Set a goal to finish an event and begin your training two to three months ahead of time. Check out the various events listed under the Fitness Events Calendar for some ideas such as an easy 5K run/walk or perhaps a short (sprint) triathlon.

The sport of triathlon over the last 10 years has grown exponentially. This is due to the challenge of the three events that comprise the sport and also to the women's Danskin Triathlon series. In 2001 when I was the Danksin swim coordinator there were 3500 entries with over half of the female participants doing their very first tri. Go Girls!

The number of triathlons in Washington and the Pacific Northwest is increasing annually. On the Fitness Events Calendar you can find a triathlon for everyone from sprint (short course) races to Olympic Time Trials for elite athletes to ironman distances for endurance athletes. Sprint distance triathlons are a distance that most people choose for their first tri. A sprint tri is the shortest distance. It is generally ½ mile swim(S); 12.5 mi bike(B) and a 3.1 mile run(R). Each successive level triathlon doubles in distance until the ironman which is 2.4 mi. S; 112 mi.B and 26.2 mi.R.

Triathlons are a challenging way to keep motivated and to add variety into your fitness program. My first triathlons were at the age of 46. I did Beaver Lake in Issaquah and the Danskin Triathlon with 400 women. It was very exciting and fun way to focus my training. I began encouraging my clients and friends, who didn’t even know what a triathlon was, to also try their first tri. With a lot of support, endurance and simulated race day training, all who started came across the finish line with a huge smile and a few tears of relief and happiness. Some people are still entering local events, a few have even traveled to other states and other countries just for the thrill of it, you can too.

Throughout the year, I coach individuals on a one-to-one basis and in small groups to train for a full triathlon (all three events) or just the swimming segment alone. This allows my clients to receive individual attention and customized workouts. Sometimes the training turns into an adventure, like with Gill who has written her own account of an atypical workout one week before her triathlon.

Many people say they would like to participate in a triathlon if only they could swim better. So many in fact, that as a former swim coach and adult swim instructor, I started offering private coaching sessions and swim clinics to develop swimming technique and to build confidence.

I encourage people who lack swimming skills and/or proficiency to work the kinks out of their stroke early in a pool before the NW triathlon season (July to September). This allows a person to gain swim confidence and to work on her/his endurance in a comfortable environment. I offer these at various pools in Seattle and the Eastside. It also prepares her/him for open water swimming, which in the NW occurs after the lake temperature warms up around mid-June.

RATE for private session in pool or beach: $75/hour, $15 each additional person up to 3.