The Triathlon thread - Ironman, 70.3, Olympic, Sprint
Discussion
Rich_W said:
ED209 said:
I haven't really followed a training plan. My wife has and i have tried to mirror that where i can. Its difficult though when you both work different shift patterns.
...
I think there's something psychological to be gained by keeping a log though. Get a cheap diary/calendar then just note down what you did. eg run 10K or swim 3k with paddles. Then your thoughts on how it went....
briangriffin said:
3 weeks out from ironman wales and the last hard week of training and ive managed to catch a head cold.
Yesterday was my rest day anyway and I took an extra day off before as I could feel some form of illness coming.
what's the advice guys? I've been working a lot (i.e. 60-72 hour weeks) and training. take today as my rest day get a good nights sleep tonight and then regroup for a hopefully illness free rest of the week training?
Depending on what you read / who you believe - three weeks is about the amount of time cardio fitness lasts for - so realistically at three weeks out from such a big effort you're not going to make massive gains - but also really not going to lose a lot either. Yesterday was my rest day anyway and I took an extra day off before as I could feel some form of illness coming.
what's the advice guys? I've been working a lot (i.e. 60-72 hour weeks) and training. take today as my rest day get a good nights sleep tonight and then regroup for a hopefully illness free rest of the week training?
The focus of your weeks needs to be rest - lots of it, good quality sleep, good nutrition, recover from the cold and some sensible training to keep the legs turning over - going bonkers or pushing it now is only going to make you slower.......
I've had today off so will have had a good 80 hours-ish off since my last lesson which was my long ride.
On a night shift tomorrow and I tend to cycle the 20 miles there so that will be an hours session in the bag there. Hopefully be back to normal by the end of the week to do the final long run (2hrs) and long bike (4hrs)
Can't wait for the big day now, il be glad when it's all over I think haha.
My first and last triathlon at this rate haha
On a night shift tomorrow and I tend to cycle the 20 miles there so that will be an hours session in the bag there. Hopefully be back to normal by the end of the week to do the final long run (2hrs) and long bike (4hrs)
Can't wait for the big day now, il be glad when it's all over I think haha.
My first and last triathlon at this rate haha
Dimski said:
690 for me, cant wait!
- Getting quite real now.125 Mile ride on saturday and 5km swim on sunday and a really good last long run yesterday as it was a cooler evening than it has been over the last couple of weeks, I have been really struggling with my running pace in the heat but I now have some confidence.
SHutchinson said:
Bamburgh Castles tri this weekend, that's come round quickly! Doing the sprint as it's my first event and I've only been swimming 2 months. Pretty confident about it, not worrying about a time as I'll be slow out of the water. Should rattle along on the ride and the run though.
Im doing the 70.3, well I am if they ever get round to sending out any info about the race, the info on the web site is contradictory and to be honest I'm a bit cheesed of about it.Have you received any emails giving details for the sprint?
Been keeping a close eye on the sea state forecast tis week as I'm nervous about the swim. It looks ok at the moment. Im also a bit worried about the tide as the 70.3 kicks off at the strongest part of the ebb and its a big tide. Shouldn't be too bad for the sprint though as that kicks off just after high tide.
ED209 said:
SHutchinson said:
Bamburgh Castles tri this weekend, that's come round quickly! Doing the sprint as it's my first event and I've only been swimming 2 months. Pretty confident about it, not worrying about a time as I'll be slow out of the water. Should rattle along on the ride and the run though.
Im doing the 70.3, well I am if they ever get round to sending out any info about the race, the info on the web site is contradictory and to be honest I'm a bit cheesed of about it.Have you received any emails giving details for the sprint?
Been keeping a close eye on the sea state forecast tis week as I'm nervous about the swim. It looks ok at the moment. Im also a bit worried about the tide as the 70.3 kicks off at the strongest part of the ebb and its a big tide. Shouldn't be too bad for the sprint though as that kicks off just after high tide.
SHutchinson said:
ED209 said:
SHutchinson said:
Bamburgh Castles tri this weekend, that's come round quickly! Doing the sprint as it's my first event and I've only been swimming 2 months. Pretty confident about it, not worrying about a time as I'll be slow out of the water. Should rattle along on the ride and the run though.
Im doing the 70.3, well I am if they ever get round to sending out any info about the race, the info on the web site is contradictory and to be honest I'm a bit cheesed of about it.Have you received any emails giving details for the sprint?
Been keeping a close eye on the sea state forecast tis week as I'm nervous about the swim. It looks ok at the moment. Im also a bit worried about the tide as the 70.3 kicks off at the strongest part of the ebb and its a big tide. Shouldn't be too bad for the sprint though as that kicks off just after high tide.
bigandclever said:
Anyone else following the deca and double deca comp in Switzerland? There's a Brit leading the double deca. I say 'Brit', he's clearly not of this planet 
http://ultratriathlon-switzerland.jimdo.com/englis...
I just read through this.... incredible!!http://ultratriathlon-switzerland.jimdo.com/englis...
ED209 said:
SHutchinson said:
ED209 said:
SHutchinson said:
Bamburgh Castles tri this weekend, that's come round quickly! Doing the sprint as it's my first event and I've only been swimming 2 months. Pretty confident about it, not worrying about a time as I'll be slow out of the water. Should rattle along on the ride and the run though.
Im doing the 70.3, well I am if they ever get round to sending out any info about the race, the info on the web site is contradictory and to be honest I'm a bit cheesed of about it.Have you received any emails giving details for the sprint?
Been keeping a close eye on the sea state forecast tis week as I'm nervous about the swim. It looks ok at the moment. Im also a bit worried about the tide as the 70.3 kicks off at the strongest part of the ebb and its a big tide. Shouldn't be too bad for the sprint though as that kicks off just after high tide.
The jiffle king said:
bigandclever said:
Anyone else following the deca and double deca comp in Switzerland? There's a Brit leading the double deca. I say 'Brit', he's clearly not of this planet
http://ultratriathlon-switzerland.jimdo.com/englis...
I just read through this.... incredible!!http://ultratriathlon-switzerland.jimdo.com/englis...
This is what he looked like at the end of 17(!) ironmen distances on the bounce... I don't look that fresh after the swim
Well I managed to get round my first 70.3 distance triathlon on saturday. The castles challenge at Bamburgh.
happy with my time of 6hrs 18mins, though i did get beaten by my wife again by 8 minutes.
Swim - Sea conditions couldn't really have been better though before the start i thought the buoys looked bloody miles apart. They seemed miles apart too when swimming. The first half hour went well though until i started to get cramp in both calves that i couldn't shake off. Ended up breast stroking a bit after the cramp set in. Still my time was as good as i could have expected really having came from basically being a none swimmer 14 months ago.
The 1/4 mile across sand and through dunes to transition was an absolute killer though, i was in agony with cramp all the way.
Bike - went well, I'm not the fastest cyclist but i plodded on and averaged 16.6mph over the 56 miles. It was a lonely ride though as not many competitors about however I was really lucky after about 50 miles when i missed a turn whilst trying to open a power bar that there was a lady close enough behind me to shout at me and get be back on the route. Had she not been there my whole day would have been over as i was off down the wrong road at a rate of knots.
Run - The 4 lap mainly off road was torture, some of it was in thick sand and it was bloody hard work. Still I learned a valuable lesson - Its ok to walk when you are struggling during long events. I usually run around 7.30 to 8 min miles, sometimes a bit faster but i just couldn't hold a run on the hills and some of the harder bits. Still my run/walk effort got me round in just under 2 hours and i made up a few places. At some of the harder moments I was trying to think how could walk the rest of the race and still make cut offs!
Today I feel ok although my calves still both feel like like they are in cramp permanently.
happy with my time of 6hrs 18mins, though i did get beaten by my wife again by 8 minutes.
Swim - Sea conditions couldn't really have been better though before the start i thought the buoys looked bloody miles apart. They seemed miles apart too when swimming. The first half hour went well though until i started to get cramp in both calves that i couldn't shake off. Ended up breast stroking a bit after the cramp set in. Still my time was as good as i could have expected really having came from basically being a none swimmer 14 months ago.
The 1/4 mile across sand and through dunes to transition was an absolute killer though, i was in agony with cramp all the way.
Bike - went well, I'm not the fastest cyclist but i plodded on and averaged 16.6mph over the 56 miles. It was a lonely ride though as not many competitors about however I was really lucky after about 50 miles when i missed a turn whilst trying to open a power bar that there was a lady close enough behind me to shout at me and get be back on the route. Had she not been there my whole day would have been over as i was off down the wrong road at a rate of knots.
Run - The 4 lap mainly off road was torture, some of it was in thick sand and it was bloody hard work. Still I learned a valuable lesson - Its ok to walk when you are struggling during long events. I usually run around 7.30 to 8 min miles, sometimes a bit faster but i just couldn't hold a run on the hills and some of the harder bits. Still my run/walk effort got me round in just under 2 hours and i made up a few places. At some of the harder moments I was trying to think how could walk the rest of the race and still make cut offs!
Today I feel ok although my calves still both feel like like they are in cramp permanently.
Edited by ED209 on Sunday 4th September 17:50
I did my first Triathlon since Challenge Weymouth in 2014 on Saturday, the Vitruvian at Rutland water, report below if anyone wants a read. Sorry - it goes on a bit !!
Training -
Very much hit & miss: Swimming consisted of 3 OW sessions (no pool), first one was a slow 800m following a bit of bother with asthma, but the following 2 sessions went well, mainly as i had remembered a bit of technique. I had got some decent mileage in on the bike over summer along with 5 or 6 50+ milers done at a reasonable pace & finished with a good & hard 30mile session in the Chilton hills. Running - think i'll just leave this bit blank....
I have also been doing 'Bootcamp' type training twice a week for about 8 weeks so a bit of help with core strength & general fitness I think.
Raceday
A good 4 1/2 hour kip before my 3.50am alarm, 15min drive to site & as I had registered the night before it was minimal faff as just needed to rack bikes (how I ended up still faffing in transition 1min before they closed it i'm not sure...). Forecast for the day was varying degrees of rain from 5am to 7pm without let up & fair to say they got it spot on ! Luckily it wasn't too windy but temp was maybe 14 or 15c at best during the day.
Swim
The normal routine with the field of about 1000 split into 5 waves, with mine (45-49 + 50-54) due off last at 7.05am. The course was 2 triangular loops with a very short Australian exit in between, it was a "beach" start so as the hooter went we gingerly walked over sharp stones & mud trying to avoid twisting an ankle on or smacking a toe into the odd breeze block sized stone submerged in the muddy water, as soon as i was at knee depth I belly flopped in & got on with the swim. The wave had about 300 in it so was a little crowded for first couple of hundred meters but I soon settled down to a stroke. My technique wasn't that good as I was veering off the left a fair bit in between my sighting stokes, took me about 1/3 of the first lap to get it right but seemed to go well after that. Lap two passed without drama & out of the water feeling it hadn't taken much out of me & ready for the bike. My old G Shock watch died a while ago & I hadn't sorted a new battery so had no way of timing the swim but felt pretty pleased with it.
Time was 41.55.
T1
Got sodden swim gear off & put sodden cycling gear on, I didn't have a layer over my short sleeved cycling top which was probably the right call but I wouldn't have wanted it to be any colder.
Time was 5.37 (5.37 ! - where does it all go !?!)
Bike
Course was 2 laps of a rectangular course around Rutland Water, 3 hills per lap to test you but a reasonably quick course. Coming out of T1 there was 1/2 mile or so of lane before hitting the main road, didn't seem like much of an uphill but there I was working hard in 3rd lowest gear, oh well legs need to warm up I guess. Once I was 5/6 miles in I was feeling much better, I had necked one of my 2 gels for the bike & ready for the upcoming hills, annoyingly once on them I realised that my rear mech had twisted a little & I couldn't get bottom gear, still i was in better shape than the guy in front of me at the bottom of the big hill as his pedal came off the crank!
Although bike training had gone well, i'm still 17 stone & a hill's a hill so while it wasn't an issue getting up it i'm just not that quick, but once at the top i didn't need to recover & could go straight up a few gears & push. Some of the roads are main A roads & were busy, so the odd time I did have to slow in traffic as a lorry couldn't get past a rider on a slow bit & it all backed up, a little frustrating but don't think it impacted on time more than a few seconds or so.
With about 10k left of lap one I hit the last significant hill & up ahead I get my first sighting of what I think is my mate ahead, this pushes me on & while i'm not going to get him on the hill I crack on once at the top & gradually gain over the next 5k or so catching him with about 3k left on the lap. A quick catch up in the (now v heavy) rain & I push on to complete the first loop. Still feeling in good shape at this point but with no bike computer not sure what my time is & not really that bothered. I had wondered if having a bike computer was maybe a hindrance more than a help on occasion as I have found myself in races riding along feeling great & then thinking am I going too quickly & will I pay for it later so slow down. I decided i would ride according to how I felt & push on as much as possible without trying to conserve for the run.
I was still feeling strong for lap two so maintained my effort as best I could & was pushing a big gear for the flat sections & was overtaking more than I was overtaken which I think is a first for me! So it was a little surprise to hear 'alright big lad' behind me 25k or so into the lap as my mate drew level, I told him he was going well & he did say it had taken him 15k from his first sighting of me catch me. I figured I may as well have a go at dropping him so after a very quick catch up I got my head down & worked until we hit the foot of the last hill with 10k left & fair play to him he was still there, he reckoned we had a chance of sub 3 & pushed on away from me up the hill. I knew that would happen & thought I could haul him in on the flat but he got his head down put a solid shift in for the last 8k & I was beginning to feel the efforts of the first 80k catching up on me. So I pushed for the last few mins in the (still pouring down) rain & came into T2 maybe 2 mins behind him.
Time was 2.56:04 (whoo hoo!)
T2
Sodden cycling top & shoes off put sodden running T shirt, socks & trainers on.
Time was 4.16
Run
The course was two laps of an out & back following the shoreline with a mixture of tarmac path, compacted dirt & a bit of grass, mostly level apart from a bit of a hill 750m into the lap. Walked the first k or so to get the legs moving & get up said hill, it's been 2 years since I got of a bike straight into a run (!?) - brick training you say ? sorry no, don't know what you're talking about - & my God my legs didn't really want to walk, but once i'd crested the hill there was a gentle down slope so was time to start a steady trot. I've done a few parkruns this year but that's it for running for me so really didn't know what I could manage so just concentrated on trotting from one feed station to the next (which was roughly 2.5km) for as long as I could & have a walk whilst getting gel/drink in me.
Well soon enough lap one had passed, walk the feed station at the turn point & shuffled on my way for lap two ! The rain was more drizzly for the run which was slightly less unpleasant than the downpour for all of the bike. Aches & pains are coming home to roost now but knees holding up surprisingly well, I was now stopping to stretch hamstrings at each feed station as they felt very stiff & crampy. I set myself the goal of continuing the trot all the way to the turn point on lap two & then 'reward' myself with a walk if I needed it, found it hard going but made it & once there thought i'd just trot to the next feed stop & then walk. This is how I get myself through the run so once at the next feed stop I told myself I didn't really need to walk & just carried on with my shuffling trot. So with that I managed to avoid walking outside the feed stations & keep going all the way to the finish. No clocks there so no idea what my time was but figured I must have got under 6.30 with a bit of comfort. Turned out time was 2.23:51 with an overall of 6.11:43 (again whoo hoo!)
So despite the rain a thoroughly good day for me overall, not sure I will ever have another 140.6 in me but maybe there is another 70.3 or two left ?
Training -
Very much hit & miss: Swimming consisted of 3 OW sessions (no pool), first one was a slow 800m following a bit of bother with asthma, but the following 2 sessions went well, mainly as i had remembered a bit of technique. I had got some decent mileage in on the bike over summer along with 5 or 6 50+ milers done at a reasonable pace & finished with a good & hard 30mile session in the Chilton hills. Running - think i'll just leave this bit blank....
I have also been doing 'Bootcamp' type training twice a week for about 8 weeks so a bit of help with core strength & general fitness I think.
Raceday
A good 4 1/2 hour kip before my 3.50am alarm, 15min drive to site & as I had registered the night before it was minimal faff as just needed to rack bikes (how I ended up still faffing in transition 1min before they closed it i'm not sure...). Forecast for the day was varying degrees of rain from 5am to 7pm without let up & fair to say they got it spot on ! Luckily it wasn't too windy but temp was maybe 14 or 15c at best during the day.
Swim
The normal routine with the field of about 1000 split into 5 waves, with mine (45-49 + 50-54) due off last at 7.05am. The course was 2 triangular loops with a very short Australian exit in between, it was a "beach" start so as the hooter went we gingerly walked over sharp stones & mud trying to avoid twisting an ankle on or smacking a toe into the odd breeze block sized stone submerged in the muddy water, as soon as i was at knee depth I belly flopped in & got on with the swim. The wave had about 300 in it so was a little crowded for first couple of hundred meters but I soon settled down to a stroke. My technique wasn't that good as I was veering off the left a fair bit in between my sighting stokes, took me about 1/3 of the first lap to get it right but seemed to go well after that. Lap two passed without drama & out of the water feeling it hadn't taken much out of me & ready for the bike. My old G Shock watch died a while ago & I hadn't sorted a new battery so had no way of timing the swim but felt pretty pleased with it.
Time was 41.55.
T1
Got sodden swim gear off & put sodden cycling gear on, I didn't have a layer over my short sleeved cycling top which was probably the right call but I wouldn't have wanted it to be any colder.
Time was 5.37 (5.37 ! - where does it all go !?!)
Bike
Course was 2 laps of a rectangular course around Rutland Water, 3 hills per lap to test you but a reasonably quick course. Coming out of T1 there was 1/2 mile or so of lane before hitting the main road, didn't seem like much of an uphill but there I was working hard in 3rd lowest gear, oh well legs need to warm up I guess. Once I was 5/6 miles in I was feeling much better, I had necked one of my 2 gels for the bike & ready for the upcoming hills, annoyingly once on them I realised that my rear mech had twisted a little & I couldn't get bottom gear, still i was in better shape than the guy in front of me at the bottom of the big hill as his pedal came off the crank!
Although bike training had gone well, i'm still 17 stone & a hill's a hill so while it wasn't an issue getting up it i'm just not that quick, but once at the top i didn't need to recover & could go straight up a few gears & push. Some of the roads are main A roads & were busy, so the odd time I did have to slow in traffic as a lorry couldn't get past a rider on a slow bit & it all backed up, a little frustrating but don't think it impacted on time more than a few seconds or so.
With about 10k left of lap one I hit the last significant hill & up ahead I get my first sighting of what I think is my mate ahead, this pushes me on & while i'm not going to get him on the hill I crack on once at the top & gradually gain over the next 5k or so catching him with about 3k left on the lap. A quick catch up in the (now v heavy) rain & I push on to complete the first loop. Still feeling in good shape at this point but with no bike computer not sure what my time is & not really that bothered. I had wondered if having a bike computer was maybe a hindrance more than a help on occasion as I have found myself in races riding along feeling great & then thinking am I going too quickly & will I pay for it later so slow down. I decided i would ride according to how I felt & push on as much as possible without trying to conserve for the run.
I was still feeling strong for lap two so maintained my effort as best I could & was pushing a big gear for the flat sections & was overtaking more than I was overtaken which I think is a first for me! So it was a little surprise to hear 'alright big lad' behind me 25k or so into the lap as my mate drew level, I told him he was going well & he did say it had taken him 15k from his first sighting of me catch me. I figured I may as well have a go at dropping him so after a very quick catch up I got my head down & worked until we hit the foot of the last hill with 10k left & fair play to him he was still there, he reckoned we had a chance of sub 3 & pushed on away from me up the hill. I knew that would happen & thought I could haul him in on the flat but he got his head down put a solid shift in for the last 8k & I was beginning to feel the efforts of the first 80k catching up on me. So I pushed for the last few mins in the (still pouring down) rain & came into T2 maybe 2 mins behind him.
Time was 2.56:04 (whoo hoo!)
T2
Sodden cycling top & shoes off put sodden running T shirt, socks & trainers on.
Time was 4.16
Run
The course was two laps of an out & back following the shoreline with a mixture of tarmac path, compacted dirt & a bit of grass, mostly level apart from a bit of a hill 750m into the lap. Walked the first k or so to get the legs moving & get up said hill, it's been 2 years since I got of a bike straight into a run (!?) - brick training you say ? sorry no, don't know what you're talking about - & my God my legs didn't really want to walk, but once i'd crested the hill there was a gentle down slope so was time to start a steady trot. I've done a few parkruns this year but that's it for running for me so really didn't know what I could manage so just concentrated on trotting from one feed station to the next (which was roughly 2.5km) for as long as I could & have a walk whilst getting gel/drink in me.
Well soon enough lap one had passed, walk the feed station at the turn point & shuffled on my way for lap two ! The rain was more drizzly for the run which was slightly less unpleasant than the downpour for all of the bike. Aches & pains are coming home to roost now but knees holding up surprisingly well, I was now stopping to stretch hamstrings at each feed station as they felt very stiff & crampy. I set myself the goal of continuing the trot all the way to the turn point on lap two & then 'reward' myself with a walk if I needed it, found it hard going but made it & once there thought i'd just trot to the next feed stop & then walk. This is how I get myself through the run so once at the next feed stop I told myself I didn't really need to walk & just carried on with my shuffling trot. So with that I managed to avoid walking outside the feed stations & keep going all the way to the finish. No clocks there so no idea what my time was but figured I must have got under 6.30 with a bit of comfort. Turned out time was 2.23:51 with an overall of 6.11:43 (again whoo hoo!)
So despite the rain a thoroughly good day for me overall, not sure I will ever have another 140.6 in me but maybe there is another 70.3 or two left ?
sammyboy said:
Dimski said:
690 for me, cant wait!125 Mile ride on saturday and 5km swim on sunday and a really good last long run yesterday as it was a cooler evening than it has been over the last couple of weeks, I have been really struggling with my running pace in the heat but I now have some confidence.
Thanks Drinks!
Another amazing day. Fast swim, the current was giving a big push on the second and third legs of each lap. Also, not as mountainous as 2015!
Felt great on the bike, and so from about halfway through the first lap I pushed it. Very happy with the bike time but suffered a little on the run. Thought I might be on for sub 13hrs so ran just about all of the last lap... but didn't quite get there. 13hrs 05mins.
I know I'm local and biased, but it's a great race. The atmosphere and course are really very special.
Well done Sam! How are the legs today?
Another amazing day. Fast swim, the current was giving a big push on the second and third legs of each lap. Also, not as mountainous as 2015!
Felt great on the bike, and so from about halfway through the first lap I pushed it. Very happy with the bike time but suffered a little on the run. Thought I might be on for sub 13hrs so ran just about all of the last lap... but didn't quite get there. 13hrs 05mins.
I know I'm local and biased, but it's a great race. The atmosphere and course are really very special.
Well done Sam! How are the legs today?
Dimski said:
Thanks Drinks!
Another amazing day. Fast swim, the current was giving a big push on the second and third legs of each lap. Also, not as mountainous as 2015!
Felt great on the bike, and so from about halfway through the first lap I pushed it. Very happy with the bike time but suffered a little on the run. Thought I might be on for sub 13hrs so ran just about all of the last lap... but didn't quite get there. 13hrs 05mins.
I know I'm local and biased, but it's a great race. The atmosphere and course are really very special.
Well done Sam! How are the legs today?
Cheers mate and well done as well its a bloody hard event! Another amazing day. Fast swim, the current was giving a big push on the second and third legs of each lap. Also, not as mountainous as 2015!
Felt great on the bike, and so from about halfway through the first lap I pushed it. Very happy with the bike time but suffered a little on the run. Thought I might be on for sub 13hrs so ran just about all of the last lap... but didn't quite get there. 13hrs 05mins.
I know I'm local and biased, but it's a great race. The atmosphere and course are really very special.
Well done Sam! How are the legs today?
In all honestly I'm so proud to have have done my first Ironman but a bit gutted of the time but I'm staying positive as its a really good achievement. The swim was good for me in 1.14 but I think the middle bid of the lap was just super quick with the current which helped loads with the time. I didn't get any sleep at all the night before due to the nerves and adrenaline and this is what killed me on the bike, At one point I honestly thought about laying down on the grass and having a nap around the 30 mile mark but I just kept going, legs felt good but mind and head were in a bad place for the next 80 miles!
But as soon as I got on the run I found myself after smashing down some Pepsi and caffeine energy gels and I felt like a new man. The 3rd lap was a bit of nightmare as my motivation had gone but then on my fourth lap I picked it back up again and did my fastest 5km at the end which proved it was all in my head as my legs felt great.
Total time was 13.40. Going to do Challenge Venice next year and then maybe wales in 2018.
The support and locals make IM Wales, its absolutely nuts, the whole community seem to get behind the race, Its such a great event and one I'm very proud to have completed.
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