Active Community : Unanswered Threads - Triathlon

Questions about a pool swim in a sprint triathlon

KurtinSC — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:20:51 GMT

Okay... after slowly becoming overweight and inactive over the last 5-6 years, I reached a weight where I realized that something needed to be done. So I've committed (along with a group of co-workers) toward doing a sprint Triathalon at the end of May, 2010.

We're looking at a pool swim with a "snake" format... which I think I understand. My questions are more general... what is the experience like and what should we be prepared for. What's the etiquette for passing/being passed? Is it better to underestimate your swim speed so you'll be doing passing rather then being passed? In general how much time between entrants? Are dive starts generally allowed, or is it a hop in and start type deal normally? Do strokes matter? (I ask because one of the co-workers is more comfortable with back stroke) Are there any other "gotcha's" that are particular to swimming in a snake format?

Unlike many people doing a triathalete... I'm not really scared of the swim. I had 12 years of USS swimming at a fairly high level prior to college, so while I'm out of shape now, I'm confident the distance won't be an issue for me. I just need to be able to handle the run. Others in our group will be struggling with the swim more (I'm actually going to have to teach some stroke technique starting in January to make sure we all get finished with that leg), so any perspectives from both poor swimmers and experienced swimmers would be handy.

Need some cycling advice

Rich_A — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:22:04 GMT

Hey fellow triathletes, I was wondering if anyone out there could help me with a problem I've been having. When I ride a bike, any bike, I get lower back pain in a major way. I've been riding for about a year and a half and am currently on a 2008 Schwinn Prologue, but started out on a Motobecane road bike. I do lower back exercises for strength training and endurance regularly and am getting refit (was fit when I first bought the bike, but want it looked at again) next weekend. It usually sets in at about 10 miles into a race or training depending on how hard I push. I am doing my first half ironman in June and while I have the legs for it, my back makes it almost unbearable. Anyone had this issue and gotten over it? Thanks for your help

Fall 2010 Schedule Advice

DCtoPgh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:52:51 GMT

Hi All,

I'm trying to sort out my race schedule for next Fall. As a bit of background, I race a lot (since March: 7 marathons, 3 ultras and an Oly tri) and I have a solid endurance base (trained for 50 mile race in less than 2 weeks). I also have a pretty heavy spring/summer race schedule (a 50 mile, a 50K, a marathon and 2 Oly tris... I'll probably stack on more). Barring injury, I should have a solid base coming into Fall.

I know my body responds well to back to back marathons, but I'm a tri newbie. I want to use 2010 to set myself up for an Ironman in 2011.

Right now I know I want to race the following:

August 1: Pittsburgh Oly Tri
August 22 (3 weeks after Pittsburgh Oly): Cannonman 70.3

Oct 31: Marine Corps Marathon

There are two things that I'm waffling over:

1. The weekend of Sept 18/19 (4 weeks after Cannonman) there are two races I'd love to do: YUTC50K is on Sat (I LOVE this race) AND Savageman 70.3 is on Sun. I'm not sure if I want to do one or both. Savageman has a reputation for being the hardest half IM in the nation. I hear people cry during the race. Doing that the day after a 50K would likely be problematic. But that doesn't mean I can't do it on its own

2. What to do with the six weeks between the weekend of Sept 18/19 (point 1 above) and MCM. A few options:

a. Baltimore Marathon (2 weeks before MCM)
b. Tussey Mountain 50 mile (2 weeks before MCM). If I do YUTC50K then it's 4 weeks before Tussey, and I'd probably want to use that as my peak so my taper would be off.
c. Bassman 70.3 It splits the difference between the two events (3 weeks before MCM); it would be perfect if I did Savageman then Bassman, but I'd be a little worried about my long run endurance for MCM.

Help??

Tales from the Trails: Training Encounters

IronMakeover — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:27:40 GMT

About 6 months ago, I asked active.com triathletes for their animal encounter stories. I'm sure we have some new "scary" stories by now?

Read the past active.com thread: http://community.active.com/thread/56002/mad-cow-what-have-you-run-into-while-training/0/15

My current blog topic on animal encounters http://ironmakeover.blogspot.com/2009/10/animal-frights-alligators-turtles.html

Two additional on topic links from my post:
- p. 120 Fall 2009 USA Triathlon Life's The Big Question column topic is "What is the most interesting thing you've found while training?"

- Swim survivors of Lucky's Lake swim receive a special "I survived" patch after signing the wall post-race. Athletes could see gators while swimming in Lucky's Lake.

Train safely!

Sara

Age grading tables

honguito — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:20:13 GMT

Dear friends !

The World Masters Athletics Association has created a set of age grading tables to compare runnign times of athletes of different ages to be able to compare them.

Dies anyone know of such tables also exist for triathlon events.

Thanks in advance for your help

Regards

Günter Pilz

www.triatlonca.org

Wheel Set Selection Question?

Silky__4 — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:06:44 GMT

I am shopping for a new Tri bike and wanted feedback on wheel selection. What high performance wheel set would you buy? Do you go with 606, 808 or 1080? Do you mix the front and back sizes? This is for half Irion and Oly distance events.

Any opinions or info is appreciated.

Thanks,

PS. At this time I am not getting a disk.

Hotel Suggestions for Oct 4th Bassman ?

ikirschemann@yahoo.com — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:05:11 GMT

Good Morning, does anyone have a hotel suggestion in the vacinity of next weekend's, Oct 4th Bassman Tri? Thanks

Training Partner near Beaumont, CA

sport addict — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:23:05 GMT

Is there anyone near Beaumont, CA training for triathlons or cycling. I need a training partner to help push me and get me ready for the Lake Perris Olympic Triathlon. E-mail me at athlete0169@aol.com. Thanks

Do you have a few minutes to share your thoughts about training for triathlons?

HPaczkowski — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:15:37 GMT

Have you or are you currently training for a triathlon? We'd like to hear about your experiences!

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Thank you for your interest!

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Anyone doing/has done a Pangea Adventure Race

billprice005 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:43:03 GMT

I'm participating in the Kings SuperHero Adventure Race this weekend. Does anyone have any wisdom to impart to a newbie?