Mach3Multisport.com

1.  Find a race 

You can start right here at Mach3 by clicking the events link to see if there are any races happening near you that are about 3 to 4 months away.  If there are none listed here, a web search with the name of your town or region along with “triathlon” will usually turn up something.  Look also at local bike and running stores for flyers for local races, or ask local athletes.  I highly recommend staying close to home for your first race if at all possible in order to minimize the stress of traveling in addition to the stress of racing.  If you’re a die-hard traveler and you have to go see someplace cool like St Croix or Phuket, Thailand in conjunction with a race, you can always do that later.  The important thing is to find an event sometime in the not-too-distant future upon which you can focus your preparation. 

2.  Consult your physician 

Especially if you’re truly getting off the couch to start your new career as a triathlete, you should talk to you doctor to make sure you’re physically capable of putting your body through its paces.   

3.  Figure out what gear you have and what you need 

Reference our Getting Started articles and then walk through your garage and your closet to see what you have.   

 4.  Find a training plan or better yet, a coach 

There are lots of resources out there for getting you started on the right path, including Mach3.  Just make sure that you choose a plan that’s right for your current level of ability and time availability to ensure that you don’t do too much too soon.  Overdoing it can lead to injury or early burnout, both of which can end your life as a triathlete before it begins. 

5.  Start lifting weights 

Starting a triathlon training program can put an enormous amount of stress on your body, so it helps to make your foundation as strong as it can be before you start piling on the mileage.  Performing resistance exercises a couple of times a week goes a long way toward keeping you happy and uninjured.  Like anything else in an exercise program, however, don’t overdo it.  You don’t need to pump up like Mr. Universe!  You simply want to strengthen your muscles (especially the stabilizing muscles in your Core, or your abdominals and back) and your connective tissues to prevent your body from developing imbalances or from breaking down altogether.  You don’t need a gym membership for this—get a set of resistance bands or light dumbbells from a garage sale or used sports retailer. 

6.  Learn to swim and then start swimming 

If you’ve never swum laps in a pool before as part of a swim team, the odds are that you need to completely forget everything you think you know about swimming and immediately report to a swim coach for instruction.  Swimming is a very technique-driven sport, and if yours is poor you will struggle in the water regardless of your level of physical conditioning.  I don’t care if you can run a 35-minute 10k and average 27mph on the bike.  If you’ve never been taught how to swim efficiently, you’ll be lucky to make it back and forth across the pool twice before you become exhausted.  Don’t be scared though.  Once you learn how to swim more effortlessly, you’ll be amazed at how much progress you will make.     

7.  Get your bike checked out and then start riding 

The type of bike you bring to the transition area isn’t important.  The condition of that bike is critically important.  If you have to blow the dust off the rusty parts of your bike when you first take it out of the back shed, take it to your local bike shop (LBS) for a tune up before you ride it at high speeds in close proximity to innocent bystanders. 

8.  Start running but don’t overdo it 

A little bit of running goes a long way when you first start.  Start more slowly than you think you need to and run shorter distances than you think you can—you can always add more later.  If you get hurt trying to do to much too early though, you could put yourself in a vicious cycle of trying to catch up and hurting yourself again.  As a rule of thumb, don’t add more than about 5-10% overall volume per week and don’t increase your Intensity until, at a minimum (assuming you’re an absolute beginner), you can cover your anticipated race distance comfortably without stopping.  If you have a tendency toward injury or are a true beginner, start by run-walking.  Run for 5 minutes, then walk for three and repeat.  Build this up to an 8 minute run followed by a 2 minute walk.   

9.  Stop if it hurts 

If ever you’re in the middle of a workout, and you experience a pain that makes you modify your movements, stop!  The most common example of that is coming up lame in a running workout with a tender knee or ankle.  If you have to limp in order to finish, then don’t finish.  Walk home, take an anti-inflammatory and put some ice on the injury at a minimum.  Resist the urge to fight through the pain in order to finish a workout.     

10.  Focus on the finish line   

You’ve got the rest of your life to win a triathlon, but you only get one chance to do the first one.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a micro-sized sprint or Ironman Hawaii, make sure you have a plan for crossing the finish line under your own Power.  Train smartly.  Find friends who want to train with you.  Then go for it and have fun on race day.  Before you even make it to your car to go home after the race, you’ll be formulating your plan for how you can do better on your next one—trust me. 

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