NEWBIE TALK

Hey, I'm in the NYC area. You WILL be able to use the wetsuit. Last year for the NYC tri (high of 90 degrees) water temperature was 74. In an Olympic, you're best off using a wetsuit. It'll save more time than your transition over the course of .9 miles.

If you're thinking about cost, this site has a great XTerra discount, and the Neosport line at Amazon has some great deals too. If you're really cutting costs, you can even shop on Craigslist for a wetsuit (I've seen a scuba suit used in a race- not ideal, but the buoyancy factor helps.)

Best of luck!

Have you thought about renting a tri wetsuit instead either locally from a tri shop or online? $45-65 is all it costs and it saves you having to make a decision now and outlaying a lot of money immediately for a wetsuit. I rented one for my first tri and it worked out great for me. I tried it out in a pool (carefully cleaning it afterwards as chlorine isn't good for neoprene) as I'd never swum in a tri-wetsuit before and I was good to go on raceday. Here are a couple of websites that do these rentals: http://www.wetsuitrental.com/ https://www.triwetsuitrentals.com/

While I would guess that you almost certainly will be able to wear a wetsuit in the race, it is also extremely unlikely that the water will be cold enough for it to be required. Since you are new to the sport and looking to cut costs, I would skip the wetsuit for the first few races, then decide whether the sport is something you want to put more money into as you go forward.

Shane

I was going to suggest the same thing. Also, with wetsuitrental.com, if you buy the suit, they deduct the cost of the rental from the purchase price.

Wow. I didnt realise how busy this site was! Thank you all for the great advice! #1 thank you for letting me know I can use the suit. Stupid question now it seems if 90 degree days arent hot enough to be an issue. #2 thanks for the sites for suit renting. The xterra deals were so good, I was worried Id hve to rent a suit to try on $50, then re-rent on race day $50. When suits start $120-160, why rent? But those sites are great allowing you enough time to get the suit, swim in it and race in it for about $45-60. I also love the BUY option with discount!

^^^^ this, however if the race is in a shallow lake the water can change quickly and be over 78 with a couple of warm days

QUESTION: PLATFORM / CLIP / CLIPLESS

yeah - Im a newbie. I had to look up what the difference between clip and clipless was. But still not sure what to do. Seems everyone on group ride is clipless. I kinda like the option of clip-ins because I can keep my shoes. Afraid of being tied to the pedal, so for now... the platforms that came with the bike.

How much of a speed improvement / easier to pedal would it be to invest in clipless?

I did my first six races with clips. I wanted to make sure that I was committed to racing before I went to clipless. I was also the only one on the group rides without clipless pedals. The group did not give me any grief about them. In using the clips, I did not tighten the strap to much so that I could still get my feet in and out easily when needed. If you have straps on the clips, make sure that you can get your feet out. Once I went to clipless pedals, I found it easier to ride (after getting used to them). I think my speed went up slightly but since I was the slow one in the group, it was hard to tell the improvement.

Bill

QUESTION: HYDRATION / FUEL

Yeah - Im a newbie. It sounded like people get bottles of water on the bike ride? I have done 20 or so running races, but no TRI. I would like to volunteer for a TRI, but 2 opportunities didnt work with schedule. So- What is typical for water stations? Is Fuel often available? I dont normally see any gels at 5ks, but 1 local 10k offers some and at the HM and FM Ive seen a fair amount of Gels offered.


QUESTION: HOW SLOW AM I?

I have started doing longer bike rides and have been loving them. 37 miles on Sun. 14 mile commute Mon. 14 mile commute Tue. On flat or with up and down hills I seem to be avg. 15mph. On a downhill route 16.5mph. I know training will help me get faster (and other factors) but I just want to know how slow am I?

Another newbie chiming in here. Same question re: speed (or lack thereof). I'm also averaging 15-16 mph on my bike. And swimming is even worse, about 3.5 minutes per 100 yds, and that's in a pool. At this rate I'll be lucky to finish a sprint in 2 hours. I'm certainly not out to win my first race, but how embarrassingly slow am I? Am I TOO slow?

Don't worry about it.  My 1st tri I did a 600 yard swim in 24', yes 24 minutes! 3rd from last out of the water but I didn't care!

I agree to rent for now if you want to use one.  A lot depends on your water temp tolerance, I'm a cold/cool water weenie!  I bought a used full WS off of the other site for $65 earlier this year.  Deals on eBay are also available if you know what your looking for.

I carry 28oz of water for an Oly and that's plenty for 25 miles for me in in heat/humid conditions.  Check with the tri website (or ask RD) if water will be available on the bike course if you don't have the ability to carry much water.  The run course will likely have plenty of water stations.

I carry my own nutrition as some gels don't agree with me.  Decent breakfast 2-3 hours before race, a gel 20-15' before swim start and one on the bike is usually enough for me.  If I feel the need for a boost on the run then I'll sometimes swig some GA on from the aid stations.

  I did my 1st 2 oly's on my old MTB and avg about 16-17mph.  Your out there for awhile and will likely have some company.  Cycling strength takes awhile to acquire, but with the right training over time your speed will pick up.  If you truly like the sport and see your self doing it for a number of years a bike trainer for focused (winter) time riding is very helpful in obtaining cycling strength.  Don't worry about it, pace your self accordingly as the run can be very painful if you develop leg cramps (happened to me the 1st time!)

The faster guys will just carry a single 20-24oz bottle (depending on how hot it is). For everyone else, you can either carry 2 or take a hand off. Most Olympics usually have a single aide station near the 1/2 way point. 1 bottle per hours is a descent rule... a little more if it's really hot, a little less if its' cool. For a race under 3 hours, you really don't need all that much nutrition. Just sports drink is fine and maybe a couple gels on the bike. Best not to eat much on the run. Just sports drink and water. I'll actually mix my sports drink just a little bit concentrated so I don't have to bother with gels. Carbs are carbs. I usually skip the 1st and last aide stations on the run, or take just a little water.

For the run, it's easiest just to "live off the course".

I recommend a hat or visor (keeps sun off you face) and good sunscreen, you'll be out there a while.

Good luck!

Edited by motoguy128 2014-06-18 3:30 PM

QUESTION: IRONMAN ! ! ! !

OK. I still have 1 month until my OLY TRI, but Im feeling really good! I dont expect to medal (obviously) but feeling really good about where I am training-wise. So, naturally, I am looking ahead to next season already. 2015 what do I do? 70.3 or 140.6? I know this is really too soon to be worrying / thinking about all this, but if this is something I plan to do, I need to prepare my wife for the training, and I need to pick a venue (most likely LP). With 5 months till I need to decide my training plan, what factors should I consider?

I will be running my first sprint on August 10th. 400 swim 14 mile bike 5k run A brief bit of info on me. I have lost 46 lbs sine January 15th. I still have 65 lbs to lose (and based on one of my brothers beliefs I could go 85 lbs to be really thin ). Currently my times are really slow. My swim time is about 2:30for 100 meters. My bike pace is about 10.6 mph and my run / walk time is 14 min miles. I am totally gunning to run an olympic next year and expect I will be at my "ideal weight " at that time. My current bike is basic and I truly plan on a major upgrade to a road or tri bike before next summers olympic triathlons. After losing the weight and investing in a better tri bike should I expect to see marked gains in all three disciplines of a tri race ? I get depressed when I read sone of the mph some are doing or minutes per mile others are posting. I keep telling myself that a 65 lb reduction in weight should really make me much faster. Is this reasonable ?

HI CHIT - Im a newbie too, but I think I can at least offer some perspective from my experience.

I too lost weight. I was at 250 and dropped 50. I could lose 10-15 to be fit, but the charts say I could get down to 165 and still be healthy (not sure how much muscle Id have to lose to get there though) - so, some similarities so far. I started running as my only sport about 2 1/2 yrs ago. Continually training 3x a week turned into 4x and eventually more. My speeds on runs have improved. There is a simple (too simple?) formula that states if you are just losing FAT, you could plan on 2 seconds per mile faster in your run per pound. So, if you are still in the healthy range of acceptable fat loss, another 60 lbs could be 2 minutes per mile faster. But if you are doing 5ks at run/walk I think there is some endurance issues that will further increase your speed. My first 5k I went out too fast, walked, ran, you know... pace was about 12: minute miles. since losing that 50 or so lbs, I am more than 2 min faster on my 5k because I can pace myself at a more consistent speed for the whole distance. (did a 24:00 5k tonight)

As for the bike. Whooo. I was trying to get into some bike training last summer. I only had a mountain bike. Then I broke down and put a whole $60 on a craigslist bike. My speeds were much faster (maybe 2-4mph), the road bike was much less resistance on the road. But I knew pretty early that my cheapo bike wasnt tuned (even after tuning) very well, and after my first group ride, decided I really needed to make this investment. I would estimate that by going from my old bike (poorly maintained and tuned) to a brand new entry level bike (Specialized Allez 2013) I gained at least 2mph. Its just easier to ride. I did find however after 1 month of use my rides were getting harder again and wasnt sure if I needed to grease the chain or something. Turns out my tire pressure was down from 110 PSI to 47PSI. As for the "or a tri bike"- those things are pretty darn expensive and unless you are pretty strong to begin with, or you have a ton of money to spend, I really wouldnt recommend you go that route. As for my speed today, I am "only" a little above 15mph, but Id say so far more of my increase in speed was from getting a good bike.

Good luck on the weight loss. Hang in there. Dont get disappointed in where you are today, you have some big improvements just around the corner!

Edited by BF JEFF 2014-06-18 11:46 PM

Thank you for the IM sellout info. I'll be doing my research and work and saving between now and then.

stepping up to a 70.3 or 140.6 is a whole new ballgame. Time commitment for training goes way up. I have done four 70.3's so far but not a 140.6. Why because I barely have the time to train for a 70.3, and when it's over I'm usually bogged down with the stuff I've been neglecting for 2 months.

This is a hobby its for fun, if you want to go long then go ahead but there is no reason for it.

I am much more competitive in a sprint distance than I am in an 70.3- why because I am well trained to handle that. For a 70.3 I get in the bare minimum training(in my eyes)