The official triathlon thread

[Eddie]

I'm full of questions, as my first Olympic triathlon approaches.

For those who have done the Spudman, what would you say is the equivalent distance in a pool for the swim? With it being current aided, is swimming the 1500 meters down river about the same as 1200 meters in a pool?

Has anyone done the Green River, which is also current aided? I can't find any info on the expected water temperature. I'm sure it is wetsuit legal, but not sure if it is cold enough to need one.

Does anyone do any open water training swims in Utah? I'm trying to find some lakes or resevoirs that have relatively clear and warm water to do some training in. Sounds like Blackridge Reservoir is out, sad situation for this mans family. http://www.ksl.com/?sid=29947549&nid...s_cid=toppick1

I'v considered getting a swim tow bouy for some open water training. Anyone used one of these? http://www.ishof.org/safety/ssd.htm

This will be my fourth time doing spudman. It's a LOT of fun, with such a huge range of fitness levels that you should be able to feel pretty good about yourself no matter how you're doing.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the equivalent distance is in a pool. I feel like I'm a pretty average swimmer and finished last year in about 21 minutes. When I say average - I didn't hit the pool more than a dozen times leading up to the race. I just wanted to make sure I still had my stroke down and had the endurance to swim for 30 minutes straight - I wasn't the fastest but was fast enough. A lot of people don't do much swimming prep for this one because they know they are going down current and will have help, so if you swim well you'll be a rockstar. If you have any swimming ability at all, you'll be done in 20-25 minutes depending on the current.

The first time I did this I hadn't done any open water swimming. Seriously - straight from the pool to the river. The biggest issue for me (which continues to be a HUGE issue for me) is swimming in a straight line. I'm most comfortable breathing under my right arm, but you want to stay closer to the shore to your left - so I tend to end up out on the wrong side of the river. Anyway - if you breath under your left arm your sighting will be MUCH better off.

I still don't practice open water, and don't think it has harmed me much. The pool I swim in has a lazy river attached - when the old people aren't walking in it I like to swim upstream just to get used to not having a wall to kick off every few strokes. When I can't do that, sometimes I'll take the turns without really kicking off the wall just to simulate not having it there.

I've used a wetsuit twice, but didn't last year. I'm not sure it had a huge effect on my speed - I placed about the same with as without. But if you aren't sure about it, the extra buoyancy can give peace of mind. Because it's a downstream swim, it can't be a sanctioned event - so no one cares about temperature when deciding to wear a wetsuit or not (unless the rules change this year.)

If you have any questions about spudman - give me a shout.

[Green Monstah]

Okay, I bought a road bike this morning. It's a used origin 8. I have no clue if it's a good deal, but it was $500 cheaper than the new bike I was considering, and the shop owner said it was the most bang for my buck.

Training for my first sprint begins this afternoon.

[mtnbiker]

Okay, I bought a road bike this morning. It's a used origin 8. I have no clue if it's a good deal, but it was $500 cheaper than the new bike I was considering, and the shop owner said it was the most bang for my buck.

Training for my first sprint begins this afternoon.

I'm curious to know what model you bought. I go to the Origin8.bike website, and all they have are folding bikes, a fat tire fixie, and some urban fixies. I don't see any road bikes there.

[Green Monstah]

I'm curious to know what model you bought. I go to the Origin8.bike website, and all they have are folding bikes, a fat tire fixie, and some urban fixies. I don't see any road bikes there.

Hmmmm....I'll have to look at the receipt, but it looks as if I've either been defrauded or they have left the road bike business.

[falafel]

Hmmmm....I'll have to look at the receipt, but it looks as if I've either been defrauded or they have left the road bike business.

Lol.

[Green Monstah]

Model is adrenaline. Don't see it on their website. Discontinued in 2013.

[mtnbiker]

Model is adrenaline. Don't see it on their website. Discontinued in 2013.

Gotcha. Looking a bit more, there's a nice picture & review here and picture of a frameset here. Looks like an aluminum frame with carbon fork. I like the look of both. Seems like it should be a pretty nice bike if it has good wheels and gruppo.

[Green Monstah]

Gotcha. Looking a bit more, there's a nice picture & review here and picture of a frameset here. Looks like an aluminum frame with carbon fork. I like the look of both. Seems like it should be a pretty nice bike if it has good wheels and gruppo.

It does not have a good gruppo. Any suggestions on a solid set to buy?

[mtnbiker]

It does not have a good gruppo. Any suggestions on a solid set to buy?

Looks like you asked a similar question in the other thread, and got some good replies. I think the most frustrating thing would be crummy shifting. If your current setup shifts well, stick with it for a little while and see if you really need to change anything. Then you can decide whether to upgrade, and also have a better idea of the type of riding you do. If you ride a lot of hills or mountains, think about a compact crankset (50/34 tooth cranks) instead of a full-size (53/39), and also whether a basic 12-23 cassette is sufficient or if you want to bump up to something like 12-28. I rode Campy on a previous bike, and now ride SRAM Rival with compact cranks and 11-28 cassette, which covers the full spectrum of gear ratios that a full-size does. I know a guy who just got an 11-speed gruppo that goes up to a 32-tooth cog in the back. Granny gear, but he says it's nice if you're going steep.

[PaloAltoCougar]

... I now ride SRAM Rival with compact cranks and 11-28 cassette, which covers the full spectrum of gear ratios that a full-size does. I know a guy who just got an 11-speed gruppo that goes up to a 32-tooth cog in the back. Granny gear, but he says it's nice if you're going steep.

Ditto. There are a few moments in our steep rides when I'd love four more teeth in that final cog (I find myself unconsciously trying to shift to a nonexistent lower gear, and thinking "Crap, that's IT?"). I also occasionally envy those with a triple chain ring, but I'm not yet ready to go full granny.

[Moliere]

Did a local triathlon this morning and had a great time. Here's a quick report:

Before: Totally nervous all night. I slept maybe 1-2 hours. I kept thinking of the swim and was totally worried about it as I've never had a decent swim. Luckily I took Niku's awesome advice and got some really good rest the night before the night before and I think it paid off. We (my friend and I) got the triathlon with 30 minutes to set up, which was enough time. The olympic distance athletes went first and it was interesting to see them swim. Many sucked at it. A couple people got about 100m into the swim and went to the shore to stand up and rest. Then they started again. I can't imagine they finished but maybe they did....

Swim: This was a dry start, which was a first. We ran down a sandy hill and then dove into the lake. The swim was only 400 meters but I've struggled much sooner than that so I was pretty nervous. I was lucky that the first buoy had a float line all the way to it and it was on my left so sighting was easy since I breath to my left. I just needed ot keep the buoy line 5-10 feet from me and I'd be fine. I told myself I was going to take it easy and not panic. 50 meters in and I was already running into people, which usually causes me to panic and stroke much harder than I want. This time I took a second and composed myself and kept on going at a very easy pace. By the time I had turned around the first two buoys and was headed back I knew I was going to be fine, but I kept hte pace easy. I ran into 4-5 other guys that were just treading water (seriously, WTF?) but each time I went around them and calmed myself down. When I hit the shore I was pumped. Sure, I was slow, but my head was clear and I had energy left. I also never had to flip onto my back and was never out of breath. Total success for me. 400 meters in 12:06

T1: This one was awesome. The transition area was on weeds/grass but I still decided to have my shoes already placed on the bike. I was very quick, in fact quicker than some guys who finished in the top 10. Since I wasn't pegged from the swim I was able to run through the transition, which made a big difference. I mounted my bike and took off. Time 1:34.

Bike: The new bike was fast and smooth. I started into the wind but was doing over 20mph with no problem. I quickly slid my feet into my shoes. The course was a bit crowded the whole way through, but I spent most of it in the left lane as I was passing people. Both sprint and oly athletes were on the course but I passed so many people it was insane. I've never flown through a course like I did today and it was fun to pass all the guys with the really expensive TT bikes. I didn't keep count but I probably passed 20 people for every 1 person that passed me. The course was also very flat and was basically a square with some maneuvering needed near the transition. I kept telling myself to save some for the run, so I didn't pushed it too hard but did push it enough. In all I was very pleased with my effort and the new bike. 11.5 miles in 34:19 (20.5mph).

T2: I need to clean this one up. It wasn't bad but I could really use some sockless shoes or just a quicker way to get through it. I also spent 20 seconds looking for my visor, which I didn't find until I got back after the race. I think the guy next to me hit it when he took his bike off the rack so it was laying 10 feet from my bag. I also had to so some fiddling with my watch. Overall not a bad time but could be better: Time 2:32

Run: I love running....unless it's after swimming and biking. This one was a slog. I wanted to walk. I wanted to stop. I forced myself to push through. I generally get stronger on the run as I go but that didn't ahppen today. It was hot by the time I hit the run course (probably around 90) and the humidity was thick. At each hydration station I dumped ice water down my suit and on my head. There was also some standing water on the course so my shoes got a bit soggy, which made them heavier as I ran. I was shocked when my first split came back around 8:30 but I knew I couldn't hold it. I was however passing people. I tricked myself into keeping running by running up behind the next person and keeping their pace for 5-10 seconds then I'd pass them and run to the next person I could catch. It worked and by the time I hit mile 3 (which seemed to take forever) I found some energy deep down and passed two more guys that were in my age group. I was lucky it was only a 5K as I was really starting to get sideaches and was overheating a bit. I finished the run and jumped almost straight into the ice bath. 5K in 26:59 (positive splits).

Overall it was a great tri. I'm very ecstatic about the swim. The bike was good to and I'm proud to have pushed through the pain on the run. I got 16th out of 60 in my age group and 91 overall in the men out of 343. It's obvious I'm making some good improvements and it probably helps to have a bit of a base. My next tri likely isn't until May next year unless I can find another on a non-Sunday, which is tough around here.

[Eddie]

Nice job Moliere - I ran the local rec center tri on Saturday and felt pretty good about it myself. Of course, we didn't hit the temps you did - which helped me a lot.

I always find the swim in a tri interesting. Watching people it is painfully obvious that many don't do any swimming before the event and just hope to slog through it. At the Spudman earlier this year they told us that using a buoy to time it (the swim is downstream in a river), it takes 35 minutes to simply float to the end. And yet every year they have people who take longer than that to finish. I was in a later starting heat, so it was interesting to watch people float partway down and then swim to the side and grab onto the docks about 1/4-1/3 of the way into the race. Others take longer because they tend to zigzag the entire route.

The rec center tri from Saturday is in a pool. They ask people to line up based on how fast they can swim - fastest to slowest - and even have times on the walls. I tend to line up toward the rear so that I can hang with my slower friend and because I figure either way it's going to be a mess. They begin a staggered start - putting a new swimmer in every 8 seconds - but it quickly degenerates to every 5 seconds or so. This year the 24-25th guy in swam the entire thing without getting his hair wet. (Yeah - expecting to finish in 5 minutes...right.) It's funny to see people clinging to the side of the pool at a turn point to catch their breath and others doggy paddling their way along. Some just jump straight to the backstroke from the beginning.

Overall I felt pretty good about my race. Ended up 2nd in my age group, 33rd out of 182 men. I haven't been running as much as normal since I've been riding more, and I certainly was feeling the pain Moliere describes by the end of the race. Normally the run is my strongest leg, but my time was a bit slower than normal this time around.

One benefit of starting at the back is that with that many people in front of you, you are bound to pile up the kills. My friend's neighbor was doing her first tri and was a little nervous about knowing where to go, etc. We just assured her that there would be enough people on the road biking and swimming that following them would be easy.

While I know there wasn't a whole lot of competition behind me, I'm kind of proud of the fact that no one passed me in any of the legs. I felt like a superstar swimming around people in the pool and flying by them on the bike. When the run started I was just feeling about done in - like maybe I'd gone too hard. But I noticed a woman in a bright pink tank about 30-40 yards ahead of me who seemed to have a pretty good pace, and decided I was just going to do my best to not let her get away. I followed her for the first couple of miles, slowing closing the gap until I was only 20 yards or so back. Then there was a water station, where she stopped for a drink and I kept going - so I never saw her again. But being able to concentrate on that pink shirt sure helped me make the transition from biking to running and keep moving.

[Moliere]

These pool start sound horrible. I mean, it's probably easier to be in a pool, but I'd think the traffic jams would be worse then in open water. As much as I struggle with the open water melee, it at least adds some flavor to the event.

One thing I'll add is that the feeling of standing at the top of the hill just waiting for the countdown to start for the swim is one of the most exhilarating feelings I've had. The nervousness of getting into the open water with 100 other people, knowing it's my worst part of the tri, and just knowing that for the next 75-90 minutes I'm going to exhaust myself completely from head to toe just adds so much to the event. It's one of the things that I hate but it's the thing that keeps me coming back for more.

[Donuthole]

T1: This one was awesome. The transition area was on weeds/grass but I still decided to have my shoes already placed on the bike. I was very quick, in fact quicker than some guys who finished in the top 10. Since I wasn't pegged from the swim I was able to run through the transition, which made a big difference. I mounted my bike and took off. Time 1:34.

T2: I need to clean this one up. It wasn't bad but I could really use some sockless shoes or just a quicker way to get through it. I also spent 20 seconds looking for my visor, which I didn't find until I got back after the race. I think the guy next to me hit it when he took his bike off the rack so it was laying 10 feet from my bag. I also had to so some fiddling with my watch. Overall not a bad time but could be better: Time 2:32

I don't train for triathlons, but I train for the transitions every time I attend an endowment session at the temple. That's right folks, it's a f*****' race, and I'm kicking your collective ass on an annual to semi-annual basis. I can't even fathom how good I'd be if I went to the temple on a monthly basis.

[Pheidippides]

Moliere, somebody in your triathlon from our age group died. Overheated and EMTs couldn't get the body temp down fast enough. Sad. (He was doing the Oly, not the Sprint).