first triathlonites 2006-07

[eclectic]

I have just come over to this strand because as of yesterday I have decided to make doing a tri my next goal.

As I have been reading the posts I have learned there are a few of us newbies w/ a tri as a goal. I am starting this thread hoping to get other newbies on it so we can encourage each other, track our progress, and help each other - I am sure we all have different strengths.

to start: I am almost 50 (another 55 days), I already swim (but not in a lake) and I started cycling a year ago, I am not very fast but getting better. However as of today I can barely run 1/2 mile and even at that it is pretty slow (4 years ago I could run 3 agonizing 11 minute miles).

Medical dilemma - asthma but that is getting controlled better.

My strongest strength is swimming (too bad I read the race is never won on the swim portion - I was a lifeguard/instructor, I know good drills and workouts to help/fix/modify strokes. I have been swimming seriously (for a 45+ year old) under a coach for the past 5 years - but still - it has been in a pool not open water and my coach retired but I still have access to her expertise.

My goal is to do a tri by next July. The local one is 1k swim, 20k bike and 5 k run.

Join on in give your specs, strengths, weaknesses, goals, victories whatever else you can think of and let's try to help each other

[KSH]

A tri by next July... and you have swimming down... you will be just fine!

Stick around here and you can chat with us about your training.

Also, www.beginnertriathlete.com, is a great site as well. You can join and get a free place to log all your workouts, and it's so cool to see your totals as the months go by!

Well, keep on the running, get the asthma under control and you will be good to go!

[JmcG]

If your strongest sport is swimming, then you already have one up on most people doing tris! That's where most people struggle the most. And if you're confident in the pool, and can confidently close your eyes and still swim in a somewhat straight line without freaking out, and can occasionally lift your head without getting all disoriented, then you'll be fine in open water. My first open water event was a half ironman, and it went well. I went out and practiced the swim in the open water the day before the race just to get the initial panic of being in open water over with. So for race day I was good to go.

For the bike portion - just keep up your riding. You only get better with more mileage you put on your bike. The speed will eventually come and work in some speed intervals occasionally which will help your overall mph in the long run. For the running, do what you can. Remember - you can always walk a portion if you really really need to. And again, speed intervals in running helps your average speed increase over time!

Welcome to the triathlon community! It's a fun sport and will kick your butt into great shape! And if you're a little concerned about the event (having to walk, etc), sign up for a women's only event - they are great - fun and supportive atmosphere like no other I've been in - women cheering on fellow women triathletes even the last one through the finish line. I did Iron Girl last year and it was incredible.

If you have any questions or concerns, never feel like any question is a stupid one - they are all valid, especially b/c triathlon can be intimidating at first b/c there's so much to find out and know (what to wear? when to eat? where do i put my bib number on? etc etc).

[eclectic]

WOW thanks already!

I think I can actually do this

[HillSlugger]

I'm just finishing my first season of road riding (but I've been spinning on a trainer stand for a while) and decided to do the Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon in August (1k swim, 30k ride, 5k run). I ran cross country track (poorly) back in jr high. I've now done 3 training runs and am not yet at the point where I can actually run a full 2 miles but I'm improving each time out. I'm looking to either find a swim coach or take a "perfecting your stroke" class since I know the swimming is going to be the hardest part for me.

I can't believe I'm actually going to do this! I'm scared and excited!

BTW where DO I put on my bib number?!?

[JmcG]

BTW where DO I put on my bib number?!?

The easiest way is to have your bib on a race belt. Here's an example (there are many companies that make these, this link was just the quickest for me to get to).
http://www.fuelbelt.com/racenumberbelt.html

You won't wear a bib for the swim, and typically you put the belt on at T1 before you get on the bike (some races don't require a # for the bike but I always put it on so I dont forget in T2). They usually want the number on your back. For the run, you usually turn the # around to the front. The race belt is much easier than trying to pin something on a shirt that you're trying to put on at the transition areas, etc. And what if you decide you're too hot to wear that shirt? So the race belt is the easiest thing to use!

Oh, and if you want a warmup race that's fun and challenging, do Tri to Win in the Sykesville area.
http://www.melanomaresource.org/raceoverview.htm
Lots of fun and the swim is in the pool. It's a sprint distance so will not be too taxing and will give you some strategies and pointers for the bigger race in August (I'm talking about Iron Girl of course). Oh and for Iron Girl, Princeton Sports has practice rides on the course every week starting a month or 2 before the race so you can really practice the hills and know the course well (practice what gears you need when, etc) and size up your competition - no, I'm just kidding - it's not a super competitive race at all and as I said before, it's such a warm atmosphere that it makes the race that much more fun. And they do brick workouts closer to the race too.

[HillSlugger]

Oh, and if you want a warmup race that's fun and challenging, do Tri to Win in the Sykesville area.
http://www.melanomaresource.org/raceoverview.htm
Lots of fun and the swim is in the pool. It's a sprint distance so will not be too taxing and will give you some strategies and pointers for the bigger race in August (I'm talking about Iron Girl of course).

I was just looking at that one yesterday. How many participants? Do you know the date for 2007?

Oh and for Iron Girl, Princeton Sports has practice rides on the course every week starting a month or 2 before the race so you can really practice the hills and know the course well (practice what gears you need when, etc) and size up your competition - no, I'm just kidding - it's not a super competitive race at all and as I said before, it's such a warm atmosphere that it makes the race that much more fun. And they do brick workouts closer to the race too.

I've ridden the course once already on my own. I'll probably try to get in one a month starting in the spring and do some as bike/run bricks. I'm not looking to be competitive but I'd like to know I can actually complete the event. One of my modest goals is to not have to walk any of the ride or run.

Are there any places to practice the open water swim?

Why is it called a "brick"?

[JmcG]

I was just looking at that one yesterday. How many participants? Do you know the date for 2007?


I've ridden the course once already on my own. I'll probably try to get in one a month starting in the spring and do some as bike/run bricks. I'm not looking to be competitive but I'd like to know I can actually complete the event. One of my modest goals is to not have to walk any of the ride or run.

Are there any places to practice the open water swim?

Why is it called a "brick"?

The Tri to Win date - I dont know it for 2007 - I don't think they've posted it b/c I haven't been able to find it. I think there were just a few hundred participants. It was great - the course was never crowded!

For Iron Girl - they opened up the lake the day 2 days before the race for a practice swim. Many people took advantage of it (I wasn't able to go but know people who did). It really helped anxieties of many first timers (I think half the field were first timers).

Why is it called a brick? That's what it feels like is attached to your legs when you get off the bike and start to run....no I read somewhere that the person who first started implementing the training technique (and made it popular) of practicing bike-to-run had a last name of Brick. Correct me if I'm wrong, b/c I probably am!

[tygab]

brick... i have heard or thought

Bike + run= ick ... or
brick = what your legs feel like after ... or
brick= building one workout on top of another.

you choose. more from me later.

[Offthegrid]

Eclectic, you're going to have so much fun! I did a tri in 2004 (very slowly) and again in 2005 (still very slowly) and then took a loooooooong time off and now want to get back into it again.

I think the favorite thing for me is the variety. I *LOVE* to swim (but I suck). I *LOVE* to bike. I don't love walking, but I'm sure I'll love jogging when I lose a bit more weight. And I really enjoy that I'm constantly alternating sports.

You can build up your run gradually over time, but it is quite different after doing a bike ride. Like others said, make sure to get in some bricks where you ride and then run -- maybe starting with a mile. The legs really do feel like jelly at first.

[light_sabe_r]

Eclectic! I'm new to this as well. I did my first (enticer) Tri at the end of september and Now I have a goal of swimming the entire enticer freestyle (instead of on my back) and at the very least JOGGING the run because running's never been my strong point (i walked half of the run in my first tri due to cramps and stitches)

My next enticer tri is in December. 300m swim in a canal, 10km (4miles??)bike ride and 2.5km run (about one mile I think... ) with the goal of working my way up into the actual competition series by next season (where the distances are much longer) Girl's gotta have a goal doesn't she??

Looking forward to hearing about more of your training and future race reports.

[tygab]

Ok, now a proper reply...

I have a goal of doing my first this coming year as well. I was a cycling newbie in March with the goal of riding a 2 day charity ride in my area. I had to learn pretty much everything about cycling (well there is still a lot I don't know, but you get my drift). I was out of shape. I thought I was crazy, and when I first started biking I didn't even enjoy it (the huffing, the clipless pedals, the cars, the hills, the speed etc). Sometime in mid July I began to get it, and I finished my charity ride feeling elated and yet humbled by the experience of my summer and the event.

I needed a new challenge, so I decided to do a tri after my long ride & seeing the athletes of Ironman Lake Placid up close this year. It was very inspirational to realize the vast majority were normal people (normal in the sense of having jobs, famillies, and other stuff in their lives - not that it's 'normal' to decide to run a marathon, ride more than a century, and swim a couple of miles in a day ), and as I rode my bike among them I was asking myself if I could enjoy triathlons (and more the fitness that results from the training). When I found out more about them, I realized it was great all around exercise and sprint tri's were good short distance events.

Started running in Sept (after a long cold boo), and did my first duathlon last weekend! Yay what a trip! I am presently a very slow runner and decent (probably average in competition) cyclist. Swimming tho will be my biggest challenge. I can swim but I haven't been in a pool to lap swim since college, and even then it was not anything I did regularly. At least I used to run, and have a cycling foundation beginning. I can also for sure say I will stick to lakes for these.

I have to pick out my first event but will probably be june 07. I do belong to a gym, and just got a new suit, goggs, and swim cap... and no immediate training goal, so all that's left is for me to go and try it out. But after my du I have had a raspy throat for 2 days, so I am hoping I'll miss another cold (grrr too many of these!!). I'll know in a few days I guess. I have been hitting the bike and run pretty good tho, so I know that'll come along just by doing it.

I know you will be able to do this. Please keep us posted and motivated as well! Think about how it will feel to be able to say 'I am a triathlete!'

I too agree that much of the appeal is the combination of disciplines. I do not have the patience to be a single sport person I think. Even in my biking this summer, I was missing variety of other activities, but I knew I had a big goal to achieve. Now, for some strange reason I am more excited to train for a 5k that is a leg of something than I probably would for be for a 5k alone. Go figure. And I also don't feel like I have to bike every time out, because I will get gains from cross training in other sports.

well, got to get to sleep.

[Kimmyt]

I just registered for my first tri next June.... I never thought I would do one, but it sounds fun now!

Of course it is just a sprint tri, but I am not a runner, so I will really need to step up my training in order to finish!

[eclectic]

this is soooo exciting - I even WANT to go to the gym on a Friday after work vs going out for happy hour.

went yesterday and did 30min on the elliptical did the "hills" program then walked 2 laps and ran a whole 7! so now I am up to 7/10 of a mile. I do have some musculature problems so I plan on building up slowly. for the first time after running any distance I don't ache all over!

today the plan is the elliptical again, run again, and then do resistance training.

tomorrow I have class from 8A - 5P so it will be my off day this week

I am trying to getting a regime worked out compatible w/ my "life" schedule
I am thinking I may have to swim again at 5:45 am again at least 1 day per week -drat - I am not a morning person but at least swimming doesn't hurt that early in the morning - it just takes me 600 yards to warm up

[light_sabe_r]

It's NICE when the motivation kicks in.

It's getting easier to get motivated to swim. After all It's been 23 degrees Celcius at 7am in the morning all week. I've been to the pool three days this week.

I've signed up for the tri now so I MUST train!

I did 7 laps freestyle yesturday then 1 lap backstroke to cool down (backstroke was ALWAYS my strongest stroke, even when I was a kid)

This was after a 15km FAST ride to the pool.


My problem is I need to learn to pace myself. I did 100m then CARKED IT... totally out of energy... So I the rest of the laps were 50m blocks... ;_;

Last time I trained I did 175 without stopping.

What can I do to slow myself down so I can do 300m without stopping at all?

meanwhile... I finally got myself a new pair of runners... (BFs been bugging me for a while) So I have NO escuse not to go for a jog! ***eeep** running scares me.