Customer Reviews

Triathlon 101

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As the name implies, and the introduction states, this book is for the novice. It is excellent for that purpose. It provides a lot of encouragement and basic advice. If you haven't run a triathlon, this is a great place to start. Other books on triathlon are more technical and may be intimidating. Triathlon 101 should also benefit someone who has tried one or two triathalons and wants to learn how to train smarter. But an experienced person would probably find the content too light.

Triathlon 101 provides minimal details about equipment and technique. Rather it focuses on encouraging and training novices. The recommended training schedules are applicable to all levels but are most detailed for the beginner. The focus is on injury prevention through gradual increases in intensity. The book has many sidebars which chronical stories of people who have over come adversity to move on to become leading ironman triathletes.

This is a great introductory book. After completing one sprint distance triathlon, I read this book. It gives great beginner's training advice from what equipment to buy to how to base train for each event. Everything that you would need to know in order to enter into triathlon training and competition is contained in Triathlon 101. It does seem like it would be too basic for the experienced triathlete, but for a beginner, it is perfect. There is an excellent training schedule for both a sprint and an olympic distance triathlon. There are also blank training log sheets and an appendix for more resources on the sport.

This book is a great place to begin if you're just starting multisports. There is a TON of basic information, including a lot of stuff that the newbie should know but may not think to ask. Mora's training schedules are right on and will get you in shape fast! I was incredibly motivated after reading this book and am making great progress using the information I got here.

Three years ago, a friend challenged me to enter the Mrs. T's Chicago Triathlon.

Using what I learned in Triathlon 101, I was able to prepare confidently and exceed my finish time goal. Since then, I've competed in several other triathlons, including an Ironman, but continue to refer back to Triathlon 101.

I now have a small Triathlon library but haven't found a single book with as much practical advice.

If you're just getting started, you'll save yourself a lot of time (and probably money) by starting off with Triathlon 101.

Good luck in your races!

This book helps beginers understand what triathlon is about and is a perfect intro to training for a sprint distance event. First timers will probably need more specific books if they want to train for olympic distance triathlons and sharpen their technical skills (especially for swimming where I would recommend Total Immersion: the revolutionary way to swim better, faster, and easier by T.Laughlin and J.Delves). This book made me love triathlon! I recommend it to anybody who wants to start in multisports.

When I first received this book and read through it, I rated it 3 stars. Howver, now that I have spent 6 months preparing for my first olympic distance triathlon, I have increased my rating to 5 stars based on the fact that I have turned back to this book over and over again to review the basics and keep on track.

This book is NOT for experienced triathletes, it is for beginners. The book, as so many that have reviewed it have noted, goes over only the essential ABC's of triathlon with quite a lot of "motivational" pieces thrown in to make it an interesting read. The best thing about having this book on my nightstand was that when I felt that I just wasn't training hard enough, or wasn't doing something right, I could pick up the book, read a bit, and it would make me feel better about what I WAS doing. The fact is, completing that first triathlon takes courage and confidence, this book helps you gain the confidence if you have the courage to continue.

This book is particularly good on the hidden details of novice's triathlon (like equipment, costs and jargon) as well as on what one needs to do to "get up to speed" for performing each particular sport. I think it's a good book for folks that are new to the sport and have a "finish" mentality, as well as someone relatively new that wants to improve up to a decent Olympic distance tri (basically, one-fourth an ironman). It's also good at dispelling the psychological stumbling blocks, if you're somewhat daunted by what can be the intense competitive spirit of some athletes - a very healthy attitude! One drawback is that it was a little light on the art of open-water swimming, which can be pretty important.

I bought this book as I was starting to train for my first triathlon. Overall, the book was well written and covered the "essentials" of triathlon training. However, it appears that major emphasis was placed on buying gear and a little bit of training tips for each discipline. As far as actual training regimens are concerned, they were decent, but certainly not as comprehensive and explanatory as some other references (which may not necessarily be the focus for beginners). The one thing I was most disappointed in, is that even after I had read this book 2 or 3 times, I still did not have a firm grasp of what to expect at my first triathlon (regarding transition set up, body markings, sighting techniques for open water, etc). I had essentially hoped that from reading a beginning triathlon book, that I would have a working understanding of the days events, and ultimately I still was clueless come race day. However, it is a decent book if you are looking for basic training tips and gear talk.

The book does a very good job of providing the common sense information about a triathlon. It's a great motivational tool if you've never been involved in any endurance events. It also does a great job of encouragement for the middle and back of the pack athletes, especially since the author himself is a mere mortal like most of us and not a professional traithlete. However, a large portion of the book is dedicated to carbo loading, power gels, etc and if you are already a runner, cyclist, or swimmer this information is redundant. Also, I felt the training schedules were a little vague and too basic for someone already in good shape. This book is a great one to own, but it probably isn't enough to own only this one.

As the title suggests, this is a great book for getting a comprehensive review of what it takes to run your first triathlon. If you are looking for one book that will cover all three areas of training and describe what it is really like to compete in a triathlon, this is it.

Although the author is an experienced triathlete, he avoids the tendency to digress too much into personal reflections, which many of the biography-style guides to triathlon do. The practical advice about equipment is very helpful and not tied to specific products. I found the section that talked about "the frugal triathlete" to be very refreshing.

The information on workouts is definitely enough to get anyone started, no matter what your background. I'm a swimmer who has never run before, and I am so pleased to be able to follow the "initiation" workouts for non-runners. The blank templates for workout schedules are also very handy.

This is a perfect book to get started with and is likely to remain relevant for years to come.