Active Community: Message List - Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:02:22 GMT

So, How did it go?

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:15:51 GMT

Hey, for the bike segment there's a ton of great articles & how-to videos within active:

I love all types of intervals & combine with hills, even better for building strength & speed.

- Interval training will boost your cycling speed and stamina

http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Interval_training_will_boost_your_cycling_speed_and_stamina.htm

- Use the force: Building cycling strength and power http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Use_the_force__Building_cycling_strength_and_power.htm

- Train to conquer little hills like a big-time rider

http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/Train_to_conquer_little_hills_like_a_big-time_rider.htm

And all of Dave Scott's activedotcom youtube videos are well done!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RigbHG8ZmDY

Best to you,

Sara

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:46:22 GMT

Tips for the bike portion? My first tri I tanked the bike portion. I was not ready. For the next one, I practiced the distance several times, until it became easy and I could keep it the intensity the whole way. This year I am doing an Olympic (long distance for me), and I prepped the distance 3 times. I also interspersed 10-15 mile rides between each long practice, which lets me work at a little higher intensity (and also finish a ride before my kids get up on a weekday).

No magic - just practice with the distance.

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:30:18 GMT

Congratulations on a strong swim & oly tri! I'm glad it went well! And that you found great encouragement here in active.com's tri community.

Best to you in your running events!

Sara

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:44:10 GMT

lol. It is so tempting to do another Olympic Distance or another tri period. But, I think I'm going to stick to running for a while and do a few 1/2 marathons. I might do one more sprint tri with a classmate however..since I will actually be able to swim the entire way.

BTW do you have any tips for the bike portion? thats another segment of the race that I could use some improvement on

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:19:28 GMT

No, really, you were sooooo ready! Congratulations! When's the next one?

Terry

www.fiftythreetoseventypointthree.blogspot.com

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:06:59 GMT

the Thursday before the event I put on my wetsuit at a local pool and bust out 1750meter swim! After taking NSAIDs for swimmers shoulder, recieving treatment for it, and learning how to float on my back...l was ready to take on the swim. I completed the swim portion of the race in 30minutes and the entire race in 3:27. thanks for the suppory you all ;0

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:46:14 GMT

wow! you are so encouraging!!! and appreciate that. I almost expected ppl to tell me to quit due to the insanity of it all. I DO own a wet suit and I really wont enter the race without one.lol Today I met with someone who tried to teach me how to float on my back, tread water, and breast stroke...all without a wet suit. Lets just say I just got my feet wet.lol I will try again tomorrow with a wetsuit and see how it goes. I hope for the best!

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:41:58 GMT

I suspect you will be able to tread water with the best of them, or just float on your back. You don't need to be making tracks when you stop to rest! Are you wearing a wetsuit? If you are, it's nearly impossible to sink, so you can just lightly dog paddle if you get tired or worried for a while.

I agree to extrapolate time for distance since you don't count laps. But if you are wearing a wetsuit in this race (and I HIGHLY recommend it if the rules permit it) you will go faster and float easier than you do in the pool so keep that in mind. It's a great cheat sheet. Use it if you can. Rent one if you don't want to spend the bucks to buy one.

I say, go for it and try to laugh your way through the swim without being too serious about it. I saw one lady do about half of a swim lying on her back, just kicking her feet along merrily, her arms crossed over her chest. Whatever it takes!

Terry

www.fiftythreetoseventypointthree.blogspot.com

Re: Olympic distance tri....I'm sooo not ready. No, really!

guest — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 19:10:26 GMT

I hate counting laps, too. I always lose count! I much prefer to just zone out and swim.

Trick 1: time 1 lap at easy pace, then extrapolate. Figure out what it takes two swim 1 lap in your pool (let's say a 25m pool, so 50m laps). It that takes, say, 1 minute, then you need to swim 30 laps to make 1500m, or 30 minutes. My pool has the big minute/second clock on one end to time short swims, and a regular hour/minute clock on the other end. If you're a little slower, just see if you can work up to 40 minutes of swimming laps. You'll for-sure be able to finish the swim then.

Trick 2: Count down. Instead of trying to count up, I count down laps on a long swim. I'll start with "30" in my head, and repeat it about 4 or 5 times down the lane, then again at the turn araound, then "29"... Mostly works (I still lose track about every other time), but gets me closer.