Starting a triathlon

Starting any new endeavor can be a daunting task, and an exciting one. With triathlons, there’s finding a race, training for it, and then ultimately, crossing the finish line. The first time you cross it, elation at making it across runs through your entire body; then you think either one of two things: you never want to do that again, or you wonder what race to sign up for next.

If you have never completed a triathlon, and don’t know where to start, that’s okay. There are a hundred ways to get started and a million reasons that will get you to the finish line. 

When first starting out, it’s always a good idea to have an ultimate and attainable goal in mind. Do you want to lose weight? Get into shape? Get back into shape? Meet people, perhaps, or maybe you just want to find that next big challenge and complete an Ironman. Whatever your reasons or goals are, Great! Maybe you’ve never exercised seriously before, but you saw a triathlon on TV and thought that it might look interesting. That’s okay too. Whatever your reasons for starting, just be prepared for a few doctor’s visits, a lot of training, a complete change of lifestyle, plenty of new friends and a load of new medals to show off on your wall.

Medals you ask? I know, if you’ve never competed in an endurance event before, you’re wondering how you can possibly qualify to receive a medal. Well, I’ll tell you.

All you have to do is cross the finish line. That’s it. Sounds easy right? Well, it may sound easy, but only after hours of long intensive training sessions and weeks of building yourself up to your peak level of fitness before going out there and giving it your all and then some to get across that finish line after not one, or two, but after THREE events back to back. So yeah, when you cross that finish line, you get the finisher’s medal. And for us age-groupers, that’s what counts. Beating our PR, (that's Personal Record) and crossing that finish line. Needless to say, not everyone finishes. That’s okay  too. It gives us a goal to try for next time. Now, if our PR just happens to be faster than everyone else’s so that you happen to get a podium or place medal as well, so much the better. However, when first starting out, it’s all about the finish. So, barring an act of god injury, (injuries that have nothing to do with training) with a well-planned training regimen that includes nutrition, injury prevention and some swag gear with lots of clinics (the tri kind hopefully), and proper planning from the outset, crossing the finish line can be attainable for anyone.

Yes, even Mr. Couch-potato…ahem- Mr. Former Couch-potato.

Now, triathlons come in various distances. The shortest distance is known as the sprint. These vary from race to race to accommodate all types of skill levels, but generally consist of a .5mi (750meter) swim, 12.4mi (20km) bike and 3.1mi (5km) run. 

The Olympic distance is .93mi (1.5km) swim, 24.8mi (40km) bike and 6.2mi (10km) run.

The International Triathlon Union (ITU) Long has 1.86mi (3km), 49.6mi (80km) and 12.4mi (20km) run.

Half distances, commonly called Half Ironman or Half Iron, consist of 1.2mi (1.9km) swim, 56mi (90km) bike and 13.1mi (21.09km) swim.

Full Distances, commonly referred to as Ironman Distances, are 2.4mi (3.8km), 112mi (180km) and 26.2mi (42.195km) run.

Total triathlon has more information on that, and is well worth the visit.

The first step is to choose the distance that you would like to run. If you’ve never competed before, or are not very athletic to start with, a Sprint or Olympic distance would be a good choice. There are hundreds of races being held across the country for all levels from the serious competitor to the Fun Run type events that have all manner of characters and people going out there just to have a good time. There are also trail run type triathlons and ones that are annual fun events around certain holidays. A lot of the triathlons that run are held on holiday weekends, so that usually isn’t a problem if work hours are a factor to actually going to an event.

If you’re serious about getting into racing, there are triathlon series that each have their yearly runs of events where you can have a full “season” of racing, averaging of about five races far enough apart for recovery, and close enough together to do in succession with the main portion of your training before the first race and if done properly can be a way to increase your fitness level for that final race. By example, you can end the season with a Half Distance race, starting off with a Sprint near the start of your training, then working your way to Olympic, and then throwing one more Olympic and finally another Sprint for kicks or even an ITU before that final Half Iron that you’ve been training for; each race will be planned and put in as a part of your training regimen that you can use to gauge your progress in your training and to help prepare you for the big day.

Aaaaaand…for the rest of us that are not so serious, and want to do just one or two races a year for fun, or perhaps for a cause, or in memoriam, and to meet people, picking those one or two races and completing them is the best thing ever! 

So, whether you become a serious triathlete, or an annual one that just does the turkey trot (usually around thanksgiving in warmer climates) or an anniversary, there are plenty of ways to start, continue and run your way across that finish line. 

Just remember, the most important part of any triathlon is to have fun!