Thinking about triathloning?????

[mtkitchn]

I'm also hoping to break into tri this year. I work on the road four days a week, so I can only jog or get on the occasional hotel stationary bike those days, but if I can swim at the gym and get a good bike ride or two every week when I'm home, I think it will go okay.
What's the best place to get beginner tri wear? I don't want to spend a fortune. Do they sell tri stuff in most running stores?
Looking forward to hearing all the newbie stories this year. I think I'd like to aim for IM someday. Depending on how the first sprint tri goes....LOL...

[alpinerabbit]

You do not need a lot.

At the most, you need a pair of tri shorts with the small insert that lets you swim, bike and run in one item of clothing. Add a sports bra. Done. You can get them right here (this is a sportswear store after all).

Some woman who coached me said in the early days she'd do the entire race in a bathing suit. Q.E.D....

If your race is in a decent part of the year, you will not need a wetsuit.

[Veronica]

I got some of my stuff at TE and some at trisports. Trisports often has coupons online that you can use.

Personally I like having a bra top that dries quickly also. I found that the cheaper tri tops were not as supportive as I'd like for a long run.

If you're doing a sprint tri, you're not in the water that long and if the water is a little cold, it's not such a big deal to not have a wetsuit. I don't bother with mine for a sprint.

If you decide to get a wetsuit, I got mine at REI using a 20% off coupon. I picked REI because if it didn't fit, I could return hassle free.

Veronica

[tulip]

I dumped Golds (no pool) and joined the Y, which has everything I need including spinning and a pool AND it's closer AND they have a branch near my boyfriend's house. I'm not so concerned about the swimming, but the running--oye! I learned alot about 10 years ago when I joined a running club. They started slow and easy run/walk and by the three months, I was actually enjoying it. I still have those workouts in my exercise folder. Time to get them out. For me it's best to start at the easiest level for run/walk. Otherwise I know I'll get discouraged or disgusted (running is not one of my top activities in life).

[Wahine]

Wow. Weve got a lot of new triathletes on this board!!

Here's what I recommend for my new triathletes. Start out with a sprint. Try to get in 3 runs a week, 1 easy 30 min (even a run/walk is fine), one where you focus on form, one longer one. That one would be your longest run and will get longer each week by 10 to 15 min until you reach your race goal distance plus 25%. 2 to 3 swims and bikes per week. As you get better you want to increase your number of bike workouts because that's where most people can gain the most speed/time on race day. But for beginners it's all about getting comfortable in the water and getting a little fitness and reserve on the run.

I always recommend an easy week every 3rd to 4th week, depending on the athlete to recover a bit from a tight schedule. And in the last 1 to 2 months before your event you should be doing bricks (a bike followed by a run) and practicing transitions.

Hope that helps.

[Iris616]

Wow! It's exciting to see so many people thinking about starting tri's! Last year was my first season, and I only got one sprint distance in. But, the info and support that I got here was invaluable. Now I'm hooked. I'm planning an oly in August and a sprint in Sept. Plus a few 5 and 10k's for fun.

So, if you're thinking about tri's- jump in! The water's fine, so to speak

Ask lots of questions-you'll find much knowledge here.