Your First Triathlon - 2nd Edition by Joe Friel (Paperback)

About the Book

This clear and comprehensive book from America's top triathlon coach prepares aspiring triathletes for the challenge of their first tri through a simple, 12-week training plan that requires fewer than five hours a week.

Book Synopsis

Get ready for your first triathlon with the sports #1 coach! Joe Friel is the world's most trusted triathlon coach and this accessible and friendly guide will get you ready for your first sprint or Olympic triathlon feeling strong, confident, and ready for the challenge.

Friel has helped hundreds of thousands of people to enjoy the challenges of triathlon with his clear and comprehensive Training Bible method. Your First Triathlon simplifies all the principles of Friel's training approach for newcomers who want a simple, no-nonsense way to train for triathlon. Friel's method will build the fitness and confidence you need to enjoy your first event. Your First Triathlon, 2nd Edition includes:

• Training Plans: Easy to follow in under 5 hours a week
• Workouts: Clearly explained for swim, bike, and run
• Technique: Effective drills to polish your form
• Tri gear: What you need and don't need
• Nutrition & weight loss: Practical advice for being in ideal race shape
• Tips & Tricks: How to navigate your race packet pickup, lay out your gear, set up your transition area, fuel for your race, finish your swim without stress or fear, and ensure your race goes smoothly from the moment you wake up until you cross the finish line.

Your First Triathlon offers a 12-week training plan for total beginners as well as custom plans for athletes who have some experience in running, cycling, or swimming. Each triathlon training schedule includes realistic swimming, biking, and running workouts with options to add strength workouts. These simple plans will build anyone into a triathlete.

Triathlon is an amazing and challenging sport that can help you get fit, healthy, and feeling great. Your First Triathlon will help you get off to a great start in the swim-bike-run sport and excited for your next race.

From the Back Cover

Get ready for your first triathlon with the sport's #1 coach!

Triathlon is the hottest new fitness challenge. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are swimming, cycling, and running their way to a healthier lifestyle. Finishing your first triathlon is an unforgettable experience, a milestone that can set you on a path to lifelong fitness.

America's top triathlon coach, Joe Friel, has a practical training plan that will get you to the starting line in race-ready shape--all in just 5 hours per week. With his friendly advice and a sensible training plan, you'll quickly gain the fitness and the confidence to enjoy your first triathlon.

"Your First Triathlon" offers training plans for beginners as well as plans for more experienced runners, cyclists, and swimmers. Four easy-to-use programs for sprint- or Olympic-distance events provide realistic workouts that will shape you into a triathlete.

Training plans: Easy to follow in under 5 hours a week
Workouts: Clearly explained for swim, bike, and run
Technique: Effective drills to polish your form
Tips & tricks: For race-day check-in, a stress-free swim, and laying out your gear
Tri gear: What you need and don't need
Nutrition & weight loss: Practical advice for dropping extra pounds

"Your First Triathlon" gives you the preparation and confidence you need to cross the finish line feeling great--and excited for your next race.

Review Quotes

"Any new triathlete would greatly benefit from this book, and if you were to buy just one book for your first triathlon, this would be the one!"--TriNewbies.com

"Joe does the hard work for the beginning triathlete by condensing, prioritizing, and simplifying all the science and practical experience which he has mastered over decades of coaching."--Barb Lindquist, 2004 USA Olympic Team

"Joe Friel's wealth of knowledge in triathlon is astounding and he has a wonderful way of sharing that knowledge with all athletes: beginners to elite professionals. If you are looking to get off to a great start in this sport, you have come to the right place!"--Siri Lindley, Triathlon World Champion

"Whether you're a beginning triathlete or a seasoned pro, Joe Friel is the leading authority on triathlon training."--Ryan Bolton, Ironman winner, Olympian

"With his book, Your First Triathlon, Joe Friel uses his expert knowledge to help new triathletes use the same training principles that have made The Triathlete's Training Bible such a success."--Gale Bernhardt, USA Triathlon Olympic Coach

"25 years of active multisport coaching has proven that Joe Friel has an unprecedented understanding of endurance sports. As a multiple triathlon world champion, I would consider Joe as one of the leading figures in triathlon coaching today. Joe's professional approach and practical understanding of sports physiology has helped many endurance athletes of all abilities reach their full athletic potential."--Simon Lessing, 5-time Triathlon World Champion

About the Author

With a masters degree in exercise science, Joe Friel was a marathoner and running coach throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. After his first triathlon in 1983 and falling in love with the sport he began coaching multisport athletes becoming one of the first triathlon coaches in the country. The following year he opened a triathlon store in Ft. Collins, Colorado--probably the first in the world. Throughout the 1980s his race management company organized several triathlons in Colorado. He left retail and race management in 1987 to focus on coaching. The athletes he coached for over 30 years ranged from novice to high-performance amateur to professional to Olympian. In 1997, he was a founding member of the USA Triathlon Coaches Association. He served as co-chair in 1999-2000. In 2000, he attended the Sydney Olympics to assist with team preparation. The following year he was the coach of team USA for the World Triathlon Championships. Throughout the 2000s he was a frequent speaker at USAT coach seminars. He wrote 17 books on training, the most notable being The Triathlete's Training Bible, which is now in its 5th edition and translated into 15 languages. It remains the best-selling book in the world on triathlon training. In 1999, he co-founded TrainingPeaks, online training software for endurance athletes. As an athlete he competed in hundreds of events including national and world championships, was an All-American Age Group Triathlete several times and a USAT-regional multisport champion. He stopped competing after a bike crash in 2014 restricted range of shoulder movement. He continues to present at triathlon camps and clinics for triathletes and coaches around the world. Joe currently lives and trains in the mountains of northern Arizona and is working on his 18th book--this one for coaches.