Train for your first triathlon
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Date Posted:
May-13-2010 07:57
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Australia’s world-class triathlete Pete Jacobs has had a year of top results, and now he's here to prep you for your debut.
Getting started
“To do a Half Ironman, you’ll need to train for at least six months. You probably only need to train for about 10 hours a week, just building up slowly to avoid injury, sickness, burnout and being flat at the start line.
"With a nine-to-five job, do what you can fit in, and if you’re too tired, just take the day off.
“The cycling and running come with time and practice, and the swim is really just about not drowning - as long as you’ve got a bit of technique. So get in the pool for an hour at a time and just work on technique. Have someone pull apart your stroke, learn your worst points, and work on them.”
The build-up
“Some people are more naturally talented and can really push their bodies in training, but I get too fatigued if I push that much - so I train less and concentrate more on technique. I run 80 kilometres a week at most, cycle 300ks a week, and swim six to 10k a week.
"Train with time rather than distance; it always takes longer to bike 180k in training, especially if you’re on hills, than in a race. For instance, in training I’ll do 145k in four-and-a-half hours, but in a race I’ll do 180 in that time.
“Preparation months in advance can really help you on race day. For instance, I didn’t prepare well for Hawaii Ironman this year (the biggest Ironman there is). I only trained hard for a month before it and that affected my mental strength on race day.
"I got out of the water a couple of minutes ahead of the main pack and off the bike with them and the eventual winner, but when it got tough on the run, I slowed down because I just didn’t have that mental strength in reserve from all those hours I should have had building up, focusing, and visualising the race - which probably would’ve saved me a few minutes.
“So at the end of the race I was like, ‘That’s awesome, I finished it,’ but the next day I was like, ‘I could have done better if I had focused,’ - so there was this little bit of hollowness with the top 10.
“But next year we’re going for a top five, so I’m really setting up my whole year for training so I can get the best out of my body for all the other races and then be at my peak for Hawaii; really have it all switched on there because that’s where you feel that satisfaction, where you really feel that pride.”
Pete shares his diet and lifestyle advice...