Total Posts: 33
1.6 Years Ago

Yesterday I completed my second ever sprint triathlon (my first for 2007). It was only a 200m swim, 9km cycle, & a 3km run, but it was enough to get me huffing & puffing early on a Sunday morning.

My goal was to complete it in under 45 minutes, which I believe I did. The official results should be available later this week I hope. They didn't have timing transponders, so I won't know times for each leg & transistions; just an overall time. I forgot to start my stop watch at the beginning of the swim & only realised as I was getting out of the pool. So at this stage I'm guessing I completed the event in approximately 43 minutes. Which I'm happy with.

I didn't go flat out as my intention was to use the race to gauge my fitness for a slightly longer upcoming sprint triathlon (in 4 weeks). I realised I really need to focus on my swimming more & I should try a few more brick workouts, as it took a good km before my legs felt normal again & I could start to run faster.

I'll also be keen to get my tri suit, as I wasted a bit of time throwing on a shirt & shorts. I soon realised it's quiet difficult to put on a running shirt when your still wet from the swim (It stuck to my upper back & didn't want to pull down).

I felt I did reasonably well in the cycle leg & managed to pass several other mountain bike riders. I on the other hand was passed several times by cyclists on their road bikes. I think cycling shoes & a road bike will be a requirement if I want to knock off some more time in future events (though I was able to mount & dismount my bike much quicker than those with cycling shoes).

All in all it was a good morning & for a relative beginner I was pleased with my result.

Cheers

Dan

Total Posts: 349
1.6 Years Ago

Brick workouts are a very good idea, even if you just do an easy run after your longer rides that will get you used to the dead legs feeling. Cycling shoes and a road bike are also great ideas (I'll let others weigh in as to whether you should go with a tri or road bike) and will take off tons of time. Also, think about tri bars once you build up to longer races - they make you far more efficient and help you save your legs for the run.

Congrats and keep us posted as to your final time.

Total Posts: 459
1.6 Years Ago

Your sprint experience sounds a lot like my first sprint. I only wore swim pants in the water with no shirt...brrr! I wasted a lot of energy trying to stay warm. I now own a westsuit. Can't wait to see what debacles that brings to the race.

I too completed a near 5 minute T1 time in trying to get a dry shirt over my wet back! I took a leisurely drink and bite of a power bar, struggled to put on riding gloves, etc. What a doddard.

You time sounds great and I am always impressed when people know what thier race time will be within a few minutes.

Tri on!

Greg

Total Posts: 202
1.6 Years Ago

I'm going to second Allison's advice on running even if it's only for 10 minutes after you get off your bike...it helps tremendously. I try to do it after most rides even if I don't have a brick scheduled. Keep up the training and good luck with your future races!!

Total Posts: 637
1.6 Years Ago

We must have got hooked about the same time. I did my 1st sprint last November.

Jim C#2

Total Posts: 21
1.6 Years Ago

I'm a newbie who is doing my first sprint triathlon in July... I'm always appreciative of a good race report -- it helps me learn vicariously (note to self: no dry shirts after the swim) and also helps me realize that fortunately, I'm not alone in this learning curve of triathlon. As a huge researcher, I'm truly indebted to those of you on this site who regularly share your wisdom. (Alison, Jim C#1, Greg, Jim C#2, Joy et al)

I took my first step towards becoming a triathlete earlier this year when I bought a new to me (slightly used) road bike to do these triathlons with. My husband refused to let me buy a new fancy tri bike until I do a few triathlons & see if this is something I really want to stick with. But, I was able to get a 2006 model good quality road bike that I've put a tri seat post & aero bars on. To my delight, I was out riding today & realized I'm totally flying compared to last summer when I rode my mountain bike. Anyway, my swim & run times aren't going to change as fast as the time improvement of getting a road bike, but hopefully some technique & lots of training will get me better in those areas as well. Anyway, I would suggest you at least look for a used road bike -- since these races are hard enough without taking an extra 10+ pounds on the bike course!

I have to say -- the posts of this FJ Tri Club are very motivational! Yesterday, I did a tough spin class for an hour & then immediately ran a 5K to practice the bike to run transition. (Per Alison's great advice on her duathlon report thread!!) I found that for the first two-tenths of a mile, my pace was slow but after I settled into a running rhythm I was able to get up to my usual pace. (My usual running pace is still pretty slow, but at least I felt good & my heart rate wasn't elevated.)

My first duathlon (5k-20k-5k) is May 5. I'm not sure if this was the right race to try as my first experience in multisport racing, but I was hopeful that a duathlon would be a great way to practice transitions, before my first triathlon in July. I do think I may have bitten off more than I can chew because duathlons are pretty exhausting. Anyway, Dan, I think you were very wise to use this early season short distance sprint tri as a way to identify how you can improve your times/focus your training. I wish you continued luck in the race season ahead!!

Karen

Total Posts: 33
1.6 Years Ago

I got the official results today - 42min 18sec (slightly better than I estimated). I was 28th out of 42 in my age group, & 120th out of 292 overall.

The overall winner completed the tri in 22:24. At this stage my mind can not comprehend how that is physically possible.

As suggested, I think upgrading to a road bike would be a wise choice to knock some time off. But like Karen, I don't think it would be wise to spend a small fortune on a bike until I'm serious. I found a manufacturer in Australia called "Cell Bikes" & was looking at some of the bikes they have advertised online. I've never heard of them until recently & am always wary of buying brands that are not well known. Would someone who knows what they're talking about mind looking at the S3300 - Road bike advertised? I have limited knowledge of the quality of bike components & would appreciate comments/opinions on the bike compared to the quality of bike I could get for the same money if buying second hand. http://www.cellbikes.com.au/product.php?id=62

(AU$649 = US$527)

Cheers

Dan

Total Posts: 349
1.6 Years Ago

Nice surprise on your official time! And great placing both for your age group and overall.

I'm not much help on the bike front as still new to the biking world but it definitely couldn't hurt to test ride a few models and get a feel for them.

Key things to look for include

Frame material:

most common are aluminum (reasonably light and low cost) carbon fibre (light but pricier. Mid-range bikes may have a combo - e.g. an aluminum frame with carbon forks) and steel (strong, durable and can be very light)

Components

Shimano is the most common, you probably don't want a groupset lower than 105, Ultegra is better and Dura Ace is the top of the line but probably not worth it at this point

Campagnolo is, as far as I know, the other major contender but I'm not so familiar with their groupsets.

That's the sum total of my knowledge! I'm sure someone more in the know will have some decent advice/corrections

Karen - nice work! Sounds like your training is going well and you're in good form for a May duathlon. Duathlons are tiring but if you take the first run easy you'll be fine.

Keep it up!

Total Posts: 21
1.6 Years Ago

I just checked out your bike's link to see the components (per Alison's advice) and since the bike you are interested in has components than are less than what she recommends, you may want to think about spending a little bit more to upgrade to the next step up Cell offers with the Shimano 105 & carbon fork... (their product #58 ad says,"full Shimano 105 and a carbon fork!!!" for the 1199.00 AUS option. I don't know how much more that would be in US dollars, but probably less than a thousand dollars US.) However, everyone has to budget themselves, so perhaps you could search on "epinons.com" and see what the reviews say about the bike you are looking at...

Personally, I chose an aluminum frame with a carbon fork & seatpost. That seemed to me to be a budget savvy choice for a light weight bike with good comfort for the longer rides, too. My bike has Shimano 105 front & rear deraillers. Again, functional for the short distance triathlon, but Shimano Ultegra would definately be the better set. Since, I'm new to all this... I'm going to defer to our biking experts... but I'm also holding out hope that one day my triathlon fantasies of racing an Ironman on a new QR Lucerno with Zipp Tubular Wheels will come true! (A girl's gotta have her dreams, right?)

Anyway -- good luck & enjoy bike shopping...

Karen

Total Posts: 667
1.6 Years Ago

I would suggest (reiterating what others have said) you look around some more and get in some test rides if you can. Also, you may want to increase the budget to get a better ride. A bike is REALLY an investment...you will have it for years so it is better to spend a little more and get something of better quality than to get something mediocre and chug along just to get by. Wait a few months and save a few more $$ to upgrade the spectrum of available bikes.

Check out ebay because you can get some really nice deals at a decent price. If you find something there but not sure about the components/quality, just ad a link and we can all check it out and give you advice on a good price and if it is worth it.

Total Posts: 349
1.6 Years Ago

I had another thought about this yesterday, if you're trying to keep the cost down you could try to save by going with lower grade components as you can upgrade later (be warned that upgrading/replacing is pricy - I just replaced my drive train and had to dish out a fair chunk of change). You don't want to skimp on the frame however, as that isn't upgradable.

I assume bikes are like most imported products in Australia, significantly more expensive than in North America due to the shipping and a smaller market. However, considering how fit everyone in Brisbane seemed to be when I visited (and presumably still are), there's probably a decent number of cyclists and hopefully some good secondhand models out there.

A not so cheap option is to combine a holiday with a bike buying expedition! Head over to North America for a race and bring back a bike as a souvenir. I'd love to suggest Vancouver as your destination but the States tends to have better prices and lower taxes.

Good luck in your search.