How Do I Know I'm Ready?

I'm a gym rat and am in good shape. I put hundreds of miles on my bike, my swim is ok and my running is improving but is tough. I WANT to do a mini-tri and LOVE the thought of doing it but frankly am a little apprehensive. I don't want to win I want to do it and finish. I'm just looking to see what point I should attempt one..

Regards,
Marc from Florida

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Hey Marc,
Thanks for contacting TriathaNewbie.com!

You sound like you are in a good place to begin training for a mini-tri! Sounds like you have your base-aerobic level to the point where you could sustain activity over a 2 hour time-frame, which is the beginning. It also sounds like you are a pretty experienced cyclist!

Things you want to look at before entering:

1. Practice cycling on the road if you are only doing spin. Indoor biking is not the same as outdoor biking no matter what they say.
2. Your swimming technique.
3. Although you are allowed to walk during the "run", it's always a courtesy to prepare for the distance.

Knowing when you're ready:

1. When you can sustain strenuous activity for about 2 hrs
2. When you can swim 100 yrds more than the length of the swim of your intended race and still have plenty of energy left over
3. When you can complete the running distance
4. When you can easily complete a brick. A brick is a full swim and full run in one practice with no rest in between or a combination of any of the 3 disciplines.

It's also good to get hang out with other triathletes at the gym. They'll be able to give you a hand with the day-to-day stuff. You can also get a great book, The Complete Triathlon Book , that gives you basic training programs that are really helpful for the beginner.

Please let us know how it goes! If you need assistance finding a race or a training group, we can help you do the research.

Be well.

Niki
TriathaNewbie.com staff
TriathaNewbie.com - Guiding new triathletes into the world of mini-triathlons