Triathlons: The '3 sports in 1" beast. According to Wikipedia, a Triathlon its defined as " an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the disciplines included."
It further goes on to explain that, Triathletes often train to achieve endurance, strength, and speed, that requires focused training on swimming, cycling and running, combo workouts and best to throw in some good old strength training or functional movement conditioning.
Just reading that probably made you tired or cringe at the thought of racing or completing a triathlon.
Can Beginners Succeed At Triathlons?
Absolutely!
Will you be able to complete one with minimal gear? — YES
Will you need to join a club to learn? — No
Will you need a coach starting out? — No
Will doing a triathlon be too hard or too expensive? — No
Will you make mistakes at first and still be successful? — YES
Will completing a triathlon make you a badass? - 100% YES
Many in our SwimBikeRun Fun Tribe remember what it was like when they were first starting out in their triathlon journey and getting a few sprint races under their belt.
We were all beginners at one point in time who had the gumption to sign up, train for, and complete a triathlon.
It was hard at times — but EXTREMELY rewarding. There is a special euphoric feeling that comes over each time you cross that finish line.
That sense of accomplishment at completing a triathlon is so addicting that you will be signing up for your next race while you still have your medal on and have not even left parking lot to return home.
Are There Many Beginner Triathletes?
Somebody took the time to figure out that of all the new and current triathletes that have a USAT membership - one in three live in either Texas, California or Florida.
Side Note: Being headquartered in Texas, we enjoy a Triathlon season that lasts from March to November.
So the answer to the question is: Yes.
There are many beginner triathletes signing up and training for triathlon and duathlon races almost year round.
You Know What All of Those Beginner Triathletes Have in Common?
Mistakes. Beginner Triathletes make tons of mistakes. It's just the share nature of the sport. Unlike pure endurance running — the learning curve is a bit steeper.
During one of our team round tables — we quickly realized that we all made the same beginner triathlon mistakes.
We chalked it up as part of the journey:
Training mistakes 👉 rites of passage = Success!
If you are a triathlon/duathlon beginner, we can almost guarantee you’ve committed at least 3 of these beginner triathlon training mistakes listed below.
Top 7 Mistakes Beginner Triathletes Make
As beginner triathletes, we realized that most of us at one point in time committed the following training mistakes in our quest to get better at Tri'ing:
Not practicing enough Bricks
Not properly hydrating during the week
Reading endless blogs & articles for tips
Constantly buying gear, gadgets & kits
Did not eat before/during a long cycling ride and bonked.
Under utilized all the gears on the bike
Training Plans — use someone else's plan or any free one off the internet that just was not the right fit.
How Can Beginners Get Better At Triathlons?
We only need to do one thing to get better at triathlons….
Train. That means to swim, bike, and run and do it consistently -- this & only this -- will give you your biggest gains.
Learning to recover well from hard workouts, making sure you keep up your strength work, and training with others for safety --- are the ancillary activities that will sharpen you.
You are not alone, and we are offering you some of the best beginner triathlete tips to help you stress less, race more and have all the fun in the world your heart can handle.
We’ve asked some members of our Tribe to share their best triathlon training/racing tips and top advice for beginners in multisport.
Our goal is to share them with you as often as we can, and this week we have the spunky CC Rowe.
We will share her advice, with you in her own words, down below.
7 Best Beginner Triathlon Tips From Coach/Triathlete CC Rowe
We had the pleasure of interviewing Coach CC recently. Not only is she a Coach with athletes all over the US — she still actively races.
When she is not competing (and placing in her age group) in triathlons — you can find Coach CC participating in endurance Trail Runs all over Texas. We wish you could hear the passion and dedication in her voice for beginner triathletes leap through air waves like we did.
We did our best to paraphrase & capture her 7 Beginner Triathlete Training Tips for you to succeed in triathlons.
Here is what she had to share:
If you have the means, hire a coach who specializes in beginners.
Comparing yourself to others is TOXIC to you, and your relationship with those around you. We should be PROUD of who we are, and where we are on this fitness journey. It's hard enough to get through this life without making ourselves feel bad about what OTHERS are doing.
Strip that shirt OFF. It's too hot & humid to give a Flip. Be comfortable when you run & don't worry about what people think.
If you are training where it is HOT, you probably need to drink a whole lot more than you think you do. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
Okay to walk the run leg in a Triathlon
Don't psych yourself out. You are more capable.
Get in the water. Get a bike. Don't put the bike in the water.
That is some very sound, sensible and easy to execute advice for Beginner Triathletes now starting out in triathlons to garner success.
Coach CC is awesome and a world renowned badass athlete & coach. Check her out on Instagram or shoot her an email at cc@wtfendurance.com — she absolutely loves helping out, and working with beginners.
