Women, get involved in Triathlon!

Top advice for novice triathletes from real women in the sport

We recently asked a Got To Tri athlete Esther whether she had any advice for women looking to get involved in triathlon…

1. DO IT!
2. Maybe don’t make your first ever attempt a full IRONMAN
3. Read books and watch videos about the sport — it is not three disciplines — it’s more like fifteen once you factor in learning how to change bike tyres — and the rest!
4. Join a club — training on your own is harder in my view. It is a huge help with motivation when you have a team behind you — and holding you accountable.
5. Get a good coach that can help you develop good habits and skills — I work with Tom Frearson, Fearsome Fit — an IRONMAN finisher and ex-Royal Marine. He loads up a weekly training programme on to Training Peaks so all I have to do is focus on the training itself.
6. Buy decent kit. TRI-UK kitted me out with everything I needed to be race ready.
7. Wear training clothes that make you feel good.
8. Get a gait analysis, proper bike fitting — learn about your physical strengths and weaknesses.
9. Find a good Physio and don’t ignore your body — if it is hurting, sort it. I ignored real pain in my achilles because I just thought it was part of getting fit. I ended up not being able to run for three months until it had all settled down.
10. Rest, recovery and nutrition are equally important — so is self-care. I can’t recommend salt and arnica baths highly enough!
11. Know your why — your purpose and motivation for doing this — whatever that is — will pull you through the days you don’t want to train, the inevitable setbacks you will face, and help you to quite literally, feel the fear and do it anyway.
12. Go on a Go To Tri camp — it will change your whole outlook on the sport and you will learn loads.

I have also discovered the sheer joy of a hair-tied back, makeup free existence and giving zero f**ks about what anyone thinks about you anymore. In all seriousness, it is an incredibly liberating feeling.

Don’t get me wrong, it is tough at times, really tough — there are days when I just don’t want to train — but as someone with no background in any sport of any kind, I can promise you that with hard work and perseverance, it is genuinely the best feeling when I look back and see how far it is possible to progress in a short space of time if you put the work in.

Esther is 7months in to her training for IRONMAN Barcelona. She is raising money for OPERA and you can support her on her journey here.