Triatholon anyone?

[nbergren]

Has anyone ever done a Triatholon? I am thinking about trying to do one. I have no idea when one might be here in Minnesota or what exactly is involved besides running, biking and swimming. What are the lengths or order of each of these activities, what is involved in changing activities, best way to train? If anyone has any experience or insight, please let me know.

Thanks,
Nancy

 

[deni_rhea]

Hi Nancy! I completed a triatholon two summers ago and plan on doing some this summer. I did a short course which consisted of a 600 yd. swim, 9.5 mile bike, and 2.5 mile run...in that order. Most triatholons vary on distances. As far as the time between the events, transistions, it depends on what you are wearing....one of my friends has a triatholon suit, which means...she swims in it...then puts on her shoes and helmet and heads off on the bike. As for me...I wanted to wear shorts...so I had to take the time to put them on. I trained by bricking my workouts...I would combine two of the events together in a single workout. It was a lot of work for me and I was really nervous about the swim...just because I didn't 'learn' to swim until 3 or 4 months before the triatholon, but running across the finish line was the most incredible feelings I've ever had. Good luck!!!

Deni

 

[Tuvak1]

Welcome to the wonderful world of triatoloning.
I to am from Minnesota and did 3 tri's last summer and 1 duatholon.

Go to Midwestevents.com
This site lists when all the tri's are in Minnesota.
You need to be ready to start registering right away.
I know I have the tri's I want to do this summer set and am waiting for registration to open up on them. Some fill up rather quicky.

The tri season in MN is relativly short.
Lots of duatholons in april and May with Tri's starting in June.

 

[run4fun]

Hi! I did a triathlon last June. It was a 400 meter swim, 11 mile bike ride, and a 2.5 mile run. It was a lot of fun. I think you should go for it. I am thinking about a duathlon. I wish the swims were last on the triathlons..


Fitness4ever! http://www.geocities.com/bankerk/Bevs_Page.html

 

[gvaughn]

RE: Triathlon anyone?

I've done two: the Danskin in 2001 and a local sprint distance race last September. In both, I wore a sports bra and lycra fitness shorts for the swim and bike, and added a tank top with my number pinned to it for the run.

If you can, it's easiest to start out with a smaller, local triathlon with a pool swim.

The Danskin has a great supportive atmosphere, but it was kind of crazy with 2500 participants! Many of the women who enter the race also don't swim that well, and that's especially distressing if you are new to open water swimming and out in the middle of a lake with all these flailing folks.

A great book to help you plan workouts is "Training Plans for Multisport Athletes." There's a great plan in there detailing everything to do for 12 weeks for a first time triathlon, as well as much more advanced plans.

www.active.com is also a great place to find events.

 

[gvaughn]

Swimming

I wish there were swim/bike/swim duathlons! I just have no natural running ability at all. Makes it hard to be consistent in training.

It's hard when you love just two of the legs, isn't it?