London Triathlon HELP please

i'm doing the london triathlon in august (as i think a few other heads off the forum are)
training has been minimal to say the least, and while i'm not expecting any decent time it would be nice to finish. having never done a triathlon before i probably should have gone on the training day but it cost £45 and after shelling out 70 quid just to enter i was less than willing to do this, basically just after some advice from anyone who's done one before or is taking part this year. or anyone who wants a bit of last minute training company.

i need to know shit about change overs and the best solutions for what to use, and where to get wetsuit etc? (and if i actually need one, id be happier without really)

any help greatly appreciated, or if anyone in the know will be at beers (pick your direction) i can hook up with you there.

Ta!
FRANK

I might have to pull out of this years, which is pissing me off no end as I'm supposed to be doing it for a really good charity.
Shoulder dislocation/ subluxation upon the last 4 attempts at swimming mean it is off to the doctors I go.
In other words.
Rent a wetsuit- try SBR (I think that's what the place on fulham road is called anyhow).
Clips are useful.
socks are useful
lube is useful for chafage.
Train hard for the next three weeks and you'll be ok. get up to 50k biking, 2k swim and 12k running. Practice the changes at home, or get out of the pool and go for a run/ bike.
Don't overdo it, and the run is by far the worst bit.

I'm going to see what the doctor says but I might be up for some intense training too. Been off all training for 2 weeks now :(

lovely job (also im only doing the pusssy sprint distance 750m, 20k, 5k)

how does it work with transitions and stuff? the organisers have been piss poor about information unless they're trying to flog you stuff

In my vast experience of one triathlon:
If your skinny and/or tend to get cold quickly a suit is a good idea. I was cold & it def slowed me down. Though if your not used to wearing one (&taking it on and off), it may be a pain in the hole.
Be prepared for weird feeling of weakness after change overs - it passes after a few min.
It will be full of highly strung/high achieving business types with £10000 bikes and personal trainers: Take appropriate pleasure in beating them in a pair of tatty shorts and conversion.

It's pretty self-explanatory, though the london one has a fair run between the swim and the bike I think.
It'll be well sign posted, but basically- rack your bike - remember where, leg it out of the water, unzip in mid stride, cycling clothes on (unless you are getting a trisuit) dry feet- socks, helmet on, walk/ run with bike until you get to the mounting area.
back in from the bike, get off the bike, walk/ run to rack, shoe change.

Put water on the bike- 2 bottles I reckon, and have one at the transition- it is going to be a hot day probably.

Transitions are a bit madcap. I warn you though- triathlon is quite addictive.

the last part of what velocipede says is very true- but for the london tri you Must have a wetsuit.

If you're using normal shoes, get some bungee laces. They'll make it a damn sight easier for shoe changes than fiddling with laces with wet fingers and when you jump off the bike.

If you're using normal shoes, get some bungee laces. They'll make it a damn sight easier for shoe changes than fiddling with laces with wet fingers and when you jump off the bike.

bungee laces + fixed wheel a bit dangerous perhaps?

Who bothers to undo their laces on trainers anyway?

No more dangerous than on geared. The idea is that you're supposed to tuck the laces down. Takes half a sec to pop them under the bottom lace line.

Clipless for the bike, elastic laces for the run, setup all your stuff next to your bike in the reverse order that you put it on, 20k ride I'd barely bother drinking - it'd just make the run harder, but you are supposed to test all this during training! i'd put a bottle on for sure to wash the salt water out of your mouth at least (all my tri's were done in the sea), i never used a wetsuit so can't comment on them other than TEST IT before the race, practise getting in and out of it quick, don't be like those wallies that try to run and jump on the bike with their shoes already clipped in, only to veer crazily across the road and crash.. if you're gonna do that shit, practise it! The number of people I saw in amatuer tri's attempting elite moves and fucking them up was ridiculous. So many people put it down in the transition - just run with your bike (holding the stem not the saddle) and get on like normal. You must have your helmet on before getting onto the road. Blah blah.. brain dump over. Feel free to ask more specific questions..

*(ignore this next post as hippy has it covered in the google)* *I got this though the post couple of months back...remembered it was in my desk take a read of some of the on the day training tips probably quite useful.

Did the marathon last year... deff be up for watching this... im shit at swimming.

Shin

ps if you want the whole mag let me know.

fuk those attachments are shit...
i'll upload again

3 Attachments

[ame="http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=triathlon+tips&btnG=Google+Search&meta="]triathlon tips - Google Search[/ame]

hipps you any good at swimming coaching?

I've done the London Tri a few times (and others). It's a good, fun, but absolutely massive event. Most people are first timers though, so you've nothing to worry about reall y, especially if you're doing the Sprint distance which shouldn't take a reasonably fit young fella more than 90mins and maybe considerably less (I did my first one in 1h18m).

SWIM - you need goggles and a wetsuit (which is mandatory). Search Google for hire places, there are loads. Try to do at least one training swim in the suit before the event. The suit gives you a lot in added buoyancy, but loses you a lot in restricted movement. Overall, I reckon the two things balance out, but swimming in one is a weird feeling and something worth experiencing before the big day. You can use lube to ease getting the suit on/off, but it doesn't make that much difference and is just another piece of kit to buy.

You will be given a colour-coded cap to designate which wave you're in. Get to the warm-up area 10-15mins before the start time. Stretch on the bank. Drop in the water a few minutes early and do a few warm-up strokes but you don't want to be waiting in the water for too long. As the start approahces, confident swimmers go right on the line. Less confident swimmers go further back to stay out of the way. When the start gun goes, all hell breaks loose. This is the scariest/most exciting bit of the race. Be prepared for people to swim over you/bump you/hit you. But ignore it. Swim strong. Pretend it's not happening. Pretty quickly the chaos thins out, and you'll have water to swim in (if you watch the start of some of the waves before yours, you'll know what to expect). When you get out of the water, you'll be a bit disoriented but loads of people will be telling you what to do/where to go. You have to take your wetsuit off on the bank (not indoors or people slip in the puddles). You'll be wearing your cycle gear under the wetsuit. It's a long-ish jog to the bike (which you racked earlier, while noting exactly where you put it in the VAST hall of bikes).

T1 - when you racked your bike, you also carefully laid everything out next to it for the transitions to make your life easy. So just dump your wetsuit on the floor, out of the way, put your bike shoes on, put your helmet on, and jog your bike to the start of the ride (the location of which, and fastest route to, you noted when you were racking your bike, of course). NB: If you're touching your bike, you MUST be wearing your helmet at all times.

BIKE - enjoy. You'll be overtaking lots of muppets on mountainbikes with kiddie seats still attached, plus a fair share of fat blokes on carbon dream-machines who don't know what they're doing. You won't need much water for a 20k ride. One bottle. Hammer it. No point saving your legs for the run coz it's only 5k and will hurt anyway.

T2 - jog your bike back to your spot and rack it. Don't take your helmet off til it's racked. Swap your bike shoes for your running shoes and head for the run exit (which, once again, you noted the location of, and fastest route to, when you arrived).

RUN - Not much to say on this except that when you first start running after the ride, it will feel like you've forgotten how to run, but you can soon shake that off. Bungee laces will only save a few seconds so no point spending the cash unless you really want to. There are plenty of water stops. There is also a run up a steep vehicle ramp to the finish line, which is a killer at the end.

That's about it. The main thing about London is the size of the event, and the distances between transitions (which are big compared to other events). So, get their early, rack your bike, lay-out your kit, wander around, work out the routes you'll be taking between events and how you will remember your rack-spot, watch a few swim starts. Bob's your uncle. I'll shut up now...

when getting out the water, be prepared to feel weird at first when standing upright.

hipps you any good at swimming coaching?

Well I didn't drown in the canal did I? :P

oh yeah fat floats.

giraffeboy gives good sound advice.

I'm out of this year- doctor has said surgery.
woop!
anyone know a good shoulder specialist.

Say that to my face ladyboy

One other thing... it helps to know roughly how long each event might take. For my first sprint event I did: Swim 750m - 12mins / Bike 20k - 40mins / Run 5k - 25mins.

Broken down like that, it's less daunting! I'm a good swimmer and a shit runner by the way if that helps you estimate your own times.

SWIM - you need goggles and a wetsuit (which is mandatory). Search Google for hire places, there are loads. Try to do at least one training swim in the suit before the event. The suit gives you a lot in added buoyancy, but loses you a lot in restricted movement. Overall, I reckon the two things balance out, but swimming in one is a weird feeling and something worth experiencing before the big day.

I've seen lots of people fainting when getting into brockwell lido on the winter swims as they've not worn a wetsuit before - the constriction around the neck does something to blood flow / movement and it causes the brain to panic. Anyway, best of luck.

thanks to all, did it on saturday and had a wicked time, came in at 1:37 definately doing it next year, and going to train for it next time.

If you do it in under an hour i'll give you the tenner I owe you from this year...

hah.. training will shave off 37minutes eh?