Women's 8-Week Triathlon Training Clinic

Are You Race Ready?  Is this your first triathlon or are you wanting to move from Sprint to Olympic distance? This clinic is for you!!!

This 8-week clinic program is designed to provide you with skills and race strategy to make you “race ready” for Tri Santa Cruz, or any other sprint or Olympic distance triathlon, duathlon, or aquathlon in late summer.  LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS. 

This clinic is open to participants of all abilities.  If you're not a good swimmer we will make you a better one!  If you're not a strong cyclist we can make you stronger!  if you're not a fast runner we can help you finish faster.

The clinic will kick off on Saturday, June 13 with an introduction to the schedule and formats, followed by a fun and social bike ride with a wrap up for beer and chat. 

The clinic includes:

• Weekly scheduled group skills clinic
• Weekly individualized training plan tailored to your goals and level of experience
• Pool workouts including stroke analysis
• Open Water Swimming
• Bike Skills and fit analysis
• Strength building on the bike
• Running skills and strength development
• Strength training exercises to maximize your endurance and fitness
• Understanding heart rate and training zones
• Group rides tailored to your race distance.  Group rides are tailored to time in the saddle.  They will be challenging but will also be “no drop” rides - nobody is left behind.  The objective is distance and proper form and skills, not hammering from beginning to end.  Initial rides will be shorter distances, building to longer distance rides with progressive loads.
• Group Runs and trail runs tailored to your race distance.

Personalized training Included in the program:

• Individualized weekly or bi-weekly training plans tailored to your distance and experience, and incorporating your life and work schedule into your training objectives
• Nutritional Planning for training and race day
• Strength and Conditioning Program
• Mental Skills Training
• Recovery Requirements
• Racing strategy and techniques
• Equipment and gear optimization
• Training roadmaps for your season to help you allocate your time and resources as you train and plan for your race
• Unlimited email contact and feedback
• Weekly check-in phone call
• Social sessions and sharing (what would a workout be without coffee, wine, or just plain social fun!).  

USAT insured and sanctioned clinic structure for all group sessions. If not a USAT member a $10 on-day license fee will cover all clinic sessions (but not any race coverage).   

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why Women Only?

That’s the loaded question. Because women are fundamentally different in their training needs and the way they approach racing.   They frequently have different demands placed on them from their daily lives in balancing work, family, and fitness.   In other words, they frequently need more flexibility in schedules, have different dietary needs, and thrive on a more social environment. 

Does this mean that women are less competitive than men? 

Absolutely not, but they approach the process in a different way, and with a different set of skills.  

I’ve never done anything like this, how do I know I can do it?

You never know until you try it – or “tri” it! Here’s a quote from Lisa Rainsberger, former pro triathlete and Boston Marathon coach:

• USAT Article Women Shaping Multisport: What advice do you have for women who are just getting into triathlon?
• LISA: For the athlete who is new, my first recommendation is to get a coach. You can avoid a lot of mistakes if you start right off with getting the right coach. They can help you plan your training and help you with equipment choices. An entry-level triathlete shouldn’t go buy a $6,000 bike! If you have a coach, he or she could help guide you through the process of learning about the sport and developing your training.

Why should you do this?

Because training alone isn’t any fun!  Even when you belong to a local tri club you may find yourself trying to fit in to a workout program but it’s not tailored to your racing schedule, or your life.  A targeted clinic gives you a group of people who commit to spending time in a supportive and mentoring environment where all skill levels are accepted.  You can still go to all your club workouts and have them integrated into your workout plans or you can train with your fellow coaching clinic members and mentors.

Who should do this? 

This clinic will get you ready to race if this is your first triathlon, or help you improve your skills and performance if you have already done one or more multisport events.  However, you must be able to meet the following guidelines:

• Tread water for 5 minutes
• Swim – 200 yards
• Bike – 10 miles
• Run – have done at least one 5K or can run a mile

What if I only want to do Duathlon, Aquathlon or Aquabike?

That’s okay too.  We’ll tailor your training plans and workouts to your goals.

I belong to a club that has some structured workouts.  Can I still participate in my club’s workouts?

Absolutely!  A club group workout isn’t necessarily the same thing as a comprehensive training plan.  Frequently with a club workout the session is tailored either to the lowest common denominator or it favors the high performing athletes.  It’s hard to make a one-size fits all club workout because there are so many people of varying skills and ability.  This is an opportunity to develop a workout and mentoring team tailored to you and your objectives.  Can you still do the club workouts?  Of course, but you will know how much you can/should do based on your training plan and racing objectives.  This reduces your exposure to injury by overtraining or doing too much based on your stage of training based on your race objectives.

What about my gym routines, yoga and pilates classes – can I still do those?

Once again, absolutely.  You should be doing strength training and other disciplines such as yoga and pilates are a big part of that.

Don't I need a fancy bike and a lot of expensive gear?

No, you don’t need to have a fancy bike or a power meter, or any of the other stuff you see advertised.  If you do – great!  You’re a step ahead, but not necessary to get you started.  You will have an opportunity to fine tune your gear as the sessions evolve.

Do I need a heart rate monitor?

While it’s not a requirement we recommend that you have a heart rate monitor for all sessions and be prepared to use it and upload the data to your Training Peaks account.  Heart rate data is a very important part of training (and monitoring overtraining which leads to injuries and fatigue).  If you can’t afford the top of the line HRM we can help you pick a basic one that won’t break your bank.

More Questions? 

Send us an email (info@finishlineproduction.com) and we'll answer your questions.

We are supporting USA Triathlon's strategic initiative of growing women’s participation in the sport of triathlon and its related multisport activities.  What better way to embrace the sport, learn something new, or enhance the skills you already have, than to join a group of like-minded women of all skill levels in a summer clinic.   Who knows, you might find your perfect training partner too.