What One Should Understand Regarding Triathlon Training

By Scott Bailey


In triathlon, competitors complete multiple-stage competitions in a continuous and consecutive manner. It is an endurance sport testing how fast one can move while enduring the hardship involved in the races. Running, biking, and swimming are the three activities that make up the competition. Time spent while transitioning from one activity to another is also counted towards the final time taken. The root of the term is in the Greek language. When the term is translated to English, it means three sports which is a consistent definition with the sport.

Athletes change their gears in a transition region, which is provided to them in advance before race starts. In the transition area, athletes transition from swim to bike or bike to run. All the supplies and accessories the athlete needs such as bikes and sports gear are held in the transition area. Triathlon training is done intensively and vigorously to boost the endurance of the athlete in preparation for the race.

In the first transition, people move from swimming to biking. The label T1 is given for this transition. The second transition is labeled T2 and it involves people moving from biking to running. Time spent in T1 and T2 is counted towards the overall time of the athlete. Transition areas are made in different sizes to accommodate the varying numbers of participants. Before races begin, transition areas are utilized as social headquarters.

The origin of triathlon lies somewhere in the 20s. However, the celebrated version as it is known began in 1974 in San Diego. The event was organized by two people called Johnstone and Shanahan. These two were associated with Track Club of San Diego. The first event incorporated running, biking, and swimming, but in a different order.

The International Triathlon Union, ITU was created in 1989 as the global body for governing the sport. At that time, the main goal was to ensure triathlon was accepted into the Olympic Games. ITU wound later become the sanctioning and organizing body for World Cup and World Triathlon Series races yearly. Participants can compete at various levels include elite pro-triathletes, age-group athletes, and junior pro-athletes.

Participants must register and sign up for any event they intend to participate in days before the event happens. Those who register are given race numbers, timing bands, and colored swim caps. Timing bands are only used if the race is to be timed electronically. Participants usually have information regarding the course, applicable rules, and possible problems they need to be on the lookout for communicated to them way in advance.

In major events, it may be a requirement for athletes to have their bikes checked-in at the transition areas in advance. Security is maintained in the transition area after bikes have been checked-in. Several different techniques have been devised for starting races. One of the methods is mass starts where competitors start competing at the same time when the start signal is given.

If an event is wave started, athletes are released in small bunches at predetermined intervals. A start signal is given at the lapse of the predetermined time intervals. This method is less commonly used in long races than in short ones.




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