Tri / Triathlon / Triathlons - do they float your boat?

I have two friends who've died swimming the Channel in recent years - they were both seasoned ultra-athletes, both had medical assessments and sign-off before they got in the water. There's no indication that the 43-yr old was a newbie either, or that any screening would have helped.

I know it's not going to stop it entirely, and I didn't say the poor soul in Barry was the case, but there have been examples in recent years of people taking part in events where some more thought before the event might have avoided it, running/tri club/mates who know a bit can be just as much help in stopping someone going into an event without any kind of preparation.

Id be interested to know if they have the same frequency of seemingly healthy people dropping down dead in the Paris marathon or French triathlons where a doctors sign of is compulsory for completion?

I'm also aware that the whole going to the docs thing is a potential barrier to entry for some people, I just think organiser could do more to ensure people are at least prepared, an email 3 weeks before you race making sure you've bought all the kit from their sponsors doesn't cut it in my mind...

Is anyone else training for events?

Training, sort of - not enough, but not for a specific tri.

If I get down to a reasonable weight next year (sub 80kg) I'll look for a 70.3 and then maybe a full IM the year after that.

Individual events I've entered:-

Sep 2018: Swim Serpentine two mile swim
Apr 2019: London Marathon
And will try and do some Audaxes between now and next year too, and aim to do them a bit faster than usual plodding pace.

Might look out for some local Sprint Tris too, just to maximise opportunity to make all of the rookie mistakes.

Reminds me, Shepperton Lake is open again now, will have to plan some trips down there.

I didn’t know thats how the French did it. It does seem to make sense but just imagine the bloody faff trying to even get an appointment for that on the NHS ha, weeks and weeks. In all seriousness though if it saves lives then it would be worth it.
In my personal view however i believe that you are responsible for yourself when you enter an event like this. The organisers can only plan for circumstances like this, not really prevent them.
In this case i actually train with the organiser and he and his company went to every effort, required and beyond, to ensure everyones safety. I’m genuinely gutted for the individual and their family, the organisers and the spectators and competitors. They didn’t tell anyone exactly who was being treated on the beach and seeing as everyone was in pretty much identical suits and swim caps it got quite stressful to watch from the promenade, they were trying to resuscitate him on the beach for 45mins. My wife was too late to see me leave the water and was fearing the worst, a horrible situation.

As Greenbank suggests, there's no screening that is specific and accurate enough - the incidence of false positives and false negatives, absent of anything symptomatic, meant that the cost - benefit just isn't there.

If it were worthwhile, you can be pretty certain that event insurers would insist on screening as a condition of entry, rather than a self-certified waiver.

That being said, it's grim to have someone die in the event you're in. I've run past a person dying in a marathon, and someone was pulled from the water in a tri.

Windsor Triathlon for me yesterday, 16th overall in 2:20 after a bike course that got pushed out to 44km because of some road works.

Personally had a good race, slow swim, decent bike (39kph avg!) and then managed to run in 40:10, managed to hold off my new clubmate who has been tearing chunks out of me in run training recently, so pleased with that.

6 weeks to challenge Prague 70.3, need to try and transfer more pool speed into open water, and get a bit fitter but things are generally heading in the right direction.

Weight has dropped from 75 down to 73 over the last month, another couple of kgs would be ideal, just cut out sugary snacks and alcohol, and keeping a rough track of food consumed.

Did you spook any horses?

just a couple of pantomime ones....

Won my favourite race of the season on Saturday, 3up team time trial triathlon at Dorney Lake over roughly 3/4 Olympic distance, tting withb2 mates round the lake was great fun!!

Also, just signed up for ironman Austria next year, have a group of 10 from my club with fingers hovering over keys and thanks to the club programme we got a priority link ahead of general entries opening next week! 3 have pulled the trigger so far, at least another 2 to go, hoping to get all 10 of us there!!

I've just been looking at the Brec Swimrun site, the Gower one in particular.

Has anyone here done one of these?

It looks like it could be a miserable sort of fun for next year.

I'm still in for the Vit, although I've done so little training it's laughable.

Does anyone have any experience using the Garmin quick fit bands (https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/553030) with the 935? I use my 935 on the bike using the quick release kit but the QR watch strap that comes with the tri-bundle is huge and much less comfy than the regular strap. I've heard reports that the lug shape is different on the 935 compared to the Fenix and this makes the quick fit straps uncomfortable?

Clubchamps today, managed to pick the right feet and and got towed round probably 20 seconds faster than if I hadn’t, meant I caught the Uber swimmers in the club in t2 and the a 18:30 5k was enough to bring home the rose bowl, a combination of a lot of caffeine and a couple of pints post race had me singing it’s coming home (the rose bowls coming home) on my ride home!

Garmin HRM-Tri strap looks to have given up the ghost (not bad as it survived several years of frequent use).

Anyone got one they don't want before I hit Wiggle for £72 or so?

And, to answer my own question, someone on the Garmin Forums said that Garmin do out of warranty replacements for cheap(er) if you email them.

Did that and they've offered a replacement for £46.58 (inc P&P) which is a lot less than £72 for a new one from anywhere else. Just have to go through the RMA process to send back my broken one.

I am going to sign up for the Royal Windsor and/or the London Triathlon for 2019. Am I mad? Where do I start?
I have the swimming and cycling sorted, as individual disciplines, but one after the other God knows and throw in the running, I have no idea what to expect. I have not ran for 30 years since school, where I was pretty good, in the athletics and cross-country teams etc. But I am now a 46 year old male, weighing 90 kilos. Am I likely to kill myself, would running 2 miles once a week for the first month (starting this week) be too much, not enough etc.

Thanks

I'd suggest starting off with a few walk/jog sessions. e.g. walk for 90secs, run for 60secs, incorporating off-road surfaces if possible.

Are they olympic distance?

Yes Olympic distance. I figured if I do it I may as well go all in

Does anyone have any recommendations for a strength and conditioning program I can play with this winter.

I might end up doing a few tris again next year so I’m after stuff to build a foundation for s/b/r. Ideally I’d do about 60mins a couple of times a week and am after something focussed around body weights and a maybe resistance bands. I’ll be traveling quite a bit so weights isn’t really an option.

Got all excited about Barcelona 70.3, turns out I have an exam the day after.
Dates just released...
next year I guess

Same. I got really excited about Norseman and discovered i’d be away on a work trip, then got really excited about imortal half farmoor (which is basically laps around my mum’s house) and then found out I’ll be away for that too.

I missed the only tri I was planning for this year so I’m entering forest man and helvellyn next year in the hope I can do at least one of them.

Annoying as there’s no refunds for me and it is crazy pricey!
And I’ve really managed to fix my shoulder over the past month.... stronger than it ever has been.

hi all, this is a cross post - from my sale thread. but i thought i'd mention it here too. i'm selling a triathlete's training bible for £5.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/329168/#comment14555221

I have bitten the bullet, after many years of procrastination and entered the Royal Windsor triathlon this June. The Olympic distance. I will also enter the London triathlon if my body has not given up on me come May.
My God running absolutely fucking kills me!

With about 6 weeks to go before the triathlon I feel I am in good shape. I am putting in a couple of 40+k rides a week before work, swimming up to 3 k at a time and can almost complete a 10k run. It's the running that kills me. I did an open water swim in lake Windermere this weekend and at 11 degrees it was pretty cold. It took me a long time to warm up afterwards. I understand the Thames may be about 15 degrees on the day. I will be wearing a trisuit with a wetsuit over the top. My question is will it be enough to get straight on the bike in my wet trisuit or will I also need a jacket. I guess it's weather dependent. If so what type of cycling jacket would one recommend as I don't want to get cold or overheat.
Thanks

I'd probably only consider a jacket if its less than about 10 degrees, you are doing Windsor right?

You'll be warm after the swim if you are swimming quickly, you've then got a fairly long transition to get warmer and once you're working hard on the bike then you'll be fine.