The Triathlon thread - Ironman, 70.3, Olympic, Sprint
Discussion
Poppiecock said:
I have 2 Sprint distance triathlons in 2 days this weekend!
Steel Valley tomorrow and Neath Valley on Sunday.
Haven't done a swimming session for 3 weeks due to holidays. I may have given a slightly too fast estimate for my swim time!
Enjoy them, try not to drown and then go get yourself a PB! Steel Valley tomorrow and Neath Valley on Sunday.
Haven't done a swimming session for 3 weeks due to holidays. I may have given a slightly too fast estimate for my swim time!
Not last raced IMUK in 2017 I've done hardly any phys since then, nothing but a few 5-10km jogs, however i have been doing some gym work throughout.
I also left the army Sept 2017 so that's also a big change, I was doing minimum 6 sessions a week for company PT
Thought I should get back into it, also black mailed by best mate who's desperate to do a full distance so come out of retirement.
Appears I was one of the few who got a general entry for IM Wales 2020.. suppose I best dust off all my kit and get another bike 🙄
I also left the army Sept 2017 so that's also a big change, I was doing minimum 6 sessions a week for company PT
Thought I should get back into it, also black mailed by best mate who's desperate to do a full distance so come out of retirement.
Appears I was one of the few who got a general entry for IM Wales 2020.. suppose I best dust off all my kit and get another bike 🙄
675 Gaz said:
Not last raced IMUK in 2017 I've done hardly any phys since then, nothing but a few 5-10km jogs, however i have been doing some gym work throughout.
I also left the army Sept 2017 so that's also a big change, I was doing minimum 6 sessions a week for company PT
Thought I should get back into it, also black mailed by best mate who's desperate to do a full distance so come out of retirement.
Appears I was one of the few who got a general entry for IM Wales 2020.. suppose I best dust off all my kit and get another bike ??
Wow straight back into full distance, nice one! I also left the army Sept 2017 so that's also a big change, I was doing minimum 6 sessions a week for company PT
Thought I should get back into it, also black mailed by best mate who's desperate to do a full distance so come out of retirement.
Appears I was one of the few who got a general entry for IM Wales 2020.. suppose I best dust off all my kit and get another bike ??
I am just starting out, but loving it! Plan is Olympic event may/june next year with a 70.3 about this time next year!
Long swim for me in the morning trying to get under a 2 minute hundred over 2km atm!
dangerousB said:
KONA WEEK!
Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Unless he had problems during the race I don't know about it looks like he still has a way to go before getting near the top. Well done to the German winners though and to Lucy Charles Barclay for 2nd (again). I hope she'll get to the top soon.Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Hawaii Ironman is the one race that really counts for me. It's what triathlon is all about.
Randy Winkman said:
dangerousB said:
KONA WEEK!
Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Unless he had problems during the race I don't know about it looks like he still has a way to go before getting near the top. Well done to the German winners though and to Lucy Charles Barclay for 2nd (again). I hope she'll get to the top soon.Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Hawaii Ironman is the one race that really counts for me. It's what triathlon is all about.
I think Alistair Brownlee has got all the ability he needs at the full distance, but just not the mileage at the moment. As in every elite sport, he's up against some incredible talent, but he was in the lead pack and 3rd out of the water; in the lead pack all the way on the bike. Frodeno put in a massive effort with about 25k to go and gapped the pack by about 2mins. Alistair was about 3 mins or so down going into T2 and at this stage I thought he was in with a shout of a podium, but he just had a very lacklustre run (by his standards - obviously a very relative term!!) and "only" managed a 3:13 for the marathon for a 21st placing.
I don't know if he had any underlying problems, but I do know he is very motivated for a Kona title and I'm sure he'll achieve it.
Same goes for Lucy Charles Barclay - 3 second places on the trot, but she will get there too. Anne Haug was unstoppable on the run, but Lucy showed great fortitude after Sarah Crowley passed her as well with only 8k or so to go. Very easy to get despondent after 2 people go past you, but she dug deep and dropped her to regain 2nd place.
Loved the coverage as well. For once I didn't have to sit infront of a PC monitor - had it on the big screen via the Facebook Watch app which was absolutely bang on!
dangerousB said:
Randy Winkman said:
dangerousB said:
KONA WEEK!
Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Unless he had problems during the race I don't know about it looks like he still has a way to go before getting near the top. Well done to the German winners though and to Lucy Charles Barclay for 2nd (again). I hope she'll get to the top soon.Alistair Brownlee managed to lead in the field at the Ho'?la swim on Sunday, I wonder what how he gets on this Saturday?
It's going to be a massive ask for him to even podium, but I'll be watching with immense interest!
Hawaii Ironman is the one race that really counts for me. It's what triathlon is all about.
I think Alistair Brownlee has got all the ability he needs at the full distance, but just not the mileage at the moment. As in every elite sport, he's up against some incredible talent, but he was in the lead pack and 3rd out of the water; in the lead pack all the way on the bike. Frodeno put in a massive effort with about 25k to go and gapped the pack by about 2mins. Alistair was about 3 mins or so down going into T2 and at this stage I thought he was in with a shout of a podium, but he just had a very lacklustre run (by his standards - obviously a very relative term!!) and "only" managed a 3:13 for the marathon for a 21st placing.
I don't know if he had any underlying problems, but I do know he is very motivated for a Kona title and I'm sure he'll achieve it.
Same goes for Lucy Charles Barclay - 3 second places on the trot, but she will get there too. Anne Haug was unstoppable on the run, but Lucy showed great fortitude after Sarah Crowley passed her as well with only 8k or so to go. Very easy to get despondent after 2 people go past you, but she dug deep and dropped her to regain 2nd place.
Loved the coverage as well. For once I didn't have to sit infront of a PC monitor - had it on the big screen via the Facebook Watch app which was absolutely bang on!
Randy Winkman said:
Unless he had problems during the race I don't know about it looks like he still has a way to go before getting near the top. Well done to the German winners though and to Lucy Charles Barclay for 2nd (again). I hope she'll get to the top soon.
Hawaii Ironman is the one race that really counts for me. It's what triathlon is all about.
Well he had a slow puncture from 25K. Until he finally relented after Hawi (90km) and took a neutral service rear wheel. He then buried himself to get back on to Frodo and TimO, then had a go at Frodo for not waiting Hawaii Ironman is the one race that really counts for me. It's what triathlon is all about.
(rookie mistake) Which f
ked his run. He didn't do "patience" He did ITU.
He'll be back. He'll analyse it all, train accordingly. And next year be far closer to what he should be.
You underestimate him at your peril
LCB did what she always does. Swims Fast. Over bikes, pays on the run. It works at Lanzarote and Roth, but on the big island. The competition is too severe to do it like that. She'd be better off going Front pack of Swim then hang near the front of the bike for 140Km. Then smash bike to get a gap into T2 and smash the run. IMO
To be fair she was probably waiting for Ryf, and she never arrived (got sick a few days before)
Coverage, was as ever, dogs
t. Seemingly only 2 motorbike cameras in the whole race. No clue as to whether the chase pack were closing, who was in it, Welchie said that Sanders had retired at one point. That Brownlee was based out of London. They even said that Ventum bike riders were on average 18 mins faster on a IM bike leg than riders of other bikes. 
I for one am sick of hearing from Dave and Mark and that 1 race 30 years on. They desperately need some younger more relevant commentators. Frasier Cartmell from GTN springs to mind! Getting Macca in as someone who can read a race would be nice. Oh and for all the $millions IM brings in, would it kill them to get 6 bikes with cameras onto the course to follow the lead packs. Oh and when you announce mid race you'll be ending Part 1 and switching immediately to Part 2. It would be nice if you actually a) put a link up so you aren't scrabbling around Facebook to find it. And b) Actually start within 20 seconds!
And lastly it's 2019. FULL 1080HD throughout is a minimum! Picture break up and grainy-ness was unacceptable for a World Championship premium event.
It does seem that whoever filmed Nice 70.3 this year was a completely different company.
S1KRR said:
Coverage, was as ever, dogst.
I think that's a bit harsh really.t.Yes, it's their premier event and yes, it could certainly be better, but with an intro and an outro it's a 9hr+ event and I can imagine that there's some quite significant logistical, technological and certainly financial hurdles to overcome in bringing that sort of event to the masses.
I'm exactly their target audience, but even I during that 9hrs had to feed my 5yr old, bath her, put her to bed, read her a story, feed myself, wash up, answer a couple of calls/texts and watch the Josh Warrington fight, so the with the exception of the last half of the marathon, I only really had it on in the background with half an ear/eye on it a lot of the time and I can imagine a lot of people were the same.
They'll get there. It'll be something they'll monetise in the future when they do, but until then, they brought the spirit and atmosphere of Kona into my living room for 9 hours and it was free, so I can't get too upset about it really.
Mezger said:
Signed up for my first Triathlon next year, a baby one, 750m swim, 18km bike and 5k run.
Now to learn to swim properly! :-)
Any tips for a beginner appreciated.
You've already mentioned my main tip which I always bore newbies with. i.e. learn to swim properly. For me, swimming is a largely technical discipline and if you can swim well you turn triathlon into an event where the swim warms you up and is then followed by only 2 disciplines that are hard work. Good swimming means you can then enjoy open water events when others are getting nervous. One area where you have to find your own way is on how well you run after cycling. I don't think there's any hard and fast rule as to how much you have to train for this. I got up a to a reasonable standard without doing many run-bike "bricks" except when prepping for races. But others find it harder. You'll just have to find that one out. Another thing to find out is whether you can run without socks. At the 5k distance you might well be able to but be careful trying to find out. Don't mess up your training and especially your race with bad blisters. Now to learn to swim properly! :-)
Any tips for a beginner appreciated.
Edited to add: Good luck!
Randy Winkman said:
Mezger said:
Signed up for my first Triathlon next year, a baby one, 750m swim, 18km bike and 5k run.
Now to learn to swim properly! :-)
Any tips for a beginner appreciated.
You've already mentioned my main tip which I always bore newbies with. i.e. learn to swim properly. For me, swimming is a largely technical discipline and if you can swim well you turn triathlon into an event where the swim warms you up and is then followed by only 2 disciplines that are hard work. Good swimming means you can then enjoy open water events when others are getting nervous. One area where you have to find your own way is on how well you run after cycling. I don't think there's any hard and fast rule as to how much you have to train for this. I got up a to a reasonable standard without doing many run-bike "bricks" except when prepping for races. But others find it harder. You'll just have to find that one out. Another thing to find out is whether you can run without socks. At the 5k distance you might well be able to but be careful trying to find out. Don't mess up your training and especially your race with bad blisters. Now to learn to swim properly! :-)
Any tips for a beginner appreciated.
Edited to add: Good luck!
Now 4 of us from work signed up, my competitive spirit is kicking in! Booked some swimming lessons.
Are triathlons becoming less popular?
I used to do the 7oaks triathlon every year, it’s a great little early season event.
Back in 2015 2016 It would sell out in a couple of hours. They used to have automatic places after you’d done 4 (I think) years in a row, The year I qualified for an automatic place, they had to cancel the auto place system as so many people had qualified.
This year I’m getting emails telling me it’s selling out fast over a week after entries opened.
I used to do the 7oaks triathlon every year, it’s a great little early season event.
Back in 2015 2016 It would sell out in a couple of hours. They used to have automatic places after you’d done 4 (I think) years in a row, The year I qualified for an automatic place, they had to cancel the auto place system as so many people had qualified.
This year I’m getting emails telling me it’s selling out fast over a week after entries opened.
El stovey said:
Are triathlons becoming less popular?
I used to do the 7oaks triathlon every year, it’s a great little early season event.
Back in 2015 2016 It would sell out in a couple of hours. They used to have automatic places after you’d done 4 (I think) years in a row, The year I qualified for an automatic place, they had to cancel the auto place system as so many people had qualified.
This year I’m getting emails telling me it’s selling out fast over a week after entries opened.
People on SlowTwitch are often bemoaning the decline in triathlon participation, although they are mainly US focused. BTF stats show an increase in events they sanction and members joining them. Not sure that directly correlates to more and more people doing triathlon, or just more people joining BTF.I used to do the 7oaks triathlon every year, it’s a great little early season event.
Back in 2015 2016 It would sell out in a couple of hours. They used to have automatic places after you’d done 4 (I think) years in a row, The year I qualified for an automatic place, they had to cancel the auto place system as so many people had qualified.
This year I’m getting emails telling me it’s selling out fast over a week after entries opened.
https://www.britishtriathlon.org/media/statistics
Partly I think there is just more choice of races now that there was 4 years ago. Long established races start not filling up as people move to the newer ones. This happens in Ironman too, IM Lanzarote never sells out any more. Its been around for ages. The newer ones sell out fast though.
I think as well triathlon has become for a lot of people all about Ironman. People used to spend time building up the distances and experience before taking on IM. Now you get people going from couch to full. IM Journey on Facebook is full of people doing this. If you say to anyone who knows a little about triathlon that you do it, the first they often ask is have you done Ironman. Lot of people doing to full distance tend to be one and dones and dont take up the sport longer term or participate in the shorter stuff. More and more 70.3 and full distance tris being created. Outlaw have added another 70.3 and there is a new full down in Eastbourne next year which I have entered.
My triathlon club has consistently grown in members over the last few years. So who knows if its declining in popularity. I always thought triathlon was a little bit of a niche geeky sport anyway and not prone to massive swings post Olympics when we do well - such as cycline after Wiggo 2012. People who have always done it continue mostly and new people join each year.
As for those obsessing about Ironman and thinking that its harder that Oly distance - every proper triathlete knows if you think an Olympic is easy you weren't trying hard enough.
Scabutz said:
IM Lanzarote never sells out any more. Its been around for ages.
To be fair, I don't think IM Lanzarote has ever sold out. Not since I can remember.It's at least twice as far to get to as any other IM (for European competitors who make up 90% of the entries) - couple that with the course's (deserved) reputation and the potential for very challenging conditions (high 30's temperatures and 25mph+ winds) and that's enough to dissuade a lot of people from dropping their hard-earned there in favour of somewhere easier to get to/a less demanding day.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff