Am i mad?

AntoSRFC

I have decided to go for a mini triathlon in mid September.
750m swim, 20k cycle and a 5k run? I would describe myself a reasonably fit as im training for my Gaa team 3/4 night a week. What sort of times would i be looking at? I am fine for the cycle and the run should be alright but i am worried about the swim as i wouldnt be that great of a swimmer. Only really considered this two days ago but whats putting me off is the idea of the swim. And to make matters worse dont have access to a pool to train in would it be to naive to think on the day of the race that i could just turn up with out proper training in the water?

Thanks

tunney

AntoSRFC wrote: »

I have decided to go for a mini triathlon in mid September.
750m swim, 20k cycle and a 5k run? I would describe myself a reasonably fit as im training for my Gaa team 3/4 night a week. What sort of times would i be looking at? I am fine for the cycle and the run should be alright but i am worried about the swim as i wouldnt be that great of a swimmer. Only really considered this two days ago but whats putting me off is the idea of the swim. And to make matters worse dont have access to a pool to train in would it be to naive to think on the day of the race that i could just turn up with out proper training in the water?

Thanks

Firstly, you need to swim and practice. you aren't as good a swimmer nor as strong as you think. not being mean but people overestimate their swimming ability and underestimate the dangers of water. get to a pool once or twice a week also get in open water supervised and swim in open water. you will panic your first time. best to be in controlled practice environment.

secondly, you've over estimated your cardio-vasular and aerobic fitness just so you know GAA players generally do. So just aim to have fun and do the race, don't worry about times just have fun. if you love it and want to do them properly next year then worry about times but just enjoy the first one.

buck65

You still have 3 weeks so maybe cut back on the GAA if you can, get 2 x5k runs a week in , 2 -20 k cycles per week in and get to a pool at least twice a week and build up those laps - you should be able to comfortably be able to swim 750m in training or else you will suffer on the day bigtime. As Tunney said if this race is in open water you should try to get to a lake or the sea at least once before the race.
Whatever about your time you really need to get this training in at the very least to even finish this event. If you don't and your team is still in the C'ship it might be foolish to continue - again as Tunney said - pick an event next year and train properly for it.
And yes you are mad - but I ran 10 miles this morning in the rain and dark so who am I to judge!

AntoSRFC

I was told the swim is in a pool. So i wont have the worry of freaking out in the open water.
So anyway today went suprisingly well for day one. Well i went and ran up the road for a bit a turned round came home and felt alright when i got back. Stayed at a strong jog the whole time and never reached a point that i felt i needed to stop which was promising. So when i got home i decided just to jump on the bike to see what sort of distance i covered (have a speedometer on the bike) and also wanted to see how the different muscles felt on the bike. So i cycled out the road to the point i turned round and i had ran just over 3K so 6k in total which i was suprised so in the end i ended doing 20k on the bike aswell averaged 22km/h which is a decent speed. Got home did a bit of a stretch had a shower and felt fine. So it was a positive first day. Actualy fairly enjoyed it so im gona give it a good go now.
So next will be seeing how i get on in the water.

Just wondering now that i have realised that i can run the 5km when training am i better just training running the 5k or should i aim for 8?
Same with cycling should i just cycle the 20k and hope to get fitter?
Thanks

tunney

AntoSRFC wrote: »

I was told the swim is in a pool. So i wont have the worry of freaking out in the open water.
So anyway today went suprisingly well for day one. Well i went and ran up the road for a bit a turned round came home and felt alright when i got back. Stayed at a strong jog the whole time and never reached a point that i felt i needed to stop which was promising. So when i got home i decided just to jump on the bike to see what sort of distance i covered (have a speedometer on the bike) and also wanted to see how the different muscles felt on the bike. So i cycled out the road to the point i turned round and i had ran just over 3K so 6k in total which i was suprised so in the end i ended doing 20k on the bike aswell averaged 22km/h which is a decent speed. Got home did a bit of a stretch had a shower and felt fine. So it was a positive first day. Actualy fairly enjoyed it so im gona give it a good go now.
So next will be seeing how i get on in the water.

Just wondering now that i have realised that i can run the 5km when training am i better just training running the 5k or should i aim for 8?
Same with cycling should i just cycle the 20k and hope to get fitter?
Thanks

Fitness gains from training take about two weeks to materialise. So basically if your event is mid September then there are about 9 days or so to get fit (This doesn't able so much to swimming as you gains for swimming will be technique not fitness)