Where To Start?

 Have you bought in to this idea of becoming a Triathlete? Or, you are one of the many that just want to see if you can do it? Do you have no idea where to begin? Well let me see if I can help. Here are a few important things that I leaned last year on my journey and maybe they will give you a head start over me.

1. Start running- Don’t go for speed or distance at first just stick to running by time. Your body needs time to adjust to the change. Start with ten minuets and if you can go farther do it but if you can’t that is okay. After you have mastered ten minuets push it up to twenty. Then once you feel like you can do that a couple of times a week then start pushing speed and distance. When I started I thought my knees were going to buckle under the pressure of my 300 pound frame but as my muscles and ligaments got stronger that feeling and fear went away.
2. Go ride a bike- Nothing is more important than time on the saddle (your bike seat). I only had a mountain bike with big ol’ nobby tires. It was hard work to keep up with people on road bikes. But as my wife likes to remind me “Just think about how much better a work out you’re getting.” And she is right. More weight, more wind resistance, and more ground contact means I worked it hard. Don’t have a bike? That’s okay Craig’s list has tons of road bikes on it and you can get decent older bikes to get you riding for as little as $100.
3. Get swimming- Start one lap at a time. Then see if you can go two laps with out stopping. I found the more I was just in the water the better I became naturally. You would be surprised on how quick that you can progress in the pool when you put in the time. I found it best to go to my local 24 hour gym at ten or eleven o’clock at night. That way I didn’t have to feel self conscious about the people around me and I could look like a drowning seal for a while and no would have to be subjected to that sight.
4. Absorb as much information as you can- For equipment and technical advice I turned to http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/. The site is a little overwhelming and hard to navigate at first but the information stored there is priceless. For inspiration I listened to the Competitor Radio Pod cast www.competitorradio.competitor.com/. It is a great show in which professional athletes and endurance enthusiasts talk about there experiences and training. Surprisingly the Pros face the same setbacks as the rest of us just on a bigger scale. Lastly, to keep it interesting I tried every kind of work out I was offered to go to. You can find me at all most every Daddy Stroller Strides class that I was allowed to go to with my wife. And let me tell you they kick those Mommies buts and mine too!!!

Okay, so now you have a few places to start. Why are you still sitting there? Get up and get going.

Good Luck!!!