Triathlon experts Glenn Town, who finished 24th in the 1983 Ironman World Triathlon Championship and has written books on the triathlon, and Todd Kearney, the author of triathlon books and "Triathlete Magazine" articles, recommend that you begin training for most triathlons a year before the race. However, they write in “Swim, Bike, Run” that a much shorter time frame, four months, is required for the sprint triathlon.
Definition
Triathlons involve swimming, bicycling and running. The most famous triathlon is the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. It starts with a 2.4 mile swim and is followed by a 112 mile bicycle ride and a 26.2 mile run, which is a marathon. A half-Ironman triathlon is half the distance of the regular event. International triathlons, also known as Olympics triathlons, are about one-half the distance of the half-Ironman triathlons, and sprint triathlons are about one-half the distance of Olympic triathlons.
Consideration
Swimming is a more critical part of the Olympics and sprint triathlons than the half-Ironman and Ironman triathlons. The distances of shorter triathlons vary, but “Swim, Bike, Run” estimates that the bicycling and running races are about 47 and 11 times longer than the swimming race in the longer triathlons, but only about 27 and seven times longer in the shorter triathlons. The average sprint triathlon has a half-mile swim, a 12.4 mile bicycle ride and a 3.1 mile run.
Expert Advice
You should focus on swimming during your training for a sprint triathlon by improving your technique rather than swimming long distances. The front crawl is “the most efficient” stroke, according to “Swim, Bike, Run.” Competitive distance swimmers take 13 to 15 strokes per 25 yards, and you should try to take about 20 strokes per 25 yards. “Don’t concentrate on training distances until you attain this goal,” writes Town and Kearney.
Solution
Your body’s position in the water is more important than hand movement. The best way to reduce your number of strokes is to “keep your body as parallel to the surface of the water as possible,” according to “Swim, Bike, Run.” Your hairline should be as close to the water line as possible, your eyes should be focused “forward and a little down,” and you should limit your head movement and leg kick. In addition, you will take fewer strokes per yard if you wear a full long-sleeved wet suit.
Distance Training
By the end of the first month of your four-month training, you should be improving your swimming stroke-per-yard ratio, bicycling about 30 miles weekly and running seven miles weekly. By the end of the second month, you should be swimming 3 miles weekly, bicycling 45 miles weekly and running 10 miles weekly. By the end of the third month, your weekly distances should be 4 miles for swimming, 60 miles for bicycling and 14 miles for running. In the last week, you should cut your distances in half so your body will be fresher for the race.
References
- “Swim, Bike, Run”; Glenn Town and Todd Kearney; 1994
- "Your First Triathlon"; Joe Friel; 2006
- "The Merck Manual of Medical Information"; 1999
- "Swim Bike Run"; Wes Hobson, Clark Campbell, Mike Vickers; 2001
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