My First Tri in May

[Cam Wilson]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (jkmsg) wrote:

> When it come to transitions, there are a lot of tips and tricks... unfortunately, it seems that
> experience is the best teacher. What ever you do... take it easy, don't rush... only after many
> T1's and T2 do you find a method and rythm that works.
>
> For reference, Pro's T1 times are usually less than 20-30 secs. (without wetsuit). With wetsuit,
> you might add 10 secs. (unless it's a Piel wetsuit). Good amateurs will finish under 1 min.
> Beginners can take up to 2-3 mins.
>
> I think it's important that you don't try and hurry...have fun...and, just maintain a steady pace
> (i.e., HR and effort). Triathlon is a single event sport that happens to have 3 different
> activities. Your best training involves treating all three events as one. Training for one and
> hoping you will just wing it throught the other 2 will make it more difficult than it should be.
> At any rate, good luck and have fun.
>
> FWIW Joe M

good thoughts. i'm giving each sport proper attention, though the bike has been lagging a bit. with
the nicer weather, i can get out and do more of it. but i don't have a really long ride in the race
anyway, so i don't need to log loads of miles in training. not for a "fun" first race.

thanks for the help,

Cam

 

[Jason O'Rourke]

jkmsg <[email protected]> wrote:
>For reference, Pro's T1 times are usually less than 20-30 secs. (without wetsuit). With wetsuit,
>you might add 10 secs. (unless it's a Piel wetsuit). Good amateurs will finish under 1 min.
>Beginners can take up to 2-3 mins.

One note here - the above should be viewed as relative times, not times they necessarily should
shoot for. Your best potential T1 time depends greatly on how far away your spot is from the swim
exit timer, and the start of the bike course. Pros often get favorable locations on the transition
zone - a good course makes them go further at the end in T2, but that's an easier spot to have the
extra distance.

In the extreme case, everyone goes half a mile to T1 at Trical's Alcatraz. For most people, there
are two T1s: exit the water, drop your suit in exchange for running shoes, then run to the true T1.
5-10 minutes.

Adding socks will cost you in T1, but may save you time in T2 swapping shoes. And if your feet
aren't used to going bare, one blister will cost you far more time. Don't race sockless unless you
train that way.

--
Jason O'Rourke www.jor.com

 

[Topdog]

Cam Wilson <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (Jason O'Rourke) wrote:
>
> > Cam Wilson <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > [email protected] (Jill) wrote:
> > >> One thing I learned at my first tri:
> > >oh yeah? hmmm, well maybe i'll heed your words rather than put them to the test. what did you
> > >experience with the HR spike?
> >
> > probably that he saved 10 seconds, but nearly threw up dashing out. If anything, you want to be
> > slowing down as you exit the water.
>
> point taken. got it, thanks.
>
> Cam

As an ex-college swimmer, I can second the above. You can save a few seconds with a speedy finish,
but it's not worth it. Conserve your energy and keep your HR down. Find a proper balance between
speed and low HR - long and strong is the way to go. You have two other legs to go - you need to
keep your HR in the target zone and you will be much more productive.

 

[Jeff Cook]

[email protected] (topdog) wrote in news:[email protected]:

>
> As an ex-college swimmer, I can second the above. You can save a few seconds with a speedy finish,
> but it's not worth it. Conserve your energy and keep your HR down. Find a proper balance between
> speed and low HR - long and strong is the way to go. You have two other legs to go - you need to
> keep your HR in the target zone and you will be much more productive.
>

Another thought on this. If, like me, you are a "mainly arms" with the legs just trailing or maybe
just providing a little balancing beat, then it is worth giving a bit of a kick for the last 50
metres or so of the swim. I find that this gets the circulation going again and reduces the wobbles
on the run into T1.

Cheers

Jeff

 

[Cam Wilson]

In article <[email protected]>, Jeff Cook <[email protected]> wrote:

> [email protected] (topdog) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
> >
> > As an ex-college swimmer, I can second the above. You can save a few seconds with a speedy
> > finish, but it's not worth it. Conserve your energy and keep your HR down. Find a proper balance
> > between speed and low HR - long and strong is the way to go. You have two other legs to go - you
> > need to keep your HR in the target zone and you will be much more productive.
> >
>
> Another thought on this. If, like me, you are a "mainly arms" with the legs just trailing or maybe
> just providing a little balancing beat, then it is worth giving a bit of a kick for the last 50
> metres or so of the swim. I find that this gets the circulation going again and reduces the
> wobbles on the run into T1.
>
>
> Cheers
>
> Jeff

i think i am "mainly arms" in the swim, but something i have heard is to finish off the swim with a
little bit of breast stroke/whip kick to get the blood moving to the legs more, to warm them up, and
prepare them for the "run" to T1, the bike itself, and so on.

thanks again,

Cam

 

[Topdog]

> Another thought on this. If, like me, you are a "mainly arms" with the legs just trailing or maybe
> just providing a little balancing beat, then it is worth giving a bit of a kick for the last 50
> metres or so of the swim. I find that this gets the circulation going again and reduces the
> wobbles on the run into T1.
>

Not a bad idea. Just make sure you don't spike your HR whatever you do. If you come out breathing
hard, you'll likely pay a price later on.

The thing I have seen most people miss in training and races is that turnover does not necessarily
equal speed. Oft times, especially for people without good stroke mechanics, a high turnover will
result in a lot of slippage in the water, which will mean you will raise your HR a good deal and not
have much to show for it. In swimming distance events, I have found it helpful to have people focus
on counting strokes during part of your training - how many strokes does it take to do a length? The
more efficient one's stroke is, the better. Two other things to go with it - first, focus on
finishing the stroke properly. It's very common to focus on the first half of the stroke, and
forgetting it after your hand gets below your midsection. The final push adds a lot of power, and
this is the part usually ignored in the attempt for a faster turnover. Second, you might try to slow
down your turnover some while training, and focus also on GLIDING. The goal is to find a balance
between turnover and power, where you maximize your foward movement while conserving on energy
output. As one becomes more efficient, they will be able to use less strokes to cover the distance
in the same or lesser period of time, using less energy in the process!

 

[Cam Wilson]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (topdog) wrote:

> >
> > Another thought on this. If, like me, you are a "mainly arms" with the legs just trailing or
> > maybe just providing a little balancing beat, then it is worth giving a bit of a kick for the
> > last 50 metres or so of the swim. I find that this gets the circulation going again and reduces
> > the wobbles on the run into T1.
> >
>
> Not a bad idea. Just make sure you don't spike your HR whatever you do. If you come out breathing
> hard, you'll likely pay a price later on.
>
> The thing I have seen most people miss in training and races is that turnover does not necessarily
> equal speed. Oft times, especially for people without good stroke mechanics, a high turnover will
> result in a lot of slippage in the water, which will mean you will raise your HR a good deal and
> not have much to show for it. In swimming distance events, I have found it helpful to have people
> focus on counting strokes during part of your training - how many strokes does it take to do a
> length? The more efficient one's stroke is, the better. Two other things to go with it - first,
> focus on finishing the stroke properly. It's very common to focus on the first half of the stroke,
> and forgetting it after your hand gets below your midsection. The final push adds a lot of power,
> and this is the part usually ignored in the attempt for a faster turnover. Second, you might try
> to slow down your turnover some while training, and focus also on GLIDING. The goal is to find a
> balance between turnover and power, where you maximize your foward movement while conserving on
> energy output. As one becomes more efficient, they will be able to use less strokes to cover the
> distance in the same or lesser period of time, using less energy in the process!

yes, good point. this is where the TI method really comes in handy - the same principles. luckily
(?), i had no real swim experience prior to learning TI, so i had no old habits to unlearn before
absorbing the new concepts.

Cam