Now I'm the idiot...
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sarahz5
Posts: 1,363 Member
I have always criticized for jumping straight into a 70.3!
Please give it to me straight. I have done a number of sprint triathlons, but note - all were women only. I'm good with the run and bike, totally. I have done many half marathons and I am relatively speedy. My longest bike so far is 35 miles but it's a strong sport for me, I am not worried. My swim - I used to be slow; then I got slightly faster, but I started to have swim anxiety and panic in the water. So my swim times are still bad. And when I say sprint, I mean 400m. I have done an OWS up to 1600m, but not in a race setting, and I think I probably took a 30 second break to stand at some point.
I plan to do a masters swim for 12 weeks in early 2016.
About 40 women from my tri club are signing up for IMAC70.3.
Am I nuts to skip from sprint to 70.3, given this profile?
Please give it to me straight. I have done a number of sprint triathlons, but note - all were women only. I'm good with the run and bike, totally. I have done many half marathons and I am relatively speedy. My longest bike so far is 35 miles but it's a strong sport for me, I am not worried. My swim - I used to be slow; then I got slightly faster, but I started to have swim anxiety and panic in the water. So my swim times are still bad. And when I say sprint, I mean 400m. I have done an OWS up to 1600m, but not in a race setting, and I think I probably took a 30 second break to stand at some point.
I plan to do a masters swim for 12 weeks in early 2016.
About 40 women from my tri club are signing up for IMAC70.3.
Am I nuts to skip from sprint to 70.3, given this profile?
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Oh, and I feel confident I can carve out the training time.0
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IMO, nope.0
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Nope, don't do it? Or nope, not crazy?
And if you think I should hold off... is it because of the swim issue, or because you strongly recommend getting a full year of Olympic level training under my belt first?
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Nope, not crazy.
Will you be doing the swim in a wetsuit?0 -
Oh Sarah I've seen many far less experienced jump feet first into a 140.6. At least you didn't go full on crazy???
You'll be fine. Put in the work, race smart, you'll be set.0 -
Hahahahahaha FULL. Yes that is crazier and makes me feel better!
I don't think I will need a wetsuit - I hate them so far and sold my full Orca - but I am going to experiment this spring. My friend just told me about wetsuit shorts - best thing ever? Buoyancy without the straightjacket?
To be honest, it's you men punching and swimming over me that gives me the most pause. I live such a sheltered women's tri club life!
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I'm a slow swimmer. I start at the back of my wave so I don't have to deal with that... er, I mean, out of consideration for the stronger simmers.To be honest, it's you men punching and swimming over me that gives me the most pause. I live such a sheltered women's tri club life!
Also, IMO, a sleeveless suit is far less restrictive than a sleeved one. I sold my sleeved one last season and only use my sleeveless.0 -
You have so much time before now an IMAC to prepare. You will be fine. You say you have a few sprints under your belt. Great. Pick a couple mid-season Olys to tune up. Perhaps Rev3 Pocono on August 7?0
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I will check it out - might be too much altitude for me! - my friends who love NJ State keep trying to twist my arm to do that and have completely disagreed with the "gross lake" assessment!
Of course I was also thinking about the AC Tri Int'l, but I don't think I want to do two AC tris in a row. It would be great for preparation but a little anticlimactic. 0 -
Thank you all so much for encouraging me to do this, btw! It definitely pushed me over the edge from maybe to probably. I heard the cheapest spots are selling out so I will probably (there's that word again) sign up tonight.0
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I won't lie - the Pocono course is a bit tough. The bike isn't actually all that bad. There is really only one hill that you do on the way out, then again on the way back. But the run... that has some real hills.0
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Okay, I don't know if it will be this year, but I *am* doing that race. What a gorgeous setting, great courses, love everything about it so far. The hills on the run don't scare me (though I have never run after more than 24 miles on the bike so maybe I shouldn't be so confident). I would be more concerned about the "technical descents" on the bike. That is something I am going to have to think about training for by doing some of my rides elsewhere.0
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Another vote for not crazy at all. You got time to master the distances. Really, swimming is the easiest jump from 400m to 1.2.
Depends on the start. I don't know of any half that start as a mass start (but I don't go looking at races I don't plan to do to see if there is mass start), you'll be in your female age group to start and then if it's a BIG swim area, just swim to the side of the group to avoid the aggressive swimmers trying to bunch up.
I don't mind lake swims, other than just the general muck of them. Fish poop too and if you're in a river swim, unless you're at the start of the river, all the toilets up stream end up someplace. I do love my no sleeve wetsuit because I don't like my arms and armpits being constrained.0 -
It's a wave start. I am concerned that i will be so slow that the wave behind me will catch up, but I figured if I stay far to the side I should be okay. It's in the back bay, so it's not enormous but it's big enough to steer clear. I watched the Int'l Tri swim there last year by the same race director so I know pretty much what will go down. You have to flop up a ramp at the end.
This particular lake swim, one of the regulars, I think glevinso, mentioned on another thread that it was a lake full of grease and something else. Then I have a real life person telling me it's great. I find that hard to reconcile.
Definitely going to invest in a no sleeve wetsuit. Just as soon as I have put the expense of the race registration and my new pedals and shoes that I bought today! I have been riding for almost four years and I have just put it off and put it off. I love them! And I got my bike totally refitted and it feels fantastic.0 -
Delmo mentioned on the IMAC FB page that the race will be a wave start
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This particular lake swim, one of the regulars, I think glevinso, mentioned on another thread that it was a lake full of grease and something else. Then I have a real life person telling me it's great. I find that hard to reconcile.
I am not a real life person?
In any case maybe other years it was different. I'll say that in 2011 when I did that race, that lake was vile. Perhaps it is cleaner now?0 -
Possibly! I am going to keep asking around before I commit. And swooning over Poconos in my mind.
It really has to be a wave start... there's not much way to get in the water other than off the dock. I always fantasize about a mass start and just waiting until I am the LAST person in the water.0 -
I agree with all of the above.
I definitely think you can and don't think it is an unreasonable goal. It's not like you are going from being totally sedentary. You have plenty of time.
I had done a few sprint tris. I am not a strong swimmer either, probably hadn't even gone as far as you had on the bike. After I had my son, I decided to try to train for one the following summer. I finished my first 70.3 in August. It wasn't a spectacular performance or anything but I did it.
I also did what Glevinso suggested. Throughout my training I did a couple of sprints, then a mid season Oly.
Most of the races I've done are on the smaller side but I've never had an issue with men swimming over me in wave starts even in the bigger ones.
I say go for it. Especially because you have a group doing it.0 -
I signed up straight away for a 70.3 (hawaii, non wetsuit swim) and felt great about it! I did two olympics beforehand to practice transitions, make mistakes, and it worked for me (desert tri and wildflower oly).
I literally could not clip into a bike before I started.0 -
Thanks! Love to hear about these experiences! I have no delusions about finishing well, I would just like to finish injury free, if sore and beat up.0
