The Triathlon thread - Ironman, 70.3, Olympic, Sprint

[Fourmotion]

I'm doing my first sprint distance in June, must say I'm rather nervous I'll balls up the pacing. It sounds like my times are very similar to you guys, maybe a minute or 2 quicker on the bike.

Can anyone who has done a sprint advise how I should pace it? Is it just flat out all the way? I'm fairly happy with my transitions, but that might not be the case if I'm dizzy as fk from a fast swim! Will 1 minute quicker on the bike cost 2 minutes on the run (I have history of going too fast on the bike), or at that distance is it not so important?

From what I understand it's an undulating course (so no proper hills), but the roads aren't that smooth and I'm not sure they'll be closed, so would a road bike be better than a TT?

[anonymous-user]

Fourmotion said:

I'm doing my first sprint distance in June, must say I'm rather nervous I'll balls up the pacing. It sounds like my times are very similar to you guys, maybe a minute or 2 quicker on the bike.

Can anyone who has done a sprint advise how I should pace it? Is it just flat out all the way? I'm fairly happy with my transitions, but that might not be the case if I'm dizzy as fk from a fast swim! Will 1 minute quicker on the bike cost 2 minutes on the run (I have history of going too fast on the bike), or at that distance is it not so important?

From what I understand it's an undulating course (so no proper hills), but the roads aren't that smooth and I'm not sure they'll be closed, so would a road bike be better than a TT?

my swim is gash so i just plod through and make up time on the bike and the run. i cant offer any advice with regards to the swim leg but pacing does depend if its an open swim or a pool swim, open swims can be terrifying and you need loads of experience before you can swim at a competitive pace in them.

with regards to bike choice, i never think it makes much difference at sprint distance, unudlating course or otherwise. get the hammer down on a road bike and you can easily average over 20mph on the drops. TT bikes come into their own over longer distances as the geometry aids efficient pedalling technique which is obviiously benefiical for the run. drink on the bike but try to avoid it in the last mile as it can upset the stomach in the first 500m of the run.

as for the run, it normally takes a mile for me to feel my legs then its balls out for the last 2...

[Fourmotion]

pablo said:

my swim is gash so i just plod through and make up time on the bike and the run. i cant offer any advice with regards to the swim leg but pacing does depend if its an open swim or a pool swim, open swims can be terrifying and you need loads of experience before you can swim at a competitive pace in them.

with regards to bike choice, i never think it makes much difference at sprint distance, unudlating course or otherwise. get the hammer down on a road bike and you can easily average over 20mph on the drops. TT bikes come into their own over longer distances as the geometry aids efficient pedalling technique which is obviiously benefiical for the run. drink on the bike but try to avoid it in the last mile as it can upset the stomach in the first 500m of the run.

as for the run, it normally takes a mile for me to feel my legs then its balls out for the last 2...

Thanks pablo. You're probably right on the bike.

It's an open water swim, which is where I'm doing most of my training anyway. The lake I swim at is shortly starting a parkrun style 400m race every Saturday, so I'm going to mix it up there a bit for some elbow to face experience. I'm a strong swimmer but not particularly fast, so I'm not worried about getting a few bangs. The last London tri I did I came up with a bloody nose after the first 100m!

Biking is my strong point, but I have history of getting that wrong. I rode a 1.01 40km, then ran a 1.10 10km!! That was a couple of years ago, I'm much much fitter now.

Sounds like balls out is the way forward. Hoping for a 1.05 (400m/21km/5km), but I'll be happy with 1.10 for my first knowing I'll likely fk up the pacing!

[2seas]

Ok, now I definitely have to beat 1hr56mins!!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QoqenZytO8

[nick s]

So i did my first Triathlon on saturday! Was the Eton Super Sprints, so it was 400m/21.4k/5k (swim, bike, run obviously)

My splits were as follows

Swim: 07:54
T1: 02:23
Bike: 39:39
T2: 01:03
Run: 22:42

Finish: 1:13:40

which i am really pleased with!! They extended the bike course by 1.4k last minute due to building work for the Olympics, and i seemed to take forever to get out of T1!

Need to work on my swim a bit i think, as it seems to be my weakest discipline.

But overall i'm really pleased, and am entering a Sprint with a 750m swim next month to try and improve!

[oyster]

Did the Crystal Palace Sprint Tri yesterday and passed a guy on the bike leg riding a Boris Bike! All credit to him as being Crystal Palace it isn't exactly flat and those things are chuffing heavy.

[2seas]

nick s said:

So i did my first Triathlon on saturday! Was the Eton Super Sprints, so it was 400m/21.4k/5k (swim, bike, run obviously)

My splits were as follows

Swim: 07:54
T1: 02:23
Bike: 39:39
T2: 01:03
Run: 22:42

Finish: 1:13:40

which i am really pleased with!! They extended the bike course by 1.4k last minute due to building work for the Olympics, and i seemed to take forever to get out of T1!

Need to work on my swim a bit i think, as it seems to be my weakest discipline.

But overall i'm really pleased, and am entering a Sprint with a 750m swim next month to try and improve!

That's epic for a first Tri! Great work!

I'm aiming for 1hr30 ish.

[Fatbloke]

i did my first Tri on Sunday at the Eton Super sprints

added all me best times up and added 10 mins for transtion, came to 1:45 so anything under 2 hours would have been happy days for me

9:15 Swim
3:08 T1
47:34 Ride
2:18 T2
25:47 Run

1:28:05 CHUFFED TO BITS :-)

[Highway Star]

Fourmotion said:

It's an open water swim, which is where I'm doing most of my training anyway. The lake I swim at is shortly starting a parkrun style 400m race every Saturday, so I'm going to mix it up there a bit for some elbow to face experience. I'm a strong swimmer but not particularly fast, so I'm not worried about getting a few bangs. The last London tri I did I came up with a bloody nose after the first 100m!

As it's a sprint tri and only 400m swim, you won't gain much from draughting in the swim in terms of saving energy and you might even lose time fighting unless you are right up the front with the strongest swimmers where there is more room to swim properly.

I would try and start towards the outside and away from the mid-pack swimming melee, you might swim a few metres further, but you'll save yourself a load of hassle and expending extra energy fending off punches and kicks.

I'm not a triathlete, but I am a swimmer and have done numerous OW swims, many times with triathletes (though I don't feel the need for rubber... ). It never ceases to amaze me how violent the tri guys are, even the top elite tri swimmers are there pulling and punching away until I put a burst in which involves kicking... HARD!

[Fourmotion]

Highway Star said:

useful stuff

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't think the waves are going to be too big, and they're really trying to pitch it at first timers, so I might get lucky with my line.

I'm aiming for near/sub 6 minutes, which I hope should have me nearer the front. If I can maybe pull a 1.20 for the first 100m I can settle into a rhythm having cemented my space in the water.

And much like a first date, rubber is compulsory for this race.

[nick s]

2seas said:

That's epic for a first Tri! Great work!

I'm aiming for 1hr30 ish.

Thanks! I preciously had only done running, but started training for triathlon at the beggining of this year. I've been doing 5-6 sessions a week, so have really put the hard work in and seen my times tumble!! Still loads to come and it's given me so much motivation to get even quicker!

[2seas]

Does anyone know of any good Triathlon Shops in the South East? Around Hampshire preferably..

[Fatbloke]

Sigma Sports, Kingston, Surrey, v good

but there must be some in Hampshire

[2seas]

I went for my first ever OpenWater swim today - in a Lake near where I live. For those wondering what the experience is like here are the swim notes I sent to my coach, (I got a bit carried away, next time i'll split it up into a trilogy):


Today’s Swim Notes – my first OpenWater swim:

I turned up at the lake for 6am. I donned my wetsuit over my cycling shorts and cycling top (as that’s what I’ll be doing at the weekend so I thought I would test the comfort). I then went over to sign in and the guy said “first time?”. I nodded and tried to look confident and asked “how did you guess?”. “Because you still have the tags attached to your wetsuit”…. Do’h!!

Air temp was 17c and I was told the water temp was 16c. I procrastinated a little, said a quick farewell to my balls (just in case the cold water should drive them away for ever), then took the plunge off the jetty and into the water.

The cold water was a bit of a shock, but since I had spent the last hour building it up in my mind to be the most painful thing I will ever experience the reality was an enjoyable anti-climax. Despite the fact that it was warmer than I thought I still found my breathing was quick and shallow. As per your advice I stayed where I was for a few minutes and focused slowly on regulating my breathing. Once I was normal (ish) I set off on the course which was a 400m loop between two buoys.

I have worn a wetsuit for scuba diving/kayaking etc but I have never actually swam any great length in one. I was (very pleasantly) surprised by how much buoyancy they offered! Straight into the swim I felt like I was skimming on the surface. In the pool I am quite conscious of having to keep my legs up. It was nice to relax and not think about this as they stayed up all on their own.

My first 400m loop was a bit of a mess. I was meandering all over the place and I was sighting too often so there was no rhythm to my swimming. The water was really murky – I could just make out my hands as they entered the water but other than that it was a dark brown mess. I came to realise just how much I rely on the lines at the bottom of the pool to keep me swimming straight. With no reference point in the water to compare against I found it hard to judge if I was swimming straight or at an angle to where I wanted to go.

By the second loop I had improved a lot. I took note of two large landmarks behind the buoys at each end (one was a red bus and the other was a boat). After that when I sighted I looked for those as they were in line with the buoys and easier to spot. I also developed a smoother rythmn of sighting. On every 4th stroke of my left hand I would have a quick look up and adjust my line as necessary. By the end of the 3rd loop my adjustments were smaller and smaller.

I really wish I had more time to practice as I want to improve the speed of my sighting (it’s probably around a second at the moment) and also learn to make it smoother so it doesn’t disrupt my stroke. The cold water was no longer an issue after the first 400m. I’m planning on going for another swim tomorrow morning – this time I’ll wear my garmin to see how quick I’m going..

Ps the balls are still intact – hooray.

[2seas]

Fatbloke said:

Sigma Sports, Kingston, Surrey, v good

but there must be some in Hampshire

Thanks, that's not too far down the M3 so I may pop along, should I fail to find anywhere closer to home.

[Fourmotion]

2seas said:

OWS blog

That sounds like Mytchett lake. I've been down there a few times this year. 3 weeks ago the water was 10.9, so 16 is a massive jump in temperature!

I'll be there on Tuesday morning if you want to see a fat triathlete!

Key on the long stretch past the start is to aim just left of the ski jump rather than the bus, you don't have to lift your head as high.

[2seas]

Fourmotion said:

2seas said:

OWS blog

That sounds like Mytchett lake. I've been down there a few times this year. 3 weeks ago the water was 10.9, so 16 is a massive jump in temperature!

I'll be there on Tuesday morning if you want to see a fat triathlete!

Key on the long stretch past the start is to aim just left of the ski jump rather than the bus, you don't have to lift your head as high.

Yeah it's Mytchett. I'll look out for the jump. I'll try to get down there as much as possible so i'll see you at some point. I'll be the one in a brand new suit with "newbie" written on my forehead.

[Highway Star]

2seas said:

I have worn a wetsuit for scuba diving/kayaking etc but I have never actually swam any great length in one. I was (very pleasantly) surprised by how much buoyancy they offered! Straight into the swim I felt like I was skimming on the surface. In the pool I am quite conscious of having to keep my legs up. It was nice to relax and not think about this as they stayed up all on their own.

Exactly why I hate wetsuits, might as well put a motor on your bike!

The buoyancy helps, as does the extra compression a suit gives compared to bare skin. In my experience, a wetsuit is worth about a minute per 1500 over no wetsuit.

[Ayahuasca]

Highway Star said:

2seas said:

I have worn a wetsuit for scuba diving/kayaking etc but I have never actually swam any great length in one. I was (very pleasantly) surprised by how much buoyancy they offered! Straight into the swim I felt like I was skimming on the surface. In the pool I am quite conscious of having to keep my legs up. It was nice to relax and not think about this as they stayed up all on their own.

Exactly why I hate wetsuits, might as well put a motor on your bike!

The buoyancy helps, as does the extra compression a suit gives compared to bare skin. In my experience, a wetsuit is worth about a minute per 1500 over no wetsuit.

Not much good if it take you a minute to get into or out of it.

[Fourmotion]

Ayahuasca said:

Not much good if it take you a minute to get into or out of it.

The time getting into it is irrelevant, that's not race time. Taking it off, if practised, doesn't take a minute.

I tend to save more than a minute over 1500m, I'm certainly quicker swimming with it, but I appreciate everyone has different experiences. Maybe that points to me being a weaker swimmer.

It is compulsory at most triathlons with open water swims to wear a wetsuit, becoming optional then forbidden in increasing temperature grades. In the UK, it's pretty much required all year, so it's certainly worth training in a wetsuit if that's your sport.