Triathlon is a multi sport event, It involves 3 activities: Swimming,
Running and Cycling.
What Gear will I need?
SWIMMING GEAR:
You will need Goggles, a Swim suit and possibly a wet suit for open water
swimming.
A ROAD BIKE:
An average road racing bike to begin with and a full set of Cycling Accessories,
ie. helmet, shorts, jacket.
RUNNING KIT:
Shorts, a vest and good quality running shoes
DETERMINATION AND COMMITMENT! Lots
of it.
So What is a Triathlon?
The standard triathlon consists of one mile
swim, 25 miles bike, 10 k run. There are also races of half that distance,
some for only women, for example the Danskin series: http://www.danskin.com/triathlon/,
and there are races 2 or 4 times the standard distance: http://www.ironmantri.com/.
You can find a calendar of races at http://www.insidetri.com/ as well
as a state by state list at http://www.trifind.com/bgnrs.html
The time it takes to complete a standard triathlon distance is under
2 hours for the professionals on a reasonably easy course to almost 4
hours for the oldest racers on a mountainous course. Three hours is respectable
for many triathletes on most terrains.
The essential equipment you will need is a swimsuit and goggles, the
bicycle you already have, an approved helmet, a water bottle, and running
shoes. Advice on the many extras you will enjoy accumulating can be found
by asking on the newsgroup Rec.Sport.Triathlon. The more specific your
question, the more advice you can expect.
The least amount of training will consist of 2 - preferably 3 - sessions
per discipline each week. One session of each activity should consist
of straight over-distance. If you are training to swim one mile (1500
meters) then swim 2000 meters; the same is true for the bike and run.
Once per week, break the distance into smaller parts performed faster
than race pace. Once per week, do hills on the bike and run, and concentrate
on technique in the swim. Books by Dave Scott and Friel among others have
extensive advice for all your training.
Before you enter a triathlon volunteer as a body-marker for a race near
you. Your duty will be over when the athletes are in the water and you
can spend the rest of the time watching transistions procedures and short-cuts
taken by the faster participants.
Check out the newsgroups: In addition to rec.sport triathlon, there are
several devoted to bicycling, rec.sport.swimming, and rec.running. Most
of these have a FAQ which you will be directed to for your basic questions.
Beginners Training Guides:
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