Take Your Goals Seriously
Cautions about how difficult a triathlon can be are not meant to scare anyone away from trying a sport with many rewards. It is important, however, for you to be serious about your training. Being ill-prepared for your first triathlon will result in a miserable experience. Your first triathlon might well be your last. Looking at it from a positive point of view, adequate preparation will assure that you enjoy the event
You won't feel good about yourself if you go out there and flounder around, struggling through each sport. Veterans know the difference between someone who is just having a bad day and a person who came to the race without the proper preparation. If life seriously gets in the way of your training, put off your first triathlon or try to get on a relay team. You want to be ready when you do your first.
Don't Panic
These stern messages about training properly do not mean that you are doomed if something happens that keeps you from doing a scheduled workout. It's not the end of the world, especially if the workout you missed is in your best sport. You don't want to make a habit of skipping workouts, but missing one now and then is not a big deal.
It's worth noting, too, that if you miss a workout, don't try to make it up unless you consider it absolutely vital to your training, for example, if it's in your weakest sport. Trying to compensate for a missed workout could easily disrupt your training schedule, and you will put yourself at risk for injury if you try to pile on too much in one day.
Marathon runners are often cautioned to “respect the distance,” a way of saying that a person who dares to try a 26.2-mile run should know what he is getting into and that the training for the race should be adequate for the challenge. The same is true of a triathlon, even one with shorter distances. Respect the race. Train properly.
Downtime
It's human nature to think that if four days of training a week are good, then seven must be ideal. Too bad there isn't an eighth day! Get that notion out of your mind right now, especially if you are new to physical activity. Even top athletes build rest days into their training schedules, and they know why it's important.
Exercise and strength training tear down your muscles. They grow stronger in the process of being rebuilt. That's the wonder of the human body. If you never give your body a chance to rest, the rebuilding process won't occur or it won't be as efficient. Injury is the inevitable result of nonstop training.
Those who are new to sports should have at least one day a week with no exercise at all. If you schedule only one day of complete rest (doing little or nothing), you should avoid hard workouts two days in a row. Any time you have an intense workout, it should be followed the next day with something easy — or even a day off if you do not feel fully recovered
