Pool Based Triathlons
hb
Posts: 22
in General Chat
you should be able to use either tumbleturns,or touching and pushing,ask the other ones in the lane what they are doing and you will be fine.Best of luck.
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hb
Posts: 22
hb
Posts: 22
Comments
i am doing my first full tri all be it a short one hoping someone can help me with some advise.
the tri is a pool based one and im not sure how it works, as in is it just done up and down the pool and if so can you kick off at each end
i only ask coz its my weak leg
thanks for your help in advance
I've only done one pool based triathlon (Thames Turbo) and there are some variances between events, but the standard rule is:
Before the race you are given a number and an expected starting time. They then call people forward in groups and you wait in a line by the pool. The starting order is dictated by your estimated speed (i.e. the time you put on your application form), so that the swimmers before and after you are about the same speed. People start the swim at 15 second intervals. You swim the first 2 lengths, duck under the lane rope, swim the next 2 lengths, duck under etc. Eventually you end up at the far side of the pool and exit it. The Thames Turbo race is at Hampton pool (33m), where you do 12 lengths - i.e. 2 lengths in each of the 6 lanes. I guess that a 400m race in a 25m pool would probably mean either 8 lanes or, if the pool wasn't wide enough, 4 lengths in each of 4 lanes.
At the Thames Turbo race you can tumble turn or kick off normally, but I think that some races don't allow tumble turns (there was a thread on this a while back). If you catch up with the person in front then you just touch/tap their feet once and they should let you through at the end of the length (and vice versa).
At the end of the swim you get out, run to the transition zone (outside, somewhere near the pool) and put on your bike shoes/helmet there before heading out on the bike leg.
Good luck
Mike
We usually have tumbles or push off at our events so you might expect either.
Something else to check on - which should be covered at the briefing is the exit - due to Health & Safety issues many pools do not allow running on poolside so you have to walk to the exit - the BTF rules actually state that running will mean disqualification so watch out.
I haven't done many, but all have been wave starts with people of a similar time and it works fine.
Have fun!
I've done a lot of super-sprints (Concept Sports 'Fast Twitch' series) and they have always assigned two, three or even four people to a lane, all in a wave with similar times. So, you end up with usually about 18 people in a wave, across six lanes.
You are then given a start number. Everybody gets into the water in your start order, and you are sent off at ten second intervals. Hopefully you are all swimming at similar enough speeds that you don't get in each other's way. Obviously the times are adjusted afterwards. In these events you stay in the same lane for all 16 lengths.
Etiquette: don't sit right on the heels of the person in front as you may brush their feet. This is off-putting. On the other hand, if you want to pass, then tap their feet very deliberately. The usual rule is after two taps they should let you pass at the next turn (one tap could just be an accident). If somebody does this to you then let them through, give a big push off, then catch a tow from them [:D]
Be careful tumbling in case you have got somebody right behind you. As lb has said, the safety briefing will tell you about that.
Everything else is just about making sure you have the right kit on at the right times. One warning: if your bike is out of the rack then you must have a helmet on with the strap done up. I've seen lots of people get time penalties, particularly for undoing their strap while running their bikes in to T2 (which seems harsh, but rules is rules!).
A number of us wrote some nonsense about transitions and what to do in this old thread: http://forum.220magazine.com/tm.asp?m=9447&mpage=2&key=