Need help from those who have done a sprint triathlon...

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feelin_gr_8
feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What's the heaviest weight you were at when you participated in one? I've been planning since last July to do my first sprint tri this August...and I just found out that the options this year are only May or July :( Less time to lose weight and train! Feeling rather deflated and nervous. My goal is just to survive it...now I'm worried...

5'7" currently 259...
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  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
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    215. Just do it. I am telling you it's the best! Read. "Slow fat triathlete". It's hysterical
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Well done! When I started triathlon last year I was amazed at how kick *kitten* the bigger ladies were, particularly in swimming. I'm biased, but it the best sport because of the variety of movement and the way each discipline compliments the other. Plus you get to lift!
    Watch out though, training will make you super hungry. Make sure you have a heart rate monitor so you can put your weight and other stats in and get your true burns. Then eat those exercise cals back. Try not to be on too much of a deficit either.
    It's the most fun I've had in years! Like a big adventure.
  • NJL13500
    NJL13500 Posts: 433 Member
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    232 pounds. I was not fast, but I finished and that was my goal. Everyone was especially supportive to me along the race course. I would say do it!
  • glreim21
    glreim21 Posts: 206 Member
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    I was 232 lbs. I finished it and that sense of accomplishment was an feeling I will never forget. You CAN do this!
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    Thank you so much for your words of encouragement! I'm hoping to be down closer to some of those weights by then...I have absolutely no form in swimming and can't afford all the fancy nice stuff like a legit bike (mine is a yard sale find....men's mountain bike" but I'll try my best...
  • _MG_
    _MG_ Posts: 453 Member
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    I'm with you feelin_gr_8. I've set a goal for myself to do a sprint triathlon in August.

    Let's do it!
  • gnalani
    gnalani Posts: 126
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    I did an Olympic with very similar stats as you. It was REALLY hard but not necessarily because of my weight. I didn't train at all.

    One great thing about triathlons is that everyone is very encouraging. Maybe 5% of the people are there to win and might have kind of an elite, snooty, attitude about an overweight person being there. But 95% of people are extremely encouraging! During my first triathlon (Worlds Toughest in Auburn, CA), a woman ran backwards up a hill so she could face me and give me encouragement as I dragged myself upwards.

    You've made a great decision to get involved in triathlon -- you will feel AWESOME after you cross that finish line!
  • DangerJim71
    DangerJim71 Posts: 361 Member
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    What's the heaviest weight you were at when you participated in one? I've been planning since last July to do my first sprint tri this August...and I just found out that the options this year are only May or July :( Less time to lose weight and train! Feeling rather deflated and nervous. My goal is just to survive it...now I'm worried...

    5'7" currently 259...

    I would agree that triathlon is a great sport and the training will get you fit. Whether you can survive a sprint in May or July depends on where you are right now? What is your current fitness level and what are you doing to train?
  • GenoPrice
    GenoPrice Posts: 477 Member
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    I agree that maybe 5% of the people at triathlons are not that encouraging but I find they are too focused on there own race to care what you are doing.

    A mountain bike is fine. I have been in many races with people doing the tri on mountain bikes, even saw one lady on a bike with a shopping basket on the front.

    Make sure on the swim at the start you stay at the back because people will literally swim over you if you are in the way.

    You have not specified what training you are doing but you should be swimming at least once a week and run and cycle twice a week. Maybe add a brick session; cycle then run straight after; a wierd feeling, legs like jelly.
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    Thanks so much for the advice and encouragement guys! My brother swears that the sprint tri we're going to do is in August and there just aren't details online yet...I hope he's right. I'll admit that I haven't been doing any biking or jogging with the cold weather and having a nasty cold/flu for over a month. I think I might get out there and do some soon if the weather is above freezing. I can't get myself to seriously bike or jog at the gym...(not to mention I totally have a fat comfy seat on my bike and the cycles at the gym...yeah...I don't like the bruised crotch feeling...)

    I started swimming last week. The problem is I never really properly learned to swim as a child. I have been having neck and head aches since last week because I know I'm not swimming properly. I was rather deflated at the pool today because of some rudeness of an employee and my own anxiety. But I came home and looked up some videos on techniques to help me get more comfortable :) Hopefully a visit to the chiropractor tomorrow will help set me right and I'll keep coming back for more!
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    sprint tri's are really fun. you have plenty of time still to train, even if yours ends up being in july rather than august. That's still minimally 6 months away. a lot of time, and no doubt your weight will be down and fitness level up.

    good luck!
  • EALongbottom
    EALongbottom Posts: 2 Member
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    There's a brilliant book by a lady called Meredith Attwood called Swim Bike Mom. She has a blog and website too. Definitely worth a look and was a great help to me before my first triathlon last year http://www.swimbikemom.com/
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    Looks like a nice blog bertiones, I'll definitely have to read more of those articles, just read one :)

    And GenoPrice-thanks for the reminder to hang back. That definitely won't be a problem for me, I'd rather not get mowed down! My goal: survive, secondary goal: not be last!
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    beginnertriathlete.com Best site ever.

    No one will care what you look like. Triathletes are supportive and kind. At my first tri, I was a lady doing her tri on a bike with a basket on the front, so equipment doesn't matter either.

    My biggest issue (I weighed about 225 lbs) was finding a wet suit that fit. I live in the UK so outdoor tris almost always require wetsuits. I have a man's shape in that I have short legs and a long body, but I also have an hour glass figure. I'm tall AND overweight so a woman's wetsuit was never going to fit me (um, newsflash sports equipment makers, big girls work out too!) so I ended up with a man's xl suit which I cut the legs down to fit my calves. It was ridiculously tight in the hips/bust and saggy in the waist, but at least it didn't cut me in half in the crotch.

    My advice:

    1. transitions are just as important as each leg. Learn the rules of transition so you don't get disqualified, especially the swim-bike transition. Put your helmet on before you touch the bike and DO NOT mount the bike until you're at the exit.

    2. If you must wear a wetsuit (outdoor swim) then practice swimming in it at the pool or in a lake before your first event. It's a weird sensation and I had panic attack despite being a strong swimmer. I set off first, was in the lead then panicked and ended up last out of the water with a little flotilla of rowboats all around me. Funny now, annoying and scaring then.

    3. Some races have a half-sprint distance length. Perfect for a first event if you're not in the best shape.

    4. Have fun. It's the best sport.

    Triathlon is my sport of choice. Sadly, I'm broken and not sure when I will ever be able to run properly again, but I keep hoping.


    Edit: the finish line award for my first tri was a t-shirt. I wore it for a week and still have it. One item of clothing I will keep forever.
  • carlaandres
    carlaandres Posts: 2
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    I agree on the beginnertriathlete.com site and on the Atwood book (and blog) It is a very informative and hilarious read. I am also training for my first sprint (49 yrs), and am currently learning from the book, Slow, Fat Triathlete. The concept is not to put this off until you are in good enough shape to train, start now. My biggest challenge is swimming, but I have found that if you stick with it progress is slow but steady. You Tube videos and swimming drills are very helpful. Final thoughts, as a woman, I chose an Iron Girl race because they are all women and I thought that would be less intimidating. There is a website for all of their events. Good luck!
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    Love all the pointers, thanks so much! I would probably consider an all-woman race if it wasn't for the fact that my brother is my huge motivator. Without him, I never would have started this journey to lose the weight and start training! I'll have to check out those other sites! I stayed up late last night reviewing a bunch of videos on technique, mostly on breathing with water. I'm not the most coordinated person...like I can dance with my upper body but I can't move both my legs and my arms lol. So coordinating breaths with arms and legs moving AND trying to not let water get in my eyes, ears, and nose is so fun......
  • cdnmummy
    cdnmummy Posts: 7 Member
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    While I didn't do a sprint, I did a try-a-tri (mainly because I LOATHE running, so the fact that it was shorter was a bonus!). It was 350M swim, 20K bike, and 3K run. I was 215lbs at the time.
    I had a blast. Really, no one cares what you look like, or your fitness level. My goal was to finish without being cut off time wise. I was happily surprised to finish no where near the back. People were very friendly and encouraging. I also found that there was a huge difference between everyone's abilities. There was an older woman that had a knee brace, and she completed it at her own pace and everyone was cheering her on.

    The one piece of advice I'd gotten, but really ignored last year, was to do brick workouts. That's where you do a good amount of one sport, then transition to another right after. Swim to bike was fine, but Bike to run? My toes were numb, my legs felt strange, and I couldn't force myself to actually get running. I jogged a bit, but in the end, walked a lot of the 3K that I had to do.
    This year my goal is to run that 3K, and not walk any of it. Then I will move up to sprints. I've started training, and do 2 days circuit training, 1 day bike, 1 day run, 1 day swim. Closer to my event, I will do the bricks of bike to run.
    Good Luck! Add me if you want. I am still very much a newbie on the tri scene, but my husband is not! lol! He and my friend convinced me to do this, and I've caught the bug!
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    Thanks for those tips :) I've been hearing that-to practice transitions. I just finally got myself out of the house and gym yesterday to do some outside jogging in the freezing weather. Obviously aside from the cold, it felt great :) Now to get out the bike and do both! I can't stand the idea of treadmills...I feel like a hamster, so I think I'll enjoy the realism of the practice and outdoors :)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    What's the heaviest weight you were at when you participated in one? I've been planning since last July to do my first sprint tri this August...and I just found out that the options this year are only May or July :( Less time to lose weight and train! Feeling rather deflated and nervous. My goal is just to survive it...now I'm worried...

    5'7" currently 259...

    237. On the run portion I jogged for a bit with a woman who was 240. She was trucking along and kicking *kitten*. There is a small factor of conditioning, of course. If the tri is in August, start now. I started my training back up in Dec.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Geno's quote here:
    Make sure on the swim at the start you stay at the back because people will literally swim over you if you are in the way.
    Truth. I got roadkilled once, punched once, I kicked someone at least once. It happens. What was the most brutal is that I started at the back of my pack... the wave that started AFTER me washed over me. :D
    My advice:

    1. transitions are just as important as each leg. Learn the rules of transition so you don't get disqualified, especially the swim-bike transition. Put your helmet on before you touch the bike and DO NOT mount the bike until you're at the exit.

    2. If you must wear a wetsuit (outdoor swim) then practice swimming in it at the pool or in a lake before your first event. It's a weird sensation and I had panic attack despite being a strong swimmer. I set off first, was in the lead then panicked and ended up last out of the water with a little flotilla of rowboats all around me. Funny now, annoying and scaring then.
    Both these are good. Get used to the wetsuit. I did that with one pool swim and two open water swims, then I was good to go. In fact, practice your open water swimming. The first time you see a diver underneath you, you'll **** yourself. I promise, unless you're prepared for it. (Personal experience.)

    Something important to remember with transition. Mentally do your swim bike a couple times, that seems to have the most crazy stuff going on. Be greased up so coming out of that wetsuit is easy, have everything laid out properly. With my bike racked, I put my helmet on the handlebars, and my sunglasses on top, and my jersey on top of that. So even when effort drunk and not thinking clearly, I know it's shirt, glasses, helmet, THEN BIKE. Also, don't sit down during transition. I did, had a REAL hard time getting up.

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