Getting Ready to Train
Mark your calendars now, ladies!
On May 7th at 7PM we will have our first gathering at Shore
Runner in
In the meanwhile, now is the time to get ready to train. 12 weeks of focused workouts will give you what you need to complete this event. But to get there each of us needs to assess our own personal fitness level, the amount of time we have available to work out, what equipment we have, and what workout facilities are available to us.
As we all know, a triathlon consists of a swim, a bike, and a run. The first thing we need to determine is what our strength and what our weakness is. If you love to swim but absolutely hate to run I'm sorry to tell you this but I am going to suggest you work on your run! You want to get to the starting line on August 8th knowing that you can comfortably cover the distance in each part of the event that you have signed up for.
Next step is to figure out what facilities are
available to us to swim, to bike and to run. The run
is the simplest. Unless you have been running
regularly, get to your nearest running store and get a good pair of running
shoes that are specific to you. That is the single
most important piece of equipment. Poor fitting
running shoes will quickly cause an injury and totally derail your plan!
Research running clubs in your area -- your local running store is a
good place to start for this information also. Most
running clubs have several group workouts planned during a week, and they
can help connect you with people of similar abilities and time.
With the weather finally starting to clear (I hope!) we can all start getting outside more on our bikes. Let an expert start you out on the right foot here also. If you have not been riding regularly, get your bike to the nearest bike shop and have it checked over, especially if it's been sitting around for a length of time unused. Make sure it is mechanically sound and fitted to you. Too much time on a poor fitting bike and you've got another injury on the way.
The swim can be the most challenging to train for. Some of us are lucky enough to have a pool available, but others don't. Research your area: local health clubs, high schools, colleges, YMCAs. The Sandy Hookers will be offering open water swim workouts soon. A 300 yard swim is not long, and we will have swim angels available but it would certainly make for a better start if we all spend a bit of time working on our swim skills before race day.
Transition is the fourth sport involved here, and that covers the switch from the swim to the bike and the bike to the run. While it doesn't need to take much time, this will be something that I will cover with anyone interested in one of the practice clinics that I will be scheduling.
At our get-together
on May 7th, I will also have a list of swim lessons, group swims,
bikes and runs available and some contacts at triathlon, cycling and running
clubs in the surrounding vicinity. I will have a
schedule of a weekly group ride (with a short run after as our training
progresses, or what is known as a "brick workout") and clinics covering
transition, basic bike maintenance, race day nutrition, what to wear on race
day and more. In the meanwhile, happy and safe training!
Moira Horan
email: moira@staystrongmultisport.com
