cooker

I commited, and registered for st Joseph Island Aug 13. Unfortunately my calf injury flared up at 2100 m when I went running a couple of days ago, even though it hadn't been bothering me for a couple of weeks, and I thought I was being pretty cautious. My 2500m (2.5 k) time would have been about 17:50. At this point I doubt I'll be able to get it down to nearer 15 min in the next 6 weeks, since I'm going to go very easy on any running. Still, I always have the option of walking or skipping the last leg of the tri. My goals are 23 min for the 10 km ride (about 16 mph) and now maybe 17 min for the run (about 11 min/mile) or 25 min if I have to walk, but I haven't got a swimming estimate as I don't have a good place to practise and the one hotel pool I've trained in twice now while working out of town, is small and irregularly shaped, so no good for establishing a pace. Last year the slow swimmers in the event did the 400 m in 12-19 min.

Racingboo

I'm late speaking up, but I managed my first sprint tri on 12 June. It was a 600m swim, 16km cycle and 6km run. My time was 1:21:45. You can see a detailed race report I wrote for the club here - https://setantatri.com/latest_news.php?option&id=223

I've in the meantime done another sprint tri two days ago, this one more demanding. This wasn't a club report, so it's much more personal and less focused on the race itself: https://nadiawilliams.wordpress.com/2...nd-other-ings/

I've been damn busy being official club reporter, and with other commitments also taking off I've hardly had time to correspond or contribute here as much as I had at the beginning of the year. It's all good, though. I'm having fun.

kakman

Did my first triathlon at 48 about 6 months after my second spinal surgery. Have also had a knee reconstruction, hernia and dislocated fracture of the shoulder. I've never been a swimmer, could barely swim 50 metres without stopping, but stuck at it until I could do 300m. First tri was 300m, 10k, 2k and suffered like a dog.

7 days after my 51st birthday I completed my first Ironman.

My one word of advice - the important thing is to enjoy yourself. You will never have the motivation to train if you don't enjoy it. If you can stick with it, you'll be amazed what you can do - I know I was

motomurphy

+1 to kakman, you have to learn to enjoy the whole process of training for these. I don't run my first tri till next week but training with the local triathletes has been so much fun that even if my race doesn't go well I'll still have enjoyed myself.

abqtj

So I did it! I finished the Santa Fe Tri yesterday. No records were ever in danger, but I completed it.




My total time was 1hr 48m 8sec and here's my splits:
Run = 38m11s
T1 = 3m10s
Bike = 49m12s
T2 = 5m30s
Swim = 12m3s

My transition times were SLOW, but I had some trouble on the run (felt like puking at the 2 mile mark and walked about .25 mile) and then the last mile or so of the bike, my left calf cramped bad and wouldn't release, so I had to hobble out the far end of transition and then back a hundred yards or so, then down a long hill to get to the pool. Took me about 3 of those minutes in transition.

I'm very pleased with my swim, though. I had been struggling a LOT in training with my endurance. But yesterday I got in the pool and just chugged along, swimming the entire distance without stopping (something I hadn't accomplished in my training).

I managed to pass about a dozen or so on the bike, with no one passing me. And I passed a handful in the pool, with only one passing me. So I feel pretty good with my results.

I was 5th out of 5 on the board for Clydes (oddly, 7 signed up, and 3-4 of those listed in the results weren't in the division online, but it doesn't matter).

The last few entries on my garmin site are from the race: https://connect.garmin.com/explore?owner=abqtj if you want to check it out.

And here's what the definition of TIRED looks like:

clew84

Wow - that is completely impressive! Congrats!

I am 39 years old and started training recently for my first - a sprint triathlon in late August (Hueston Woods Tri in Ohio). Very nervous but getting back in shape has been fun. I have been working with a trainer before I decided to do this and he kind of planted the idea after I got my first road bike about 3 weeks ago. So, the seed was planted and I have been giving it a shot. Last 2 days were "two-a-days" - yesterday was 750M swim (unfortunately not all at once yet) immediately followed by a stationary bike of 12 miles. Today was 1500M swim with a 3 mile run later in the day. Pretty tired but feeling good about doing it.

RVD72

i signed up for my first tri i october. It's the LA Triathlon sprint. Website says .4 miles / 14.1 miles / 3.3 miles. I'll probably come in last place but oh well. 37 years old. 190 pounds. My ideal weight is probably a good 40 pounds lighter (I'm only 5'8").

I cycle a lot and started running a few months ago (doing a 1/2 marathon this weekend in SF). I run really slowly but I think I'll eventually make it.

I swam a lot as a kid but I haven't swam much for the past few years so I need to get back on that after this weekend.

I'm not looking for times...just to finish. I expect to be way at the tail end in the swim, hopefully catch some people on the bike, and then fall back again on the run.

DtotheJtotheH

just registered for my first triathlon scheduled for a week from today. Pretty stoked

It's a sprint triathlon (swim: 1/4 mile, bike: 15 miles, run: 3 miles)

my goal time is < 1:30 , (swim <8:00, bike: <53:00, and run <21:00) That leaves about 8 minutes for transitions or me being a hair slow in one section. I'm really hoping that competition will help push me during the bike section to go faster than my normal 17-17.5 mph avg. when I train. (I always train alone) My running has always been strong, and I have been practicing my brick workouts, so hopefully I will catch a few more during that.

I'll try to post results after next weekend.

SourDieseL

So I finished it - albeit not the super fast time that some of my friends did it in, mainly for me was the cross the finish line alive.

2 nights before the race I decided to cruise on the bike down by the hudson to check out the swim start, the distance stirred a bout of anxiety thinking wow, that's damn far. Little did I realize that the current had carried me about 1/3 of the way. There was one thing that I did notice that prevented me from having a super fast swim was that it was my first time swimming in a wetsuit and I found that my breathing was off. I couldn't get a full deep breath bundled with an elevated HR from the hoopla of the event made me mentally stop to calm myself down. If I could breathe better I'm sure I would have had a much faster swim time.

Here are some of the numbers
NYC Triathlon (olympic)
Swim - 23mins
T1 - 7mins
Bike - 1hr 35mins
T2 - 3mins
Run - 1hr 23mins

ridethatbike

Congrats on your results, those look like solid times to me. It is kind of funny how the shortest discipline panics the majority of us. ;-)

SourDieseL

thanks! i actually thought I would excel in the swim, I've been swimming all winter and summer, did 2 open water swims at the beach so I felt comfortable being in open water like that, albeit swimming in the hudson I couldn't see much but sighting wasn't bad. It was just the breathing, if the breathing I had down I could get into my breathing pattern the swimming would have been much easier. I knocked it in 23mins, I could have probably done it in 16-17mins, I only breast stroked it so my breathing could catch up!

cooker

T minus 2 weeks for me, for my "Try a Tri" August 14 - 400m/10k/2.5k.

I have only had a chance to get into a pool a couple of times and swam what I guessed was 400m (estimating the the pool to be about 20 m based on counting 8" wall tiles, and doing 20 lengths) in about 15 min but I could be way off, and open water will be a whole different story. My best practise time for 10k on the bike was yesterday on a paved outdoor highschool track: t=21:06 or 17.66 mph, but of course, I can't ride that fast on a hilly or irregular road. Later yesterday I ran the 2.5km in 17:16 so there's no way I'm getting down to the 15 minutes I hoped for in 2 weeks, and certainly not as the last leg of a tri. The earlier calf injury is my excuse!

Still aiming for under an hour for the racing components and not worrying about transition this time around. Later today I intend to do a "brick" run of 10 k bike and 2.5k run.

DtotheJtotheH

Finished my 1st triathlon on Sunday. (Sprint Length: 1/4 mile, 15 mile, 3.1 mile) My achievable goal time was 1:30, and my over-reaching goal was 1:25. I got a little over-anxious waiting for the 6th wave to start and my breathing was horrible during the swim, which hasn't been a problem for the past few weeks.

Swim: (1/4 mile) 8:42
T1: 2:28
Bike: (15 miles) 52:17 (17.2 mph)
T2: 0:38
Run (3.1 miles) 23:20

Total: 1:27:23

27th place / 183 single competitors

I was actually THRILLED, despite not breaking 1:25. The 15 mile bike ride was the most brutal bike ride I have ever been on, despite only being 15 miles. Where I normally train is pretty hilly, so I thought I would be more prepared, but these hills were just nuts. The first 8 miles were the most brutal hills I have ever done. Then for the last 1.5 miles of the run, a really experienced looking triathlete really pulled me and we had an all out battle for the last 800 meters (he beat me by half a stride, but still an epic finish).

plenty of room to improve, but I am still quite happy, considering that even the more experienced cyclists there were talking about how brutal the hills were. I think with more training, and a flatter course, and transition practicing, I could easily knock off about 10:00 from my time @ a course of the same length.

Cape_Horn

Heh

I get to start later than everyone else - As an Australian, our season doesn't start until now, and that is only for the Duathlons (Bike/Run)
the wet stuff doesn't start until October

Last year I did two 'novice' triathlons 300m/10k/2k I did both each in around 45mins.
This year, I wanted to do a Half Ironman - apparently the WTC decided to change how Ironmans work in Australia, and thus the next Half Ironman is also the last Half to be run in Australia. the 70.3 events (of which there were 6) have been canceled for 2011, and 'might' be back for 2012. So If I want to do a 70.3, I have to do it this December.

Considering that in my last event, the run took longer than T1+bike+T2 (and I was 3rd in my age group in the swim, and last in the bike), The run will be my issue.

Currently trying to increase how far I can run 3 days a week (2k jog is about my limit, but I could walk a marathon tomorrow, just can't do it 'fast'). I usually average 200km a week on the bike (commuting) and Ill swim twice a week (I aim for 2k's between stops, need to push that out further).

Hopefully I should be able to run at least 10k's before the 12th December, wish me luck.

Barrettscv 

I'll begin training for a 2011 Olympic length tri this fall. I'm 53 years old, 210 lbs. I'm in fair shape and can complete a 200k century event, but will need to lose weight and train for the running & swimming legs of the event. I'm working with an experienced friend who is currently doing half Ironman distances. I'll also use local resources as I begin this new adventure.

Michael

js335

I'm starting my training for my first Sprint Tri in May 2011. I'm 46, 215lbs. Its very inspiring to see the personal stories here. I hope to be writing my own next Spring.

cooker

OMG it's tomorrow.

CAJohn

Good luck cooker! I have my first next weekend. Let us know how yours goes!

Dirtbagfitness

I'm only 28 and planning to do my first triathlon this October. Live in Hawaii, makes training outside awful pretty.

js335

Good luck Cooker. You're probably racing right now. I did my first real "brick" today. Decided to try 2/3 of the Sprint tri. Biked 20K in 48:12, Ran 5K in 29:05. I had no idea what kind of times to expect so I can't be disapointed. Just glad I can do it and I'm not dead. Maybe I can try a Sprint in the fall.

cooker

Thanks guys. It was a lot of fun and I'm pleased with my results and yet motivated to do better.

I was the only person over age 50 among the 14 competitors in the Try a Tri. We were delayed 90 minutes due to a thunderstorm and it was hot and humid after that. I knew I would do okay in the swimming and biking, and less well in the running, and that is what happened. I was the 6th fastest in the swim leg (5th fastest in the water, but someone passed me running up the hill from the beach) and 4th fastest cyclist, but 13th in the run and the slowest of all in transition. Partly that was because I took it really slow in the first transition to catch my breath from the swim and long run up to the road.

400 m swim 11:20
T1 4:41 (ridiculous, I know!)
10 k bike 22:43 (16.4 mph)
T2 1:35
2.5 km run 19:54
Total 60:11. Now I'm pissed that I didn't go under an hour. The run was brutal and I probably walked about half of it. I was doing it in practise in about 17 minutes even, but of course without swimming and cycling first.

Anyway, I'm definitely going to do this again! I'm pretty sure my best bet for improving my time is weight loss, as being overweight is what kills my running - it has much less impact on swimming and biking on a flat course.

js335

Nice job cooker. Congrats on finishing your 1st tri.

CAJohn

Yep, congratulations Cooker! It's encouraging that you want to do another tri again! I wouldn't worry about the 11 seconds over an hour; I imagine you'll be much faster at your next tri. You already have pointed out areas in which you could improve much more than 11 seconds!

adam_mac84

September 11, my first Triathlon, Reeds Lake in GR, MI. 0.5 swim, 17.2 bike, 4.9 run. it's 4 weeks before i am scheduled to have ankle surgery (that has kept me from running distances), so i am training most heavily on bike/swim and hoping improved fitness and 1-2 runs per week will get me through

CAJohn

I just finished my first tri. 400 yard swim, 10 mile ride, 3 mile run. Pretty short, but it was a lot of fun! I rocked the swim (used to race) and then settled in for a morning of being passed The volunteers were fantastic and the course well marked. Everybody was upbeat and friendly!

Just filled out the form for the next tri, in a month, by the same organization - 700 yard swim, 18 mile ride, 4 mile run. Looks like a good race!