ON YOUR MARKS EVENTS

Training-Plans

Training

Whilst there is a good source of advice and training plans in books and magazines http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/ has easily accessible training plans to suit any level of initial fitness. Click the heading of the required training plan for access to the plan.

Beginner Exercise Program
An excellent program for the overweight or those not comfortable with running as it starts out with two months of biking and strength training, followed by swimming then by running. The end of the program will allow you to complete a sprint-level triathlon. Start month one and follow along as the program progresses
Couch to 5k
Have no endurance base? A novice in the truest sense of the word? Have no fear, we promise that you will love running once you're done with these walk/run programs. Inside you will find two variations: the 'Aggressive' 4 month and the 'Conservative' 7 month programs.
Couch to Sprint Triathlon
You have your eyes on your first sprint triathlon, but with no endurance background, how do you start? The Couch-to-Sprint programs feature several pathways. From sprint triathlon for conservative building or stringing together the Couch-to-5k followed by some standard sprint programs, we promise to get you to race day...and across the finish line in 6 to 12 months!
Beginner Sprint Triathlon
Includes the 'Original 13 Week Sprint.' There are several 16 and 20 week programs to fit your schedule no matter if you have 6 times or 9 times per week to workout. If you are a little weak in one of the three disciplines many of these programs are 'focused' for additional time spent training on weak areas. A good place to start if you are familiar with exercise and all three disciplines
Counch to Olympic Distance Triathlon
Several of the above programs have been put together to get you from walking to finishing an International Distance Triathlon. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, these programs can go from 10 to 17 months from walking to race day
Beginner Olympic Distance Triathlon
Much like the Beginner Sprint Triathlon programs, these olympic distance programs have several variations to fit your weaknesses. Choose from between the 16 and 20 week run, bike or swim focused plans. The 2x program is a great beginner program allowing solid base building with minimal time investment

Advice for Tackling your First Triathlon

Front Cover The Complete Book of Triathlon Training Mark Kleanthous with medals by Keith Greenlough On Your Marks Events have teamed up with triathlon coach Mark Kleanthous to provide you with support and advice in the run up to your race. Mark completed his first triathlon in 1983 and has since crossed the finish line in over 450 triathlons around the world. He is now a full time coach training novices through their first race and improving their technique through subsequent events.

Mark has written two training plans exclusively for On Your Marks Events competitors. The first is a 12 week plan which is recommend to be used by beginners or improvers in the run up to any sprint distance triathlon. The second is a 7 week plan aimed at those who have entered an event later than usual and have yet to start training or those who may have started training but lack confidence in what they are currently achieving

Click here for the 12 week training plan
Click here for the 7 week training plan

For more information on training for a triathlon, whether it is novice, sprint, Olympic, middle or IronMan distance check out Mark’s book “The Complete Book of Triathlon Training” ISBN 978-1-84126-326-7 £19.95 Click here to view a sample from the book

Triathlon Clubs

The first piece of advice is to join a local triathlon club. Here you will be training with like-minded people under the direction of a qualified club coach. Tri clubs try to get a good mix of novice and serious athletes so you shouldn’t feel intimidated if you are new to the sport. For a directory of local tri clubs affiliated to British Triathlon go to http://www.britishtriathlon.org/clubs/index.php

However, local tri clubs may not be that local, and their training sessions may not always be at a time that is convenient for you. In this case you can follow the advice and training plans suggested below. There are also some good monthly magazines available, such as Triathlon220 or Triathlon Plus, which offer good training advice.

General Advice

Don’t over do it. Fitness takes time and cannot be rushed. It takes time for your body to adapt to new exercise routines. Since triathlon involves 3 sports you will not have the time to spend hours on each. If you are training for a sprint distance event which involves a 5k run, it is pointless pounding the streets for miles and miles. One run session, for example, needn’t take more than an hour. Any more than that is excessive and could lead to unnecessary injury. It’s what you do in that hour that counts.

You should be training at least 3 times a week, once for each discipline, preferably twice. In the early stages of training these should be light sessions with the higher intensity sessions peaking around 4 weeks prior to the event. Always leave minimum 1-2 days of no training each week. This is when your body recovers and will help prevent injuries.

Brick sessions

Training sessions and club sessions develop the skills necessary to complete a triathlon but the only opportunity triathletes get to put into practice everything they have learned and developed as one sport is during an organized event. Non triathletes underestimate how difficult it is to run off the bike. When you have been grinding away on the pedals for 20k or more it takes time to divert the blood from the cycling muscles to the running muscles and the competitor usually experiences a very exaggerated heavy leg feel, or may develop cramp at this stage. This effect is particularly pronounced in a duathlon, where the competitor has already run 5 or 10k before the bike section The only way to overcome this effect is through specific training.

Brick sessions are combined bike to run sessions and should be incorporated into the training schedule at least once a week in the 4 months leading up to the event. These sessions may be stand-alone bike-to-run-to-bike-to-run type sessions, or it may be simply a 10 minute run immediately following a bike session.

The 4^th Discipline

Remember, the clock is still ticking when you are in transition. In the four weeks prior to the event it will be necessary to practice transition skills to reduce the time taken when switching between disciplines. The British Triathlon enforced rules can be daunting to a novice, but there are 3 main things to remember, which are enforced by the referee. If you get it wrong, don’t worry, just do as the referee says and you’ll be fine. The likelihood of receiving a DQ in transition is related to how politely you respond to the referee.

Don’t ride your bike in transition. You must dismount before the dismount line, and mount when you have left transition, after the bike mount line. You will have the opportunity to walk the route before the start of the event, and this is the opportunity to identify the mount and dismount lines and visualize yourself going through transition during the event.
When you arrive in transition for the first time (this is called T1) the first thing you do is put on your helmet and strap it up securely. This must be done before you touch your bike. When you arrive in transition for the second time (this is called T2) the last thing you do is remove your helmet. This must be done after you have racked your bike.
Make sure your race number is visible at the back when you leave T1 and on your front when you leave T2. You will usually be supplied with 2 race numbers at registration which you can pin to both sides of your top. Alternatively, you may have a race belt. Only one number needs to be attached, which can be swiveled around depending if you are running or cycling

During your transition practice sessions you will practice your sequence of changing from swimming to biking, and from biking to running so that it becomes second nature and you will not need to think about it during the stress of the event. Practise lining up your running shoes, helmet, etc on the ground next to your bike, and practice your routine of getting them on and off quickly. With practice it is possible to get your transition times down to less than a minute.

Click on the images below for a short Youtube clip on bike mounting and dismounting techniques

Nutrition

Eating the right foods cannot be overstated. A general healthy diet is necessary for your peak performance. Regular water intake during the event is essential, and if your event takes more than an hour to complete you should consider taking high energy supplements during the event.