Running my first Sprint Triathlon next weekend

[Phinhead54]

We'll see how it goes Borrowing a bike for it, will get a Tri bike before #2 if I like it ...

[Steveodotcom1]

Good Luck!

[Rocky2]

I'm right there with you!! I just signed up for one in July!!

I figure I'll do good for my age group, I'm young. Swimming isn't a problem, I was on the team for 4 years and still swim. And I ride my bike to work a couple times a week. And now I've been running for the last 2 weeks straight, up to 2.5 miles.


PS I'm in a cutting phase right now, that's why there's a big boost in cardio.

But how long is it for you?
The swim is a 1/4 mile right? and 13 miles biking, and 3.2 run right?

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by Rocky2

I'm right there with you!! I just signed up for one in July!!

I figure I'll do good for my age group, I'm young. Swimming isn't a problem, I was on the team for 4 years and still swim. And I ride my bike to work a couple times a week. And now I've been running for the last 2 weeks straight, up to 2.5 miles.


PS I'm in a cutting phase right now, that's why there's a big boost in cardio.

But how long is it for you?
The swim is a 1/4 mile right? and 13 miles biking, and 3.2 run right?

600 yard swim
10.1 mile bike
3.1 mile run (5k)

[Cam]

Props to you guys. I dont think i could manage just one phase of a triatholon let alone all 3.

[wiseoracle]

I would love to do one, but my problems lies the fact I don't know how to swim

I rode 14 miles last weekend.

[ZERK]

I REALLY want to do one, but I need to muster up the dedication to get my swimming ability up. I was training to do one last summer and was able to do the run/bike combo, but when it came to the swim I was just gassed. It takes a lot to be able to swim like that.

[np2fast]

Indeed; swimming seems to be the downfall for a lot of people including me.

If only the water wasn't so damn deep...

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by Cam

Props to you guys. I dont think i could manage just one phase of a triatholon let alone all 3.

It's in Ruskin up near Tampa, come down and watch! 6 months ago I could barely run 2 miles, 5 months ago I did my first 5k!

[Phinhead54]

1:24:32, 4th place in the first timer division ... I'll do another one soon, I can do better for sure.

[Rocky2]

Not bad! What were your times for each event?

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by Rocky2

Not bad! What were your times for each event?

10:54 for the swim (it was very shallow, ended up walking some of it because the group was almost too bunched up to swim)

39:25 for the bike, 15.2 MPH average

31:09 for the 5k.

I have real room for improvement, I need to swim and bike more, the running will come after that, I can already run 23/24 minute 5k's when I'm running them on their own.

[Rocky2]

Originally Posted by Phinhead54

10:54 for the swim (it was very shallow, ended up walking some of it because the group was almost too bunched up to swim)

39:25 for the bike, 15.2 MPH average

31:09 for the 5k.

I have real room for improvement, I need to swim and bike more, the running will come after that, I can already run 23/24 minute 5k's when I'm running them on their own.

Not bad. I'll let y'all know how i do.

[Wally]

Congrats on the race!

A buddy of mine is planning on doing a full Ironman-distance Tri next August (2010). I'm considering training with him and competing in a few sprint tri's, but I don't think you'll ever catch me doing a full tri.

[Phinhead54]

3 months later and I picked up my first age group placement (3rd) at the Key Largo Sprint Tri ... going for a weekend double and doing a second Sprint tomorrow on Key Biscayne After that I get a month off until Miami beach on September 12th, then Cypress Gardens in October and Miami Man International Distance on November 8th. Hell of a year me, lol. Ran my first 5k in January and by November I will have 10 triathlons under my belt including an International.

[WorldWind]

Way to go!

Congratulations to all of you embarking on the path to iron man.

Any incites to the bike I can offer are yours.

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

Way to go!

Congratulations to all of you embarking on the path to iron man.

Any incites to the bike I can offer are yours.

How do I go faster? lol ... I figure the bike is where I can really shave minutes off my time. I've been averaging in the 18-19MPH range for 10 miles, I'd love to get that up to 20-21. Right now I'm just doing long(ish ... 25 miles or so) rides once or twice a week (depending on race schedule).

I need to get out and distance swim more, the run is just going to happen on it's own I think even though I am trying to get a couple of long runs (~6 miles) a week.

I did notice that my 5k time for my 2nd tri last weekend was about the same time that I ran my first 5k (not Tri, only a 5k) in.

[WorldWind]

How you go faster on the bike is to minimize wind resistance, but bear in mind that mostly in triathlon competitions’ drafting intentionally and pacing are frowned on.

Make your bike and your riding position as streamlined and as light as possible. Your weight and efficiency are more important than the bikes. AND You need to have a good bike.

That’s the free part that makes you go faster, the other is You, You are the engine and the suspension. Want to go faster? Spin a higher cadence, more smoothly and push a bigger gear doing it.
On the flats with little wind you need to be doing 23 mph for intervals until you can do it continuously for say 4 hours.
While you are doing that, you need to learn exactly how much of what types of fuel your body needs to be able to sustain that effort. You are going to learn about your recovery time and plan your races accordingly. When you are injured you will work on other aspects of your training. You are going to need a training bike and a race bike and you are probably going to need a support crew.

[WorldWind]

Originally Posted by ZERK

I REALLY want to do one, but I need to muster up the dedication to get my swimming ability up. I was training to do one last summer and was able to do the run/bike combo, but when it came to the swim I was just gassed. It takes a lot to be able to swim like that.

The way you wrote that it sounds like you were spent when you got to the swim. All of these races are formatted the same way, the swim is first.

I think I know what you mean though. The swim is taking so much out of you that you can’t get past it and transition to the bike. If this is so then you need to address that and get some laps under your belt.

In reality the swim is just a warm-up for the bike. But it is also a great physiological barrier to many. A mass start in open water just begs the question ‘how many times am I going to allow myself to be kicked in the face before I learn to own the swim’.
Get to a pool and start doing laps forget about the time, just swim focusing on being efficient in the water. Your breathing is key, because if you starve your body for O2 then you are done. If you expend too much energy flailing around you are done.

The swim for these ‘sprint Trys’ is very short. 600 yards is only 12 laps in a 50m pool. When you move up to a real iron man event you will be swimming 3 miles, to warm up for a 100 mile ride and then run a full marathon.

[WorldWind]

Originally Posted by Phinhead54

Right now I'm just doing long(ish ... 25 miles or so) rides once or twice a week (depending on race schedule).

Ph54, if you want to get on the leader board, you are going to need to change your schedule around more saddle time.

Mtn. Bike 15 or 20 road miles to a trail head at 19mph and then some off road riding (climbing) TWICE A WEEK would build up your endurance and if you get buddies to go along it is +social +power +pack skills.

This is in conjunction with your speed training also twice a week. Different days at first, then do the mountain in the morning and the flats spinning in the evening. If you could borrow some rollers that would be great, then you could spin at night instead of sleeping.

[run1206]

Congrats Phinhead!! i wish they had more triathlons near me. I'm currently training for a 4 miler in Woodbridge and my school's 5k Alumni race (currently i'm around high 19s in the 5k). My friend got me into road biking, might save up for a Trek someday.

keep us posted on any future triathlons.

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

Ph54, if you want to get on the leader board, you are going to need to change your schedule around more saddle time.

Mtn. Bike 15 or 20 road miles to a trail head at 19mph and then some off road riding (climbing) TWICE A WEEK would build up your endurance and if you get buddies to go along it is +social +power +pack skills.

This is in conjunction with your speed training also twice a week. Different days at first, then do the mountain in the morning and the flats spinning in the evening. If you could borrow some rollers that would be great, then you could spin at night instead of sleeping.

From above, drafting is a penalty in USAT which is all I run.

I have a trainer at home that I need to start using at night, but need to purchase the stand for the front tire. Just need to get off my arse. Having my son 50% of the time kind of limits my training time, just one of the sacrifices I have had to make (don't get me wrong though, Danny is #1, the training is the sacrifice not watching him).

[rshank]

PJ, what kind of bike do you have. If you want to spend some money, you can actually buy time with different bike parts. Wheels are probably the most expensive. You can get some decent Zipps (deep carbon section rims)

another way you can cheat seconds on the bike are the tires and tubes. I would recomend Michelin Prorace 3 tires with latex tubes. the have the lowest rolling resistance of any clincher tire, and just about every pro cyclist that uses clinchers use them. the tires new are about 60 bucks per tire and the tubes are 10 bucks each, but they are worth it. you need to watch your tire pressure with the latex tubes though, they lose air quickly and you will need to pump them up everyday.
another thing is an areo helmet. you will look like a dork, but your doing a tri and everyone is a dork. they are a little pricey but with shave seconds.

an timetrial specific frame will also cut time as well, but will also be pricey.

i dont remember when you were talking about getting a bike, but if you dont have them get barend shifters. they will save you seconds so you dont have to change your hand posistion to shift.

also, don't put a water bottle or cage on the downtube, you should only have one on the seat tube. it will be more aero that way and deflect air around the rear wheel.

besides spending money, getting as much time in the aero position on the bike as posible will help. you should look like this on the bike

whenever I am out riding on paths, i usually spot a triathelete by the way they pedal (and the fact they look a lot dorkier than a normal cyclist). their legs are all over the place. when pedalling, try to focus on spining circles. at the bottom of your pedal stroke, imagine you are scraping dog shit off your shoe. you are using clipless shoes and pedals, correct. if not, get a pair.

[rshank]

Originally Posted by Phinhead54

I have a trainer at home that I need to start using at night, but need to purchase the stand for the front tire. Just need to get off my arse. Having my son 50% of the time kind of limits my training time, just one of the sacrifices I have had to make (don't get me wrong though, Danny is #1, the training is the sacrifice not watching him).

you don't need a stand for the front wheel, just use a brick or something. I invite holy jihad on myself by defacing the holy qur'an using that as my wheel prop and sweating all over it.

[WorldWind]

When you say trainer, I think coach, someone to point you in the right direction, keep you motivated and fueled properly.

Please don’t fall into the trap of using a training stand, it does nothing for you that riding around the block won’t do, and they are not good for your bike (never put a modern day race bike in a stand).

You need rollers to learn to spin and balance.

All the high end bike parts are great, but unless you are fit and experienced enough to make them work for you they won’t make you much faster.

It’s like this- If you have a car that can only go 23 miles per hour it is not going to help much to spend 5k on the most advanced ground effects for that car.



When you can tell me you are at 8 percent body fat, can spin smoothly holding a constant speed for 4 hours on the flats and climb a 1 mile 12 percent grade standing the whole way, then we can talk about a proper bike.

[WorldWind]

As far as the aero helmets go...


Last month at the Coeur d’Alene Iron man, I saw so many riders using the aero helmets and looking down at the ground in front of their front wheel. Well that is just wrong, and if that is how you ride then the aero is not only a waste of money it creates a drag that is worse than a regular helmet.
This is what I mean by having the proper training/experience to use the state of the art equipment.

[rshank]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

When you say trainer, I think coach, someone to point you in the right direction, keep you motivated and fueled properly.

Please don’t fall into the trap of using a training stand, it does nothing for you that riding around the block won’t do, and they are not good for your bike (never put a modern day race bike in a stand).

You need rollers to learn to spin and balance.

All the high end bike parts are great, but unless you are fit and experienced enough to make them work for you they won’t make you much faster.

It’s like this- If you have a car that can only go 23 miles per hour it is not going to help much to spend 5k on the most advanced ground effects for that car.



When you can tell me you are at 8 percent body fat, can spin smoothly holding a constant speed for 4 hours on the flats and climb a 1 mile 12 percent grade standing the whole way, then we can talk about a proper bike.

actually, I completely disagree with what you said about the training stand. Everything I've been told, buy paid cyclin coaches and professionals, are riding an indoor trainer is very valuable. and hour on the trainer is worth 2 on the bike they say. indoor classes they teacher are all on indoor trainers. the problem with trainers are it easy, for me at least, to get bored and want to quite. and high end bike parts are a lot different than ground effects, thats the dumbest analogy I've heard. they are more akin to performance parts as they do make you go faster. I've actually shaved a little less than a minute in an 8 mile time trial going from a road bike with deep section wheels and bar extensions to a full TT ride, with an aero frame, trispoke front wheel, disc rear, helmet. and that was a week later so you cant say a change in fitness was the determining factor.

[WorldWind]

A minute saved over eight miles is lost the first time you stop jogging and walk in the run.

Your fitness is way more important than the bike. I am not saying the bike is not important, I am saying put the horse before the cart.

A self proclaimed fortune teller gets paid also, and that advice is crap.

Spinning classes do not use TT bikes clamped into training stands they use commercial spinning machines. And if you only train on a stationary bike you are going to go down the first time you try to keep your spin through a turn. You will catch a toe.

The determining factor could have been any number of things including weather and road conditions. AND a change in fitness always happens, it should happen after every training ride, and after every race.

When a pro rider is talking about an indoor trainer they are talking about rollers or a spinning machine.

[WorldWind]

Here, how do you like this analogy.


A guy trains in the gym on every apparatus until he is the strongest man in the world, then he decides to box a professional boxer in his same weight division and looses. How can this be? He must be wearing the wrong shoes.

[WorldWind]

Look rshank, I am not disputing the fact that better equipment translates to faster times, because it definitely does. Or that you shaved a minute off your personal best time by changing bikes.

I have shaved seconds off lap times in many crits (criterium races) on the second and third and fourth laps just by learning the feel of the course on the first lap and then knowing just how much harder I can push each corner.

[Phinhead54]

I'm kind of looking both ways ... I am going to continue with my road bike (Felt Z80, clip on aero bars, Shimano 105 clip in pedals, Bontrager shoes) for the triathlons this year. If finances allow it I will also pick up a TT/Tri bike next year, possibly with Race Wheels (Zipp's/SRAM's/HED, haven't really researched yet). For the rest of this year I'm going to concentrate on fitness. I know that the 5k I did in my 2nd sprint tri last weekend was about the same time as the first 5k I ran earlier this year (not as part of a tri, just a plain 5k), and I'm carrying about 10lbs less then earlier this year so I plan on keeping on that track. My current major goal is my first International Distance Triathlon on November 8th (Miami Man, kind of a cool first one to do, it's at Miami MetroZoo, I grew up about 15 minutes from there and am a member of the zoo, lol) with a more minor goal of breaking 1:15 for the Miami Beach Sprint Triathlon on Sept 12th (I am usually at 1:20 for the distance that one will be run).

[WorldWind]

The Miami Man is a very popular race.

I hope you are already registered. Right now I think there are only about 50 spots left for entries.


An Olympic Triathlon (international distance) is the one tri where drafting is allowed BUT because this one is USAT sanctioned, as you stated above it will be a penalty offence.



Also... A Felt Z80..Humm. You should try to lose the three ring crank set, unless you have already.

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

The Miami Man is a very popular race.

I hope you are already registered. Right now I think there are only about 50 spots left for entries.


An Olympic Triathlon (international distance) is the one tri where drafting is allowed BUT because this one is USAT sanctioned, as you stated above it will be a penalty offence.



Also... A Felt Z80..Humm. You should try to lose the three ring crank set, unless you have already.

Yes, there are less then 50 spots available, yes I am registered already

There aren't many ITU races down here, almost all are USAT so I never count on being able to draft.

I have not lost it and will probably keep it as I'm planning on going with a TT bike next year, but the 3 crank set saved me last week at the Huntington's race as we had to go over the Rickenbacker causeway 4 times during the 16 mile bike for the sprint distance ... I used pretty much all 27 gears doing 7.5/10MPH uphill and topping out at 35MPH downhill, lol. Still need to work on my climbs!

[WorldWind]

The William Powel Bridge is like a mile long and about 80 feet tall so that would be about a 3.5% grade. If my calculations are correct.
That’s not very steep.

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by WorldWind

The William Powel Bridge is like a mile long and about 80 feet tall so that would be about a 3.5% grade. If my calculations are correct.
That’s not very steep.

Just riding it, no measurements to back it up, the high point is not in the middle, one direction is noticably steeper then the other. I just did a race on that same course this weekend with only a one loop bike course and they had us actually swimming with the current instead of against it this time, lol. Ended up running a 1:11 for the quarter mile swim, 8 mile bike, 3.25 mile run. I was happy with it. Next race that I'm signed up for is Sept 12th on Miami Beach.

[WorldWind]

Keep at it, racing and training. Soon you will be sprinting over the William Powel on your big ring and never looking back.

[Phinhead54]

So I finished Miami Man under my goal of 3 hours. I did 2:57:14, .6 mile swim, 22 mile bike, 6.55 mile run. 25:xx in the swim, 1:21 on the bike, and 1:02 for the run. Just something to add for the bike course, about 1/3 of the ride had a steady 25MPH headwind, gusts to 30, 1/3 had that has a tailwind and 1/3 had it as a cross breeze. Holy cow it was rough because it was tailwind out, headwind back in. 24-25MPH going out, 10-12 coming back in. I think on a windless course I could have gone under 2:45 but that will be the goal for the next one! Got a really cool looking shirt, hat and finisher's medal out of it too Officially I was 32nd out of 42 in my age group, but I wasn't too worried about that, it was my first!

[tracer bullet]

Congrats! Doesn't matter where you finished, the fact that you entered and finished is pretty killer on it's own.

[WorldWind]

What he said!!

Now, use that momentium and turn up the heat. What is your next race?

[Phinhead54]

The only tri I have scheduled right now is IM Miami 70.3 next October, Miami Man was pretty much the last race for the season in this area. Next few races will be 5k's then back to the Tri's probably around March, I have not set my race calendar yet for next year. Might do Nautica South Beach or a local Half Marathon early next year as my next endurance type race.

[run1206]

Originally Posted by Phinhead54

So I finished Miami Man under my goal of 3 hours. I did 2:57:14, .6 mile swim, 22 mile bike, 6.55 mile run. 25:xx in the swim, 1:21 on the bike, and 1:02 for the run. Just something to add for the bike course, about 1/3 of the ride had a steady 25MPH headwind, gusts to 30, 1/3 had that has a tailwind and 1/3 had it as a cross breeze. Holy cow it was rough because it was tailwind out, headwind back in. 24-25MPH going out, 10-12 coming back in. I think on a windless course I could have gone under 2:45 but that will be the goal for the next one! Got a really cool looking shirt, hat and finisher's medal out of it too Officially I was 32nd out of 42 in my age group, but I wasn't too worried about that, it was my first!

Congrats Phinhead!!!
I bet you'll do alot of races now that you know what you can accomplish.
Alot of props that you entered and finished, the only reason I haven't done triathlons or Ironmans is the swim part. I've never swam more than 5 laps in the pool, but bike and run alot of miles. I told my friend before I die i'll do the Hawaii Ironman. Gonna do 5Ks and 10Ks in the meantime. Congrats again!!

[Phinhead54]

Originally Posted by run1206

Congrats Phinhead!!!
I bet you'll do alot of races now that you know what you can accomplish.
Alot of props that you entered and finished, the only reason I haven't done triathlons or Ironmans is the swim part. I've never swam more than 5 laps in the pool, but bike and run alot of miles. I told my friend before I die i'll do the Hawaii Ironman.

That was my 12th or 13th of the season, just my first International Distance!

If you really don't want to swim look into duathlons. Run/bike/run!

[run1206]

really?
didn't know you can do that

Amboy is opening up it's pool in the YMCA next year, so I might start training there. If not, I can go to my college's pool for free (perks to being alumni ).

I'll do swimming and running for winter, and more running and biking in the spring, depending on weather.