Hi, my name is Dan, I am 18 years old. I have been road biking for about a year and running for about 4 years. I am trying to get as much knowledge under my belt as I can for my first triathlon this summer. It may be a while away but I have nothing else to do so I figured I would start training now. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate all of the help I can get. I know people always say the first triathlon is just to finish, not win, but I think if I put it in my head that I could win if I try hard enough I will have more motivation.

Questions
1. How fast should I be running a 5 mile loop if I wanted to finish in a good position in a race.
2. what do I wear?? I really hope I don't have to run in cycling shorts.
3. Is it a good idea to have clip in pedals or should I go with those cage things.
4. I have been swimming all of my life, never racing, but I consider myself a good swimmer. What would a 1 mile equate to in laps in a standard pool.
5. Is there a way to get my body used to running after biking or will it always feel kind of weird for a while?

I'm sure these questions have all been asked but its always nice to get some firsthand advice from people who know what they are talking about. I am really excited to do this.

1. I can't run so I don't know
2. Look into Triathlon specific shorts
3. You want clipless AKA the ones that your foot clips into the pedal.
4. The swimming event like in a swim meet is the 1650yd for the mile, but really its more like 1750yd. 66 and 70 laps respectively. (25 yard pool)
5. Use the search, there is a lot of talk about cadence (rpm's) ect on this topic. Again, im a terrible runner and the wrong person to ask.

Jeff

PS. Im 16, where are you from?

I'm from jersey =p

I know people always say the first triathlon is just to finish, not win, but I think if I put it in my head that I could win if I try hard enough I will have more motivation. Actually you'll get more motivation if you don't win. Honestly, forget trying to win your first tri - you'll come away disappointed:)


1. How fast should I be running a 5 mile loop if I wanted to finish in a good position in a race.
2. what do I wear?? I really hope I don't have to run in cycling shorts.
3. Is it a good idea to have clip in pedals or should I go with those cage things.
4. I have been swimming all of my life, never racing, but I consider myself a good swimmer. What would a 1 mile equate to in laps in a standard pool.
5. Is there a way to get my body used to running after biking or will it always feel kind of weird for a while?
1) 5m=8k I'd guess better than 30 minutes for your age group - I watched a guy last week do 10k in @ 40 mins on a very tough (sand/steep hills) course.
2) Depends on distance.
3) You've been riding 12 months and don't have clipless? Without being cruel, this probably means you don't have the bike speed to podium also.
4) Do you mean swim squad or just swimming? I work with metres for distance - 1500m is simply 30 laps of the 50m pools. To win a OD tri you'd need to be splitting around 1:10-1:20 per hundred metres. Winning time in last weeks tri was 17 minutes for a 1500m ocean swim in (small) surf. Sprint times will be quicker. Even my AG (45-49) I need to be 1:45 per hundred to be out in the pointy end.
5) maybe I'm weird but I've never had a problem with this. Or maybe I just don 't ride (or run) fast enough.:D

/k

1) 5m=8k I'd guess better than 30 minutes for your age group - I watched a guy last week do 10k in @ 40 mins on a very tough (sand/steep hills) course.

Running an 8km race in less than 30 minutes is at a faster pace that the guy who ran a 40 minute 10km. 40 minutes for a 10km is good but it takes a while to get there - especially if you start from scratch.

Running an 8km race in less than 30 minutes is at a faster pace that the guy who ran a 40 minute 10km. 40 minutes for a 10km is good but it takes a while to get there - especially if you start from scratch.Yeah I know - the 10k was a very tough course - steep hills, areas of sand running - nothing flat. 8k in 30 minutes on the flat seems to be commonplace for good runners (of which I am not one):D

/k

Seems that you are on the right track. I competed inmy first race in 1988 after playing football for 10 yrs, I was bored and needed something to do..
I say just train as hard as you can, know that there are guys who live for this stuff and have the time to train daily and $ to have the beststuff. Focus on good running technique a 6- 7 min mile is where you need to be justto stay in the pack, Riding is not as difficult for many but work on getting the miles in and practice Time trials go as hard as you can for a mile every ride and time it. Equipment is important but alone it does not make you a hero....work on upgrading stuff, shoes/pedals/aero bars but ride hard.
The Brick work outs are when you go from riding to running in the same training day..do it it will help. Jelly leggs do occur after a long ride.

That being said good luck..where inNJ and whatrace are you shooting for...

I really appreciate all of your advice, I just want to complete one, I know realistically that I won't win I just want to get into the best shape I can be for it. I live in union county, the one I'm shooting for is in wildwood in august, my friend has a house down there, so we might stay there for a week and train there, I'm trying to convince some other friends to do it.

What bike do you have?

1. a sub 6 min run pace will be competitive (depending upon the size/draw of the event) do some 5k and 10k races, this will give you a good idea what your pace may be)
2. Tri shorts/top--or not. This guy (http://i.a.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/07/22/early.lance/001088032.jpg) thought they were cool.
3. clipless pedals are as must!
4/5 are covered above...

like all competitive events, go out and do the best you can and see how the cards fall. The beauty of tri is that you don't know how far ahead or behind you are...just go...hard...really hard...(but paced).

The first one will make your weaknesses as clear as day...and you will have weaknesses. Then you can train more properly. This makes the second one even better than the first--you see gains (hopefully!)

Take me for example, my greatest weakness is the swim (<45% in my age group:eek:), and I am sitting at my computer rather than in a pool. In fact, I have not seen a pool in weeks. Now I KNOW exactly what to berate myself about.;)

good luck and have fun!

I ride a Lemond e-tape. it has some decent components on it, a carbon fiber fork. I just got into cycling so I didn't blow thousands on a bike if I wasn't sure I would like the sport, now that I know, I'm looking to get some upgrades. I know that aero bars are good to have for these, any suggestions on what to get for them? I'm looking to spend 100$-150$ if that is possible, but if they are crucial I guess I would spend more. I know a lot of people debate about riding tri/tt bikes vs road during triathlons, I planed on using my lemond for it, unless thats a bad idea. any thoughts?

Dan, Take this year to train and find out what your strenghts are.. Aero bars are a must go online to buy a pair for under $100. After a year of racing you can slowly upgrade your ride or just go nutz and buy a new one. An entry level tri bike can be had for about $1,200.. do some homework as questions and enjoy. A very nice biathlon for a beginer is in Lakewood the Naval base lighter than air flat very flat and fast go online to Linmark.com for race info.

I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, I'm really excited to do this. I was reading other posts about clothing, do you think its a good idea to start riding and running in a triathlon suite. I ride in regular padded shorts now.

Depends on if you have the saddle to support wearing tri shorts or not and how far you are planning to ride.

As for the aero bars, in my opinion there are only two kinds. Carbon fiber ones that go a few hundred or aluminum ones for 50 dollars. Since you're putting them on an Etape just go with a pair off ebay for 50 or so. It does not matter what kind of bars you get, they all put you in the same aero position.

If I put aero bars on my bike as it is right now, would I need to get a new seat? I know the triathlon seats are at a different angle or something. would I brake my seat or the pipe thing its on if I was in the aero position?

The seat angle difference is only for a more aggressive position on the bike. Tri shorts have less or no padding compared to regular cycling shorts so you may need a new saddle for that reason.

Questions
1. How fast should I be running a 5 mile loop if I wanted to finish in a good position in a race.
2. what do I wear?? I really hope I don't have to run in cycling shorts.
3. Is it a good idea to have clip in pedals or should I go with those cage things.
4. I have been swimming all of my life, never racing, but I consider myself a good swimmer. What would a 1 mile equate to in laps in a standard pool.
5. Is there a way to get my body used to running after biking or will it always feel kind of weird for a while?



1. 5km-20minutes or less. 10km-40 minutes or less.

2. Like has been said. Look into Triathlon specific clothing. The shorts have a pad in them, but they are normaly alot less thick then in cycling shorts.

3. Like has been said.....without a dought, you should have proper shoes, and pedals.

4. Open Water swimming is very different then swimming in a pool. Before you race you should definatly get atleast a couple open water swims in. For times, open water, you should be around 11 minutes for a 750, 22 minutes for 1.5km(1500m). I will assume that you are not going to be doing anything more then that distance, because that puts you in to Half IM territory. Oh, seeing as how you are from jersey. Look into getting a wetsuit to race in. Makes the cold water less so, and you are faster in it.

5. One word...BRICKS! Basically its training when you ride-run-ride-run, ect. Normaly you do it fairly short distances, like ride for 5km(3miles), run for 1km(half a mile?), and repeat. This will help your body to learn to adjust faster. I have been racing for years, and I still get some cramping in some races. Also you can look into your cadence. You should be riding between 90-95rpms. About 1km or so out, up that to about 100-110. That will get your legs spinning faster, which will warm up all the muscles in your legs, limiting issues in the transition to the run.

Ok, now onto the talk about your bike and the such. Areobars, like has been said, go used, and about 50 bucks or so. There are different bends of areo bends, just pick up some hockey stick bends(not really called that, but think of lieing a hockey stick on the ground, blade pointing up, that is what the aerobars look like). They are simple, and like was said, get you in the right position regardles of what type, though the ones I suggested tend to be the cheapest.

Pedals....like has been said. If you are riding road right now, you should be investing in proper cycling shoes/pedals anyways. They are a HUGE difference in power transfer, pedaling technique, ect. Good investment.

Now, about your bike, and fit. Find your closest Multisport store(cycing store that also deals with triathlon stuff). Find out if they do bike fits, and what certification they hold in bike fitting. Now go spend the $100 or what ever it will cost to get a good bike fit. That alone can make more difference in your race time/speed then a set of race wheels. It is the best money-bennifit ratio thing you can get(assuming your fit isnt right on).

i would advise you to race your first tri with the equipment you've got now. i know that's probably not what you want to hear. i was the same way leading up to my first tri. i wanted to buy everything and change everything. all the tinkering with my equipment probably robbed me of training time, plus i wasted money on stuff i didn't really need. i would focus on your swim/bike/run engine for the next few months and just make sure you show up to the race with a bathing suit, a bike, and some running shoes.

then on race day, expect things to not go as planned. expect to leave something at home. expect to misplace your stuff in the trasition area. expect to forget to bring gels with you on the bike. expect to forget your visor on the run.

but don't let any of that get you down. go as hard as you can, savor finishing your first tri, and then look back and diagnose your equipment "needs" and maybe even some "wants". :D

haha thank you. I think thats exactly what I need to hear.

A very nice biathlon for a beginer is in Lakewood the Naval base lighter than air flat very flat and fast go online to Linmark.com for race info.

duathlon.
Biathlon is cross country skiing and shooting, duathlon is run-bike-run

Hi Dan,

Welcome to the sport. You should do a earlier season racer in my opinion. Just get out and do it. Pick a .5 mile swim 14 mile bike and a 3 mile run or so.

I’m responding to these to questions only. Good luck!

4. I have been swimming all of my life, never racing, but I consider myself a good swimmer. What would a 1 mile equate to in laps in a standard pool.
1 mile = 1609 meter in a 25 meter pool that is 32 laps (Down and Back) compared to 64 lengths.

If your race is a 1 mile swim you should be swimming WAY more that 1600 meters. I’ll do 2000-3200 meters on my swim days when I am getting for a 1 mile swim. Swim days being the heaviest day of the 3 disciplinants trained. ie…Swim day - 3200 meters swim, bike 25- 30 miles and run 3-4 miles as compared to a Bike day - 40-50 mile bike, swim 1000-1600 meter and run 3-4 miles. All that based on the length of race all together.


5. Is there a way to get my body used to running after biking or will it always feel kind of weird for a while?After you finish the ride get off a nd run. Even if it’s a ½ mile just do it and train it. I’ll ride 60 mile and still run a round the block when I get back.

bumping...i found this thread via search

good info for me as i am a newbie duathlon trainee

There is also a sticky on this exact topic (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=436141). If you're looking for information on the basics of doing a triathlon, you should go there as well.