Training For a Triathlon

As some of you may know I participated in my first triathlon last year. This year I decided to do it again and ended up beating my previous time!

The question I am asked the most is “How did I condition my body in the weeks prior to get ready for the upcoming triathlon?” For me, it all starts with my mindset, making the commitment was only the first step. Everyday I was training I challenged my self and pushed my self outside of my comfort zone.

If you workout regularly you can be ready for your first triathlon in only 12 weeks, granted I recommend getting started sooner to give yourself more time if you currently are not exercising regularly.

For me, it was very important to get on a training regimen prior to my triathlon because, as a doctor, I know that conditioning my tendons, ligaments and my endurance would be the key to beating my previous time without any injuries.

In a typical triathlon, the average participant spends about 20 percent of the total race duration swimming, 50 percent of the total race duration cycling, and about 30 percent of the total race duration running.

Your training should approximately match these distributions. Each week, you should do roughly equal numbers of swim, bike and run workouts, but your bike workouts should be longer and your swims shorter.

For example, if you work out six times a week, you will swim twice, bike twice, and run twice, but your longest bike ride might be one hour, whereas your swims last 30 minutes each and your runs, 40 minutes.

If your fitness has been dormant for quite a while, it’s good to give yourself enough time to get in shape and minimize the chances of injury. If you can commit to training even five days per week—two and a half to four hours per week—that’s plenty of time to get in shape!

Every person is different, begin with an amount of training that is appropriate to your present level of fitness and increase the workload incrementally throughout the time you have available before your race, always allowing yourself enough time for recovery.

Even if you’re a typical out-of-shape adult who’s neither overweight, elderly, nor suffering from any debilitating medical conditions, you’ll need approximately 12 weeks to prepare for a triathlon.

I suggest that on top of having a good exercise regimen in the weeks prior to the race, you should also pay attention to how you are fueling your body through nutrition.