I have entered a starter tri, 500m swim 10k bike 5k run, just to get a feel for tri's and also for xtraining for a marathon in october.
my problem is that although I can swim(100-150 lengths of a pool is not a problem), I cant do it front crawl. i was a sprint swimmer a schools and county level so anything over 10 lengths front crawl and i am knackered, and have to revert to 4 leghts breast 1 length crawl.
will I get away with breast stroke or will I have to learn to slow crawl???
advice please folks
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caught ya!lurking as usual!
i'm sure wildwill/hilly/mermaid and a few others will be on here to give you some good advice leggy.
good luck :-)
legless - is the 500m open water?? if so you may find the crawl will work fine - I can't do more than 4 lengths front crawl in the pool, yet can go at least 2k (longest test yet) in open water without stopping - it's all to do with getting into a good steady rhythm I think and no walls to interrupt it. I think having a wettie on also helps as I don't need to use the legs as much to keep forward momentum because of the extra buoyancy.
maybe you should try it in a lake or sea and see what happens - I have suprised myself. just need to get speed now!
You can gain back most of the time you've lost on the swim if you're strong on the bike.
fb - i'm completely the other way round - can happily swim for ever in the pool (5k+ without stopping) but in open water i really struggle. mind you it didn't help last sunday that the first 4 breaths i tried to take were all under water!!!!
i'm still much quicker in open water - i assume because of the wetsuit - just a lot less comfortable.
Start of in crawl and see how it goes...I think you'll be suprised especially as the people around you will prevent you from shooting off too quickly. If you resort to breast stroke then so what....the guy in front of me did for about 100m.
Enjoy the day...I did (sort of - certainly enjoyed the finish)
Good luck
Currently I'm doing 35 seconds per 25 m length, and can't seem to get much quicker. I'm breathing once every time my left arm pops out of the water, found this loads more manageable than 3-4 strokes, which was what I started with.
I stop at the end of the pool when I notice the technique has gone to pieces - sometimes it usually only takes a few seconds to regain myself, then off again. Don't like to stop for too long for fear of it ruining the endurance of it....but hey, what do I know.....???
Tri training is addictive, for sure.
concorde will be my first one as well. Since then started to swim regular, did one 400 m swim for time so far but since then only swim like I feel, trying to improve the style. I will not be worried about my time and looking at last years result I will not be the slowest.
I am more worried about the bike ride.
Travis stop lurking, your doing it with me!!!
not looking to be competetive, just enjoy it, dont have a wettie and wasnt planning on investing in one either, i have been training in the pool in knee length lycra shorts and a shark skin top, which I was gonna wear for all 3 legs.
dont have a bike either, but gonna borrow one for the race, not concerned about the bike or run, just the swim
I did the try-a-tri there earlier this year and we had 3 to a lane, with a staggered start which worked fine in my lane as we all seemed to have put realistic swim times down so there was no bunching.
I'm quite nervous about the bike though, the course has very big hill which is fine going up but I'm a wimp on the downhill..
Where's the big hill then so I can go and try it out?
The big hill is Harts Hill Road which goes from Upper Bucklebury down to Floral Way in Thatcham (by the Mill House pub). It's steep and very twisty. If they keep the same route as last year, you have to come down it, round the roundabout at the bottom then back up.
I haven't tried it yet but would be happy to have a go with you (safety in numbers !)
hill? I am bad on hills. Really bad. How long? How steep? How many laps? Is there a downhill before so I can get pace and just roll it up or do I have to pedal it?
The course (if it stays the same as last year) starts from Bradfield college and follows an 'undulating' road for a while before a long flatish section - although not as flat as it appears in the car - before the downhill, then it's round the roundabout and back along the same route.
I guess that will mean all speed gained on the down will be lost on the roundabout (novice cyclist so I might well be wrong) so you'll have to pedal. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't steep in parts but it does have flatter bits in between.
I've just had a look at it in Trailgauge and it's around half a mile long with about a 60 metre climb.