London Tri 2012 – The state of play

Leave a comment

July 25, 2012 by shortbloke

So, here we are, at the start of the Triathlon training regime. With just over 8 weeks to go, this is a summary of where I am.

Wetsuit : check
Swim cap : check
Wetsuit lubricant : pending
Tri suit : check
Goggles : check
Goggle demister : pending
Small towel for toe drying : check
Sun cream : check
Bike : check
Tri bars : meh, I’ll make do with my normal drop bars
Tri bag for gels : check
Running shoes : check

Primary target : To not drown.
Effort required : Not inconsiderable.
Confidence level: Is there an adjective that means worse than Low ?

At this point I have not managed to actually swim 1,500m, in a pool or elsewhere. By that I don’t mean not managed to swim 1,500m without a stop. I mean not managed to swim 1,500m in a single swim session. So far the furthest I have swum where I have remembered to count all the lengths is 1,000m. I may have done more at some point, but I can’t verify that and even if I did, it was definitely not without considerable time spent breathing heavily at one end of the pool.

Swimming in general is not really the issue. I can swim. I have a reasonable stroke (a little wide o the up swing at times, but reasonable) and I have done quite a bit of swimming in the sea over the years. Open water is not an issue. The distance is. basically, I have no confidence in my ability to keep going for the whole 1,500m.

I’ve also never swum in my new wetsuit. Come to think of it, I’ve never swum in a proper swim wetsuit at all. The only good thing is that it’s supposed to be easier because the suit keeps you buoyant. Small consolation.

I have found a coaching class (RG Active – Hampstead Heath). A series of scheduling glitches means I can’t make any of the sessions until the middle of August. I’m away for a while at the beginning of August (by the sea). I am hoping to get some open water swims in there though.

This is the leg of the event that needs the most work. This is where I need to improve the most over the coming weeks.

Primary target : 26kph average speed.
Effort required : Marginal.
Confidence level: High.

Given the amount of riding I have done recently, if I can’t do 40K on two wheels over a relatively flat course, I’m in big trouble. My biggest concern for this leg of the event is in fact that having half drowned in the swim, I will be in the paramedics hut receiving life saving treatment instead of in the transition area, which will make doing the ride a little difficult.

Primary target : Under an hour.
Effort required : Quite high.
Confidence level: Not so high.

At the moment I am running 10K in about 56 minutes, give or take. I need to improve on that, which is proving harder than I had hoped. There is also the pain of transition from one discipline to another to consider. Assuming I make it onto my bike, coming off again will result in the first part of the run being slow, mainly because it’s likely I will be running without the benefit of functional hips or thighs (there will be more analysis of that little triathlon problem in a later post, probably). Under an hour feels ambitious, frankly. I may have to revise that target later on.

So, quite a bit of improvement required. One thing is clear. The aim for this event is to cross the finish line before the stewards start packing up to go home. Anything more than that will be a bonus.