Triathlon Thread 2009

[3DisneyKids]

And grr to the guy that elbowed you!!!

I KNOW, right?!?!

 

[Suzann]

My goal this year is an olympic distance... but really need to work on my swimming! Erika, if I swam like you, I would sign up in a heart beat

 

[ironz]

Great job, Erika!!!

 

[Sandy321]

HI - question alert!

My son, 21 (in 2weeks) had some health problems earlier this year (all is GREAT now so he needed a "goal" (he had to take a semester off) and he picked TRIATHLON! (I was nudging him to a marathon! He is a swimmer so maybe that is why?)

I bought him the book Idiot's guide to Triathlon Training (he was running all out, and I wanted to get him to see the big picture) He was running 8 min miles - i think he said 10 miles?

So now - how to I help him pick out gear without breaking the bank? He is going to sign up for a Tri in Chicago in August... I think he said its Olympic Tri.


Wetsuits??? Lake Michigan is cold! I looked on craigslist, and just wondered, would any wet suit do?

Bike - dh has a good bike - but its not aero - how important is this?

anything else?

 

[Suzann]

What length of triathlon is he doing?

For guys, most of them wear tight shorts (or tri shorts) for everything.. but he might want to put on running shorts over those in case he's a bit shy! I don't know where to go for men's tri stuff. Oh, and maybe a race belt too!

As for the wetsuit... I definitely recommend a full length one.. arms and legs! The water gets cold! I bought mine off on ebay, brand new for around $120!

As for the bike... if he already has a good bike it'll be fine... no need for a great bike if its just his first. If he really gets into it, maybe look into a new bike

Well, those are my thoughts... anyone else?

 

[Todd and Toni]

If you live in the Chicago area, there are numerous triathlon stores that can help with tri shorts and jerseys, if he wants to go that route. Instead of tri shorts, a lot of men will wear a pair of jammer swim trunks and do the whole race wearing those on the bottom. Tri shorts have a little bit of padding for the bike protion of the race. Tri specific jerseys are nice but not necessary for most of us. Some running stores will have some of these items and there are also plenty of web sites that will have all of the clothes.

As far as the water in Lake Michigan, it is hit or miss. The water may be 75 or may be 60. Most years sleeveless is a good option. In the Chicago area, there are one or two places you can rent wet suits for the race but your son probably will need to make a reservation pretty soon for that. If he is not sure he wants to do triathlons for years to come, is there someone he can borrow a wet suit from? That is what I did for my first lake swim triathlon.

 

[sk8ingmom]

Good morning triathletes!
I'm in.

I was around on a version of the tri thread a few years ago - ran my first race ever in 2007...thanks in part to the inspiration of the people here. I just put together my plan for this summer and I'll need all of the help and encouragement I can get.

June 7 - Mini Tri with DS10 - 250 meter (pool)/4.1 mile/1.3 mile
July 12 - 1/10 Iron Man - .24 mile/11.2 mile/2.6 mile (totally signed up because it made me laugh - I get a 14.06 t-shirt and sticker)
Sept. 12 - The Nation's Triathlon - 1.5K/40K/10K. Pretty much twice the distance of any race I've ever tried. I've finished 2 sprints.

IF I survive this summer, I'm signed up for the Expedition Everest Challenge in Sept. and WDW 1/2 marathon in Jan. 2010.

I go into this with two goals:
A. Finish
2. Don't end up dead last in my age group!

 

[chimera]

Garmin Loves Triathlon: Forerunner 310XT (Finally) Debuts

 

[deekaypee]

'Ohana Monday Mixer

The mixer starts here...

Variety is the spice of life, so they say. (But don't ask me who they are, although I suspect they work for McCormick. ) With that in mind, this week's mixer question is:

What types of XT do you like to do, and why? What are your old favorites and new discoveries? What kind of XT would you like to try?

Anecdotes and pictures are welcomed. I think we'd really like to hear about the benefits of your XT--physical, mental, social. Does it create a stronger core or more flexibility? Does it help you de-stress? Is it something you enjoy with your kids, partner, friends? It might also be helpful to know how you work XT within your walking/running schedule.

Extra points for XT activities that are unusual or have funny names or rituals. As determined by popular vote. And in case you're wondering, those points have no monetary value whatsoever. (I'll make up other disclaimers as I think of them.)

 

[ironz]

Hello, triathletes!

I am happy to report that I have done my first triathlon since my shoulder surgery. Surgery was 4.5 months ago, and I did a sprint tri (not my first tri altogether mind you) on Saturday. I took it super easy on the swim, hammered the bike, and survived the run! yay! So good to be back in the game!

For the Chicago swimmer/triathlete... as a PP said, there are places that do wetsuit rental, but please reserve in advance. At the race I did this weekend, it seemed that many people didn't plan ahead on that and had to get in the 66 degree water without one (or not race). It's not like the rental companies have an unlimited supply. Also, if you get one on ebay or something, a triathlon (swimming) wetsuit is better than a diving/surfing suit. They are more flexible, and are made specifically for swimming. Sleeves or no sleeves is a preference thing.

Sk8ting Mom, where is the 1/10 Iron Man? That is funny!

 

[wtpclc]

Betsy - Woo hoo on tri-ing agin!!!!!

Suzann - WTG on your tri!!!! That's awesome!

Erika - Thirlled ofr you. CAn't even comprehend a first in anything at this point. great job! SOrry about the jerky elbow guy.

Mel - OMG, I know what I want for my b-day!

Sandy - OMG, teh CHicago olympic distance tri si what I am working up to!!!!! You and TIm are going to cheer, right? Ugh, Scott has spent hours adn hrus workign on a tri trainign schedule. He's going to do a revised version of one from teh triathelete's bible, I think. I'll le tyou knwo if it's ever finished. We are starting trainign end of tehis month. I think we're goign a bit long to fit in at least 1 of our sprints as a trainign event.

AFM, we did a half yeserday adn are taking 2 weeks off for mental burn out. Start end of the month training fo Chicago. Woo hoo!!!

 

[sk8ingmom]

Hello, triathletes!

I am happy to report that I have done my first triathlon since my shoulder surgery. Surgery was 4.5 months ago, and I did a sprint tri (not my first tri altogether mind you) on Saturday. I took it super easy on the swim, hammered the bike, and survived the run! yay! So good to be back in the game!

Sk8ting Mom, where is the 1/10 Iron Man? That is funny!

Congrats on your "comeback tri"!

1/10 Iron Man is in Manassas, VA

I guess I should tell everone my name....call me "M." Really, that's what everyone calls me.

 

[Sandy321]

Betsy - Woo hoo on tri-ing agin!!!!!

Suzann - WTG on your tri!!!! That's awesome!

Erika - Thirlled ofr you. CAn't even comprehend a first in anything at this point. great job! SOrry about the jerky elbow guy.

Mel - OMG, I know what I want for my b-day!

Sandy - OMG, teh CHicago olympic distance tri si what I am working up to!!!!! You and TIm are going to cheer, right? Ugh, Scott has spent hours adn hrus workign on a tri trainign schedule. He's going to do a revised version of one from teh triathelete's bible, I think. I'll le tyou knwo if it's ever finished. We are starting trainign end of tehis month. I think we're goign a bit long to fit in at least 1 of our sprints as a trainign event.

AFM, we did a half yeserday adn are taking 2 weeks off for mental burn out. Start end of the month training fo Chicago. Woo hoo!!!

Carrie - you know Tim and I plan on being there - with BELLS ringing! (lime green cow bells!! )

We'll see you there!

I just ordered a bunch of stuff from performance biking - bike pedals, shoes (same brand they had an online chat with someone helping me thru this process) jersey, trishorts, socks, gloves, glasses, helmet, oh somce computer thingy that does rpm etc (I think that was the confusing thing for me - reading some of the reviews I guess the wireless can catch interference from intersections wired for emergency vehicles!)

well lets just say we're a whole lot poorer!

 

[deekaypee]

'OHANA MONDAY MIXER

The mixer starts HERE on the thread.

A spring chick told me that many of us gave up goodies for Lent. Now that Lent has ended, Monday is a good time for this mixer question:

What is one healthy food you always have in your kitchen? What is one less-than-healthy food you always have in your kitchen?

Feel free to post pictures, talk about how the foods help you in your training (either as nutrition or reward), and confess to guilty pleasures and happy indulgences!

 

[TnTsParty]

Hi everyone - my first time on the Tri thread. Of course as it sometimes happens one is not satisfied with just running alone - now that I have completed a marathon, 2 halfs, numerous 5ks, a 10k, a 13k and 15k I am ready to get my feet "wet" (LOL) with Tri's.

So I am here to ask a few questions and hopefully get my first tri in this year. There are 2 different ones that I am looking at doing - I would only do one for now but I am not sure which one I would like to do - guess its mainly going to be based on how quickly I can train. At least I have the running base behind me. Just a little info on the tri's I am thinking of - the first is going to be on June 7 in Singer Island (close to West Palm Beach) not too far from home - it is sprint distance 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mil run or I could also do the duathalon which would substitute an additional .8 mile on the front instead of the swim part. The other Tri is at Ft Wilderness on Sept 6 and is 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.

Ok first question - as a beginner what is the best training plan out there. How many weeks are suggested? - this is the first thing I need to know. For some reason I am thinking the Tri in June is going to be soon for me to get trained properly.

Second question - do I need a different bike then I have now? Its not a road racing type bike at all - its more of the mountain bike type.

Third and last question for now - Swimming - I am lucky enough to live a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and I can use that for my training (the one tri will be in the ocean the Ft wilderness one of course will be in the lake - yuck) so I guess my question is for anyone who has trained for the swimming part in the ocean or lake - how am I supposed to know the distance I am swimming - not sure if there is a way to mark it or basically just use landmarks to tell the distance??

So here I go on to another adventure in my life - I never thought I would be a Marathoner now I am going to see if I can include Triathlete.

 

[sk8ingmom]

Tonight was my first swim workout of the season. I went 1200 meters at an easy pace. I managed to survive, so I'll pick up the pace a bit next time.

Hi everyone - my first time on the Tri thread. Of course as it sometimes happens one is not satisfied with just running alone - now that I have completed a marathon, 2 halfs, numerous 5ks, a 10k, a 13k and 15k I am ready to get my feet "wet" (LOL) with Tri's.

So I am here to ask a few questions and hopefully get my first tri in this year. There are 2 different ones that I am looking at doing - I would only do one for now but I am not sure which one I would like to do - guess its mainly going to be based on how quickly I can train. At least I have the running base behind me. Just a little info on the tri's I am thinking of - the first is going to be on June 7 in Singer Island (close to West Palm Beach) not too far from home - it is sprint distance 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mil run or I could also do the duathalon which would substitute an additional .8 mile on the front instead of the swim part. The other Tri is at Ft Wilderness on Sept 6 and is 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.

Ok first question - as a beginner what is the best training plan out there. How many weeks are suggested? - this is the first thing I need to know. For some reason I am thinking the Tri in June is going to be soon for me to get trained properly.

Second question - do I need a different bike then I have now? Its not a road racing type bike at all - its more of the mountain bike type.

Third and last question for now - Swimming - I am lucky enough to live a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and I can use that for my training (the one tri will be in the ocean the Ft wilderness one of course will be in the lake - yuck) so I guess my question is for anyone who has trained for the swimming part in the ocean or lake - how am I supposed to know the distance I am swimming - not sure if there is a way to mark it or basically just use landmarks to tell the distance??

So here I go on to another adventure in my life - I never thought I would be a Marathoner now I am going to see if I can include Triathlete.

Welcome!
I'm sure some folks with with much more experience than me will chime in, but here are some thoughts...

Your training plan will depend on your current fitness level and the race distance you plan to run. There are lots of free plans available on the Internet. For my first sprint, I actually used a training plan from Cooking Light magazine. Sounds odd, but it worked for me!

I personally wouldn't race a very long tri on a mountain bike. My only road bike is my husband's hand-me-down, he's a foot taller than me, so it is way too big, but I prefer it to my mountain bike for racing. I ran my first race on a mountain bike - it was spring in Alaska, so not much choice - and I wouldn't do it again if I had to. You expend a lot more energy pedaling a mountain bike, save it for the run!

For the swim - I think you are in FL, right? Check around to see if there is a tri club in your area. We were in a great club in St. Pete that had a weekly ocean swim. They knew that if you walked up the beach to whatever hotel, it was XX distance to swim back to the starting point. Plus it is much safer to open water swim with a group.

Good luck with your training!

 

[JimB.]

I am lucky enough to live a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and I can use that for my training

I use my Garmin to measure out a distance on the beach, and then mark that with furring strips that have flourescent tape streaming from them. Works pretty well.

The thing to remember is that, depending on where you live, you can have a coastal current that can make beach swimming .............. interesting. At times I cannot even keep up with the current, depending on tides & moon, so I will just go for a set time instead.

PS - Make SURE you are comfortable with, & know how to deal with riptides. They can be pretty scary the first time you find you cannot get back to shore....... Ugh.

 

[wtpclc]

Tricia!!!!! Yay!!! We had about 6 weeks to train fro our first sprint. 0.5 mile swim, 18? bike, and 4.5 run. That was enough. OK, I DLF'd (by place, not by chip), but I was on a mountain bike. Highly recommend taht you at least check iwth teh sponsoring bike shop about gettign a rental fro teh race if you don't get a new bike. ALso, I really think you can do both. DAy of a tri, I am exhasuted, but recover much quicker than I do from a half. 2 wuold be no problem for oyu. When dh and I were swimming, one would go in an inflatable boat while the other had a Garmin. Jim's way iis probably better. ;-) We got our training plan from a book by John Harwell - something like tri training in 4 hours per week. Worked well.

Sandy - Yay!!! We'll be looking for oyu! MAybe we can get together Saturday or something too.

Just signed up for CHicago last night. Not sure if the thought of International distance or teh cost got me more. Wow. Still, I need that goal, so what's money, right? You know, teh person who said runnign is a rfee sport must have been a triathlete.

 

[cdn_gal_eeyore]

Ok first question - as a beginner what is the best training plan out there. How many weeks are suggested? - this is the first thing I need to know. For some reason I am thinking the Tri in June is going to be soon for me to get trained properly.

Second question - do I need a different bike then I have now? Its not a road racing type bike at all - its more of the mountain bike type.

Third and last question for now - Swimming - I am lucky enough to live a mile from the Atlantic Ocean and I can use that for my training (the one tri will be in the ocean the Ft wilderness one of course will be in the lake - yuck) so I guess my question is for anyone who has trained for the swimming part in the ocean or lake - how am I supposed to know the distance I am swimming - not sure if there is a way to mark it or basically just use landmarks to tell the distance??

Hey Tricia!

There are some free plans on Beginner Triathlete for a sprint distance that look pretty good to me. You can choose based off of how many workouts you want to do per week, or how long you want to build.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/trainingplans-list.asp?h=1&racetype=0&level=-1

You can definitely race on a mountain bike. If you aren't sure that this sport is for you then use the mountain bike, but if you decide you like this they you'll definitely want a road bike. If you do use a road bike then go to your local bike shop and swap out the mountain tires with road tires. It will help you to go a bit faster.

As for swimming in the ocean...I still have to do my first OWS so I can't really help you there.

Good luck!!

 

[TnTsParty]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I actually haven;t done anything this week - WTO and LTO but I am ready for a good run - most likely this weekend. There is a bike shop in the shopping center that my father owns so I will most likely check that out next week some time. Its a new store so I haven't been there before - not sure what his price ranges are so it may be way out of my league. Again thanks everyone for the advice. I am excited to add other things in besides just running.