Any tips for someone new

Hi Phil & Welcome!

 Your question is a pretty broad one & what works best for one might really stink for another.  I'm very new to the sport also & I'll give you an idea of what works for me.  I've been a spectator at many races & completed my first sprint last month.  I will be doing the race at Compounce next month.

I myself do not own a tri-suit.  I have a wetsuit which I will use as long as it's allowed.  I wear my bike shorts & top underneath my wetsuit & peel the suit off in the first transition.  I'm then ready to hit the bike and, subsequently the run with ease.  How's your swimming?

Do you own a bike at all?  Do you have a running background?  There are some great resources here at BT throughout the entire site, so I would suggest you poke around Triathlon Talk & the gear forums for the basics....

 Shoot some specifics at us & we'll help out as best as we can!  Good luck & welcome again.

Thanks for the help my swimming is prolly my strongest while running is the weakest for me and biking for me is pretty strong i have been poking around the site and found a good 22 week program to prepare if during the winter i don't have access to a pool what is a good subsitute for swimming just more running?

i need to get a bike but i don't know if i should get a hybrid bike or a road bike?

Hi Phil, welcome. I am also new here and the Lake Compounce race this year will more than likely be my first if i don't do one sooner. This site has a ton of info, i spend hours reading, and everyone from the CT area i have spoken with here  are very nice. Like was said earlier, log your workouts that way if you have a question people can check and help you!!  Have fun in school!!

Rudy

o good luck have you ever seen the LC race or are you just going into it without knowing what is going to happen

Here are a few helpful tips

1) Use punctuation...a period here and a capital letter there can go a long way.  I have to read all your posts seven times (I'm just kidding, so don't get mad at me).

Now to the real answers

1) Get a road bike, not a hybrid

2) The only thing remotely a substitute for swimming would stretch cords so you can simulate the swimming motion.  Running and biking will not help at all.

3) To answer your other post, don't bother lifting weights for tri.  Swim/bike/run is all the exercise you will need.  Some core work would also be helpful (crunches, etc.).  If you like lifting and want to do it, that is cool, but it won't help with triathlon.

4) Buy tri shorts.  They are specifically designed for triathlon so that you can swim/bike and run in them.  It is the same thing as a tri suit but two pieces.

5) Don't listen to anything Baitboy says...he used to do tri's but now he is just a wussy runner (sorry, just bitter because he always used to beat me).

6) There is a LOT of misinformation about triathlon (specially on BT).  Everyone thinks they are a coach.  So take everything you read with a grain of salt (other than the advice to not listening to Baitboy ).  The key is consistent training, work hard on your hard days and go easy on your easy days.  Everything else is a lot of noise.

Definately log your workouts.  Not only is very motivating to know someone is going to look at what you do each day, others can provide some insight based on their experiences (but remember my grain of salt statement).

Goodluck and welcome to BT

Mark

totally blind. first goal is to not drown, second goal is to finish, everything else is butter cream!!!

Haha Niccccccceeee let me know how that goes for you, because I will most likely go into that race blind, also trying not to drown and finishing I hope not in last place.

Good Luck

Welcome. This is my first year and there are many more knowledgeable people than I but I have finished a bunch of races (starting to creep into the middle of the pack) with a few left.  This is what I suggest for whatever it is worth:

1. Obviously run, bike and swim a lot.  Where are you at school?  If it is UVM you have great lakes, use the them for OWS practice.

2. Start slow but be consistent with your training.  Download a plan from BT that sounds good, hire a coach, whatever, just make sure you do something and build slowly.  For swimming check out Total Immersion.

3.  If you like lifting then lift.  It won't make your faster per se but if you like it go ahead... you're in college so time is no object (just kidding). I do 1-2 days a week of circuit training no more than 20-40 min, because I do not have time for any more but need to do some lifting to help with old injuries.

4. If you are limited to 1 bike, get a road bike as LC is a road course as are most courses.  I have found MTB'ing to be great cross training and makes hills a snap.  However, learn how to ride a MTB before you enter a race requiring one (I was not smart enough to do that).  Cyclocross bikes are generally a waste of time, but are cheaper than road bikes.  You will find there are many bike guru's on BT who have dozens of bikes.

5.  Practice transitions by running after biking or biking after swimming - they are called bricks.  You will need to get used to that "bicklike" feeling in your legs you experience running after bicking (it goes away after about 5 minutes).  Your run need not be long 5-15 minutes. 

6.  Post your questions on BT and they will be answered by people who (unlike me) actually know something.

7.  Skip the trisuit.  Tri shorts and a tri top are the way to go.  If the race allows, just go shirtless. 

 Good luck and enjoy college.

Thanks for your input

I don't go to school at UVM I go to a small school an hour east of UVM called Lyndon State there is a pretty big lake there but since it gets cold there fast I might just stick to an indoor pool, which won't get me used to open water conditions but at least gets me used to swimming long distances. I think running will be the biggest challenge for me thank god it is in the middle inbetween to things that I feel pretty strongly for.

Also when running indoors, biking and swimming indoors should I go longer because I am exposed to the elements or just keep upping the distance slowly?

Swim: get a wetsuit and girlfriend with a kayak.  You'll be able to swim until october in the lake or just hit the pool.  Then go to the beach, lakes next summer. 

Run: you can always walk and still finish.  Just get on the 'ol treadmill and run for time, not distance at first (i.e. I will stay on this thing for 10 mins 20 mins, 30 mins, etc. ).  Start with combonations of walk and run (i.e. walk 1 minute, run 1 minute, repeat) then as you get stronger cut the walking down.  Run outside, streets, trails, hills whenever possible and enjoy VT.  GO SLOW, really slow at first.  Before you know it a 30 min. run will be a recovery day.

Could not agree with Stone more, what works for one may not work for another..so you have to learn through trial & error sometimes (that's what makes this fun!).  I also second running for time vs. distance.....

As far as getting the wetsuit off with my bike shorts & tank under it, nah, it really wasn't that bad!  Do tri suits dry faster than bike shorts?  No, seriously? 

I trained for my first marathon from Oct. through January last year & being out in the elements is really fun if you're geared up properly - I second getting a wetsuit and wow what a feeling when you first put one on!  ...you'll soon find, too, that this lifestyle is expensive!!  (but way way worth it!)  Remember, we train in mother nature & she can be cruel in return (i.e., IMLP this past July...brutal!)

Thats the reason why I don't want to compete in one until next year I need to run run run. It is all about progression I am found a plan on here that looks pretty good, when chosing a tri suit do they fit small how do they fit where would I go to even find out my fitting?

Outfit: Don't stress, just grab a pair of compression shorts off the clearance rack at Sports Authority.  As long as you are PG you'refine.  If you want tri gear look at some of teh online sponsored links on this site and you can check everything out.  IMHO, I would go with tri shorts, basically they are just compression shorts with a shammy to protect the nether regions on the bike.  A tri suit is essentially a wrestling singlet.  I am built like a frozen yogurt machine so I cannot pull that off... unless I was wearing a viking war helmet and it was Halloween. (I'm 6'1 225 and wear a large 2XU tri short if that helps.)

Run: Relax!! You can always walk the run.   

You have more than a year.  You'll run the whole thing and a lot faster than you think.  (I bet you'll get ichy and jump into some races next spring and summer however. )