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!

TriJo, that's a whole hour faster than my first tri time! I think it was the cycling that let me down but heading to Bodiam with a better idea of what to expect and a bit more training!

Well done in your sprint, Jo! We need to swap waves for London - I love morning starts….I'm at 12.50 which for me is a bit odd - means you can't really have lunch but don't really know when/what to eat before. I know what to do for morning ones!

Just saying hello - I have been lurking for a while! I did a try a tri a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but struggled badly on the cycle as I was using a rubbish old mountain bike type thing. I have since purchased a decent bike and I have a hankering to do another try a tri just to see how much better I can be. I have also improved my swimming and running a lot. There's a local-ish one on the 9th of August so I think I might aim for that. Distances are Swim 400m, Cycle 16km, Run 3.2km. I feel a bit of a fraud posting about it I'm this thread compared to some of your efforts, but I'd like a wee confidence boost before maybe doing something longer next season. :-)

Do it do it do it :)

That's very achievable and you'll have a lot of fun on the day!

Well done TriJo,. You've got v similar times to what I had a few weeks ago apart from the bike being 8 mins faster! What kind of bike do you have again? Any tips for getting faster on bike?

Go on backward possum you know you want to

Am now thinking of hever gauntlet for next year - cost of staffs 70.3 totally puts me off.
Also considering entering the snowdon race which dh just did this weekend. 5 miles up snowdon and down again! At least that'll sort me out for the hill training ...

I have a road bike - a 4 year old Trek Lexa S. I'm probably going to upgrade next year, probably going to spend around £1500 and get something with carbon fibre and minimum Shimano 105 groupset. Will hold on to the old bike too as a winter and travelling bike.

The only real way to get faster is to train more! I found getting a good solid winter in on the turbo trainer was very helpful - doing interval sessions on it and turning the apartment into a total sweatbox! You need to get used to sustaining a bit of discomfort and get used to the feeling of pushing yourself hard - a sprint race is relatively short so it should be a fairly intense effort, generally you won't be doing one to "just finish" apart from first-timers. I've improved a fair bit since last year - I did the same tri at Eton Dorney last June and my splits were more like 17, 47, 27 with very long transitions.

Do it, backwardpossum! And there's absolutely no need to feel a fraud - I am pretty sure we all started with short distances. Much better to start shorter and enjoy it, get to grips with transitions etc first. FWIW my first ever tri was 400m swim, 10km bike, 4km run. Short enough to be doable, long enough to get the bug….

There's something quite fun about going hard and fast over short distances too, it isn't all about going longer!

I did a brick session today - went out on the MTB and did the local trails then chucked the bike in the car at the bottom and went for a 3km run. It was surprisingly fine - I thought I was running really slowly, but actually, I did the 1.5km in 9:00 min/mile pace. Not bad considering my legs were like lead! Will need to check with DH that he hasn't got anything on on the 9th of August and I'll be in.

Nice to know the tri suit I bought a couple of months ago fits and is comfortable :)

"the first 1.5km" that should say

Go for it Possom!

Found out yesterday that the paratri I'm doing on the 9th is going to have an hour length C4 coverage - I'm sure most of it will be focusing on the celebs, but its great that a mass participation para event is getting the attention.

We've booked a camping holiday in late August at a site which has lakes you can swim in (and kayaks to borrow), and mtb trails, plus direct access to hill trails. We are planning on a week of lycra and wetsuits!

CMOT that's brilliant that a para triathlon is getting so much media attention! And your camping holiday sounds fab - where are you going?

We're going to Fforest fields. Should be lovely and quiet, and a proper break

Oh that looks lovely. On my list for next summer! We went to Starry Skies family festival last year in a similar-ish area, and a friend and I did some road biking and had a fabulous morning….sooo nice to see so few cars compared to SE London!

That looks gorgeous CMOT!

50km bike last night - my longest one since I've come home from honeymoon and by far my longest midweek one in ages. Good to get that done, and felt like I could have run off it reasonably well. I am such a lazy cyclist though.

CMOT That looks fabulous :)

Just had a look and have booked us in! We love camping and I love trying new places. I did a sprint triathlon in June, but a pool based swim, so looking forward to trying a swim in the lake. Thanks for sharing your holiday location!

When are you going Whateverloser?

This coming weekend I hope- Friday to Monday, but they haven't confirmed my booking yet, so not sure. I'm off for the six weeks though so can be flexible with dates.

So I've entered that novice triathlon. It's next Sunday. I did a lovely bike ride today - just under 30 miles. Not sure I'd have managed a run after it - just as well the tri I've entered is nice and short.

Hello, I wanted to get some advice as a total novice. I'm 42, not terribly fit (can manage a slow 5-10k run), stuck in a bit of a rut generally in life and need a challenge to get me motivated. The idea of doing a triathlon appeals just to try something new - but I'd need a fair bit of training so realistically I'm looking at 2016. Can anyone recommend a good beginners event where it won't matter too much if I'm slow? (I live in north London). And does anyone know of some good online training schedules?

Hey fromheretomaternity - I'm in north London too. Member of Hampstead Tri Club.

Most of the bigger events are quite good if you're slow (London Tri sprint/super-sprint etc or the ITU one which is generally in May), that said the Votwo ones at Eton Dorney and the Shock Absorber Women-Only races there are pretty newbie-friendly too. It just depends what distance you want to do really. I've done the Votwo sprints a good bit and it's as easy as they come - sprint is 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run and the super-sprint is 400m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run. You could probably complete their super-sprint in late September if you can complete the swim (if you can swim one lap of the ladies pond you would almost be there).

Beginner Triathlete do some good basic schedules, but if you're aiming for an event next year you have a lot of time before a plan would start. I would recommend just getting into the habit of regular running, swimming and cycling for now and getting some swimming lessons or coaching if you are a weak(er) swimmer.

My season is now officially over as of Sunday - got a screaming loud BFP this morning!

Hello! Hope you don't mind me joining in at the tail end of the season.

I was somehow convinced into doing my first tri at the end of September. I'm a cyclist primarily, of the long moderate paced sportive variety and park runner. Other than my weekly park run, all of my training to date has been focussing on endurance cycling. I think I might be off my head as basically got 8 weeks to train for the swim when I don't swim regularly at all....

I'm pretty sure I will be slowest at the tri I'm doing (I have made my peace with that).

I think some major swimming focus needed after next week's cycling event!