Considering the switch to tri

2

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  • Right okay. Any Leeds folk who know where I can get some tips? I'll start googling again!

     The expense is a major concern  be honest. When I commit to something generally, I'm willing to putin as much of my time and effort as possible. Money though, being a student, it not naturally forthcoming. I'd love it to be, but thems the breaks. I'd initially said I'd wait till I graduated to jump into Tri, but if I can scrape through now, I'm sure it will make me appreciate all the nice things I can buy much more, when the time comes that I'm actually earning!

  • Leeds and Bradford Tri - really friendly club. I'm in york and a member of LBT.

    LBT 

  • Cancel you gym membership that will save you loads. Join you local masters swim group as it is likely to be cheaper and will have coaches there. Then use Gods gym. Outdoors.

    Goodluck with it.
  • I'm afraid I'm contracted with the gym for another 6 months. image

     And you're right, it will save me a fair packet! Aside from that, I also have the Uni gym, which soon will boast a pool of its own. 

    As for LBT, looks good. Might have to get my backside down to join... eeeee this is exciting!

  • "Maths says 80 lengths is about 1.2 miles"

    you're an engineer and you're working in Imperial?????? how bizarre..

    I was taught in Imperial but work in metric
  • I'm an engineer and I was raised with metric. As the Ironman seems to be more Imperial based, I decided to convert to Imperial.

    I'm a mixed up soul, really.  image

  • "As the Ironman seems to be more Imperial based,"

    errrrm - it's not..

    it's a 3800m swim, 180km bike, 42.2km run - OK the run is converted from a 26mile 365yd marathon but the other 2 are clearly metric
  • I'm sorry. I'm new to this, as must be clear. image I was always familiar with 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a marathon. Like here and here and here. Is this not the case for official distances?
  • but you'll also find the metric measures are widely used as well - especially in European events...

    the 2 measures are interchangeable but as WTC who own the IM brand are American they will quote the imperial measures....

    at the end of the day a few metres/yards either way in an IM will count for little!!

    however, the ITU (International Triathlon Union) works all events in metric so a standard distance tri is a 1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run

    my preference is metric - it's a bit cleaner in my mind than Imperial....
  • Yeah, you're right on that one, it's a bit clearer. Forgive my complete idiocy when it comes to this kind of stuff, I wouldn't say I'm slow on the uptake, but you guys have a bit of a headstart! image

     How far do people train in the pool? I mean, if I can do 2km without much problem...  I appreciate open water must be harder, but how much so?

  • open water I find much easier as it happens for 2 reasons - extra buoyancy from the wetsuit which improves my body position in the water and no walls to slow you down so you can swim continuously. plus I hate pools as the chlorine gets to me for a good 24hrs after a swim so I rarely use one!

    luckily I live 400m from the sea so in season I use that when I can - was in last evening for 25mins......
  • I've never gone more than an hour in the pool - and have no problem swimming 90 mins outside. If you can do the extra time in the pool its probably a good idea, but I just get so bored.

    OW is quicker for me than a pool. Wetty makes me swim a bit faster.
  • Well that's rather encouraging news! Am I right in saying the open water season is drawing to a close now? Might have to put off the wetsuit buying until next year...

    I've found the IM 09 Virgins thread. Is there one for 2010 yet? image

  • The amount of time to spend in the pool depends on how quickly you lose the will to live, frankly image

    Getting some OW time is worthwhile because it's probably the only chance you get to train in a wetsuit without children laughing at you, and because swimming straight without the benefit of the line at the bottom of a pool is harder than it sounds.  And because some of us (me included) found the first OW experience a little unnerving.  Panic attacks are not unheard of, even amongst experienced pool swimmers.

  • I have (very briefly) been in open water before, did a couple of mornings one November as part of a lifeguard course. Haven't swam more than 150m in one go though, and we are talking a long time ago. As long as there's a moderately attractive lifeguard to hand me a towel, I'll be fine. image
  • SE - open water swimming will go well into October (depending on access as some lakes will close for swimming) as the water temp doesn't start dropping much until the start of October - by the end the sea will be around 14/15C so still swimmable if chilly
  • Thanks fb. I must say I'm overwhelmed by the patience of people on here. I thought the internet was full of nasty people and the kind of people who comment on Youtube videos... image

    I might get a wetsuit now, and look into getting a decent bike for Christmas...

  • oh - we can do nasty as well........ image
  • There's a time and a place for that though image
  • OW has it's own challenges.  There is no line to follow so many of us zig zag (you've got to practice sighting, ie looking where you are going).  The cold is also something that you need to get used to - not that it is cold at the moment, but certainly colder than a pool.  Access to open water can be a problem too - FB and I are both close to the sea, others may have to use lakes and these have issues as may be shared with other water sports so only available early morning etc.  To use the lakes near us you need a permit - to prove you can swim!  LOL.  Also if you are going into OW, it is advisable to have another person with you incase you get into dificulty.

    Now stop asking questions and get out and train! image

  • Oh I want to get out and train. I'm chained to my desk until 4:30. Then I have to go for a meal with my boss. He's pretty understanding though - he's an ultrarunner and orienteering obsessive. Besides, I finish placement in a week... then the madness will reach full scale. image
  • Cancel you gym membership that will save you loads. Join you local masters swim group as it is likely to be cheaper and will have coaches there. Then use Gods gym. Outdoors.

    Goodluck with it.
  • Hey, how did that happen. I posted that on the last page. Ignore above. Already said. Move on..... image
  • SlowEngineer wrote (see)
      Besides, I finish placement in a week... then the madness will reach full scale. image

    Crumbs does that mean you are about to start final year???

    God help you, its all still a blur to me image

  • Farnie wrote (see)

    Crumbs does that mean you are about to start final year???

    God help you, its all still a blur to me image


    Not exactly, I'm on an integrated Masters, so I have two years left. That is, unless I seriously screw up this year, and leave with a Bachelors! How I intend to hold down the degree, the tri, and the not-found-as-yet-but-probably-vital part time job... I don't know. 

     You only live once....

  • So after a couple of swims thrown in with my runs I'm feeling a little buoyed by confidence. I might actually be able to make this stick. The next step is a bike. Now I haven't biked in a while with the exception of stationary bikes, and my confidence is not the highest of all time. Last time I rode on the road, I nearly got hit by a cement mixer! Also, I've never really got the hang of gear selection, and think I might be making life difficult for me in that respect too.

     Does anybody have any tips for a terrible cyclist? (bearing in mind I haven't splashed out on a bike yet)

    image Thank you.

  • SE - I think many of us around here have various tales of tell of "near misses" plus a few who've had the "full on" argument with a vehicle (me included - got knocked off by a car back in June).

    there's no getting away from it, if you want to do tri you have to road ride (OK - there are a few off-road tris but not that many) and that means improving your confidence.

    start slowly and build up - find somewhere with little traffic (not always easy) where you can improve handling skills and gear selection (modern bar mounted gears are actually very easy to use). perhaps try and link up with a bike/tri club and go out on some group rides - that will probably help.

    your confidence will improve but you literally have to get out and ride!
  • fb - I am willing to get out on the road. The last bike I rode had a shifter mounted on the frame, and was about 35 years old. I figure something a bit newer and easier to ride might help greatly. As regards gears, I know I have a decent amount of oomph in my legs from stationary bike power readings etc, but when it comes to picking the appropriate gear, I end up feeliong like I've got no steam...
  • Open water cold! Lol when I was diving we would be in the water at 6am at Stoneycove get the first dive in all year round. THere was nothing worse than at 10mts when you couldnt equalise and you had to pull the sides of your hood open to let some water in.

  • image

    THAT I think I'll give a miss! Went for a run this evening, was nice, but it had stopped raining by the time I got out. image Are there any pre-requisites for entering an Ironman? image

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