Hello, I want to try my first tri at the beginning of 2011 and would like to know if there are any pending scheduled races in VA around that time. Thanks!

Mary from Virginia

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Hi Mary,

Thank you for contacting TriathaNewbie.com and welcome to the sport!

	Triathlon Tip!
	In the past, triathlon schedules didn't come out until January or February of the new year. Now, calendars start trickling out in December. Here's our advice: Find a few races that look good on our Triathlon Events page If the race is open, sign up for it -- QUICK!!! If not, bookmark the race website and set a calendar reminder to check it at the beginning of the following month If the new schedule doesn't post the following month, set a calendar reminder for the next month...and so on... Sign up as soon as it opens! Great mini-triathlons sell out quickly and you don't want to miss out!

In the meantime, here are some tips for geting started:

The average person needs to start training 6-9 months prior to their event. It may be more or less depending on your current fitness level. The final goal is to be able to sustain a fairly intense workout for roughly 2 hours.

Read through the Swim, Bike and Run pages of our website to educate yourself on mini-triathlons. Check out these books below to find a training schedule that works for you.

• Triathlete Magazine's Complete Triathlon Book: The Training, Diet, Health, Equipment, and Safety Tips You Need to Do Your Best
• Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals: And Doing the Duathlon Too
• Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open-Water Swimming
• Training Plans for Multisport Athletes: Your Essential Guide to Triathlon, Duathlon, XTERRA, Ironman, and Endurance Racing

Be well,
~ Julie

TriathaNewbie.com Staff

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