Triathlons for 2008

hammerite

Evening! wasn't sure where to post this, but cake stop seemed as good as anywhere!!

Who else is getting ready for some triathlon action this summer? 8)

Any particular targets?

I have my first tri of the season next weekend (Bedford), just a sprint with a 400m swim. Aim is to build the distance up over the summer and end up with a half IM (New Forest) in September. Swimming is my big downfall, I'm really slow and can only manage breast stroke comfortably, although I am having improver swimming lessons so the front crawl is getting better.

robbarker

I'm thinking about the Big Woody in the autumn. I've done an Ironman before and know what to expect. That's why i'm only thining about it!

In fairness I probably will go for it as a good challenging target is the best motivator to get to a good level of fitness during the summer, rather than just dribble along.

jellybellywmb

Training for a sprint in Erewash in July and then see how much I enjoy that before thinking of moving on.

graeme_s-2

I did my first two sprints last year. My plan this year was to do a couple more sprints (including my first open water swim), and then an olympic distance. I trained (concentrating on my running) over the winter, and was all set to do a duathlon (with olympic distance run and cycle) in March. I got a cold the week before, didn't do the duathlon and my training has gone completely to pot since. I don't think I've been swimming since my last triathlon at the end of September, and my running has all but stopped now. Need to get back on track, as the first sprint I had planned on doing is coming up in a couple of weeks!

FSR_XC

Did a 'Sprint' last year.

Got 2 planned for this.

First is 11th May. Should be easier than last year's - I (think) I'm fitter, 400m pool swim (as opposed to 750m open water) and a slightly longer cycle (my stronger event).

Hope to do a bigger one next year.

Hammerite - good luck next weekend.
I can only swim breast stroke too. Don't think it will be as much a disadvantage in the pool compared to open water, but I really need to learn for my 2nd event in August. Last year I came out of the water 7th from the back!

hammerite

Been away since I started this thread so not had chance to reply!

FSR - after only two swimming lessons my front crawl has improved no end, still can;t swim far but the techinique is better. Still struggle with the breathing, still lift my head as opposed to rolling it!

Jellybelly - Erewash was my first tri last year. It's a really good event for beginners, all sorts turned up.

Graeme - I'm sure once you get out for your first run and swim it'll come back quickly. It sounds as though you've been riding your bike still so it's not as if you'll be starting from scratch.

Rob - any tips into stepping up the training? My sprint this weekend shouldn't be too difficult, as training has been ok. But I'm starting to wonder how I'll get to the point longer distances and keeping it all together.

robbarker

Don't do too much too soon, but do get a lot of volume in months prior to the event. I think the best thing I did to prepare for the Ironman was a Super Randonneur series of audax rides on the bike (200, 300, 400 and 600Km rides, but very steady pace). I didn't do too much running, which is what buggers you up - maybe ran twice a week with the local running club plus one extra run some weeks, and eventually built up to about 18 miles off orad - I am lucky to have miles of forestry tracks and riverside grassland here to run on. I think i did about 6 swim sessions in total - i've always been a strong natural swimmer and don't really improve with training! Do virtulaly nothing two weeks before a long tri, and reintroduce shortish quality sessions in the week immediately before.

Ieuanllan

I'm hoping to do a sprint or two this summer too, but am currently procrastinating about which one(s) to enter - was planning on Wilmslow on the 11th of May, but am signed up for Manchester 10k the following weekend!

Anyone do any super-sprints at all?

hammerite

Thanks Rob. Plan is to take it steady with one "training" race a month to gauge progress. First two will be sprints with pool swims (400m) in May then June, then a sprint with an open water swim (750m) in July, then an Oly distance in August and ending up with a half IM in September.

I've been training steadily for the last month and will continue to stay at the same level until mid May when things at work will begin to ease off and I'll have more time to train, from then I'll build up in line with the race distances above.

The running side of things I'm not worried about, I've trained for a marathon on 3 runs a week and did OK (any more and I start to suffer with shin splints or tendonitis). For a half marathon I'll probably do 3 runs, 1 mid distance and steady, a hill session and a long run (maxxing out at 15 miles). Running off road is what I prefer too, I have miles of runs on footpath around fields near me, and off road is also what is best to combat shin splints. Unfortunately though I tore ankle ligaments at the end of last summer so I have to be very careful running off road so I don't twist my ankle.

I'll probably cycle to work twice a week which is 20 miles each way, then do long rides upto about 100k. I may do a few mid week TTs to try and keep sharp with my speed.

Swimming will be interesting for me as it's by far my weakest discipline. I'm having lessons once a week, will probably have an hour session by myself before work once a week, then do some open water work with a group from my running club who are tri training.

Does that sound feasible?

Ieuanllan - Never done a super sprint, however, the Erewash one I did last year could probably be classed as one (could be worth looking at not too far from you). It's a 400m swim, 10 mile ride and 5k run. Most sprints I think are 750m swim, 25k bike and 5k run.
I've looked at Wilmslow but it's now full. I wouldn't worry about a sprint tri one week then 10k the next. A sprint tri shouldn't take too much out of you.

These guys seem to be running a few tris near you.
http://www.xtramileevents.com/events_calendar.asp

Ieuanllan

Cheers,

Those Xtramile events look interesting, and right in my backyard.

FSR_XC

Ieuanllan wrote:

I'm hoping to do a sprint or two this summer too, but am currently procrastinating about which one(s) to enter - was planning on Wilmslow on the 11th of May, but am signed up for Manchester 10k the following weekend!

Anyone do any super-sprints at all?

I'm doing a 'Sprint' on the 11th, then the Newnham 90 (90km mtb enduro) on the 18th.

I've got the week in between to recover!

As the Nike advert says - 'Just do it'

Ieuanllan

I feel shamed into action! :oops:

Watch this space.

ieu

robbarker

You'll eat it on that training schedule. Swim lessons are a good idea as technique is everything.

The other thing to remember is eat and drink lots on the way round. If the event uses specific sport drinks and bars/gels, practice with the same brands - the day of the race is no time to find out that a particular product gives you the sh1ts..

hammerite

Thanks Rob. All kit ready, now just waiting for the morning! I'll let you know how I get on.

hammerite

Managed to get round the tri without any major problems. Well, none whilst actually moving! Had wet body/dry shirt syndrome, that was a struggle. Then set off for my run with my cycling helmet still on!!

Not sure on accurate times. I think I was on schedule for my swim 400m I estimated 12 mins), bike was 15.3 miles I think I covered that in about 50-51 mins, and the run (5k) managed 23 mins. I was aiming for 1h 30 so with transitions included I think I would be there or there abouts.

Run became a struggle (should be my strong part!) as I got a stitch and just couldn't keep a good pace up.

Enjoyed it immensely though!!

epicEm

I can't believe I didn't see this earlier.
It was the Schiniathlon today near where I live.
Two disciplines, Sprint 750m swim, 5km run and 20km cycle or Olympic 1500m swim, 10km run and 40km cycle.

There's another one in September. Its a fantastic location.
The event is in English, Greek and French!
Its great for beginners as well as those fully initiated.
I was marshalling today. 8)

hammerite

official results in, bike looks a lot worse than it was because it included T1 and 2, which I realised took me 5 mins!! Guessing I need to tri suit, can anyone recommend a reasonably priced one with pockets?

I need pockets to carry my inhaler in.

Pleasing thing was that my swim time was 75 secs quicker than I thought I would do.

FSR_XC

Hammerite

Something that is bugging me at the moment -
I can't imagine swimming in cycling shorts, so was thinking I should use swim shorts & hope my ass is hard enough to do 16 miles without that comfort layer. This way I just come out of the pool add shoes & T-shirt, then just swop cycling shoes for trainers for the run.

What do people normally do / wear for the swim / cycle?

epicEm

Cycle in your swim shorts.

You see people cycling in trunks!! :shock:

mh130

Get yourself some Tri shorts. These are fine for swimming in but also have a thin chamois to give you a bit more comfort on the ride. The chamois is not so thick that it gets in the way when you're running.

Alternatively go the whole hog and get a Tri suit. These are a bit more comfortable and save you time in T1 as you don't have the struggle to put dry clothes onto a wet torso.

Re the swimming, sprint distance tends to be pool-based, which means that it will be short. Great if you can front crawl through it in 6 or 7 minutes, but yo can make up far more time on the bike and run, as well as by practising and refining your transitions. However, if you want to go longer, sorting the technique is key. My front crawl was lousy last year but this was fine as I only did sprint. This year I'm doing a couple of Olympic distances and a half Ironman, so had to do a bit more work on technique - but it's something to do in the winter when you can't get out on the bike as often

Ieuanllan

mh130 wrote:

Re the swimming, sprint distance tends to be pool-based, which means that it will be short. Great if you can front crawl through it in 6 or 7 minutes,

Holy Sh*t! I was about to ask what sort of time is respectable for a 400m swim.
I'm currently doing 400m in about 10 minutes :oops:

I'm going for a coached swim with my local tri club tonight, so hopefully times will improve significantly fairly soon.

What's the difference between a triathlon wetsuit, and the one I surf in (a flexible shouldered 5/4/3 varying thickness suit)?

FSR_XC

I must take this a little more seriously.

Did my first swim for 5 months yesterday. Won't complain - 400m took around 9min (breast stroke).

Don't think I'll get chance to go again before Sunday's 'race'

hammerite

In answer to the short thing..... I'm with MH130, I got some tri shorts before my first tri. Very comfortable they are too, Orca Basics, I think they were about £20-5. and then just chucked my socks, shoes and t-shirt on.

Although I'm now looking at trisuits as I know I could save a lot of time in transition (probably about 2 mins of the 5!).

It's worth investing a couple of quid in talcum powder if you haven't already got some, helps no end to get wet feet into socks or shoes.

As for swim times, I'm shocking! My first tri I managed the 400m swim in just over 12 mins. This time I was at 10m 40, although I reckon I can improve that a fair bit in the next few weeks just by being able to swim the whole distance front crawl instead of breast stroke. Whatever swim time you do though don't worry, you can make plenty of time up on the other disciplines, a guy from a local bike club beat me even though I swam faster (somehow!) and ran faster, he was just that extra bit quicker on the bike.

Ieuan - Not sure entirely on the difference in wetsuits, but I'd imagine that there is that extra bit of movement (so probably thinner material) around the arms and legs on the tri wetsuit to aid swim stroke/kick.

As for last weeks question on triathlon just before 10k race....... no problem at all. I decided last minute to do a 10k race last night two days after my sprint tri, just because the race was round the Silverstone circuit. There were quite a few from my running club who did both too. I didn't set a PB but I'm not quite fully fit at the moment anyway, but I had no problem keeping up a reasonable pace all the way round without fading at the end.

FSR_XC

Just got the initial results from Helston Tri on Sunday.

400m Swim, 16.5 mile cycle & 3.5 mile run

1hr27min

Is that an decent time?

hammerite

FSR_XC wrote:

Just got the initial results from Helston Tri on Sunday.

400m Swim, 16.5 mile cycle & 3.5 mile run

1hr27min

Is that an decent time?

seems a very good effort FSR, I'm guessing that it's a bit hilly round that way too! Well done.

hodsgod

The only time I did a triathlon, swimming was my best performance and I don't swim very often! Running after 40K on the bike caused was impossible. My muscles wouldn't relax.

hammerite

Anyone doing Eton or any other tri this weekend?

hammerite

Second traithlon of the summer today. Swim didn't go too bad there were only 15 people slower than me, but my time was better than usual!

The ride went very well, felt cold the first couple of miles but after the first hill I soon warmed up and overtook everyone in front of me bar one, making me first into transition (bearing in mind the slowest in the pool start first!). Average 19.2 mph for the 15 mile ride.

The run was cut short by about 100 metres due to a flooded park, but I still managed to get round in just over 21 mins, making my run just under 7 min miles, my fastest run for some time.

All in all quite happy with how it went. Now from the safety of the pool and onto open water! Never done OW before, but all my races for the rest of the year are OW :?

FSR_XC

Sounds like you had a great result.

Well dione

attica

I'm doing the UK Ironman 70.3 next sunday, frankly I'm quite excited - 18 months ago I couldn't swim, it's been quite a learning curve, now I'm reasonably confident that I can complete a 2k swim in about 50 minutes. The bike shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the wheel is definitely going to come off for the run!
Over the past few months I've come to really hate running, my knees hurt like mad for a couple of days after a half marathon, lord only knows what they'll feel like after Wimbleball..

I've decided to enter the Big Woody as an Aquabike, it'd be a shame to let all that swimming go to waste, but frankly after next Sunday I'll be happy if I neer have to run another step!
Low impact sports all the way for me now.

hammerite

Thanks FSR

Attica wrote:

I'm doing the UK Ironman 70.3 next sunday, frankly I'm quite excited - 18 months ago I couldn't swim, it's been quite a learning curve, now I'm reasonably confident that I can complete a 2k swim in about 50 minutes. The bike shouldn't be too much of a problem, but the wheel is definitely going to come off for the run!
Over the past few months I've come to really hate running, my knees hurt like mad for a couple of days after a half marathon, lord only knows what they'll feel like after Wimbleball..

I've decided to enter the Big Woody as an Aquabike, it'd be a shame to let all that swimming go to waste, but frankly after next Sunday I'll be happy if I neer have to run another step!
Low impact sports all the way for me now.

Quite frankly Attica, you are a nutter! I've entered a 70.3 in September, but I don't have to deal with the rigours of Exmoor! That said, at least it's on your doorstep so at least you could train on the course.

One of m mates is doing Wimbleball, not sure why he bothers with tri though. He hates the cycling part and isn't too fussed about the swimming!

Good luck for next week