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Looking to get into tris

Hi everyone,



I have decided to give triathlons a go!!!!!



I'm a big lad, 6' 1", and over 16 stone (I won't say how much over 16 stone, so don't ask). I cycle 10 miles each way to work at about 16 miles an hour and did the London Marathon (slowly) in 2001.



I haven't done much running recentlyother than a few 5-10k run London events and almost no swimming other than splashing around in the pool with the kids. I used to bit a strong swimmer but never anything competative.



I am really keen to get a sprint tri under my belt before the end of the year, any advice?



James

Comments

  • LuckyLucky Posts: 137
    Hello,



    I'm doing my first tri in three weeks time, my advice, sign up for one and get training, before I signed up for an event I found it very easy to make excuses not to train, now with a firm date there is far greater incentive to get out there...



    Good luck.



    - When signing up for a tri read the distances carefully, I thought I was doing 400m / 20k / 5k, and with the swim as my weakest discipline I was already concerned, however the F3 event at Dorney Lake is actually 750m / 20k / 5k



    Should be interesting
  • rpopper65rpopper65 Posts: 171
    James, have you been getting any wet suit practice in? Of all the first-time things that gave me a shock (and it seems there are a lot of threads in this forum from others who would agree), it was just how different it is to swim with a wet suit - in good and bad ways. The best thing for it is to practice as much as you can before you race in one, even if it's just in a swimming pool (still, better if you can get some open water practice).
  • Hi James,



    Congratulations on finding 220...step one to completing the first (of many) triathlob complete.



    As a novice myself my 'advice' is only a reflection of how I have found things in my first season.



    You post suggests you have a good sense of humour - this is good.



    My biggest hurdle was/is the swim - you'll be best with a wetsuit and you can hire these or buy....I bought one as I'm about fighting weight and being a really quite useless swimmer felt I needed the best I could afford; within 4 weeks I have competed in my 'first ever competitive event where I had to swim' - came 2nd from last in the swim and the run was lung busting...yet it was one of the best moments of my athletic life...my fellow competitors were very supportive and welcoming and not at all scary!!



    So find a low key, small, short event and have a go.



    With the bike, if you have road bike you are ahead of me - I have a MTB with 'skinnies' and I've bought some cheap aero bars to bolt on .... looks as well as it goes ..but will get me round, is a little more efficient than standard MTB and gives me time to sort out the right bike to buy.



    As to the run - if you've run a marathon then you've obviously got a good heart and a little training will see you cruising past the swim/bikers...



    Lastly - read Joe Friel's "my first triathlon" - quite re-assuring..



    Best of Luck!



    Rob
  • Cheers for the help. I have got myself a wet suit and went to Heron Lake on Saturday for a swim, it wasn't as much of a shock as I expected. Really nice calm atmosphere and I surprised myself by swimming about a km.



    I'm now much more confident about doing the Nottingham tri in August.
  • NickNick Posts: 66
    hi james. i finished my first tri yesterday an AMAZING experience. what wet suit did you go for if you dont mind me asking? nick
  • Hi Hames,

    In much the same position as you, more of a shire horse than a racing thoroughbred.

    As for advice, i would recommend a couple of things that i have discovered while training. First of all, enjoy it, don't take the training too seriously, as it is just a means to an end. Second, keep a check for signs of over training (i didn't and ended up taking 2 months off to recover from joint a melee of virus, sore throats, exhaustion and anything else that came along). Finally, develop or get a training programme that matches your abilities to start and work up from there. Far too many people start with programmes that are well beyond their capabilities and give up because it is too much for them.



    Good luck with the training, and i hope it goes well. I am just getting back into it at last so i know what lies ahead.



    p.s. on last thing, if you are going to enter a triathlon, get your entry in early, because i have managed to miss a season due to illness and the fact that they fill up in no time at all.

  • Tempest,

    Cheers for that.



    Nick,

    I got last season's Ocra predator from SBR at a discount. Fits really well.
  • NickNick Posts: 66
    hi james. i brought an orca sonar wetsuit from tfn, had a hell of a time getting into it but once in it kind of felt the part. BRING ON NOTTINGHAM(erm... bit of machismo there.)
  • Have you had anything from Nottingham yet? I've had nothing, no letter, no confirmation, no email, nothing.
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