Bike times in traffic vs bike times in Triathlon

engol

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago re swim times comparing for open water vs pool. Bikes turn!

I'm doing my first tri next week in Athy, signed up for the sprint.

I cycle in and out of work, that's the sum total of my bike training. I don't have a racer, but I did put skinny tyres on my bike and have clips for the pedals/shoes.

Went out for a ride today, 36k to a friends house (23k along the coast, in to the wind, brutal (hate wind), 13 back) average speed was just 19.66 km/h.

I'm wondering if it's too late to borrow a better bike! Looking at the bike times for last years tri and I'd be last last last and never make up that kind of time on the run. I'm a strong enough swimmer and a good enough runner to be able to do alright in the event (I'm not looking to smash any records, just not make a show of myself) but with times like this on the bike I'll be dragging my arse over the line when everyone else is gone home.

How would times like this compare to the day of the event?

Ceepo

engol wrote: »

I asked a similar question a few weeks ago re swim times comparing for open water vs pool. Bikes turn!

I'm doing my first tri next week in Athy, signed up for the sprint.

I cycle in and out of work, that's the sum total of my bike training. I don't have a racer, but I did put skinny tyres on my bike and have clips for the pedals/shoes.

Went out for a ride today, 36k to a friends house (23k along the coast, in to the wind, brutal (hate wind), 13 back) average speed was just 19.66 km/h.

I'm wondering if it's too late to borrow a better bike! Looking at the bike times for last years tri and I'd be last last last and never make up that kind of time on the run. I'm a strong enough swimmer and a good enough runner to be able to do alright in the event (I'm not looking to smash any records, just not make a show of myself) but with times like this on the bike I'll be dragging my arse over the line when everyone else is gone home.

How would times like this compare to the day of the event?

If you are a strong enough swimmer and runner then if you can stay up on the bike then you will not be last.

What do you think your swim and run times would be ?

Just go out and enjoy it

MojoMaker

At your level a 'good' bike will make no difference to you. Best off making sure you fit the bike you have correctly and spend the next year building up your base bike fitness level and leg strength - then consider an investment if you find tri is for you after all.

engol

MojoMaker wrote: »

At your level a 'good' bike will make no difference to you. Best off making sure you fit the bike you have correctly and spend the next year building up your base bike fitness level and leg strength - then consider an investment if you find tri is for you after all.

Really? So a good bike, or rather a racer, doesn't really make all that much difference? I wasn't going to buy a new bike, just maybe borrow a racer for the day.

Ceepo, someone has to be last! And I don't mind being brutal but I want to find at least one more brutal than me lol When you say "stay on the bike" - do many fall off?!? Don't scare me off altogether now!

My husband thinks I'll make it up on the run, but I think you can surely lose too much time on the long bike ride to be ever able to make it up over such a short run. I did a "trial" try for my own curiosity, a sort of, what's it called, "brick session"? where I did 750 in the pool, hopped on the bike and did 20k then jumped off and ran 5. So I know I can do it. I ran that day in 27min which I thought was respectable enough (and it wasn't a race obviously so maybe I can go faster on the day, in a 5k race the other day I did 23.23). I think my 750 swim takes between 12-15 minutes in the pool. It's just the bike is so fecking slow now.

The Davestator

engol wrote: »

Really? So a good bike, or rather a racer, doesn't really make all that much difference? I wasn't going to buy a new bike, just maybe borrow a racer for the day.

Ceepo, someone has to be last! And I don't mind being brutal but I want to find at least one more brutal than me lol When you say "stay on the bike" - do many fall off?!? Don't scare me off altogether now!

My husband thinks I'll make it up on the run, but I think you can surely lose too much time on the long bike ride to be ever able to make it up over such a short run. I did a "trial" try for my own curiosity, a sort of, what's it called, "brick session"? where I did 750 in the pool, hopped on the bike and did 20k then jumped off and ran 5. So I know I can do it. I ran that day in 27min which I thought was respectable enough (and it wasn't a race obviously so maybe I can go faster on the day, in a 5k race the other day I did 23.23). I think my 750 swim takes between 12-15 minutes in the pool. It's just the bike is so fecking slow now.

If you can do a 23 min 5 k, you'll be passing plenty of people and will not be last!

engol

The Davestator wrote: »

If you can do a 23 min 5 k, you'll be passing plenty of people and will not be last!

Even with my "crappy" bike times?? On my non-racer bike?

RJM85

engol wrote: »

Even with my "crappy" bike times?? On my non-racer bike?

Yes

Trig1

If you can borrow a racer do but try borrow a few weeks before the race and get used to it and make sure it fits- it will make a MASSIVE difference!!! your swim and run times are solid. Just go watch a triathlon and you will be re-assured that you wont be coming last. All shapes and sizes do Triathlon!

EC1000

Don't worry about times for now - just go out and enjoy it. You're guaranteed a PB. This time next year you'll have a different headache - whether to upgrade the road bike or "invest" in a TT bike

Doeshedare

Have a look at last years results (http://resultsbase.net/Results/IndividualResults.aspx?Id=2192) that should reassure you. You will see that for the last hundred odd competitors the times across S B R are all over the place, a fast swimmer but a slow runner etc. If you do 15min S, 1 hr bike(thats @20kph), 25 run and 5. Transitions you will take 1.45 approx, good enough for 185th out of 200+.

you owe us a race report now!

engol

Doeshedare wrote: »

you owe us a race report now!

oooooh pressure. I thrive on pressure

JohnBee

engol wrote: »

I think my 750 swim takes between 12-15 minutes in the pool. It's just the bike is so fecking slow now.

Plus if you can do a 750m swim in 12 minutes, you will be coming out of the swim in the leading pack.

iAcesHigh

in either way, you'll do just fine. See you there and good luck! Race report will be nice to read

iwillhtfu

I'll guestimate for kicks

swim - 00:15:20
T1 - 00:03:30
Bike - 00:48:00
T2 - 00:01:30
Run - 00:26:00

Finishing in 01:33:50

Prove me wrong :P

Enjoy yourself and try not get hung up on times for this one either way it'll be a PB.


Yes figures are picked completely out of the sky but I'm interested to see how close I get.

rooneyjm

If you can get a good racer that fits you then get it, why not. Which ever one your on make sure the tires are pumped up (100-120 psi), your gears and chain are well lubed, all the gears are working as they should, dont waste minutes in transition. These things will make a big difference, you'll fly it.

engol

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I'll guestimate for kicks

swim - 00:15:20
T1 - 00:03:30
Bike - 00:48:00
T2 - 00:01:30
Run - 00:26:00

Finishing in 01:33:50

Prove me wrong :P

Enjoy yourself and try not get hung up on times for this one either way it'll be a PB.


Yes figures are picked completely out of the sky but I'm interested to see how close I get.

Well I'll tell you one thing, your first event will be way off!

I did the swim athy this morning - just home now - and am now dead on the sofa wondering why the hell I ever thought this could possibly be a good idea. It nearly KILLED me. As in, dead!

I'm trying to be positive here and thinking to myself, hey, I finished it, I didn't give up, that's surely counting for something, but I'm completely knackered. KNACKERED!

I ran the malahide parkrun yesterday and got first in my group, fourth female, a new pb with a time of 22.57 and was delighted with myself. Driving my husband crazy about how great I was. Today, I got the biggest kick in the arse imaginable. I was Thrashed! I'd say I was the last one out of the water.

I swam 68 lengths of the pool on Thursday in 35 minutes. I'm not a bad swimmer. When I finished I played with the kids for a while. Didn't knock a feather out of me. I wouldn't have even noticed I'd exercised. Today, I'm dead. It's unbelievable the difference. I can't get over it. When I Was in the middle of it I was thinking of even withdrawing from the triathlon altogether but I'm not going to. I'm going to stick with it. But JESUS!

68 lost souls

engol wrote: »

Well I'll tell you one thing, your first event will be way off!

I did the swim athy this morning - just home now - and am now dead on the sofa wondering why the hell I ever thought this could possibly be a good idea. It nearly KILLED me. As in, dead!

I'm trying to be positive here and thinking to myself, hey, I finished it, I didn't give up, that's surely counting for something, but I'm completely knackered. KNACKERED!

I ran the malahide parkrun yesterday and got first in my group, fourth female, a new pb with a time of 22.57 and was delighted with myself. Driving my husband crazy about how great I was. Today, I got the biggest kick in the arse imaginable. I was Thrashed! I'd say I was the last one out of the water.

I swam 68 lengths of the pool on Thursday in 35 minutes. I'm not a bad swimmer. When I finished I played with the kids for a while. Didn't knock a feather out of me. I wouldn't have even noticed I'd exercised. Today, I'm dead. It's unbelievable the difference. I can't get over it. When I Was in the middle of it I was thinking of even withdrawing from the triathlon altogether but I'm not going to. I'm going to stick with it. But JESUS!

Could also be feeling the effects of running such a strong run yesterday.

Hopefully you will do better in the triathlon if you taper a little

rooneyjm

Your tired because

1) You ran hard yesterday (When i'm tired from previous days i always feel it in the pool even if i didn't think i was overly tired getting in)
2) There was probably a little bit of nerves and adrenalin today and after the high comes the low.

All normal, plough on. Oh and if you can run a 23 min 5k you should be able to go 25mins off the bike. Any less and you're just cheating yourself.

tunney

rooneyjm wrote: »

Your tired because

1) You ran hard yesterday (When i'm tired from previous days i always feel it in the pool even if i didn't think i was overly tired getting in)
2) There was probably a little bit of nerves and adrenalin today and after the high comes the low.

All normal, plough on. Oh and if you can run a 23 min 5k you should be able to go 25mins off the bike. Any less and you're just cheating yourself.

Surely the level of bike fitness must factor into this.

rooneyjm

Fair point. Athy is flat and one way this year so dont think she would be far off if she really went for it. Set a good pace from the start and hang on. Also if your slowish on the bike but not a bad runner then you'll be passing people for the entire run which is great mentally, just keep picking them off.

Doeshedare

If nerves and stress were a factor with the whole OW, mass start sort of thing (I presume swim athy was some sort of mass start?) then there is a Howth Aquathon tomorrow evening which could be a chance to acclimatise to the difference between pool swimming and OW racing. You can enter on the night and there is a short race (500m swim) option

iwillhtfu

engol wrote: »

Well I'll tell you one thing, your first event will be way off!

I did the swim athy this morning - just home now - and am now dead on the sofa wondering why the hell I ever thought this could possibly be a good idea. It nearly KILLED me. As in, dead!

I'm trying to be positive here and thinking to myself, hey, I finished it, I didn't give up, that's surely counting for something, but I'm completely knackered. KNACKERED!

Try not to get to disheartened and ignore the times I posted I probably shouldn't have put that post up here.

As you say yourself you got in and did it and although it nearly killed you you're still here to tell the tale.

So try to take some positives out of it and remember how you felt getting out of the water. Next week you'll be running/walking to T1 and stripping off your wet suit as you go. Once you get set and on the bike take the time to recover properly and seeing as how your run is your strength try not burn out on the bike. It's great targeting people in the run and pickling them off.

It's your first tri so loads of lessons will be learned. Enjoy it I remember my first try my mantra going in was "Don't drown in the swim,Fall off the bike or have a heart attack on the run." everything else after that was a win.

engol

I can live with that mantra :-)

engol

Hey I thought I'd update.

I went down to the beach this evening and went for a swim. I watched a load of youtube videos for tips last night on breathing and sighting. I was very very nervous but it went fantastically well. I was so close to bottling out but I did it and swam for about 5 minutes (I'm still tired, I really didn't want to do too much). I swam very very comfortably, and in fact I really enjoyed it in the end. Delighted with myself. Just really hope I can keep calm on Saturday.

My intention to wait until the crowd takes off stands. I just need to find a space in the crowd for the start.

Is it really really crowded? How many go off in a wave?

Animella

Just wishing you luck engol! I " know" you from another forum;-) so I'm interested in your progression into triathlon. I'm hoping to do a sprint tri in July having done my first pool based try a tri in April.

My weakest part is the swim and have just done my first couple of very chilly lake swims. Bit better on bike than running. If I have any advice at all for you it's to practice taking off your wetsuit. If I was doing a tri last night transition 1 would have taken me about ten minutes!

You've been cycling a long time and you have the fitness. When you do get a road bike you'll be flying. Enjoy Athy, I'm looking forward to reading your report too :-)

iwillhtfu

if you're nervous start in the back half not necessarily at the very back there's no point handicapping yourself from the start. The very back is usually where you'll find folks doing the 50 metre sprint then breast stroke front crawl their way down.

I'm not sure on numbers I'd guess 50+/wave it doesn't feel crowded whatever the number is. Just find yourself a nice gap in the crowd there'll be a few spots and hang back a bit from the person in front as they'll kick there feet upwards when setting off. A boot in the mush would be a bad start.

I'm not sure if you've been told or read before but keep close to the bank (not to close) on the way up and then stick to the middle on the way down.

Things get a bit messy at the turn but just try and keep swimming don't be polite you'll bump and be bumped if it's busy when you get there.

engol

Thanks!

And hi Animella (waves)

I've been practicing taking off the suit. Slowest was 23 seconds, fastest was 15 at the beach today I'll probably take my time getting my glasses on lol

Well, I've as much done as I can. Going to have another try in the sea tomorrow to make sure today wasn't a fluke then I'm all set for Saturday.

engol

iwillhtfu wrote: »

I'll guestimate for kicks

swim - 00:15:20
T1 - 00:03:30
Bike - 00:48:00
T2 - 00:01:30
Run - 00:26:00

Finishing in 01:33:50

Prove me wrong :P

Enjoy yourself and try not get hung up on times for this one either way it'll be a PB.


Yes figures are picked completely out of the sky but I'm interested to see how close I get.

Turned out you could be a good forecaster.

Swim 16.28 which I was actually delighted with. I really enjoyed the swim which was the best part of it. Got out and didn't feel it knocked a feather out of me. Compared to last week well, there's no comparison really, lets say what I was doing last week wasn't swimming.
T1, 3.26 and I have to wonder what the feck it was I was doing, I thought I was going fast!
Bike - dreadful - 51.19. If I do another triathlon (and I'd like to, I enjoyed this one) it'll have to be on a racer. Totally demoralising having everyone fly by me. My bike was woeful!
T2, 2.57, getting off the slow bike at this point I was thinking, sure feck it, what's the point! So clearly I took my time.
Run, 24.52 Very pleased with this. I probably could have gone faster if I'd pushed myself a bit too, it was a very comfortable run and I really didn't feel it at all. Felt brilliant after it. Next time I'll put the foot down

All in all, for a first tri, I'm very happy.

Now to go find a new bike...

iwillhtfu

Well done congrats and glad to hear you enjoyed it even though the weather wasn't playing ball. You've set yourself a nice bench mark now. You'll knock 5 mins off the bike easily on a good road bike. I'd have expected a faster T2 alright I thought you'd have been itching to get out on the run. So next time I'll expect 10 mins off you current pb. 5-6min on the bike 1 min in T2 and 2 -3min on the run.

engol

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Well done congrats and glad to hear you enjoyed it even though the weather wasn't playing ball. You've set yourself a nice bench mark now. You'll knock 5 mins off the bike easily on a good road bike. I'd have expected a faster T2 alright I thought you'd have been itching to get out on the run. So next time I'll expect 10 mins off you current pb. 5-6min on the bike 1 min in T2 and 2 -3min on the run.

Jesus go easy on me will ya! :-)

Animella

Well done engol! Great start. Now off you go and get that road bike!
I did my first few adventure races on a hybrid. There is no comparison.