Originally Posted By GSPatton:
I have competed in exactly one Triathlon.  I am a tremendous swimmer, (for real) a mediocre biker and not that great of a runner (5:30 fastest mile).  I did not even place in the top two thirds.  Ya gotta run and bike like a mad man.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:

Starting as a strong swimmer is half the work. That’s easily most people’s weakest discipline. If you’re a legit 5:30/mi guy you can be a monster on the bike. Even if you can only run ONE mile at 5:30 - that’s hauling!!!

I’m a 7 - 8:00 minute marathon pace and haven’t run a 5:30 in a couple years.

A little training could have you winning sprint age groups in no time.

2:00/100y (weakest discipline)
18mph
7:00/mi

With blistering transitions usually has me top 25% of all finishers for quarter distance or less.

Originally Posted By anono:


At what age group are you in?

Originally Posted By GSPatton:
At the time I was 22, I was in the Navy.  I'm pretty sure another Navy guy won it.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:
Take baby steps in open water. Swimming a 400m out and back is humbling. Definitely start with kayak support or find an open water swim club. Ours meets on Wednesdays at lake Belton

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:

Ah. Seamen are good swimmers.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:
From the wife: definitely tell him to check out TriDot. $20/mo will plan his workouts, provide race predictor, adjust training based on load and completion frequency, talk to trainers, group forums, nutrition guides, etc.

You can spend up to $400/mo but not necessary.

The app has a learning curve, but it works and costs less than training peaks.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:


The most competitive group, male 40-44

Originally Posted By dyezak:



I looked at training peaks.  It seems OK but I wasn't wowed.  I'm checkng out MOTTIV as well.  Again, not wowed.

I'll check out TriDot next.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:

Your math sucks. Top 25% would put me at 97th place. 72nd place had nearly identical times to what I posted - go back to school.

ETA: The guy in 72nd's transitions sucked. He must have eaten or gone to the bathroom. Transition is the unofficial 4th discipline. Munoz in 37th place made up for a pedestrian swim/bike/run with awesome transitions.

Originally Posted By dyezak:
I did my longest swim again yesterday, 1200m.  It sucks.  I hate it.  I do it to punish myself for being a dumbass.  I cuss myself out the entire time I swim.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:

I thought this part was perfectly clear

again, male 40-44 is very competitive

Based on the results you posted I would have finished around 11-12th/37.

OP, if you need anything or want to meet up before a race, IM me. I'm sure we'll see you around.

Originally Posted By dyezak:

On Topic:  I'm going to punish myself again with another swim this week I think.

Originally Posted By dyezak:
anono and hellishhorses - yall should both be ashamed.  Interesting thread with a lot of good conversation sidetracked by you guys getting into a pissing match.  Take the insults directed at each other to IM's.

On Topic:  I'm going to punish myself again with another swim this week I think.

Originally Posted By Sumo6:


Have fun. I’m going to search for a swim coach when I get home. ‘Cuz I’m absolutely hating it.

Originally Posted By Appalachian1998:
There are competers and completers for HIM and IM distances. Sounds like OP is a completer. Which is totally fine. Not everyone has an extra 25-30 hours for 6-12 months to prepare to compete.

So find a river swim that is wetsuit legal (current aided). You can literally float to the transition area. Full IM races start at about mile 16 of the run. That last 10 miles is BRUTAL.

Good luck OP!

Originally Posted By dyezak:
anono and hellishhorses - yall should both be ashamed.  Interesting thread with a lot of good conversation sidetracked by you guys getting into a pissing match.  Take the insults directed at each other to IM's.

Originally Posted By dyezak:
Up to swimming 1mi now.  And I did 1mi today 2min faster than my 1500m last week, and at a lower avg HR too.  

Originally Posted By anono:


Nice. Have you watched (on Youtube or wherever) any really good distance swimmers or tutorials on longer distance swimming? It's obviously not a completely different animal from short distances or sprint distances, but especially your kick work and lengthening your stroke can have a big effect on your breathing.

You can do exercises in slow motion where you leave that leading hand out for what seems like forever while your bringing up your next stroke. I grew up swimming up to 400m IM, and changing that part of my stroke and kicking for longer distances was huge. It will also let you possibly develop some more advanced techniques like bilateral breathing.

Here's the WR (although he was probably doping):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5FlDy3YmDQ

Watch Sun Yangs feet. Watch how long his stroke is. If you can practice those two things and really be mindful of how the water is moving over your leading hand and head you'll make huge improvements. I'm also sure there are quite a few practice videos you could find to help improve.

Originally Posted By hellishhorses:
@dyezak

I've done several tris, but the wife is the triathlete.

It looks like you two have similar goal times. She does just about every triathlon you listed. The family does the Blackland & Cedar Hill each year. Those are great for families. Galveston is good but it's warm and the run is three very congested laps, Waco's bike was BRUTAL this year with the wind and last year with the rain (tons of wrecks). One guy had a heart attack on the way back to Waco. Every athlete I talked to said the same "This bike was the worst experience I've ever had."

As mentioned above, Woodlands wind on the toll road is legendary. She's planning to skip IMTexas and do Chattanooga instead — she's heard from friends & training partners it's superior in every way.

The best 70.3 distance in the state is Kerrville (not an actual M-Dot event) from several angles (weather, the swim, beautiful bike, easy run, spectator friendly, post-race food & beer, floating in the river)

My wife uses TriDot for training plans. She has a virtual nutritionist (Jessica), she's a swim coach and belongs to a local swim club, I am her run coach but she's not very obedient and she regularly threatens to fire me.


To echo what others have said, a proper bike fit will change your world. My wife went from hating the bike, to tolerating it, to liking it, and now she loves it. She found a local bike shop that will adjust anything she wants just about any time she wants it. She's bought four bikes from them (one for our daughter). She has two bikes set up identically except one is complete carbon everything for race day, the other is aluminum and pretty much lives on the trainer.

We're between Temple and Waco so keep us updated and we'll try to meet up for some of the Co-Ed events. Pizza and beer is her dinner ritual prior to every race.

Galveston Saturday for the Beach Girl Tri — do you identify as female? My 13YO daughter could pace you for most of the race, but she'll have to wait in T1 coming out of the water — she's gonna pay for college with swimming.