On New Year’s Eve, I drunkenly agreed to race my first triathlon. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I ran a 5K for the first time in my life two months before I said yes. Six months ago, I couldn’t run a quarter mile.
To say I was completely unprepared for what was to come doesn’t give it justice. Since Varsity Swimming in high school, I hadn’t swam competitively once, and could barely run a mile. Training for a Triathlon is a big commitment – don’t make the same mistakes I did and do your research before you sign up.
1. Be prepared to open up your wallet
Triathlons have one of the biggest upfront costs of any major sport. After the initial start-up costs, the costs are manageable. However, be prepared to invest $2,500+ for your first race in order to get all the gear you need to succeed.
If you’re a beginner, make sure you do your research on what to buy for your first triathlon.
It cost me $2,400 to prepare for my first Olympic Triathlon.
| Item | Cost |
| Road Bike | $1,300 |
| Helmet | $50 |
| Running Shoes | $150 |
| Wetsuit | $100 |
| Triathlon Suit | $100 |
| Goggles | $50 |
| Sport Sunglasses | $100 |
| Clip-in Bike Pedals | $100 |
| Bike Shoes | $100 |
| Registration Fee | $250 |
| Camelback Hydration Pack | $100 |
| Total | $2,400 |
2. Make Sure You’re Comfortable Swimming in Open Water
There’s nothing more entertaining than watching a pool trained triathlete hit the open water for the first time. Like a fish out of water (literally). Even if you aren’t planning to swim from Oahu to Molokai, make sure to get your open water reps in before race day.
You should train open water for a few reasons:
- There’s no current in a pool. Even if you plan to swim in a lake or river, the current will be non-negligible. Sometimes, the waves in Lake Michigan can look more intense than surfing in the Pacific.
- It will expose any fears you have of being in a vast body of water – have you ever swam a quarter mile out from shore in water that’s 20+ feet deep? Even if you can swim the distance, managing the mental aspect is battle entirely.
- There’s no walls or flip turns in the middle of a lake. Flip turns (or turning around at the wall) provide little rest periods that a triathlete may not account for. Additionally, pushing off the wall accelerates your speed, so your pool time should always be faster than an equivalent swim in open water.
3. Don’t Neglect the Transitions
Do you know how it feels to do 25 miles of biking directly into a 6 mile run? If you haven’t tried it yet, I’ll give you a hint – your legs feel like Jell-O. Being able to run 6 miles is very different from be able to run 6 miles after your quadriceps and hamstrings have been pounded continuously for 60+ minutes on the bike.
Strategies to Help You Whether the Pain of Transitions
I’ve incorporated a few practices in my training plan to help condition my legs for the pounding they take on race day:
- Incorporate deadlifts, squats and sleds into your training routine. The added muscle to your legs and posterior chain will enable you to handle more volume. This is especially relevant during high resistance biking, such as hills and intense winds.
- Incorporate BRIC workouts into your training aggressively and often.
- Don’t be the athlete on race day that trained each of the three legs individually but never managed to train them together in one workout.
- Before race day, try to incorporate at least two sessions of BRIC that are half of the race day’s total volume.
- For example, if you’re doing in an Olympic Triathlon (25mi bike / 6mi run) , try to do at least two sessions of a 12.5mi bike directly followed by a 3mi run. You don’t want race day to be a complete surprise.
Until next time grinders, stay hard.
Further Reading
Looking to level up your game? Check out my article on responsibility, if you’d like to learn more about what it takes to train for a triathlon.
