2010 Tri Thread

[ghoulishgirl]

I'm doing Danskin WDW (May 9)

--Lynnda

I want to do this one! I can't wait to hear from you how it goes! Maybe next year for me.

 

[crewmatt]

Yea, the people that run Nations Triathlon also started up another one. I actually live in VA, I just meant the DC area. I need to start working on my swim hardcore. I'm going to try to find a clinic around here.

 

[ghoulishgirl]

I need some input from you guys! I'm thinking of buying my own wetsuit and I am on the cusp as far as weight for a small wetsuit or a medium. Small is 106-120 lbs. Medium 120-135 lbs. I'm 118.5 today. Which size should I get? I know they are supposed to be tight but last time I wore one ( a rental) while I was swimming I had tons of fatigue in my shoulders. Is that normal? I just felt like I was fighting the suit the whole time. My mom thinks bigger is better. TIA!

 

[syko]

I'm doing Danskin WDW (May 9)
--Lynnda

My Dh is working that race, I thibk he is in the bike area, if you have any problems he can fix anything, and I've told him he needs to take his tools.

 

[hoosmi]

Hey kids-

Mel- yes, I was at the Princess. I thought I'd miss most of the Disney races this year, but then our schedule opened up. I saw WISHers by the W tent, but decided I'd visit after a stop to the port-a-potties. Next thing I knew, I was following the herd to the start! Then I had to race back to the room afterwards to shower and check out... it's a beautiful thing to live within driving distance of Disney, but I never get to stay long! I love the Princess Half- I'm hoping to convince my daughter to do it when she hits 14 (4 years away).

Thank you to those of you posting swimming issues! I've done a sprint tri so I know I can go the distance (even if it's far from pretty). I still don't like it. My tri coach dunked under water to see my stroke last week- totally freaked me out! And then he really didn't have anything to say, so I was even more freaked out. I'm trying to remember how hard it was to finish running my very first mile. I guess I'm further along in swimming- I can go far, but it takes forever... I was actually thinking that a good back up plan for the half IM I'm debating for June would be to do the duathlon (or wait until next year). Does that make me a weenie? And don't get me started on my fears of looking for a wetsuit!

Do you all have problems focusing on your goal races? I know I'm doing an Olympic tri in May (unless I switch to the sprint- see...) I might want to do that half IM/duathlon in June, and I can't decide if I want to focus on a fast half or completing a full this fall. I could try for Goofy again, but it's not really calling me yet. Oh, and I was all about tris until I had a great time at the Princess and now I'm all about loving running again... please tell me this is normal!

Jen in GA

 

[Caseydilla]

I am signed up for the Aflac Iron Girl Lake Las Vegas tri (sprint) for May 15th. I competed in this event last year as my first tri. I enjoyed it so much that I was ready to do it again the moment I crossed the finish line.

 

[ghoulishgirl]

I am signed up for the Aflac Iron Girl Lake Las Vegas tri (sprint) for May 15th. I competed in this event last year as my first tri. I enjoyed it so much that I was ready to do it again the moment I crossed the finish line.

That one is on my list too! I wanted to do it this year, but it is the weekend after SheROX Tempe and I can't afford to fly and rent a bike again .

 

[crewmatt]

Hey, if you were feeling a lot of pull down from the suit on your shoulders, maybe going up the size will help. Most places give you like 30-60 days to get the fit right and will exchange. I rented a medium and was just on the cusp but it ended up being too snug around the shoulders and too short, so I went medium long and I'm much happier. Now if only I could learn to swim better . I know I can do the mile, I've done it a few times, I just need to be more controlled, paced, and efficient.

 

[mkymsehi]

Wetsuits??? Y'all need to swim out here in Waikiki.

I missed the early bird registration on the Tinman. Still signing up regardless of the cost. It was a blast.

 

[ghoulishgirl]

Hey Jeff, when and if I make it to Hawaii, will you swim with me in the ocean? I'm afraid of "real" open water! I've swum in a man-made lake for the last tri, but that's not the ocean!

 

[bekkiz]

Oh my, I signed up for my first tri (the Danskin here in Seattle in August) this morning! My dear friend and I turn 30 this fall, and we're doing it as a birthday present to ourselves.

The swim should be a cake walk, I played water polo all through college, and still play once a week. I need some practice in the open water (lake, thank goodness, no waves), but I at least know how to train for it.

I have some confidence in my abilities for the "run." I have NO problem walking it, but I'm hoping to be at a point where I can r/w most of it. I did the Donald in '07, so again, I at least have some idea of how to train over the next 5 months.

The bike....well, the bike scares the you know what out of me. I only have a cruiser right now (wrist and back issues in the past), but my gym has spin classes, so I think I may start there. If anyone has ideas on where to start bike wise (I'm a newbie) I'd love to hear it!

My other big issue is simply finding the time/motivation/energy to train. For the Donald, I was working very part time and had all the time in the world. Now, I've got 17 month old twin boys, and have to work around their schedule. I do have lots of time at night (they go to bed around 7), but I'm usually so drained, it takes a lot to get me out of the house. I'm hoping that having paid my entry fee and having a friend doing it too, I'll be more on top of my workouts.

I'm so excited to be back on WISH!

 

[wtpclc]

Holy cow has teh WISH Tri team grown! Awesome! Raise your hand if you're like me and swore you'd never do a tri at some point in your life!

For those that don't think they swim well: DH has never been able to do more than 10% freestyle durign a race, he's been doing a speedy side stroke. I have done all freestyle fro an olympic, but discovered my side stroke is faster. Working on that this year. In big races, I'm not too bad on teh swim. Small races, I'm close to last. I still have a blast, though, and the crowd still cheers when I get out of teh water. Don't worry about it!

Jen - I'm thinking once you do tyour first tri of the year, you'll be hooked on tri's again.

Mel - Yeah, been hoping wiht teh 70.3 thing. Really shoudl not admit to it because my swim needs a heap of work before I can make teh time cuts.

ThunderMatt - _Woo hoo for Cheryl! Awesome! OMG, let em know if you do Cedar Point. that's driveable for us adn close to our annversary. If we survive Steelhead (or realize we won't be in shape in time)that may be a good option!

Lynnda - COol about the tri class!!! Wish we had one here.

Caseydilla - WIsh tehy had a Iron Gril by us. Those look fun!

bekkiz - Spin classes aer great for bike skill from what I hear.

Duane - You have a tri in 2 weeks? Cool! Coun't wait to hear what you think of your first one!

sk8ingMom - We did an olympic with 5 days a week. We did a bike/run, bike, swim, strenght training (occasionally) and a LR to prep. Maybe not the best plan. Plus, we through in a couple long bikes where we could. Except teh couple long bikes and teh LRs (think modified MfM half LRs), we never went more than an hour. You can definitaly find easier plans that wil get you through.

crewmatt - Good ot have you hear!

Richard - lol. Second to last is good for me!

Forgive me if I missed anyone! Great to see so many here!

 

[hoosmi]

Did my tri class last night. It went pretty well- I got in the pool 45 minutes before class started since we didn't do much last time. Of course, we ended up doing a ton during class so I was wiped out! Then we ran a mile around the track. After each lap, we did 2 hill repeats in the grass/mud. I was ready for the class to end! I'm still not very comfortable in a group setting, but I do like having prepared workouts instead of just faking it.

bekkiz- I did the Trek Tri at Disney in Sept. on a rented hybrid bike. I decided to sign up in June or July and had to rush to get ready. I did most of my training in spin class 2 or 3 times/week. (I did use my daughter's too small bike a few times to see if I could deal with basic road conditions). I loved the bike part of the race. I think you'll be fine.

As for the time issues, I have a 10 year old, almost 4 year old, and 18 month old-- I feel for you! I don't know if it would be feasible because of your past injuries, but I bought an $80 trainer (after the tri I bought a road bike ). I set mine up in front of the TV and ride while the little one sleeps. I can use it in the afternoons on the weekends too- your kids aren't old enough, but I can bribe my 4 year old to sit still with a little Phinneus & Ferb for 30 minutes or so.

Can y'all stop talking about open water?!! I just remembered my tri is in open water in the OCEAN... and not Jeff's pretty ocean, no the brown, murky, who knows what's down there ocean... And note to self: work on bilateral breathing...

Jen in GA

 

[mgsmom]

Hi everyone! What a great thread!
I am a small-timer, but trying to amp up my goals.
I did my first sprint-tri 5 mohths after having my daughter. That was my way of getting the weight off - well, most of it anyway!
I enjoyed it a lot, and really didn't train for it as much as I probably should have. I was REALLY ill-prepared equipment-wise. Our swim was in a pool, so I just swam in my good ol' purple Speedo - I am a slow swimmer, but can plod along almost forever. It took me about 12 minutes to do the swim. Not bad, right? Note to self, get the non-fogging goggles this time...
So, then I jump out and run to the bike area and throw on some cotton shorts. Yes, cotton shorts. But, they matched the purple swimsuit - LOL! Threw on a hat and I was off on the bike. Oh, the bike. So, I went to Walmart and purchase a $50 bike - turns out it was a mountain bike - oh, yeah, turns out it was a piece of junk! The gears didn't work, so the bike took FOREVER! People were blowing by me like crazy! I felt like I was pedaling away on my Huffy (wwhheeeeeeeee)
Needless to say, by the time I got to the run my legs were shot. I banged out the 5K in like 35 minutes I think. It was bad. Oh yeah, fabulous cotton shorts were riding up too. That helped.

I've decided to sign up for another sprint-tri here in town and am going to be more prepared this time! Right now, I'm swimming 1x week, spin class 1x week, running 2x week. As it gets closer to time, I will start doing combos. Like swim, then run.

I do want to ask some advice if you can help me out:

1. I want to purchase a bike. Nothing too expensive - I'm likely going to do this sprint-tri every year and other than that I just run. Suggestions? I've seen road bikes and hybrid bikes - which is better for me?

2. I want to purchase a new suit. Our swim is always in a pool, no wetsuit necessary. I would like to find a TWO-piece (long torso, long story) but one that the top will have enough support for the run (36C). I'll put on my regular running shorts this time, even if they don't match (hee hee)

TIA!!!

 

[wtpclc]

mgsmom - I have a Giant Avail. As far as I know, that's one of the few road bikes out there for less than $1K. You may want to be on the lookput for a used road bike. I don't know musch about hybrids.

As far as tri tops, I don't thinkyou'll ever get more than a shelf bra for support. For me, that doesn't cut it. I weat a sports bra beneath my tri top. I've gotten some good preices on tri tops adn bottoms at http://www.performancebike.com

 

[mgsmom]

Oh wow - I will definitely look for a used bike. We have a "Play it Again Sports" not far - that might be a good place to start. Bike shops might carry used, too?

So, you just wear a regular sports bra under your tri-top? Does it still support well after getting wet?
I saw a Speedo swim top that is actually a sports bra style and I might check it out. Most of them are v-back and I just don't see that happening. But if you can wear a sports bra under a tri-top, I could probably wear one under any Speedo training swim top, don't you think?
I'll have to make sure they're both black... you know what lengths I go to so that I match -

 

[wtpclc]

I sweat so much that I don't know if swimming in teh sports bra actually gets it wetter. lol Supports just fine. Yes, if your sports bra works with your speedo, go for it.

 

[mgsmom]

Fantastic! I'll give it a try with the 2-piece Speedo I want - there is also a Tyr top that I wanted to try so if it doesn't work alone, I can pair it up.

Nothing worse than not having good support during a run!

I usually wear two sports bras when I run dry.

 

[hoosmi]

mgsmom- I like your tri report. I can relate! Like Carrie, I do the sports bra under the tri top. My tri top came with one of those liner things, but that wasn't going to do enough. I didn't have any problems with it being wet. For just regular swims, I have a Speedo suit I like a lot, but I would never, ever run in it alone. If you get the tri top, then you have to get the fancy tri shorts too which just opens a whole new set of matching issues...

I bought a Trek 1.1 (I think? it was the entry level last year) for around $600 at the closest bike shop to me (an hour away) He said if I "outgrew" it, he would sell it for me so I'm thinking in a bigger location you might find a good used bike. I love my bike and think it's totally fancy because I haven't had a new bike since I was a kid-- you'd probably feel the same way upgrading from your mountain bike!

Off to tri class- I've decided my advice here is more preventative (since I've only done one sprint tri). First tip- not so smart to do a crazy pushup workout for the first time in years two days before you have to face a swim coach. Just saying.

Jen in GA

 

[BigEeyore]

Hi everyone! I followed mgsmom from another thread as she was asking some of the same questions I had. As a woman, of course my biggest concern about my first triathlon this summer is What am I going to wear???
I have ordered the Trek 1.1 - it looks like a great entry level road bike for not too much $$$.
I am doing the Aflac Iron Girl in Atlanta this summer - first tri! For those who are worried about swimming - i just started swimming 3 months ago, twice a week, and I went from gasping for breath after 2 laps, to now swimming 100m in under 2 minutes. It is an intimidating sport, but work at it and it gets easier!