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Triathlon after marathon

lorbonlorbon Posts: 3
in General Chat
Hello,
I have completed my 1st Marathon a couple of few weeks ago in 3:37 and I would like to start training for triathlon. I have not been swimming or biking in the last months but have done both in the past.
If I start training this week, how many months would you reckon I would need to prepare a Sprint? And a Half Ironman?
Many thanks!

Comments

  • coolasbeanscoolasbeans Posts: 26
    How long, I'd say next week, if you can swim 800metres in a pool now and can ride 20K, there's nothing stopping you.

    If you're after a competitive time then different story, you'll be the best judge.

    Re half ironman, who knows, see how you get on with sprint and olympic first, running won't be an issue clearly, so it'll be done to the swim/bike
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Q1 Can you swim without the aid of arm rings and without drowning ?
    Q2 Can you ride a bike without training wheels and falling over too much?
    Q3 Can you run/walk a mile without having a heart attack?

    If answers to all 3 are yes - congratulations you can do a triathlon

    Now serious stuff; what is your realistic aim? To finish then the above applies. Have a look at past results for the events you are thinking of entering, look at your age group and get a feel of the timings for the top, middle and bottom third. As you have done a top notch time for a marathon the distance is no problem so just speed work on the swim and run. Have a look here newbie-sprint-tri-good-fri-tri-wetsuit-or-not-t52010.html#p80814

    Do you have a bike? On a Sprint you will see everything from rusty MTB/hybrids complete with carriers and kick stands to uber bling carbon porn. For a 70.3 you will need at least a road bike, many 70.3 events ban MTBs as you will not make the cut off times. If you are buying a bike you need to size it properly, joing a tri or cycle club would be a good move as you will get some help there or have a look here for-sale.html or here if you know what you want wanted.html. The temptation is to go all macho and go for a 'Standard' with 175mm cranks but I am a big fan of 'Compacts' with 165mm cranks gearing-triple-double-or-compact-t47459-10.html#p56577

    Now regards the 70.3 you will need to get some open water swim time in and also a wetsuit. I would suggest that you will need a positive buoyancy suit as most of us are crap swimmers and have heavier legs in comparison to swimmers so our legs sink and cause drag. You will need to get properly sized and for this need to trust someone who knows what they are talking about.

    Have a search on training plans, most are 12-16 week based.

    Good luck
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