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Any newbie triathletes here?
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>dips toe into bath<
>cycles down the garden<
>runs back in<
Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well done ATM,
glad you enjoyed it. And even now you know what it's like, it hasn't put you off! I'm getting nervous about tomorrow, but I've got my kit ready, practiced getting shoes on/off etc so not a lot more I can do now!
CrazyH, I am looking at the West Wight one as well, although I will have more idea whether to go for it after my first experience of tri tomorrow.
800 metres, Nan. *When I said very mini, I meant very mini ...but I like your description..
*
You'll have a great time lajane. I hope you get good weather, too.
So it was honestly a 3k bike route?????? I thought it was a typo!!! LOL
The shortest distance I have ever seen for novice tris are 300m swim, 15k bike and 3k run....
Go on amuse me how long was the swim? 25m??
thanks for the suggestions Pethead. What tri kit should I get first time round?
Its a pool swim which makes it a bit more manageable for a first timer but what does that mean - do I wear a cossie? And then what - bike shorts over it? Its all very exciting but very confusing!!
J-lard - good luck with yours tomorrow and go for the West Wight - its supposed to be v friendly. I wanted to do it a couple of years ago but my swimming was sooo bad that I just couldnt.
Hey ATM - well done! Now you're a triafleet and it's full steam ahead for Balerno!
Nam - from memory the swim at ATM's micro-Tri was 75m.
J-lard - good luck tomorrow, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Remember to write us a report!
crazyH - hello and welcome! A few of us did our first tri a couple of weeks back. Two of us wore swimsuits in the pool then put bike shorts and a top on top of the swimsuit for the cycle and run; two of us invested in tri-shorts and top and did the swim in those, then added an extra top for the cycle. So whatever you've got/feel comfortable in.
I'm currently wibbling and checking the weather for tomorrow morning when I'm supposed to be doing my first OW swim in the North Sea
.
Hi Annie - thanks for the clothing suggestions - I'll have a look around and see what i can afford. Its an expensive business getting kitted up - what with bike and bike shoes n all that
Good luck with your OW swim - braver than I am yet!
What distance was the tri you did a couple of weeks back?
Good lucck Annie.
CrazyH - keep an eye on Aldi. They do tri kit twice a year. My first tri suit was from there (£4.99) and was enough to make me realise that (a) I liked tri, (b) you can't wast money on good kit! DOn't rush into buying thoug. One peice tri suits are £50-80 for a reasonable one. Not everyone likes one piece though. Not easy to go to the loo and can be warm (on a hot day). Many prefer a two piece (shorts and monoco). If you go for the swim suit then put on more clothes in T1 you can look around and see what others are wearing and maybe chat to them......
If you want to borrow kit - just ask away..... many on the forum have got spare gear. You can always borrow my aldi suit - it's a tad see through nowerdays, but I'm sure that wouldn't put you off
Initially it doesn't have to be expensive... See if you like it first... Ebay is full of people who wanted to look the part, bought all the gear and never even did a season... Things can be picked up cheap there, sometimes even bikes...
Before a first race you need neither tri suit, tri bike, bike shoes or clipless pedals.
Normal swim suit with sports bra underneath... T1 slap on cycling shorts and t-shirt, normal hybrid bike will do, flat pedals, trainers... T2 chuck the bike and run in what you're wearing.
easy...
Great - thanks Nam.
I do have a tri bike - its a bit old but in good nick and fits me nicely - but I'll take your advice and stick to normal pedals for now.
Plenty of running and swim gear too - so it sounds like I can use most of that too
If you have money to spend and you're pretty sure tri is for you and you've got time to crack clipless pedals, they are a good investment, but by no means life essential at a first tri. Some people take to them like a duck to water... some more like a duck to ice...
Little inexpensive things that make a difference are race number belts (stops you fiddling with pokey pins) and Lock laces.
I've heard about race number belts - they sound good as do lock laces - any suggested sites to order one online?
Also - anyone know how important it is to be able to tumble turn in a pool swim? I want to learn anyway - just to improve my training sessions but I read somewhere that some races don't allow it.
No need to tumble turn and you MAY not even be allowed to depending on how many people have in a lane...
Will find a link for numberbelt and Lock laces...
Good plan... Back from two very very windy hours on the bike.... May brave Tesco now...
Later everyone should be here
Well done Rusty! Did it go how you expected? Looking forward to hearing about it!
I was thinking of venturing out on the bike but its sooo windy that I decided against it seeing as its still a fairly new experience for me. Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow. Maybe a swim instead tonight?
Yeuch!
I thought hubby was being a bit over-protective when he suggested I didn't go out - maybe he was right!
Still - it was a great afternoon for marching with the dogs - so at least I didn't slob out on the sofa
Hi All
Just back from my first tri, and it was one of the best things I have ever done! It was fantastic, and I enjoyed pretty much every minute (apart from feeling like I was going to throw up on the bike/run transition!). Great weather, if a bit windy, good bike course with a few small undulations, easy pool swim and a lovely run through the college grounds, including woods, mud and some stepping stones! I forgot to start my watch in the pool, so I only have my time for the bike, T2 and run, but I'm pretty happy with how it went. And I can't wait until the next one!!!! For the record, it was 200m swim (yes, very short I know), 17k bike and 5k run. So a good beginner's tri. The organisation was good, and the marshals had our numbers/names so there was a bit more personalised encouragement, which was really nice.
It made me realise how much more swimming I need to do, but I now have a short video as my OH recorded me!! At least I looked vaguely like I was doing the crawl!
So, from a novice, some kit tips would be: race belt, elastic laces, vaseline, talcum powder, the one piece tri suit was great(although I think a two piece would have been fine), and there was no need to tumble turn (although I would like to learn anway). And I have clipless pedals, it took me a couple of goes to get used to them but now I wouldn't be without!
Well done RA on your open water swim, I need to tackle that soon I think.
Well done J-Lard - sounds great!
Good to hear your tips too about what to wear and what not to bother with. How did you find the transitions? Strangely they are the bits I'm most scared about - worried about looking a complete donut and getting in a tangle with gear
How many entered?
Well done J-Lard, you had a wild and windy day for it!
Congrats on the swim RA, looking forward to more details!
Evening all, the cupboards are re-stocked (I don't know about you Nam, but give me training over food shopping any day!) and I'm just about feeling human again.
Well done J-Lard, isn't it a great feeling after your first tri. Did your feet survive the sockless run? And, more importantly, have you selected your next triathlon yet?
crazyH. my first tri was a "Try-a-tri" novice one: 400m swim, 15k bike and 2.5 run. It was great fun! Which one are you doing and what are the distances?
OW swimming: well I'm glad I went and did it. It was in the sea on the east coast of Scotland, and I think there were about 16 of us, including 2 newbies. The coach was brilliant (in fact he even lent me his old wetsuit cos the one I'd borrowed from the club was too big on top and he reckoned I'd get really cold with all the water swilling around in it) he stuck with us newbies and encouraged us all the way. Everyone agreed that it was the coldest they'd had it for a couple of months (and I don't think they were just being nice!)
The actual swimming wasn't as awkward or scary as I'd expected. It was pretty calm and the beach has a really gentle slope so I didn't have too many problems with waves and breathing. Sighting was interesting - I kept heading off to the right, fortunately I wasn't going fast or far enough to get lost! But the biggest problem was the cold: I started off ok (well at the back, but ok for me!) but I just got colder and colder until at the end I couldn't stop shaking and shivering! I think they were a bit worried about me cos coach checked I could still feel my feet and checked the colour of my hands! Also I really need to work on my endurance, I was swimming about 25m then coasting for a couple of strokes of breast-stroke but just couldn't keep going (i'm usually good for at least 800m in the pool). I probably walked almost as much as I swam!
So, lots of things to work on and I need to save my pennies so I can get my own wet-suit that fits better. But definitely worth doing, and I'm already planning my next couple of outings!
An evening of excitement on the Ironman France thread.... Loads of IM virgins.... Fantastic results!! Well done the pirates...
For all of you looking for another tri why not join us at Nantwich in September, plenty of forumites already doing this one
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=4&UTN=118105&V=6&SP=