Question:I am going to be teaching a triathlon training course this spring at
my college. Being male, I don't have first hand experience in women's
needs when training for such an event. Can anyone direct me to some useful
information on triathlon training for women that I can share with my
female students?
Answer:
I don't think there are many gender issues when it comes to Tri's-there
are as many different ways to train as there are people, not males and
females.
The only thing I would maybe suggest is to not bring up gender at
all-teach the class as a whole and only focus on individual differences.
The only "gender" difference that I can think of is that females, especially
teen agers and college age, tend to have very poor nutrition. Combine this
with training and you might have problems with amenorhea, low iron, low
calcuim, or other nutrition related problems. I think some focus on nutrition
would be particularly helpful for this age group of women.
Take a look at Sally Edwards' book, "Triathlons for Women," published in
1992 by Triathlete Magazine. It is written for a female audience and
addresses basic training for each sport, race tactics, and health issues.
IMHO, a pretty good read.
I think some women are intimidated by training with men. Make them feel a
part of the group and don't single them out. I do running intervals with
a fairly large group and we often split into three smaller groups: fast,
faster and fastest! Everyone feels great! I don't think there are any
great differences between mens and womens training...good nutrition and
rest is important for any training program.
One thing you may want to talk to them about, or someone else, is women's
bicycling can be painful if they don't have appropriate equipment. My
wife gets much more "saddle-sore" than I do and needs a special seat.
Not just any "women's seat" will do the trick either. She had to try a few.
