Triathlon in Mayo

busyrunning

Hi im considering doing a triathlon and was just wondering if any of you know of any around mayo perhaps Nov or dec. It would be my first triathlon so any advice would be welcome as i know nothing about them at all really.

hunnymonster

triathlon is a summer sport in Ireland. The water gets quite cold in winter so there would not be too many people willing to participate. Your best bet is to look at the triathlonireland.com website for the race calendar.

busyrunning

Oops how did i not realise that it makes perfect sence in good old ireland sorry!!!!!
i was hoping to have one in mind in the short term to keep me focused but never mind the more prep time i have the better.

tunney

busyrunning wrote: »

Oops how did i not realise that it makes perfect sence in good old ireland sorry!!!!!
i was hoping to have one in mind in the short term to keep me focused but never mind the more prep time i have the better.

Its really because triathletes are all super-soft wusses who hate to get cold and wet and get their tri-suits dirty.

toombah

There is a race in Belmullet at the end of September if it's any good to you. Round about the last race of the season.

Bambaata

was hoping to do that and then realised its the same day as the half marathon in the park :-(

tunney

Wanted to do the half in the park myself but with kemare then ireman the week after and then the half in the park the week after i think that might just be looking for trouble. Don't want to get back in the habit of overracing (very very common in ireland and generally results in illness, injury, burnout and poor performances)

toombah

Yeah but some people seem to be able to race nearly every weekend and post impressive times.

Granted the races are usually olympic or sprint (not half-IM or half marathon). Is race conditioning the type of thing that improves or worsens from season to season?

Abhainn

busyrunning wrote: »

Hi im considering doing a triathlon and was just wondering if any of you know of any around mayo perhaps Nov or dec. It would be my first triathlon so any advice would be welcome as i know nothing about them at all really.

There is one on 20th Sept .
http://www.kilmoretriathlonclub.com/

This is the first year of the event. What a great great location. Pity it wasn't planned earlier in the year. Would definately be on my list of races but it happens before an important race for me the week after.

Ahh....!

Support it.!

busyrunning

Thanks all

Im afraid though i would never be ready for one in September (would be found at the bottom of the lake i suspect) i suppose i will just have to wait till next year so......:(

does anyone have any good tips or training plans for me though or should i wait till nearer the time???

tunney

Start training in November.
Swim minimumof three times a week. If you can't swim get lessons.
Bike twice a week. One longish one, one shortish. Spinning doesn't count.
Run 3-4 times a week. One long, one easy, one faster.
Go to the gym and do leg weights.
Try to lose some weight (we can all lose weight )

billyhead

Tunney,
Do you not think thats a bit too much training if you have a full time job. What about recovery?

tunney wrote: »

Start training in November.
Swim minimumof three times a week. If you can't swim get lessons.
Bike twice a week. One longish one, one shortish. Spinning doesn't count.
Run 3-4 times a week. One long, one easy, one faster.
Go to the gym and do leg weights.
Try to lose some weight (we can all lose weight )

hunnymonster

billyhead, have you read my training log?;) The key to training enough with enough recovery is to pace your sessions correctly. Not every session is guts-out-hard but every session should have a purpose e.g. long bike to build endurance, comfort in bike position, fast run to, em, run fast.

Bambaata

thats the kind of training im planning this winter to prepare for a full season next year. here's hoping it goes well!!

hunnymonster

busyrunning wrote: »

...or should i wait till nearer the time???

why would you wait until nearer the time. Sensible base training now will pay dividends when the hard stuff starts in the spring.

tunney

billyhead wrote: »

Tunney,
Do you not think thats a bit too much training if you have a full time job. What about recovery?

Depends on your available time, your athleteic maturity and what you want to achieve.

I'd see the minimum being 3 swims, 3 runs and 1 bike a week. Anything less and you just won't see the gains. Double up a swim and a run on a day or two and you'll end up with complete rest days.

I don't think its too much for someone if they have a full time job. All it takes is good time management.

Bambaata

the way i intend manage it in order to have rest days is to swim before work (in the gym pool 7.15/7.30am until 8.15am) and run or cycle after work. means everything is done by 7/8pm so you still have some time in the evening. I'm now thinking i could even do the run during lunchtime so then i'd have a completely free evening.

Over the last free weeks gearing up for DCT i swam before work and found it a much better time to do that training as the pool was virtually empty. Its hard to get good distances in the lanes when they are full in the evenings!!

busyrunning

Went for a swim last night and my god have i alot of work to do.. i find the deep end very daunting mainly because i cant tread water... this will deffinatly be the worst part of my triathlon and i dont know how to go about training for this part of it. do i just do length after lenght???? :eek:

tunney

busyrunning wrote: »

Went for a swim last night and my god have i alot of work to do.. i find the deep end very daunting mainly because i cant tread water... this will deffinatly be the worst part of my triathlon and i dont know how to go about training for this part of it. do i just do length after lenght???? :eek:

When I started triathlon 4 or 5 years ago I literally couldn't swim. I started doing widths of Terenure pool. Starting off with doing one and building up to 2, 3 and 4. I was chuffed when i could do 4 widths back to back. Then onto a length and so on. Once I could do 50m in a 25m pool I got a friend who was a competitive swimmer to give me some tips. I kept at it and after 4 months did my first open water sprint tri (Camlough) and two weeks later my first open water olympic distance tri (Kilkee). What it took was 4 months of swimming, and I use that term loosely, 4 times a week. Didn't have to be long sessions, something only 15 minutes, never longer than 30 minutes, but getting in as often as possible and getting to feel comfortable with and in the water and improving my feel for the water. Now I still can't swim (PB of 24 for 1500m) and I will never be able to but thats life.

So yes just getting in and doing length after length will help, get books, videos and try to do what they say. Once you're able to do a little get the odd one on one lesson or tips from a swimmer friend.

My two cents.

griffin100

Hi BusyRunning, I was in the same position as you last May or so when I started training for my first sprint tri. I thought I could swim until I did my first training session. My big problem was an absolute lack of technique and fitness. What I did was I got a 1 on 1 lesson at the start before I got too disheartened and that gave me the very basics of technique. I also read Boards swimming and triathalon threads and bought and read Total Immersion. This also helped a lot but I found that Total Immersion gave me nighmares. The best bits were the introductory chapters on swimming theory. I then started training to a fairly basic beginner sprint tri plan (for a 500m swim but it was a start). I then quicky got a second lesson which concentrated on more of the 'advanced' techniques and from there just put the time in. You do need to be swimming at least three times a week I think at the start to get a feel for the water and to get comformtable. From being able to swim 50m in one go in my first pool session last May I can now comfortably do a slow steady 1,000m. Another big help was the increase in my genearl fitness with all the running and cycling I was doing. One final thing to bear in mind, if your swim is outdoors and you wear a wet suit you will have a huge amount of extra buoyancy and will find it much easier. I'm no expert but that's my experience.

Killgore Trout

tunney wrote: »

Now I still can't swim (PB of 24 for 1500m) and I will never be able to but thats life.

Reality check: Tunney, it may not be good enough for your own personal standards - I know plenty of people who would find doing 1500M on 1m36s per 100m pace pretty respectable.

busyrunning

Thanks guys
I feel much better now that i know others started out where I did i will take all your advice on board and get some more lessons i think... It seems like a million miles from where i am to what you guys have achieved but im going to do my best and see where it takes me...