Triathlon prep

Triathlonteenagesam wrote:

Hi guys, just did a "Mini Triathlon" with a 250m swim, 8km bike, and a 2km run (all indoor). My swim is 6:22, my bike is 16:12, and my run was 8:05. Based of that, what should I focus on the most?

Again, you need to get aerobically stronger in every area. The swim is certainly the outlier. It's only going to get harder as you move onto longer events if the swimming doesn't get better. But in such a short even your 2k run was still slower than your open 5k pace by a good bit. I think you'd do well with some intentional base building. I also think you'd do well fully developing at running while adding on the swimming/biking slowly.

If you're committed to triathlon, it's time to build your base. Get used to 30:00 swims & 1:00 rides multiple times a week. Then get used to doing a lot more than that. You just need more time swimming/biking. Intensity can be easy but you need to start putting together some training. & you're going to need to practice running hard when tired.

Luckily, I would guess, you'd be OK on a road bike for an olympic one. Get an aerobar on it, though and become comfortable hammering away like mad while being on the aerobars. I did one out of my 4 ironman on a regular road bike and thought that I will have to walk the whole damn marathon when getting out on the run course. Took like 10 minutes before being able to jog - never happened coming off the tri-bike. You will hear endlessly about brick sessions: running after bike. Best of luck man.

Triathlonteenagesam wrote:

Hi guys, I know this is a running forum, but I don't know any other well know training forums, so here is my question; how should I start preparing for racing triathlons. My plan is to start full-on training in the summer of 2022, and race in fall 2022/ spring 2023, with a few road races before the triathlon. I'm currently a senior in high school, and I'm doing XC and track with a focus on 1600m-3200m. My PB in the 5k is 18:30, and my PB in the 10k is 39:20, and my pr in the 2 mile is 11:20. Also what time should I aim for (I'm planning on doing Olympic distance)?

You'd better start full-on training now if you want to be anywhere near your better self.

I swam for the first time ever 3 weeks before my first sprint. I worked up to swimming 10 mins straight, which about was how long I expected the swim to be. I did a few bike/run bricks and went out expecting to crush everyone because I raced bikes.

I just about drowned myself on the swim (not really, but felt like it) and swallowed enough water to make myself sick and throw it up on the bike. For some inexplicable reason, I also began cramping on the bike, and then cramped on the run, too.

Still had the fastest bike split, but even that was 1.5 mph slower than it should have been (30 watts less than planned). I had also been planning for a mid 19 5k off the bike and ended up with over 22 mins even though I'd done mid 19s off of a hard 30 min bike ride two weeks prior. The swim destroyed me.

I've been swimming masters for the last few months and have improved tremendously, but I still get out of the water with a sky high hr. I rode to a practice a couple of weeks ago and a the same power my hr was 15 bpm higher after the swim compared to before.

So,,. yeah. Swim lots and lots and lots. And ride lots and lots and lots. In a year's time you won't be very good on the bike (relatively speaking), and you won't be very good on the swim (comparatively), but hopefully you'll get good enough in both to get you to the run where you can start reigning in people.

Good info on this thread.

I just signed up for a Half Ironman. I've never done a tri of any distance but figured I needed to shut up about how I "could do one" and finally actually participate.

Since this is my first effort I don't have any real time goals other than to finish.
I was planning on a 20 week build up.

Re: Equipment- I have a road bike. But what equipment is tan absolute necessity, and what can I ignore as a noobie? I'm not racing until May 2023.

I'm closing in on the end of my first (and only?) tri season. This is what I learned was needed. (Swim on top, cycling on bottom)

Needs
Goggles
Bike, helmet, pump
Should have (pick and choose)
tri suit or shorts
Clip shoes, compartment with extra tube, hand pump that attaches to bike and regular pump with psi gauge, 2+ bottle holders
Optional (can ignore)
Wetsuit if temperatures allow
Clip-on aerobars, cycling shirt for drag reduction and with back pockets, power meter, gloves, sunglasses
Training
Cap
Smart Trainer, cycling shorts

Yeah good list -- pool aides (fins, paddles, buoy, kick board) are a big help if your pool doesn't have them.

Easiest gains are made on the bike depending on how much you want to spend there -- helmet, wheel set, components, etc. Aero tri suit. Trainer is a must for a lot of people depending on where you live. Can get away with pretty decent training by throwing any bike on one.

Can rent bikes + wetsuits at a lot of the bigger races if that's an option you'd want to consider.

20 weeks sounds good for a build-up but is a lot of time. I would line up a Sprint or Olympic to get your feet wet during that time frame to get used to transitioning + racing the disciplines together. I like going for the 70.3. The logistics in triathlon can be a lot for most people. Helpful to go through the motions at a shorter event & one that is local to you.

Bike a lot. The better you are at the swim and bike, the less impact it will have on your run. If you lack bike fitness, you won't run well as you'll be too tired!

Thanks for all the info. Very very appreciated.

20 weeks is a long build up, but I'm not even in very good running shape right now, so I'll never every bit of that 20. I do plan on doing a "1/4 Ironman" early on in my training, and even thinking of spending a day doing a "70.3 Dry Run" closer to race day.

Renting a race day bike and wet suit is great idea. I'll look into that. I am not really a gear head, and that has been one of my biggest hesitations to even giving the tri a try.

I looked at race day bike renting and it is pretty expensive, if you have to fly to the race then renting might be a better option than transporting your bike. If you have/make triathlete friends they might be willing to let you use their tribike. Unfortunately borrowing isn't an option for me as I'm 6'4". Not sure on the wetsuit rent cost but I bought a really nice one for ~215. Xterra brand has their's go on sale pretty often (50-60% sale).

I'm meticulous at keeping track of all the money I spend. After my race I'm going to sum up all the costs for my IM. My guess is ~3k without including tune up races (another 250 maybe). With all the sunken costs I'll probably do some shorter tris next year.

Started to literally put my toe(s) in the water this week and wow.. swimming is kicking my behind.

Any tips on the swim?

EZ, good luck on training. I have no swim tips as I am absolutely terrible.

Question for the board: I have a sprint tri with 500m swim soon that looks like MAY be wetsuit legal. My question is, if the water temp is just within the allowable limit (say 77 degrees) is it automatically worth it it to wear the suit, or is the "breakeven" temperature still somewhat lower? There will be transition time loss wearing the suit of course, but does the time saved in the water more than make up for it, no matter what?

It's said that you lose ~3-5s/100m without a wetsuit on. I won a Sprint Tri a week ago with no wetsuit and water temps in the low-70s. I flew through T1. I was 40s down after the swim & put 30s back running from the beach & through transition. I had a 2:00 mechanical on the bike & still got it done because my run was great but I also had close to a minute on people in transition. I should have won more comfortably but I also had no business winning with the time I lost. I know I'm not the best at taking the wetsuit off. In an Olympic or longer you gotta wear it. I think if you're not the most skilled getting out of it then it should be a wash.

I did the Super Sprint at AG Nats in August also without a wetsuit, after a slower than I would have liked T1 the day before for the Olympic. I swam relatively worse on day 2 but my T1 was great. Again, probably a wash. Need to work on it so I can have the same T1 with the time savings but, especially if you have a long run & short swim into T1, I think it's fine.

Also -- how did IM Maryland go RunnerSam? I've got 70.3 Worlds + IM AZ (debut) left for this season.

Thanks for sharing NERunner, that's the kind of answer I was looking for. Sounds like it may be a gametime decision. If wetsuit legal I'll probably wear it just for the experience, and the Baywatch-style run up the beach while stripping down.

speed guy - I am not sure where the break-even is for wetsuit on or off. Probably Olympic and up should be in a wetsuit. I did not wear one in my sprint or olympic this year. I haven't done enough tris to know which races have wetsuit strippers but if they do then wear the wetsuit no matter the distance.

NERunner - IMMD was OK, a bit more of a learning experience than I was hoping for. At some point in the next few days I'm going to post a pretty detailed breakdown of my training and the race on my logarun calendar if you are interested. You dont need a login or anything to see it. I use the same handle there 'RunnerSam'

I swam just under 55, Bike was 6:14 and run was a 3:45, just under 12 minutes on transitions which I felt was good given the distances you had to travel. Total time was 11:06:48 so just over goal I set for myself at the start of training (11hrs). I haven't totally decided how I feel about it yet, I know I shouldn't be but I'm pretty disappointed in myself.

Main issues on raceday were I really messed up my electrolyte intake and only had one bottle holder on the bike which fit the course bottles.

So far the answer I get is the answer I don't want, which is.. swim a lot, then swim some more.

I suspected this would be the answer all along.

Are you a strong open water swimmer? If you're not, and especially if the water conditions are subpar (choppy, etc), it may be helpful to wear the wetsuit, even for a shorter distance like 500 meters. Getting the wetsuit off in a smooth transition really comes down to practice.

The open water swim in triathlon can be tricky. You've got to deal with sighting buoys, the competitors around you (some jerks will literally try to swim over you/accidental kicks to the face/elbows to the ribs, etc), and the water conditions (waves, etc). The added buoyancy of the wetsuit can be extremely helpful, especially if you're not coming in with a swimming background.

EZ10Miler - Finding a coach who can teach mechanics might be the best rather than swimming a lot and reinforcing bad form. Form matters a lot in swimming and just putting in the volume might not make make you more efficient like running high volume does. I swam age 5-17 and learned proper form growing up. I don't pay attention to it much nor would I necessarily be able to teach it but it is ingrained in my swimming and is obviously a huge advantage. What is your 100yd pace for sets or an example workout?

NERunner - "I've got 70.3 Worlds + IM AZ (debut) left for this season"

Sounds like the bulk of the season is still to come. Best of luck on both of these.

I can honestly say that the thing that helped my swimming was using a pull buoy to help build my upper body strength. As a triathlete you want to conserve the legs for the bike and run, so having a strong upper body helps with being able to crawl through the water. It really paid off at Ironman Florida where there was a lot of chop and seriously strong currents to fight with.

It also helped me to rack up a lot of yardage at the pool while still being able to focus on correcting some form errors, especially with keeping my elbow high and catching water early.