Paul Huddle / Roch Frey
Triathlon: Starting Out
Training for Your First Competition
Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Triathlon: Starting OutMaidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2016
All rights reserved, especially the right to copy and distribute, including the translation rights. No part of this work may be reproduced — including by photocopy, microfilm or any other means— processed, stored electronically, copied or distributed in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher.
© 3rd edition 2016 by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.
3rd edition of Ironman® 70.3® – Training for the Middle Distance
Aachen, Auckland, Beirut, Cairo, Cape Town, Dubai, Hägendorf, Hong Kong, Indianapolis, Manila, New Delhi, Singapore, Sydney, Tehran, Vienna
Member of the World Sport Publishers’ Association (WSPA)
978-1-78255-426-4
info@m-m-sports.com
www.m-m-sports.com
ISBN 978-1-78255-426-4
Brand is mentioned only for specificity. We do not advocate one brand over another.
*Don’t try this at home. Remember Paula is a professional.
*Brand is mentioned only for specificity. We do not advocate one brand over another.
We’d like to dedicate this book to those willing to make the commitment to train and race the triathlon.
Our thanks to Diane Buchta, who contributed her Periodization Schedule for Strength Training and Beth Hagman who pulled it all together.
The contents of this book were carefully researched. However, all information is supplied without liability. Neither the author nor the publisher will be liable for possible disadvantages or damages resulting from this book.
By Bob Babbitt
Triathlon.
There is something exciting about the word. There’s something even more special about the sport. Watch the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii on television, you’ll see lone athletes bucking ferocious headwinds for 112 miles and then staggering through sauna-like conditions on the lava fields during the run. Most people think there is no way they could ever do something like that. Heck, most people think there’s no way they’d ever even want to try.
But you’re not most people. You watch people facing tremendous mental and physical challenges and think, “I wonder if I could do that.”
You know what? You can — and, if you use this book as your guide, you will.
The toughest part of triathlon is getting out the door. Get out the door and go to the pool. Get out the door and ride your bike or take a spin class. Get out the door and put one foot in front of the other for a run around your local high school track.
To become a basketball or football or baseball player, you need a very specific body type, quick reflexes and phenomenal hand-eye coordination. For triathlon, you only need to ‘tri’.
I‘m serious about this. If you go to the pool, you will become a better swimmer; if you ride, you will become a better cyclist; and if you run, you will become a better runner. Guaranteed. We all swam, rode and ran as kids. If you played at the beach, had a paper route or played capture the flag at recess, you already have the basics. Add to that perseverance and desire, and you’re on your way.
This book is step one to getting you to the finish line of your very first triathlon. It’s the first step in changing your whole life in a wonderful way.
Most events are not the Ironman. There are events with a quarter-mile swim, a nine-mile bike ride and a three-mile run. Some are even shorter. Many can be completed in less than an hour. Intimidating? Not really.
I speak often about my first triathlon experience and how that helped me in everything I do every day of my life. There will be moments during your first triathlon where you will be sore and tired and ready to stop. You will doubt your ability to get through the day. But you will get past that. Just when you feel that you can‘t swim another stroke, the swim will be over. The same thing will happen with both the bike ride and the run. But that last hundred yards to the finish of your race will make any discomfort you might have had seem trivial. There is no better feeling than the finish line high.
The people in the sport of triathlon are the most supportive you will ever meet. When you go to an event, you are not really competing with anyone but yourself. The goal is to get to the finish line. Some people will swim faster, some will ride faster and some will run faster. But the t-shirt you receive at the finish line is the same for the first finisher and the last one. The key is what you take from the event, what you take from the journey.
For the week after your first event, you will be floating on air. Work will seem easier. Your family will be more special. Life will be better. Why? Because you accomplished something you thought you could never do. You took what sounded like an insurmountable challenge and, by breaking it up into bite-size chunks, you succeeded. It‘s like having a business card in your pocket that lets you know that, whenever things get tough at work or at home or in life, you can deal with it.
Hey, you can deal with anything.
Why? Simple. Because you‘re a triathlete.
The journey starts now.
By Paul Huddle
Who needs another book on triathlon? Well, we do.
Great. That’s two people. I’m sure our publisher will be overjoyed at this.
We’ve finally arrived at that time that comes to every person’s life when, theoretically, you’ve gained enough experience, material, and/or expertise to write a book. That’s not to say that you should write a book — but simply that you could. Such a time has arrived for us. Whether or not it provides you with the information you need remains to be seen. Keep reading.
This book is the result of over 40 (combined) years of training, racing and coaching in the sport of triathlon. Some of those experiences have been successful — others have been dismal failures. Ironically, the failures have been the best teachers and are the basis for much of the material you’ll find in the coming pages. What, after all, is the job of a coach if not to help others avoid the same mistakes they’ve made?
We’ve had the good fortune to train with, race with and coach some of the best athletes this sport has ever seen. While this experience has been an invaluable part of learning what works and what doesn’t work, it has driven home a point that you, the reader, need to always remember when reading a book like this: You are your own best coach.
You’re thinking, “So why am I reading this book?” — right?
Hopefully, you’re reading this book because you would like to participate in a triathlon and are interested in finding the safest, most efficient and, possibly, the fastest route possible to the finish line. You’re looking for some basic guidelines to help you accomplish this goal. This book will provide those guidelines, but we want you to be part of the process.