Local triathlon club

Ah yes the old bike conundrum! My very first tri was an enticer (250 swim, 7km bike, 2km run). I did the bike leg on an old hybrid mountain bike that I had lying around. Shortly after that I bought a road bike which cost me $1000 (about £500). This did me well enough to train on and to do my next tri which was another enticer. That was an aluminium frame with carbon forks and a Sora 9 speed groupset. I continued on that bike for a few years but realised that I wanted a better one which I bought in 2014. I had also registered for my first Ironman and half Ironman so realised I needed/wanted a TT bike as well. Basically what I’m saying is that if you plan to continue in triathlon then you will do well to get the best you can afford. I train on my road bike but switch to the TT about two months out from a tri, just to get used to the different position.
As for the swim. Get yourself a wetsuit. And by wetsuit I mean a triathlon wetsuit. The North Sea is cold at the best of times. I have an Orca which suits my swimming style - I swim like a brick. I couldn’t swim more than a hundred metres without blowing out of my arse when I first started. Listen to experienced swimmers and get tips from them. I wish I had taken notice of my dad who was nearly Olympic standard back in the 1960s. He tried to teach me as a kid but kicking a football was more important!
Hope that helps. I just did my last half Ironman on Sunday in Western Australia. It was bloody hot!
How did you get on?
i've got my mind set on doing one next year now. just gonna train as usual till xmas, then have a week off, then look at joining the sunderland triathlon club. i think its more of a 'want to prove to myself that i can do it' type of achievement, rather than something that i will get into for the rest of my life. although i said that about the GNR and ended up signing straight up for another half marathon 2 weeks later and beat my time

whats the bike situation like to do an amateur triathlon? am i looking at having to buy a £1000 road racing bike?

the swimming and running i'll be fine with, do at least 1x 10km run per week and swim a mile in the pool once per week - just need get some practice in open water which i imagine will be a shock to the system, but i'll probably start going to the free sea swimming club at Faustos down roker on a sunday morning in the new year
I bought a second hand road bike for about 150, lasted me a couple of years before I got a tt bike. I've got the basic orca wetsuit from wiggle, just over 100 quid.
 
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How did you get on?

I bought a second hand road bike for about 150, lasted me a couple of years before I got a tt bike. I've got the basic orca wetsuit from wiggle, just over 100 quid.

i take it there isn't an option to hire a bike for a triathlon? suppose you'd need it 3 months in advance to be able to practice on?

i'm hoping that i can join the triathlon club in sunderland and put the feelers out for someone selling an 'old' one if they are buying themselves a new one

i'm aiming for the northumberland triathlon at druridge bay on saturday 6th June
 
i take it there isn't an option to hire a bike for a triathlon? suppose you'd need it 3 months in advance to be able to practice on?

i'm hoping that i can join the triathlon club in sunderland and put the feelers out for someone selling an 'old' one if they are buying themselves a new one

i'm aiming for the northumberland triathlon at druridge bay on saturday 6th June
people are constantly upgrading. are you on fb?

druidge bay is a fantastic triathlon.
 
How did you get on?

I bought a second hand road bike for about 150, lasted me a couple of years before I got a tt bike. I've got the basic orca wetsuit from wiggle, just over 100 quid.
6hrs 21 mins. Hot, lots of flies. In honesty I didn’t put in anywhere near the amount of training that I normally do. I don’t even think I did a ride longer than 70km prior to the event. It was more a spur of the moment entry than anything else. I was only 300 metres into the swim and was really struggling to breath. I got past that though. I only did the half to allow Alastair Brownlee to win the full! Mrs EJK got a high five off him running up the finishing chute. He did the full in an hour and 25 minutes longer than it took me to do the half. Bastard!!
 
aye. haven't joined the triathlon group though, had a look at it the other day never got round to looking much more into it
Do it mate. You won’t regret it. A lot of people get put off these things out of embarrassment and thinking they’re not good enough. Don’t worry about it.
am i right in thinking that standard triathlon distances is 1500m swim > 40km bike > 10km run ?

the northumberland one on the website says 11.5km run
That’s an Olympic distance. A lot tend to do the sprint distance 750, 20,5
 
Do it mate. You won’t regret it. A lot of people get put off these things out of embarrassment and thinking they’re not good enough. Don’t worry about it.

That’s an Olympic distance. A lot tend to do the sprint distance 750, 20,5

I want to do the Olympic distance if I'm going to do it. Full bifta. Is the Olympic distance with the 10km run or 11.5km?

I was physically in a mess start of this year, 6 months training for the great north run was class and I've just carried it through so this seems the ideal goal to aim for. Sounds outrageous to think that I might actually do a triathlon but I've got my heart set on it now. Under 3 hours is my aim!
 
aye. haven't joined the triathlon group though, had a look at it the other day never got round to looking much more into it
join the group, no obligation to join the club, get an idea of what goes on.
6hrs 21 mins. Hot, lots of flies. In honesty I didn’t put in anywhere near the amount of training that I normally do. I don’t even think I did a ride longer than 70km prior to the event. It was more a spur of the moment entry than anything else. I was only 300 metres into the swim and was really struggling to breath. I got past that though. I only did the half to allow Alastair Brownlee to win the full! Mrs EJK got a high five off him running up the finishing chute. He did the full in an hour and 25 minutes longer than it took me to do the half. Bastard!!
how noble of you. he's different class though.
am i right in thinking that standard triathlon distances is 1500m swim > 40km bike > 10km run ?

the northumberland one on the website says 11.5km run
aye, every course is slightly different, logistics and that.
I want to do the Olympic distance if I'm going to do it. Full bifta. Is the Olympic distance with the 10km run or 11.5km?

I was physically in a mess start of this year, 6 months training for the great north run was class and I've just carried it through so this seems the ideal goal to aim for. Sounds outrageous to think that I might actually do a triathlon but I've got my heart set on it now. Under 3 hours is my aim!
  • GO TRI distances vary depending on the venue
  • Super sprint distance: 400m (swim), 10km (bike), 2.5km (run)
  • Sprint distance: 750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
  • Standard (Olympic) distance: 1500m (swim), 40km (bike), 10km (run)
  • 70.3/middle/half-Ironman distance: 1.9km (swim), 90km (bike), 21km (run)
  • Full/long/Ironman distance: 3.8km (swim), 180km (bike), 42km (run) - Ironman is a long-distance triathlon organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).
 
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I want to do the Olympic distance if I'm going to do it. Full bifta. Is the Olympic distance with the 10km run or 11.5km?

I was physically in a mess start of this year, 6 months training for the great north run was class and I've just carried it through so this seems the ideal goal to aim for. Sounds outrageous to think that I might actually do a triathlon but I've got my heart set on it now. Under 3 hours is my aim!
Olympic distance is a 10km run. There are standard distances

Enticer - 250/7/2
Sprint - 750/20/5
Olympic - 1500/40/10
Half Ironman 1.9/90/21
Ironman - 3.8/180/42

But a triathlon can be any distances the organiser wants them to be!
 
join the group, no obligation to join the club, get an idea of what goes on.

how noble of you. he's different class though.

aye, every course is slightly different, logistics and that.

  • GO TRI distances vary depending on the venue
  • Super sprint distance: 400m (swim), 10km (bike), 2.5km (run)
  • Sprint distance: 750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
  • Standard (Olympic) distance: 1500m (swim), 40km (bike), 10km (run)
  • 70.3/middle/half-Ironman distance: 1.9km (swim), 90km (bike), 21km (run)
  • Full/long/Ironman distance: 3.8km (swim), 180km (bike), 42km (run) - Ironman is a long-distance triathlon organised by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC).

Ah, god knows what I was reading then. Must have been imagining things

I'm aiming for 40 mins swim, 80 cycle, and 50 run - is that an achievable split?
 
Ah, god knows what I was reading then. Must have been imagining things

I'm aiming for 40 mins swim, 80 cycle, and 50 run - is that an achievable split?
It’s certainly very achievable with training. All I will say with the swim is that open water swimming in a wetsuit is very very different to pool swimming.
 
Ah, god knows what I was reading then. Must have been imagining things

I'm aiming for 40 mins swim, 80 cycle, and 50 run - is that an achievable split?
Hard to tell, bike may be a bit ambitious, then trying to run after biking is a strange experience. Have you done a 10km?
 
Some people like the group support thing and some prefer the lone wolf, outsider approach. Not having a go like but if one seeks the personal challenge aspect, nothing can compare with doing it on your own.

To paraphrase Marxist teachings (Groucho not Karl) we should not seek join any club that would have us as a member.
Wilde shows us to not arrest our development by formal acceptance of any one creed.

Even if we ignore the above advice and fully commit to a ‘way’ the hero is often the renegade.

Yamaguchi Sensei training alone in the mountains then coming down and beating the competition. And of course the ronin, the wandering masterless samurai.
A bit like when Moorcroft ran from Shields to Newcastle during the GNR, but less huffy.
IMHO obvs.

whatever you do enjoy it.👍
 
Some people like the group support thing and some prefer the lone wolf, outsider approach. Not having a go like but if one seeks the personal challenge aspect, nothing can compare with doing it on your own.

To paraphrase Marxist teachings (Groucho not Karl) we should not seek join any club that would have us as a member.
Wilde shows us to not arrest our development by formal acceptance of any one creed.

Even if we ignore the above advice and fully commit to a ‘way’ the hero is often the renegade.

Yamaguchi Sensei training alone in the mountains then coming down and beating the competition. And of course the ronin, the wandering masterless samurai.
A bit like when Moorcroft ran from Shields to Newcastle during the GNR, but less huffy.
IMHO obvs.

whatever you do enjoy it.👍

Aye but I havent got a clue what I'm doing
 

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