Just completed my first triathlon and really enjoyed it

Seres

hey guys

i have finally completed my first triathlon. I have to say i really enjoyed it although one or two things did not go to plan.
Firstly i was really not prepared when the race started ( was still trying to fix my googles)- i did not really enjoy the swim , too many people and the water was quite choppy
T1: spent too much time changing
Bike : chain came off , but still felt my bike leg went well besides this
Run : legs felt the worst they have ever felt coming off the bike but after 1.5K they felt ok and finished quite strong .
Time was not great overall 1.33.44 , but not too bad for first time
I has intially thought if i did one triathlon it would get it out of my system but i think all it has done is put it into my system
Also thank to everyone on the boards for all the great advice

talk to ye all soon

Funkyzeit

Congrats - You probably have THE bug now!
Great time considering your chain came off ! Well done again!

Killgore Trout

Well done! Did my first two tris this year. Really enjoyed the experience and looking forward to next year.

Seres

Killgore Trout wrote: »

Well done! Did my first two tris this year. Really enjoyed the experience and looking forward to next year.

Hey killgore Trout , thanks for the advise in preparation for the triathlon , really wish it was the start of the triathlon season rather than the end , next year seems so far away ! still i have alot of work to do during the winter on improving

racso1975

Hey Congrats on finishing it good to hear the cycle and run went well. Dont worry about the swim by this next year it will be a second nature to ya!!!!!


Sorry to hear about the chain

griffin100

Hi Seres, well done on the weekend. I'm doing the Loughrea Tri this weekend and am aiming for a similar time to you if things go well although I think if my chain came off I'd be a lot slower than you. I'm interested to hear how you coped with the choppy water and how much slower than you expected your swim was given the crowded conditions.

If you are interested in trying to get one last event in before the end of the year this one might be worth doing http://www.irishtriathlon.com/ they have a sprint tri aimed at novices (500m ow swim) on October 4th in Roscommon. I think there are still some places left. I registered yesterday as it hopefully will be a nice end to my first season.

It's very infectious this tri bug that you have caught:D I have it too. I have already registered for the London Tri Olympic distance next August (I think it would be good to run around the centre of London without any traffic along with a few thousand others); am considering doing the Connemara Half Marathon next March (I'm not built for full marathons); and if things go well over the winter with the training will try and do some other Olympic Tri's next summer and if the training goes well finish off with the Lost Sheep:P Might be a bit much but it's a good aim to have and will hopefully help keep me motivated over the winter.

Well done again.

CiaranC33

Hey Seres, congrats on completing your first triathlon. It was my first one as well. I was caught on the hop for the start as well but it kind of helped me because before i knew it i was swimming. I hadn't time to get nervous.
I stayed to the back of the group and tried to avoid arms and legs.
I took a good few minutes in T1 but i was just happy to be out of the water.
I had trouble with my own bike leading up to the race so i used a mt bike. I now understand the difference between a race bike and mt bike. It was very frustrating at times.
I felt pretty good on the run and finished strong. 1hour 48minutes.
I was happy with my time. And i cant wait for the next one.

Seres

griffin100 wrote: »

Hi Seres, well done on the weekend. I'm doing the Loughrea Tri this weekend and am aiming for a similar time to you if things go well although I think if my chain came off I'd be a lot slower than you. I'm interested to hear how you coped with the choppy water and how much slower than you expected your swim was given the crowded conditions.

If you are interested in trying to get one last event in before the end of the year this one might be worth doing http://www.irishtriathlon.com/ they have a sprint tri aimed at novices (500m ow swim) on October 4th in Roscommon. I think there are still some places left. I registered yesterday as it hopefully will be a nice end to my first season.

It's very infectious this tri bug that you have caught:D I have it too. I have already registered for the London Tri Olympic distance next August (I think it would be good to run around the centre of London without any traffic along with a few thousand others); am considering doing the Connemara Half Marathon next March (I'm not built for full marathons); and if things go well over the winter with the training will try and do some other Olympic Tri's next summer and if the training goes well finish off with the Lost Sheep:P Might be a bit much but it's a good aim to have and will hopefully help keep me motivated over the winter.

Well done again.

hey griffin100 , i really wish you hadnt told me about that one in roscommon , i dont know if i can resist ( roscommon is really close for me too ) , i konw i wont stop thinkin about it , ya really addicted now too , like you i have been setting up my race calender for next year ,
Ballinamore tr
Ballina Tri
Mullaghmore Tri
Women mini marathon - aiming for under 43min
Also planning training for the winter
I think that we all crazy !

Ya , about the swim question , i had hoped to do in around 15min( a bit ambitous) , think it was around 20mins , it was quite choppy and i found it hard to try and relax into the swim with all the people , maybe also because it was my first i did not know what really to expect , but all and all it wasnt that bad , i think i just expected it to be easier

good luck on sunday , i am so jealous , i also know a good couple of people going to the event

oh by the way have you recruited any people to do a tri with you yet , i have a few friends and family who are going to give it a go next year ( talk is cheap though )

griffin100

Ya , about the swim question , i had hoped to do in around 15min( a bit ambitous) , think it was around 20mins , it was quite choppy and i found it hard to try and relax into the swim with all the people , maybe also because it was my first i did not know what really to expect , but all and all it wasnt that bad , i think i just expected it to be easier

I'd be happy with a 20 minute swim. My fastest in the pool is just under 20 although I have been told that you swim faster on the day due to the wetsuit / fear of drowning. Like you I found on my first ow swim in Tramore that I was very tense and next day had a really sore chest which I think was due to being so tense and clenching so hard. I plan to work hard on my technique over the winter.

oh by the way have you recruited any people to do a tri with you yet , i have a few friends and family who are going to give it a go next year ( talk is cheap though )

My brother in law is thinking about it although he has a congenital foot defect that affects his running, but at least it means that if he runs in any race I am in then I will never be last:P (I've told him that as well). Another friend is seriosuly considering it, he has been running and cycling to keep fit most of the summer so he just needs to get his swimming sorted out. He reckons he can't swim but then again neither could I really at the start and he has a whole winter to train. My wife and her sisters are considering entering a couple next year as a relay team. It will be interesting to see how their interest holds over the winter.

Seres

griffin100 wrote: »

I'd be happy with a 20 minute swim. My fastest in the pool is just under 20 although I have been told that you swim faster on the day due to the wetsuit / fear of drowning. Like you I found on my first ow swim in Tramore that I was very tense and next day had a really sore chest which I think was due to being so tense and clenching so hard. I plan to work hard on my technique over the winter.

.

My fastest in the pool was 21 mins so you will defo swim alot faster on the day , i has set myself 15min because i have swam that before in the ow ( never in the pool though )
Jesus we are definitely on the same wave length (no pun intended ) i have started swimming lessons and also intend working on my technique for the winter.

griffin100 wrote: »

My brother in law is thinking about it although he has a congenital foot defect that affects his running, but at least it means that if he runs in any race I am in then I will never be last:P (I've told him that as well). Another friend is seriosuly considering it, he has been running and cycling to keep fit most of the summer so he just needs to get his swimming sorted out. He reckons he can't swim but then again neither could I really at the start and he has a whole winter to train. My wife and her sisters are considering entering a couple next year as a relay team. It will be interesting to see how their interest holds over the winter.

I think what holds alot of people back is the swim.

I used to do alot of running when i was younger and i always liked the atmosphere at races but the atmosphere at triathlons is so much nicer especially before and after the race in the transition area , talking to people and that , what do you think ?

griffin100

I used to do alot of running when i was younger and i always liked the atmosphere at races but the atmosphere at triathlons is so much nicer especially before and after the race in the transition area , talking to people and that , what do you think ?

I've never really done the sports thing so have no experience but everyone I've spoken to at the two Tri's I 've been at have all been sound. The crowd at the Focus Ireland event was great craic as most were at their first event and there was a real team spirit.

CiaranC33

Some images from the Lough Key Triathlon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/realboyle/

ted1

what distance are you doing in the pool?

i'm thinking abotu doing a/soem triatholns but havn't really a clue yet whaether or not i'd be up to it.

CiaranC33

Hey ted, the distance I was doing in the pool was 750m which is 30 lenghts of a 25m pool. It takes me around 24 minutes to complete it but doing a open water swim in a wet suit takes alot less.
I completed my first triathlon last weekend and if you are thinking about doing one i would really recommend it.
Things always seem a lot harder than they really are when you're thinking about them. Trust me you will love it. Do it. And enjoy it.

griffin100

Hi Ted,

I started off doing short distances (e.g. 1 or 2 lengths) with a short break between each repetition and gradually increased the distances and shortened the rest periods in each session. I read somewhere that its not just about a getting a single long swim done but that a workput which involves a number of shorter swims in a single session giving you a higher overall yardage is good. Some of the swim plans that I have seen online for example would suggest a warm up, followed by 25m x 20 with a 5 second break between each 25m and then a swim down (or something along those lines). I went from a beginner who almost drowned after 50m in my forst swim session last May to being able to do a 750m in the pool after about 14 weeks. Now I try and get to the pool twice a week at least and do one session of at least 1,000m of something like 100m x 10 or 250m x 4, etc. My other session I try and do a long swim of 750m-1,000m without a break. Note that I am no expert so get some more advice. One thing everybody would agree on I think is that a lesson(s) at the start will help as it will help to correct any errors in your technique or at least make it a bit more effificient. Also is th eearly stages you will need to spend more time in the pool to get your technique right and to improve your confidence in the water.

Best of luck.

ted1

cheers guys,

i thought you were doing 1.5km in 20 mins :rolleyes: i'm doing a mile in just over 30 and thought that i'd be left for dead......


whats the story with the running and cycling.

i do about 4k jogging around killiney (quiet hilly) in about 18 -22 mins how long should it take?

the cycling should be ok (i'll just be sure to use a racer)

huber

Hi Guys,
I just completed my first mini triathlon on sunday(the womans one in Loughrea), I really enjoyed it and had great fun but my cycle left me down big time. I had an ok swim and run but this was all lost in the cycle as i had a load of work to do in the run because so many people passed me during the cycle. Has anyone any advice/tips on how to improve my cycling over the winter(hope to move onto sprint distance next season). I think the problem is with my legs as my breathing is fine but my legs are just tired the whole way through.

Redjeep!

Hi Huber,

I don't think that there's any real shortcut to improving your cycling, just practice, but you will find it easier to improve as you've presumably got a fairly good fitness level.

I restarted cycling in January and have worked up to the level where I can do fairly long distances (100km + ) in fairly respectable times.

It may be tricky to get the time in over the winter if you can't get out during the day. The best alternative is probably a turbo trainer so that you can work on it at home, but they can be quite hard to get motivated (loud rock on my ipod usually works for me !) . My only other advice would be to be a half decent roadbike if you don't already have one.

I'm seriously thinking of doing a tri next year after cycling throughout this summer. This time last year I was a fat forty something, but have now also started swimming 2 or 3 times a week and want to start running when I can figure out where to go.