Time, Time, Time. You have accepted the multi-sport challenge and now it is TIME to get started. What better way to start than with the concept of TIME, by far the biggest fear factor most people attribute to why they think they can’t do a triathlon. You are a busy person with an active personal and work life and every minute counts, right? We get that. However, you may be surprised to learn that Tri training doesn’t have to take as much time as you think. The key is to adapt the training plan to fit into your lifestyle.

The average beginner usually completes a sprint triathlon in approximately 90 minutes. In training time, that equates to one workout per day, 5-6 days per week, allowing 8 weeks of prep time to get you to the start line. According to the American Heart Association, a half hour of exercise a day five days per week will still give you health benefits like cutting your diabetes and cancer risk while improving your heart health. Why not put all of this exercise toward a goal?

Our plan assumes you are already able to complete 20-30 minutes of walking/running, cycling and swimming. If this seems outside of your current ability, we recommend getting to this point before beginning the plan.

The objective of the first two weeks of the training plan is to get you used to a regular multi-sport training schedule- slowly building your endurance and minimizing your chance of injury.

Week 1: Swim 2 times per week, 20-25 minutes each swim
Walk/Run 2 times per week, 25 minutes
Bike 2 times per week, 20-30 minutes

Begin each workout with a warm up and cool down of at least 5 minutes, and finish some light stretching of all the major muscles to maintain your flexibility and range of motion.

Generally speaking you will want to “train to your weakness and race to your strength”. So- whichever discipline feels most challenging for you will most likely take up most of your time in the first part of the training.

Swimming Tips: you want to learn to be comfortable in the water. Generally speaking, this means you will swim and rest and swim some more, slowly increasing the number of laps you swim between resting. Any stroke is fine, although freestyle is the most effective and efficient stroke in the open water.

Running/Walking Tips: If running 25 minutes is too much for you, combine running and walking to reach the total time. After a warm up walk, try walking 4 minutes, running 1 minute and repeat this cycle 5 times, with a 5 minute walk for warm up and cool down. Plan to increase the running time next week by 1 minute if your legs allow, but keep the total time at 30 minutes. Running may be the easiest of the three sports to learn, but it is also the toughest on the legs and it is best to approach your training conservatively.

Cycling Tips: Keep your cadence at a steady rate. This means, be sure to keep your bike in a gear where you can keep spinning at around 80-85 RPM. Think of it as riding on an open flat road and adjust your gears accordingly.

So… get out there and check back next week for your second week of training.

Be fit, be well, and keep smiling,

Eva and Lisa