Triathlon

[Rooter]

Not from the weekend, although that was a masterclass!

Anyone here do / done them? I have been bitten by the running bug and competed in my first 10k last month, next one is in July, but with my old rugby knees and ankles, i dont think i could cope with the added distance of a half or full marathon.

So much so, 2 weeks ago i bought my first road bike (much to my wifes disgust, 'you already have a bike!' yes its a MTB) Anyway, literally got back from my first ride on it last week and went online and signed up to a tri.

My local one is only a sprint one, 400m Swim, 22k bike, 5k run. Perfect for me!!

So, what/how/when to train? Planning some swimming lessons to improve my technique, i would say i'm a poor swimmer, do some brick sessions, already doing a lot of interval in my running, anything else? Will practice transitions at home. I have found some stuff online, but interested to hear some real world stuff from anyone out there..

Currently biggest dilemma is what to wear! found an entry level tri suit for about 50 quid, might go for that as i can see me getting some use out of it!!

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Is it 400m in the pool? That will make a difference to the tri-suit,

What date is the Triathlon

Is it the Newbury Tri?

 

[Rooter]

Is it 400m in the pool? That will make a difference to the tri-suit,

What date is the Triathlon

Is it the Newbury Tri?

Yes, newbury has a 75M outdoor pool! (Heated too!!!)

yes, its the newbury one. so no wetsuit needed, and its 2nd Sept if i remember correctly.

 

[patricks148]

a long time ago. The swim was in a swimming pool and TBH and the change over was a bit of a pain. My brother who lives in Dubai does them quite regularly.

 

[pokerjoke]

Roots your flying mate good to see your trying the Triathlon.

No surprise to you but I have done a few albeit a few years back and for fun not up the leading end.

The swim is generally the ease into the Tri and you can swim daily if you want as you wont be doing any harm of course you need the time to do this.

The cycle for me was the hard part just because my bike was not top end and I never used Tri bars that's for the good cyclists.

Love running so could catch a few up and that for me was the fun part.

The key is when your starting is to enjoy it take your time and take in the atmosphere obviously depending on size and how many are watching.

You wont need a tri suit unless its cold and a sea swim but a good pair of goggles is a must.

Good luck

 

[MegaSteve]

A lad next door used to do triathlons on a fairly regular basis... I can remember him practicing the choreography of the transitions on the front driveway... Maybe not really necessary for your first go though...

Good luck....

Both my lads had doing a triathlon, before reaching 40, on their bucket lists... Sadly neither could run for a toffee sweet and one has gone past the date now anyway... They are doing a mountain bike series this year having done a road race series last year as they both get on with pedalling...

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I've done the Newbury Tri at the Northcroft a couple of times and it's quite decent, although last one was over 10yrs ago, cycle is a bit hilly in places so worth doing some hill trg on your bike. Run is flat, part of it along the canal.

Being simplistic, if you are planning a few and this is the first of many I would suggest you relax and enjoy this one.

In Triathlon terms it's a short one and your best chance of making up time will be on the bike and run, longer tri's the swimming can make a big difference as I've seen strong swimmers make up as much as 5-8 minutes over the rest of the field in an event, that can equate to as much as a mile headstart on the run or 2-3 mile on the bike.

Swimming lessons won't hurt, but as it's only 400m don't get too hung up on it, regular lengths will bring that on.

Try some cycle to run training, say 10k bike followed by 3k run, the transition from bike to run can be fun on the legs.

Priority for this one for me would be:

Bike - Get use to the miles and time spent in the saddle.

Swim - 2-3 sessions a week

Run - You can and the other 2 will improve it as well.

After this one you will have a good idea were you suffered and were you felt good and then for the next one you can focus on those areas needing improvement and have a better structured programme.

 

[philly169]

Roots, do you use an app to do your interval running training?

I've never been able to find a decent one which tells you when to speed up or slow down whilst listening to your own tunes.

 

[Rooter]

Thanks Paul! appreciate the input! fancy this year??!

Phill, no i haven't, i pre plan what i'm doing and use my watch.. Well i say i pre plan, for my running training i use www.trainasone.com its brilliant!

 

[bluewolf]

Done a couple of sprint tri's in the past. Lack of golf time means that I've just got back into training. Planning on an Oly later this year and possibly a 1/2 IM next year if my knees hold up.

If you have the time then I'd suggest a local Tri club. Always easier to train as a group :thup:

 

[Rooter]

Agghhh its tomorrow morning!!!

 

[dewsweeper]

Cheshire Fire Brigade organised one in 1983 I think.
It was a mile swim in the river Dee ( bloody freezing, it was May ! )
A 4.5 mile run.
And 20 miles on a bike.
The swim for me was really hard, no wet suit.I was so slow I am sure I was entering the early stages of hyrdrothermia ( spell ? )
I was last man to finish , I got a puncture after about 5 miles and finished the last 15 miles on the back wheel rim.
Happy days to be so keen.

 

[larmen]

If you get bitten by the bug, I still have a TT bike to sell. Then I think I have got rid of all my triathlon gear ;-)

It's a time intensive sport to train for. To do it properly you need about 6 sessions a week minimum (3x2), and at some point I just became a runner again. Easier to get better in one sport.

I was one of the 'completers', not a competitor. All the gear, no idea.


It's a fun sport to get into if you like to do the training. Good luck tomorrow. Don't leave it all on the bike, keep a little for the run.

 

[fundy]

good luck Scooter, rather you than me

 

[Rooter]

1hr 33 for those that don't do Twitter. Swim was hard as hell, I almost got out and sacked it off halfway through! Enjoyable though and a target to beat for next year!

 

[gmc40]

Well done. I've been running for 2 1/2 years and would love to do a Triathlon. I even bought a road bike a few months back but haven't been out on it much and swimming has been pretty much non existent. I'll commit myself to it properly at some point.

 

[daveyc2k2]

Only just seen this. Well done on your first Triathlon Rooter.

I did my first one in May in Southend which was a sprint - 500m/20km/5km - Open Water which I actually prefer. I completed it in 1hr 44m and got bitten by the bug. Just this weekend completed the Hever Castle Sprint Triathlon - 400m/20km/4km - that was a lot harder than Southend as was incredibly hilly in places and completed in a time of 1hr 50m.

It's an amazing experience to complete them and I would recommend them to anyone looking to shed a few pounds. Also a swimming lesson or 2 definitely helps for getting the correct technique.

Congrats again Rooter and may see you on the start line of a Tri in the near future.

 

[Rooter]

Congrats again Rooter and may see you on the start line of a Tri in the near future.

Cheers Dave! And congrats to you for yours! Entered the local Duathlon early next year, which is 5k/25k/5k and also reading 1/2 marathon. Will start swim training properly this time after Xmas and look at a few more sprint tri. Will deffo do the newbury one again, mainly because its in a heated outdoor pool!