Triathlon Schedule – Don’t Make This Mistake

Most beginner triathletes make the same common mistake in their training triathlon schedule. The common mistake is only natural and is part of the American idea that more is better.

This idea is not only prevalent in the food that we eat, but also the material goods that we buy. This idea, however, does not apply well with training. More is not better because it leads to overtraining and injuries.

Even though you may think it is okay to increase your intensity or mileage quickly, you shouldn’t increase it more than 10% a week.

During my sophomore year of college I was determined to participate in triathlon that finished with a half-marathon. I never had any running training even though I loved to run.

If I had some guidance and a proper training triathlon schedule I probably would have improved instead of ending up injured. I took the “more is better” route and have had a hard time running since.

At that time I didn’t understand the difficult of transitioning from a 1 mile swim and 56 mile bike ride to running 13 miles. I figured if I could run 18-20 miles, I would be ready for a measly 13 miles.

I was in great shape from my previous athletic adventures, but I hadn’t really participated in any long distance events. For me to be able to train up to 20 miles I needed to increase my mileage by 30% every week instead of 10.

I could deal with the shin splints because that feeling wasn’t new to me because of my soccer experience. However, my ankles had become so inflamed from previous injuries that they couldn’t support my weight anymore.

During one particular run, my left ankle just buckled and gave out on me. I ended up using crutches for 2 months, gained a bunch of weight and have had trouble regaining my ankle strength. My dream to participate in this race completely died.

It wasn’t until 7 years later when I was able to start training again. I decided that I would learn from my mistakes the first time and not over train, and that I needed to stick to a proper training triathlon schedule.

When you train properly and correctly, that is the best way to train. It is very easy to get over ambitious about the race and have the desires to improve quicker than you are, but that is not a good way to go about things.

It is best to increase your mileage and intensity slowly so that you don’t end up with an injury that takes you away from the sport for a long time.