 'probably' then it is most likely you need to do just a little physical fitness training and your answer will be 'yes'. If it is 'yes' then all you need to do is put these three sports together together and you are a triathlete. It doesn't seem much - swim for 20 minutes, cycle for 30-40 minutes, and run 3 miles. But that's the first step (or three steps) to being a triathlete.

There are several triathlon distances, and the shorter triathlon is called a sprint. They get longer, from sprint to olympic, from olympic to half, from half to a full ironman - the most popular triathlon event called the Ford Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii (www.ironman.com). This distance is quite different than a sprint triathlon. The Ironman distance covers a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, followed by a 26.2 mile (full marathon). No wonder they call it an "Ironman" race distance.

But first things first - the Sprint Triathlon.

The most common distance for a "Sprint-Tri" is: 400 meter open water swim, 25 mile bike ride, followed by a 5K (3.1 mile) run. Reverse "Sprint-Tris" are often done early in the season and this is usually a shorter race in reverse: 3.1 mile run, 10 mile ride, 100 meter swim in a pool.

The Reverse Tri is a much shorter distance and it is the perfect race for the beginner triathlete!

For any 'couch potato', going from the couch to a sprint triathlon is a great way to start a healthy lifestyle and an incredible, life changing habit! It takes a couple hours a week of training (whereas a full Ironman takes a recommended minimum of 10 hrs a week).

All you need is a pair of shorts, a bike, and a very good pair of running shoes. Many recreational sprint triathletes compete with Mountain Bikes (or whatever bike they have in the garage) or a simple road bike instead of using a more expensive triathlon specific bike or time trial bike. For a beginner, any bike can be used for most sprint triathlon events. As you progress and move to longer, bigger events, a more traditional road bike or Tri-specific bike is recommended and sometimes required.

Here are the distances for the most common Triathlon events:

Sprint: 100-800 meter swim / 10-25 mile bike / 5K (3.1 mile) run
Olympic: 800-1600 meter swim / 25-50 mile bike / 10K (6.2 mile) run
Half Ironman (HIM): 1.2 mile swim / 60 mile bike / 13.1 mile run (often referred to as a 70.3 event due to total miles)
Ironman (full): 2.4 mile swim / 112 mile bike / 26.2 mile run (140.6 total miles)

So ask yourself these three question today. Can you swim for about 20 minutes? Can you ride a bike for 30 or 40 minutes? Can you run 3 miles? If you think you can, or if you know you can, get that bike out, put on some running shoes, jump in the pool and you can call yourself a triathlete in training.

Resources:
Ford Ironman: www.ironman.com
USA Triathlon: www.usat.com
Beginner Triathlete: www.beginnertriathlete.com