Summer 2015 triathletes….

[pootlebug]

Anyone else? We had a thread last summer so thought I'd start a new one. Please join in whether you're just contemplating your first one or a seasoned triathlete!

Did my first season last year - 2 sprints and 2 olympic. I am panicking as signed up for half ironman in June. Winter was plagued with injuries and now although I'm back to training I'm not nearly as fit as I was and it doesn't feel like long enough to get there. Will give it a good go though. Planning a Sprint in early May and an Olympic end of May as warm-up races.

Come and join me!

Good luck Claybury!

Good luck, Claybury!

Sprint for me this weekend too but the swim is pool based so I don't have to brave the lake just yet (although will have to get on with it in the next week or two to get some open water practice in).

How was it Claybury? Mine was disappointing - a whole 16 seconds faster than last year, which is not good enough, really. Not really my type of course (pool swim where I got stuck behind people, hilly bike and run) but grrr.

And I know you push it harder in a sprint, but I spent the whole bike course thinking oh crap there is no way on earth I can do 4.5 x this in 5 weeks time.

Pootle I had a good race thanks ! Came 4 th female despite being an old one !! ( admittedly a low key small event )
As always during the run hating it, wondering why I do it, but afterwards thinking I loved it. Also worried about Olympic distance next month .....
Swim was in a lake, I actually managed to sight properly today ( takes practice doesn't it !) my bike was fine although I always feel I should be able to push it more, and the run is always hard even though I am a supposedly a runner.
I actually have no idea of pace on the bike. I just do my best. When I got home DH said he thinks I don't try on the bike and I should be doing 18mph over a short race. Well I managed to shut him up when I told him 15 miles in 50 minutes is just that.
I get blisters on the run which is always annoying and will be worse on the standard distance. Will have to put socks on in T1 I think.

I always put socks on. I can't be bothered to be miserable with blisters for the next week for the sake of 5 seconds!

Well done on 4th female - that's fantastic! 15 miles in 50 mins sounds pretty respectable to me!

Right knee is a bit iffy now. It has to sort itself out though as I have an (extremely rare) long cycle session planned tomorrow. DD is in childcare for 4 hours and I should be working but have deliberately booked in no clients so that I can train as the impending-half-ironman-lack-of-training is reaching crisis point.

Well done Claybury!

DH and I have a very, very rare child free 3 nights this week as ds is away with school. What do we plan to do with this? Yes, a romantic few evenings of cycle training sessions, and the night dh is away I'm excited that I can have a really long swim session without worrying about getting back to my desk or home. How sad are we

I swam in a lake this evening and it was fabulous . And the lake was even very weedy, and I was able to deal with that too.
Am super, super happy as this was such a big thing for me, and actually its a beggar that this lake isn't convenient to go to regularly as they were a nice bunch. Swim instructor was brill.

So, onwards and upwards, in Dorney on Sunday for the womens tri training day which I'm looking forward to now.

How was the women tri training day, CMOTD?

I have an Oly on Sat - fairly small event, just need to get myself in a lake and racing. I was supposed to do a practice aquathlon last week but it got cancelled….will be winging it a bit Sat - haven't been in open water since last season. If it is terrible I'll be hastily trying to fit in some sessions at a local lake….but the local lake isn't that local so getting there takes up valuable limited training time, so I'm hoping to minimise them.

What races does everyone have coming up?

It was really good thanks - first time I've had any run training, and the swim was great. We were in the return channel, so all the same buoys as the main lake, and we did deep water starts, people swimming through you, exit practice and swim form.

Good luck on Saturday!

I have - a women only 10k run on Sunday, Velothon Wales on June 14th, pool sprint tri 21st, then nothing booked till late July... yet. Entered a para tri at Dorney in August which should be fun.

Good luck on Sunday CMOTD. Velothon Wales looks great - which distance are you doing? Are you doing the shorter one with DS?

Just did a really great swim session in the local lido, in my wetsuit. Followed by an epically crap bike turbo session in the adjoining gym. Aarghhh.

DH and I are doing the short course together. A very kind friend who lives in Cardiff is looking after ds for a few hours - its no under 16's, so it will be my first cycle event without having to keep up a cheery monologue.
The length of the long course wouldn't be a problem, but doing the Tumble would be an issue for me, but I think dh will do it next year.

What went wrong on the turbo?

Velothon sounds fun - it will be really nice for you and DH to do it together. It's a massive difference between the two courses once you add in hills isn't it? An in-between wouldn't be a bad thing!

Turbo - dunno. Just had no energy left. Evenings are not my top training time, but the only time I could do today. Pushed too hard on the swim, maybe? (took 1.5 mins off my 1900m time from earlier in the week). Not eaten enough or the right stuff? Hard to tell though - Sat I did 70km bike on hardly any fuel, then got off and did a reasonably fast 6k run (couldn't do longer due to other commitments) and was fine. Just not an evening person maybe.

I don't like evenings either. Especially not the 9-10pm lane swim session.

What wetsuit do you have? I like mine in the body and legs, but the arms are really tight, and I feel like I'm fighting against it.

How was your 10k?, CMOTD?

I have this one xterrawetsuits.co.uk/products/womens-vector-pro-x3.html

I was lucky enough to pick one up for just over £100 from a company that had been hiring them out and were selling ex-hire ones (and my brand new with tags one which had been planned for hire but not actually hired). I love it….lots of buoyancy on the legs and really flexible arms. My first wetsuit swim in ages always feels tough, but once I've done 2 or 3 it feels so easy compared to no wetsuit, and I'm about 10 seconds per 100m faster in it.

Probably stating the blatantly obvious but do you have the arms pulled right up at the armpits - even it it means that they aren't long enough to reach your wrists? Any slight gape at the armpits can make movement much harder.

Good thanks - 56 min, which I'm happy with. I really need to work on speed, but in spite of doing intervals etc, I just find it hard to sustain a fast pace. All that seems to have happened is that I can go up hills at the same pace as on the flat now, and at my preferred pace I can go on and on.

You are possibly right about my sleeves - I can't pull my own wetsuit sleeve up on my good arm, and the last two times I've had to ask a stranger to do so, which has been an issue. I may have to try something like a calving glove to let the sleeve pull up better - I'm tall, so the legs are half way up my calves, so no surprise the sleeves should be higher.

Well done on the 10k!

If you want to sustain a faster pace, can you try to lengthen your intervals? So e.g. initially you might do 2 mins fast, 1 min recovery. Lengthen it to 4 mins fast, 1.5 mins recovery, or 5 mins fast, 2 mins recovery. Then try to up it to say 7 mins fast, 2-3 mins recovery. I find doing that really tough, but it brings quick gains in terms of fitness. On holiday last summer I really went for it on increasing interval lengths. By the end of the week I could really feel a difference in my running.

Well I have my first ever triathlon ( a sprint one), in twelve days. Scared and serious cold feet now. Any tips for a novice?

Tips for Whatever:

• Practice bike-to-run transition. Your legs feel like lead. Just try and keep them running as best you can and within a km or so they'll start to feel like normal legs again
• Use a checklist to remember everything you need on the day….it all adds up!
• Go through transition in your head several times for swim/bike and bike/run so that you're comfortable with it.
• Enjoy it! I still always think 'what the hell am I doing' when waiting to set off on the swim, but then settle into it once I get going.

Is it open water or pool? If the former, have you had a practice in a lake?

I'd add

Read the race information. Several times.
Don't get on your bike before the mount line, or stay on it after the dismount.
Lay everything out at home like you will for transition - sunglasses in helmet, race belt under helmet etc. Practice putting it all on in order.
Do an emergency bag of spare inner tube, safety pins, sports bra, cycling shorts, swim hat, goggles so that if anything breaks before you start you have an alternative (after having to race in a pinned together tri suit last year when the zip broke)

And enjoy it - it really is fun, honest!

I thought I would drop in an say hi! After many months of vacillating, I have finally signed up for my first sprint triathlon.

I put it off for ages because my running ability is so unpredictable. I only started running last year and I'm quite pleased with my 5km Parkrun PB which is 28.53 (at age 49) but I frequently set off too fast and end up getting horrendous calf cramp which prevents me from walking never mind running.

My goal for this year is just to get round the whole thing in one piece although I don't want to be last.

When I was booking my place, I was given the option to buy a race belt which I declined because it was £8 which seemed expensive and because most belts that come with trousers are too big for me and I didn't want to find out on the day of the race that I had to use something that would slip down around my feet! Does anyone have any recommendations or should I just use safety pins?

I'd get a race belt as they are adjustable, and other wise you are trying to pull a jersey with a number pinned on over your wet body which is really hard. And you have to have your number on your back to cycle and front for run.

Which sprint are you doing?

LornMowa - My race belt was a fiver. Worth it for me as often you're only given one number which has to be on the back on the bike leg and on the front on the run leg. Mine is elasticated, and adjustable, so it doesn't fall down and you can wear it where you like - waist, hips etc.

There's lots on ebay around the £3-4 mark.

The Erewash one in August.

Doing London Triathlon oly in August as my A race, starting my season late (July) because of my wedding and honeymoon taking a three week chunk out of my training! I have a 3km open water swim on July 12 and a sprint tri on July 19 before it, would normally have done the Rapha Women's 100 as my longest spin but hubby's parents are over for the London Diamond League that weekend so can't really do it then.

Planning a sneaky skins dip in the ladies pond at Hampstead Heath later, still jetlagged to hell after coming home from California a couple of days ago so taking it handy :)

Hi TriJo - I'm doing London Oly too. Is your Open Water 3km at Dorney? Am contemplating adding a tri there the same day.

My A race is supposed to be Staffordshire 70.3 this weekend though. I am crapping myself. The weather forecast says cold, rainy, and most depressing of all - very windy. Arghhh. I'm barely ready as it is….adding in wind on the bike (my weakest leg) is really really not going to help matters.