After first Tri, now what?

I totally agree with THE BEAR.

Actually said the same thing to myself. And that is COMPLETELY up to you. What do you want to achieve? Long term & Short term.

IMO , I do think that you may want to hold off on dropping cash on a super-duper new Tri bike. (I waited over a year) to be sure I was going to pursue this lifestyle and know that which aspect I enjoy more. (Im not as much a roadie - do more of my training off-road, so I opted for a Tri-specific Bike.) I put skinnys and aero-bars on my hardtail mtn bike for a couple races, and it worked fine. Some may laugh, but I averaged 20.1 mph on the road...and it felt much more comfortable knowing my bike before jumping into a road bike.

See where your training takes you... are you moving up in speed and distance quickly? If its a slower progression, do a few more sprints to see if your time is improving, and you are getting stronger.

I wondered myself if there is a "bible" of Triathlon progression, but Ive learned its very unique for each person. (My best friend moved up quickly and is into his 3rd IM in less than 4 years.) Too much for me... I really like Triathlon but budget-wise, I cant afford to do alot, so Im picking about 3 a year, and basing my training around those... then I have weekends off in between for fun, R&R or mtn biking-(my favorite pasttime)... and it still firms up the mid-section.

At this time, Ive altered training for my first Marathon... never done one, and want to see how that goes in Oct. That scares me more than triathlon. hehe.

Edited by gearbri 2007-08-28 6:16 PM

Gearbri,

The thinking side of my brain is thinking alot like you mentioned. I know deep down that I should hold off on buying a new bike, but when all those tri bikes passed me like I was standing still, it made me want better. I am presently riding a MTB with slick tires, and I seemed to average between 20 & 21 mph during the tri.

I think I will do a couple more Sprints and maybe some 5/10k's before making the next step to an olympic distance.

Thanks for the sound judgement.

There's no set number of races to do before you move up to Olympic.  It's really a matter of your training and how comfortable you are with the distances.  You could start working on an Olympic training plan, which will maintain your sprint distances and help you increase to the Oly level.

Ya, I know it, seeing those hi-perf. bikes whiz by hurts the ego a bit, but 20-21mph avg is nothin to scoff at. good luck with your next race, whatever it may be... what state are you out of?

1. Well I would work on the weight lose but excerise is an important part of it do not forget that. If you can keep up your training the ablility to do a race at the drop of a hat is there. I know people who will decide to do a marathon and 4 days later they are doing it. The reason is they are trained and stay trained to the point they can do that. As you lose weight and your continue to train it will be there for you also.


2.
2 has alot to do with money you have and the goals. I would highly susgest if you want to do a him+ you have a roadie or tri bike. its not needed but it really helps. Roadies are great for group rides so if you are going to do those then a roadie is something you should look into. not sure how much areo bars will really help your current bike. I would say you should wait until you get a faster bike but that is up to you.


3.
yeah there are no set number. I did not do my first oly until after I did 3 spirints and 2 hims. The sky is the limit as long as you want to put the time into it and willing to deal with the pain that the training brings on.

I figure now I done an Oly I can finally move to the IM distance.

1. For me, increasing training for races caused me to lose 30 lbs. I think the weight loss will happen no matter what if you are training/working out.

2. If you plan to do more tris - can't go wrong with a tri bike. I got mine before my first race. It was a gamble that paid off for me. I was worried that I might not like it after my first race and would waste $$$. So I ended up getting an entry level TRI bike. Now I regret not getting something nicer because I'm already shopping for next season AND dropped about $600 more on upgrades (not including race wheels). You don't weigh too much to make a difference with a bike purchase. The same bikes will work for you at 200 or 225.

3. My first race was an Olympics - If you think you are up to it - go for it. Maybe this is too general, but I think if you can do a sprint without needing to walk too much and don't feel too bad after the race is over (other than typical post race soreness) You should be able to do a Oly without too much more training.

Here's another, related option - spend about 10-12 weeks doing an intensive core strengthening and flexibility program. Sign up for a class in your local area, at your gym, with a trainer, whatever. It'll probably help you lose the weight as well as strengthening and stretching all the key muscles you'll need for tri training. Then fire yourself back up for a dose of swimming, biking, and running for the next tri you want to do next year (maybe somewhere warm, early).

My experience is that most of us triathletes, and especially the C/A breed, neglect that core work and flexibility. Then we pay for it down the line with injuries.

As for the bike - if you can do 20-21 mph on a mtn bike, you should probably buy a road or tri bike cause baby you will FLY! I'm impressed!

Cheers
Jayne

That is a good idea aboiut the flexiblity and core.

Isn't that the reason we all do Yoga in our spare time?!?

That is why I say I want to do Yoga. . I really need to get going on it.

I actually did it for years - probably the best thing you can do for yourself - just not as fun as tri training...

See I see Yoga as part of tri training. iron Yoga was made by an ironman to better do the ironman while still doing Yoga.

Yeah... yoga is definitely one of those things I should do more of. I just find it so.... unexciting. I feel great after I do it but I can't get fired up for it like I can for a bike ride or even a nice hard session in the pool. Plus I have a hard time finding yoga at the right price/schedule for my weird hours. The main thing though is that I once had the greatest yoga instructor in the world, and she moved away and broke my heart. Nobody has ever measured up. ;-)

jayne