Any Triathletes here?

BigMonka

I've been into cycling for a few years and have recently started running - did my first >3mile run yesterday and had an average pace of 8:13/mile.
So now I'm starting to ponder my abilities to do a triathlon, and I'd love to one day do an iron man.

Does anyone here do triathlons? Or done an iron man? How did you get in to it and is it fun?

roundthebend

I'm in a similar position as you. I cycle quite a bit, have done a fair amount of running but get bored at 3 miles.
My problem is the swimming. I can swim, but I can't do front crawl for more than a couple of lengths before I start to drown.

We have a club locally that do training sessions in the pool and in open water. A few of the local watersports lakes do open water training too, so well worth a look.

NickBotfield

I've done quite a few triathlons - they're the main events that I spend money to enter.

I think it is enormous fun, and the variety of training you need to do means that it's never as dull as smashing out 4 runs a week or spending hours in the shed on a turbo trainer.  The three disciplines also seem to complement each other and undo any of the negative effects of the individual sports e.g. swimming undoes all the horrific posture cycling gives you, and running keeps your bones nice and dense.

Swimming is the discipline that can be improved the most with the least amount of sporting effort - so much of it is down to technique that you will shave so much time off in the first couple of months with no need for additional fitness.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions!

BigMonka

roundthebend said:

I'm in a similar position as you. I cycle quite a bit, have done a fair amount of running but get bored at 3 miles.
My problem is the swimming. I can swim, but I can't do front crawl for more than a couple of lengths before I start to drown.

We have a club locally that do training sessions in the pool and in open water. A few of the local watersports lakes do open water training too, so well worth a look.

Sounds like we're in very similar situations as I can happily swim all day, except if I try to do front crawl with any sort of reasonable pace. My main issue is the breathing though so I think that could be improved with some lessons and practice - shame swimming is so expensive compared to how free running and cycling is!

BigMonka

NickBotfield said:

I've done quite a few triathlons - they're the main events that I spend money to enter.

I think it is enormous fun, and the variety of training you need to do means that it's never as dull as smashing out 4 runs a week or spending hours in the shed on a turbo trainer.  The three disciplines also seem to complement each other and undo any of the negative effects of the individual sports e.g. swimming undoes all the horrific posture cycling gives you, and running keeps your bones nice and dense.

Swimming is the discipline that can be improved the most with the least amount of sporting effort - so much of it is down to technique that you will shave so much time off in the first couple of months with no need for additional fitness.

I'm happy to answer any specific questions!

Thanks @NickBotfield as you've said I'm sure my swimming could be improved massively by getting my technique even vaguely right!
What sort of distances do you do? How do you structure your training to hit all 3 disciplines?

NickBotfield

I've only done sprint distance events so far - I know a few people training for Ironman distances and it's terrifying how much time they have to train!

When I'm training for an event I usually do two midweek swims (both technique-y / drill-y sessions), two midweek runs (usually intervals / tempo / hill repeats, that sort of thing), one midweek bike (again, another interval / hill repeat thing), then a long run (well, an hour - your definition of long may vary!) on Saturday, and a long bike ride with the cycling club on Sunday.  I try to run straight after a bike ride as much as possible, even if it's just for 5 minutes, as that is nearly always to weirdest and hardest part of a tri.  I'll try to fit in open water swimming a couple of times a month as well, as wetsuit swimming outdoors is quite different, and more fun I think.

At the moment I'm not training for anything so it's just a couple of swims a week, a couple of runs, and a big weekend bike ride.

BigMonka

NickBotfield said:

I've only done sprint distance events so far - I know a few people training for Ironman distances and it's terrifying how much time they have to train!

When I'm training for an event I usually do two midweek swims (both technique-y / drill-y sessions), two midweek runs (usually intervals / tempo / hill repeats, that sort of thing), one midweek bike (again, another interval / hill repeat thing), then a long run (well, an hour - your definition of long may vary!) on Saturday, and a long bike ride with the cycling club on Sunday.  I try to run straight after a bike ride as much as possible, even if it's just for 5 minutes, as that is nearly always to weirdest and hardest part of a tri.  I'll try to fit in open water swimming a couple of times a month as well, as wetsuit swimming outdoors is quite different, and more fun I think.

At the moment I'm not training for anything so it's just a couple of swims a week, a couple of runs, and a big weekend bike ride.

That's some serious training! To be honest being able to physically cope with that level of training is kind of what appeals about it!
I've just checked the distances involved in an Ironman... I'll try and pick my jaw off the floor in a few minutes.

NickBotfield

BigMonka said:

That's some serious training! To be honest being able to physically cope with that level of training is kind of what appeals about it!

I've just checked the distances involved in an Ironman... I'll try and pick my jaw off the floor in a few minutes.

It definitely sounds more than it is - I'm very rarely doing midweek stuff for more than 45 minutes, including warming up and down!  Swimming is before work (the pool is 2 mins walk away from work), running as soon as I get in from work before I start cooking tea.  Done and dusted!

With Ironman, I can sort of imagine running a marathon, and sort of imagine riding a bike for 112 miles, but doing all that shit in one day after swimming 2.5 miles?  Faaaaaaack.

thecolourbox

I've only ever done 1 triathlon, the thought of the Iron Man one is indeed terrifying but that's because I'm a lazy git with very little will power. I think the fact you are even considering one suggests you do have the mindset to have a go though.

I used to be a swimmer up to the age of 18 up to decent county standard, so that was pretty much my only qualification to move into doing them. I used to swim at the same club as Jodie Stimpson who you may or may not know from the UK Triathlon scene so was obviously aware of them quite a lot (I used to beat Jodie at swimming, though the eagle eyed amongst you would point out that was because I was a little bit older and male). We were pushed all the time to do them while a member of the swimming club, until I eventually fessed up and told them I couldn't do them because at the time I couldn't ride a bike! I learnt when I was 21, but it still took me a few years to get around to doing one.

I did a sprint one, the property industry annual event down at Dorney Lake. So 750m swim, which was a piece of cake but unfortunately counts for jack all in a sprint triathlon apparently. Think I did it in about 12.5 minutes. It was 21km bike ride, which was much further than I'd ever cycled in one go ever, which was an experience, and it took me about a year roughly to complete (Ok, about an hour including having to get off to pick up the water bottle I dropped on lap two). The run was 5km which again was the first time I had ran that much in one go, with an apparently reasonable time (considering my lack of effort) of 25 minutes. I did next to no training for it unfortunately, I did do weekly swimming for a few months, according to "map my run" I did two 1.7km runs in the lead up, and for cycling preparation I cycled back from the bike hire place to my office the day before the event, which is about 0.5 miles away.

I think it's fair to say there might have been other events more suited to my strengths. Also fairly obviously, my advice would be more preparation but definitely on the mental side of things more than the physical. I was pretty unfit but still managed to do the sprint one reasonably well considering (it was only the bike that let me down against other more fit people from my company) and I'd put that down to being determined to do it on the day. Shame that determination didn't appear during the time I should have been doing some training?

BigMonka said:
shame swimming is so expensive compared to how free running and cycling is!

@BigMonka When I go swimming it costs £4 a time, cheaper if I paid monthly. My cyclist colleague here spent £500 on a wheel alone yesterday so you could go swimming 125 times before you reach the cost of one wheel in that instance

axisus

I've always wanted to do triathlons. Never have. In my youth I could run 10 miles in under and hour and cycled 200 miles a week but could only swim breast stroke. Now I swim over 1k freestyle 5 days a week, but rarely cycle and run, well, plod around much slower than I used to. Best 5k time recently is 22.36. I might get up the courage to do a short one at some point. I would never contemplate an ironman, my body just couldn't take the training now.

joneve

Done a few sprints, and now find myself signed up for the London tri, which is Olympic distance and open water.

its in 13 weeks, and I've not ridden my bike since last July. And have done half a dozen 5km runs and a handful of 2km pool swims. Starting to panic now! 

axisus

My boss did a triathlon. His brother does them and persuaded him to have a go. He said that everyone jumped in the water and sped off, leaving him, the only person swimming breast stroke far behind. He didn't see another competitor all race!

Teetonetal

Iron man?

That is not a challenge to take on lightly. I have a couple of friends that do them and the training is intense. Gotta be dedicated to the cause, they both live by a whole regime.

Even a simple triathlon is  tough. It's the transition that is so hard. Good fun though. Did a couple in my fitter days, but I'm so out of shape now, I couldn't even contemplate it. I was not born to run.

Good luck!

joneve

My advice to anyone looking to do one, is to definitely do a sprint distance one to get you into it. 

There are plenty that offer pool swims, rather than open water, which help keeping costs down for the first one you do as you won't need to buy a wetsuit. 

And the distances are very manageable. You'll still be knackered afterwards, but definitely doable with relatively little training. IF you enjoy it, then you could look at an Olympic Distance one. 

I'm really not enjoying the training for this one, partly because I haven't done much and it's now all a bit of a chore, but I've paid £90 for the privilege to enter, and am doing it for a good cause (Macmillan), so I need to get my arse into gear. 

but I would encourage anyone to have a go. The one I did in Woodhall Spa (sprint), had people of all shapes and sizes doing it, and it's a great atmosphere. The best thing about a triathlon (at this level) is that you're racing against yourself, and no one else, so it's just a personal challenge and there's no pressure to beat anyone, it's just a feat getting round. 

Best of luck to anyone wanting to do it - and for those considering, but don't think they're good swimmers, I would 100% recommend getting your technique looked at as this can and will make ALL the difference to how tired you get when swimming and how much it takes out of you. 

BigMonka

Ok then, Iron Man is definitely out of the window for the next few years as I don't reckon I could put in the training time whilst ever seeing my kids (age 3 & 6).
But based on what @joneve and others have said I think I should sign up for a sprint distance and see how I find it!

BigMonka

Oooh I've just found the GO TRI events, or which there are a few in Leeds over the next few months. They look like they're just aimed at giving people a try of a tri without it being two intense. The distances are: 200m Open Water Swim, 10km Bike, 2.5km Run. Which I reckon I could almost do now without any training :-)
http://active.leeds.gov.uk/communitysport/pages/eventdetails.aspx?eventId=sports-4426

joneve

BigMonka said:

Oooh I've just found the GO TRI events, or which there are a few in Leeds over the next few months. They look like they're just aimed at giving people a try of a tri without it being two intense. The distances are: 200m Open Water Swim, 10km Bike, 2.5km Run. Which I reckon I could almost do now without any training :-)
http://active.leeds.gov.uk/communitysport/pages/eventdetails.aspx?eventId=sports-4426

Otherwise known as a Super sprint - gives you a feel for how the whole process works with the transitions...so it a good starting point. You should definitely sign up!

As full sprint is usually 400m or 750m Pool/Open Water swim (depending on event) - 25km Bike and 5km run. 

Olympic is 1500m open water swim, 40km bike, 10km run. All of which are doable on their own....but one after the other is not something I'm looking forward to  

joneve

For anyone looking to get into triathlon's, wanting to do Open Water, but don't want to spend a load on a wetsuit, I took delivery of my first wetsuit yesterday, in preparation for my first Open Water Triathlon, and upcoming Open Water training for the next 3 months. It was a proper budget one, £90 from Wiggle, their DHB brand one. It gets good reviews, and the entry level Orca (which was £10 more) wasn't in stock in my size, so I took a gamble and bit the bullet. 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-wetsuit-1/

First impressions are that it seems well made and pretty good quality for £90. The fit is good, considering I ordered blind using the size guide on the website. 

The neoprene is thinner around certain parts to give improved mobility (i.e. under the arms etc), and slightly thicker at the hips/thighs to aid buoyancy. 

I've not tested it in the water yet, so have no idea how it performs, but I'm heading out tomorrow with a friend for my first session. Water is going to be pretty cold I suspect, so should be a good test of how warm it'll keep me! 



Plus you get cool mime gloves with it, to help stop any damage/scratches when you put it on



I'll report back after the weekend with how it performs, just in case anyone is interested. 

thecolourbox

Teetonetal said:

 I was not born to run.

I think Bruce was but I'm not sure even he does triathlons

BigMonka

@joneve how did the open water swim go?

Hootsmon

I tri it all the time