If you aren't entering a high-stakes triathlon with the goal of beating serious competition, you can easily and effectively create your own training program to help you complete each leg of the competition. Understanding the basics of your triathlon will help you create a plan to get you in the necessary shape to complete your race.
Plan Your Training
Before you begin your training, learn what the exact demands of your event will be. You may be cycling on flat terrain or up and down hills. You may be swimming in a calm pool or choppy lake. Your run may be on hot, hard pavement or over a hilly course. Visit the triathlon site, get the course layout and drive the biking and running portions to judge what you'll be facing. Check the weather forecast to know if you'll be running in hot, cold or wet weather. If your time is important to you, learn how you will transition between each leg of the race.
Prepare Your Equipment
Train using the same clothes, shoes, cap, goggles and bike you'll use in your triathlon. Don't purchase new shoes or a new bike shortly before the event if you can make your purchases earlier. Set up your bike the way you will ride it during the race. Pay special attention to the handlebars and seat, and take several rides of 30 minutes or more to make sure the bike is set up correctly. This will help when you use the bike on a trainer for cardio work.
Train Your Cardio System
You will need a strong aerobic base to compete in a triathlon, so your training should mirror the three legs of your triathlon. Try to estimate the times for your swimming, cycling and running legs so you can work toward completing each of those legs at the pace you want. In addition to jogging, work out on a treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine and/or an exercise bike to use the same muscles you'll use during the event. If you haven't been swimming in a while, start at a moderate pace as you get used to unfamiliar muscle demands and any effect pool chlorine may have on you. Buy a bike trainer so you can work out on the bike you'll be riding during the event.
Train Your Muscular Endurance
In addition to cardio stamina, you'll need muscular endurance to prevent cramping that can end your race. Experiment with resistance settings on any exercise machines you use to moderately challenge your muscles as you do aerobic exercise. Start at 50 percent of the maximum resistance you can move, raising or lowering the resistance if it's too easy or too difficult to work the machine for 30 minutes or more. If you don't have access to exercise machines, use dumbbells, resistance bands or body-weight exercises to create circuit-training workouts.
Put it all Together
At various stages of your training, practice your transitions, including changing wet clothing and shoes, and quickly switching from swimming to cycling to riding just as you will during your event. Toward the end of your training, try a multi-hour training workout with long swimming, cycling and running segments, complete with eating and drinking during the cycling and running portions if you will be doing those during your race. Decrease your training load the week before your event to let your body recover and prepare for the race, doing no intense exercise for several days leading up to the event.
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