Am I really that slow?

ray wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am a 63 year old male in reasonably good physical condition. I am thinking about entering an AARP
triathlon. It is 300 yard swim, 20K bike, and 5K run. I am looking at the times in the events that
have finished and I am discouraged with how poor my performance would be.

. Am I really that much

Quoted message said:

slower than my peers? My normal exercise looks similar to recommended training routine. How much
improvement can I expect?

Probably not---you've been training slow and that makes you slow. To get fast, you need to train
fast. You've got the endurance, now you need to work on gaining some speed to go with it. (By the
way, I notice no mention of running-- you need to do that instead of hiking--start slow short and
easy cause you need some time for your body to adapt. As for your biking and swimming, substitute
some days of shorter distances at higher intensities for your regular routine. For swimming I would
suggest a series of 50 to 100 yard intervals full out with sufficient recovery time between. For
your bike, try some very hard 3 to 5 mile segments after warm up and then cool down. Keep the volume
low when you do the hard stuff.

(By the way, I am writing this from the perspective of starting tri at age 61 with NO history of
competitive sports)

Keep at it and you will get faster.

Bill

(ray) said:

I am a 63 year old male in reasonably good physical condition. I am thinking about entering an AARP
triathlon. It is 300 yard swim, 20K bike, and 5K run. I am looking at the times in the events that
have finished and I am discouraged with how poor my performance would be.

Ray,

If I made where I place a determining factor in doing tri's, I'm sure I'd be discouraged. I'm only
55, but in any given tri I'll be in the bottom of my age group. Not usually dead last in ag, but
close to it.

But you know what? That doesn't discourage me. I got over being slow a long time ago. If I hadn't,
I'd never have done my 7 Ironmans. I'm a last hour finisher, but I finish.

I enjoy tri's. I enjoy being able to do something 99% of my peer group can't even imagine. I enjoy
associating with fit people, especially younger fit people because it keeps me thinking young.

Don't worry about where you'll place. Enjoy the training, enjoy the experience, enjoy sharing
something with your age peers that's special. No-one's going to look down their nose at you because
you're slow. They'll respect you because you're there, just like they are.

Mike Tennent "IronPenguin"

In article said:

I am a 63 year old male in reasonably good physical condition. I am thinking about entering an
AARP triathlon. It is 300 yard swim, 20K bike, and 5K run. I am looking at the times in the events
that have finished and I am discouraged with how poor my performance would be.

Don't worry about speed to start with. Do the event, have fun, and see where you stand. You can
gradually begin to do some faster training after you see where you are.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ."

- Homer J. Simpson

ray said:

the Beginners finish times ranged from :36 to :57. In swimming I have endurance but not much
speed. It takes me 2 minutes per lap. My 22th lap might be a slight bit faster than the first. 300
yards takes me :12. Finish times for my peers was :07 to :15. I would have been 14th out of 15.
Overall I estimate my finish time would be 2:12
vs. 1:11 to 1:59 for my peers. Am I really that much slower than my peers? My normal exercise
looks similar to recommended training routine. How much improvement can I expect?

The series regularly has 2 1/2 to 3 hour finishers and maybe you'll be suprised how much faster you
can be when you're racing and not out for a leisurely jog or bike ride. As other posters have said,
begin timing yourself over measured segments during training and work to improve your times.

JJ

"Bill Reese" <abuse@localhost> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Probably not---you've been training slow and that makes you slow. To get fast, you need to train
fast. You've got the endurance, now you need to work on gaining some speed to go with it. (By the
way, I notice no mention of running-- you need to do that instead of hiking--start slow short and
easy cause you need some time for your body to adapt. As for your biking and swimming, substitute
some days of shorter distances at higher intensities for your regular routine. For swimming I
would suggest a series of 50 to 100 yard intervals full out with sufficient recovery time between.
For your bike, try some very hard 3 to 5 mile segments after warm up and then cool down. Keep the
volume low when you do the hard stuff.

(By the way, I am writing this from the perspective of starting tri at age 61 with NO history of
competitive sports)

Keep at it and you will get faster.

Bill

Thanks for all who replied. I have never done any sort of race in my life. I don't care if I finish
last, someone has to. I just didn't want to be embarrassed if they sent out the search teams.

My exercise is recreational, not competitive. I am thinking about entering this race just for the
fun of it. I did not mention running because it has been 40 plus years since I ran. I can walk the 3
miles in 48 minutes, bike the
12.5 miles in 1:08, and swim 300 yards in :11. The race is in 5 weeks. Since I have endurance it
sounds I should be doing shorter distances at faster speeds. I can go all day at 75% to 80% of my
maximum heart rate. At what max heart rate should I train? Can I improve enough that they won't
send out the search dogs?

AS others have said you have not been training for speed which is a specific adaptation. Remember
Wolf's law: "The body will adapt to the demands imposed upon it." Have you demanded speed from your
body? If the answer is no, how would you expect to be fast? Remember, among those other 60+ ag
triathletes are a host of guys who have dedicated themselves to swimming, biking and running with
speed you have not even begun to imagine. Start the process slowly, thoughtfully, and in time, if
you really want it you will get there. "JJ Waguespack" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

ray said:

the Beginners finish times ranged from :36 to :57. In swimming I have endurance but not much
speed. It takes me 2 minutes per lap. My 22th lap might be a slight bit faster than the first.
300 yards takes me :12. Finish times for my peers was :07 to :15. I would have been 14th out of
15. Overall I estimate my finish time would be 2:12
vs. 1:11 to 1:59 for my peers. Am I really that much slower than my peers? My normal exercise
looks similar to recommended training routine. How much improvement can I expect?

The series regularly has 2 1/2 to 3 hour finishers and maybe you'll be suprised how much faster
you can be when you're racing and not out for a leisurely jog or bike ride. As other posters have
said, begin timing yourself over measured segments during training and work to improve your times.

JJ

I can go all day at 75% to 80% of my maximum heart rate.

Quoted message said:

At what max heart rate should I train? Can I improve enough that they won't send out the
search dogs?

Actually I would guess that you are working closer to 50 % MHR--in a short race like the one you are
thinking about the people who are really racing it are probably working at about 85%. You could
probably drop your time to around 1 hr 20 or so if you could do it at 70 to 75%. But there is no way
you can get there in 5 weeks. But if you goal is just to do it at your recreational pace, go for
it--you'll finish with ease.

Bill

Quoted message said:

Remember Wolf's law: "The body will adapt to the demands imposed upon it." Have you demanded speed
from your body? If the answer is no, how would you expect to be fast? Remember, among those other
60+ ag triathletes are a host of guys who have dedicated themselves to swimming, biking and
running with speed you have not

Also remember genetics play a role. So does age and intensity level. People in their 60's should
probably avoid Zone 5 intervals. Short periods where speed is slightly higher than race pace
would be best.

Good Luck Mike