{"id":26990,"date":"2025-03-11T02:11:31","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T01:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/challengefamily.com\/?post_type=news&p=26990"},"modified":"2025-03-12T02:06:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T01:06:24","slug":"four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all enter triathlon through different paths. Some of us start as runners. Others, as cyclists. For some, triathlon itself might be their \u201cfirst sport.\u201d But there’s one thing we all have in common\u2014we\u2019re jealous of swimmers. If you\u2019re anything like me, swimming is the hardest discipline to master. However, entering the sport as a swimmer presents unique challenges that runners and cyclists like me might not experience. To learn more, I enlisted the help and knowledge of Quintana Roo pro and former collegiate swimmer: Miguel Mattox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miguel is from Mill Valley, California, and he is one half of the Freestyle Tri<\/a> YouTube channel duo of Jenna & Miguel<\/a>. He is currently in his third year as a professional triathlete, but before he discovered triathlon, he was a competitive swimmer with a solid career at Fordham University. He\u2019s the guy we go to when we need swim tips (which is often) and he knows what it\u2019s like to dive headfirst into running and cycling as a swimmer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince I came from a swim background, I like to see other swimmers get into tri,\u201d Miguel explained. \u201cI made this list of tips focused on helping my fellow swimmers!\u201d Below are Miguel\u2019s top four tips for swimmers who want to transition from focusing on one sport to focusing on three. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Lean Into New Challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are plenty of unknowns when it comes to entering triathlon as a swimmer\u2014hidden logistics, new disciplines, and much, much longer races, etc. But you aren’t curious about triathlon just because you can dominate the first third of the race, right? You are literally a fish out of water after that so don’t be afraid to make the most of that unknown experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink about the years and years of practice it took to achieve your current swimming level<\/strong>. It’s quite laughable when you compare that level of experience to your level in two disciplines that you’ve barely touched. But that’s what makes triathlon an adventure and a challenge! The good news is you already know you can do extraordinary things with your body. It just takes a bit of focus and practice. So lean into those new challenges and make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Use Your Swimming Advantage Strategically <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince you’re likely in the 99th percentile of swimmers already, that’s your biggest advantage in a race. But this sport isn’t just about pure speed. In 2020, before my first half-IRONMAN, one of my mentors, an ex-Olympian and swimmer turned triathlete, told me to use the swim as a way to conserve energy<\/strong>. There’s no need to win the swim… it’s a long race, and blowing yourself up to be first out of the water doesn’t get you anything when it comes to your final result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you back off 20%, you’ll come out of the water fresh as a daisy and still be at or near the front of the race. I remember doing a bit of backstroke in that race, and pacing the rest to limit my energy expenditure as much as possible. I came out of the water in 5th, but went on to win that race :). See tip #1… it’s about leaning into new challenges. Not dominating the thing you’re already good at!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Don’t Neglect Your Swim Training <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHere’s something I’m still working on. Because you have so much confidence in your swim, and it’s the shortest leg of a triathlon, it’s easy to put it on the back-burner. But 4 years later, you might regret that decision. Yes, my first two tips might be telling you to put an increased emphasis on biking and running, but you should ALWAYS think about the three disciplines equally in training<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you were a competitive swimmer like me, that might mean going from swimming 20+ hours per week to less than 5 (in most cases). So yes, you will get slower in the water, but it’s truly up to you how much you want to hold onto your speed. It all depends on the level of focus you bring to the pool in training.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Running is NOT Like Swimming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemember every day when you showed up to the pool and you were a bit nervous of the workout and the exhaustion and challenges it might bring? Most days were hard. Some days were less hard. But there was always a workout involved. If you do that in running, YOU WILL INJURE YOURSELF. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery time your foot hits the ground, that leg has to hold about 2-3x your bodyweight. Since your body likely doesn’t know what impact is, think about running as a fun way to explore. Start as easy as possible<\/strong>. Limit your volume to 20-minute runs at first. Then 30. Then 40… You probably have the aerobic engine to run hard and long, but before you actually start running hard and long, you need to train your joints to handle the severe impact of running, which you never experienced in the pool. The good news here is that your joints are fresh and your muscles are strong!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all enter triathlon through different paths. Some of us start as runners. Others, as cyclists. For some, triathlon itself might be their \u201cfirst sport.\u201d But there’s one thing we all have in common\u2014we\u2019re jealous of swimmers. If you\u2019re anything like me, swimming is the hardest discipline to master. However, entering the sport as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":27000,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26990","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFour Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all enter triathlon through different paths. Some of us start as runners. Others, as cyclists. For some, triathlon itself might be their \u201cfirst sport.\u201d But there’s one thing we all have in common\u2014we\u2019re jealous of swimmers. If you\u2019re anything like me, swimming is the hardest discipline to master. However, entering the sport as a […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Challenge Family\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-12T01:06:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/\",\"name\":\"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-03-11T01:11:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-12T01:06:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/\",\"name\":\"Challenge Family\",\"description\":\"Every Athlete, Every Challenge\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Challenge Family\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/cropped-ChallengeFamily_PrimaryLogo_Horizontal_RGB_OnDark-1-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/cropped-ChallengeFamily_PrimaryLogo_Horizontal_RGB_OnDark-1-1.png\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":473,\"caption\":\"Challenge Family\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family","og_description":"We all enter triathlon through different paths. Some of us start as runners. Others, as cyclists. For some, triathlon itself might be their \u201cfirst sport.\u201d But there’s one thing we all have in common\u2014we\u2019re jealous of swimmers. If you\u2019re anything like me, swimming is the hardest discipline to master. However, entering the sport as a […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/","og_site_name":"Challenge Family","article_modified_time":"2025-03-12T01:06:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/","url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/","name":"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon - Challenge Family","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg","datePublished":"2025-03-11T01:11:31+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-12T01:06:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2025\/03\/jennamiguel-wetsuit-kona-KR-8.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/news\/four-tips-for-swimmers-to-transition-into-triathlon\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Four Tips for Swimmers to Transition into Triathlon"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/","name":"Challenge Family","description":"Every Athlete, Every Challenge","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#organization","name":"Challenge Family","url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/cropped-ChallengeFamily_PrimaryLogo_Horizontal_RGB_OnDark-1-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/75\/2024\/05\/cropped-ChallengeFamily_PrimaryLogo_Horizontal_RGB_OnDark-1-1.png","width":2000,"height":473,"caption":"Challenge Family"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26990"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26992,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/26990\/revisions\/26992"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.challenge-family.com\/challenge-family\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}