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Top 10 tips for a Triathlon from Sundried
Xtremego

Top 10 tips for a Triathlon from Sundried

Posted by Xtremego

We caught up with the team at Sundried to get their top 10 tips for a Triathlon. With a team of level 3 REPS qualified personal trainers, fitness fanatics and experienced triathletes. Sundried use their own experiences as well as those of their professional athlete ambassadors to share with you what they have learnt about triathlon training along the way.

1. Get a good night’s sleep the evening before, Triathlons often have early starts – especially if the tides early. If you’re traveling some way for the event, try to get to a hotel nearby. Remember hotels tend to bump up their rates if they know an event is on, so book plenty of time in advance.

2. Join a club. Most triathletes will join a club once they get a feel for the event, but why wait? It can be a great opportunity to find training buddies, new events and gather all the best advice from local triathletes. You may even be able to pick up a lift to the event. Plus, of course, joining an affiliated club will get your British Tri Foundation membership, which may save you money on event entry!

3. Hire professional help. If you’re nervous, why not hire a professional tri- athlon coach. When picking a coach there are three levels qualified by The British Triathlon. Foundation level 1 are your basic coaches, whilst level 3 boast the most experience in the field. For a new triathlete, a level 1 coach will be perfect. Most local coaches can be found easily through google, or contacting BTF. 

4. Arrive with plenty of time. The last thing you want to be on race day, is panicking that you’re going to be late. There are plenty of others things to panic about, trust me! Road closures often take place prior to the event start, so try to use public transport if you can and set off with plenty of time spare for delays.

5.Practice sea swimming. No matter how good a pool swimmer you are, open water swimming is completely different to a pool swim. Finding your pace amongst a wave of other swimmers affects your stroke and rhythm and you need to be prepared to take a kick or a punch as you find your space. Then there’s tide, debris and finding your direction towards the buoys. It’s not easy, but who ever said triathlon was! The sea swim is often the most daunting part of the challenge, so get in practice of battling the elements. Physically, mentally and emotionally, it’s a far more intense challenge than a pool swim, so practice, practice, practice!

6. Bring some moral support and get them to check you haven’t forgotten anything! It’s great to have a familiar face to cheer you on and to relax you before your first triathlon when nerves are high. Your family and friends can also be the extra set of eyes to check you’ve packed everything and of course, you need them to be taking plenty of pictures of you doing your thing at your first event!

7. ALICE HECTOR, IRONMAN 70.3 CHAMPION says….

I would say what people tend to notice when they start triathlon is the horrible feeling you get trying to run when you’ve just cycled hard! Your body doesn’t quite know what’s going on. Rest assured, with practice, it eventually feels like second nature, and seasoned athletes run almost as fast off the bike as they would in just a run race. So to strike a balance in your first event, I’d definitely recommend doing a few ‘brick sessions’ in your training. This simply means going for a run straight after a cycle session. It doesn’t have to be long; just 5 or 10 minutes, but this will get the body conditioned for what’s to come on race day. Do this once a week and you’ll reap the benefits.

8. CLAIRE STEELS, DUATHLON WORLD CHAMPION says…

Don’t rack your bike in a hard gear. It is easily done, especially if you don’t have time to take your bike for a little spin before you rack it in transition. Try to remember to leave it in an easy gear. The last thing you want to do is run out of transition, jump on your bike and realise that you can’t turn the pedals! Believe me, I’ve been there!!!

9. AMY KILPIN, AGE GROUP TRIATHLETE says…

Make sure you are well prepared for the environment in which you’ll be racing. This means if you are going to be racing in hot conditions, prepare your body as well as possible for the extra demands that are going to be placed on it during the race – for example, you might want to train on an indoor trainer without a fan/windows. You will also need to think about adapting your nutrition strategy based on your race environment – if it’s hot conditions, you’ll need to take on regular electrolytes and/or add salt to your energy drinks so your body can absorb as much fluid as possible. The same principle applies if you might be racing somewhere cold – ensure that you have enough layers for the bike and if appropriate, a jacket if it’s going to be wet. Think about what tyres you might need to put on your bike in wet conditions. By preparing accordingly for specific conditions, you will be confident that you are entering the race with as much control as you can have over the environmental challenges you might face. It’s an important but often overlooked consideration if you want to get the best out of yourself in every circumstance.’ 

10.Relax and have fun, as your first race try not to worry about other people overtaking you or making sure you finish before a certain time, just finish. Enjoy your first new sport, allow yourself mistakes, you’ll learn from them for next time. Listen to your body and enjoy your day.