Table of Contents

Preface: Welcome to Your New Adventure! 8

Chapter 1 Sure Steps to Big Goals 10

1.1 What Is Triathlon? 10

1.2 Basic Planning and Preparation 13

1.3 Logistics and Equipment 14

1.4 Assessing Your Fitness and Skills 15

1.5 Assessing Your Life Schedule for Training 16

1.6 Goal Setting 20

Chapter 2 Getting Set Up 22

2.1 The Swim 23

2.2 The Bike 24

2.3 Time Trial versus Road Bike 24

2.4 The Run 28

2.5 Triathlon Racing Gear and Other Helpful Items 30

Chapter 3 How to Train with Expertise and Confidence 31

3.1 Develop Good Habits 32

3.2 Workout Logistics 32

3.3 Executing the Session 34

3.4 Training Energy Systems for Improvement 35

3.5 Training by Perceived Exertion 38

3.6 Table of Rate of Perceived Exertion 39

3.7 Self Talk and Visualization 39

3.8 Training to Be Great 42

Chapter 4 Technical Aspects of Swim, Bike and Run 43

4.1 The Unique Challenges of Open Water Swimming 44

4.2 Be the Best Cyclist You Can Be 47

4.3 Run Like the Wind 52

4.4 Transition Training 58

4.5 Bike-Run Brick Training 59

Chapter 5 Personal Coaching, Online Programs, and Clubs 61

5.1 Online Programs 63

5.2 Hiring a Personal Coach 64

5.3 Clubs 66

Chapter 6 Getting Ready to Race 67

6.1 Tapering 68

6.2 On Site Excitement! 68

6.3 Race Day Tips 69

6.4 Setting Up Transitions 70

6.5 How to Be a Great Racer 72

6.6 Visualization and Imagery 73

Chapter 7 Fine-tuning Your Program 75

7.1 Sport Nutrition Basics 75

7.2 Eating to Feel Well 76

7.3 Fueling to Train 79

7.4 How to Carry Liquids and Gels 81

7.5 Eating Post-workout 81

7.7 Stretching 82

Chapter 8 Training Plan Overview 85

8.1 Key Training Tips 86

8.2 Training Program Terminology and Explanations 87

8.3 Other Plan Considerations 89

Chapter 9 Your 16-week Training Guide: Weeks 1-4 91

9.1 Week 1 92

9.2 Week 2 94

9.3 Week 3 96

9.4 Week 4 98

9.5 Did You know? 99

Chapter 10 Your 16-week Training Guide: Weeks 5-8 100

10.1 Week 5 102

10.2 Week 6 104

10.3 Week 7 106

10.4 Week 8 108

10.5 Did You Know? 110

Chapter 11 Your 16-week Training Guide: Weeks 9-12 111

11.1 Week 9

11.2 Week 10 114

11.3 Week 11 116

11.4 Week 12 118

11.5 Did You Know? 119

Chapter 12 Your 16-week Training Guide: Weeks 13-16 120

12.1 Week 13 121

12.2 Week 14 122

12.3 Week 15 124

12.4 Week 16 126

12.5 Did You Know? 127

Chapter 13 You Did It! Now What? 128

13.1 Post-race Recovery 129

13.2 Race Recovery Checklist 130

13.3 Learning from Your Race: Debriefing 131

13.4 Post-race Checklist for Learning 133

13.5 Moving On and Up: New Goals 134

Chapter 14 Final Thoughts 136

Acknowledgements 138

Photo Credits 144