Womens Triathlon Blog » Triathlon Training

You don’t have to be an athlete

Anne — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:57:17 +0000

I read short this article (“Trust me, if I can do it, you can do it” , Post-Bulletin) and it was pretty good, but this was actually the most important point.

You don’t have to be an athlete to participate in triathlon. That’s the beauty of it. As long as your goal is to finish and have fun, everyone can give tri a try.

If you are beginner and starting to get overwhelmed with the task ahead, let it go. As long as you are giving it a real effort and training, you’ll probably do a lot better than you ever thought.

Technorati Tags: triathlon, Triathlon Training, women, womens

A few good triathlon training plans online

Anne — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:14:27 +0000

f you are getting a little bored with your current training regimen, check out some of these sites for more training plans.

www.tri247.com – some nice age group (meaning non-elite) training plans
www.swim4fitness.com – has triathlon swim dedicated plans
www.runnersworld.co.uk – dedicated plans for 5k and 10k runs
www.coolrunning.com – more great running plans
www.beginnertriathlete.com – lots of plans, free and for-price versions
www.220triathlon.com – check out the forums

Technorati Tags: Triathlon Schedules, Triathlon Training, triathlon training schedule, Womens Triathlon

Kids Are Back to School – Better for your workout?

Anne — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 02:42:01 +0000

I love that old OfficeMax commercial for school supplies, where the Dad is sailing happily back and forth through the aisles of the store on the back of a shopping cart to the tune “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. Two obviously depresssed children trudge slowly behind him.

That’s me. Doing a happy dance as I drop my kids off today for the first day of school. And in more ways than one. Not just because I will get some quiet work time or my little girl gets to talk some kids’ ears off instead of just mine. No, I love the schedule. My whole house is back on a schedule: school hours, teams, afterschool activities, etc. And I get to blame school. See, family it’s not just me being dictator for your own good, we need to be organized so school goes well!

Seriously, with more structured schedules we with families must create in the fall, this is a good opportunity to schedule your workout time in there too. Many women with kids start schedules fresh and anew in September. If you have been working out, make sure your times are working with the new schedules. If you have not seriously started your workout plan yet, start now by blocking in at least 4 sessions for yourself. Because this is now off-season for many in the US and Canada, you can pare down the number of workout sessions, at least for a few months, without damage to your overall triathlon training plan. If you can only work with 4 sessions a week, start there.

Make your workout time a priority–to you and your family–as much as football practice and girls scouts. For now, I’m fitting a couple of runs in during daughter’s soccer practice, weights during son’s swim practice, and swim early in the morning 2 days and bike or spinning on the weekend.

And if you don’t have kids–take advantage too! If you workout out at neighborhood centers or YMCAs, take advantage of those times kids aren’t there (as they were for summer camps).

Technorati Tags: back to school, Triathlon Schedules, Triathlon Training, triathlon training schedule, Womens Triathlon

The Womens Triathlon

Anne — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:20:59 +0000

Triathlons can seem a bit intimidating. Look at those pictures! Tone and experienced athletes jostling in the water. Tons of gear. But as a women, if you are interested in trying a triathlon, don’t let uncertainty stop you! You can do a triathlon! In fact, you can make your experience a more welcome one if you compete in a womens triathlon.

First understand, women’s triathlon events are not easier than any other! It is competitive in that you still have to swim, bike and run the given distances. The difference is how you are competing. Newcomers to triathlon are extremely welcome, especially because more women find the sport daunting. You’ll find support getting through the ins-and-outs of the triathlon and usually won’t feel much pressure of competition. For those who have raced before, womens triathlons still provide a competitive platform for those who want a challenge and the camaraderie of women (and sponsors) who face the same issues you face in this sport.

A womens triathlon is all about being strong and athletic, as a woman. I love the logo that the Iron Girl event uses–Grace, the grace that makes women heroic, charming and limitless.

We even train a little differently. Womens triathlon training is typical training, but we have special issues to manage. With gear, we need to go through the effort finding a properly sized bike and quality sports bras. With health, women contend with issues like training through periods, lower iron, and pregnancy. And socially, women more often have to find time to train while holding down many activities in addition to the job such ascaring for kids or parents and a household.

Triathlons are an exciting journey. For your first triathlon, it’s all about “can I do this?” and getting ready to finish your first race. Once you have your first race under your belt, you’re on a quest to get better–improve your time here, improve your technique there, you know you can do the next one a little faster. Wherever you are in your tri experience, a womens triathlon is a great place to find your grace.

Technorati Tags: Triathlon Training, triathlons for women, Womens Triathlon