Get Ready For Triathlon Season

If you’re thinking about doing one or more of the three triathlons this summer here in San Angelo, start training now.

The first summer triathlon is only eight weeks away.

The local multisport events scheduled for this summer are the Lake Nasworthy sprint triathlon on July 12, the Goodfellow Triathlon on July 26 and the Wool Capitol triathlon on Aug. 10.

All of these events take place at different locations on Lake Nasworthy. Although the lake’s water level is low, the events are still on track to take place as scheduled.

The race directors for the July 12 and Aug. 10 events have already noted that if the water level drops too low to allow for a safe swim and back-to-the-beach transition, their event will change to a run-bike-run duathlon instead of a swim-bike-run triathlon.

Hopefully there will be enough water to swim in.

The Lake Nasworthy sprint triathlon on July 12 will be perfect for beginners and casual triathletes with its short 300-yard swim, 10-mile bike and two-mile run. For more experienced triathletes, the short distances will provide a great speed workout to complement their training for longer events.

Race distances increase a little for the July 26 Goodfellow Triathlon, but the event is still short enough to be very doable for new triathletes. It will consist of a 400-meter swim at the Goodfellow Recreation Camp’s marina, a 20-kilometer (12.4 mile) bike leg, and a 5K (3.1-mile run).

The final San Angelo triathlon of the season will be the Wool Capitol event on Aug. 10. This race has traditionally been held in Middle Concho Park but may be moved to Spring Creek Park this year due to low water in the Middle Concho channel and concerns about traffic on Red Bluff Road.

There will be two distances for the 2014 Wool Capitol triathlon. The Olympic distance race will include a 1,500-meter swim, 40K (24.8 mile) bike, and a 10K (6.2 mile) run, with the shorter sprint distance race being a 400-meter swim, 20K bike, and two-mile run.

All three of these triathlons have both individual and team categories, so you have the option of teaming up with friends to race in the team category.

A typical weekly training program for a triathlon includes swimming, cycling and running workouts along with stretching, strength training and transition practice.

Individuals such as cyclists and runners who are normally single-sport athletes will need to adjust their weekly training plan to add workouts in the other two disciplines.

The swim leg of a triathlon is the most difficult for many people. Although most swim workouts can be done in a pool, it’s a good idea to do some open water swims in the lake so that you are comfortable with deep water, no swim lanes and no pool walls to grab if you need to rest.

The swim beach at Lake Nasworthy (Mary E Lee Park) is a good place to do these open water swims, and also an ideal location to do ‘brick’ workouts and swim-bike-run triathlon simulations.

Brick workouts normally consist of a bike ride followed by a run. This workout helps you prepare for the final run leg of a triathlon which follows the bike leg.

Trying to run fast on legs that are already tired from cycling is difficult, so doing a brick workout once or twice each week during your triathlon training will help prepare your body for the bike-to-run transition.

You might want to also prepare for the possibility that one or more of these triathlons could become a run-bike-run duathlon. A good strategy is to do a few ‘reverse bricks’ during your training where you start with a running workout and then transition to a fast bike ride.

If you’re thinking about doing your first triathlon and are not sure about what workouts to start doing, go to www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=28 to view some typical training programs.

Remember — triathlon season is approaching and it’s time to start training.

Upcoming Events
June 5: Road bike time trial series, angelobike.org
June 7: Run in the Sun 8K, roadlizards.org
June 14: Tour de Burma, http://angelobike.org/tour-de-burma/
June 21: Stop, Drop and Roll, roadlizards.org
July 12: Lake Nasworthy Triathlon, roadlizards.org
July 26: Goodfellow Triathlon, roadlizards.org
Aug. 10: Olympic and sprint distance triathlon, Spring Creek Park