Why not Tri a Ménage à trois?

Welcome to triathlon season in all its glory! Have you ever done one? Are you thinking about it? Well we thought we’d give you the low-down just in case!

So first, a personal share. I entered my first tri when I was unsuccessful in getting a place in the London Marathon back in 2004. With another year of the marathon going by with me not in it, I sought a challenge to spice up my goal pool! A triathlon, it seemed, was the only thing that would do the job! Without further a do, I signed myself up and roped in a willing friend!!

So a triathlon is broken down into three different disciplines: a swim, a bike and a run. The distances vary from a super-sprint, all the way through to the iron-man distance. The range of distances mean that it’s not too daunting for beginners, and provides sheer delight for long-distance lovers. Now you know me, I’m a short and sharp gal so I’m all about the shorter races! But that’s just personal preference, some might call it laziness???

So who can do one? Anyone, literally anyone!! The super-sprint is a 400m swim, a 20k bike and a 5k run. So you’re not great at swimming, get yourself down to a club or have a few lessons to scrub up on your technique!! I hear finding a cute coach works a treat, makes you want to work real hard to impress…so you get better at swimming and possibly a little extra tutoring from your coach on stroke technique!…wrong…so wrong, but I just had to! Similarly if running or biking aren’t your strong points, the shorter distances aren’t going to leave you gasping for air. Now just to point out, that is not to be read as “I don’t have to train for a tri” you do!! It’s just that if you think it’s saved for lycra-clad bean poles, then you’re mistaken!

You probably need between about 8-12 weeks to train for your first tri, if you don’t already swim, bike and run on a regular basis. Otherwise, 4-6 weeks of fine-tuned tri training will have you sprinting to the finish into the arms of that swim coach (or not, you might want to spruce yourself up first!!)

If you think you rock at running and you swim like Thorpe but can’t cycle for shiz, then you can team up with pals and break it down into the three, one of you swims, one of you bikes and one of you runs so you have a little tag-team fondue!

Related posts:

1. You Asked: I want me an 8-week tri programme!!
2. Thinking about running a marathon?