2014 Rookies - CLOSED (Page 13)

Thanks for that.  The drafting rules do vary from country to country and sometimes even within.  It's always good to check the rules if you are going to a new location.

You are right that there are times where it can be difficult to adhere to the rules when on a crowded course but you just have to do the best that you can.  Remember that when you are passed, it becomes your responsibility to drop back fully out of the draft zone before re-passing, even if the person that passes you slows down as soon as they go by.

Sorry I have been MIA for a while.  I just had a lot going on.  I hope everyone's training is going well.

Donna, what most people will do is wear a tri suit (one piece or two) under their wetsuit and do the entire race in that.  With the exception of a full Ironman, most races will not have anywhere that you could change.  So it goes something like this:

1. Some races I will arrive in normal clothes and change into my trisuit while there, others I will arrive with it on already.  It depends on how far I am travelling to get to it.

2. I start putting my wetsuit on about 15 mins before the race, usually just the legs and leave the upper body part hanging around my waist until closer to the start.  I put the rest on a few minutes before the start.  If it's a hot day you can overheat in a hurry wearing one!

3. After the swim, wetsuit off and go bike!  I have seen people put bike shorts on over their tri suit. 

4. After bike, run shoes on and run in tri shorts.  I have also seen people run in bike shorts but I can't imagine what that feels like!

5. I'm not much help with bra issues.    From reading posts from others I think most ladies wear a good sports bra for the whole race.

As I said, the exception would be an Ironman where they have change tents and many people will do a full change.

My suggestion would be to get either a one piece or two piece trisuit and practice and train in it to make sure it is comfortable to run and ride in.  For quite a while I prefered to do all of my riding in tri shorts only rather than a fully padded bike short.  

That's a tough one without actually seeing a video of you swim.

For the last part about the opposite arm/leg, it depends on how exactly you describe it.  I'm assuming you are describing a two beat kick.  I'll try to talk it out...

When your right arm is extended, you should be rotated onto your right side so your right hip is down.  As a result, your left hip and leg will be up.  However, as you begin to pull with your right arm, your right leg will kick to aid in the beginning of your rotation onto your left side.

Does that make sense?

Arend gave a pretty good description, but I'll provide responses as well.

1. I almost always arrive wearing my tri suit as I don't love the "changing while wearing a towel" trick and I absolutely try to minimize my time in porta potties!

2. When I put the wetsuit on depends on a few things -- if it's hot outside, I'll hold off as long as I can.  If it's cold outside, I'll probably put it on much earlier.  If I can do a swim warm-up (some races allow warming up and some don't), I'll get it on with ample time to get a decent swim in prior to the start.

3. Wetsuit goes on OVER the trisuit, so when I peel the wetsuit off, I just need to get my bike gear (helmet, sunglasses, shoes, bike) and head out to the bike course.  Drying off or trying to pull dry clothing onto your wet body wastes precious time....and a tri suit (one piece or two pieces) provides a bit of padding for riding, but not so much that it is uncmofortable to run in.

4. As mentioned above, tri suit is plenty comfortable to run in, so I ditch my bike gear and throw on my run gear in transition.

5. Depending on how well-endowed you are, you may need to take bra support into consideration.  Many female tri suits come with a built in shelf bra.  Now I know  a lot of people say it doesn't support them well enough, but I'm a rather small person and have had zero issues.  This is something you should determine before your first race, not IN your first race.  If the built in bra doesn't provide the support you want/need, I'm sure there are female tri suits that are made without, but if not, the male tri suits definitely don't have them!

So, in summary -- wear a tri suit (one or two piece) to minimize change requirements.  You'll have to take off your wetsuit if it's a wetsuit legal race....otherwise, the only "changing" will be of gear required for biking or running (mostly shoes and helmet / hat).

If you are doing more than a two beat kick then the description from TI really doesn't come into play (if I'm understanding it properly).

It may sound counter-intuitive but the way to get better at doing long swims and being able to sustain effort is to do short interval type of swims.    Sets where you do 50s or 100s with ~10 seconds of rest are bread and butter swim training.  You would do those 50s or 100s at a slightly higher effort level than you could maintain if you were swimming straight through.

For example if you could swim 1000m straight and maintain a 2:00/100m pace then you would do something like 10 x 100 and finish each 100 in the 1:50-1:55 range, take the 5 - 10s rest and go again.  Normally you would pick a repeat time for the set and go with that.  

In swimmer's lingo it would look something like this.

10 x 100 on 2:05 coming in (or holding) 1:55.

So doing that, the first few might be 1:52 - 1:53 then a few more around 1:54 then you would try to hang on and keep it at 1:55 for the rest.  Ideally you start out at a pace that you can maintain fairly closely throughout the set.  You don't want to do 1:45 for the first one and end up blowing up for the last few.

I sort of went sideways there..... back to your original comment.   If you keep at it in the pool after some time it will get easier and you probably won't get the sore abs anymore.

It certainly could be causing you grief, it's an easy way to burn a lot of energy with no gain if not done properly.

You are right about how effortless a good kick can be, a well executed two beat kick is a beautiful thing to watch.

So I have a pre-race/long workout question.  I've read several reports that coffee in the morning helps get the ol' digestive system moving so you can clear things out before the race.  I can't do coffee, so is there anything else to eat/take so that I don't have to suffer from nature screaming at me for the second half of a race?

I also want to avoid this at all costs... http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=150441&page=1. 

I'm also a non-coffee drinker.  I don't use anything special to get going (honestly, if you want to try something, try it in your training....don't let race day be the day to experiment!).

I just give myself a lot of time to get ready in the morning.  My body seems to have a way of "knowing"....but if things don't work out, never do a #2 on your bike!  Find a porta potty

I'm struggling with this whole "no coffee" concept.  It doesn't compute very well in my brain!  

Sounds like fun, enjoy it and be sure to write a race report after you are done!

If I remember correctly, you were hoping to get your wife to do the race as well -- any luck with that?

Looking forward to the RR!

Good luck to the both of you.

How's your hydration and/or electrolyte consumption been recently?  To be honest, I've never really had much issues with cramping, but I like to think it's because I keep myself well hydrated....and I eat bananas like they're going out of style