Twelve weeks from the shallow end to a first triathlon

By the end of twelve weeks you will be able to swim 200 metres, cycle 10 km and walk-run 2.5 km, and will have entered a super-sprint or novice triathlon.

Why this works

Triathlon is three simple activities glued together, and the glue is what suits older bodies. Swimming carries your weight and works the upper body. Cycling builds legs and heart without impact. Walk-running loads the bones. Rotating between them means no single joint takes the strain three times a week, which is why many athletes in their sixties and seventies train more, not less, once they add a second sport.

Three sports also means three sets of small wins: a first length, a first hill, a first five-minute jog. Progress in one carries you through a flat patch in another.

The plan starts with swimming lessons because that is the skill most people never learned properly and it cannot be bluffed. Twelve weeks is enough to get from the shallow end to 200 metres, the distance of most novice events.

Before you start

Check with your GP first, particularly with heart, blood pressure or joint concerns. Say you plan to swim, cycle and run.
Kit: costume, goggles (£10), any bike with working brakes (borrow one at first), a helmet, cushioned trainers. No wetsuit; novice events are pool-based.
Cost: adult swimming lessons £8–£15 a session or £60–£120 for a block; pool entry £4–£7; a novice triathlon entry £25–£50.
Where: your local pool’s adult beginner lessons (full of people your age); British Triathlon for clubs with “GoTri” novice sessions and super-sprint events; parkrun for the run. (In the US, USA Triathlon’s club finder and Red Cross adult swim lessons; many YMCAs run a “Try-a-Tri”.)
Novice events are typically a 200–400 m pool swim, 10 km bike and 2.5 km run. Walking the run is allowed.

The plan

Week	Do this	How often	Notes
1–2	Swim: adult beginner lesson plus one practice, focusing on breathing and floating. Walk 30 minutes.	Swim 2, walk 2	Cannot swim at all? Do lessons only for weeks 1–4 and start the bike and run at week 5. That still gets you to the event.
3–4	Swim: lesson plus practice; aim for one full length. Bike: 20 minutes on flat, quiet roads or a cycle path. Walk 4 min, jog 1 min, × 5.	Swim 2, bike 1, walk-run 2	Enter a novice triathlon 8–10 weeks away this week. Tell someone.
5–6	Swim: 4 × 25 m with rests. Bike: 30 minutes with one gentle hill. Walk 3 min, jog 2 min, × 5.	Swim 2, bike 1, walk-run 2	Walk a parkrun. Look at who is there.
7–8	Swim: 8 × 25 m, then try 50 m unbroken. Bike: 40 minutes. Walk 2, jog 3, × 5.	Swim 2, bike 2, walk-run 2	Join a club GoTri session if there is one.
9–10	Swim: 200 m total in pieces. Bike: 10 km in one go. Jog 5 min, walk 1, × 4.	Swim 2, bike 2, walk-run 2	Try a “brick”: 20-minute bike straight into a 10-minute walk-jog. Odd-feeling legs are normal.
11	Swim 200 m with few rests. Bike 10 km. Walk-run 2.5 km.	One of each, easy	Nothing new on race day.
12	Two short easy sessions, then the triathlon.	Rest, then race	Finish. Note the time anyway.

If it goes wrong

Swimming is not clicking. Stay in lessons and drop the solo practice; a good teacher fixes in ten minutes what a month alone will not. Breaststroke is fine for the event.
Knees or hips complain on the run. Walk more; walking the whole 2.5 km is a valid finish. See your GP if it persists.
Nervous on the bike in traffic. Cycle paths, quiet Sunday mornings, or a static bike for the first month. Many councils run adult Bikeability courses.
Life gets in the way for a fortnight. Restart at the week you left, not week 1.

Track it

Measure	Start (week 1)	End (week 12)
Longest unbroken swim (metres)
Longest bike ride (km)
Longest continuous jog (minutes)
Resting heart rate on waking (optional)
Event entered and finished (date, time)

What next

Enter the next one, 3–4 months out. A sprint-distance event (750 m, 20 km, 5 km) is a fair target for next year.
Endurance athletes over 60 who last also lift. Add Strong at 60 between seasons.
The swimming plan with the Betty Brussel story goes deeper on the pool; a masters club makes 200 m feel short within a season.

General information, not medical advice. Check with your GP before starting a new exercise programme.