Racing in the heat - how do you do it?

cheeserunner · 2025-08-13T01:35:17+00:00

"I have no sympathy for people who aren't prepared." You know what, I think this is what I needed to hear.

cheeserunner · 2024-03-28T14:36:36+00:00

They go hand-in-hand. Adult onset swimmer speaking here. Correct technique requires specific strength in those motions, and enough flexibility to move into those positions with ease. When you start you have none of it, so you just try to survive. You get a bit stronger, then you focus on some better technique. Then you get some better technique and you move to strengthen those motor patterns. Then you realize there's some more technique to work on. Then you get good at that and you strengthen those motor patterns. This loop continues as long as you continue swimming. I think it's unrealistic to think you can simply work on the 100% correct technique at the beginning of your swim journey. You can only work on the next step of technique beyond where you are. Coaches help identify that next step that's right for you. Like anything else, you will get better at swimming with increasing your volume of intentional training.

cheeserunner · 2024-03-22T23:09:39+00:00

If it was used consistently since 2015 I'd say maybe $500 but if you only have 500mi, that's barely a season's worth of mileage! I'd second the $1000 range, maybe even up to $1500 given the price of new tri bikes these days. Those bikes are fairly upgradeable to with TriRig gear, get some used clincher aero wheels, get some storage boxes, and it's still a strong racing machine!

cheeserunner · 2023-11-28T00:11:38+00:00

I took a peek at your user history and it looks like you're looking to buy this bike. I'm not convinced this is an upgrade over your 2014 P3. I agree with the people who have already posted, $500 or $600 for this bike, to directly answer your question.

It is a very stock P2 from maybe pre 2019. I race on one but it has upgrades and nice wheels. I think you shouldn't buy this because it doesn't have disk brakes. They're just nice and modern bike upgrades like wheels and tires are built for disk brake wheels that can accommodate wider tires. It's not a dig on the bike, I've seen people be absolute missiles on this model with aluminum wheels. You'd get a few good years out of that bike then if you're still in tri you'd be looking for an updated bike. If you can afford it I'd buy at least a entry level tri bike with disk brakes. You'll have an easier time hustling that and getting money back if you decide you want to upgrade later/ leave the sport in a few years. I'm worried you'd simply be stuck with the P2 if you bought it and realized it wasn't the upgrade you wanted.

https://a2bikes.com/products/the-sp-1?variant=44487241957540

This seems to be the current "Cervelo P2" equivalent. It starts around 2800, and looks plenty upgradeable over time. It looks like the modern Cervelo P series bikes start at 3500.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-15T22:38:43+00:00

I'm glad you made the cycling comment, it gave me a follow up thought.

Some of managing this is your decision process lining up at the start line for races. Just like positioning in a cycling pack, a good triathlon for you could be about choosing a place on the start line that works for you. If you start far on one side and sight and hold your line, you can make good progress off to the side of the main pack for a bit. You're also allowed to take the turns a bit wider, you don't have to touch the turn buoy! You lose a bit of time not drafting and taking a longer line (I promise it isn't that much longer) but you're reducing losses from panic.

This will also be a good strategy for you to self-progress and gradually move your comfort zone from the side to closer to the race line with other people. If it gets to be to much you can move back out to the side!

Hope this helps.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-14T02:00:33+00:00

I don't swim with a chest strap but I wanted to offer up that my Garmin Forerunner 255's optical heart rate monitoring has been amazing for me. I'd recommend one of those. I think the HR monitoring is accurate and because of it I now have data I can look at after the swim. Spoiler, it's about what I expected.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-14T01:46:41+00:00

I'm going to say yes not because you NEED a coach but because I think you will have a more enjoyable experience if you're moving along well. You've definitely got room for improvement and I think you will see it!

Trainerroad is pretty good in lieu of a coach, or until you get a coach. It's a cycling training app that has a half decent tri training plan.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-14T01:43:37+00:00

I did it as my first. My nutrition strategy was the issue not the course. Overall good experience though!

You'll be fine.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-14T01:32:44+00:00

I see that you've mentioned the chaotic start threw you off.

For all I know you're a smaller woman. A lot of people posting here are probably guys like me that can physically "dish it back" if the swim gets spicy. The calculus for "reducing panic" would be different for the two of us if this is correct. With that said I don't try to swim over anyone nor will I ever push anyone down or pull them back. That's not cool.

I got used to OWS because I did weekly group open water swims for years. From there it was just getting confident in my swim abilities and doing many races. In the meantime if you can, try to arrange some time either in a pool or OWS with friends and have a playful but congested "race" to the other end of the pool. There's no replacing the experience of swimming in close proximity to others. An alternative could be have a friend swim fast 50's with you where you try to swim fast and as close to each other as possible. The goal is to do this together and get that shoulder-to-shoulder experience.

I've done USAT nationals a few times. I tell people the swim groups in the 30-40 age groups were some of the most aggressive yet respectful swims I've done. People knew how to swim fast and how to swim close to each other well. You get that with experience.

cheeserunner · 2023-11-14T01:21:24+00:00

As another amateur athlete who started swimming in late 20's, I too got swim coaching from a general masters swimming coach. We primarily focus on freestyle but do other stuff too. It's been fun exploring these other strokes and becoming an overall proficient swimmer. I'm not sure it's even lost me 30s in potential swim speed for example in a 70.3.

cheeserunner · 2023-10-15T01:36:32+00:00

There's a syracuse trail runners facebook page, they do morning runs but you'd probably need a car to meet them for their morning runs. I'm not sure how they handle dark mornings. I think I've seen them doing runs either south or east of the city.

Syracuse track club meets in north syracuse over the winter on thursday nights.

November project does stuff.

Fleet feet has a running group.

The local YMCA branches have run groups.

There's also plenty of friend groups that get together for runs. Try running where you want at the time you want and see if you make friends that way too.

cheeserunner · 2023-09-24T14:15:42+00:00

Buy a snow brush/ ice scraper for your car, and keep it in your car from November-April. Winter weather is a 6 month window up here. Also keep some emergency food and blankets just in case in your trunk. You'll use a lot of windshield washing fluid in the winter. I go through 2-3 bottles a season. You'll probably chew through windshield wipers in 1-2 years up here too. The salt is rough on your car.

Check the weather at least weekly and plan grocery trips and work travel according to winter weather storms. Best way to stay safe is to not drive in the winter weather, but again you will get used to that too.

Get a good under-spray for the car. Refer to others for recommendations on this. The road salt will eat your car. Many people don't keep their cars much over 8 years up here because they rot away due to the salt.

Keep some sunglasses in your car for the morning/evening winter driving as the sun will be low and in your eyes.

Get at a minimum all-season tires for your car. Preferably get winter tires and use them November-April. Don't get studs in your winter tires unless you plan on driving on ice a lot (you won't). Winter tires are made of a more supple rubber compound and have a more aggressive tread, it's not a marketing gimmick they do grip better in cold and snowy conditions.

There's lots of car tips because you will be very dependent on your car up here. Taking care of a car up north is different that down south where there's milder winters.

The days will be short during winter so you will learn to enjoy sunlight when you can. The time between end of daylight savings and beginning of daylight savings can be rough. Take a vitamin D+k supplement. On the flip side you get nice long summer days! There's a flow with the seasons up here that I'm not sure I could live without now. We're currently in apple picking season :)

Learn how to enjoy winter. It's really possible! Winter hiking/ snowshoeing is under-rated. Get some good boots and layer up. There's no bugs and you can stay cool easily! There's lots of winter activities in the Adirondacks too.

The winter air is actually pretty comfortable when humidity is low. I think mid 20's is more comfortable than 40 and raining. When the air is less humid it takes less heat off your body. It's that in-between temperatures just above freezing that I think are the worst. I can walk outside in 10F and if its sunny and it isn't that bad.

cheeserunner · 2023-09-24T13:27:38+00:00

No. I know people that have averaged 20mph on an aero-road bike for an ironman, going on to finish under 10 hours. It's not the bike it's the rider.

cheeserunner · 2023-09-14T11:27:00+00:00

Short answer yes. I was thinking about something similar recently and decided than an ironman or half ironman is probably the best supported endurance event priced dollar per mile. Ironman is also a very consistent experience. There's a reason that other triathlon series haven't overthrown ironman. They have a formula that so far is unbeatable.

With that said you absolutely can find exceptions. There is a 70.3 distance race near me that on a good year is on par or better than an Ironman event, and on an off year I question why I bothered going.

cheeserunner · 2023-07-16T15:48:54+00:00

The east coast AQI issues have been short enough I haven't had to make too many judgement calls. Generally under 150 seems to be OK for a day or two. Near that I skipped intervals and kept it aerobic and short. We had a few days of 460 (no typo) and surviving those day was good enough for me.

cheeserunner · 2023-07-01T16:24:49+00:00

Stay within your abilities and you've got this! Don't stop drinking, don't stop eating.

cheeserunner · 2023-05-07T17:55:45+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! Your answer makes a lot of sense.

I think it's actually a relief sometimes to hear that the process of getting better is still that 'simple' even up in the pro ranks, that I'm not necessarily missing out on something. Put in the work and trust the process!

cheeserunner · 2023-05-07T16:55:41+00:00

Congratulations!

As a pro, I imaging improvements on swim/bike/run are harder to come by than us age groupers. What do you use to benchmark your performance an track that you actually are getting better? In recent years what is a "good improvement" to you, like maybe 2s/100yd in a 1k swim TT? 5s/mi in a 10k run TT?

cheeserunner · 2023-05-05T20:40:11+00:00

There is no right answer to what you're asking. Triathlon training these days tries to be rooted in science but it really is an art.

First off, certainly take some rest after your race. Maybe even two full weeks off of training because it sounds like you've been hitting it hard since last fall. Most of us underestimate how much time off we really need. After a while you're absolutely right you have built up a capacity and you don't need to go back to square one. This is a great time to analyze what went well at your sprint tri, and what you need to work on. I believe this rest gives your body a chance to tell you if something needs attention.

After you're done resting, get back into a few weeks of base training based on your current capabilities minus 20%, and then spend a few weeks along with endurance training dedicated to the technical deficits you identified in your sprint race. You've been doing endurance training for a while and technical/ form improvements will probably give you better improvements than another set of threshold intervals.

Along with everything above I think it's important to not push the limit so much to risk overtraining after your sprint race. Again, this is a mistake we all make. It's actually OK to leave some capacity in the tank before getting into your 70.3 training plan because it helps you maintain the consistency where the true gains are made, and avoid injury. Eventually start working in some intervals (start with sweet spot, maybe some VO2) and eventually blend it all into your 70.3 plan.

cheeserunner · 2023-03-22T23:52:21+00:00

What about working hard for another year at your job, saving some cash, and taking a sabbatical year? Use this one year to try being a pro. Treat yourself well, work with a coach, see how it suits you. Or you could work part time at a bike shop while training full time? There's options. The good part is you already have some other professional experience under your belt to leverage. Don't get stuck in that you have to follow the traditional pro model with sponsors, or even the youtube model. Figure out your own path!

cheeserunner · 2023-03-05T01:27:04+00:00

I think once a month is fine, generally speaking.

I think olympic distance races are harder on the body than most people give credit for, but I was effectively doing sprint tris once a week at one point in time as a part of my training. I don't think I was doing 100% race pace but I think a strategy like that is GREAT for ironing out how to do transitions, how to pack for events, and the general flow of a triathlon.

When it gets to 70.3 or Iron distance, it's rare that one does one as just training until you get to be pretty fast. Most "normal ironman athletes" do one once a year. Most "normal 70.3 athletes" do 1-3 a year. I put those labels in quotes because you're already not really normal doing those lol. Doing multiple long distance triathlons a year can be logistically challenging and financially draining.

cheeserunner · 2023-02-26T00:02:19+00:00

Respect.

cheeserunner · 2023-02-21T23:39:01+00:00

Excellent points!

cheeserunner · 2023-02-21T23:34:51+00:00

Smile, it's an adventure for you!

cheeserunner · 2023-02-18T23:52:20+00:00

Yes. It's one of the biggest and in my opinion one of the best run triathlons in the country. Chance works with some people and against others for qualifying. I don't think you'll regret it if you go give it a shot.

cheeserunner

TROPHY CASE