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

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  • SillyC2
    SillyC2 Posts: 275 Member
    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...

    I wish a mountain bike was fine.... it should be.... but.... I spent a summer doing triathlon, and I left because I was teased non-stop about the quality of my gear. :(
  • cdnmummy
    cdnmummy Posts: 7 Member
    I have seen a few people do them in Mountain bikes, and while they work, you will be working harder than those on a road bike. I thought I could do mine on my cruiser bike (it's all I had at the time), and went to do a practice 20K. I managed, but I was working really hard. So, I decided that I would look for a cheap road bike. I found one for under $200 new, so I got it. I did see used road bikes for under $100, but thought investing in a new one would encourage me to do more than one triathlon. After I got my road bike, I went back out on the same course and found it much easier, and I shaved 10 mins off my time. It might be something to consider.
    I haven't needed a wet suit. It's been warm enough by race day that it wasn't required. But if you do need one, I agree, go practice in one.
    I swam in my training swimsuit, then at the first transition, I just pulled shorts over that, socks, shoes, sunglasses, helmet and off I went. Second transition, lose the bike and helmet and away you go.
    For sure work on your freestyle. You wont want to be kicking outwards, or doing breast stroke, as people are all around you. I too held back, but still managed to bump into a person or two.
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    I had a nightmare about this upcoming sprint triathlon last night! The electronic tracker they give you that usually goes around your ankle had been replaced with a large, awkward, bottle-like thing you had to carry. It was nearly impossible to swim at all or bike while holding it! To add to it all, there were multiple transitions (not just swim to bike, bike to run) and you had to figure out clues to move forward, like a scavenger hunt. It was horrible! I can just imagine having many more nightmares before the big day lol.
  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
    OMG! First, the nightmare you just described...NOOOOOOOOO!

    I signed up for a duathlon in June...1 mile run/10 mile bike/ 3 mile run. I haven't swum or ridden a bike in decades, so I figured I would tackle only one at a time. I bought a bike last month and have put at least 40 miles on it every weekend so far at a leisurely 11 mph pace. I have a 10k and Half Marathon in 10 days that I need to concentrate on right now. After that I will work on getting a little faster on the bike, but for right now, I am enjoying bike riding more than I thought possible. Next year I will add swimming and sign up for a Tri.

    The one thing that sort of bothered me was signing up where it asked what group I wanted to be judged in. I could be judged by age group (which is what I am used to as a runner/walker) or by weight. That just seemed odd to me and maybe a little offensive. Or, most likely, I was just taking it wrong. Either way, i don't plan on getting an award no matter what category I am in...I just want to finish.

    To the OP, you have plenty of time to get ready for this! I have no doubts at all that in July (or August) we will see another post from you telling us how much you loved it...and possibly that you got kicked in the face a little by another swimmer. :laugh:
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    You know, I've never heard of a duathlon, but that sounds like fun-a lot less hassle cutting out the swimming! I haven't been training at all the last couple weeks...I've been in a bit of a slump :( I just want spring! You won't be able to stop me training once the weather gets nice! I'm just glad this week is forecasted to be above freezing most of the time, so hopefully the snow and ice will melt enough for me to jog without slipping and cracking my head open!
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    The people who look fast often aren't and the ones who don't look fast usually are. Tris are the one place where I've seen people of all shapes and sizes compete and compete rather well. Don't sweat it.
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    I still can't find information on the sprint tri I'm supposed to be doing...not knowing and planning out exact details gets me nervous! I had to stop swimming the last couple weeks due to neck/head pains. But I took my bike on a 4.25 mile ride yesterday-first one of (pre) spring and it felt great!!! Do they usually try to make the biking paths fairly flat? There are a couple hills locally that I must look pretty funny on-I'm chugging slowly up and then have to stop half way up and walk it up the rest of the way...that might be embarrassing in an actual race scenario!

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