What was your first event?

[northstar]

Hi all,

A girlfriend has talked me into doing the Iron Girl duathlon in Bloomington, MN in September. 2 mile run, 22 mile bike, 2 mile run. I thought this seemed like a very accessible distance for a beginner. I've never run a race (or ever really run...) but feel like I have all spring/summer to train so I should be able to attain my goal of finishing without much walking during the runs.

I was curious about what events everyone here did as beginners. What were the distances? Were you able to finish? What do you wish you had done in your training to prepare?

[HappyAnika]

(Disclaimer: I'm still a beginner)
My first event was just cycling, I did the Tour de Cure Colorado last August, metric century route. I'd just been building distance all summer with no set training plan and I did really well. This was just a ride, not a race, so I got to stop as needed as the aid stations.

I'd had a triathlon in the back of my mind, but I wanted to make sure I could actually run a 5k first, so next event was a 5k in October. I hadn't been running a whole lot, maybe once every other week. Then I got sick 2 weeks before the run and thought about not doing it. But then I was feeling better a few days before and had this "now or never" attitude, so I decided to go for it and if I hated it I didn't ever have to run again. So I did it, slowly, but without stopping, and I was in pain afterward, mostly just the lungs. But I didn't hate it. Knowing that it was possible for me to run 5k, I have since embarked on a more structured training regimen, using the 5 - 10% increase/week rule. Slowly building distance and keeping my pace easy is helping me enjoy running, and so far my problematic knees are happy. This is what I wished I'd done before my 5k last fall, then I would have finished feeling better. So we'll see how my first sprint tri in July goes after some brick training.

If your duathlon isn't until September, it sounds like you have plenty of time to train for it and finish successfully. I'm jealous you have a du with only 4 mile total run, all the ones around here are 10k total which I'm just not up for yet. Happy training!

[MINIskirt]

I haven't done my first event yet, but it will be the Encinitas Beach Duathlon.

1.5k beach run
10k bike
2.5k road run


It's coming up on May 20th!! I'm pretty confident I can't finish, though.


My first triathon will be July 21st. It's a 400y swim, 11m bike, 5k run.

[KSH]

Let's see... my first event was a duathlon... in March (?) of 2005.

It was uummm... (if I recall correctly):

2 miles running
10 miles biking
2 miles running
10 miles biking
2 miles running

What do I wish I had done differently?

1) More cycling OUTSIDE. Riding a spin bike isn't the same thing.

2) Had worn clothes that were easy to run/bike in, without having to change clothes.

3) More bricks! I didn't do enough ride to run combos in my training.

4) More running! I should have been running 15-20 miles a week, not 5-10 miles a week.

Well, good luck, you have enough time to train- you should do great!

[northstar]

I feel lucky that the runs are shorter. For beginners like me, it makes getting involved in these types of events *possible*. The other great thing about it is it's a women's event...no guys! I guess they had over 500 people last year.

[alpinerabbit]

My first was a metric century/100K mountain marathon (road cycling, 3 passes) I enjoyed it bunches - thanks to DBF coaxing me along and my inner fire pulling me up the mountain - although we were 25 minutes late starting and catching up with the broom wagon until KM 30.