Given that Peter comes from a swimming background, I don't think he'd gain much by doing a duathlon first - you'll probably be quite near the front of the swim times, even if you feel you are quite rusty - those of us who learn to swim properly as adults are at a disadvantage in this area.
How to get into a Triathlon
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Peter Armstrong
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Yes, First Lane swim sesh this saturday to see how rusty I realy am, I havnt swam for 5 years tho
, for the 4 years after I stopped swimming I was a lifeguard so still got to swim a bit. Lets see how it goes.........
Yes, First Lane swim sesh this saturday to see how rusty I realy am, I havnt swam for 5 years tho
For sure you'll be fine on the swim leg given your background. Sadly for you the swim portion is relatively insignificant in it's impact on the overall time. As to your OP, the best thing is just to go and do one. You'll not be last however poorly you prepare, and by doing a tri you will get the best sense of where your weaknesses and strenghts are and, most importantly, if this is a sport for you. A sprint distance is ideal for the first, no special equipment needed (unless wetsuit specified) just your usual bike and trainers. You can introduce specialist equipment based on your exerience (and ambitions).
One thing I would advise though if you have not done any OW wetsuit swimming before is to either do a tri that has a pool based swim leg, or spend some time getting used to OW wetsuit swimming ahead of the race. It's really quite different to pool swimming.
Finally: you definitely won't get laughed at!
Flying_Monkey
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Very true. I almost sink but I make it all back on the bike leg and more.
Ditto. I refer to it as the drowning leg.
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Peter Armstrong
Über Member
Hmmm 50 lengths of a 25 metre pool, 26mins Hows that for the first swim? Of course ill get better, gotta shake off the rust....
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Peter Armstrong
Über Member
Im predicting my current times, 15 mins swim, 48 mins cycle, 24 mins run = 1hr 27mins
That gessing i can do 15 mins, 750m in open water, 15mph average for 20km cycle, and 24mins for 5k run, running at 7:30 min/miles Total time 1Hr 27 Mins
That gessing i can do 15 mins, 750m in open water, 15mph average for 20km cycle, and 24mins for 5k run, running at 7:30 min/miles Total time 1Hr 27 Mins
Flying_Monkey
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You are pretty fast in the pool. How that translates to open water, I don't know - it is constant with no energy saving from pushing off the ends. However I think you will find that you will be faster than you think on the bike. You might, however, be slower on the run if you aren't used to running after cycling. But then again, 20km isn't going to lock your legs into cycling mode the way longer distances do.
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Peter Armstrong
Über Member
Chears, i give myself that long on the bike because my last 25 mile run i averaged 14.5, and to be honest its a hilly run, mike do a 20km time trial tomorrow on a flatter route see how I do
I suspect you'll be faster than that in the water, I can barely swim and did my first 750m OW in 16 minutes. The wetsuit helps, and I am definitely faster in OW than in the pool. All the guys I know who have a swimming background leave me for dead and are sub 12 minutes.
The one place where you will lose time is in transition. This varies from tri to tri, but includes the run from the lake to the transition zone, which in some cases can be a considerable distance. Add the fact that it will be your first time, so you're bound to fluff something or other (don't ask me how I know this
). Plus as FM points out, there's the transition effect of getting your body to switch from different types of activities. Dont' be surprised if takes you a km or so to get into your running stride.
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Peter Armstrong
Über Member
I suspect you'll be faster than that in the water, I can barely swim and did my first 750m OW in 16 minutes. The wetsuit helps, and I am definitely faster in OW than in the pool. All the guys I know who have a swimming background leave me for dead and are sub 12 minutes.
The one place where you will lose time is in transition. This varies from tri to tri, but includes the run from the lake to the transition zone, which in some cases can be a considerable distance. Add the fact that it will be your first time, so you're bound to fluff something or other (don't ask me how I know this
Ow yeah, I totaly forgot about the transitions Dohhh!!!!
just done my 3rd olympic and finished with best time of 2hr40m. first time ive managed 50min run so dont forget you will have swum 1500m and cycled 40kn before so even if youre a strong runner you run time will probably suffer
