Distance runner looking to do a Triathlon - what should I know?

You should know 2 things:

1. How to swim

2. How to ride a bike

If you have a good aerobic engine like a runner, a good 1,000 dollar bike is all you need. All triathletes have trash swimming form. The run makes or breaks you.

You should know this: get out now while you still have a chance.

Why do Protestants hate catholics?

Unless you have a swimming background...get ready to get your butt handed to you in the water.

I messed around with triathlons a few summers ago, I was always one of the last out of the water but would generally pass almost everyone on the bike and spend the run trying to get the last few ahead.

Basically, your aerobic fitness will count for a lot on the bike and run...it's just swim form counts for more in the water.

Along the lines of what Slugger said, the #1 thing you can do is try to learn better swimming form. Form begets efficiency there almost more than conditioning, especially to somebody already in good shape. As for the bike just make sure you get a good one.

I'm a hobby jogger, but do tris as well. A few questions:

1) What's your goal tri? A sprint? Olympic? Half ironman? Full ironman?

2) What is your normal weekly workouts like?

3) Can you swim? Swimming will kick you in the dick repeatedly if you can't.

4) Be prepared to spend money for a halfway decent road bike. Get it fitted. It's worth it.

5) Be prepared to spend a ton of cash. It ain't cheap.

I would like to chime in, since I started out as a triathlete, even though I have been running since I was 19 ( free running, no special type of training or racing in my younger days).

Positives: You have a big running foundation, so that will help you out a lot, because a lot of triathletes suck as runners. But you have the knowledge, speed and form to put you over the top in that area.

Negatives: Swimming! I've been swimming since I was 9 years old, and it still took me a while to get acclimated to OPEN water swimming. It's an entirely different space. The pool is very calm and temperature controlled, so there aren't any natural forces going against you. However, in open water, there are many forces that you have to endure. The water moves three dimensionally, creating a hard resistance that you have to propel through, plus the water is a lot colder, which will have a certain effect on your body temperature. You want to get in a lot of practice with swimming in open water before you attempt to do your first triathlon. Many have not survived the swim, and some have any died during the swim because it was too exhausting, or hypothermia set in, and they drowned because of it. 90 percent of the deaths that have occurred during a triathlon happened during the swimming stage. So take it seriously, be prepared, and don't endure it until you are 100 percent comfortable.

To me, biking is the easiest part of the triathlon. An athlete can coast on a bike, and pedal sparingly to preserve energy for the run. You already have cardio strength, so building up muscle memory for cycling shouldn't be that hard.

I stopped doing Tris because I'm a runner at heart and body( my second love wold be swimming), and I just didn't feel like an athlete because there are so many POSERS at triathlon events. Don't get me wrong, it's a tough sport, and there is a lot of fitness involved, but it just comes off as more of social sport. Plus, the transitioning and bike transportation are just too complicated and cumbersome. You have to haul a bike around, and certain mechanical failures can put you out of the race. That's just too much of a hindrance to me.....Also, it is very, very expensive.

However, if that is your passion, be the best that you can at it.

scorpion_runner wrote:

there are so many POSERS at triathlon events.

This is the part that I hate the most. There are a lot of first rate twats at tris.

Open water swimming is no joke. You may be able to do 5km in the pool but add some current and some chop and you'll flail around. Plus you'll have the uncertainty of people grabbing or bumping into you.

Give it a tri wrote:

I've always just been a long distance runner, but ive been wanting to give triathlons a try for a while now and will be running my first one in August. Im a 4:18 miler and a 8:30 3k runner, but I really have no experience on a bike.

Im wondering what I need to know making the switch from running road races to triathlons.

What can I expect?

How should I pace?

How hard is the run gunna be for an experienced runner after the other two stages?

First unless you have a solid swim background, I recommend finding the shortest swim distance possible. Also, it would not hurt to spend some time in the pool. Get some swim lessons. It is amazing how much just a few lessons for stroke technique can help. Open water is a different beast though. Navigating and also avoiding being kicked or having your feet hit with other peoples' hands can be unnerving.

Second, do not fret about what bike you have. It is your first tri, get a bike you are used to handling and make sure it fits you. Get out and RIDE. You will be surprised at how challenging it is and how sore your butt is gonna be. Also even small hills on a bike when you are starting become a challenge. Practice turns and also 180 degree turns depending on the course.

Third, do some "bricks". These are rides followed immediately by a run. I think the rides should be short and hard followed by a run. Running after riding is a new experience. You do not want the race to be the first time doing this.

Do not worry about going fast through the transition.

Know the rules such as drafting and also when you can ride the bike (you have to get off the bike at the entrance to the transition area and cannot get on the bike until a marked spot).

Know how to get from the water to your bike. (I thought I knew in my first tri but ended up getting "lost").

Sighting is tough even for experienced swimmers in choppy water. I wouldn't think the water would be chilly in August unless it's in Canada. Don't use a wet suit in warm water. It gets rough in the swim because of the traffic around you, and you might well be placed in a wave behind slower older, charity, or female swimmers, whom you would have to go through or around. Once you get on the run, you will pass many people, but note too that unless you're running way up north, it will be very hot by the time you get to start the run (the hotter the longer the triathlon is), which will affect you less if you train by running at that time of the day. If you don't train a good deal on the bike, your legs are going to be very sore after that stage, so that you'll be wobbling around on the transition. So, practice the bike. The swim will be by far the toughest. In the water, unless you have a pool for the swim stage, you don't get to rest every 25 or 50, so that is something also to factor in. I would bet that most triathletes don't get close to an adequate warmup before their swim. Doing a good warmup would help you a lot.

Karl Hungus wrote:

scorpion_runner wrote:

there are so many POSERS at triathlon events.

Plus you'll have the uncertainty of people grabbing or bumping into you.

Yeah, I forgot about that part. That makes the swim a lot harder than it should be. You might get kicked in the head, or punched on the butt, and a lot of swimmers panic during those situations.

First timers need to START in the LAST WAVE, and then slowly move up as more space is available. The beginning of the swim is very frantic, because most of the athletes are terrible swimmers ,and are just trying to survive it to get to the bike stage.

I usually start off in the middle of the pack, not too fast and not too slow, and I stay WIDE. You'll get hammered by being dead in the middle.

I'm not sure if I'll every do another one or get back into it, but I do need to get to the beach ASAP to get in an open water swim. I have not swum in a year, nothing but run training!

Join a swim squad.

Karl Hungus wrote:

I'm a hobby jogger, but do tris as well. A few questions:

1) What's your goal tri? A sprint? Olympic? Half ironman? Full ironman?

2) What is your normal weekly workouts like?

3) Can you swim? Swimming will kick you in the dick repeatedly if you can't.

4) Be prepared to spend money for a halfway decent road bike. Get it fitted. It's worth it.

5) Be prepared to spend a ton of cash. It ain't cheap.

Im doing a sprint distance (500m swim, 12.1 bike, 3 mile run). Right now im training for the upcoming cross reason and have been doing nothing but base building all summer (long runs, easy runs, and steady-state runs). Ive been swimming since I was a kid, but never did it as a sport or anything.

Buy a trikini and shave your legs and maybe your chest.

Shoebacca wrote:

Along the lines of what Slugger said, the #1 thing you can do is try to learn better swimming form. Form begets efficiency there almost more than conditioning, especially to somebody already in good shape. As for the bike just make sure you get a good one.

This.

Also keep in mind that about half the time will be on the bike, so spend an appropriate amount of time on the bike in training.

Having a bike that allows you to be comfortable in the aero position is important too. Aerodynamics count for a lot.

The fact that you gave a background as a runner won't be as helpful as you think unless you can translate your aerobic power to the bike.

Give it a Tri (OP) wrote:

Im doing a sprint distance (500m swim, 12.1 bike, 3 mile run). Right now im training for the upcoming cross reason and have been doing nothing but base building all summer (long runs, easy runs, and steady-state runs). Ive been swimming since I was a kid, but never did it as a sport or anything.

I've been a runner all my life and have done the running leg in several team triathlons, but have done only one (Olympic distance) tri by myself. My take:

Since what you say indicates that you're quite comfortable in the water, I don't think a 500m swim will break you--although, as others have noted, the rugby scrum that passes for the swim leg of a tri may be a bit tough to navigate if you have no experience. The bike leg is the one where you will lose the most time if you're not a strong cyclist, and strong runners sometimes suck on the bike (I know from sorry personal experience). But it's the transitions that will kill you in a sprint distance tri. You really need to practice getting fast at the swim-bike and bike-run transitions or you'll be very frustrated at how much precious time you lose there.

One other thing. When you get off the bike and start running, you will feel unimaginably bad. Your legs are tired and have the blood going to the wrong places, and your mind has gotten accustomed to seeing things go by at bike speed. Don't worry about it. If you're a strong runner you will quickly start reeling in the people ahead of you even though you feel as if you are running in place. Once you've gone about a mile it will start to feel more normal.

amkelley wrote:

One other thing. When you get off the bike and start running, you will feel unimaginably bad. Your legs are tired and have the blood going to the wrong places, and your mind has gotten accustomed to seeing things go by at bike speed. Don't worry about it. If you're a strong runner you will quickly start reeling in the people ahead of you even though you feel as if you are running in place. Once you've gone about a mile it will start to feel more normal.

I want to build on this. Even though you'll feel like you're not going fast, you are likely running a lot faster than you think. The run is a different animal on the 5k. Brick workouts help a lot.