Home Chat General Chat

How seriously do you take TrIathlon?

I was wondeirng how serious about Triathlon most Forum users are, and how structured they ae in their trianing.

It's my first season, and I;ve taken it fairly seriously, and had a rough plan to follow. What I haven't realy done is any structured sessions concentrating on intervals etc. My sessions generally comprise spinning classes, bike rides of varying intensities, running and swimming, with some drills.

I've not been to sure whether I'm built for speed or endurance, so i've tried various distances (Supersprint, Sprint and OD), and stepping up to HIM to see which I prefer, and then over the winter be more formal with my training to concentrate on my preference.

My un-formal approach has privded me with some good results, and great enjoyment, and most of all it hasn't taken over my life.

Comments

  • I'm a bit the same. This is my first season and I do a fair amount of training and also read "how to train" stuff like a demon but I'm still not convinced what I'm doing is effective. My main goal when I started was to enjoy it, and I've succeeded in that however. I'd love a structure and plan but am too mean to pay for coaching, and there's too much free stuff out there to condense and make sense of. Vowed that I'll do some formal training planning at the end of the season.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    If I took it seriously I would only look that more stupid when I b*ll*x it up on race day.It hasn't taken over my life,it will never be put first,it doesn't matter what distance I do,be it sprint or IM I just enjoy it.
    I don't have a structured training plan,I just make sure I can do the distance required within the allotted time.

    I must add that I did used to be competitive in sport,but I get more out of it now that I am old,fat,and balding.
  • FlavadaveFlavadave Posts: 749
    Not at all.... yet. I'm hoping to do Austria 70.3 next year, so I'll have to take it seriously otherwise I won't finish.

    Having said that, I won't be there to compete. I'll be there for the experience... It's all about keeping fit and enjoying it at the moment. I love it. I really do, although my stomach is in knots already thinking about London at the weekend.

    Wish I'd taken it up years ago!
  • joolzdjoolzd Posts: 245
    Just enough to make sure I do a better time that the last time!!! Otherwise, I do it for fun and to challenge myself mentally and physically - I'm not really into all the gadgetry and porn bikes (mainly coz I can't afford it) and I haven't really found the need just yet for a comprehensive training/nutrition programme but next year might be different, who know!
  • it starts with "i'd be happy to finish" then " i could probably make 1hr 30" then you do 1hr 20.

    from there " i reckon i could handle an o.d." to " i think i could make it under 3hr" then you do 2hr 35.

    next " i wonder haw hard a 1/2 I.M. would be etc. etc.
    you may say you don't take it seriously, but it does take over your life, there are far worse thinks you could be doing, go with it while your fit & healthy enough.
  • PC_67PC_67 Posts: 196
    I take it as seriously as I can considering my main responsibility is to be a good dad to my kids, good husband, good employee and also as seriously as having a fondness for Indian takeaways and drinking wine allows me. I'm going back to college as a mature student this autumn and that'll place further constraints I expect - especially at the crucial late-spring / early summer time as I'll have exams.

    I've been at it for 5 years now and each year I've got a bit better and I want to continue getting better times and setting new goals. I'm stepping up to 70.3 next season.

    I do run races all year round, like monthly 10k races etc., but all year round I consider myself a triathlete, not a runner.
  • I dumped a girl cause she was threatening my training.
  • apana790apana790 Posts: 76
    WOAH!!!. Really?
  • Yeah she started the whole "put more effort into us" rubbish. She had to go.
  • md6md6 Posts: 969
    ha ha coma, really? my gf just started on about that and i suggested she take up tri didn't work though. So i am now having 2 full rest days a week and that won't change throughout my IM training i'll just train more before during and after work...maybe I'll have to take a week off at some point to do long bike/run bricks midweek when the roads will be quieter and the park will be empty
  • i tried that man, i told her that she could lose a ton of weight and look younger! Also her hormones would be in better nick so she wouldnt be so scatty but she just went on a rant about that too. Women man....
  • ashthetashashthetash Posts: 164
    i tried that man, i told her that she could lose a ton of weight and look younger! Also her hormones would be in better nick so she wouldnt be so scatty but she just went on a rant about that too. Women man....
    Presumably you're only alive 'cos you could outrun her!
  • Good for you coma... Great dedication! And I bet you are going faster for it!
  • MaccladMacclad Posts: 16
    I take it seriously enough to trawl the web for forums on triathlon and answer threads on how seriously I take triathlon. Now THATS serious.
  • risris Posts: 1,002
    it's my first season, i train when i can and try to make it fit the rest of my life (like other people here i have a job, missus and babber to keep an eye on). i know what i think i am capable of and when i do an event i try to do the best i can.

    i have never been any good at sport but i have always enjoyed it. as long as i enjoy triathlons i will keep doing it, regardless of where i finish.

    i'm considering a 70.3 next year but will have to look at how i slot in the longer distances into normal life. if i can't then i probably won't do one.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Good man Coma!

    As for me, from being an overweight blob (I honestly didn't think I was that bad at the time) I am now doing OK but yeah - long beckons
  • garyrobertsgaryroberts Posts: 869
    nice! .... training in general, for triathlon or anything else really means a lot to me......this may sound sad, but if i don't train, i feel like shit, thats normally because i put on weight......so training is important, because if i'm not happy then it effects my family life......so training, and triathlon training are taken seriously...................................
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    So she beat you on the run/bike/swim then?
  • just realised an even more telling sign....im moving in with a flatmate from a sole occupied house so that i can...guess what....have money for triathlon bling, a car for going to triathlons and fingers crossed do a few euro tri's next year
  • bulletbullet Posts: 115
    It's My first season as well ,but my first race Duston Sprint Triathlon I found that the cycling speed I had (or so I thought) disapeared on the hills of this course .
    So i went through a few weeks of training on hills which may have helped ,but my next race I suffered with the heat on the run (26 C) ,so I was slower the my first race 1hr 28 mins.
    Since then I have tried to run when ever possible at the hotter part of the day (not that we've had much sun since June!!!) as my next reace is in August ,and me thinking it may be even hotter ....LOL

    Back to the question :
    I find it hard to get structured training ,but as long as your perceived fitness is improving all is well.
    But just follow what your body is telling you ,ie if you are over training have a rest .
  • sportevesporteve Posts: 141
    reading all the posts here makes me wonder what is serious and what not..
    i am a beginner, only started structured training mid february this year, i train 6 days a week (2 of those twice a day), i have a coach and my bedroom floor is covered with tri mags...now this sounds pretty serious right?
    however i think many of the people here who claim that it does not overtake their lives put in the hours and the effort and race continuously and frequenlty and with pretty good times too i am sure - and this is pretty serious for me - actually it is more serious than what i do!
    i don't think that 'seriousness' about the sport can me measured by whether your diet has a 'name' and your training a 'structure' - it is more about how much of your heart and soul you put in it, we are all different people and all have different approaches

    ..and coma: well done for ditching that girl! being in the sport i would be really p****d off if a man told me to cut down on training time to 'put more into us' --- i'd say: 'if you want more put into us why don't you put on trainers and join me?' ....yeah that's right i am a girl!
  • I refer you all to the pint of beer last night and the bacon sandwich this morning.
    I'm serious about enjoying a good summer of tri participation, but have found my own level where I happy to take it too. I admire all who take it that (or many) steps further and who knows, i may decide to get even more serious next year but for now i have cut right down on most unhealthy things (but for the odd reward) and training has replaced most of my spare time in the week, i like the idea of remaining fit and certainly don't want to roll back to how I was last year.
    I've always been into swimming, running and to an extent a bit of cycling, and am enjoying seeing how good i can get this year at doing all 3 in sequence, but I don't really see triathlon as some kind of new revolution, in fact i remember watching Ironman Hawaii on tv when i was pretty young, still don't think I'll ever end up doing one .. but it's statements like that that get me saying "maybe I could?" .. depends how much I really want it. Leave that one for another year anyway .. this year is about the OD and once that's done then we'll see what the winter holds.

    It does make me wonder a bit when people say 'i have just discovered triathlon and love it' .. i mean, the sports have always been there, have they just discovered that they love doing sport .. or specifically training to get the best time when doing all 3? For me, its the concept of transitioning between disciplines that I love .. I've done a marathon and that's a challenge of it's own, but there's something more adventurous, more military camp about a triathlon. I can see why people do these whole weekend adventure races without about 10 different disciplines.
    I think triathlon has that perfect balance.

    anyway, i've gone off topic .. i would say i am 6/10 serious about tri this year .. next year i would expect that figure to have either risen or dropped and replaced with something else. if i knew it was going to be exactly the same i would feel a bit dissapointed that my life wasn't due to change a bit. Not sure that makes sense...

    more thinking, i shall do.
    yoda.
  • TesseractTesseract Posts: 280
    1 - I'm thinking of selling my wife and children to white slave traders so I can a) afford a mega TT bike, and b) won't have any WAT on it.

    2 - I'm going to convert my back garden into a 25m swimming pool, so I can practice swimming in cold dirty water whenever I want.

    3 - I'm removing all seats from my house and replacing them with treadmills so I have to run all the time.

    ....that's how un-serious I am about Trlathlon (whatever that is!)
Sign In or Register to comment.