My initial goal was to wait until next year to start doing triathlons and races, but reading about Tom just going out there and doing it even when he wasn't 100% has inspired me to move up my schedule a bit.

So it's official; I am doing my first triathlon on August 9th in Columbus, IN. It's a sprint tri that has a half mile swim, a 17.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. It looks like I have some hardcore training to do in the next month! I should be updating my blog every couple days with my training progress if you're so inclined.

Excellent! I love seeing how many people on the Clydesdale forum are getting into tri racing. :)



used to race tri's, not allowed to run any more

Damn dude I would HOPE you're doing a Tri soon given the bike you just picked up!! Good luck!

Cool beans! Absolutely outstanding, Joe! :D

Good luck Joe, I too seem to have this lucid idea of doing a triathalon.

Way to go Tom, your spreading the Tri bug like lice :lol:

godspeed and best wished to ya joe, you to bautieri get out there and start training...best thing about tri, is you quit working out and start training plus the events are a rush....great times, great people, great fun...

I'll tell ya what! The fast movers will holler at ya supportively, too. :D They'll tell you "You can do it" if you start to flag.

Well folks! i'm signing up for the same event! Me and Joe talked about having a
meet and greet / Training weekend....anyone else? it be nice :) we can join forces and create some waves.. Tom you got me in the ring too! hows your schedule then?

i'm going for broke. hahah oh and if they cant find my body in the lake tell them to just leave a reminder that i was there. HAHA

It's possible, I'll know in about a week or so. Joe, post a link!

http://www.foundationforyouth.com/triathlon.php

i'm not joe but here it is.. sorry joe i was already about to post it haha..

That'll work as well, Chris!

It would be great if we could get other to do this as well. Having a strong Clydesdale/Athena showing would certainly turn some heads. If I'm reading this right, there is usually only about 7 or 8 clydes and 3 or 4 athenas every year out of a field of roughly 200. Let's show show these Hoosiers what us clydes can do! :)

I'm ordering bibs for this, i figure the running part will make the shorts slide down and thats the last thing i wanna think about.

I think i'll try the the bibs the whole way though..

Are they padded? Seems like pads + water = bad idea.

True, but i would think it would loose the excess water fast enough and just have a minimal amount But I'm a newb at it soooo... lol

You can buy padded and unpadded from aerotech.. but i guess for 17 miles i could live with no pad.... hmm


P.S... kind of getting Nervous! lol

Update - Training is going well, I need to spend more time in the pool but i think i have gotten a decent stroke down (considering i'm an infant at this).

The event is Aug 8th and its screaming up fast.. trying to just remember its about a baseline and finishing. I keep having visions of grandeur of going Balls to the wall and surprising myself/everyone.. i'm so competitive that i dont think i can pace myself properly.. While running this couple passed me on the trail and it made me match thier stride.. to stay within 10 yards.. i felt like i was sprinting hahahh .. had to back it off or risk stopping completley ...

Learn man! learn! hahahah

As always i keep reading everyone elses experiences and this forum keeps me moving! thanks folks!

Run your race, not someone else's. Keep your shoulders loose and your arms down around your waist. Relax and find your pace. Good luck and have fun!

Tom's infectious "Tri-germ" has reached Texas as well. My wife and I have decided to take up running [I never thought I would write that sentence!] We are starting from ground zero on the running. I literally have not run AT ALL, even one block, in over 20 years. But, we have a training plan from a website that says you can go from the couch to a 5K in 6-8 weeks. So, since we are doing the biking thing I think we can make it. (We just did a 32 mile training ride this past saturday and could have done more.)

I am hoping it will lead to a full Tri but at least we will do a duathlon this fall/winter. There is one near Austin this fall that is a reverse--bike / run / bike. That's more my style!

Anway, training question: How do you balance the need for days on the bike (we are gearing up for a century charity ride the last weekend in Sept) with the need to run/walk? How do you get "rest" days? We are signing up for a 5K on Sept 11th here in Dallas so we need to get on the running somewhat aggressively while at the same time getting our distance up for our Century on Sept 27th.

I assume each will help the other--the more we run the more we will be able to bike etc. The training plan for the 5K says we should be running/walking 5 days a week. That doesn't leave much time for the bike unless we do both on the same day.

Any advice?

DTSCDS (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=118588)- Honestly i'm not on any particular schedule.. I just try to run,ride or swim once a day. I do try to either do Bricks (Run immediately after riding) on the weekends
or when i have time. I'll do 15-18 miles and then run 3.0 miles ... If i just run i'll do a 6 mile loop. The swimming is where i'm having a hard time fitting in...

Keep us updated on the training and if you do an event post pics! This Tri-Bug is
very contagious! haha


Off topic - i lived in Bedford and then a loft in Deep Ellum for about 8 years.. so a friend wants me to come back down and do an event with him and his wife.. another sprint tri he said. we'll see.. :)... i used to goto white rock lake sometimes.

Tom's infectious "Tri-germ" has reached Texas as well. My wife and I have decided to take up running [I never thought I would write that sentence!] We are starting from ground zero on the running. I literally have not run AT ALL, even one block, in over 20 years. But, we have a training plan from a website that says you can go from the couch to a 5K in 6-8 weeks. So, since we are doing the biking thing I think we can make it. (We just did a 32 mile training ride this past saturday and could have done more.)

I am hoping it will lead to a full Tri but at least we will do a duathlon this fall/winter. There is one near Austin this fall that is a reverse--bike / run / bike. That's more my style!

Anway, training question: How do you balance the need for days on the bike (we are gearing up for a century charity ride the last weekend in Sept) with the need to run/walk? How do you get "rest" days? We are signing up for a 5K on Sept 11th here in Dallas so we need to get on the running somewhat aggressively while at the same time getting our distance up for our Century on Sept 27th.

I assume each will help the other--the more we run the more we will be able to bike etc. The training plan for the 5K says we should be running/walking 5 days a week. That doesn't leave much time for the bike unless we do both on the same day.

Any advice?


I'd guess that you'd be well off biking or running as long as you're staying active (nothing wrong with cross training). I had been riding pretty consistently (although not very long distances, usually just my 4 mile RT commute). And joined a gym in November, in March we ran a 5K as a workout and I surprised myself by doing it in a little over 24 minutes. I don't think I'd ever run that far before in my life! :eek: I'd say keep on riding and running and you'll be fine. I'd also check out some running techniques, I used to think I wasn't a runner at all because of knee pain, shin splints, etc... etc... but the gym I go to teaches the Pose method (good overview here http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/pose-running-technique.html ) and it's helped me a lot. Another popular method I've seen recently is "Chi running" although I don't have any personal experience with it.

<snip>
I'd say keep on riding and running and you'll be fine. I'd also check out some running techniques, I used to think I wasn't a runner at all because of knee pain, shin splints, etc... etc... but the gym I go to teaches the Pose method (good overview here http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/pose-running-technique.html ) and it's helped me a lot. Another popular method I've seen recently is "Chi running" although I don't have any personal experience with it.

I had seen a couple of websites that mentioned the "Pose" method but hadn't seen anything that really discussed it. Thanks for the link. There are a couple of YouTube videos but they didn't really do much as far as explanations either. I am going to check into this. It was over 20 years ago that I did ANY running whatsoever, but I do remember that shin splints were a big player with me. I am wanting to avoid anything like that this time around.

GooooooOOOOOOO Joe!!!

After my first one i got the bug...
i am so ready for the 17th to come.

howdy, Im 6'3 and currently 220 and never even knew what a Clydsdales was till I signed up for a duathlon a couple weeks back. Never run a step in my life but biked alot. Just wanted to encourage you and say good luck.

I'm purchasing a Raleigh Grand Prix as my hybrid just aint gonna cut it anymore :P

Thanks Wall! Let us know how your race goes!

http://www.madguyproductions.com/uploads/clips/moron.jpg

Yeah i got bored.... what can you do! lol

howdy, Im 6'3 and currently 220 and never even knew what a Clydsdales was till I signed up for a duathlon a couple weeks back. Never run a step in my life but biked alot. Just wanted to encourage you and say good luck.

I'm purchasing a Raleigh Grand Prix as my hybrid just aint gonna cut it anymore :P

I like that image......;)

Tom's infectious "Tri-germ" has reached Texas as well. My wife and I have decided to take up running [I never thought I would write that sentence!] We are starting from ground zero on the running. I literally have not run AT ALL, even one block, in over 20 years. But, we have a training plan from a website that says you can go from the couch to a 5K in 6-8 weeks. So, since we are doing the biking thing I think we can make it. (We just did a 32 mile training ride this past saturday and could have done more.)

I am hoping it will lead to a full Tri but at least we will do a duathlon this fall/winter. There is one near Austin this fall that is a reverse--bike / run / bike. That's more my style!

Anway, training question: How do you balance the need for days on the bike (we are gearing up for a century charity ride the last weekend in Sept) with the need to run/walk? How do you get "rest" days? We are signing up for a 5K on Sept 11th here in Dallas so we need to get on the running somewhat aggressively while at the same time getting our distance up for our Century on Sept 27th.

I assume each will help the other--the more we run the more we will be able to bike etc. The training plan for the 5K says we should be running/walking 5 days a week. That doesn't leave much time for the bike unless we do both on the same day.

Any advice?

I agree, you dont have much time...hopefully you had a good week last week getting started.

The C25k is what Ive been using, Currently Ill be starting week 5 day 1 on Wednesday. Its been a good help to ease me into running.

The way ive done my training has been 30 min of C25k followed up with 17+ miles of riding. 1 day of rest in between. That 1 day of rest has generally been all thats needed... we're all going to be different on that though.

Ive found that pounding the pavement is very different than spinning gears. The knees didnt react the same way and its taking some time to build them up to the new activity.

Good luck :)

hi good luck in the tri. hows your swim stroke going and are they doing the swimming protion in a pool or a lake? im looking into doing tri's next year since i still need to get the running thing down lol

After all of the discussions on triathlons, I had decided a few weeks ago that I was definitely going to do the Heel and Crank Duathlon in Huntsville in late October. The course is a 3 mile run, a 10 mile ride, then another 2 mile run. I have been trying to do some running training for the last few weeks, but it has been like the first few weeks on my bike back in January. There are brief moments of enjoyment, but the thought of actually making myself get out there and do it are torture, so, more often than not, when I go to run, I grab the bike instead. This last two weeks, I have made myself finally do some running. I am starting with the walk 4 minutes and run 1 minute concept. It is working pretty well so far, and I am going to 3 minute walks and 1 minute runs next week. I decided on Friday that I needed to get the mental aspect of actually finishing the event out of the way. I also wanted a base line to measure progress by, so I did the whole distance. It took me 1 hour and 52 minutes. That is incredibly slow, but now I have a time to work from. My first goal for this event was just to finish, now I know that barring injury or mechanical difficulty finishing is a done deal. For me, that is pretty impressive, considering that 7 months ago, I was a 329 couch potato.

On a side note, I had planned to do this early Thursday morning before work. I wound having to work early Thursday morning, and moved it to Friday morning. It didn't dawn on me that I had a 41 mile ( my longest ride to date is 45 miles) group ride planned for Saturday morning. Let's just say between the heat yesterday and the fact that I was sore before i ever even got out of the bed, I did not ride with the lead pack yesterday. However, I did finshed the ride, and was able to come home and collapse for a lttle while.

That is awesome! Tom has inspired all of us I think! I'm itching to do a tri as well. Whenever the next one rolls around I think I may sign up. Even if I were to finish dead last.........what about all the people who didn't sign up? At least I will be able to say I competed in and finished a tri!

Well folks its this weekend.... i did a hard ride yesterday and will probably do a 6 mile run wednesday and that will be it until the event.

Talleymonster: Thanks for reminding me that finishing is the PRIMARY goal! My competivness will leave me in the bottom of the lake. Pace and finish!