Product Description

Every year thousands of people decide to take on a sprint triathlon for the first time. Now USA Triathlon and USA Cycling certified coach Joe Friel provides a complete guide to finishing that first triathlon. The same principles and training methodology that the pros and committed triathletes rely on are presented here in language that a beginner can easily understand. Friel maps a course to prepare for a sprint-distance triathlon in 12 weeks, with five hours of training each week, plenty of rest, and the beginnings of a lifestyle marked by a commitment to health and fitness and personal growth. Your First Triathlon provides the training plans, workouts, checklists, and instruction that first-timers need. Joe Friel is known for his thorough approach and with his help, what may have begun as a challenge to complete a sprint triathlon will grow into a love for this demanding yet rewarding sport.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8434 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 223 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781931382854
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Publisher

Customer Reviews

Got me through my first triathlon!
I did my first triathlon (sprint distance) in September after three months training, and I was lucky enough to have found this book towards the beginning of my training. Needless to say I am hooked and can't wait to do another one!!! The book did an amazing job of preparing me by arming me with the information I needed to train properly, learn new sports (I had never biked or swam seriously before), eat right, and avoid injury, and yet avoided getting too "hard core" (when you do your first triathlon you keep wondering whether or not you're crazy). Joe keeps it manageable. There is a scary overwhelmed feeling you can get when you start reading about some of the crazy training schedules and techniques out there -- and he really clears through all that and gets to the essentials you need to know to make it through your training and cross the finish line. For example, his race day prep chapter really helped me visualize what to expect on the big day. Also, I really liked his approach to gear -- you can really get sucked into buying a bunch of stuff -- and he emphasizes ways to work with stuff you already have (ex: your old mountain bike) until you're more experienced and can better select the right gear to invest in. Overall, I really liked his fun-first emphasis, while providing what is clearly well-researched and high quality information. Two thumbs up!

Good for motivation....that's all
This book is great to help you get motivated and mostly teaches you that attitude is key to success. It will not teach swim, run or bike techniques, so don't waste the money if, like me, you are looking for actual instructions. Basically, the swim section tells you that you shouldn't learn alone, to go find an instructor. Thanks...I sure wouldn't have thought of the obvious without paying $20 for Joe to tell me! Hopefully his other books are better, but I sure won't pay to find out.

Good but not great
More than any other peice of equipment, this book definitely gave me what I needed to get to the starting line. It gave me the confidence that I would need to finish my first tri. The book was definitely for me, the person who really doesn't know much about how to even start my training. The drills were helpful and the training calendar worked well to get me to my goal.

But, it is not without it's flaws. As already mentioned in other reviews, swimming is not covered enough to really help you out. My only real struggle was in the swim and his lack emphasis may have led to some over confidence from the attitude her presents. Also, the simplistic way it covered the training regimine was not helpful; I never understood why the drills I was doing were going to help.