Calling all Triathletes...

meowracer

meowracer

Cathlete
I am thinking of doing my first tri - it will be a sprint and the swimming will be in a pool. I can bike forever, could do the run but the swimming has me sort of scared b/c it is not my strong point. They said they would put me in for a 10 minute 300 meter swim. The race is the 28th and today is last day for registration (just found the race online). I could swim that far but not easily. They say that some people do it in 3:30 with an average of 7, but they put the times out to 15 minutes. Not sure if I will be ready by then! Of course, it's not like I'd be in a lake and drown if I stopped...

And I guess I should get some tri shorts and a top and just stay in that? And does everyone have a swim cap or not? I'm guessing that it will be easy to figure out what to do during transitions and how all of that works? I am not doing this to win b/c that would be impossible unless it was just biking, but rather just to finish. It is a USAT sanctioned event and I figure a good way to figure if I want to keep doing them. Just wish it didn't say 5:30am parking...that should be an event for me in and of itself!!

Thanks in advance for any and all advice!
 
I say do it!!! I don't have any answers for all those other questions, but if you did it, you'll find out! :)
 
I can't answer any of your questions but I can cheer you on. Go for it!!! Go Go Go!!!! I can't swim, I am just a dog paddler and a floater. You can at least swim. I'd be paddling my way thru.

GO GO GO!!!

Nan
 
I haven't done a triathalon either - but I used to swim competitively a long long long time ago - our swim coach taught us to take our breaths on both the left side and the right side - i.e. stroke stroke right, stroke stroke left. This technique kept our muscles balanced, improved our endurance, and it seems by our race times, kept us (the team) highly competetive. We won most meets.

My best friend recently started triathlons, she could run the rest into the ground and bike forever, so her training strategy was to drop everything, and swim everyday, and only ride or bike once a week - focusing all of her energies on swimming. I think she wore trunks and a sports bra designed for quick drying.

Oh - and set a slow and steady pace. Given how highly aerobic swimming is, you can easily exhaust yourself right out the gate...so take it easy the first ten laps or so.
 
Wow - thanks for the cheerleading!! I know you are right - if I don't do it, I will be bummed. Janis - great advice on the breathing. That would give me something to focus on too. Thanks for that!
 
Hi Shana Banana-

Do it , do it do it!!! :)

I've done both a sprint and an olympic tri, and I had a lot of fun challenging myself with the training.. here were my observations..

Most people get really freaked out about the swim.. the good news is that you really are only in the water for a very short time.. its the least taxing of the 3 events physically. If you can get in any of your training done in a lake as opposed to the pool, that would be extremely helpful.. not having those nice black lines below to follow takes some getting used to. Also, on race day, probably the most stressful thing about doing the tri is the jumping in the water with the 100 people around you..if you end up in the middle of the pack you will most likely get kicked scratched, splashed etc. I would suggest starting at the end of the pack and swimming as far outside of the pack as you can. Also, not sure what the water temp will be where you are swimming, so if its cold enough to wear a wet suit and you can get your hands on one, I would suggest it. ( Make sure to swim in it a few times though to get the feel of it... they take getting used to, but they will make you more buoyant and also faster. Not all tri organizers allow them if this even applies, so you might want to check.

As far as the biking, if you are already a biker you are in great shape for a tri.. soooo much of your time is spent in the bike portion of a tri.

If you are a decent runner, this shouldn't be too hard either... But I would practice your transition from the bike to the run as often as you can. Your legs are pretty fried after biking and it takes some time getting used to acclimating them.

Also, practice your transition from the swim to the bike.. you can waste valuable minutes getting in/out of your gear.

I wore a triathlon top and tri shorts for my races and they worked great. I would suggest wearing them for a trial run before the real race so you can make sure you don't get chafe or inadvertent see through action ( if you know what I mean) post swim.

While I'm not currently planning on doing any more tris, it was a great experience and I know you'll have a ton of fun!! Keep us posted!!

Lynn M.
 
I say go for it also I never did one either but I signed up for one in sept because I just know if I dont try it I will regret it is a little different though because the swimming is paddling a canoe should be interesting

Good luck!
Diana
 
OK, girls - I am signed up!! :D I pondered and pondered and had 11 minutes to go when I hit *submit*. Glad I did it. Thanks for all of the encouragement.

Lynn - thanks for all of the info. Fortunately, this swim will be in a pool. I am going to wear tri shorts and a tri bra top so I won't have to change at all - just put shoes and helmet on. I have been considering doing a sprint tri so I've done some transitioning from biking to running, having heard that was difficult. I will definitely check the see-thru action - eek - thanks for the tip!! I am in awe of you for having done an olympic distance tri :eek:
 
Hey Shana-

Glad to hear you are doing it!!! It sounds like you are already more than ready to tackle it.

Please let us know how it goes.

Take care, Lynn M.
 
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