I been a distance runner for some time now. I just picked up cycling and I want to pick up swimming so I can start doing triathlons. I got some quick questions to ask:

1. What is the distance you run in a triathlon? I can run 10 miles right now(I'm 19), but could increase that if I really wanted. I have great endurence.

2. What is the distance you ride a bike in a triathlon? I've been riding around 15- 25 miles a day, but again I could increase that to 30-40 miles pretty easy. Anything over that I would have to train for.

3. What is the distance you swim in a triathlon? I don't swim ever. Except for in the Frio River on vacation every year. I could join a fittness club that has swimming pools and swimming classes though.

4. What are some of your weekly training schedules like?

Thanks.

there are different types of triathalons with different distances the shorttest being a sprint distance
Swim: ¼ mile = 400 - 500 yards(meters)
Bike: 9 – 15 miles
Run: 5K or 3.1 miles

the longets is iron man
swim:2.4 miles
Bike: 112 miles
run: 26.2 miles
and there are others in between those distances. including a half iron man(self explanitory) and olympic distance(not sure on length) probably best to start at sprint distance to get a feel for it.
i'd also look into joining a tri club in your area they could be a big help heres an online list of a bunch of clubs in the U.S.
http://www.usatriathlon.org/Clubs_Regions/clubs_find.htm

and here are some other sites that may be helpful
http://www.trinewbies.com/
http://www.cooltri.com./
http://www.insidetri.com/
http://www.trifind.com/

The Sprints I've done:
Swim = .5K
Bike = 20K
Run = 5K

International Distance:
Swim = 1K
Bike = 40K
Run = 10K

I believe that those are the distances you will get in almost all USAT Triathlons.

Thanks shaharidan and FatBomber for your input. I think I could do a sprint in not that long of time. I might not do that great, but I know I could finish and that's a start!

i think that may be the biggest step, just trying one.

olympic is:
1500M swim
40K bike
10K run

i am also looking into triathlons, i am really into running, and i enjoy swimming and biking, i have a very old bad bike right now and i am curently looking to purchase another one, road bikes seem really expensive and seeing as i am just thinking about triathlons, i don't want to waste my money, i found a bianchi milano bike at a local bike shop, it is a hybrid bike, would this be a good investment or should lean towards a road bike???? Thanks...

For sprints and even olympic distance races you will see all kinds of bikes. Once you get hooked, you'll want a road or tri bike. :)

Chelsea22, I think the Milano is a ride-around-town kind of bike, more suited for commuting or running to the coffee shop than a 40K time trial. Although there are triathlon-specific bikes, a lot of recreational triathletes have invested in the best road bike they could afford and then added aerobars and forward seat posts to mimic the riding postition of tri-bikes.

And actually I noticed in yesterday's women's Olympic tri, a lot of competitors were riding traditional road bikes.

What you may also have noticed was that the olympic triathlons are also draftathons! I was bummed to see them in a freaking peleton. That was not a triathlon in my mind.

They were all on super-light roadies because they could draft.

Kind of takes the fun out of a tri when you can draft.

The riders chose those bikes because of the 2 climbs in the circuit, one of which was quite large. Normally those athletes would have been decked out in full TRI from disc wheels to intergrated cockpits. However, that being said anything will work for your first couple of tris.

I have been doing tri's for three years. I ride a road bike with aero bars, but a lot of people do their first few on a Mt. Bike. In fact, many tri's have a Mt. Bike catagory. I would suggest you do a few before investing in any tri-specific gear.

As for training, there are some great books inclduing Gail Berhardt's "multi-sport training plans" and a lot of web-site like trinewbies.com. Also, there is probably a local tri club where you live that could help you train. How much you need to train depends on how fast you want to go. I'm sure you could finish a sprint distance race right now. It's only 1/4 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. If you like it, train hard and go faster!

By the way, drafting is legal in all international races. I think the TT format is just an American thing.

I agree with Caloso and jdecristo upon usage of road bikes in Olympic triathlone in Athens. As one might have noticed the majority of men triathlates used road bikes without aerobars, ofc i am sure it was due to the specifics of the general scheme and character of bike race (700m hill in the middle of a circuit).

I guess FatBomber is right regarding drafting, though it is legal. Well, peleton looked pretty funny, especially in chasing group.

chelsea22 : you'll want a road bike to start with. hybrids just won't be that comfortable racing on, and you will be racing (even if you picture yourself going slow and easy). you'll want to be in a more forward position than you would be on a hybrid, and there's nothing wrong with riding a road bike around town as well. you can do very well these days finding a cost effective road bike.