General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Tapering off before my first tri Rss Feed  
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2011-09-02 7:37 PM

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Subject: Tapering off before my first tri
I have my first tri on Sept 10. It somehow snook up on me even though I was paying attention to my training, etc. Now it's about one week away somehow. Anyways, I know this because I have been tapering off on my workouts, only doing half at slow speeds, but I am feeling drained. I went out the other day just to get a quick last minute jog in before the week ends and I get my rest days, but I couldn't make it past one mile I don't think. I have been running some pretty hilly roads, but I could handle them earlier. Do you think my 2 big bike rides and big run earlier this week drained me too much? I tried to get in some race steady paces just to see what I could do, and I know it will be even better than those times because I will be more excited to finish faster on race day. It just gets so boring training alone and I feel unmotivated to do anything other than normal paces. I didn't injure myself because I knew when I went too hard, etc. That is why I walked home after my one mile jog, just to be on the safe side. I trained almost all this year for my first triathlon. Well I usually get out anyways, but I have trained almost every day out there on the bike and swimming and more recently running. Last week I felt over confident I could do this thing and actually win it. But then I saw the times of the winner who won this event the past 3 years and I gave up on that. As long as I come not dead last and finish, I will be more than happy. As long as I have fun and finish I would be happy, even if I come in last. But I compared my speeds with other people's and I am just pretty much average I guess. I lack the knowledge and body type and age of the winner. He has near 5 minute miles running and a 100 mile swim pace of a minute something. His bike for the 25 miles was just under an hour which is still pretty good considering I think this course has more than it's share of hills. He basically does the whole thing that I would consider myself sprinting. I know I can't sprint the entire distance, I just wanted to see where my endurance stands if I can do it. That's the main reason I did the Oly instead of the sprint, because I KNOW I could do the sprint. Anyways, wish me luck and calmness of nerves going into this. I am having bad thoughts about not finding my bike, going on wrong roads, etc. I am going to choose landmarks for sighting on swim and finding my bike. They said to do that. Any final advice would be great, this will probably be my last post before the tri. I am just feeling so drained these past couple days and I think it's because I went faster than my normal training pace. Hopefully my body will recover by next week if I take it easy.


2011-09-02 8:28 PM
in reply to: #3671500

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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri

The "enter" key is your friend.

I could not read your entire post.  I just read the first and last sentence...because everything in between was like trying to look at one of those "magic eye" pictures.  I actually think I saw a dolphin jumping out of the water when I looked hard enough...

Anyway...for your first tri, just relax and have fun.  Take your time and don't over think things.  There isn't anything you can do now to improve your fitness, so just rest up and race hard.

2011-09-02 9:29 PM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
Wow. Last minute advice?...Breathe.
2011-09-02 9:29 PM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
Heh, sorry for the bad puncuation and paragraph seperating. I think that's the main reason I got banned from posting for a little bit because my posts were annoying that way. I will try to do better. Thanks for the tips, it was helpful. Am I doing better with this post? Thank you!
2011-09-02 11:13 PM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
You will recover in time and you will be fine. Just make sure to get your pacing right at the start of each leg. Be calm and best of luck.
2011-09-03 8:56 AM
in reply to: #3671500

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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
Well if my pacing is right, I will not finish the race as quickly as I want to. I mean I want to push myself further than my training pace. This is normal right? I was thinking of going pretty hard or semi-hard on the swim. Also, easy on the first lap of the bike and then hard the second time once I know where I am going. And going all out on the run. I plan on getting the swim done in 28 minutes, the bike leg in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the run in 44 minutes. That is pretty much my training pace, just a little faster. Well anyways, I am feeling a lot better today which is a good thing. I feel my strength coming back already. I am just going to take it easy this next week and then have full strength for the race. I am just going to relax and push myself as far as I can.


2011-09-03 9:38 AM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
Just got this e-mail today and it said this:

Just a friendly reminder, it is the participant?s responsibility to know the course. If you go off course or cut the course you may be disqualified. Please review the maps and drive the course.

The map is hard to read and I think they changed some of the roads when it was made or something. I thought people said they have people telling you to turn right/left and cones, etc. I also just read about that lady who went off course and had to DNF. Are we supposed to memorize the course without any cones or anything? The run portion on the map looks like it goes off into the grass as well, because there is no road marked on it. That seems pretty tough.
2011-09-03 10:15 AM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri

jschristian44 - 2011-09-03 8:56 AM Well if my pacing is right, I will not finish the race as quickly as I want to. I mean I want to push myself further than my training pace. This is normal right? I was thinking of going pretty hard or semi-hard on the swim. Also, easy on the first lap of the bike and then hard the second time once I know where I am going. And going all out on the run. I plan on getting the swim done in 28 minutes, the bike leg in 1 hour and 15 minutes, and the run in 44 minutes. That is pretty much my training pace, just a little faster. Well anyways, I am feeling a lot better today which is a good thing. I feel my strength coming back already. I am just going to take it easy this next week and then have full strength for the race. I am just going to relax and push myself as far as I can.

I looked at your logs and your goal times for an Olympic don't seem to be consistent with your training. You cite ~9min/mile as being your run goal in your blog, but suggest that you are aiming for a 44min run leg. You'd need to be running in the low 7s to hit that. Your bike leg goal would put you near a 20mph pace on a hilly (?) course. Again from your training logs, I'm not sure that's reasonable. Go out and execute the best race you possibly can. I said earlier to pay attention to your pacing, not to go slowly. Don't push it too hard right away on each leg or you may regret it. The tendency in the swim is for one to have an adrenaline surge and go out too hard in the first couple hundred meters. The tendency on the bike is for one to feel like they're soaring and crank it out too hard in the first 5 or 10 minutes. The tendency on the run is for it take about half a mile before you feel like you can really use your legs the way you want to (regardless of your brick training).

My point is, don't press down on the gas too hard too soon. Your best race probably won't be swam in the first 100, biked in the first 5 minutes or run in the first mile. Your best race will happen with strategic use of your aerobic and muscular endurance capabilities. It might help you to write down a race plan and refer to it mentally when you're racing. Best of luck!

2011-09-03 1:16 PM
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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri

jschristian44 - 2011-09-03 9:38 AM Just got this e-mail today and it said this: Just a friendly reminder, it is the participant?s responsibility to know the course. If you go off course or cut the course you may be disqualified. Please review the maps and drive the course. The map is hard to read and I think they changed some of the roads when it was made or something. I thought people said they have people telling you to turn right/left and cones, etc. I also just read about that lady who went off course and had to DNF. Are we supposed to memorize the course without any cones or anything? The run portion on the map looks like it goes off into the grass as well, because there is no road marked on it. That seems pretty tough.

If it's the one I'm thinking of, it was a nightmare, and not reality.

There usually are people out directing, but we still need to know where we are going. Will you have a chance to drive/ride it before hand? I would recommend that. It will ease a lot of your anxiety.

2011-09-03 2:23 PM
in reply to: #3671500

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Subject: RE: Tapering off before my first tri
I did go out and ride it first hand but I didn't follow it directly. I just looked at the roads and I know where to turn off for the bike and run, but once I am out, the roads get confusing. That's why I think there should be people directing, but I could probably just follow the group of people. I will probably be in the middle of all the transitions, etc with the rest of the people. My swim might not be the best, but once I hit that, I can just follow the fellow bikers and runners correct? As for the run, I am going to negetive split it. That means going slow then fast right? That's what a spectacular athlete when I was a kid did. We had a short relay at elementary school and I was beating him at first because I sprinted out and he was taking it easy, then near the end he passed me because he had more energy I guess. That's what I always refer to when I am trying to run in a race. Just take it easy and then go all out wins the race. Thanks!
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