Triathlon Training For Dummies

Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 2 What You’re Not to Read 3 Foolish Assumptions 3 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: Starting Your Triathlon Training 3 Part II: Taking It One Sport at a Time: Swim, Bike, Run 4 Part III: Training for Your Triathlon 4 Part IV: Planning for Race Day 4 Part V: The Part of Tens 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6 Part I: Starting Your Triathlon Training 7 Chapter 1: Training for a Multi-Sport Event 9 Defining Your Triathlon 9 Choosing a distance and event 10 Setting your triathlon goal 10 Evaluating Your Equipment Needs 11 Taking to Your Sport 12 Finding your form 12 Making time for transitions 13 Training on a Schedule 13 Fueling your body and mind 14 Strengthening and stretching your limits 14 Looking Forward to This Race, and the Next One, and the Next One 15 Knowing what to expect during your first race 15 Thinking about what you’ll do next 16 Chapter 2: Choosing Your Event 17 Going the Distance: Knowing Your Race Options 17 Super Sprint 18 Olympic 19 Half-Iron 20 Ironman 21 Checking Your Calendar 21 Considering the Course 22 Going with the flow in a lake, ocean, or river 23 Striving for peak performance 23 Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Traveling to Your Event 24 Getting yourself there 24 Getting your gear there 25 Eating and sleeping away from home 26 Weathering the heat or cold 27 Registering for Your Event 27 Chapter 3: Gearing Up with the Right Equipment 29 Selecting Comfort First 30 Suiting Up: Knowing What Equipment You Need for Swimming 31 Selecting a suit 32 The eyes have it: Finding the best goggles 39 A no-hair day: Selecting a swim cap 43 Ride On: Choosing a Bike and Bike Gear 45 Looking at your bike options 46 Getting fit first: Why the proper bike fi t is important 52 Picking pedals and shoes 54 What to wear: Clothing and accessories 54 Pounding the Pavement: Getting What You Need for the Run 57 Choosing a good running shoe 57 Dressing for the occasion: Clothing and accessories 58 Chapter 4: Getting Ready: Body and Mind 61 Let’s Get Physical: Checking In with Your Doctor before You Begin 61 Knowing whether you need a physical 62 Knowing what to expect if you get a physical 63 Evaluating Your Fitness 63 Cardiovascular 64 Body composition 65 Muscular strength and endurance 67 Flexibility 68 Building Your Support Network 70 Developing your own cheering section 70 Part II: Taking It One Sport at a Time: Swim, Bike, Run 73 Chapter 5: Swim: Taking the Plunge 75 Looking At the Benefits of Swim Training 75 Mastering the Strokes 76 First things first: Relaxing in the water 77 Chalking it up to chin position 78 Stroke… stroke… stroke: Getting down the fundamentals 78 Kicking it up a notch: The flutter kick 82 (Not) waiting to exhale: Breathing 82 I spy: Sighting your way in the water 83 Finding Water to Train In 83 Training for the Swim 85 Drill 1: Front float 87 Drill 2: Streamlined front glide 87 Drill 3: Streamlined front glide and kick 87 Drill 4: Body position 88 Drill 5: Body balance 88 Drill 6: Statue of Liberty 89 Drill 7: Ten snap ten 89 Drill 8: Ten-three-ten 90 Drill 9: Front kicking with a board on an interval 90 Drill 10: Proper push-off 91 Drill 11: Fingertip drag 91 Chapter 6: Bike: Cycling Strong 93 Identifying the Benefits of Cycling 93 Mastering the Spin 94 Finding your cadence 95 Circling the issues 96 Technique and form 98 Hills 103 Performing Basic Repairs and Maintenance 105 Checking your bike before you ride 107 Fixing flats on the fly 108 Handling repairs on the road 112 Staying Safe 113 Training for the Bike 117 Spinning inside 117 Chapter 7: Run: Finding Your Stride 121 Catching Up with the Benefi ts of Running 121 Mastering the Mechanics 123 Foot strike 124 Stride 124 Posture 125 Breathing and pacing 125 Where to Run 126 Roads 127 Trails 127 Beaches 127 Track 127 Treadmill 128 Staying Safe 128 Training for the Run 129 Starting with a run/walk 130 Going on short runs 134 Going the distance: Long runs 135 Biking then running: Bricks 135 Drills to try when you’re not running 136 Chapter 8: Putting It All Together 137 Knowing Where to Focus Your Training 138 Adding Dual Workouts: Why You Need to Combine Two Sports in Training 138 Becoming a Quick-Change Artist: Planning Your Transitions 140 Transition 1: Swim to bike 141 Transition 2: Bike to run 143 Saving Time: Making Your Transitions Smoother 143 Part III: Training for Your Triathlon 145 Chapter 9: Living like an Athlete 147 Eating for Energy Every Day 148 Carbohydrates 148 Fat 149 Protein 150 Water 151 Vitamins 151 Minerals 151 Sussing Out Supplements 152 Caffeine 152 Creatine 152 Fueling Your Workouts and Your Race 153 Eating with training in mind 153 Hydrating for peak performance 154 Planning your race day meals 155 Maintaining Your Energy 155 Staying hydrated: Energy drinks and water 156 Snacking on the go: Bars, gels, and natural foods 157 Recovering Quickly 159 Chapter 10: Training Schedules: From Super Sprint to Ironman 161 Finding the Time to Train 161 Training for Your Event 163 Training for a Sprint or Super Sprint in 12 weeks 165 Training for an Olympic in 20 weeks 170 Training for a Half-Iron in 24 weeks 177 Training for an Ironman in 30 weeks 186 Chapter 11: Strength Training and Stretching 197 Adding Weights to Your Workout 197 Identifying the benefits of strength training 198 Fitting in your workouts with weights 199 Learning the ropes 199 Keeping it in balance 200 Choosing the right equipment 201 Strength training 101: Exercises to try 203 Stretching Your Limits 216 Recognizing the benefits of stretching 217 Stretching 101: Stretches to try 217 Chapter 12: Coping with Injuries 231 Preventing Pain and Injury 231 Preventing injuries 232 Identifying the signs of overtraining 233 Preventing overtraining 234 Treating Common Swim Injuries 235 Swimmer’s ear 235 Swimmer’s shoulder 236 Avoiding Common Cycling Injuries 236 Knee pain 236 Neck and shoulder pain 237 Numbness 238 Saddle sores 238 Running Injury Free 239 Iliotibial band syndrome 239 Pulled hamstring 240 Shin splints 240 Achilles tendonitis 241 Plantar fasciitis 241 Training in Extreme Heat or Cold 241 Heading into the heat 241 Catching some cold 243 Knowing when to go back inside 244 Part IV: Planning for Race Day 245 Chapter 13: Counting Down to Race Day 247 Tapering Your Training: Slowing Down as Your Event Approaches 248 Maintaining your nutrition 250 Getting into Your Head: Staying Positive and Focused 250 Overcoming common fears 251 Practicing pumping yourself up 253 Packing for Race Day 254 Checking your gear for wear 254 Knowing what to pack 255 One Sheep, Two Sheep: Logging Enough Shut-Eye 257 Chapter 14: Race Day: Ready, Set, Go! 259 Picking Up Your Packet 259 What’s in your race packet and why you need it 260 Steps to a stress-free packet pickup 261 Arriving on Race Day 263 Preparing for Your Start Time 264 Having your bike checked and approved 264 Staging your transition stall 264 Stretching and focusing 270 Getting ready to start 271 Taking You through the Tri 273 At the start 273 At the first transition 273 On the bike 274 At the second transition 274 On the run 274 Minding Your Manners: Race Etiquette 275 Chapter 15: After You Finish Your Triathlon 277 Crossing the Finish Line 278 Making the Most of the First Hour after Your Finish 280 Hydrate and eat 280 Stretch 281 Collect your gear 281 Evaluating Your Performance 283 Planning for Your Next Event 284 What to consider before you register again 284 Overcoming burnout 285 Adjusting your diet 285 Finding other ways to stay involved 286 Part V: The Part of Tens 287 Chapter 16: Ten Reasons You Should Do a Triathlon 289 Bragging Rights: Having the Chance to Be a Finisher 289 Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone 290 Finding Focus and Relieving Stress 291 Improving Your Health and Well-Being while Having Fun 291 Achieving Total-Body Fitness 292 Reducing Exercise Burnout 293 Reducing Risk of Injuries by Cross-Training 293 Enjoying the Camaraderie of the Triathlon Club 294 Motivating and Inspiring Others 295 Changing Your View of Yourself and the World 295 Chapter 17: Ten Triathlon Myths Debunked 297 Triathlons Only Take Place in Hawaii 297 Triathlons Take All Day to Complete 297 Triathlons Are for Elite Athletes Only 298 All Triathletes Look Fit and Thin 298 Triathletes Spend All Their Free Time Training 299 I’ll Panic in the Water 299 Triathletes Have to Swim Long Distances without Stopping 300 I Don’t Need to Practice Transitions 300 Triathletes Need Expensive Bikes 301 I’ll Be the Oldest, the Slowest, or the Last to Finish 301 Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) Items to Bring on Race Day 303 Your Cheering Section 303 A Race Belt 304 A Tub and Towel for Transitions 304 A Way to Identify Your Bike in the Crowd 305 A Road ID Bracelet 306 A Waterproof Sport Wristwatch 306 Sun Stuff: Sunscreen, Sunglasses, and a Hat 307 Body Glide 307 Your Favorite Fuel 308 Lucky Charms 308 Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) Resources for Finding Triathlons 311 The American Triathlon Calendar 311 USA Triathlon Calendar 312 TRImapper.com 312 Inside Triathlon 312 Triathlete 313 Race360 313 Active com 313 Team In Training 313 GetSetUSA 314 Slowtwitch 314 Women-Only Events 314 Regional Events 315 Index 317