Hello from a newbie! thanks for all the valuable info
80
Member
208 days
overcome posted 22 weeks ago.
Swimming takes a lot of work. I am not a very strong swimmer.
I have not had any coaching but I read the Total Immersion book and that got me from only being able to swim 25 yd to where I am now with distance not being a major limiting factor.
I am still fairly slow however I am about twice as fast as when I first started.
If your swim is in open water make sure you do some training in open water. I made the mistake of not doing this in my first triathlon and dnf'ed (did not finish) about 400 meters into the swim.
You are allowed to stand or hold on to kayaks during the race but you can not make forward progress from these.
Start in the back and outside of the swim.
The amount you are training should be enough for a sprint distance however you might struggle with International distance without longer workouts.
As far as brick workouts bike - run are very important. I haven't done swim-bike brick workouts so I don't think they are necessary, but I will let some of the more experienced people here help you with that.
For clothing you wear trishorts and jersey or a trisuit the entire race. I wear a trisuit. If you are wearing shorts/jersey you want to either practice your open water swims wearing the jersey to see how it works while swimming or put it on in t1.
Just for clarification usually there is only one transition area where the bike leg starts and ends.
4480
Member
1632 days
kylie posted 22 weeks ago.
Welcome!
Overcome covered much of it, but here are a couple additional thoughts:
Yes, you can stand during the swim. And perfect plan to start at the back: other people will appreciate it, and you won't have to deal with as much full contact (where punching back isn't looked happily on ;))
Some variation in workouts can be good. I'd recommend looking for a training plan -- there are a couple for sprint tris here on this site: Sprint plan and Beginner plan.
2
Member
155 days
BOYRACER posted 21 weeks ago.
Thanks a lot for clarifying some of my misconceptions! I am about to head out to do a bike-run brick right now! really appreciate all the help!
556
Member
472 days
TryScott posted 21 weeks ago.
BOYRACER wrote:
For clothing you wear trishorts and jersey or a trisuit the entire race. I wear a trisuit. If you are wearing shorts/jersey you want to either practice your open water swims wearing the jersey to see how it works while swimming or put it on in t1.
Lots of people just wear trishorts for the entire race. I've never counted, but maybe 20% to 40% of guys go topless. I'm not worried about the 10 seconds it takes me to put on a shirt, so I take my favorite non-cotton T shirt to slip on before I get on the bike. Last time I put the shirt on after I put my helmet on, which was a bit of a challange.
Just wanted to say hi. I have been lurking and reading the forum for some information. A little background: I am from chicago, and recently signed up for the chicago triahtlon. I signed up late, so I had to sign up for the triple. I will not do all three events as this is my first event, but I had to pay the little extra for signing up late. I am shooting to do either the sprint or international distance on sunday. In the past, I have competed in sports that were more contact related in nature. I did karate for 14 or so years and kickboxed for several. Competed in both. I also used to competitively powerlift, so I am slightly bigger built than some triathletes, which is making some parts of this more difficult. I have also raced cars for a long time and love competition, so I am very very motivated. I have gained so so much respect for all of you. I started training knowing it was going to be hard work, but man let me tell you, I can not believe what you guys put your bodies through. I feel completely out of shape and am in awe at the dedication it takes to really finish one of these smaller tris, let alone you ironman competitors....
So here are some things I have been doing and I am open to any critique....I am a law student, so I work 9-5 M-F and have classes this summer 6-9PM monday and wednesday nights. So I have been waking up every morning for a 45 min swim (my swim is the hardest leg). In the afternoons or nights (on M,W) I either run 5 miles (will increase this) or bike for an hour (I just bought a road bike, so I am getting used to this). I rest after every 5th day.
My swim has been rough. I have not even tried to get in the lake yet. I have a pool in my gym and I feel like I must be expending way too much energy. I will be getting a swim coach for a couple sessions starting next week to find out what it is I am doing wrong. For the swim part, is it ok for me to stop and rest during the chicago tri? If I stand up in the water, will I be disqualified? I plan on starting in the back so I do not hold anyone up. I really just want to finish the first tri.
As far as training goes leading up to an event, should I start doing bricks with bikes to runs and swims to bikes? Which would you guys recommend being the best two legs to do after one another? I am limited due to my schedule, so I am trying to get the most out of training.
Lastly, as far as clothing goes. Do I just wear tri shorts throughout the entire event? I am still a little confused as to how the attire work throughout a tri. Do I just leave my stuff at each transition point?
Very sorry for all the questions. Thanks for any help. Hope to see some of you in Chicago. Once again, I have so much respect for you guys. This tri stuff makes some of my past competition training feel easy in comparison.