The Triathlon

How to complete The Triathlon

Olympic distance means a 1.5 km open-water swim, a 40 km bike, and a 10 km run back to back, roughly two and a half to four hours of continuous effort. Finishing one proves you can train three disciplines in parallel for months and manage pacing, gear, and nutrition on race day, which is a different animal from being fit in any single sport.

1. Register for a race four to six months out; a paid entry with a fixed date is the anchor of the whole plan.
2. Follow a structured beginner Olympic plan with two sessions per discipline per week, about six to eight hours total.
3. Get open-water swim practice before race day; pool fitness does not prepare you for sighting, chop, and swimming in a crowd.
4. Do brick workouts weekly: ride, then run 10 to 20 minutes immediately after, so jelly legs feel familiar.
5. Rehearse transitions and race nutrition in training, then taper the final week and hold conversational effort until the run.

Tips

• Nothing new on race day: no new shoes, breakfast, gels, or goggles.
• Eat on the bike; the run is fueled by what you took in an hour earlier.
• A wetsuit adds buoyancy and speed; rent one and swim in it at least twice before racing.
• Check whether your race is draft-legal; most age-group events require spacing on the bike and penalize drafting.

What counts as done

You cross the finish line of an official Olympic-or-longer triathlon and the results page lists your name and time.