Should I do a triathlon

SWC123

Hi - looking for some honest advice.

I'm thinking about doing a triathlon - probably May or June next year since I don't have time to train for one before the winter. I'd start by doing a novice one and want to know if this is a ridiculous idea. I'm reasonably fit (although not amazingly so) and have never done anything like this before but have always played sport and would say I'm reasonably athletic. I'm 29 and a girl.

Specifically...

I was a reasonable swimmer when younger but haven't swum other than in the sea on holiday (my gym has no pool) for a long time and have never done so competitively - would obviously need to change gyms so I can train in a pool.

I bike to work every day and do quite a few longer rides at the weekends so not so worried about that.

But I am truly rubbish at running and have never managed to get to grips with it. I am very slow and after about 10 minutes I feel like I'm about to die.

Obviously I realise that significant training is required and I would put the hours in.
Do you think its a realistic goal or are triathlons really for psychos?

Any thoughts on whether I should go for it or whether it's a stupid idea gratefully received. Any advice?

stumpy paul

If God had wanted us to run he would not have invented bikes.

BeaconRuth

SWC123 wrote:

Do you think its a realistic goal or are triathlons really for psychos?

For psychos.

If you don't like running (can't blame you, I'm a lousy runner too) and returning to swimming would mean changing gyms, it sounds to me as though you should look for a cycling challenge. How about taking on a cyclosportive as a challenge, or, better still, enter some time trials. We need lots more women in cycle sport!

Ruth (not in the least biased)
www.rutheyles.co.uk/

andrewgturnbull

Hi there.

Sounds like a great idea - as a former swimmer, you'll be at a huge advantage compared to the other novices.

Cheers, Andy

ps I'll post more tomorrow - need to be up at 6am for a ride in the morning...

fidbod

Do it - enter the london triathlon next year.

If nothing else it is a great training motivator to get you through the winter. Triathlon is definitely on my list of things I want to do

and running gets a lot easier with a bit of practice - you just have to be patient at first because it is a big adaptation for the leg muscles.

If I remeember Triathlon rightly it is a ten KM run. With the six months training you would have that is very doable

knedlicky

Just do it! That the thought is there means the desire is too. Make it a reality. Achieving the desire is more important than the result. And anyway it seems to me you probably have the potential to train well and manage a decent result.

As for running, I’m sure that’ll come with time and training, you may even find it’s your best discipline. But if you’re unsure, look for an event as starting point in your 'career' where the running is disproportionally low compared to the swimming and cycling - they do exist.

AndyGates

Go for it! Hell, I was a rotten runner who had to take adult-beginner swim classes to even complete my first novice triathlon. You don't know if you'll like it until you try!

For newbie running, little and often is the key, and progress gradually. Try to get three sessions in per week, nudging the distance up a little each week (not every session necessarily) until you're comfortable at more than race distance - a sprint tri is 5km, so these runs won't take long.

Stitches and wheeziness all go away as you get more adapted to it. Honest

SWC123

Ok - well I think I'll give it a go. Nothing ventured and all that...and need some motivation to get down to the gym.

Thanks for your advice though Ruth and getting more involved in cycling events is something I defintely want to do anyway. I've done a couple of organised mountian bikes rides but want to do more on my road bike. Have thought about joining a club but they always seem a bit intimidating - maybe a cyclosportive is the way to go. How do I find out about time trials and how good do you need to be?

blackhands

Clubs might seem intimidating from the outside but generally are most welcoming.

How about joining a tri-club or a cycling club which also has tri members? They seem to do quite a lot of cycling and get involved in time-trials etc, cater for beginners and have a higher proportion of lady members.

ukcraigb

With regards to running I found this program to be excellent:

http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_informatio ... ramme.html

They also have immediate and advanced programs, there structured in such a way that its not too intimidating and is easily doable, they also take into account that your body needs to get used to the activity.

BlackHelmet

DO IT!

The variety of training and competition is reason alone but triathlon as a sport is fantastic.

Start with any (local) sprint triathlon - doesn't necessarily have to be a novice event. You'll find most shorter distance triathlons all have a healthy number of novices and 'fun runners'.

Obviously your cycling is ok.

Sounds like with very little effort you'll do fine at the swim. Choose a triathlon with a pool swim to start with - which is the case with most sprint events. Personally I never swim train. The swim segment is so small it makes little difference to me.

As for the running, yes this will require some work but with May as a target that'll be fine for any sprint tri which is usually a 5k run. Just build up gradually.

As an aside, running and cycling really compliment each other. But as with all things, if you want to be the very very best cyclist you can - then cycle, don't run. I know the peeps on this site are rather biased but being a runner as well as a cyclist adds variety to your training and means you can leave your bike at home and run when the weather's crap or it's dark... plus you may well find that running is a far more rewarding sport

ellesse

SWC123, i've just completed my first Tri a couple of weeks ago at "team outrageous" and i loved it, was really good to race in different sports and it was a great achievement, can't wait to compete in the london tri next year.

As Blackhelmet said, you should start off with a Sprint tri which is (normally) 750M swim, 20 K bike and 5K run.

With events i think its best to have a open water tri as it makes everything alot more different.
if you can't face the open water then theres events like the thamesturbo which are in a pool.
(if your going to do a open water tri make sure to get some practice before the race, one thing which i found hard was spotting)

Theres alot of help and information (including events) at tritalk.co.uk
Or "The triathlete's training bible" which is a brill book.
Last word of advice, book the event early to 1, avoid disappointment and 2, to make sure you train and have a goal.

If you need any queries feel free to mail.

hammerite

I've also completed my first sprint tri last month, and I loved it! I've entered 2 more in September.

The sprints I have entered have a 400m swim (suits me as my swimming is terrible!), 25k cycle and 5k run.

My background is in running so the 5k was no problem (even though running straight from getting of a bike feels a bit strange!). Cycling I'm very comfortable with, but as I say swimming is my bad part. I wouldn't worry too much about your running being poor at the moment, very few people (apart from elites) are any good at all three disciplines.

Like has been said before, just start steadily with the running, even a run/walk programme would be ok to start, although I'd imagine you have a good level of fitness so really you just need to get used to running. Start off on soft surfaces like in the park (away from paths) or footpaths across or round fields. This has two bonuses, there is less impact for you to get used to, and it is harder to run off road so you will be stronger when it comes to running on tarmac.

Make it a priority to get the right shoes for running, this is really important. Swimming and cycling are non impact so you can really do them with any specialist kit, but your legs take one hell of a battering with the running, and it's too easy to get injured.

Good luck with it!

BeaconRuth

SWC123 wrote:

Have thought about joining a club but they always seem a bit intimidating - maybe a cyclosportive is the way to go. How do I find out about time trials and how good do you need to be?

Don't be intimidated by cycling clubs - there's really no need to be. A few clubs are full of nothing but fast racing guys, but the vast majority have a real mix of cyclists. Most clubs have clubruns suitable for people just getting into the sport - you need to find you local clubs and ask about their club rides. Where are you based? - someone on here might know a club near you.

You don't have to be fast to take part in time trials - that's the beauty of them - everyone races against the clock and it doesn't really matter whether you're fast or slow. I've organised a series of TTs for women in the Midlands this season - you might be interested to read about it here: http://www.midlanddc.org.uk/index.php?q=node/74. We've had women of all abilities and ages taking part and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves.

However, you do ideally need to be in a club to get into doing time trials. Your local club will probably let you ride a few before joining up, but to enter an open event you have to be in a club for insurance purposes. But being in a club is good news for your cycling anyway - it's so much easier to put in the miles when you've got lots of company, and there's plenty about riding style and technique to learn from experienced cyclists.

Ruth
www.rutheyles.co.uk/

SWC123

Thanks guys that's all really encouraging. I think I will go for a tri and will look into joining a club. I live in Greenwich so anyone know any good (female friendly) clubs in SE London? I've been cycling for a few years now and so I wouldn't say I was a beginner exactly but its very hard to judge how fast I am - I think I probably overtake more people than get overtaken on my commute (although every now and again I get overtaken by a bloke in a suit on an ancient looking bike with panniers which is always a bit distressing!) I guess I'll just have to turn up and give it a go. Thanks for all your comments - will let you know how I get on! s

steverile

Brilliant. You'll be fine of course, and a long way from last. Enter one as soon as you feel comfortable on the run and swim, don't make a big thing of it. Find a local event and just have a go.

BlackHelmet

Yeah, good luck Sarah.

When looking for clubs, you may also want to look at any local tri clubs (instead of just cycling clubs). In my experience, tri (and running) clubs meet more frequently than cycling clubs so there may be more chance to train with like minded people (and quite likely more chance to train with other women if that's important to you). But as Ruth says, unlike running & triathlon, you must be a member of a cycling club to enter open TTs...

unCivilServant

But I am truly rubbish at running and have never managed to get to grips with it.

One way round it is to just go in for events that combine the 2 disciplines you ARE good at (although that doesn't help much if you've already entered...ho hum). I'm on my 2nd duathlon--being carp at swimming--and there are probably bike+swim events along the same lines.

But I'd agree with others that if you're generally from a 'sporty' background, there shouldn't be a physical barrier to you improving your running (my bground until age mid-20s was the least sporty imaginable, and I'm certainly no waif, but still got into it).

How's your walking gait? Odd as it may sound, probably my biggest problem when starting running is that it's nothing like how I walk. My stride length is quite long for my height, but of course 'jogging' is about taking fast relatively small steps rather than ever-longer ones. If it's the same for you, you may need to consciously 're-educate' yourself in how you move your legs.

BlackHelmet

unCivilServant wrote:

...and there are probably bike+swim events along the same lines.

I've never come across a swim+bike event. Aquathons (swim+run) are great fun though - a real blast of frenetic competition for the Winter months

windyphil

being carp at swimming - uncivil servant does this mean you swim like a fish??

Pagem

SWC123 wrote:

Hi - looking for some honest advice.

I'm thinking about doing a triathlon - probably May or June next year since I don't have time to train for one before the winter. I'd start by doing a novice one and want to know if this is a ridiculous idea. I'm reasonably fit (although not amazingly so) and have never done anything like this before but have always played sport and would say I'm reasonably athletic. I'm 29 and a girl.

Specifically...

I was a reasonable swimmer when younger but haven't swum other than in the sea on holiday (my gym has no pool) for a long time and have never done so competitively - would obviously need to change gyms so I can train in a pool.

I bike to work every day and do quite a few longer rides at the weekends so not so worried about that.

But I am truly rubbish at running and have never managed to get to grips with it. I am very slow and after about 10 minutes I feel like I'm about to die.

Obviously I realise that significant training is required and I would put the hours in.
Do you think its a realistic goal or are triathlons really for psychos?

Any thoughts on whether I should go for it or whether it's a stupid idea gratefully received. Any advice?

i'm sure you'll be fine.

to be honest with you, you'd prob be fit enough to enter a sprint event this year. it'd prove invaluable experince and will give you the 'buzz' to keep training through the winter.

triathlons are great fun but as you've outlined do require quite alot of training if you want to fair well in them. word of warning: it's quite easy to become obsessive about training. be prepared to always talk shop when you're part of a club and to meet at ridiculous times in the morning for 'casual' 3000m swim sessions...

you should check out http://www.tritalk.co.uk/ which is a fantastic resource for tri.

all the best and enjoy!

unCivilServant

being carp at swimming - uncivil servant does this mean you swim like a fish??

Heheh...realised soon as I'd posted it it came out the opposite of what I meant! (I'd have to be a very *coy* carp...or one of those goldfish you find belly-up the day after you get it home.)

Anyway, I was thinking about this a bit more on my run home last night...:

1.Maybe your athleticism is part of the problem.

Bear with me on this. :shock: Here's the reasoning: If you've found all sports relatively easy to get into up to now, you may have thrown yourself into the running similarly/ with similar expectations. Your running might be bad/difficult only relative to your other sports (while still better at it than for other mortals)--but because you're not achieving as you might've imagined, it's disheartening. Of course, I'm not saying any of this is going on consciously. Relax your expectations--yes, easier said than done--and you can bask in what you have done, not what you haven't (yet).

2. Living in London doesn't mean you have to do all your running in it. Let's face it, running round a park repeatedly is pretty boring. Get an OS map and head off on rural footpaths occasionally. You get lots of physical benefits (that you perhaps wouldn't from the park), exercise for your brain, uplift from being in nice scenery....and we're coming up to the best time for blackberry-picking [dammit, where's the :licks chops: smiley gone?] 8) Possibly this rather contradicts others' advice about a carefully phased and measured approach--1 mile cross-country is a lot more variable than 1 mile on tarmac--but it was how I got into running, and can get me going for a 10-miler where the prospect of doing so in town wouldn't.

SWC123

Well I like the idea of being too damn athletic for my own good but I'm afraid that by any objective standard, I think my running is pretty poor. I think part of that may be down to the fact that I've really never run for any length of time. ever. we didn't do cross country or anything like that at school and the sports I play most (besides cycling) are things like tennis and netball which require short, repeated sprints rather than sustained periods of running. So I think I need to build up slowly and teach my body how to run for longer and build the right muscles etc - hopefully that will come with training.
You're right though - I think part of it is mental. When I'm panting along at a snail's pace I can't help thinking of those people you see running the London marathon every year (you know who I mean - not in great shape, the wrong side of 50 and wearing a teddy bear costume) and think bloody hell if those guys can run 26 miles and keep smiling - why can't I manage a jog round the park! So yep I will try not to get so frustrated and need to be realistic about what I can achive.

Pagem - thanks for the advice and the website link - excellent work-avoidance site! Re overtraining - part of the reason I'm doing this is to give me a bit of focus in the gym but I am too fond a G&T every now and again to become truly obsessive so I think I'm safe, but point noted.

Thanks again chaps...