Am new to triathlons and am doing my first one in 3 weeks today , but am not the best in the pool by far my swim time is slow but the swim is only 400meters so could i do it breast stroke ?? my fear is first in the pool last out , the bike and run will be no prob at all doing spinning 7 times a week and run 5 times a week and to get better at swimming doing it ever day now , plus for me its about starting the race and finshing it .
Comments
If the swim is only 400m then it is likely there will be loads of novices too, and you are usually permitted to breast stroke, however it is so much slower than crawl. That said, there may well be plenty of others doing BS as well, so there is a chance you may not be last at all and with only 3 weeks to go if you cant crawl at all then its probably best not to attempt to race with it. What time are you swimming for 400m at the moment?
You do sound like you are doing way too much... spinning SEVEN times a week and swimming EVERY day as well as 5 runs. Thats 5 days with 3 sessions and 2 with 2 and no rest. You will either injure yourself or severely knacker yourself at that rate. 3 sessions of each a week sounds plenty is still NINE training sessions in 7 days. You need at least 1 rest day otherwise you're not giving your body any time to recover.
In 3 weeks you are unlikely make a huge difference to your time so I'd say slow down a bit. (a lot!). Concentrate on technique in your swim (that makes a HUGE difference), and drop your sessions down big style to allow you to be fresh on the day!!
Hope you enjoy the race!!
Oh also, sorry just a thought. If its a novice tri, its likely to be closed roads or a park course for the bike leg. However its still a good idea to get practice on the actual bike rather than just a static spin bike. There are things you need to be aware of while cycling (possible traffic, other cyclists, corners, hills etc) which you just dont get from a spin class.
Try and get a few actual cycles in as well before race day.
thanks i will cut right down on the training from tomorrow , thanks for the tips and the roads are all closed on the morning off the race .
that's good the roads are closed. I still think a few spins outside would help if you dont already regularly cycle. Hope you enjoy and good luck!! Let us know how you get on!
Hi, I did my first 3 tris breast stroke and I wasn't last out of the pool in any of them. In fact I did half Ironman alternating front crawl and breast stroke (and I was second to last out of the water but still well within the time limit). You'll be fine on the swim. On a pool swim I've seen people stop for a breather at the end of every length.
Its all about the bike. Deffo ride outdoors and try having a short run straight off the bike to give you an idea of the heavy legs feel. Most important, just enjoy it. Good luck.
Yeh, I've never had trouble finding my bike in T1, just finding space to put it back in T2 lol.
I started tri using breast stoke, and was never last out of the water. Then I switched to a mix of breaststroke and crawl. Now I fall back on breaststroke if i need a break, like soupy in my first HIM.
I always estimated my time correctly and was keeping up with people who swam crawl for the whole swim so its not slower than crawl (ata certain level)
Its only recently with some decent coaching that I find breaststroke harder than crawl now. Still a long way to go though.
For you first tri, especially sprint distance, I'd say not to worry too much about training, you seem to be doing a lot at the mo anyway, just go and do it, enjoy it and then get serious about all the rest of the tri's you'll be doing.
And start planing your Ironman debut now, you'll end up there sooner or later if you join these nutters
BS takes up more room in the water so if someone is trying to pass you, or draft off you there is a bigger risk of you kicking them. So just be aware of who is inside your personal space in the pool.
Good luck and enjoy it.
oddly, my first triathlon is a novice one in 3 weeks...could we be doing the same one in the snowy wastes of rural Aberdeenshire?
Doing the eton super sprint so a bit more time to train but same distance. I'm still planning to front crawl it, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to do the full distance like that.
Are you using all the proper gear? I have a decent-ish hybrid bike and a full length surf wetsuit. Toying with the idea of making do vs buying/renting better kit.
One quick tip - when you get off your bike after training go for a quick run to get used to the feeling of "dead legs", it's something that gets easier with practice and you don't want to be taken by surprise when you climb off your bike during your first triathlon. Doing two sports one after the other in training is what's known in tri circles as a "brick".
Good luck, ben by - if that's the David Lloyd Lincoln one, it was my first tri last year. There's one nasty short steep hill on the bike, but you can risk draining yourself on it because as soon as you get to the top and turn left you have a flat ride along the top of the escarpment. Run is the canal towpath, and so flat as a pancake.
I had a great time, and definitely caught the bug - so all the best!
I wanted to eneter again, but I have Mrs Paperman doing a sportive that day, and Paperman Junior doing a duathlon. 80 miles apart, and neither starting anywhere near home. With only one car. I'm not sure fitting in a trip to Lincoln is going to work!
A cheap anbd cheeful one will do you fine .... upgrading at a later date if you find you enjoy it
Look on WIggle and Chainreactioncycles et.c for the sales and bargains