One of our own, Chris Talevi talks about his expierence in training for a triathalon.

Crossfit=Prepared for Anything.

As a fairly new crossfitter and an even less experienced triathlete I cannot say enough about the great experiences both programs have rewarded me with. I signed up for the Block Island triathlon during the winter and worked to train on a fairly tri-specific plan. However my fitness goals changed and overall strength and endurance training took up most of my time. I still ran and swam regularly but all in all I was not training for a triathlon at that point. Going to Block Island I was fairly nervous to see how much this would hurt me but deep down I was fairly confident in my preparation. Crossfit had given me a healthy introduction into working out through pain and my legs were finally recovering from Death by Wallball last week. I cannot say enough about how much Crossfit has added to my training program. The variety and complete involvement in the different facets of fitness is incredible. Crossfit has been filling in many holes in my programming including everything from flexibility, overhead work, Olympic lifting, etc. I have no doubt that everything I have done in the box has attributed towards functional progression. Not to mention the coaches and competitive environment have taken a lot of the monotony out of my training.

Furthermore, back to the triathlon, fortunately the swim was short and the challenge was moreso in getting through the rough surf without swallowing a gallon of salt water more than anything else(pretty sure I failed at that as well). Moving onto the bike I was curious how I would fare with almost zero seat-time over the last two months. Ironically the bike ended up being my strong suit because the hills on the Island were nothing compared to Connecticut (Wallballs, Squats, and Lunges helped). Little can prepare you for a 4+ mile run on the beach sand but it was not quite as bad as running across the Crossfit parking lot with 20lb balls overhead. I ended up surprising myself with a 4^th place finish in my age group and 51^st overall out of 370. Anyone who is thinking about doing a tri I highly recommend it. It was a great time and just another easy day of training. Any of the people who can make it though the WOD’s at Crossfit can do a tri so go for it.