Countless people join the sport of triathlon each year. Many become severely addicted and grow into everyday trainers with long-range goals. Others, however, struggle and fail, competing in only one before selling their bikes and using their swim goggles for protective eyewear on home improvement projects. Any person who has ever been involved in a triathlon can understand why people become attached, but the harder concept to comprehend is why some quit so early. A good possibility is that they simply did not plan well at the beginning, thus setting themselves up for failure.

To plan properly, that is once you have decided to go all in and actually do a race, whether it is a sprint, Olympic, Half Iron or Full Iron, you must select the best time frame for training. To begin, pick a race that is at least twelve weeks away. Anything closer will cramp your training and prevent your body from being totally prepared. Race day then will be a nightmare, for attempting a triathlon when being undertrained rarely results in that warm, fuzzy feeling needed to come back again and again.

Next, generate a training pace that allows your body to adjust. Throwing yourself into a massive workout will hurt your body, which again sours the experience. Ease into a pattern that has logical, safe increments. This will give your body time to rest, recover, and progress, and it will let you feel more accomplished and confident as the race date grows closer.

Finally, when scheduling your workouts, plan all of your swims first. Time in the water, either in the pool or open water, is the most difficult to attain, so make swimming your planning priority. Training for the running and the biking can be done just about any place at any time, so fill those in once you have mapped out your aquatic times.

If you begin early and establish a realistic plan that takes into consideration both time and patience, you stand a far better chance of enjoying the actual race. The goal of a triathlon is to get you to come back and be a true member of the sport, so plan well and you can change your life in ways you previously didn't think you could.

Triathletes, especially new ones, often find off-season training to be difficult and less intense. While clearly you cannot be as aggressive in your workouts during the off-season, as you are not searching to peak then for a particular race or time period, you can generate a training schedule that permits you to establish a motivated approach that will strengthen your weakest points and help you to avoid the dreaded plateau.

Implementing focus months can allow you to place all of your emphasis on a given discipline. For example, if you struggle with the swim and find yourself to be more proficient on the bike and on the run, spend a dedicated two months perfecting your abilities in the water. Swimming five to six days a week, rather than rotating each day like in a normal in-season workout cycle, will help you make greater gains in both strength and form. While you can do other workouts to maintain your run and bike, the majority of your efforts should be in the pool.

To do so, train hard for two weeks in the given sport, then schedule in an easy week of rest and reflection. Keep repeating this cycle for up to two months, and then turn your sights to one of the two other disciplines. After a six-month off-season, you will have had two focus months for each sport, and your overall proficiency in each will have improved without question. Then, as the triathlon season approaches, begin the normal rotational schedule that will permit you to peak in time for the races in which you will compete.

Sacrificing time on two to work on one may seem like odd advice, but it is sound and logical, especially during the off-season. Getting over that mental block so many triathletes have, the one that drives you to work on everything all the time, represents the first obstacle. The second hurdle to clear is training the right way. If you want to improve the swim, study quick swimmers. Watch their form and their habits, and do what you can to mimic them. Immerse yourself in the culture of the sport in which you need to improve.

If you try this approach in a diligent and dedicated manner, you will find that the gains you make set up your later triathlon season better than your old training methods. In your next off-season, give monthly rotations a try. I think you'll love the results.

As triathletes begin training, they inevitably hope to tackle as much as possible, generating workouts designed to push them to the limits of their own potentials. Yet, wrapped within the need to extend beyond what they previously thought was impossible, triathletes must remember to provide ample time for the fourth event in training: sleep.

Sleep deprivation impacts countless Americans each night, as chronic sleep issues have reached an almost epidemic rate across much of Western society. Most people in industrialized, competitive-based countries sleep far less than the standard minimum of eight hours per night. This downward spiraling pattern within our culture will have its influence in the sport of triathlon if athletes do not take clear steps to prevent its long-reaching problems.

If the regular American who does not participate in triathlons suffers from sleep deprivation, then how does a triathlete, who in all probability works a similarly structured job, train endless hours and get the required sleep? Seems near impossible, right? The answer, however, comes in the form of decision making. Consider all the needless minutes and hours each day spent doing next to nothing, and then think about what life would be like if you used that extra time to extend your night's sleep by 30 to 60 minutes, or if you elected to take a nap during the day. Without a doubt, with the increased rest you would see your recovery from training improve, your intensity during workouts would double, and your overall vitality in life would be dramatically enhanced.

So, when sitting down to structure a plan for training, make sure you consider not just the need to rest, but also the need to sleep. Make the best decisions in your life to allow your body that unadulterated down time to refuel and regenerate. Not only will your experience with triathlon improve, but also, and more importantly, your daily life will become better and better.

All three sections of a triathlon are grueling both physically and psychologically. Swimming forces you to not only deal with your physical ability to cut the water, but it mentally challenges you to stay focused through the unpredictability of open water. Cycling, which is physically more challenging in terms of maximum heart rate, gives no physical break following the swim, and it requires intense mental attention as you must manipulate a machine at high rates of speed.

Running, the third and final stage, however, trumps both in its physiological and psychological demands. Runners tax their bodies like no other athlete, as evidence by the long wait periods between major races. No runner can compete at high distance levels week after week like a cyclist can. No runner can perform the multi-faceted workouts in repetitive fashion that a swimmer can.

Runners must be acutely aware of their situations. Injury prevention is critical when building a running base for a triathlon, as overuse problems stemming from too much volume too quickly or insufficient rest can destroy any person's triathlon season. As far as elite runners go, they spend roughly 25% less time training than their counterparts in swimming and cycling.

Psychologically, the run can mentally hinder any ill-prepared triathlete. As the final stage, the run not only pushes your fatigued body, but it also sternly challenges your mind. Your mentality is stressed from the moment you hit the water, so as you enter the last phase, your brain is tired. Training yourself psychologically, knowing how to handle your body, playing mental tricks to keep focused, understanding how to overcome your brain's desire to ease up, will provide you with great returns come race day.

Overall, be smart about your run training on both levels. Set reachable goals that will allow your body to make small, manageable strides. Along the way, pay attention to how you respond psychologically to the difficulties you face. Knowing how to handle your brain on race day may prove to be the difference for you.

Most people put a load of time and effort into finding the perfect running shoe; however, not nearly as many pay close enough attention to the barrier they plan on placing between their beloved feet and the expensive new sneakers. Selecting the right socks, ones that not only fit your feet well, but also can perform under pressure, will save you hours of blistery pain and frustration.

Just reaching deep down into your sock drawer to grab whatever is clean can be fatal. Inevitably, your heels will rub themselves raw and the sides of your toes will burn. Compound the flawed choice in sock with tough conditions—rain, mud, snow—and you have created a recipe for skin disaster that can put a quick stop to your training.

So, knowing that your choice of socks is critical, consider the following ideas to ensure comfort:

*Choose a synthetic-based sock, primarily made from polyester, which will wick away moisture and not scratch away at your feet. Running in traditional cotton socks is a practice long gone. Cotton absorbs and retains moisture, making the sock ill-fitting and cumbersome, which leads to irritation and blistering.

*Select the proper size sock. A slim-fitting sock of appropriate height that fully covers the foot and Achilles heel will provide sufficient coverage and protection. Conversely, socks that are too big will bunch up and rub against your skin, and ones that are too small will permit the shoe to rub on the ankle, both resulting in chaffing and blistering.

*Try the socks on with your running shoes. Just reading the package or trying them on without putting them in a shoe is sentencing your feet to death. To properly judge a sock's thickness, put it on and then lace up your running shoe. Feel if it is too constricting, and notice the parts that have additional padding. Most socks purchased these days are thin and snug, so try those first.

In the end, if your socks feel wrong, change them. Take care of your feet so they can take care of you.