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!

I've had to re sign up to mumsnet when I found this thread ... pootle bug I am really interested to know how you found the Staffs 70.3 race? Am think of it next year . Read a review on tri talk saying it was a bit lonely if you're at the back of the pack as run course v quiet when you got to it - what did you think? Also what was the bike like in terms of road quality, hills etc?

I should add in about myself too ... Did Windsor Olympic distance in June. First oly distance. Really worried about it before but it was fine, apart from swimming in yucky Thames with current to contend with!
Am doing the human race women only this weekend if anyone else is? Just doing super sprint, treating it as fun!
Oh and am doing Yorkshire marathon too - I think someone else here is doing it too?

Whereisthesnow - I enjoyed Staffs 70.3. It was my first half though, so I don't have much to compare it to (and 3 sprints and 3 Oly's).

The run course was fine when I was on it - busy for my first lap and gradually getting quieter. I started in the last wave (women were the last 2 waves, with 40+ year olds starting 10 mins ahead of 18-39, and around 250 people per wave), but I was about 1/3 of the way down the overall womens field, so there were still a fair few people on the course when I finished.

To be honest I heard complaints from earlier that the run course was too busy. It was narrow in parts and on my first lap was tougher to get past people at times. I guess if you're at the back of the last wave the run course will be quiet and that's that. To be fair I think plenty of people were still supporting….athletes were starting to leave but a fair few stuck around and there was loads of support on the run course when I finished it.

There was some moaning about bike course and tiny country lanes at the start of it. But they were well swept, it wasn't really an issue re getting past people - the field soon spreads out. There was one unexpected steep uphill just after a blind corner about 10km in that led to a few falling off not able to crank down the gears fast enough that could have done with a warning sign, but that was about it. Course was scenic and varied. I could have lived without the climb up Cannock Chase at the end, but that's because I'm a weak cyclist who hadn't done enough training!

Lake was lovely - really clear and nice to swim in.

I did the Super Sprint at the Women Only day last year. It was really fun - great atmosphere that was competitive but supportive, and on the whole it is a much easier field than most races so you get to feel great about your place (I was in the top 10 finishers out of 400+ - which believe me wouldn't happen normally!). I would go back but live right over the other side of London and it's a pain in the bum to get to.

It's me that's doing the Yorkshire Marathon as well! How is your training going?

Thanks that's really helpful to know. Trying to decide between that one and the vitruvian at the end of august - bit of kudos associated with doing an IM branded event but vitruvian also gets good reviews.

Are you tempted by the full distance now?!

Yorkshire training has just begun really - only up to 10 miles. Only done one others marathon (London last year) when I was a lot less fit and it was just about getting round. So sort of a weird experience that I can actually run a reasonable ish speed but difficult to know how I'll find it on the day. How is your training for it going?

Whereis - for me the biggest downside to Staffordshire was the time taken to register, rack bikes etc. Partly because it was a split-site course, partly because it was a long walk from car park to where you were going at both sites etc. But from queueing for the car park at Shugborough, to getting back out of the carpark at Chasewater, took 4.5 hours. Adding on the time it took getting from where I was staying with my folks in Derby and it felt like pretty much the whole day gone - certainly my kids were under the impression I'd finished racing, not that I was yet to start!

I had in my head that I fancied a full one for my 40th birthday (next year). At two opposite ends of the faff/expense scale, both Ironman Kalmar (Sweden), and the Midnight Man iron-distance race will take place on my birthday next year. But then I stop and think that a) I might not want to do the actual race on my birthday, and more importantly b) I didn't train enough for the half….I just don't know how on earth I would fit in training for full distance with commitments of kids, work etc.

I've registered interest for Outlaw (both full and half) and will look out for what others might work. I hate having to book it all so early though. I still would really like to attempt to qualify for a London Marathon place if I could (3.45 until I'm 41, then 3.50)…which in theory should be possible given I did a 1.45 half, but I've never done a Marathon before so have no idea how it will go to up the distance. Assuming that I enjoy Yorkshire and manage sub-4 hours, I might aim for a spring one to have another go at sub 3.45. But in that case I should leave a half-ironman til later in the year. Or I could just try and get faster at Oly and sprint, which would probably fit much better with the amount of time I have to train!

Tried to keep up the long run a bit but had a bit of a lull post 70.3 and then a further lull with a vomit bug this week…..so hoping to hit the training harder next week. I still have an Oly tri left in early August though so still need to keep up the cycling til then.

Pootle, that's immense. I went for a short run this morning and was wondering how I'm going to fit in any more training than I do without dropping everything. How do manage it?

Pootlebug your 40th sounds like a great time to do a full :) 180km bike on a lap course in Dartford sounds like pain in the arse though.

I've done 3 marathons, PB 3:59 so still a bit away from GFA. I reckon do an autumn one this year and aim for sub-4 and having a bit of fun, then build to a faster one (3:40 ish goal?) in the spring. I've always found it much easier to do lots of running over the winter than cycling, I ran my fastest marathon in March (2011) after training hard though the winter.

I keep going back and forth on whether I want to go longer or not. Cycling is my stumbling block - I'm a real swim-runner and it's hard to convince myself that 4 hours on the bike at a time is a good idea! Maybe I should just try and go faster over Olympic distance.

The full ironman is pretty mad. Dh has done two - IM Wales and challenge roth. His weekend training was always long ride up to 7 hours on Saturday + short run then long run on Sunday. We never saw him!

With a 1.45 hm pootle I'd say you're definitely in a good place for sub 4 hours. Yorkshire is lovely and flat I hear.

I think if the stars aligned and training went amazingly for me, I could squeeze in 3.59, but realistically it's more like 4.10 as my likely time.

rhubarb you can fit a surprising amount in, key is planning it with spouse each week, especially if they are equally into sport, and find times to exercise ie I've got a a 6 mile route I run if I get off train a few stops earlier when I'm going to work.
Or this weekend I need to do 10 miles - will get up early and do 7 on my own then time it to get to park run for 9 am - bingo, 10 miles on the bag before 9.30am!
Oh and letting things slide is inevitable ... My house is fairly unloved and messy.

TriJo I am not sure what kind of bike you have but upgrading that or even just new wheels would help?
I've only got a basic road bike, can't afford a new one. But will get new wheels over winter. Also embarrassingly I don't use clipless pedals... Have got the shoes and pedals but took them off after a few falls and now have got a complete phobia of using them

I have a 4 year old Trek Lexa S, I've mentally earmarked next year's bonus for an upgrade (probably to something with a Shimano 105 groupset and a nice bit of carbon fibre, have a mix of Sora/Tiagra now) if I haven't managed to get knocked up by then. I do use clipless pedals, but use the 2 bolt mountain bike ones rather than SPD-SL because they are easier to unclip in London traffic.

I just don't have time to train for a full. Especially the cycling - it just takes up too much time. So I think I'm going to park that one for the moment…maybe will rethink when my kids are bigger and more independent. It seemed a good 'thing' for my 40th but I just don't think it's feasible. I found the half a bit frustrating in that I felt I couldn't 'race' it, but just 'survive' it iyswim? I've found that on the whole I'm not one of those 'I just want to get around' people :)

I've just joined the local tri club so will see how things go with them over the winter. I can't make most of the training times though because of DHs work hours / kids….hoping I can at least find someone else who likes to do their bike rides at stupid-a.m. I do most of my training before 7.30am on weekdays, then try to fit in a long run and ideally a long ride at the weekend.

Hmm I have thought of the mountain bike pedals before but then put off by another set of pedals and shoes. You are v brave to cycle in London btw!

Sorry - I X-posted with everyone earlier trying to do too many things at once!

Whereis - is there anywhere really easy you can get used to the shoes and pedals….near here there is Cyclopark which has a completely off-road cycle circuit, so that you could practice getting pedals in and out plenty without worrying about traffic etc? They make a huge difference once you are happy with them.

Totally agree with you Whereis, that my house is rather unloved and messy.

TriJo - if it helps, my longest ride pre 70.3 was only 70km, and a handful of 50-60km ones. I still got round. Albeit that the bike was tough, and as a result the run didn't go great either….

I'll probably go up to 60km before my Oly in August (long ride is 45-50km at the moment), so it's good to know that a 70.3 on not a huge amount more is doable!

Two races this weekend... Great London Swim 1 mile on Saturday and a sprint at Eton Dorney on Sunday. Time to finally open my tri season for this year! My running has been good lately (ran a sub-24 5k), swimming average, cycling a bit crap - let's just see how we get on!

Good luck for the weekend TriJo!
I really enjoyed my race at eton dorney on Sunday. Satisfyingly in the top third as pootlebug found also as it was women's only. Eton dorney is the windiest place on earth though, felt like I was going to be knocked off my bike! Oh and my 5k time was amazingly pretty similar to my park run pb
Have found date for when entries open for Staffordshire 70.3. But the cost - £263!! For that price I want a gold plated medal. dH has decided he wants to do it too so it's a lot out of the family budget

I would consider that a bit too expensive tbh for a 70.3 race in the UK! Cotswold 113, Outlaw half, Midnightman, Challenge Weymouth half, The Gauntlet at any of the Castle Triathlon Series events - all a hell of a lot cheaper. If I was going to spend that much I'd be seriously looking at IM70.3 Mallorca or Lanzarote and making a holiday of it.

I did 2 sprints at Eton Dorney last year - trust me I know about those winds! I'm also a bit of an aviation geek so got distracted during one of the bike laps by an A380 on approach into Heathrow

I would love sub-25 off the bike but it probably won't happen.

I remember the winds at Dorney from last year…..down one side of the lake at one point I was pedalling like mad and doing all of 14km/hour - on the way down the other side 40km/hour….

The price and the hassle of registering are the reasons I'm not doing Staffordshire next year. I'm looking at Outlaw and Midnight Man half, I think.

Good luck for the weekend, Jo. What day/wave are you doing at London? I'm in wave 7 on Saturday (mixed Oly).

Female Olympic Age Group on the Sunday.

TriJo so have you done any of those half ironmans you mention? Any particular recommendations?

I haven't done any of them yet but was researching them all when I was considering a HIM this year (decided not to because I lost too much training time with my wedding and honeymoon in late May/early June). Have heard very good things about Outlaw half in particular though but I was in the US when it was on this year. I had strongly considered Hever Castle too but it clashes with Ireland v Romania in the Rugby World Cup so that was a no go :) Midnightman would have been the relatively convenient option for me - relatively cheap (under £100), Dartford isn't too far away and 6pm start, but it's a bit boring course-wise.

Thanks. Vitruvian also meant to be good with added bonus of being late summer = more training time.
I thought about hever too as it's near where I grew up. But meant to be quite hilly bike and run - think I need it as flat as possible!

First full sprint tri in September. Have done the swim open water leg as part of a team at Dorney, Blenheim and hever castle before. Bike leg is worrying me the most. Have posted some questions on another thread about 1st triathlons in "Exercise"...

Excited and terrified. Start a new job next Monday, and have a two week beach holiday before I do it, what was I thinking??? When exactly am I going to train for this??

whereisthenow I did the run leg as well as the swim at hever castle when a teammate dropped out....it is a hilly course, starts with a massive hill, and ends with another. Killer. IMVHO. [not a strong runner]

Sprint PB yesterday, happy out :)

1:26:17 for 750m/20km/5km - 16:58 swim (bit shit, but was talking to 3rd lady afterwards and she was down ~90 seconds too on her usual), 40:48 bike, 25:07 run. I'd set sub-40 bike and sub-25 run splits as goals for this year, so I'm not too far away now. 29th lady overall and 15th in combined 20-39 AG.

Got my wave assignment for London Tri too - a bit unimpressed, I have an 8:30am start and I am the world's worst morning person.