10 Essential Tips for Beginners & Triathlon FAQ
Karen Parnell BEng (Hons) CEng MBA CPT
Helping Triathletes & Swimmers meet or exceed their Training & Race Goals | 121 Coaching | Training Plans | TrainingPeaks | Final Surge | Clinics & Camps Spain | Sports Tech & Blog Writer
I can remember my first triathlon and I am so glad I was surrounded by my fellow club athletes and had my coach to help me understand the rules and how to train the right way. Here are a few tips to help your first triathlon go smoothly and help you feel calmer on race day.
Triathlon: 10 essential tips for Beginners Infographic
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Triathlon Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the typical triathlon distances?
Can anyone finish a triathlon?
Yes, you can! If you’re reading this, the chances are you are mentally on the way to finishing your first triathlon. You’re interested in fitness, in endurance and fitness. As long as you pick a triathlon that is suited realistically to your abilities, you can finish.What you really need, ultimately, is to want it bad enough. If you do, you will. Note: before you start training see your doctor before attempting anything related to endurance training and racing.
What triathlon distance is right for me?
This depends on how you level in the water. You can probably ride or run (or walk) the distance in longer events. But don’t put yourself in the water for a longer distance than you can handle. If you’re just starting out, you may want to consider a super sprint distance, with roughly a 375 meter swim (equal to about 13 lengths in a pool) in shallow water. A Sprint race doubles that to 750 meters, and an Olympic Distance race covers nearly a mile in the water. My first triathlon was a pool based Sprint triathlon that started with a 400m pool swim. This enable me to learn about transitions etc and I then moved to a sprint distance with a 750m lake swim.
Do I need to have a strong background in one of the events?
Not necessarily. While you will encounter athletes who swam in high school meets or ran cross-country, many new triathletes are approaching these events for the first time.I would have done a triathlon earlier, but I don’t like to swim. I envy those who glide through the water like a fish, speeding their way through the first leg of a triathlon with ease. For me and many others, the swim can be a challenge, but early on I told myself that part of triathlon is about encountering challenges and overcoming them. I’m not the best swimmer, but when I exit the water in a triathlon, it’s a small victory each time.
Do I need to train many, many hours a week?
The you need to train is dependant on your target race distance and your race goals. For a Sprint triathlon you could train for 5-6 hours a week and for an IRONMAN 70.3 you will be looking at 8-10 and for the full IRONMAN upwards of 12 hours a week with professionals spending 30 hours.
Can a training log or training plan be useful?
Training logs or plans can be very motivational and keep you on track with your training. Without a structured plan you may be progressing too fast and you could start to over train or even get injured. You can find free training plans on the internet or low cost plans for use with an App like Final Surge. You can also find books with training plans and tips in.
What is the most important concept in building a training plan?
Most training plans use the concept of periodisation. This is where your training period of say a year (macrocycle) is divided in to manageable chunks (mesocycles) which can be around 4 weeks. Each week is a microcycle. During your training period you will go through phases such as prep, base, build, peak, race and transition all with different aims and training loads. Usually each four week cycle with have 3 weeks of build and one week of recovery with less volume to allow your muscles to repair and rebuild. You training load needs to be managed to allow for the correct physical adaptations also known as the training effect.
Do I need to buy expensive kit to do a triathlon?
No. You can use kit you already have and for a sprint triathlon with a pool swim you can use a swimming suit, any bike that meet the standards set by the race organisers, and standard running gear. One of my athletes used to use an old Casio sports watch so you don't even need an expensive GPS watch. Some people like to use data to train with so invest in a GPS watch like a Garmin, bike with tri-bars, power meters for cycling and running and many other pieces of technology.
Do I need to buy a wetsuit?
A triathlon wetsuit can cost 150€ to 500€ and more, so it’s a pricey investment. The reasons to get one: help you stay warm in longer swim distances, and the buoyancy will make most amateur swimmers swim better.But a wetsuit is not mandatory for all triathlons, and certainly not needed in the short distance races like Super Sprints, held in water that’s warm or swimming pools. Some triathlon stores will rent wetsuits, and that’s a good idea if you only plan to do one or two triathlons. If you can see yourself staying engaged in triathlon longer, the cost of a wetsuit makes sense. But make sure you try before you buy as brands cut their wetsuits differently. A good open water swimming venue often has many brands you can try to find the one that suits your body shape.
Do I need an expensive bike?
Anything with two wheels in your garage can get you started at no extra cost. I once used a 99€ mountain bike from ToysRus for a sprint triathlon when I was away on business travel. And my bike times in those two triathlons were not all that bad. When I decided to take on longer triathlons, I bit the bullet and bought a mid-range road bike with add on tri-bars which I still have and use on my indoor trainer. If you decide to go longer and into the realms of IRONMAN events then you may find a triathlon bike with built in tri-bars may be a good idea so you can get in to a more aerodynamic position. Ladies can modify a man's bike if this is all you have available - here's how.
How do I stop my wetsuit from chafing and rubbing?
You may experience chafing from your wetsuit if it is new or you are increasing your training distances so it’s advisable to buy a good anti-chafe product like body glide and apply it to your neckline, wrists and ankles. Don´t be tempted to use Vaseline as this is a petroleum-based product and not good for your wetsuit or the environment and can cause your wetsuit to break down. Lube, like Body Glide, will also help you remove your wetsuit in T1.
How do I swim straight? What is Sighting?
It’s extremely important to learn to swim straight as if you don’t then you may find you will end up swimming more than 2.4 miles thus losing time and wasting energy. The trick to swimming straight is “sighting”, master this early in your swim training and this will pay dividends come race day. I recommend sighting about every four to eight strokes.
What happens if my triathlon is cancelled?
In these changing times events can get cancelled. If it's an isolated incident you may be able to find an alternative on a similar date and you can adjust your training. If you can't find another event you could do the triathlon with friends or on your own. another great alternative could be to do a virtual event like the ones on the IRONMAN Virtual Club site.
What's it like to complete a triathlon?
When you finish a triathlon you will feel a great sense of accomplishment and a massive "runners high". Even if things don't go to plan like you have a puncture on the bike leg you will feel brilliant! So good that you may go home and book another! Warning: triathlon is addictive! Not just the race but the training journey
Do you need to swim front crawl or freestyle stroke?
In short no, you can swim any stroke you want as long as you make it to the end of the swim by cut-off time. However in some races backstroke is not permitted in pool swims and any competitor wishing to use backstroke at an open water event must indicate this to the Event Organiser before entering the water. Backstroke in open-water can also lead to some sighting issues and bumping into other competitors. Breaststroke is ok but you may find you get lower back pain in a wetsuit doing this stroke. If you can spend some time learning front crawl if you can as you will be quicker.
Can I use pool goggles in open water?
Yes you can. But open-water-specific goggles do tend to come with larger lenses, which therefore provide better peripheral vision. The other area to consider is the lens colour, to cope with the different lighting conditions outdoors. Also you may find they fog up so using a product like Cressi anti-fog is advisable. It will guarantee a fog free swim and enable you to sight plus its reef safe so wont pollute open water swim venues. I like Zoggs Predator Flex goggles with tinted, polarised lens's.
Can I wear something on my feet before the swim?
Yes, you can wear something like flip-flops to the water’s edge. Take an old pair that you don’t mind not seeing again as they may need to be discarded.
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Can I pee in my wetsuit?
Yes, you can pee in your wetsuit and in a triathlon it’s one of the benefits! You can fill up on fluids before the swim and be fully hydrated and pee when you need to. Peeing when swimming and not having to stop is however a skill worth perfecting!
How do you get out of a wetsuit quickly?
This is worth practicing during your training and swim to bike brick sessions. Before the pandemic there were wetsuit “strippers” who would help you out of your wetsuit after the swim. Check your athlete guide to see what help you will get on the day.
The basics are to pull your wetsuit down so that it’s below your knees. Step out of one leg, and tread on the wetsuit to help pull the other leg out. Lube can help with removing your wetsuit, something like Body Glide.
Can I swim breaststroke?
You can absolutely do breaststroke in a triathlon. The only stroke that you can’t do in any sort of triathlon is backstroke – for two reasons; firstly, because you can’t see where you’re going, and secondly, because it’s rolling on your back that signifies you may be in danger or at least struggling.
Is there a temperature where it's mandatory to wear a wetsuit?
Ironman triathlon races have a minimum water temperature that athletes will be allowed to wear a wetsuit. The swim portion becomes “Wetsuit Legal” when the water temperature is at or below 76.1F/24.5C. The swim portion becomes “Wetsuit Optional” when water temperatures are between 76.2F/24.55C and 83.8F/28.8C. And, the swim portion becomes “Wetsuits Prohibited” when water temperatures are above 84F/28.8C. These rules may differ for USAT, BTF etc events so it's worth checking the rules in your race pack for race and regional specific rules.
What are the wetsuit rules? Can I use a surfing wetsuit?
A triathlon wetsuit must not be thicker than 5mm. Depending on the temperature of the water and on the country where you will race, a wetsuit might be mandatory, permitted, or forbidden. You could use a surfers wetsuit if its not thicker than 5mm but it is made of different fabric than a swimming wetsuit. Swimming wetsuits give swim buoyancy and have thinner shoulders to allow for swimming strokes.
What is transition and jelly legs?
Transition is the term used when you go from the swim to the bike (T1) and bike to run (T2). It's also the name of the area where you store your bike and other kit for each discipline and complete the transitions. "Jelly legs" is the odd sensation you’ll experience in your legs as you move from one discipline to the next (swim to bike: bike to run) and as your body gets used to using different muscles. Don’t worry – it’ll abate as you settle into your rhythm. It's worth practising this in training with brick sessions.
What are the rules for your helmet in T1?
According to BTF rules: “All competitors must have their helmet securely fastened from the time they remove their bike from the rack before the start of the bike leg, until after they have placed their bike on the rack after the finish of the bike leg.” Failure to do so may result in a time penalty.
What is a Brick session?
A brick session is a training set that involves more than one discipline/sport back-to-back. The most common example in triathlon is the bike/run brick, where a bike session will be followed by a run. You can also do swim to bike bricks or triple bricks or multi-bricks.
Here's a FREE book on Swim Workouts for Triathletes with workouts, tips, terms, drills and a kit guide.
If you have any questions about your first triathlon please get in touch.
Karen Parnell is a Level 3 British Triathlon and IRONMAN Certified Coach, NASM Personal Trainer and Sports Technology Writer.
For more FAQ answers take a look at the full Chilitri FAQ.
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