If you’re a keen runner, then you already know a thing or two about the feel-good benefits of exercise. After all, few things beat finding your pace or beating your personal best. But what happens when the joy of running starts to wear thin?
Maybe you’ve done the marathon, or beaten your personal goals, and you’re starting to lose the love. You don’t want to give it all up, but you do want to liven your exercise routine a little. So why not try a triathlon?
This endurance multisport combines running with stretches of cycling and swimming, and can see you competing in various amateur competitions around the country. Keep on reading as we consider why a surprising number of people are switching tracks for triathlon life right now, and why you could benefit from doing the same!
# 1 – Putting Yourself to the Test
If you’ve been running for a few years, you may have reached a ceiling on what you can do. After all, there are only so many amateur targets to set.
The running element of triathlons makes them a great next step, while the need to also learn both cycling and swimming means that triathlon coaching can still feel like a breath of fresh air. More importantly, they allow you to push yourself in your workouts again at last. And that’s the key to keeping yourself at peak health.
The good news here is that you can embrace and thrive within this challenge whether you barely swim or you haven’t picked up a bike since you were a kid. Simply make sure to pick a coach who takes the time to understand you and your skill set, and start building on triathlon know-how that’ll start stretching your skills in no time.
# 2 – Becoming a Better Runner
Choosing a triathlon for your next adventure can also make you a better runner in time. Yes, really! That’s because, as well as keeping up some kind of regular running schedule, triathlon training in itself can give you strength and endurance that makes you run better.
For proof of this, remember that many top runners compete in triathlons either personally or professionally, and doing so enables them to become faster even though they’re technically reducing their training mileage.
But why does this happen? Well, for the most part, you can thank cycling. There are a few different reasons why cycling regularly makes you a faster runner, as outlined by Olympic medallist Georgia Hunter Bell in this article. She credits cycling for helping her build endurance, and also teaching her to more easily balance that endurance with speed for better running results overall.
# 3 – Giving Yourself More Motivation
Do you remember the early days of your running routine, when you’d be busting to get out by the end of each day so you could revel in the comforting feeling of your feet pounding the ground? It’s a buzz like no other, but like all passions, your love and excitement for running will inevitably fade over time. And when you don’t feel that same sense of urgency, it can be incredibly difficult to find the motivation on which to build a routine.
If runs have started to feel like more of a chore than a joy, it’s an especially great time to start implementing a new workout of choice. And what better than a triathlon, which already leans on the running skills you’ve built? Without scrapping that exercise you still sort of love, this shift can really reinvigorate your willingness to get out there. Once again, you might even find yourself desperate for exercise time to roll around, rather than rotting on the couch without ever feeling pushed to tackle those runs you used to set yourself.
# 4 – Keeping Injuries at Bay
We’ve purposefully left the best until last, because there’s strong evidence to suggest that triathlon training can also help you to keep running injuries at bay. This is a point that Hunter Bell also reiterates in the aforementioned article, stating that combining cycling and running has helped her to reduce her recovery times without cutting back.
A runner who cycles and swims is generally better able to build true endurance, all while reducing the muscle wear and tear they’d experience otherwise. That means you can significantly reduce the risks of running injuries like plantar fasciitis without having to stop your training or limit yourself to make that possible.
If these plus points sound good to you, then maybe it’s time to switch the track for triathlon this year!