Anyone who isn't extremely active is probably intimidated by participating in any length triathlon. In fact, even people who lead active lives as athletes often think that this goal is out of reach. However, average people participate every day in triathlons. There are several different triathlon distances and understanding the structure can help you find a reachable goal for your situation.
Although not a triathlon, many beginners start with a Couch to 5K program. They take an average person and condition them to be able to perform and accomplish some serious goals. However, these aren't for everyone. If you are slightly overweight or average weight, but inactive, these may be ideal. If you have a decent amount of weight to lose, you will probably want to start slower and work up to your goal. Where your fitness level is makes a big difference in how fast you can progress. The intensity and time you can allocate to a routine is also important.
Triathlon distances are divided into four categories: Sprint, Olympic, 1/2 Ironman and full Ironman. You still do the three components of swimming, biking and running, but the distances are different in each. In a sprint triathlon, participants will swim a 1/2 mile, bike 13 miles and run 3.2 miles. This is perfect for a complete beginner. After completing this, you can move on to the Olympic triathlon, where you can expect to swim almost a full mile, bike 24.8 miles and run 6.2 miles. For a 1/2 Ironman, participants will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles. Finally, in the most challenging triathlon, the full Ironman, you can expect to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles. As you can see, each event doubles the distance of the previous effort.
Most experts recommend that you only do two events at different levels per year. That means that if you train for three to four months and complete a sprint, you should take another three to four months to prepare for the next level, the Olympic. Don't be tempted to take on too much when you are working toward greater triathlon distances. This can actually cause injury and then you'll be going backwards. Also, you are going to need to take the time to have a good fitness plan. People training for a sprint should expect to be training 3-5 days a week and putting in 2-7 hours per week. Ironman athletes should be training 5-7 days a week and putting in at least 8-18 hours per week. The lower numbers indicate weeks when you need to rest and recover and your average should fall towards the top of the scale
