Forums >Cross Training>I finished my first triathlon (sprint distance) today
Runner
To do well in tri you need to be able to do all three well. I did an oly this last weekend and the swim was what got me because the people that beat me mostly had a comparable bike time and run time but faster swim. The bike rules in that if you have good bike fitness you can save your legs for a strong run. If you are a slow swimmer you can put yourself at a real deficit.
My reasoning:
My total time was 2:23:29
24: And change swim
1:12x bike
41:39 Run
with a 20 on the swim I would have been top 5 instead of 12th in my ag
I doubt I could have pedaled harder and gained that much time on the bike and still ran strong.
Good luck
2010 Races: Snicker's Marathon(2:58:38), Scenic City Trail Marathon(3:26:36), Laurel Highlands Ultra 77(19:13:44), Ironman Louisville(13:07:07) 2011 Races: Mount Cheaha 50k 5:22:47, Tobacco Road Marathon, Mohican 100 Miler
About the bike, think of it this way, if you want to PR in the future without working harder you'll just have to spend a bit of money
I did two triathlons so far, both sprints. One last year and one earlier in june. The sprint distance is fun as you feel that you barely started one leg that you're transitioning for the next.
I'm planning to double the distance and try an olympic distance triathlon this week-end. I'm a bit nervous because I was told that last year there were huge 2-3 feet waves.
Nice job, and congrats on your first tri. Are you hooked? It's a great sport, I love the cross training aspect of it. Different disciplines, different muscle groups.
But boy can it get expensive. I have at least $5k invested in the upcoming IM Wisconsin. Scary expensive. But there is a guy that regularly wins my age group, and he races on the biggest, ugliest, rustiest puke green bike I've ever seen. Dude even has a purple umbrella rigged off the back; at the bike finish he pushes a button and releases his "drag chute" Sure, a $5,000 bike with $3,000 worth of wheels is faster, but it's more about the machine pushing the bike.
Triathlon does have a higher death rate than running. There have been documented studies that show that our body undergoes a physiological change during swimming, warm or cold water. Add the anxiety and stress of the event and hundreds of kicking feet and churning arms to an underlying cardio issue and you have a perfect recipe for disaster. Usually middle aged men. Small heart attack and they slip under the water and drown, unnoticed in the maelstrom. On land they may be saved by bystanders or medical professionals, but water doesn't provide that response buffer.
The idea for the original Ironman was hatched in Hawaii by some military men that were arguing over who were more fit - swimmers, cyclists, or runners. They didn't have any scientific basis for the distances selected. They used the distance of the Waikiki Roughwater swim (2.384 miles) http://www.wrswim.com/ , the distance of the around Oahu bike race, and the traditional marathon.
Cycling represents the largest proportion of the race, both in mileage and in time, but many strong runners have run down faster cyclists to win the overall race. In my opinion swimming is really the least important of the three segments (a statement guaranteed to open big debates amongst triathletes). It's also the easiest of the three, as long as you're comfortable in a giant open water washing machine that uses arms and legs as agitators. I maintain that the goal of the swim is to not get out of the water tired. Stroke and glide.
Sulphur Springs 50km-- Ancaster, ON-- May 28, 2022
Tally in the Valley 12 hours-- Dundas, ON -- July 30, 2022 (Support SickKids Toronto)
Stokely Creek-- 56km-- Sault Ste. Marie, ON-- Sept. 24, 2022