Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Sprint Triathlon?

Any Clydes here ever run a sprint triathlon? I am doing my first Oct 7th. It’s a 400 meter swim, 13 mile bike, 5 K run.
I wanted to know other experiences, clothing options and training methods. I'm currently 214 lbs (down from 252) and ride about 80-120 miles a week. I'm in relatively good shape. The swimming is something that is harder for me to prepare for. I can swim, was a life guard in college, but I haven't swam 400 meters straight since high school.


Thanks

I am planning on doing one in 2008, so I can't be of any help. If you are in Atlanta, your water temperature shouldn't be a problem, so just wear you bicycle shorts for the swim, or buy some tri specific shorts. Everyone that I have talked to said to take a slow start to the swim, because it will be a mad house at first. You can pass people later that had started out too hard. If you haven't done any swimming in open waters, you may want to do that before the race also. 400 meters is not that difficult to swim, you just need to do it at YOUR pace.

If you haven't trained for the swim, get some time in the water and get yourself so you can easily to 400 meters before the day of the event. It is a month away, so get yourself to a pool and get swimming at least 3 times a week.

My problem would be the 5k at this time. I would have to run part of it and walk part of it and then run again. My weight has been a problem on my knees. I can run a mile, but it isn't at the pace most people run at. My best mile is just under 8:00 minutes, but that is not after a 400 m swim and a 13 mile bike ride.

You should also try some bricks to see how well you can transition between events.

Thanks for the feedback. I will hit a pool ASAP.

i did one last weekend. .6 mile swim, 15.3 mile bike, 3.8 mile run. the really hilly course made it difficult at times, but i finished it comfortably.

definatly hit the pool and work on your technique.

Little late, but I agree on the swimming. I was a varsity-level swimmer on my high school's swim team, and after 5 years, I had to start completely from scratch again. It took me 6 weeks to get back up to 1650 yards without stopping. Now as for Clydes and Sprint triathlons, here's a big clyde who does lots of sprints:

http://www.whenbigboystri.com/whenbigboystri.htm

Go for it. I will be next spring.

Hit the pool to get your swim technique back, you'll probably be surprised how quickly muscle memory will kick in.

I have found the Tri forums here and at www.slowtwitch.com very helpful

I also bought Joe Friel's Your First Tri and have gotten a great deal out of it.

Go for it. I will be next spring.



I also bought Joe Friel's Your First Tri and have gotten a great deal out of it.

I read the book twice. It has great information. He has multiple books about the tri, and the Your First Tri has about everything the others have.

Please pardon me for posting, but I just finished a sprint triathlon last month. If your swim is in open water, the pool will help you get our endurance up, but I found it didn't adequately prepare me for swimming in a lake. If at all possible try to get in a few practice swims in open water. I also found that brick workouts were a huge help. On Saturdays I would ride 18 miles then run 3.5, doing mini transition practice in between at my house.

The last bit of advice I could give you is to listen to your body. I would try to do double workouts, with work it just wore me down. The moment I started listening to my body and stopped pushing myself so hard things really improved. Just remember to have fun and be proud of what you accomplish.

Thanks all for your feedback. I swam this weekend (pool work). I did better than I thought, but still need more work. I have thought about open water work. I actually live very close to the event location. I thinking about scouting the route and doing some open water swimming next weekend.

It will be nice adding this event to my list of sporting accomplishments.

Cyclochica - Love the "Don't Taunt Happyfunball". I loved "Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy" classic SNL bits.

Again, Thanks everyone

Please pardon me for posting, but I just finished a sprint triathlon last month. If your swim is in open water, the pool will help you get our endurance up, but I found it didn't adequately prepare me for swimming in a lake. If at all possible try to get in a few practice swims in open water.

This is very good advice. But under no circumstances should you ever swim in open water alone. Always swim with a partner if are swimming in open water. If the water is rough swim with several partners and ideally some boat support.

Respect the water and she will respect you, scoff at her... and she will not hesitate to make you pay for your lack of respect.

Another thing with the swim is to try at least longcourse (50 meters rather than 25 yards) training if possible, or longer. Swimming in a pool with lots of turns is easy compared to open water. I've done a few (3 or 4, I can't remember) sprint tris, but I came into it as a competitive swimmer.

How tall are you? I've got a short-john wetsuit that used to fit me when I was 210 pounds. It'll fit someone around 6'3" give or take about an inch and a half. I can't wear it anymore, and it's yours for the price of shipping if you want it.

Have you thought about your nutritional needs for the race? If you are thinking of trying a new product, now would be the best time to do it. I used the two months leaing up to my race to figure out if I could tolerate gels (I can but I have to have a gatorade chaser), this isn't something you want to try just before the race.

Lots of good advice here. I'm doing my last tri of the season (my fourth) in Malibu this weekend. If you are comfortable with the bike and run, really concentrate on your swimming. One thing that has been an issue for me is running too hard into the water and ending up sucking wind while trying to get into my rhythm. Not good. The approach that has worked for me is to jog slowly to the water and start swimming easy. You will be at the back of the pack to start, but you will start catching and passing people who are stopping to catch their breath. The best advice I ever got was swim slower (fewer strokes/minute) to swim faster. You make progress while you're gliding, as long as your form is good.

As far as clothes, I did my first several events in swim jammers (like bike shorts without padding). I now have tri shorts, but the thin chamois wasn't much missed for such a short event.

Here's a link to my report from my last event in June: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=314588

Best of luck, it's an addictive sport!:D

Jim