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

@ Sainsburys Ed - I've only ever done research into IM distance training, for a sprint distance race whats the furthest you would run in training? I didn't do more than 14miles for the Ironman which wasn't ideal but I felt great during the actual race

I did the Marshman in Kent a couple of years back. Nice and early in the season to get into the swing of things, pan flat bike course but being near the coast the wind can get up - doubt you'll find a faster one on a good day tho.

I found the nuclear power stations scenic

http://www.velocity-events.co.uk/marshman-and-mini-marshman/the-marshman/
Cheap and Cheerful but generally well run.
Free camping on site

@ Sainsburys Ed - I've only ever done research into IM distance training, for a sprint distance race whats the furthest you would run in training? I didn't do more than 14miles for the Ironman which wasn't ideal but I felt great during the actual race

I not training for sprint distance tris, it's coss training for a marathon I'm doing in September, if I was I'd be training as I would for a 5k I guess, lots of speed work, running up to 10k ish for endurance and a decent amount of strength and conditioning.

Which is essentially what I'm doing for the marathon except my long weekend runs are a lot longer and I'm pretty much ignoring the bike at the moment.

Weekly raining schedule is something like this.
Monday weight training am/pool session pm
Tuesday run speed session
Wednesday weight training session am/ run tempo session pm
Thursday bike speed session (usually a 10 mile tt)
Friday rest
Saturday long run
Sunday long open water swim

Every week day I commute about 5 miles each way by bike.

So I know this shouldn't really be a concern, but all the pictures from my race on Wednesday (and there are probably 50, as it was the club champs so there were loads of husbands/wives with cameras about) I look like I'm about to ball my eyes out...

It's a bit upsetting as there are some awesome pics!

haha, I know the feeling, in the pictures from IM UK I looked like I was dying the whole run even though I felt great!

Do you do your open water sunday swim with a club?

My IMUK '09 pics I all look like I'm about to cry too, although to be fair, I probably was! I hadn't run for 6 weeks before the race due to a knee injury.

In both both Switzerland and Austria I managed to spring a nosebleed so I'm also a long way away from looking my best.

If you look good in your race photos you aren't trying hard enough! :-)

haha my cousin got elbowed in the swim at a Dorney sprint and came out of the water looking like he'd been shot, then decided to wash it off in T1 with lucozade. Sticky.

Glad I'm not the only one!

My Sunday sessions are on my tod, my club has done a deal with a local lake so sessions are included in our membership fee, which is a great motivator, I'm also trying to persuade a mate who's not a club member to do some wild swimming in the jubilee river but that's going to take some work!

what's the deal with swimming in the thames then?

Be careful!

I've been a few times early in the morning with some club mates before locks open so traffic is at the minimum, and swimming as a group means there are many pairs of eyes watching in case anyone turns up, the fact there is a speed limit of about 5mph means that if you do see anyone you should be fine too.

Is that keeping a look out so you don't yet caught, or hit?

Anyone at the Dorney Lake triathlon today then? did the super sprint on a white Leader 735 hard day with the weather, good fun though

Just mulling some things over before Challenge Henley this weekend, and I dimly recollect that there was some kurfuffle a couple of years ago about whether or not compression calf guards were allowed to be worn underneath a wetsuit during the swim. Having had a couple of years away from racing tris, I have no idea if this was resolved or not. Are compression calf-guards allowed?

I not training for sprint distance tris, it's coss training for a marathon I'm doing in September, if I was I'd be training as I would for a 5k I guess, lots of speed work, running up to 10k ish for endurance and a decent amount of strength and conditioning.

Which is essentially what I'm doing for the marathon except my long weekend runs are a lot longer and I'm pretty much ignoring the bike at the moment.

Weekly raining schedule is something like this.
Monday weight training am/pool session pm
Tuesday run speed session
Wednesday weight training session am/ run tempo session pm
Thursday bike speed session (usually a 10 mile tt)
Friday rest
Saturday long run
Sunday long open water swim

Every week day I commute about 5 miles each way by bike.

Think ive been training too hard and not resting enough.. been feeling dog tired at work, power is down on the bike.

Not sure if I should just keep on and hope I condition to regime or if I would be better dialing it back.

How did you find the right balance?

Doing about 2hrs+ a day.. mixture of running, gym, swim and bike thoughtout the week.Usal annihilating long ride at the weekend.

Try to mix it up as I suck at them all.

Might be im just not getting enough sleep tho as Im doing it all before and after work.

Just mulling some things over before Challenge Henley this weekend, and I dimly recollect that there was some kurfuffle a couple of years ago about whether or not compression calf guards were allowed to be worn underneath a wetsuit during the swim. Having had a couple of years away from racing tris, I have no idea if this was resolved or not. Are compression calf-guards allowed?
I doubt that any marshals will be checking you during transition - it's only champs races where the marshals look out for this sort of thing.

IIRC, BTF rules state that a swimsuit is 3 pieces max.

For realz?

Never heard this rule before and I love rules.3 pieces? does that mean you are okay to wear one calf-guard?
Assuming your trisuit is a one piece / not two?

But check the race pack.. got a feeling they might mark your Calf with a racenumber which has to show..

Think ive been training too hard and not resting enough.. been feeling dog tired at work, power is down on the bike.

Not sure if I should just keep on and hope I condition to regime or if I would be better dialing it back.

How did you find the right balance?

Doing about 2hrs+ a day.. mixture of running, gym, swim and bike thoughtout the week.Usal annihilating long ride at the weekend.

Try to mix it up as I suck at them all.

Might be im just not getting enough sleep tho as Im doing it all before and after work.

My coach likes to talk about periodisation, he advocates two weeks hard training then one week of easy so all the sessions still happen but done at lower intensity and duration, but in the real world this works around races for us, so the race is in the easy week and if there are three weeks between races then go for 3 weeks hard and then have an easy one etc....

Still doing as many sessions stops the feeling of craziness in a usual taper, and still leaves you fresh for racing....

Sleep is awesome too, and I've just discovered baths!

I thought calf-guards had been banned? They certainly should be. No-one's going to check under a wetsuit anyway.

For realz?

9.2
A wetsuit may consist of up to three separate parts
.

Swimsuit isn't the same as wetsuit tho.

I thought calf-guards had been banned? They certainly should be. No-one's going to check under a wetsuit anyway.
There's no rules on calf guards, nor how many pieces a tri suit / swim suit must be (other than it must cover up your chicken bits and norks).

Swimsuit isn't the same as wetsuit tho.
True. But there's no reason you can't argue that calf guards are part of a wetsuit.

To be frank, the rules are a bit bollocks and vague, and only enforced at srs events

"9.2 A wetsuit may consist of up to three separate parts"

But calf guards aren't part of a wetsuit?

Reckon they'd count anything with neoprene as part of a wetsuit - 3-piece could be a neoprene bib / jacket / cap combo. Haven't seen neoprene cummerbunds.