Well it took me a few years, but my wife finally got me to enter a Triathlon.
We will be doing a Sprint Triathlon on Saturday that consistes of a 600 yd pool swim, 13 mile bike and a 2.8 mile run. The lakes in MN are far to cold to swim in right now so its a pool swim. That's perfect for my first Tri since I just started swimming in Jan. I'm going to try and swim the entire 600 yds without stopping, but its nice to know I have the option of resting at the wall, even ifs it for a few seconds. I've swam 600 continuous once before so I know I can, just not very fast.
I'm not sure what I should wear on the bike. The weather forcast calls for a low of 42, cloudy and a 20% chance of rain. I'll throw a jacket on but I'm not sure about trying to slip on some type of light pant before the bike. I would shed the pants for the run, however, since riding 20 mph and running 7 produce a different wind chill effect.
What do you people think?
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
2014 Goals:
Stay healthy
Enjoy life
42 deg on the bike in a race.....I would go with my regular tri shorts. I would probably just wear a short sleeve jersey as well. It's usually my hands that I would be concerned with at this temp.
If you don't think shorts is enough then you might consider wearing compression socks. These come up to the knees so you wouldn't have that much exposed skin. Arm warmers as well.
The problem with a jacket is you might be introducing drag on the bike. A sprint Tri is pretty much a red line race so your going to be going all out and generating enough body heat to keep you warm.
I should clarify that I live in Iowa and train outdoors year around........I've bike commuted all winter....the coldest day being -13 deg. My tolerance may be a tad higher than some.
IMKY13 finish!!
Good luck Saturday!!! I, for one, will be waiting to hear how you do...especially during the swim portion.
As a note, just wanted to say thanks about your notes/reply on swimming. I have just started doing 50 yard/meter intervals myself (with one minute rest periods) I've looked at your log and I'll try to "mimmick" what you have done. When did you start going longer that 50 yard intervals?
Again...thanks and good luck!!!
Fitness/weight goals for 2014
1) STAY INJURY FREE!!!
2) Get to 189 lbs by the end of July 2014...and stay there (as of 4-25-14 was at 203 lbs)
3) Complete Ironman Chattanooga in under 14 hours
4) Break 4 hours in a stand alone marathon (Goal race=Rocket City 12/13/14)
5) 4,500 total overall miles for the year:
Swim: 100 miles
Bike: 3,000 miles
Run: 1,400 miles
rectumdamnnearkilledem
Good luck! I look forward to reading your report. I hope you have half the fun I did in my first du.
Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to
remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.
~ Sarah Kay
DAMN........I just got done installing the Yakima roof rack on the car when my came outside to tell me she just got a text from the race director and they said I was not going to be able to race tomorrow.
The race filled up really early so I didn't get my registration sent in before it closed. My wife talked to the race director and he told us that I could get in if he had a concellation. A friend of ours has a brother that was registered for this race and he said he would not be able to make the race and I could have his spot. So we emailed the race director on Tuesday and he said that would be okay. Now the brother of our friend decides he can make the race after all and wants his spot back so I'm now out.
Oh well, looks like I have more time to train for a July 11th Tri. I'm definately in that race because I am married to the race director.
Thanks for the advice Slo_ I was planning on just going with my Tri shorts and a tech shirt with some gloves I can peel off if I get hot.
Looks like I'll be going for a nice run while my wife is out on the bike course, then I'll run with her for the run leg. Yeah I know its not really legal, but this is a pretty laid back event and she will not be contending for a place in her age group anyway.
Sorry to hear that.....Tri's are getting ever more popular so signing up early is a must.
Sucks......putting $70 to $100 on the line for a sprint tri seems riduculous to me but that's what it's come too.
Good luck Saturday!!! I, for one, will be waiting to hear how you do...especially during the swim portion. As a note, just wanted to say thanks about your notes/reply on swimming. I have just started doing 50 yard/meter intervals myself (with one minute rest periods) I've looked at your log and I'll try to "mimic" what you have done. When did you start going longer that 50 yard intervals? Again...thanks and good luck!!!
As a note, just wanted to say thanks about your notes/reply on swimming. I have just started doing 50 yard/meter intervals myself (with one minute rest periods) I've looked at your log and I'll try to "mimic" what you have done. When did you start going longer that 50 yard intervals?
It took me about 7 weeks to finally get to a point I felt comfortable to try some 100 yd intervals. I had a little over 15,000 yds in by then and I only did one or two 100 yarders per session for a couple more weeks after the first 100. I also only rest between 15 and 30 seconds between intervals and log the time spent resting as well.
modify for spelling
Sprint tri still in the planning stage, but I did make the leap into multi-sports this past weekend. On Friday my wife called me up after work and asked if I wanted to do a duathlon on Saturday morning. I originally said "No thanks, not this weekend", but then got to think about it on the drive home. When I got home I said, "what the heck, lets do it" and she signed me up.
I competed in the 2010 Apple Duathlon as an age grouper. The Apple is a 5k run, 33k bike and a 5k run.
The first run was a 5k PR of 23:52 which I was pretty happy with considering that I saved some because I didn't want to be shot for the upcoming 20.5 mile bike. On every leg of the race, I forgot to start and stop my garmin when I was supposed to, so my recorded times are all messed up.
On the bike leg, I decided to take a drink of Heed from my water bottle cage and guess what happened?, Yep, I dropped it. I thought about leaving it in the ditch and getting it after the race, but then thought it would be my luck to get DQ'd for littering. I also figured since it was getting hot out (91 for a high temp) I was going to need all the water I had and that was my only bottle. I decided to turn around and get it. In the process of that, I downshifted and dropped my chain. That was the first time that has ever happened to me. So I had to stop and put the chain back on, then ride and look for my water bottle. I figure I lost at least a minute there. I finished the 33k in 1:04:22 for a 19.1 mph average. The wind had picked up considerably on the last 7.5 miles back to the transition area and my pace fell off badly during that stretch. All in all, I think I could have gone much harder, but it was my first race experience, so I can't complain.
The last 5k leg was torture. It starts out with a step hill climb and had had only done one brick run before this. I could barely walk my bike through the transition area to hang it back on the rack. Wow, I didn't expect walking to be so stinkin hard. I lumbered my way up the hill and managed to run the entire distance. That alone was a big accomplishment for me as I really, really wanted to walk. The second 5k time was a dismal 28:57. I also could have and should have pushed myself harder on this leg but I was a wimp. The bright spot was I actually passed two guys in my age group in the final 0.1 to the finish. I sprinted a sub 6:00 minute mile to pass both guys.
I ended up placing 19th of 31 in my age group. 99th of 163 males and 130th of 238 overall.
In the Elite group, David Thompson was his sixth Apple Duathlon and shattered his course record with a time of 1:19:57. This guy is an animal and averaged 26.5 mph on the bike. It was his 60th career multisport win.
On the bike leg, I decided to take a drink of Heed from my water bottle cage and guess what happened?, Yep, I dropped it.
Tough break. I would have gone back for that too. Heed's good stuff.
I dropped a gu 1.5 miles into last Sunday's 1/2 marathon. I would have been trampled badly if I had gone back for it. Thankfully I didn't need it.
Overall it sounds like a good experience.
IronMan ;)
BTW dropping your water bottle might fall under th rule 3.4h Abandoned Equipment, but this is usually only assessed when someone throws something not drops while riding at speed. The course sometimes will cause a rider to lose a bottle due to bumps and bottles falling out of cages. for this rule you would not be DQ'd just assigned a variable time penalty which for a short course race would be 2 minutes for the first penalty, and additional two minutes if it is the second penalty and then DQ for a third penalty. As a USAT Official I would not write you up for a and accidental drop of a water bottle, but if you threw it (or a helmet, gu pack etc) then ,yup, I'd write you up. In my judgement you have to willfully get rid of something on the course or Transition area unless it is in you assigned spot of the bike rack
You might want to consider what happened when you decided to turn around and retrieve the bottle. and then dropped your chain. If you dismounted your bike and were on the race course, you could be sited fore a Dismount penalty rule 5.7, if you rode against the flow of traffic then you could be sited for (5.4, variable time penalty) if you were a hazard to other riders, or yourself, then you could be sighted for endangerment which would be a DQ
Tri-Kev Here are my favorite links: My "kick @ss" running club ;) Swim 2.4 miles. Ride 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. Then brag for the rest of your life. -Commander John Collins, Ironman Triathlon creator
Great race, BTW dropping your water bottle might fall under th rule 3.4h Abandoned Equipment, but this is usually only assessed when someone throws something not drops while riding at speed. The course sometimes will cause a rider to lose a bottle due to bumps and bottles falling out of cages. for this rule you would not be DQ'd just assigned a variable time penalty which for a short course race would be 2 minutes for the first penalty, and additional two minutes if it is the second penalty and then DQ for a third penalty. As a USAT Official I would not write you up for a and accidental drop of a water bottle, but if you threw it (or a helmet, gu pack etc) then ,yup, I'd write you up. In my judgement you have to willfully get rid of something on the course or Transition area unless it is in you assigned spot of the bike rack You might want to consider what happened when you decided to turn around and retrieve the bottle. and then dropped your chain. If you dismounted your bike and were on the race course, you could be sited fore a Dismount penalty rule 5.7, if you rode against the flow of traffic then you could be sited for (5.4, variable time penalty) if you were a hazard to other riders, or yourself, then you could be sighted for endangerment which would be a DQ
I guess I better start reading the rules if I'm going to continue with this craziness.
I looked over my shoulder and saw that I didn't have anyone close to me so I slowed and turned. I dropped my chain will on the other side of the road and dismounted to put it back on while still on the other side of the road. Once the chain was on, I rode a short distance back to my bottle, turned around and rode down into the ditch to pick it up. It was in a residents mowed yard with about a three foot deep ditch. I reached down and grabbed my bottle and walked back up to the shoulder without dismounting. Stayed to the right and got back up to speed without being passed while starting from the stop.
Next race I will definitely have two bottles and if one pops out or I drop it again, I'll have a backup.
Thanks for the rules clarifications.
Bricks are golden. When I ran my du a couple of months back I'd done several, so by the time race day rolled around I didn't find that 2nd run leg too bad after the first quarter mile or so. But I remembered how bad those first few bricks were in training. To have that leaden feeling on race day would be rough.
Awesome that you have a 5k PR. My own 5k PR is from my duathlon...I wish I could find a 5k race to see what I can REALLY do, but all of the Spring ones here have been on bad weekends and once it gets hot and humid it's not worth trying...BTDT...ow.
Sprint tri still in the planning stage, but I did make the leap into multi-sports this past weekend. On Friday my wife called me up after work and asked if I wanted to do a duathlon on Saturday morning. I originally said "No thanks, not this weekend", but then got to think about it on the drive home. When I got home I said, "what the heck, lets do it" and she signed me up. I competed in the 2010 Apple Duathlon as an age grouper. The Apple is a 5k run, 33k bike and a 5k run. The first run was a 5k PR of 23:52 which I was pretty happy with considering that I saved some because I didn't want to be shot for the upcoming 20.5 mile bike. On every leg of the race, I forgot to start and stop my garmin when I was supposed to, so my recorded times are all messed up. On the bike leg, I decided to take a drink of Heed from my water bottle cage and guess what happened?, Yep, I dropped it. I thought about leaving it in the ditch and getting it after the race, but then thought it would be my luck to get DQ'd for littering. I also figured since it was getting hot out (91 for a high temp) I was going to need all the water I had and that was my only bottle. I decided to turn around and get it. In the process of that, I downshifted and dropped my chain. That was the first time that has ever happened to me. So I had to stop and put the chain back on, then ride and look for my water bottle. I figure I lost at least a minute there. I finished the 33k in 1:04:22 for a 19.1 mph average. The wind had picked up considerably on the last 7.5 miles back to the transition area and my pace fell off badly during that stretch. All in all, I think I could have gone much harder, but it was my first race experience, so I can't complain. The last 5k leg was torture. It starts out with a step hill climb and had had only done one brick run before this. I could barely walk my bike through the transition area to hang it back on the rack. Wow, I didn't expect walking to be so stinkin hard. I lumbered my way up the hill and managed to run the entire distance. That alone was a big accomplishment for me as I really, really wanted to walk. The second 5k time was a dismal 28:57. I also could have and should have pushed myself harder on this leg but I was a wimp. The bright spot was I actually passed two guys in my age group in the final 0.1 to the finish. I sprinted a sub 6:00 minute mile to pass both guys. I ended up placing 19th of 31 in my age group. 99th of 163 males and 130th of 238 overall. In the Elite group, David Thompson was his sixth Apple Duathlon and shattered his course record with a time of 1:19:57. This guy is an animal and averaged 26.5 mph on the bike. It was his 60th career multisport win.
Congrats on the duathlon burnt toast, especially the PR on the first 5k. I've never done a duathlon but can only imagine how hard it is to run then bike and then know you have to run again.
Have my first tri of the season this weekend. Its a sprint and very interested to see the improvement from last year. I put way more time in the pool and on the bike plus I got a new tri bike so that should help right? Oh well, we shall see. Will keep everyone posted.
Congrats on the duathlon burnt toast, especially the PR on the first 5k. I've never done a duathlon but can only imagine how hard it is to run then bike and then know you have to run again. Have my first tri of the season this weekend. Its a sprint and very interested to see the improvement from last year. I put way more time in the pool and on the bike plus I got a new tri bike so that should help right? Oh well, we shall see. Will keep everyone posted.
Good luck! I've also got my first tri of the season this weekend. It is VERY short (1/2m, 6m, 2m), but will be good practice.