No, I've never done a triathalon before, but I'm wanting to try a short one (i.e. a sprint triathalon) or two this year, and I'd like to hear from anyone who's done one before - training methods, anything special I ought to know, etc. I'm in pretty decent shape now, but I've got to get some sort of discipline to my workouts (that's one of the reasons I'm doing this.) Looking for any good advice on training for local events - I'm not going off to Hawaii to do the Iron Man, and I'm not really expecting to be very competitive....surviving, at least at the beginning, would make me happy.
I've done a handful of duathlons in the late 90s. Unfortunately I can't swim. The fitness director of my gym approached me the other night and asked if I was going to take part in the small triathlon coming up soon (I'm one of the fitter guys there if you could believe that...err at least that she's noticed). I told her I can't swim and she told me I could use a kickboard. I told her I would think about it and get back to her. Anyhoo..... The duo's I've done have been really short. Like 5k run, 10k ride, 5k run. I guess I would start out by asking... What is your strongest discipline? What is your weakest? Do you have a tri specific bike? What are the distances? Open water swim or pool? One of the things I learned in my first duathlon is that I went out way, way too fast on the run. Then I hit the transition area and hopped on the bike and pushed it hard there. By the time I got back to the last running portion I was zonked out big time. It really sucked. I was one of the last in my age group to finish. So if I was going to offer any advice it would be to really learn how to pace yourself. Heart rate monitoring woulda been nice back then.
Never done a triathlon, but it's something I'd like to try at some point. How short are we talking here? Alex
i'm considering doing an adventure race this summer, which is similar. i recommend reading serious training for endurance athletes. you need to train long and slow for these types of events.
If we are talking about the sprint distance the distances for each segment can vary. Swim: Less than 2/3 mile (sometimes as short as 1/4 mile). Bike: 15 miles max, 9 mile minimum. Run: 5k max
650s are for wussy cheaters. and I was wondering when they are going to add 'Fat Calipering' to the tri, as I'm starting to think that it is the real favorite activity of triathletes.
Most of the sprint triathlons around here, you actually do your swimming in a pool, which makes it much easier. Anybody (who actually wants to) can easily do a sprint trialthlon.
The way I ride I would crush those small wheels. Are the folks in the Cyldesdale group exempt from this or do they have to go through it too?