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Is iit being too ambitious to aim for half-ironman in the next 18months?
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Not about exclusivity but can you imagine riding 56 miles on a mountain bike ? Lol It's no wonder you worry about cut off times
Do ypu mean the British Triathlon Federation rule book or is there another rule book?
No I havent imagined riding a mountain bike for 56miles but until one attempts it one doesnt know whether it is possible - tbh I cant imagine riding that distance on any bike, road or otherwise lol but never say never.
With regard to cut off times maybe I am mad to consider doing a HIM if I am worrying about cut off times & should stick to sprint tris.
I'm sorry, I have tried to help, and be positive, but if it gets thrown back in face I shall wish you well, and leave
TNL I often ride 56 miles plus on my mountain bike just be sure to get some decently road tyres for it I use schwalbe big apples great rollers plus puncture resistant. I wouldn't do an event on it to be fair but great training and I can average 15 mph plus over the distance so if you get your training right it's possible. You will spend the entire time watching people glide effortlessly past you and be completely knackered by the end of it though.
Its not about exclusivity you can pick up cheap second hand road bikes and no one would comment on you using it, any road bike is going to much faster than a mtb and your limited cash budget would have been better spent in that direction if you are serious about this, frankly from your starting point if you are going to try to do a half IM on an MTB you are delusional still as with Dave i wish you well and i am out
My confidence is not exactly high so i may be oversensitive and taking some things the wrong way & again apologise for this too.
Completing my first sprint tri was a big achievement for me as was my second despite thinking i may only do one to tick it off on a to do list.May be i was looking too far ahead re HIM and should take it one event at a time.
Did ride on the road today on my own albeit not very far - baby steps to buikding up my confidence - a first but important step for me anyway.
Fair enough
My advice stick to the sprints whilst you build up your fitness and endurace you can use your mountain bike for this when you can comfortably swim for 40 minutes, run for an hour and bike for 90 mins (seperately) get a road bike then identify what HIM you want to do get a beginners HIM training program google it there are loads or try this onehttp://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=52
Do the training no slacking or excuses and you should be good to go i realy is that simple commit, train hard, race simples
I see the query about Outlaw Half cut offs has already been answered - cheers! Been out and about this weekend so wasn't checking in!
i have done 55 miles on roads on a mountain bike - it was hard but not impossible - not sure I would recommend it! Good luck to you whatever you decide to do!
Hi Trinolongernewbie, I have been following this thread and can see everyone's point of view. I started tri a couple of years ago, training on and off and only did a coupld of sprint tris and not done any exercise for the last 20 years due to my circumstances of family etc.
I decided that my 40th year would be one to remember so entered IM Wales, again was like you didn't run quick and always struggling with running, although I do come from a swimming background. Biking again was starting from scratch. My point is if you want something bad enough, then you will train for it. I have struggled with motivation at times, but as IM Wales is no mean feat for any athlete it has kept me focussed and on the right path. My run is still slow but at least I can now run continuously without being disheartened. I entered Outlaw Half as my first tri this year and was successful and felt okay. I have no idea whether I will be successful at IM Wales, but at least I am trying and getting fitter in the process. But within a year I have improved so much that I can see light at the end of the tunnel and providing everything comes together on the day it will be possible.
I do agree though that you would be better with a road bike as this will automatically make you faster and will give you confidence out on the road. My first bike was second hand off ebay and did me fine.
Sorry for the long post and good luck whatever you decide to do.
Set yourself a target that is achievable.
Whilst you may have have finished a couple of sprint triathlons - a time of 2hours 44mins suggests very little training was done. Don't waste your time fantasizing over a completely unrealistic target of completing a half iron man if you aren't prepared to put the effort in,. Start doing parkrun regularly, get some miles on the bike (get a road bike too) and aim to improve that sprint triathlon finish time by an hour by this time next year. Now that would be an achievement that you could rightly be proud of.
I think you haven't explained your background clearly enough chook - your size is the biggest limiting factor in how fast you can currently go - I'm not being rude or mean here, and I mean this with the best of intentions - I could do with losing another 5 kgs and I know I could faster if I lost that extra weight and when I was 84.5ish kgs I could not have done a sprint tri. I wouldn't have even attempted it. What you have actually achieved is amaze balls don't loose sight of that.
What I distill from this conversation is that you need a) to work on the general fitness and b) to set certain goals for yourself e.g. in 2 years I want to do a HIM and these are steps I am going to take e.g. this year I will focus on sprint tri's and getting a bike confident. In 2015 I will do sprints and olympic distance etc.
No one here would ever say that you can't do a HIM - in fact there are a number of people on this forum that were overweight and generally unhealthy but have worked hard on improving their fitness and having big goals is a part of that! It's fine to dream big but you have to have concrete steps to get you to that start line.
And after a full weeks training including a 90 mile bike 10 mile brick on a Saturday knocked out a 1hr 23 sprint on the Sunday morning, and went to the gym on the way home
you are also a tall male Dave who has been running/ cycling for years......
August last year I was a 18st 3 lb smoker who did and hadn't done anything for 18 years I booked out law full last year yesterday I completed it I only learnt to swim in April and I've never done a triathlon of any sorts only ran two half marathons and six 10ks I trained heavily from April cycled on a mountain bike from January to April then got a road bike
it's all about the individual
and some people have never played a violin in their lives and could pick one up today and be playing in a concert next month.........doesn't mean that we all could that quickly....some people develop differently and some are happy to do 20 hours a week and some just want to do 2 hrs......everyones learning curve is different and so is their ability to improve.......
To say it was 2;44 rather than 2:35, but it was hot is rubbish.... Bet the first o/a didn't have that sort of drop off..
There really is only one way to improve..TRAIN
So here it is:
I have been type 2 diabetic for over six years. I used to go to a slimming club but found i was getting bigger so stopped going and my weight has stabilised.
When i did my first triathlon this year i weighed 17stone 11lbs, when i did my second nothing had changed but now i weigh less. Thats why i consider what i have achieved as a lot for me. I have also done my club's Aquathlon ;the swim in 14mins 22 secs & the whole thing taking 1hour 10 miles & 5 secs.
I had not gone on abike before last spring in over 20 years & only started running 18 months ago via couch to 5k.
I hope this helps.
I meant to say 1 hours and 10minutes not miles lol.
TNLN,
That's something to be very proud of... its a lot easier to stay sat on your backside, but instead you've got off it, and done something.... I applaud you for that.
Don't take the challenges above as criticism... they're tough love.... none of us would be anything other than delighted to see you bang out a finish in a long or big event!
I think that both Seren and Dave are right though to encourage you set yourself realistic goals, but also to make it clear that any big challenge will require a pretty substantial commitment... you ain't going to deliver a HIM without doing a good handful of hours of training every week for months and months...and only you can decide if you're up for that or not!
Best of luck!
Thanks Magna Carter
I was being a bit oversensitive but maybe it was my fault in that I should have stated what my background was leading up to me starting out in Triathlon in the first place.
I am grateful to you and the others for the encouragement and I have had much the same from my tri club mates and have taken everything suggested on board.
My priorities are to concentrate on my last sprint tri for this year and the TONFsportive first.
I am signing off for tonite but will back later in the week.
The adage of you can't buy speed is IMO broadly true, but if you can't afford a second hand roadie, then the typical ??150 entry fee for a half will be an eye opener.
Morning, Sorry Didn't mean to be rude...
What you have done is great, and you really should be proud of yourself, Been there done that got the medal, But if you are serious about carrying on, then only you can make it happen
No one else can get you out of the door at 6 am on a cold wet Sunday morning and cycle 60 or 70 miles, and then instead of lazing around with the paper and a bacon butty, get straight out and run for a couple of hours, (and then do all the family things and house work) or Tuesday drive a hundred miles, spend 5 hours with a client, drive home and instead of pouring a large G&T, drag on the wetsuit and spend a hour swimming in a murky lake before finally going home to a very large G&T.
Haven't got my training log to hand, But I think since Jan 1st my stats are something like 40 miles swimming 2000 miles on the bike and 300 miles run. That's just this year, Lucky that we have no kids at home, But I do a regular 50 hour week, and a couple of days on the road. Thankfully my OH is a runner so doesn't mind the training (much) (And someone who is serious will have done double that easily)
That really is the life.
You have to get comfortable on the bike, I was marshalling on a tri at the weekend and knew I was about 9 miles in on the bike course, The easiest way to move around is on a bike, So yeah I cycled, But to save hassle I cycled the 13 miles to the venue first, Didn't even think about how far it was.
That's what I mean about being comfortable on the bike
My regular training bike is 9 years old, is aluminium rather than carbon fibre, has done thousands of miles and was good enough for IM France 3 weeks ago, The second IM I have done on it.
My wife decided to have a bash at this tri lark, bought a bike (Decathlon B'Twin "The red and grey one"), Did one event, didn't like it, Sprog 4 decided to have a go, did 2 went off to Uni
Think the bike has done less than 60 miles and is hung up in the garage gathering dust. Always open to offers
Mmm. This is very interesting. I thought I was doing all the training, but appears not. I train about 5 times a week, anywhere between minimum 1 hour session (spin class/lake swim) and 4 hours (bike ride or could be a longish 90 minute-2 hour run or 2-3 hour brick). I just physically cannot bang out any decent bike times. I'm either not training enough, not training correctly or getting too old for this s**t
. I'm also convinced genetics have a part to play, as I seem to train my socks off sometimes!
I have therefore made the decision to join a tri club where I will focus over the winter/spring on their training sessions and fingers crossed, might see some slight improvement next year.
TNLN you are doing absolutely great. Keep plugging away and keep up the training over the winter. I look forward to reading about how you get on in your sprint tri and sportive, and what races you decide to enter next year. You will get there, just some people get there a bit quicker. Wish I was one of them!
I'm way too old, I didn't do my first tri of any sort til I was 50