Need Triathlon Advice

I guess the thing you can do is get a single brick workout in. Go on a bike ride for 1 hr, then run for a 20 minutes, or until you feel your legs loosen up.

You should aim to place high unless it's a really big event. If you at least know how to swim and remember how to ride a bike, those running credentials will go a long way. Just don't be alarmed if a couple of bulky guys and a few chicks blow past you on the bike leg. You'll catch them on the run.

I would ease into the bike leg. It is easy to attack the first part of the bike leg but unless you are experienced, you'll lose any chance of developing any sort of momentum.

you've got great credentials for triathlon with the swimming and running background.

it's too late to do much about your lack of biking now except for making sure that the bike actually works. go get it tuned up by a shop or do it yourself if you know how.

since this is your first tri, i'd suggest going as hard as you can on the swim, cruising the bike, and hammering the run. your legs are going to feel pretty heavy after the bike but push through it. your stride will start feeling normal after a mile so don't hold back just becuase you feel wobbly. if you get competitive on the bike without any training, you won't be able to take advantage of your speed on the run cause your legs will be too thrashed. besides, people are going to have crazy fast bikes and you won't be able to compete with them.

but, since you're going to pass everyone on the run, i suspect you'll get hooked. If you do, the best thing you can do is invest in a good road bike with aero bars and do alot of riding. the more you ride, the better your legs feel off the bike.

good luck and have a blast.

My bike isnt too awfully terrible. It's an old school Specialized, I'm guessing from the late 80's / early 90's. It's really lite-weight and has the little skinny tires. I stole the seat off of my Red-Line that I haven't ridden for 5 years. It'll do. No need to drop a couple grand on a bike to try a triathlon.

I'll try that long bike followed by a run tomorrow.

You probably won't make much of an impact, this being your first race and all. Old school bike, eh? My advice to you would be to do it up old school style, like the 80s studs. Pick up a nice speedo, and race in that -- no shirt, though. Get a pair of cheap aviator style sunglasses to wear. Grow a porn-star style mustache to complete the look. Er, wait..you're 17...forget the mustache. Aim for something like this:

http://www.etriatlon.cz/image.php?idx=4864&mw=400&mh=781

Believe me your bike sucks ass and you will get thrashed on it. You will not be competive as the bike is the longest segment.

Thats sooo funny because I was planning on wearing a bandana. Thats pretty close to what I will look like. I'll post some picks after the race.

if the race is this weekend, you should take it easy and basically stop training from here on out. You will get ZERO benefit from any more training and you will almost certainly hurt your time if you do train more.

so what to do? practice transitions - every triathlon race people go hard on swim bike and run but they give up the time they earned by losing time on the transitions

as for the swim, 600 meters is basically a sprint, go out hard and fast and draft off everyone you possibly can (it is legal), wear a swim cap, form fitting swim trunks and use a wetsuit if legal

seriously on the transitions you should practice, with your speed on the run, I guarantee after the race you will look in the results and see some guy that you were 2:00 faster in the run but he was 1:59 faster than you in transition so he beat you ... and it will stink

for this short a triathlon, you may want to consider skipping hydration on the bike etc.

good luck

what does the wetsuit do for you specifically? and I really wasnt on planning on tapering for this event. I am just starting base for xc and thought this would be a good way to avoid the same-old-same-old. I'm not afraid of getting my ass kicked in a triathlon. I just want to finish the thing with a respectable time, maybe win my age group.

A wetsuit will improve your position in the water and you don't need to kick your legs hardly at all to keep them in a good spot. Having said that, don't worry about a wetsuit for this weekend. If you're a decent swimmer the swim leg will be over fast. You'd probably lose more time taking the wetsuit off than you save by wearing it.

If you want to think tactics...swim hard, make sure you go easy the last 5 minutes or so on the bike, and chase a bunch of people down on the run.

On the swim consider starting on the outside (because it's your first tri). If you get off to a good start sprint up to draft off someone, but don't brush their feet with your hands or you may get a kick in the face. Also, it's a good idea to take a head-up stroke every 25 or so to make sure you're swimming towards your target. You'll be amazed at how many people can't swim a straight line without a lane line underneath them.

On the bike try to get up to speed fast. It sort of depends on the terrain. I try to really push the pace the first 1/3 of the ride because otherwise you get stuck riding in a group of people and sometimes that can lead to drafting calls. The middle 1/3+ of the bike I try to settle into a groove. The last 5 minutes or so I recommend easing off, unless there are a bunch of hills late in the ride. With your ability to run you'll have more fun and likely do better if your legs aren't trashed coming off the bike.

On the run, think about picking people off. Have the attitude that no one in front of you is a better runner than you are. Stay focused on the racers in front of you and go after them! And keep charging out there. A lot of racers will go too hard on the bike or just flat out aren't as good a runner as you are. Depending on where you come off the bike you may be able to catch people who started 5 or more minutes ahead of you coming off the bike-and you will catch tme all the way to the finish line if you keep pushing it.

Have fun, enjoy the experience!

Here it is. Before you watch it please know that I didn't know that I knocked somebody's bike over. I would have picked it up had I known.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ohV6JMz2Aqc

Not too bad for your first one. That first transition was dreadfully slow though (crashing into that bike was hilarious). I'm not sure why you put on that singlet, it costed you transition time and isn't aerodynamic at all.You said you didn't need to drop a couple of grand on a bike, which is fine, but you definitely need to get some clipless pedals, aero bars and a better helmet. I don't care if you can run a 13:00 5k, in a longer race, guys will be miles ahead of you on the run before you get finished with the bike.Good luck, it's a fun sport.

fnewgy wrote:

Here it is. Before you watch it please know that I didn't know that I knocked somebody's bike over. I would have picked it up had I known.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ohV6JMz2Aqc

You should have been DQ'd since you're not supposed to ride in transition.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the video.

Yeah, I learned that about riding in the transition area at the end of the 1st. Also that triathlons are all about the bike. My helmet was a skateboard helmet. Lots of room for improvement. I had alot of fun. Dont know when I'll get to do another one.

What place did you come in overall, and what were your splits and transition times. From the video it looks like you could have cut your swim to bike transition in half with some practice.

It is usually easy to pick people off in the run which can be due to poor swim, bike, or transitions, strong run, or the fact that many people in the race are below average runners.

Nice video.

uhh did you just ditch your bike at the end of the second transition? i'm pretty sure you're supposed to put it back on your designated rack. it looked like you just tossed it on the ground to the side...

Why are pedals called clipless when your feet do in fact clip onto them? I am baffled by that.

It was his first race, give him a break. Plus he said he had an old bike. He wouldn't do that with a 5K bike most of the others are using.

the point is that it's against the rules... clearly didn't pay attention to the pre-race instructions.