How Long Does it take to Develop Reasonable Performance in Triathlons? (Page 2)

Love the pics. That OWS start could have been the Singapore Biathlon, oddly, an all-women's wave, which was worse than any co-ed start I've ever done. I swear, someone pulled my HAIR at the start.  How you can pull someone's hair under a swim cap is beyond me. And it looks like the one woman is about to bite someone. I can understand the feeling!

In answer to the question, if the "someone" is me, and we're talking about the bike leg, apparently forever. Anybody have a fancy bike they don't want??? The pathetic thing is that even if I was able to buy speed, it still wouldn't get me up with the "big girls" that I can easily play with on swim and run. Betting Ms. Smith would be kicking my butt after 6-12 months. I have a colleague who never trains (either that or she always lies) and she routinely kicks mine.

Double post. Kitten on keyboard.

I finished 9 of 34 in my AG, and faster than I expected by about 7 minutes.

I was second fastest in my AG for the swim, so I just wanted to reiterate that a solid competitive swimming background is a huge asset coming in to triathlon as a beginner.

Some athletic ability and seriously dedicated to training (with perhaps a coach) I still go for one year at least.  I'm racing my third Oly this year and my goal is sub-3, but it's taken some very hard work for me to get there.  Oh, and I'm 44 but racing in the 45-49 AG this year - and there is some TOUGH competition in the 40-49 women.

Predicting absolute performance outcomes in any individual athlete is rather imprecise (genetics, individual response to training, commitment, etc.).  The athlete needs to do the training & post their times.  IMHO- This uncertainty is great part of the attraction of non-elite athletic competition.  In a way I HATE trying to predict an individual's specific performance- even my own.  If the prediction is too aggressive & the goal is missed the athlete can get discouraged.  OTOH- If the goal is reached too easily the athlete may feel cheated out of their best possible performance.  I've experienced both outcomes & in many ways wish I had just executed my race plans (pacing by effort/HR level, hydration/nutrition plan, etc.) without worrying about a specific result.  In the end I can only be satisfied by knowing I did my best (physically & mentally) in any given race.  What the clock or results board shows is another matter somewhat beyond my control. 

So how long might it take for "your girl" Ms Smith to reach MOP in her local Oly?  Answer ranges from now 'til never.  Depends on her genetics, training commitment, course conditions, strength of competitive field that day, etc.  Some gifted athletes are FOP in their 1st events, while others work their tails off & stay mid-BOP for years. 

BUT ONLY with strength training ....