[Idealmuse]

Most websites will say what the average water temp might be for the race. If it doesn't try looking up race reports on BeginnerTriathlete.com. Really how much you can tolerate is personal preference. In Lake Michigan I've swam with a wet suit when it was in the high 50s and that was crazy cold even with a suit. In the 60's I prefer a suit. In the 70's I'm okay without one.

I've only done one tri w/o a suit and it was fine. The flotation really does help you be faster though as it lifts up your butt and makes you more streamlined, so unless the water is warm I wear a wetsuit now.

What kinda bike Aug? Sounds nice!

[paperclippy]

I emailed the race directors to see about the water temp -- they said they expect it to be between 74 and 82, so I ought to be okay without a suit.

I went to the library yesterday to find some books with triathlon training plans, since I am too cheap to pay for online plans and the free online plans are pretty useless for me. I was laughing pretty hard when I found a book called "Triathloning for Ordinary Mortals," then when I flipped to the training plans section it said "These plans are based on a standard run time of 9 minutes per mile, bike of 16mph, and swim of 40 minutes per mile." Ordinary mortals, yeah right! I wish I could go that fast!

In any case I found a book called "The Woman Triathlete" that had just what I was looking for -- a 9-week intermediate sprint training plan for people who are already capable of doing the full distance but want to improve on their speed. Coincidentally, I have 9 weeks until my July tri. I officially registered for it today.

Now I'm stuck trying to figure out how to adapt the training plan to my schedule. The plan has 2 swims, 2 runs, and 3 bikes per week. I've been doing 1 swim, 2 runs, 2 bikes, and 2 strength training sessions per week. Also, the plan has the swims on MW, but I prefer to swim Sunday mornings since the pool is less crowded then. I'm not sure how much I can wiggle around the plan without reducing its effectiveness. Should I drop strength training for the next 9 weeks? Add them in anyway? Drop one of the bikes and one of the swims from the plan?

[SGeranium]

the water for my sprint was 69 and it was OK. I didn't wear a jacket before, the air was a little less than 69 so by the time I got in the water it actually felt not exactly warm, but not shockingly cold either. I think I'll rent or buy for august, just for the extra float though.

congrats on finding and signing up for your race. I hope to someday be a mere mortal apparently.

My pedals are the cheapest Shimano model. The guy I bought them from at REI told me I would be rough on my first set so I should go cheap while I learned and then return them after I worked the kinks out (because the are cheap) and then up grade. I'm pretty sure this isn't what REI had in mind when they developed their return anything at any time policy but whatever. I am in love with how my legs feel while I bike in them.

My endurance has increased so much from a year ago that I think I will really enjoy doing the oly length. There is a late season 1/2 iron that I sort of still fantasize about . It's in mid September................... It also has a 1/2 iron length DU option.............. I'm just not sure.

There are many people of many abilities( sizes, ages, physical ability) at these races, especially if you do an all female event like I did the first time.

[AmberD]

Hi guys!

I just completed my first tri this Sunday!! I'm a runner and signed up for a tri to just cross it off my list, but I think I'm totally hooked.

Mind if I join your group?

[calluna]

I have been cautiously interested in triathlons...I am a good cyclist and a good swimmer, but I don't know if it's possible to make a runner out of me. I thought I would get under 200 before I tried running again- concerned about pounding on my knees.

About 7 or 8 years ago I did some running, up to about 5 miles. More often around 3.

[paperclippy]

Welcome Amber and Calluna! Amber, congrats on your first tri!

Calluna, for a sprint distance triathlon you can very easily walk the "run." In fact a lot of people walk in the run portion or alternate running and walking. Especially if you are fast in the water and on the bike, being slow on the run shouldn't hurt you too much in overall time.

[calluna]

Thanks for the response on that. I have to confess that I took my courage in both hands even to post.

I also wondered about triathlons and living in AK, but there is a strong tri community here and plenty of events of different types in the summer season.

[paperclippy]

Calluna, no need to be scared of us! I'm a beginner and a slowpoke. Last year was my first triathlon -- I did one sprint in April and one in August, and I had to walk the run in the August one. I didn't quite come in last, but there were only 5-8 people behind me in each race. As my coworker says, "Complete, not compete!" My goal for this year is just to be faster than last year. Also, don't worry about still weighing a lot -- there is even a special category in triathlon called "Athena" for women over 165lbs.

So tonight I went out on a ride and I took DH's bike instead of mine. Both of us have hybrids, but mine is basically a mountain bike with slightly thinner tires and his is basically a road bike with slightly thicker tires, so I thought I'd try his out and see if it made a difference. Well, it made a difference, but not a positive one! I have never had a more uncomfortable ride in my life. I wasn't any faster than I am on my bike, but it was exhausting (even though my legs weren't tired, go figure), put way too much weight on my wrists, and hurt my neck because I was weirdly hunched over. The handlebars on my bike are significantly higher so I have a much more upright posture on mine. Also, while the seat on his didn't squish my tailbone so much, it was completely crushing other parts.

In any case, the result of this experiment was that I think I'm going to stick with my almost-mountain bike.

[calluna]

Mine IS a mountain bike (a Cannondale) with hybrid tires. I went for a 27-mile ride yesterday. It was awesome.

Paperclippy, I absolutely cannot ride with a male-design seat! My bike used to have one and it hurt so badly I thought I'd never get on a bike again.

Do you worry about what kind of bike you ride in tris? I hear that you see every kind of bike imaginable. Mine is a pretty good bike, and I'm not really wanting to spring for a different bike just now if I can avoid it.

I talked to my partner recently - he used to tri and even did the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii some years ago. I think he might be willing to coach me, which would be a great help.

[paperclippy]

Most of the bikes you see people riding in tris are either tri bikes, road bikes with aero bars (I can't tell the difference between that and a tri bike), or road bikes, although (at least in the sprints I've been in) there are always a number of hybrid and mountain bikes. I get the impression that most people who are just getting into triathlon compete with whatever bike they happen to have on hand, and if they decide to continue with the sport and get really into it they will upgrade their bike. People who were cyclists before becoming triathletes tend to have road bikes already.

In any case I have done two sprints on my hybrid and I don't plan to upgrade any time soon. Then again, I always do short distances. I've never biked more than 15 miles. I think maybe if I decided to go for Olympic distance or get more into cycling I would buy a road bike.

The things I *did* spring for this year in terms of gear: tri shorts, a tri tankini top, and a camelbak. Baby steps!

So yesterday I went out for a long (for me, 1:15) bike ride on a new route. I mapped it out before I went, and memorized what streets I needed to turn on. I did my first two turns with no problem, but then I came out of a subdivision to a major street. I was pretty sure it was the street I wanted, but it was labeled "975 E." On my map it was called "Ford" further south and "Pleasantview" further north. I turned anyway since I was pretty sure it was the right one. My plan was to head north on it, pass 146th St, and turn R on 156th St. Well, I kept going north for a long time, but I didn't see either of those streets. Finally I got to an intersection with a street marked "200 S" where if I kept going straight I was going to be on a dirt road. I was totally confused, got off my bike, and called DH to have him look me up on the map online. It turned out I was actually in the right place, but yet again the street names were changing on me, and 200 S actually WAS 156th St. Meanwhile, the "975 E" I had been riding on had magically turned into "950 E" instead, but according to DH, it was actually the same street as Ford and Pleasantview. Sometimes I hate Indiana!

Anyway, I also did a swim yesterday according to the training schedule in the book I got from the library. It was a "T-time" test, do you guys use that term in your training? Apparently my T-time is 2:30 for 100yards.

[augeremt]

Hi all,

I just finished my first tri ever on Sunday (yesterday). It was a sprint distance: 750 m swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run. I loved (almost) every minute of it and definitely plan on doing it again. This one was in preparation for an Olympic distance tri in five weeks, so it was nice to see what a tri looks like and get a taste of what's in store for me soon.

Below is my race report. Sorry it's a bit long. I copy and pasted what I wrote out for myself and another friend. Hope you don't mind the length


Overall, the race went well and I'm very happy with my result. It was the perfect sized race for a first tri, and since it's one of the first outdoor ones of the season, there were a lot of newbies in the crowd. They said we had 88 first-timers (they even had a division for us) out of a field of 400.

I woke up super early to get there early like you all suggested, and it was definitely the right call. My roommate Maggie and I drove down there with enough time to leisurely get marked, pick up our timing chips, set up transition, walk around, and get ready for the start. No pressure or rushing at all.

I had been really anxious all morning and got even more anxious when we got to the race and saw the reservoir with the buoys set up. It seemed so long! But milling around and hearing others talk about this being their first tri put me a bit at ease. Everyone was so nice. There were two ladies and a guy in the bike rack next to mine and they were saying how one of the ladies had taken the guy's wife's credit card and signed him up for the race without him even knowing. The guy chimed in, "And my wife's not even here." In short, everyone was so nice and supportive, which definitely helped.

Warmup
Warmup consisted of getting in the water to feel out the temp. O. M. G. 61 degrees is COLD. My body felt fine in the full wetsuit, a bit chilly, but fine. That wasn't the problem. As soon as I put my face in the water I got an immediate brain freeze. I tried a few more times to see if more exposure would help, but it was just as horrible each time around. I didn't think I could last the 15-20 minutes it would take me to swim the half mile and I started to get worried. But there was no backing out and there was really nothing I could do about it (besides suck it up), so I tried to get my mind off that while waiting for our wave to start.

We (being Maggie and I) were in the 4th wave, so we hung out a bit watching the pros kick butt. A few of the elites were out of the water before Wave 3 had even started. Wow!

Swim: 19:23
Not too bad, actually, once my face got used to the freezing cold of course. 750 m feels a lot farther when you don't get to stop at the end of the lane after every drill. Haha! My time was a bit slower than I wanted, but I put everything I had into it. My arms felt super heavy in the wetsuit (I definitely had this feeling when I swam in a SCUBA suit for a fitness test a couple years ago, so maybe I just don't like sleeved wetsuits...or I need to strengthen my arms) so I alternated between freestyle and breaststroke. It seemed to work and was an easy way to spot and not go off course.

I essentially sprinted the last 100 yards or so in an effort to keep up with this lady in front of me, which was a bad call. See T1.

T1: 2:38
I was as efficient as I could be considering the severe light-headedness I felt as soon as I got out of the water. I thought I was going to fall over within the first few steps, so I had to catch my bearings a bit.

In transition, I had to hold onto the rack so I wouldn't fall over while taking off the wetsuit and putting on my shirt and shoes. Again, I severely questioned my ability to complete the next stage of this tri. Seemed to be a pattern throughout this race.

I slowed down a bit to buy myself some time, had some water, and went along as soon as I felt ready to stay upright without assistance.

Bike: 41:40
AMAZING! I didn't think I'd like the loop idea since I like seeing new things the whole ride, but it was really great, actually. I'm a convert.

The course was completely closed to traffic and consisted of three loops of 4 miles each, so even though some crazy fast riders were already coming in when I was just headed out, there was still a nice overlap of faster waves with me. It was actually fun to be passed by the super duper fast tri bike people and see them in action. It made it feel like we were doing the same race, instead of just seeing them at the start and then at the finish, and nothing in between.

One of the guys I paced myself with was in an earlier wave and the only reason I could keep up with him was because of his clunker bike. He had these rainbow-colored board shorts and the squeekiest mountain bike I've heard in a while. So it was easy to hear him coming and turn up the pace so he wouldn't pass. I can only imagine how fast he would've been had he had better equipment!

I pushed myself more consistently than I've pushed before and ended up with the best bike split I've ever had. My legs felt great at the end. Tired, but great. At the beginning of the first loop I remember looking down at my bike computer and thinking, "Wow, I've only gone 1.5 miles? This is going to be LONG." But by the end of the last lap, I was bummed that the bike was already over. It was just super fun to actually be racing people and passing each other back and forth. Towards the end, a lady pulled up to me while passing me and we chatted a bit and then she went on her way. I'd passed her in the very very beginning and told myself that there is no way I'm finishing behind her. I didn't see her again til the very end when she passed me and then we ended up keeping the same pace. So mission accomplished, kinda. I probably could've passed her again, but I was saving my legs for the run, which was a waste since there was no hope for me there.

T2: 1:38
Nothing special. Walked through most of transition, got my running shoes on, and took some water. I think I may've even put on sunscreen, but I'm not sure. That could've been T1.

Run: 42:13
Oy. I died. I knew I was in horrible running shape so I was hoping for a 12 minute mile or so, alternating between jogging and running. I stuck with part of the plan in that I walked and jogged, but I think I did about half and half. I got passed by EVERYBODY and didn't pass a single person. So frustrating. And everyone was like, "Keep it up, you're almost there," as they ran by. That just pissed me off even more and made me feel like they were pity-partying me, which was totally not the case. That was just in my head. Those same statements during the bike put a smile on my face and made me pick up my pace, but during the run I just scowled and cursed under my breath.

Maggie, my roommate, caught up to me right before mile 1 and we ended up walk/jogging the rest of the run course together. I felt bad that I was slowing her down and kept telling her to go ahead, but she wanted to do this tri together (and so did I, actually) so we pushed each other to go a bit harder. I think it would've been even more frustrating had she not been there, so everything worked out really well in that respect.

Post-race/Cool-down:
Didn't really do a cool-down, but I stretched a bit. I tried to eat some of the post-race food, but my stomach just wasn't feeling it so I stuck with a protein drink and a liquid diet. We hung out a bit for awards and then headed home to chill in the backyard on a beautiful day.


Official time: 1:47:30
Overall: 338/350
Females: 140/147
AG: 30/30


In short, great race and we lucked out with the conditions. Saturday was crazy windy and today is just as bad. Yesterday was the only calm day we've had in a few days.

Next step is to add another run day in for a total of three a week (and stick to them!) so I can survive 6 miles for the Lake to Lake Oly in five weeks, and push myself harder in the swim intervals, since I definitely need to get that endurance up as well. Bike training can stay the same, since I don't really want to add too much in the coming weeks.

Here's the link to the results: http://www.myentryfee.com/results/RaceList.aspx

The tri is called Summer Open Sprint Triathlon and my full first name is Katarzyna, Bib 613.

My roommate Maggie finished 1 sec ahead of me only because she thought I'd sprint to the finish with her. My legs were shot and I didn't want to fall on my face at the finish line, so I played it safe and jogged in. She still feels kinda bad because that puts me last in the age group. It's hilarious since I don't care. I accomplished my goal of not being dead last overall, so that's good enough for me

-Kasia

[paperclippy]

Au, GREAT JOB!!!!! Wow, that was a speedy bike leg! Thanks for the race report!

[calluna]

Thanks so much for that! It is *just* the sort of thing I need to read to get a feel for the events. Congratulations on your tri!

[RunnerChemist]

Hello! I will be completing my fourth half marathon on Sunday, and I am looking for a new challenge. I think I'm going to do a triathalon next, because I like swimming and biking and I think it will help me have more of a total body workout than running. (Also, it's going to get too hot to run loooong distances for me very soon.)

Do you guys incorporate weight training or yoga into your training programs, or do you just (ha!) run-bike-swim?

Thank you in advance, I've been really enjoying your posts!

[paperclippy]

Welcome Chemist! Good luck on your half!

Last year when I started training I did not do any exercise except for run-bike-swim. Then after I finished the tris I had planned, I took a boot camp class and started weight training (using the New Rules of Lifting for Women). I basically spent my winter on weight training and running with some swimming thrown in. This spring I was weight training, running, swimming, and biking, but now that I'm getting close to my races I've reduced the strength and increased everything else. My current plan is to do weight training one day a week and focus on upper body strength so that my legs aren't too sore for my other scheduled training.

I don't think yoga should be as much of a problem as heavy lifting. Mostly I had to cut back on the lifting because my legs were too sore to bike or run which was messing up my schedule.

I had a good bike ride this morning. Got my butt out of bed at 6:00 (luckily it is light out at 6 now) and did 11 miles. I thought I was going slow, but when I calculated it I was actually going 12mph which is fast for me. I guess I'm improving!