Does anyone here swim?
Replies
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Janice6543 wrote: »I have done Sprint Tris with my mountain bike. There are even shorter races called "Try a tri" or similar. You don't need to buy any fancy equipment and you can see if you like it.
That's awesome!!
Found out last night I have a torn meniscus in my knee. Won't be running for a bit. Thanks for all the swimming help, though!
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Is the swim portion of these beginner triathlons done in a pool, it is it not happening until late next spring?0
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NorthCascades wrote: »Is the swim portion of these beginner triathlons done in a pool, it is it not happening until late next spring?
some of them are - but surprising not that common (races in the more metro areas may be pool swims)1 -
if you decide you want to try one...PM me and i'll check out my various resources and see if i can find a good beginner recommendation0
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I've been wanting to do something more competitive, and while is have to eat some crow, a tri would force me to focus on my weaknesses. It'd also be more relevant to me than a Nordic biathlon by a lot.
The last time I ran, I was pretty slow (9:30 per mile) and it wasn't after riding hard. How much would I have to improve?0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Different people can do each leg...?
Does everyone bring a time trial bike, or can you be competitive on a road frame?
I think lots of participants use road bikes. My friend has used a hybrid the last 2 years. She feels it slows her down on the flat portions so just got a road bike for next year. She finishes in the middle of her age group nonetheless. You won't win with a slower bike, but unlikely you'll finish last either.
The team format probably varies by event. You might want to check out the Tri-Turtle-Tri Sprint in Seabeck WA mid-Sept.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I've been wanting to do something more competitive, and while is have to eat some crow, a tri would force me to focus on my weaknesses. It'd also be more relevant to me than a Nordic biathlon by a lot.
The last time I ran, I was pretty slow (9:30 per mile) and it wasn't after riding hard. How much would I have to improve?
I have a couple friends who do sprints, I think they aim for sub 7 minute miles, but they are both strong runners. One of them looked like he was drowning when he first started training for the swim and the other guy is weak on the bike, they are finishing middle of the pack, but they make up ground on the run. They finish middle of the pack, about an hour and a half, the elite athletes are about an hour for the men.1 -
BrianKMcFalls wrote: »I have a couple friends who do sprints, I think they aim for sub 7 minute miles, but they are both strong runners. One of them looked like he was drowning when he first started training for the swim
Sprint tri's are not fair to swimmers! If it's a 1/20/5k (swim/ride/run) then the swim could be half the time of the ride or run. I'd prefer 2/20/5k, which would have closer to equal times. They never do that!0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I've been wanting to do something more competitive, and while is have to eat some crow, a tri would force me to focus on my weaknesses. It'd also be more relevant to me than a Nordic biathlon by a lot.
The last time I ran, I was pretty slow (9:30 per mile) and it wasn't after riding hard. How much would I have to improve?
I'm a 13-15 minute miler depending on my weight and I do triathlons. You wouldn't need to improve to compete in one because you would be well under the run cutoff times.1 -
goodkoalie wrote: »I have been competitively swimming since 6th grade, so about 8 years now. I would definitely recommend an instructor, as in injuries are pretty common with improper form.
I have never sustained injuries from swimming ever and I have been swimming since I was a baby...
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »BrianKMcFalls wrote: »I have a couple friends who do sprints, I think they aim for sub 7 minute miles, but they are both strong runners. One of them looked like he was drowning when he first started training for the swim
Sprint tri's are not fair to swimmers! If it's a 1/20/5k (swim/ride/run) then the swim could be half the time of the ride or run. I'd prefer 2/20/5k, which would have closer to equal times. They never do that!
have you seen the ads for Isoman Tri? notionally its supposed to be a race where all 3 legs take roughly the same amount of time to complete - the ultra one is a 7k swim, 90mile bike and marathon - they've been doing overseas and trying to bring to the US0 -
deannalfisher wrote: »if you decide you want to try one...PM me and i'll check out my various resources and see if i can find a good beginner recommendation
How common are crashes in the bike leg? They're fairly common in road racing. I know (or at least think) tri doesn't happen under UCI rules, like drafting is prohibited for safety.
I have a nice bike and don't want to risk damaging it. I'm a strong cyclist but used to riding solo, not in a pack.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »deannalfisher wrote: »if you decide you want to try one...PM me and i'll check out my various resources and see if i can find a good beginner recommendation
How common are crashes in the bike leg? They're fairly common in road racing. I know (or at least think) tri doesn't happen under UCI rules, like drafting is prohibited for safety.
I have a nice bike and don't want to risk damaging it. I'm a strong cyclist but used to riding solo, not in a pack.
fairly rare in my experience - any tri under USAT authorization doesn't allow drafting...you'll get newbies who aren't as confident with bike handling - so something to be aware of but in general most races are well organized. I will say, VERY FEW are on closed courses, so you do have to deal with cars on the roads (just as something to be aware of)0 -
Can you draft the cars?
It sounds like I should give this some serious consideration. Maybe start running after shirt rides to get a feel for it.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Can you draft the cars?
It sounds like I should give this some serious consideration. Maybe start running after shirt rides to get a feel for it.
depends - do you want to suck on some exhaust?
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nexangelus wrote: »I have never sustained injuries from swimming ever and I have been swimming since I was a baby...
Same here... then I turned 50 and I hurt my shoulder. The solution was finally learning to swim correctly: don't slap the water, rotate your torso, don't let your hands cross past the center of your body, etc. You need someone to teach you these things.
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »nexangelus wrote: »I have never sustained injuries from swimming ever and I have been swimming since I was a baby...
Same here... then I turned 50 and I hurt my shoulder. The solution was finally learning to swim correctly: don't slap the water, rotate your torso, don't let your hands cross past the center of your body, etc. You need someone to teach you these things.
I increased my swimming pretty quickly in July and August and I am now dealing with shoulder pain, basically just tendonitis, but I still blame the swimming and I have been swimming since I was a kid (with a big break in my mid 20s to late 30s3 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I've been wanting to do something more competitive, and while is have to eat some crow, a tri would force me to focus on my weaknesses. It'd also be more relevant to me than a Nordic biathlon by a lot.
The last time I ran, I was pretty slow (9:30 per mile) and it wasn't after riding hard. How much would I have to improve?
I'm a 13-15 minute miler depending on my weight and I do triathlons. You wouldn't need to improve to compete in one because you would be well under the run cutoff times.
I had hip surgery a few years ago and don't run much at all, so I walk most of the 5K. Everyone is very supportive no matter how fast you are.2 -
I have a dumb question. If a pool is 25 meters, that's ONE way, right?
Or is it per lap?0 -
A standard gym pool is 25 meters, which is one length. A lap is two lengths, there and back.2
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NorthCascades wrote: »A standard gym pool is 25 meters, which is one length. A lap is two lengths, there and back.
So 32 laps or 64 lengths would be a mile?
My brain is getting fried with swimmers' math.0 -
Every time I google "how many laps in a mile" or any variation including the words "25 meters" I get a multi step explanation that defines a swimmer's mile and gets super long winded and complicated.0
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NorthCascades wrote: »
A guy at the bike shop asked me when I'm going to do an Ironman. I'm not much of a runner, though.
How far would I have to run?
I did a couple triathlons and my dad told me after one race. "You be great at this if you didn't have to do all that running." I hate to run!
The perfect triathlon for me would be run, bike, swim! I love to swim!2 -
A swimmer's mile is 1500 meters, the race contested at the Olympics. This roughly translates to 1650 yardsEvery time I google "how many laps in a mile" or any variation including the words "25 meters" I get a multi step explanation that defines a swimmer's mile and gets super long winded and complicated.
A true mile is 1760 yards or about 1610 meter.0 -
YosemiteSlamAK wrote: »
A swimmer's mile is 1500 meters, the race contested at the Olympics. This roughly translates to 1650 yardsEvery time I google "how many laps in a mile" or any variation including the words "25 meters" I get a multi step explanation that defines a swimmer's mile and gets super long winded and complicated.
A true mile is 1760 yards or about 1610 meter.
Sooooo...... which one am I logging when I say I swam x miles?0 -
I don't know the answer. When I log my swimming it asks me for time, not distance.
I recommend swimming the 1600 meters and call it your mile.1 -
YosemiteSlamAK wrote: »I don't know the answer. When I log my swimming it asks me for time, not distance.
I recommend swimming the 1600 meters and call it your mile.
Hmm all right. I've been logging through the FitBit app and it asks for time and then gives fractions of a kilometer or a mile.0 -
If your pool is meters I would log it as 1.6km1
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YosemiteSlamAK wrote: »If your pool is meters I would log it as 1.6km
You're a life saver.0 -
NorthCascades wrote: »I've been wanting to do something more competitive, and while is have to eat some crow, a tri would force me to focus on my weaknesses. It'd also be more relevant to me than a Nordic biathlon by a lot.
The last time I ran, I was pretty slow (9:30 per mile) and it wasn't after riding hard. How much would I have to improve?
Nothing like a sprint distance triathlon to get your competitive juices flowing. Unlike longer distance triathlons, where proper nutrition is a big factor and the work, though prolonged, is usually not quite as intense, a Sprint is just that - an all out effort that requires you to operate right at your threshold for the entire race if you hope to be competitive. And it certainly offers a measurement of an athlete's relative strengths and weaknesses.
Since times vary based on different course layouts, and not knowing your age group, I can't provide specifics of just how fast you'd have to be to have a shot at the podium, but I can give you a few examples for reference. In a popular Sprint distance race this past summer, the Niantic Bay Triathlon, which includes a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 mile bike, and a 3.2 mile run, there were 459 athletes who completed the race. The overall winner came from the Men's 30-34 age group. The winner's overall time was 59:54. splits were Swim= 9:24, T1= 00:48, Bike=30:54, T2=00:37, Run= 18:12 Note: That run split was done at a 5:41 pace, including the last 200 yards run over beach sand!
To illustrate how competitive the field can be, there were 44 athletes in the Men's 45-49 age group. The top five 45-49 age group finishers came in at 1:03:24, 1:07:46, 1:08:13, 1:08:27, and 1:08:51. So the second through fifth place finishers were separated by only 65 seconds. That's a horse race for the podium!
So if you're looking to focus on improving weaknesses in swimming or running in a very friendly yet very competitive atmosphere, its a great sport.
Fair warning, though: Triathlon can be very addictive. If you're not careful, you could end up installing aftermarket aerobars on your road bike and wearing one of those funny looking helmets.
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