"the dork knight" <
[email protected]> wrote in
news:EvSEb.756501$6C4.43873@pd7tw1no:
> How does one go from relatively inactive, haven't run in a long time (never was fast or good), to
> olympic distance or at least sprint triathlete?
>
> I am slightly over weight, it takes me 11'45" to run a mile and a 1/2 and 40km bike takes me 3.5
> to 4 hrs (although quite hilly). My swimming isn't too bad as I can get by without killing myself.
>
> Help me please help me
>
> Brian
>
>
Doesn't sound like you're all that far from being there to me! First of all, I'd start with training
for the sprint, and plan to do the Oly later. As far as training....
Swim: Don't take the "I'll just survive the swim" approach. you need to be comfortable swimming the
distance required by whatever race you'll be doing and having reserve energy when you get done. The
most important part of this is knowing what pace you should be swimming at, and you won't know that
without plenty of practice. If you can hook up with a masters swim group in your area, you'll end up
more than ready for a sprint swim within 3-4 months.
Bike: Sounds like you can already cover the distance. Great! You don't need to ride the full race
distance every time. As a matter of fact, you'd be better served if many of your workouts were
focused on how fast you could complete shorter distances. These workouts end up making you faster,
whereas the longer rides just add miles. Also try to get in some practice on a course as similar as
possible to the one you'll ride on race day. A long, flat ride can throw you off if you're used to
riding hills, although not as bad as a hilly ride when you're used to flat!
Run: Similar to the bike, mix longer runs with shorter ones. 11:45 for
1.5 miles might be too fast for now if you're exhausted when you finish. Find the pace that lets you
go a little further on your long runs, and save the faster pace attempts for the shorter ones.
Before long, you'll get a feel for what pace works for you, and how much you can push it.
Bricks: A "Brick" is a run immediately after a bike. You'll be doing this on race day, and if that's
he first time you try it, you'll think your legs are falling off! Try a few of these. They don't
have to be race distance. The objective is to bike far enough to get your legs used to biking at
race pace or close to it, then to hop off and try running at race pace. It feels horrible at first,
but within a half mile or so your legs recover.
Transitions: DON'T overlook this! Think about every little step you'll need to take when you some up
from the swim and get on the bike, and practice it. On race day you'll feel like it's taking you
forever to get through it, and it'll be much worse without practice. Same for the bike- run
transition.
Much, much more info to be found at
http://www.trinewbies.com/
Find a race near you at
http://trifind.com/
Good luck! Welcome to the sport!
Tom
