Book Club: Your First Triathalon

Book Club
Your First Triathlon
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Book Club is consists of my notes on a book that I just finished.

My first book is Your First Triathlon by Joe Friel.  This is a well-written, great introductory book.  The following are my notes.  Because I'm paraphrasing, key details may be missing.  Buy the book; get the whole story!

Keys to Success:

1. The goal for your first should be finishing with a smile.  Don't pick a long triathlon.
2. Motivation; consistency.
3. Adequate sleep.  You need time for your body to recover.  Systematically tense and relax each muscle to relax.  Avoid coffee/alcohol near bedtime. 
4. Review your biggest success of each day before you fall asleep (even if it seems trivial). 
5. Recommends an evaluation by a physical therapist when starting out.

Weight Loss:

1. Aim for a calorie deficit of 300-500 daily.  Breaks from this are okay--and, maybe encouraged, to keep you on track.
2. Calorie restriction is more powerful for weight loss than exercise.  However, this does not correlate with fitness, since that weight loss tends to be a larger percentage of muscle rather than fat.
3. When cutting calories, do so from carbs.  Keep protein in-take adequate.
4. Record calories-in, calories out.  (I like using MyFitnessPal for this, linking it with Strava to add in my calories.)
5. Monitor weight daily.

Workout Fueling:

1. Before. Either eat some carbs two hours before or within ten minutes before a workout.
2. During. If less than an hour (& you fuel before), you should be okay with just water.  A one to four-hour workout, an energy gel every half-hour is recommended.  Four or more, energy bars or energy blocks make sense. Harder/slower to digest.
3. After. Within 30 minutes of workout finishing, fuel up again, including carbs. 
4. Protein is important.  Many athletes neglect protein and are more injury-prone.  Meat is a good source. For your daily carbs, fruits and vegetables generally make a better choice than starchy foods.
• Most nutritious foods:  (i) vegetables; (ii) seafood; (iii) lean meats.  Least nutritious -- whole grains; milk; seeds & nuts.
5. Avoid bad fats.
6. You may want to supplement with fish oil supplements and, in the winter, Vitamin D -- assuming you're otherwise eating healthy.

Swimming:

1. If new to swimming, your goal should just to finish it.
2. Focus on good technique first; then swim fitness.
3. Swimming mistakes: (i) hips below shoulders; (ii) pushing down on the water; (iii) kicking too much.
4. Start by learning to breathe. Take a class or get a coach.  Tough to improve on your own.
5. If open water swim, learn how to sight. 

Cycling:

1. Slow down with the right-hand brake (rear), but stop by applying the left (front).  Too much front-brake and you can flip over.
2. Don't use the largest chainring & largest cog (or the smallest of each).  This causes chain wear.
3. Don't brake in a corner. Brake before the corner.  Inside knee up and lean in.  The faster you go, the more leaning.
4.  Learn how to change a flat.

Running:

1. Try to run while your whole foot hitting the ground and springing upward.  Heel strikes are not as efficient.
2. Run/walk is a fine way for novices to start their run training (although other experts disagree)

Strength Exercises:

1. Add if you have time.  If not, focus on swimming, biking, running.
2. Exercises in the book can be completed with resistance bands, if you don't have access to gym equipment.

Stretching:

1. Do it; multiple times per week.

Training Plan:

1. The book contains a number of different training plans.  I may adapt one of them for my 2021 season. 
• 2 beginner plans; 2 swimmer plans; 2 cyclist plans; 2 runner plans.  (The last three are for people with a background & decent fitness in the respective sport.

Your First Triathalon:

1. Taper before your race.
2. Eat something easily digestible on the morning of the race.  Don't skip breakfast.
3. Don't introduce new variables (i.e., new food; new equipment).
4. Only need water for the bike course; the run will have provided drinks.
5. Finish with a smile; walk/stop if necessary; eat something after.

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