Training for a triathlon is a great way to get in shape or maintain your motivation to stay in shape. There are 4 primary types of triathlons to choose from: the sprint triathlon, the Olympic triathlon, the half Ironman distance and the full Ironman distance. Due to trademark restrictions on the name Ironman you’ll see many longer triathlons referred to as “iron distance”.
For your first triathlon you should focus on the “sprint” distance. This is typically between 400-800 meters swimming in a pool or lake, 20 kilometers of bicycling and 5 kilometers of running. You will probably wonder how much training you should do for a first triathlon. It depends on your goals but at a minimum you should train for each sport 1 time per week. If your schedule permits training twice per week for each sport will help you feel more comfortable during the race and after the race. You should focus on working up to the distance of each leg in your training cycles. There are many free online resources for a sprint triathlon training plan.