My First Triathlon

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by canim8s
Hello all!

I'm new to the forum and hope I'm posting in the correct spot.

I'm entering my first triathlon in October. I've been training now for a bit over a month on the bike course that I'll run in October. I'm on a relay team and obviously I'm the bike guy.

I have a few questions as a complete noob and would greatly appreciate any advice.

Besides my bike and jersey/shorts, what should I bring with me on race day?

I have no idea about the little gadgets that I'll need to carry (snacks, hammergel...etc..) Any tips?

The avg. high is in the mid 70's. I'll start the race early morning 8:00 and hopefully will finish in under 5 hours. Should I wear long sleeve jersey and just peel it off if it get's too hot or do they make jersey's the come apart at the sleeves?

I've been told to take some Hammergel with me but I'm not sure about when to take it and at what increments throughout the race. Any suggestions for water/ electrolytes/ carbs during the race?

I've heard that an occasional fig newton and gatorade would do fine.

I'm training on a bike that's 10 pounds heavier than what I'll be riding on race day. Anyone see problems with this?

As I mentioned...this is my first race and I'm a bit nervous about it so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

canim8s

Actually there is a spot for Triathlons. Congrats though on getting ready for said race. I assume by the 5 hour time limit you are doing a 100 mile + century.

What to wear - Jersey with arm warmers if needed would be my choice.

What to bring - that depends on the support, where are the refueling stations, is a truck following with maybe a set of spare tires & rims, etc... You will want to carry the minimum with you that you will need, and the only way to find that out is by doing the ride & asking people that have done it before. (i.e. 1 to 3 water bottles, Hammer gels, Power bars, etc...)

Per Hammer gels instructions you should take 1 - 45 minutes before the ride & 2 - 3 per hour. Most people that I know do about 1 an hour, but everyone is different. Make sure you can handle it & everything else you are taking with, don't experiment on Race Day. Bad - Very Bad.

Fig Newton's & Gatorade - I personally use Power Aid or Gatorade & bring along either Clif Bars or Power Bars - if Fig Newton's work for you - that's great. As I said before, test before hand.

The bike - that's fine for right now - personally I would train with the bike you are racing and add a few more water bottles, along with the spare tires, pump, etc... That would get your weight up like your looking for. No matter what at least a month before hand switch over to the race bike & get a feel for how it handles.

A few more hints - ride some more races or charity rides, that will help you out in what you need to bring etc... As you improve your confidence will grow. Make sure to keep track of your training & don't ride every day. Your body needs time to recuperate. 2 or 3 days before the race, switch over to stretching only. You can carbo load if you wish. Make sure you search the site for other tips on training for centuries, what to eat, etc... Listen to your body, if you aren't feeling good take it easy or take a day or two off. If you kill yourself now, you won't do as good as you should in the race.

Hope this helps & let us know how it goes. Good Luck

Hi SLS..Thanks for the reply! Great advice!

Yes, this is the 112 mile bike leg. I went out for a ride with an Ironman vet and another noob, both are in much better shape than I but I managed to avg. 17 mph none the less. They both told me that I did fine even though I felt like death warmed over when I rolled into my driveway. The hills are killing me.

As I mentioned, I'm riding an old road bike (10 years) and it's about 10 pounds heavier than the newer racing bikes so I feel a little bit better about my chances.

AID STATIONS: There will be aid stations approximately every 10 miles serving hammer gel, food, power bars, sport drinks, water..etc...

Honestly, I didn't even think about having someone following me with extra supplies but that seems like a good idea, considering I'll be 100 miles out in the middle of the country with nothing but cows and horses to keep me company.

I have a couple other questions if you're willing;

1. The bike I'm looking at is in the 1700.00 range. The guys at the bike shop are telling me not to even think about a bike with 3 rings up front because they won't really help me in a triathlon event. My thing is, the hills on this course are MONSTER and I mean MONSTER hills. Not only do many of them exceed the 20% gradient but they go on forever. I was wondering if an extra ring would be a good idea considering that on the second loop I'll be seeing these monsters again and I probably will be less motivated to make it up them as fast as the first loop.

2. What would you suggest as far as how often I should ride each week? I just put a 20 miler in as a I mentioned at a pace that quite a bit faster than I'd ever managed before and I definitely needed the following day to recover. Is a 17 mph/average something to shoot for?

Thanks again for the advice!
canim8s

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by canim8s
Hi SLS..Thanks for the reply! Great advice!

Yes, this is the 112 mile bike leg. I went out for a ride with an Ironman vet and another noob, both are in much better shape than I but I managed to avg. 17 mph none the less. They both told me that I did fine even though I felt like death warmed over when I rolled into my driveway. The hills are killing me.

As I mentioned, I'm riding an old road bike (10 years) and it's about 10 pounds heavier than the newer racing bikes so I feel a little bit better about my chances.

AID STATIONS: There will be aid stations approximately every 10 miles serving hammer gel, food, power bars, sport drinks, water..etc...

Honestly, I didn't even think about having someone following me with extra supplies but that seems like a good idea, considering I'll be 100 miles out in the middle of the country with nothing but cows and horses to keep me company.

I have a couple other questions if you're willing;

1. The bike I'm looking at is in the 1700.00 range. The guys at the bike shop are telling me not to even think about a bike with 3 rings up front because they won't really help me in a triathlon event. My thing is, the hills on this course are MONSTER and I mean MONSTER hills. Not only do many of them exceed the 20% gradient but they go on forever. I was wondering if an extra ring would be a good idea considering that on the second loop I'll be seeing these monsters again and I probably will be less motivated to make it up them as fast as the first loop.

2. What would you suggest as far as how often I should ride each week? I just put a 20 miler in as a I mentioned at a pace that quite a bit faster than I'd ever managed before and I definitely needed the following day to recover. Is a 17 mph/average something to shoot for?

Thanks again for the advice!
canim8s

Triple chain ring - I don't have one on mine but in some instances it can prove to be a blessing. By the way, where are you racing with a 20% grade? Yes, a triple adds a little more weight to the bike but if you need it, you need it. Further training, and knowing the bike, yourself & the route may negate the need for one. If so, every ounce saved adds up when climbing hills. As for motivation on going over the hills- you need to find what motivates you & utilize it - maybe the idea of letting your partners down will help you - for some other ideas try this thread - http://www.cyclingforums.com/t55991-15-1.html (FYI - it appears the Search function isn't working to hot in here right now - go to Google & type in your criteria & add cyclingforums to the end - that works pretty good)

20 miles killed you? How many base miles do you have, etc... Next, were you drafting, that would explain a faster pace, however, that is generally not allowed in Triathlons. Your best bet as I am not a cycling coach, and do not know all the questions to ask is to find a cycling coach, find a place that sells training plans (one I found is http://trainingbible.com/gale/#beginningcentury - note I haven't bought it so I don't know how good it is), search this site, or read books on it (i.e. Lance Armstrong's, Friel's Cycling Bible, etc...) Just remember there is no plan is right for everyone, most people who do not have a coach (myself included) work out our training based on how our body feels & from different sources for ideas & what works for us.

I was not advocating that someone follow you in the triathlon with spare tires, but asking to see if they did have that type of support. If so great, if not, make sure you carry a tube, patches, tools to remove the tire.

Every 10 miles, you should be able to survive with 1 water bottle & top it off at every stop. Plus down a sports drink & eat some food or take a Hammer gel. If you can make it to every other one with no problems, great that will save some time, but the last thing you want to do is bonk & then you are in a world of hurt - stupid me ran out of water 10 miles from one & it was not nice, especially seeing I needed to eat some food but I couldn't without the water. Can you say bonk - that cost me 4 spots. Maybe take two water bottles, one with Gatorade & grab a few packets & hit every other one. This all depends on you, and knowing your body.

17 mph - you should finish in 6 hours 36 minutes - a little off your goal of 5 hours listed above which would be an average of 22.4 mph. Averaging 22.4 mph for 112 miles is tough & takes some people years to achieve, if ever.

Hope this helps & sorry I jumped around so much - just trying to get everything in at once.

Hi SLS,

Thanks again for the tips!

Right now I'm training on some monster hills around Raliegh/Wake Forest N.C. the site of the IronMan I'll be competing in. I'll also be training in a couple different spots around N.C. just to get a change of scenery. The course elevation profile is here: http://www.set-upinc.com/dukebluedevil/bikeelevation.htm

Some of the hills I'm riding around my neighborhood are a bit steeper than those in the triathlon, some of the hills I'm riding and training on are the same that I'll be riding tri day. A few, not all on my training route are very steep and extremely long that's why I was wondering about the third ring as this is my first tri. and I was told that the hills I'm training on are 20% grade or very close to it.

As for the pace, I hope to god that I can pull off a 21 mph average but the 20 miler I did was my first big ride EVER so the guys I was riding with told me I did fine considering the heap I'm currently riding. I've been going on a couple hard rides a couple times a week for the past month and feel like I'm getting stronger each time. I'm also getting plenty of rest and usually won't go out if my legs are feeling too tight.

As far as my conditioning prior to this, I used to wrestle in highschool and college but that was 15 years ago. I'm still in reasonably good shape but my cardio has suffered since I've gained a wife and child and workout time has been limited to a couple hours or less a week. I haven't pushed my cardio and that's where it's killing me. My legs still feel strong after 20 miles but I'm sucking wind after the first three big hills and it takes me awhile to catch my breath and peddle hard on the straightaways.

I guess as long as I keep plugging away and stay focused, I should be able to get close to my goal. I just want to give the runners plenty of time to do what they have to do. That's really what's pushing me right now.

Thanks for the links as well as all other advice. I'll catch up on some reading and I'll be sure to post my progress.

canim8s

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