Forums >Health and Nutrition>Over 40? Rethink your next triathlon
not bad for mile 25
What tri distances is this focusing on ? Which is more stressful a marathon or a sprint tri ?
What tri distances is this focusing on ?
Which is more stressful a marathon or a sprint tri ?
Not too focused. They start with an example of a death in an Olympic length tri, but go on to sort of focus on Ironman.
To your second question, I don't know. I think they are saying the swim is more of a shock type stressor to the body; a marathon is an endurance issue.
The Sydney article is too confusing to figure out what distance triathlong they're focusing on.
A marathon is much more stressful than a sprint triathlon. I equate a sprint triathlon to a 10k from an effort perspective.
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I think a better point to take away from the article is that doing a tri is more stressful than running alone. Yeah.
Does that "yeah" mean "I doubt it" or "obviously" or "ok, now I get it" or something else?
I would disagree that doing triathlon races (or triathlon training) are more stressful than running alone.
I think the 3 sport training complements things in a way that allows for minimal stress compared to what I know many of y'all go through running so many miles.
Maybe because they don't train enough for the running part. I don't say this in jest either. Most of the tri guys I know put more emphasis on the running (I think you meant biking) and swimming than the running.
I did an Ironman distance race with good success (sub 12 hours) in miserable conditions (95+ degrees) while running an average of 20 miles per week with a peak of 30mpw. My longest run was 13 miles (I think) in the 6 months prior to doing the Ironman. My marathon time was slow (4:55:00), but it was 95+ degrees outside when I started running at 2pm, and if I had run 40 miles per week in training, I might have been able to have faster run time at the expense of my swim / bike time.
(My marathon PR is 3:43, and someday, I hope to do an Ironman marathon segment in 4:20 or less, but I doubt it would be Ironman Texas)
MTA: FWIW, I'm too scared to run marathons. I've only done 1 marathon in my life, and it hurt too much (training and racing), so I switched to triathlon / Ironman instead.
There's a maximum amount of training time that people can commit to a race, and that amount varies from person to person. But, if you treat a triathlon as a "running race" by focusing your training on running, you're screwed, because the running conditions are not optimal on the day of the race.
I've heard of too many Ironman athletes that crank out 20 hour weeks (or more) and have struggled on the run. They've gone into the race overtrained and struggled with fatigue issues during their training that made their swim / bike / and run segments less than optimal.
My maximum week was 12 hours or 13 hours, and I was fine.
My swim was decent and comfortable. I don't race the swim.... I swim the swim. I have too much respect for the challenges of the race day to burn matches in the water.
My bike is where I focus on sustained intensity. I added additional intensity and focus in the couple days prior to the race because of the bad weather conditions.
My run was going to be tough as heck because I knew it was going to be 95 degrees. For me, the run was about survival and needing to maintain movement and pace in a sustained manner while also consuming calories and maintaining mental focus to persevere.
When O'Keefe recommends 30kmpw (18mpw), I think he's suggesting a more managed approach to triathlon training that allows for quicker recovery time and sustained effort within the other disciplines while training.
My bike is where I focus on sustained intensity.
In my admittedly limited experience this seems smart to me. If tris were "my thing" this is also where I would put my emphasis.
18 mpw may be cool for triathletes, but It's pretty low if one is trying to be competitive as a runner at almost any level. In the context of the article the author seemed to shift back and forth between running and triathlons, and I took the 18 mpw recommendation as regarding running. And I still say O'Keefe is an idiot. (Well, more likely he's trying to make a name for himself with his particular philosophical axes to grind about paleo diets and "excessive" exercise and what not. I expect we'll see him on the Oprah channel one of these days with Dr. Oz. But a serious scientist I contend he is not).
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
"What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!" said Gandalf.
When I typed "yeah", I was thinking "obviously". Maybe that's just how I see it, since it would probably be my cardiac arrest moment. You have all my respect for doing Ironmans, including an amazing marathon time considering the heat and what you had to do prior to the running.
18 mpw may be cool for triathletes, but It's pretty low if one is trying to be competitive as a runner at almost any level.
I agree.
18mpw is also pretty low to be competitive in Ironman. But, most people aren't competetive in Ironman. I wish I could do more hours per week and (therefore) more miles per week running, but I haven't been able to balance it within my schedule (family / work / training).
I hear about other training schedules (my local Ironman training friends, as well as those from triathlon forums) that talk about 20 mile runs, 100 mile bike rides, and their masters swim programs. They do crazy brick workouts (bike / run combinations) that are truly admirable to hear about. But, they struggle on an Ironman as much as I do (or more than I do) with my strategically controlled and limited training plan.
Of the 5 personal friends that I know that went to Ironman Texas with me and trained with me (virtually or through encouragement or through open water swim sessions), only 3 of us finished. The 2 that DNF'd were training 20+ hours per week, while the other 3 were limited hours per week. All 5 of us had varying levels of nutrition issues that jeapardized our race finish with only 3 of us able to finish. All 5 of us have been racing these types of distances in the past, with 1 of the DNF'ers being a 7 time Ironman.
Yes, the guys that are cranking out 8.25 hours to 10 hour Ironman's are putting in high volume swimming, biking, and running. They're putting in their hours in order to perform at that level. But, the majority of the Ironman athletes aren't able to perform at that level (sub 3 hour marathon after a 5.5 hour warmup) and probably shouldn't pretend to train like one.
And I still say O'Keefe is an idiot. (Well, more likely he's trying to make a name for himself with his particular philosophical axes to grind about paleo diets and "excessive" exercise and what not. I expect we'll see him on the Oprah channel one of these days with Dr. Oz. But a serious scientist I contend he is not).
I haven't heard of O'Keefe before, and think he's likely heard of some well known triathlon coach who may have alluded to those MPW numbers (actually, a conversion based on his hours per week numbers) before within his book based on a certain limited "hours per year" of available training commitment.
Cardiac wards are full of patients aged 40+. Most are not athletes.
Many 40-60 yr. olds have enlarged hearts/valve problems/arrythmias due to past drug/alcohol use (the 1960's-1970's, anyone?)
Everyone knows of someone who had a heart attack caused from snow shovelling or weekend sports.
40+ year olds never participated in marathons or triathlons in large numbers until the past 10-20 years, so it would not be unusual to find that they have a risk for heart disease. But there is no past data to compare it to. Would these same men have had a cardiac event if they just played golf, for example or mowed the lawn?
James Fixx, an early marathoner died of a heart attack at the age of 52, while on a run, but he had a past history of unhealthy living, and a father who died at the age of 43, from a heart attack. It is said that possibly, his running allowed him to live longer than his father.
There's a risk to everything, a person has to make their own decisions and lower their risk as best they can.
How many people die in car accidents, but we continue to drive, for example.
"dancing on the path and singing, now you got away,
you can reach the goals you set from now on, every day"
Sonata Arctica
"Runners should maintain their pace or slow down in the last kilometre and not sprint unless they have trained for it.
Are triathlons still races or are they now events? If so organizers should dispense with an ordered listing of results and just post an alphabetical list of finishers. Everybody still gets the medal and can drink beer.