To anyone else who did this--I need some info on training for a race like this. Today was my first tri. I am 19 and I think I did about 1hr 45mins today, but my biking was horrendous. I'm sure many of you saw me on the course as I would ride up a hill and than proceed to crash because my feet were still clipped to the damn pedals. I need some advice on training for off road tris. I'm probably going to be running about 80 mpw this summer, but what about biking and swimming what should I do and how often. And I surf too, I plan to surf a whooole lot, probably at least 3 times a week...is this a good enough subsitute for swimming? I'm also posting this on the main forum. The course was a .5 swim, a grueling 12 mile bike ride where I kept wiping out and eating it cause my bike sucks and so do I at riding it, and a pretty short run of supposably 4 miles. It seemed kinda short, but I dunno...maybe that was because I was delirious. The reason I'm running so much is because I run Collegiate XC in the fall and gotta prepare for that, but tris are just too sick to pass up. Thanks.

If your new to clipless pedals, try setting the tension to its lowest spot. That way you'll be able to get your foot out before you fall. The trick is just riding as often as you can until you get comfortable with the pedals. As you get more comfortable add tension. As far as training, you can follow any of the training plans here but instead of riding road hit the dirt...mtbiking is fun but its like skiing, you need to find your best line and make sure you dont look where you dont want to go. Other than that, pedal hard through obstacles (rocks, logs etc...) shift to your most optimum gear early Up and downhills included.....keep at it Good Luck.

I need more details about your race. I'm thinking of doing the Xterra in Macon GA in June and I'm not a good MTB rider. How technical was the trail you rode on. Was the main obstacle just uphills? More details please.

For myself not being the greatest of MTB riders I'd have to say it was pretty tough...lots of climbing, but that wasn't really the bad part, if it was flat terrain than I coulda been right up there with the leaders...it's just the rocks. Man do I hate rocks. They were everywhere and for someone not used to that kinda stuff--it was a bit rough. Very rough. Running was real easy--one hill, at least on our course.

Thanks for the replies! I'm thinking of making a trip to Macon to see what the trail looks like. And I may have talked Tbilll into doing the race with me.