it's not easy being a triathlete (or a training-to-be triathele). you need to spend lots of time, money, effort and brain power into the disciplines. afterall, while others are training in one discipline, you are training in the three sports consisting of swimming, cycling and running. it's definitely not for the fainted hearted.there are mainly four different distances for triathlons.
Sprint
swim - 750m
bike - 20km
run - 5km
Olympic
swim - 1.5km
bike - 40km
run - 10km
Half Ironman
swim - 1.9km
bike - 90km
run - 21km
Full Ironman
swim - 3.8km
bike - 179.2km
run - 42km
before you can actually start training ,you will probably need to get the proper gears, equipment and apparels. due to the long hours of endurance training, insufficient or wrong preparation will leave you stranded with injuries, forcing you out of the entire picture.
Swimming
- probably the least injury prone discipline. However there are in fact a lot of techniques to learn to swim faster, fully utilizing the buoyancy of the water to propel youself. you need to keep your body straight which means keep it as parallel to the bottom of the pool as much as you can. make sure you rotate your hips and stretch out your hands to the max when "crawling" forward. paddling is only a minor part of the overall effort so focus is not so much on your legs but actually your core muscles.
its' even more difficult to swim in open water and with a lot of zealous competitors making splashes beside you. you would have to glup down lots of saltwater, probably face the fate of steering off course, getting lots of bruises on different parts of your body and coming out of the water shagged out with two full disciplines waiting for you.
a triathlete will have to master how to draft (swimming behind someone so as to cut down on energy use to break waves), swim and scout at the same time to make sure you are on course, able to breathe on both left and right side and pace yourself (without the aid of any other equipment except probably a watch) to conserve enough energy for the bike and run.
after the swim comes Transition 1 (T1) where a triathlete will mount his bike and go on a high speed chase.
Bike
- the most technical part of the whole event and the main bulk of the distance is covered here. most dangerous because one can reach speed of 40km/h and more. basically, you can use any type of bike here. mountain bike, those with 1, 3 or 4 wheels and those with pink ribbons at the handlebars. however, you would probably see a lot of thin and sleek road bikes (a.k.a racers) from all the different brands such as Trek, Scott, Cervelo and more.
you need a computer to tell you how hard you are paddling and pace yourself out. the cadence (rpm), watts you are generating, speed and also a heart rate monitor to see whether you are pushing too hard. mastering gear shifting, maneuvering while in aerodynamic position, techniques of turning, drafting (yeah.. riding too.. has drafting). as much as the kind of bike and its accessories matter, your technique is the most important in this stage of the rest.
Running
- last stage of a triathlon. you would probably be exhausted here due to the two previous disciplines. the constant pounding on the floor and its pounding back on you . similarity you would need a heart rate monitor to monitor how much you are pushing yourself. a shoe that is right for you. one that corrects your running deficiency if you have any. one which can accurately absorb all the shock you are experiencing. one that will propel you to the finishing line.
Training for a triathlon
you cannot be lazy because you need to train in 3 disciplines. a triathlete (or training one) has to wake up in the morning for a 40 lap swim and proceed on to a 5 - 10km run. have breakfast and go to work. come back from work and go for a 20-30km bike trail. sometimes you would have to throw in gym sessions to train your core muscles and cut down fat level (crucial because a lighter and lean triathlete will definitely be better than a heavier one). on weekends, it intensifies to an open water swim of 2 hours, run of 15km and above and bike of up to 40km.
in this case, you would need lots of food and supplement to recuperate what you've lost. electrolyte drinks would become your best friend along with bread, pasta, white meat, red meat, protein drinks and powerbars/gels. you would probably forget how mac's fries and KFC crispy chicken taste like due to the require low fat and calories intake.
you would also have to spend a fortune getting the
running shoes (prob $100-$200 for one pair and you will need 2-3 pairs to rotate because shoes need to "rest" too so as to allow the cushioning to return to its original form)
a bike (probably $1000 + for entry level and you can go ever higher after that.. probably.. 4 -5k for a higher end one), helmet (safety first, could cause you around $80 for low end and $500 for high end), bike computer,bike shoes, seats, aero bars for more advance level which might end on a few hundreds.
apparels such as running tights, tri suits, trunks. they are made from special material for performance, lightweight and wicking.
countless of lessons paid to improve your performance. swim camp, swim lessons, bike maintenance, bike fitting. and also health checkup to make sure you are physically ok.
the money needed for nutrition such as protein powder, multi vitamins and supplements, powerbar/gels and healthy food are always more expensive.
entering races. these races ain't cheap, ranging from $30 and over.
constant need to find inspiration and motivation to push on such as overseas training, race dvds and books to read up.
- simply put, it is a big financial and physical strain, but in the world of tri, we never say die, never!-
there is this constant target ahead and one which you will never get sick of. you will never be satisfied with how you are performing and that is the motor behind every endurance athlete. you will always be thinking "if someone else can do it, why can't i?".. you will be spurred on and eventually perform in an outstanding and of course, stylish manner.
