1st Tri........(Sprint Tri) Info Needed.....
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kxux posted 1 year ago.
miller_2727;78665 wrote:
Top of the morning to all.
I am fully prepared to complete every stage, however I am very green to the swimming leg of the event.....The only way I am able to do the 500yard swim, no stop, is by swimming via breath stroke. (When I go to freestyle, I find myself getting fatigued after 100 yards....)
I realize that my goal for the first event can be to finish, but will this appear TOTALLY out of place and will I look like a weak man for using this stroke??? (FYI, it takes me roughly 13min for the swim)
No you will not look out of place. You may actualy find other athletes changing their stroke during the swim or just floating on their backs. I would suggest though to start with freestyle - take it easy and then go to breast stroke or other stroke when you start to get tired. No worries about how you will look, just enjoy the event and have fun.
By the way I did my first OLY few weeks ago and after like 500m of hard freestyle had to revert to breastroke, backstroke, back to freestyle and so on. Key was to finish and not kill my legs kicking during the swim. And I was not the only one swimming this way and even if I was I would not mind. I was there to race for myself and not score style or beauty points ;-).
Jan
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go 'gate 2006 posted 1 year ago.
Jan is right on. For my first tri, I noticed people floating, switching to breast stroke, or even just hanging on to the ropes or bouy (legal in the races I was in). So don't worry about it, and good luck!
- AT
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460 days
tbs_craig posted 1 year ago.
in my first tri, they asked our swim time and i didnt know so i put what my sister told me she thought i could swim. she told me too fast, and being new as i was i didnt realize until the last moment that i was starting in front of a lot of people a lot faster than me. So i took off swimming like a bat out of hell and made it about 100m and just about died. i kept swimming but was getting passed constantly and looked like a jerk for lying about my time basically.
there is no moral to this story, and i guess it doesn't answer your question except that you dont have to worry about looking out of place.
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miller_2727 posted 1 year ago.
tbs_craig;78788 wrote:
in my first tri, they asked our swim time and i didnt know so i put what my sister told me she thought i could swim. she told me too fast, and being new as i was i didnt realize until the last moment that i was starting in front of a lot of people a lot faster than me. So i took off swimming like a bat out of hell and made it about 100m and just about died. i kept swimming but was getting passed constantly and looked like a jerk for lying about my time basically.
there is no moral to this story, and i guess it doesn't answer your question except that you dont have to worry about looking out of place.
Classic.....Thanks for the 7am grin.;)
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1349 days
crokoz posted 1 year ago.
No worries on the swim, pace your self and you should be great. My mistake was not checking to make sure my bike was all tuned up. The chain kept rolling off in certain gears and I had more chain grease on me that ever before when I finished that one! Good luck!
CROkoz :cool:
"There are no pararescuemen in the Marine Corp"
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487 days
jpaulson posted 1 year ago.
I just finished my first tri and I looked like I had never been in the water before in my life. I started out about 8 good strokes in freestyle, then it was breast, back, even some side stroke. From the brief looking around I did, I wasn't the only one not in form. There were a lot of beginners and we were all just flailing arms and legs whatever way we could. Don't worry about it.
179
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578 days
FlashRedGLS1.8T posted 1 year ago.
I've done 2 sprint triathlons this summer, as this is very new to me also, and did about half breathstroke and half freestyle.
These were 750m events though, but still
Trust me when I say you will not be the only one.
Goodluck, relax and have fun!
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462 days
miller_2727 posted 1 year ago.
Thanks to all for the info.
Additional question:
I just checked the weather for the event (Conway, AR----if anyone is attending) and the forecast for Sunday is 59*-80*(morning low and high forecasted). (Weather has been in the mid 80's for the past week)
What are thoughts for swimming and/or layers.
What temp is a swim top necessary? ( I only plan to wear tri-shorts and them throw on a sling top or possibly long sleeve jersey with base layer under)
Thoughts??
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505 days
stewarba posted 1 year ago.
I'd be more concerned with the water temp than the air temp.
Pain is the sensation of weakness leaving the body!
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FlashRedGLS1.8T posted 1 year ago.
I'm wondering about some of these things in my next 2 sprints.
Early morning open water swims in the fall! Eek!
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dianelv posted 1 year ago.
Don't worry about the swim and style. Do what is comfortable. I cannot free style, so I did the breast stroke. There will be so many hands and feet in your way, the only people that will know your swim tecnhique will be those watching from the shore, and they will be in awe of anything you do...
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1120 days
JasonBroussard posted 1 year ago.
I have done a number of sprints, Olympic distance, and a half iron man. You still see people even in the longer events that look like Sea Otters breaking shells. For a lot of people from what I can tell, just barely make it through the swim but make up the time because they are great on the run and bike. Who cares what people think, you'll probably never see them again anyhow. Believe me, there are a lot of people you know that wish they had the courage to send off an entry fee. The Sprints are very short so let it all hang out, I'm absolutley miserable when I finish a race and feel like I still had some in the tank when I cross the line.----good luck.
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KevDaddy posted 1 year ago.
Hi miller_2727,
13 minutes for 500 yards, however you do it, shouldn't be out of place at all. I have been swimming for years now, have really improved since I picked up triathlon, and have just gotten to the point where I routinely do 500m in 10 minutes.
There will be people faster than you, but do the best you can and enjoy it. I will add to the advice kxux gave and recommend starting with a slow freestyle, switch to breaststorke when you need a break, and if/when you feel up to it, go back to freestyle for a while.
The nice thing about the breaststroke is that while it is slower, you don't have to really alter your stroke for sighting. You just get a lot of really quick glipses of where you are.
Best of luck and enjoy the experience!
Kevin
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Iron Dan posted 1 year ago.
miller_2727;79079 wrote:
What temp is a swim top necessary? ( I only plan to wear tri-shorts and them throw on a sling top or possibly long sleeve jersey with base layer under)
Thoughts??
If you are thinking of putting a shirt on coming out of the water, I would suggest that you practice putting on the shirt while you are wet first, it is a lot harder than it sounds.
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Captain Mal posted 1 year ago.
Here is a good workout to prep for the open water swim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk
Good luck!
"Faster would be better!" -Captain Mal, Serenity-
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dawgruff posted 1 year ago.
Make sure and know the distance too. 500 yards is a lot shorter than 500 meters. Roughly 125 feet shorter ( Roughly 42 extra yards).
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RV posted 1 year ago.
Start a little wide from the buoy line - as that is where the faster people will position themselves.
It is difficult putting a shirt on (while wet) after the swim. If it is tight fitting many will wear it on the swim.
Have a great race - enjoy it.
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
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tri-ac posted 1 year ago.
i hate to say it, but if the race is coming up soon, that water is going to be cold. Find out the current water temps. You may want to go preview it and see if you don't want a wetsuit of some kind. the cold alone can make you hyperventilate more than the effort of the swim...sorry for the downer, but you may as well get ready for it.
can anyone from arkansas vouch for the water temps around now?
Adam
Tri-ac
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UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
um, guys......I'm pretty sure the race happened two months ago. :D LOL
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
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1412 days
RV posted 1 year ago.
UFTriGator;85486 wrote:
um, guys......I'm pretty sure the race happened two months ago. :D LOL
Oops.......:o
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
Top of the morning to all.
Ok, so I am all signed up and ready for my first Tri (it is sprint distance: 500yard swim, 14mi bike and 3.1mi run).
I am fully prepared to complete every stage, however I am very green to the swimming leg of the event.....The only way I am able to do the 500yard swim, no stop, is by swimming via breath stroke. (When I go to freestyle, I find myself getting fatigued after 100 yards....)
I realize that my goal for the first event can be to finish, but will this appear TOTALLY out of place and will I look like a weak man for using this stroke??? (FYI, it takes me roughly 13min for the swim)
Thanks for any and all feedback!!